*
A/N: (?15+ warning for slight language, "medical threats", and crude 11-yo.-boy-toilet-humor. Bullying is touched upon, but not portrayed.)
Sunday nights, Magnus soon found, were for finishing up any loose ends on homework. Miss MacMillan, their Prefect, saw to this. "I have little brothers and sisters," she warned all the underclassmen, boys and girls alike. She also made the boys tidy their room, which had become somewhat of a disaster area in only a few days. Magnus' shoes, however, had to be taken for Professor Malfoy for a serious Protean Charm to restore them. The boy hadn't counted on the lingering odor, which had permeated the Cellar, as hard as he'd tried to clean them! After all, there was only so much that a First Year cleaning Charm and a scrub brush could do. But even with as tired as he was after all that, Magnus just couldn't fall asleep. He had too much on his mind.
He was worried about his friends. He wondered if Connor Poynter of Slytherin was being bullied, or if he'd just assumed that. He wondered how Lucas was getting along as well. He was worried about how Rónán would get along in the long run with Erik. He was even worried about Aries and his father. And of course, he was dead terrified of flying. All that, and three of his friends were still in Hospital.
In the course of one day, it seemed, so much had gone wrong.
Magnus thought about Dr. Petit, and figured that if she were a Veela, then she'd certainly know how to treat another one with a bad wing. Magnus had to wonder, though, just how long Sebastian was going to have to hold his avian form for his shoulder to heal properly?
Rónán was being held for further testing for canine intestinal worms, and who knew what else. Magnus shivered at the thought of what Madame Pomfrey might be doing to him, but he was sure that it involved that intimidating red rubber bottle.
Rigel was the most intriguing, however. Magnus thought about what Connor Poynter had told him about Rigel's mum. Granted, all the evidence in Rigel's case was circumstantial, but it was piling up at an alarming rate. To confound it all, Magnus didn't know a thing about Leprechauns – other than what common folklore and popular culture portrayed.
Then again, wasn't it possible that Magical children might have some side effects from coming to Hogwarts, which Professor Malfoy had told them was surrounded by the most powerful Enchantments ever performed in the history of Magic? And could Part-Humans be more so affected by it?
All of this was keeping Magnus awake, despite how tired he was from mucking out Hagrid's barn with Connor.
And since he was a Gove, and since he couldn't sleep, that left only one thing for Magnus to do.
"Doesn't you ever sleeps?" Sonny complained, as Magnus entered the kitchen in his pyjamas and slippers. The Elf shook a finger at him. "Sonny will be Charming your pillows again, he will!"
"I just need a few dozen biscuits [cookies]," Magnus informed him. It was getting towards midnight, and the Elves vacated to Magnus' dorm room, which was currently inhabited by only a sleeping Ewan.
They were simple to make. Magnus knew the recipe for basic sugar cookies by heart, and he even found some butterscotch morsels to toss in. Butter, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla, baking powder, salt; all there was to it. They were done quickly, and Magnus passed his hand over them, cooling them at once. He thought of Sonny, and made another batch to leave for the Elves, being a thoughtful boy as he was.
"Mag?" Ewan sneaked up behind him, and Magnus thought he'd had a coronary! "Sonny said you were scoffing, or even sneaking out?"
"C'mon, then," Magnus sighed in relief, "Jus' don't do that anymore!"
Then came the hard part – getting the biscuits to the Hospital Wing without being caught.
He would have to make it off of the cellar level to the ground floor. Cross the ground floor to the stairs, access the second floor corridor, travel down it the length of almost half the school, turn left, and then proceed almost half the length of that direction. All while carrying a sack full of biscuits.
He wondered if Caretaker Smith, whom he'd not met yet, liked biscuits?
"Bribery," Magnus decided, as he stuck his head out from behind the tapestry that guarded the kitchens and looked both ways.
"Would work fer me!" Ewan agreed.
He stepped out. He turned. The corridor was dark, and he gave his eyes time to adjust. A torch flared to life as they passed it. "No!" Magnus hissed, waving his hand at it to signal "down". The torch sputtered and died. "Thank you!" Magnus breathed. He made his way up the stairs, poked his head around the corner, and carefully stepped out.
