A/N: Oh, brain. You're trying to bury me.

Beta Love: The Dragon and the Rose, Dutchgirl01


Breath of the Nundu

Chapter 7

Mad as a Hatter

Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen op tafel.

( When the cat is away from home, the mice are dancing on the table.)

In het huis Snape is dat niet zo. Iedereen weet dat spinnen geen ratten in hun territorium willen hebben.

(This is not true in the house of Snape. Everyone knows that the spiders don't like to share with rodents.)

Brim set her head on the edge of the table, letting loose her coffee-coloured spider to skitter across the top. The spider dashed across the table, nicked a biscuit from the plate, and promptly brought it back to her. Brim took the spider and the biscuit into her mouth and padded into the next room, leaping into the cat-tree to devour her spoils.

"Brim." Severus' morning growling voice said only one thing.

Brim flattened her ears and made the biscuit disappear quickly.

Severus shuffled into the room with a large yawn, he reached up and scratched the Nundu behind the ears, and she licked his arm in response. "Nicking the biscuits again, love?"

Brim set her head on his arm and looked up at him adoringly.

Snape's expression softened. "Why is it that I can never be angry with you?"

Brim mrrowed at him, tail curving around his arm and thwapping him gently.

Brim had grown significantly since the battle in the Great Hall. The newly-rediscovered Rabbie suspected it had to due with her formal link-up with the leys. He suspected it because he had begun to remember the truth: Dumbledore had killed the original guardian of the ley lines— the basilisk Salazar Slytherin had raised as a hatchling and set in the Chamber of Secrets to keep the school's ley lines safe. Rabbie had discovered the truth, stumbling upon it while tracking down rumours of Salazar's sacred beast.

The last thing Rabbie remembered was coming upon the corpse of the great basilisk and having none other than Albus Dumbledore say "I'm sorry, Robert, but you weren't supposed to find out about this. There is far too much at risk."

Next thing he remembered was waking up as "Tom" in Diagon Alley, and that had continued until the most recent release of the spell Albus Dumbledore had somehow cast through the ley lines— cast through them, but apparently had also anchored to him at the same time. Then, somehow, thanks to a strange bit of timing, something had happened that wiped everyone's memory of Rabbie at all, making "Tom" the only person anyone knew— including Rabbie himself, and it had all occurred after "Rabbie's" body had been found floating in the ocean after a freak "broom accident."

It was enough to instill some serious paranoia for one Albus Dumbledore, had he not been already been chock full of that. Ever so slowly, the group of them were starting to put things together in a strange and convoluted timeline of events, but the events were confusing, all the same.

A knock on the door signalled the arrival of his expected guest. Brim perked and bounded off to the door, making a low, bass hrrrrrrrr hrrrrrr as she bounced that reminded him of the low bellows of adult male lions. Considering she was as large if not even larger than the average lion, that wasn't terribly surprising. The door opened, and there was a loud THUMP shortly after and the sound of dragging.

"Gah!" a male voice said. "Severus!"

"Don't look at me. It isn't my fault that you smell like a wet wolf," Severus quipped, pouring the tea.

"She doesn't drag Lucius around by the ankle!"

"She's known Lucius longer, and Lucius doesn't go around baying at the moon three times a month," Severus said with a sniff.

Remus Lupin stared at Severus with a sigh, his robes all crumbled due to his being dragged about by one ornery Nundu. Brim pinned him down, so all he could do was flail helplessly.

Lick. Lick. Lick.

Remus was then thoroughly bathed, whether he liked it or not.

Remus made soft sounds of protest, but his hands were rubbing her over, and that only encouraged her attentions. He sat up only after she thoroughly resurfaced his face with her attentive licks.

"I supposed I should thank you for the scar removal, my rather large feline friend," Remus chuckled. "Not to mention taking a good few years off this mug of mine for good measure."

Brim mrowled, laying on her side and exposing her belly in clear invitation for reciprocation. Remus happily obliged her request; it was only fair, after all.

"I can't believe I spent the last decade thinking I was a proper wolf in Yellowstone National Park in the States," Remus grumbled.

"You would prefer being the owner and operator of a tavern like Rabbie?" Severus asked. "As I understand it, you were quite lucky you weren't killed by a rival male or shot after wandering off and attempting to nick a cow from a local rancher."

Remus shuddered. "No, since I 'showed up naturally,' hah, they kept me under a really crazy watch. I, uh, woke up in a den with a tracking collar around my neck and three rather baffled-looking pups staring at me."

Severus blinked. "You didn't mention that part."

"I still looked like a wolf, so it took me a while to make it to a place where I could floo. Do you realise how hard it is to find a working public floo in America?"

Severus eyed Remus. "Haven't had the pleasure. You didn't, um, have any pups or anything while you were busy… wolfing it out?"