They ran straight into something large.
"Ooooof!" Two other voices grunted.
"What have we here, Giddy?" Fabian Weasley whispered.
"Looks like a sneaking badger or two, Fabe," Gideon Weasley replied.
"And where are you…" – "…off to, kiddies?" They said in stereo.
"Hospital," Magnus whispered back.
"Ahhh!" The Twins nodded.
"They'll never make it alone, Fabe," Gideon predicted.
"Ickle Firsties that they are, Giddy," Fabian agreed.
"Come and learn from the masters, then, boys!" They said together.
"Where were you two going?" Ewan wondered.
"To your place," They replied in stereo again. Magnus found it rather annoying.
"Are those fresh sugar biscuits…" – "…that we smell?" They asked.
"Three dozen," Magnus replied, "Enough for all of us!"
"Tally ho!" The Twins breathed, tying Magnus' sack to his gown's sash and each of them taking a Firstie's hand. They slunk along the walls, and Magnus was impressed with their Disillusion Charms. They were also counting. On the count of twelve, they stopped Ewan, hoisted Magnus up and over, then went back for the plump boy with a huff.
"Quicksand Tiles," the Twins whispered. "We should know…" – "…as our folks market them!"
They counted tiles, which were almost too large to jump for a Firstie, and then stairs. Every twelfth stair was a Sinking Step, another WWW product. Magnus found it odd that a company with so many banned products would be marketing others to the very schools that had banned them!
"Yon corridor be clear, young squires!" The portrait of Sir Cadogan informed them, having recognized the Twins.
They made their way down the corridor, peering around the corner. Faint wandlight was dimming at the far end, and the shape of a short, stout silhouette was just going 'round the far corner.
"This is the tricky part, fellows," The Twins advised, "Door alarm!"
"Fortunately for us…" – "…it's a WWW product too!"
The Twins carefully disarmed it by tapping the uppermost hinge five times and saying "Alohamora!" Fabian oil-Charmed it, just in case.
The Hospital Wing was dimly lit by the waning moon, as the curtains were all open. There were very small torches in each corner as well, providing just enough light for a patient to be able to see where he was, or for Madame Pomfrey to get to him without rousing the whole Wing.
"Mag," Fabian whispered in his ear. "What do you know about cousin Rigel?"
Magnus looked at them both. "He's ill," Magnus replied. "Nervous collapse, perhaps, after that bit with the Howler?"
"Good enough," Gideon agreed.
"Magnus?" Rónán whispered, "Is that you? I smell biscuits!"
"Wolf's nose," The Twins stifled a laugh.
They made their way to Rónán's bed. Magnus unloaded the biscuits, pulled a few small bottles of milk from his pockets, then went to get Rigel.
He shook him awake gently, unsure of how ill he was. "Can you get up?" Magnus hissed in his ear.
"Of course I can get up!" Rigel retorted.
"SHHHHH! C'mon, then, I've brought biscuits!" Magnus informed him. "Is Sebastian still here?"
"Yeah, but brace yourself, Mag. He's in his other shape, you know?"
"I don't want any biscuits, thank you," Sebastian rasped from behind his screen, his voice punctuated by odd clicks. "Don't come over here!"
"Oh for Merlin's sake!" Rigel hissed at him. "It's not like we've never seen a Veela before! Hell, Uncle Louis is one, and so are all his daughters!"
Sebastian seemed to be thinking about that. They heard him sniff. "I can't get out of bed, wing traction, you see," He finally answered.
"So we move the party to 'Bastian's bed," The Twins decided, so they did that.
In the dim light, they could see the avian form suspended, face down, with his leathery wing on the right spread fully. A blanket covered his lower half, and other than the crest with some feathers on the back of his head, he wasn't that shocking of a sight.
"The shadows almost make it look like you're wearing Batman's cape," Magnus observed.
"Who's Batman?" Rónán asked.
"Muggle comic book character," the Twins explained. "Highly collectable."
"Give us a biscuit then," Sebastian said, "In case you didn't notice, my arms are in the same muscle groups with the wings now."
"Good thing you've got a short beak," Rigel pointed out.
"So what'r you in for, Rigel?" Rónán wondered. "Your dad wouldn't tell us anything?"
Rigel didn't reply at once. He nibbled his biscuit thoughtfully. Then he took a drink of milk. "I've got a congenial defect," he finally announced.
"'Congenital'?" Magnus clarified.
"Would this have something…" – "…to do with your hair and eyes?" The Twins asked.
"Yeah," Rigel mumbled.
"Odd," The Twins wondered, "Since all we Weasleys…" – "…are just perfect!"
Magnus' head spun, but he didn't dare ask. Unfortunately, Ewan didn't have such manners.
"So you're like, turning into a full ginger?" Ewan asked, "Instead of a light one?"
"No, it's more than that," Rigel replied with a sigh, but he didn't elaborate.
"Drink, please," Sebastian cut in, rotating his head nearly one hundred-eighty degrees around to look at them, much like an owl could!
"Neat trick!" Rónán commented, "Better than shaking water off like a dog!"
"Among other things…" – "…that dogs can do," the Twins snickered.
Sebastian's face was just as Ewan remembered it – large black eyes, a hooked beak, and feathers beginning at the base of his regal crown.
Magnus decided to change the subject. "So when are you getting out?" He asked Rónán.
"Hopefully tomorrow," the small boy replied with a wince, "She says my colon scope was clear."
The Twins groaned, but didn't offer to explain what that procedure entailed!
"Well, I'm leaving tomorrow, like it or not," Rigel added, "And if she won't give me my clothes, I'll go starkers! I hate it in here!"
"Wish I could go," Sebastian muttered. "I've got to be in bed for two or three more days, at least."
"We'll come see you every day!" Magnus promised, as they finished off the milk and biscuits.
There were three left. Magnus wrapped them and left them with a note on the small stand near Madame Pomfrey's office door.
"Thanks, mates," Sebastian whispered.
"You all better go," Rónán gasped, "I hear something!"
"Love those Part-Human ears!" The Twins agreed.
"Good luck!" Rigel wished them.
On the way downstairs, they heard something in the distance from the opposite staircase. It sounded like it was coming from the third floor corridor. It was an almost woody, thumping sound with an odd rhythm.
Torches flared to life above them as that floor lit up.
"Run for it!" The Twins advised, casting Mobilicorpus and towing them along to avoid the traps. They jumped a banister and slid, flying off the end and passing right though the Fat Friar – who didn't even notice them.
"We got lucky!" The Twins were panting as they ducked behind the tapestry to the kitchen.
"Rigel wished us good luck," Magnus reminded them.
"Odd choice of words," Fabian observed, once they'd arrived safely in the kitchen.
"Very much so," Gideon agreed, as they gathered up some plunder from the Elves, who'd just returned to begin planning breakfast.
"Get outs, goes!" Tweaky warned them. "Two-thirty! Teachers time to sneaks!" He wrung his hands and grabbed the twins' hands. "No times! No times!" And then Tweaky vanished with them in a swirl of Apparation.
Not a minute later, and the kitchen door opened.
"P-professor Potter!" Magnus gasped.
Harry Potter took in the sight of the two Hufflepuffs, assorted Elves, and a few stray biscuits. He took one. "You, bed," he told Ewan. Then he turned to Magnus. "You, sit," he pointed at the worktable, flicking his wand to slide a stool over to it.
As he sat down, Magnus saw his appearance subtly shift again, to that of Henry Griffiths.
"The Elves will see you!" Magnus gasped.
"They know, and they're bound to not tell," Henry assured him. Then he pulled out a different wand. It was shorter and lighter than the holly wand. Henry gave it a shake. "You there, old man?" He asked the wand's tip.
"I'm always here. You must be in the kitchen," Harry Potter's voice rasped, and Magnus remembered the cave-like cellar where they'd taken him the night he'd been bitten. He could picture the cranky old man with green eyes, glasses, gray messy hair, and the scar on his forehead. "Bit of static. Turn your head and aim your glasses at the boy so I can see him."
"Right," Henry replied. "Just chatting with the Gove boy. He's in Hufflepuff, you know."
"Yes, I know, I can see him now," Harry answered. "Hufflepuff, with the Malfoy boy and the werewolf and the Veela. What about the fat kid?"
"Scott's fully human, Harry," Henry said, "the only one I think."
"Rigel is!" Magnus supplied.
"He thinks he is," Harry's voice countered. "Why do you think he's in Hospital?"
"How did you know, sir?" Magnus asked.
"I know everything that goes on at Hogwarts. It's my business to know," Harry informed him. "I'm connected to the alarm system there, Henry's glasses via a Video Charm, and the Portrait Network. Sir Cadogan, Dumbledore, the Fat Lady and Violet are most helpful, if not tiring."
"But how did you know about us?" Magnus insisted.
"You all trade Chocolate Frog Wizard Cards, don't you? All I need is for one of you to have one of me. Aaron Jordan has two of me; he traded one to Erik Bär for Ron Weasley. Would you also like to know who wets his bed in Ravenclaw, too?"
"Erm, no," Magnus decided, finding that to be a very devious thing to do to children. "Rigel would say it was a Slytherin thing to do," Magnus retorted with a huff.
"I almost was in Slytherin," Harry informed him.
"Well, I am," Henry added.
Harry sighed. "Where did I go wrong?" He lamented, as the door opened again. Henry grabbed the holly wand, and his appearance changed back to that of Harry's.
A short, portly man stood in the doorway. His wand was lit, his face red, and he was panting. "Third floor corridor, left side, intruder, got away, sir, and no one detected. That's the odd thing?" Caretaker Smith announced, wiping his face on his sleeve.
"Wha's up there?" Magnus asked.
"Wha's he doing here?" Smith asked of the boy.
"He lives here," Harry rolled his eyes. "I think he's an insomniac."
"Oh, are those fresh biscuits?" Smith asked, and Magnus slid the plate over to him as the Elves continued to bustle about and plan breakfast.
"I made them, sir," Magnus informed him.
"Did you?" Smith wondered.
"Third floor corridor?" Magnus reminded Harry.
"Not much up there, as the library extends over it," Harry told the boy, "But there's one row of rooms for storage, then the back side of a few staff living quarters. And a shortcut to an entirely separate emergency shelter/cellar." He cleared his throat. "That's classified by the way!"
"What do you store there?" Magnus asked.
"This and that," Smith informed him bluntly. "Who is he, your sidekick?"
"In a way," Harry smiled at Magnus. He looked at his watch. "It's near three, boy. Time for you to go to bed."
Magnus debated on whether to tell him about the odd sounds that were certainly not footsteps, however. The more he thought about it, the more he thought it had sounded like a muffled pounding.
And what had Old Harry meant when he'd said that Rigel only thought he was human?
"But sir?" Magnus protested.
"BED!" Harry pointed to the door, "You fall asleep in DADA tomorrow, and you'll wish you hadn't!"
As Magnus got into bed, he realized that they'd not finished talking about Rigel. He didn't have time to ponder it, however, as the fresh Somnolence Charm that Sonny had left on his pillow got him and put him to sleep.
By Thursday afternoon, just in time for more flying lessons, Sebastian was released from Hospital. His arm was out of the sling, and he looked perfectly normal again. For the rest of the Hufflepuffs, it had taken every ounce of willpower to ignore Adams' inquiries about why Sebastian was absent from class for three days. But as Magnus didn't want to spend the entire year doing dishes, he restrained himself.
For Sebastian, having his friends' acceptance and their repeated visits had been very important. In fact, although they wouldn't ever admit it, his return to the Cellar had been quite a misty affair. Even Dr. Petit was impressed with his recovery, and the Veela boy didn't even get upset when she prescribed spending time in his alternate form and getting his wing up to flight tolerance again. She conferred with Hagrid on the subject, who was nearly beside himself in anticipation of Sebastian's physical therapy.
"Where'r they going?" Adams snorted, as Sebastian was excused to leave their flying lesson to go with a delighted Hagrid.
"Flying," Ewan informed him.
"Freaks," Adams huffed, and that was that.
Connor Poynter seemed to be avoiding the Hufflepuffs altogether, and Magnus was a bit disappointed in that. While he didn't join in with Adams' insults, he didn't say anything, either. Magnus did notice that he talked to Lucas now, though, and even sat by him at the Slytherin table for meals when Lucas wasn't sitting with them at the Hufflepuff table.
Rigel was also not so forthcoming. Magnus and the others noticed, however, that he never raised his hand in Charms class, and that he hardly ever spoke to his father. He did, however, throw himself into his flying lessons in the advanced group. His smaller size gave him an edge as well, and it wasn't long into Thursday's lesson that he got into an impromptu race with Adams and nearly crashed his broomstick into a wall during a pull-up maneuver that could only be described as suicidal. Adams dubbed him a "nutter", and it seemed that his attitude only worsened after that. He also trashed the school broom in the process, breaking the shaft under the G-forces.
"I got lucky," was all Rigel had to say to a very upset Professor Wood. "But I won!"
That evening at dinner, as the usual eclectic mix of boys gathered at the end of the Hufflepuff table, Rigel was absent.
"Where do you think he is?" Garrett Alcott of Ravenclaw asked.
"You don't suppose he's ill again, do you?" Lucas asked, cocking his head as Connor Poynter came in late. Surprisingly, he walked up to the Hufflepuff table.
"Hey, thanks again, Magnus," was all he said before going to sit by himself at his own House table. But he did point at his ear.
"What was that all about?" Ewan wondered.
"You know, Adams, I really don't care!" They then heard Poynter telling his Housemate.
Magnus smiled, but still wondered where Rigel was.
That evening, Magnus went to Harry's office after dessert – a rather disappointing and dry pudding.
"Sir, about the other night?" He offered.
"The noise that Smith was chasing?" Harry wondered. Magnus nodded.
"How'd you know?" The boy asked.
"I followed a trail of sugar biscuit crumbs," Harry replied. "Shut the door." Magnus did that, and Harry pulled out the holly wand and placed it on his desk. "What have you got, Watson?" Henry then asked, as his appearance shifted.
"I heard that noise too, and it wasn't footsteps," Magnus began. "It was a like a soft pounding, and it was even, like a rhythmic beat. It was on the same floor as the library, and where you teachers store things too, you said?"
Henry nodded. "Go on?"
"We've got a missing library book," Magnus continued, "And I was thinking, after Professor Malfoy fixed my shoes…"
"Which somehow got caked with Hippogriff manure?" Henry cut in.
Magnus nodded knowingly and grinned. "The stolen book is a pretty common one, sir. But the noise came from the third floor, which is where the library is. You store stuff there, it's out of bounds on that side, and Rigel wasn't at dinner. He's in the library right now."
"Connected, you think?" Henry wondered.
"And he said it was a 'congenital defect'," Magnus went on. "He changed, his hair and eyes, you know. And Connor, Poynter I mean, was telling me about meeting Rigel's mum when they were kids in primary?"
"When you were helping him muck out the barn?" Henry smiled.
Magnus just nodded.
"That was a kind thing to do, Mag. I know Poynter has problems. Now, what do you know about Madame Malfoy?" Henry asked the boy.
"She's Irish, but we all know that now from her Howler. She doesn't like our House, or our Founder. And Rigel's appearance changed into what Connor told me about her – hair, eyes, freckles. Connor was scared of her, he said. And when I ask Rigel what was wrong with him, all he'll say is he has that 'congenital condition'." Magnus paused. "She didn't bring him to Platform 9 ¾ either, and his father was already here, so he had to go with his Gran Rose. And he's in the library right now!"
"But Rigel has his own textbook, which anyone could buy cheap, used," Henry countered. "Why would he take the school copy? Why would anyone take it, for that matter?"
"Is it an older edition with something cut out of the new ones?" Magnus wondered.
"The first rule of investigation," Henry explained, "Is observation of the odd, which you've got down. The second is connecting the dots. To answer your question - no. The First Years' spellbook never changes. Good hunch, though!" He added, "So it would make no sense for Rigel to take it, and he was also in Hospital the night of the sounds that Smith was chasing, and while you were delivering biscuits. Also," Henry went on, "There is a Charm called 'Homenum Revelio' that would reveal the trail or presence of a person. Smith said there was no one in that corridor, and the Ghosts all tell me that Peeves was busy writing bad words on the blackboard in the Transfiguration classroom."
"But Rigel's in the…" Magnus began again.
"You're spying on your friend?" Henry interrupted. "How very Slytherin of you, Magnus!"
"I'm worried about him, sir," Magnus replied, "And getting back to his mum? Connor thinks she's a Leprechaun." Magnus lowered his voice, despite the fact that it was little more than gossip.
Henry gaped at him, and Magnus more than noted the look that flashed over his face for just a second. "Erm, she's too tall," he finally said. "We've met."
"Would your Reveal-oh Charm trace a Part-Human?" Magnus wondered.
Henry looked thoughtful. "No, come to think of it. One night, when Teddy – Potter – that is, the werewolf, ran off when he was little, it didn't locate him." He thought for a moment. "Hang on." He raised his holly wand to his throat. "Sonorus! RONAN GREYSON, REPORT TO PROFESSOR POTTER'S OFFICE NOW!" His voice filled the school.
"Sir?" A confused Rónán asked a few minutes later.
"Sprout that tail and ears again, son," Harry ordered him. Rónán did that. "Homenum Revelio!"
The Charm reported nothing. Harry dismissed the boy and put down the wand.
"So it wouldn't find a Part-Leprechaun, either, would it, sir?" Magnus deduced.
"You think Madame Malfoy broke in and stole a book?" Henry wondered. "No connection, she could buy out the publisher," he told the boy.
"So she is a Leprechaun, then -or partly?" Magnus deduced.
"I didn't say that," Henry countered. "The Malfoys have money."
"But Rigel's skipped dinner to be on the third floor, in the library, at the scene of the crime!" Magnus insisted. "And Connor said…"
"Here," Henry caved in, handing him a corridor pass he'd scribbled out. "Go on up, show this to Madame Hicks, and check out a cookbook or something. Make it look good, kid, and I'll be along shortly. And look for anything out of the ordinary, no matter what. You won't see me, but I'll be there."
"Right then!" Magnus smiled, "One more thing?" Henry nodded. "Teach me that Charm, sir?"
It only took about ten minutes for Magnus to learn it, he was so keen to do it, and it wasn't that hard. By that time, the library was almost ready to close for the night.
"Homenum Revelio," he whispered at the door, and only one feeling came back to him. "Madame Hicks," he told himself, just as the door opened.
"Hey, Mag!" Rigel Malfoy greeted him, "Sorry 'bout dinner, but there's always leftovers, right?" He didn't stop, either. He just kept on walking.
A small bit of paper fell out of one of his books.
"Rigel!" Magnus called after him.
"Starved!" Rigel called back. "Later?"
"Later," Magnus nodded, as he picked up the paper and went on in.
Madame Hicks was putting out torches and candles.
"What do you need, and MAKE IT FAST!" She shouted at Magnus.
"A cookbook?" He showed her his pass from his professor.
"He'll be right along, it says?" She wondered, "All right, wait for him over there," she pointed to a table. "Cookbook, you say? My, what I wouldn't give for a good Spotted Dick! The Elves never get the custard right and scrimp on the sugar and currants! Blow out the candles when you leave!"
"They can't make a simple Spotted Dick?" Magnus wondered, as he sat and looked at the paper Rigel had dropped.
It was a drawing with some letters. It was a square with a cross in the center, dividing it into four smaller squares, like a grid. On the top outside of the big square were the letters "X" and "y". On the left were the letters "L" and "X". In the upper left little square were the letters "LX". Next to it were the letters "Ly". Below "Ly" was "Xy". Below the "LX" was "XX". Scribbled in the margin was "3 to 1 ratio".
There were also names written in Rigel's tiny, neat script: 'Helene' was at the bottom "XX" block. 'Aldebaran' was in the "Xy" block. There was no name in the "LX" block, although it did say 'girl', and in the "Ly" block was written 'Rigel?' with a question mark.
Magnus thought hard.
"Congenital condition," he told himself, "We know that. Library, books…" He went to Madame Hicks' desk, and checked her logbook. The last entry was "Rigel Malfoy, Hufflepuff, First Year, Studies in Magical Genetics." There was a one-week due-back date as well. "Heavy reading for a Firstie?" Magnus mumbled to himself, "Congenital? Geni-what? Genes? Genetics?"
"Indeed," Harry agreed, appearing out of nowhere beside him. Magnus jumped. He saw his teacher holding a paisley cape of some kind, and he crooked a finger at the boy. He then threw it over their heads, and Magnus saw his disembodied hand for a moment before he pulled it in. "Muffliato!" Harry hissed, "Now we can talk. It's an Invisibility Cloak, belongs to Old Harry."
"What are we doing?" Magnus asked, showing him the paper of Rigel's.
"Waiting, connecting dots," Harry explained. "How long would it take you to read your spellbook, if you just read it?" He asked.
"About a week, I think, sir?" Magnus answered, "If you just read through it."
"Correct," Henry agreed, "It's been about a week. Grade Two is still there, on the shelf, and Rigel is gone with his own copy of One and didn't take Two. That eliminates him as a suspect. You heard that noise last night, and Smith interrupted someone on this floor while Rigel was in Hospital eating biscuits. The Charm I just taught you didn't show anyone then, so what we have is a Part-Human, or Non-Human, that wanted that book. My guess is that he or she came back last night for Two, but was interrupted by either you or Smith or the Twins," Henry smirked, "and fled. Perhaps they'll be back tonight, I wonder?"
"Why not jus' pinch a kid's copy?" Magnus wondered. He knew about the Twins?
"Too risky," Henry surmised.
"Brilliant!" Magnus breathed, as Henry muttered an incantation and the candles all went out.
"Now, this could take a while," Henry added. "I'll walk you to the corridor. I want you to head back to the Cellar with your book, I'll fill in the log that you checked it out."
"But…but?" Magnus spluttered, put off that he wasn't going to be allowed on the stakeout.
"Don't you have something to cook tonight?" Henry smiled, nodding at the front desk.
"Yes, I think I do!" Magnus smiled, as he slipped out from the under the Cloak and headed off.
When he arrived in the Cellar, he realized that he'd forgotten to mention to the professor that his Charm couldn't 'see' Rigel. He stopped outside his dormitory room door, heart pounding. Maybe I just did it wrong, he thought.
"Homenum Revelio," he whispered, flicking his wand.
Only one impulse came back.
Ewan, Magnus thought dismally, sensing his presence.
He sighed and went on in.
His other three roomies were busy telling Sebastian about all he'd missed.
"I think you dropped this, Rigel," Magnus handed the "X-y-L" paper back to him.
"Oh, thanks! It's …erm…just a note to myself," Rigel smiled.
Magnus met his gaze, staring at his pale blue, almost colorless eyes. Rigel looked just like he had when they'd first met at Kings Cross.
But they were green last night, he thought.
At midnight, Magnus made up only a dozen biscuits to put in carefully wrapped little boxes, four to a box, and sent them off with Sonny. Then he went back to bed.
On Friday morning, Magnus said nothing more about the previous night. He just kept his eyes open. The only excitement of the day was just before CoMC class, which was canceled. There had been something of an explosion at Hagrid's place, but Headmaster Weasley assured everyone that it was simply an ale brewing mishap. Rigel took them for tea, but Hagrid was in no fit state to entertain, what with the mess out back. He also refused their help in cleaning up. After dinner, Magnus did his homework, told his friends the plan, and took a nap.
At half eleven o'clock, they were in the kitchen cooking.
"Preheat the oven to 300°F," Magnus said to himself, as the boys gathered ingredients. Rónán found twelve glass baking cups in the cabinet and set them into pans just large enough to hold them. At the stove, Rigel was simmering raw milk over medium-low heat. Ewan was whisking fresh brown eggs and separated egg yolks in a large bowl, while Sebastian poured in pure cane sugar and real vanilla. When it was ready, the two boys carefully whisked it into the simmering milk.
"Tha's got it," Magnus decided, as he poured the mixture through a fine strainer into the glass cups and then sprinkled nutmeg on it. "Boiling water!" He ordered, and Rónán carefully levitated a pot to pour it in. Using a levitation Charm, Magnus put the glass dishes, now filled with raw custard, into the boiling water. "Little more water, stop!" He said, when the water was halfway up the cups.
"Luckily we won't have to wait for it to cool!" Magnus said, as it began to bake for half an hour. Then they turned their attention to the pudding.
The somewhat challenging part.
Sebastian filled two large heavy 8x6" pots with one and one half inches water and put their tight lids on them. Magnus had put egg-poaching rings in the bottoms of each pot. Ewan was kneading fruit and lemon zest into the suet pastry dough they'd found in the walk-in cooler into a ball. Magnus nibbled the raw dough and deemed it acceptable. Rónán tossed in some more dried currants and raisins. Rigel buttered the pudding in the molds and flattened the tops. Magnus topped the dough with rounds of buttered wax paper, buttered sides down, and covered the tops of the molds with heavy-duty foil, crimping it tightly around edges.
Magnus' custards were done. He pulled them from the oven, shut if off, and cooled them to perfection with a wave of his hand.
The water was boiling as they gently levitated the pudding molds onto the platform. They steamed the pudding, covered, over simmering water for an hour and a half, adding water, until the pudding was golden and puffed. Very carefully, five Charms transferred the puddings in their molds to a rack and let them stand for five minutes. They discarded the foil and wax paper and ran a thin knife around edge of each pudding. They put a plate over the first mold, ever so carefully flipped it, and then pulled the mold off. They did the next one, yielding enough for a large serving for each of them and their guests.
The two puddings were perfect.
It was midnight.
"WHAT IN MERLIN'S NAME?" Madame Hicks asked loudly, as she entered through the tapestry. She inhaled deeply of the heavenly aroma. Then she saw it. "Is that a Spotted Dick?" She gasped. "With sweet egg custard?"
"JUST FOR YOU!" Magnus shouted at her.
"Oh, you don't have to yell, boy, that's all an act to aggravate the students!" She laughed. "I wondered why a boy would want a cookbook!" She looked quite misty, and the boys got her a stool. She sat, and was served.
"What's going on in here?" Connor Poynter asked, as he and Lucas Bole came through the tapestry. "I mean, thanks for the biscuits, Mag, but I almost lost a leg in a Quicksand Tile, if not for Bole here, and…" then he saw Madame Hicks. "Oh, boy," he groaned.
"Oh, come in, come in, boys!" The librarian waved to him. "Did you invite them, too, Magnus? Such a cute little note with the ribbon and those biscuits?" She asked, seeming not to care that these students were out of bed at midnight and serving pudding.
"I did," Magnus said.
"Why?" Rigel asked with a sneer, glaring at Poynter.
Connor seemed unaffected, however, as he gaped at the pudding. Magnus realized, with a pang, that he couldn't hear them. He'd had his ear crystals out for bed, and was very lucky he hadn't been caught. But then again, Lucas could hear extremely well. They were the perfect pair.
"Because he needed to be invited," Magnus informed Rigel.
"Rigel, there's a lot you don't know about Connor – or Magnus, I wonder?" Lucas informed him, as Connor obliviously ate his pudding.
"Oh?" Rigel's coppery eyebrows went up over his green eyes.
Lucas gasped, scratching at his own ear. Then he turned his attention to his pudding.
"What's all this?" Madame Pomfrey asked, as she stepped through the tapestry. Everyone flinched, except for Connor.
"It's a Spotted Dick!" Madame Hicks handed her a serving. "Can you imagine, having one at midnight?
The boys snickered.
The tapestry opened again.
"Are you lot coming to Astronomy class or not?" Professor Stratton demanded. Magnus handed him a serving. "Apparently not," he smiled.
Endnotes:
Is Lucas afraid of Rigel?
Niamh (Malfoy)-Gaelic:'bright', Princess of the land of Promise who left with Ossian for the Otherworld. Rigel's mother. More on Rigel's mum's family names, inspirations: wiki/Ossian
wiki/Homenum_Revelio - which can't detect magical creatures…like Part-Humans