"Gods, no," Remus sighed in relief. "I was just pup-sitting. The alpha was a large white wolf who looked as though he could give Fenrir a run for his wolfiness. I finally found a young witchling working in the office at a local campground, and she read out what I wrote with a stick and called her parents. They got me to the right people who transfigured me back into a wizard. They had to stuff me in the camper and saw off my radio collar to prevent some random ranger from assuming they were attempting to transport a stolen wolf out of the park."

Severus shook his head mock-dolefully. "And this is what you get for not learning how to become an Animagus like the rest of us."

"I was a werewolf, Severus!" Remus complained. "I hardly thought that I'd have to learn that to try and keep myself company!"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "Moronic Gryffindor. Is that the only reason you can think of for wanting or needing to be an Animagus?"

Lupin slumped. "Go ahead. Tell me I was a dunderhead."

"You," Severus stated archly, "were an utter imbecile."

Brim slurped Lupin upside the face, as if to indicate her full agreement.

"What's the last thing you remember— as a human, anyway?" Severus asked curiously. "You never said in the meeting."

Remus just shook his head. "I still don't remember much. I think— and I'm really not perfectly sure— that I smelled something wrong about James and Lily. There was something very odd about their scent and then it all went black."

"Nothing else since that?" Severus asked, frowning.

"No, old friend," Remus replied with a sigh. "Nothing at all."

"It seems so surreal to suddenly remember that you've been a friend," Severus admitted. "I spent the last ten years thinking Lily—"

"Hated you, yeah," Remus sighed. "I can't say spending ten years as a wolf was much better, but at least I didn't have any guilt, self-loathing, and worries on my plate beyond the basics: food, water, shelter, and pack."

Brim was gnawing playfully on Remus' arm, pretending she meant to maul him to death.

"Wherever did you get her, Severus?"

"I woke up with her like I'd been out drinking the night before and couldn't remember bringing home a woman," Severus confessed. "By morning, Minerva and I both got imprinted with a familiar-bond and that was that. Ironically, Lucius is the one who found out first. He dragged our sorry arses to the registry to get her tested so that no one could attempt to contest the bond."

"Smart man, that Malfoy. Slytherin practicality."

Severus nodded. "She's a fully-registered Nundu as well, so she's a bonafide ambassador from Africa and even has dual-citizenship. Kind of like giant pandas and China."

Remus snorted. "Ah, well, they do that with the Cerberi too, so that makes sense, really. They are very important to Greece, China, or whatever."

"Alas, Britain does not have a National Magical Animal," Severus said. "Australia has the bunyip. I'm still not sure whether to be appalled or amused by that."

"Does the United States?"

"They have two, actually: the jackalope and the chupacabra. Each animal had its ardent supporters, they just couldn't pick one amicably and be done with it."

Stony silence perfused the room.

Severus gave him a look. "Believe me, I couldn't make this shite up, Remus."

"Canada?"

"Wendigo," Severus recalled. "Strangely there was some fight, as I recall, between the wendigo and the sasquatch, but they determined the sasquatch had no magical properties, so the title went to the wendigo— well, the wendigo and the thunderbird, which was added recently due to someone successfully proving that it actually existed. South America holds tight to the quetzalcoatl, but there is still some debate on magical creature versus god status, depending on who you talk to."

Remus snorted. "Ten years as a wolf, and I feel like I can't remember diddly about the real world. Speaking of things I know nothing about— do we even have a ley master who can come tell us what in the arguably nine worlds we are really dealing with here?"

Severus pointed to Brim.

"Mrowl?"

"That's it, eh?" Remus replied. "Our expert is a massive disease-breathing feline?"

"You'd prefer a pygmy fairy cat, perhaps?" Severus asked with a smirk.

Remus waved him off with mock disgust. Then his face suddenly became serious. "I feel terrible that Sirius spent the last ten some years in Azkaban. I'm sure his mind isn't anywhere near stable with all of these shocking revelations going on."

"He and Mr Potter are finally okay with being in the same room together as long as Brim is there. That's a considerable bit of progress. I think Brim serves as a powerful visual reminder for him to not fly off the handle," Severus speculated.

"That is good, at least," Remus agreed. He petted Brim's ears affectionately. "I am so very glad you kept our Severus' head on straight, my feline friend. Thanks to you, the rest of us have started to come to our senses as well."

Brim batted at his hands and grasped his head, pulling it down with sheathed claws to mock-gnaw on it. She released him gently and laid her head in his lap.

Remus rubbed her head and smiled. "Part of me wishes she'd been around earlier, but then I remember that none of us were exactly stellar with our emotions back then. She would have surely murdered us all."

Severus rubbed Brim under the chin, causing her to purr loudly. "I will admit that me having a Nundu back as a teenager would likely not have ended well for anyone."

Remus smiled. "I just wish James and Lily were still alive to appreciate that we have, despite all of this, managed to remain friends, Severus. It would tear them apart to know that we went back to hating each other. I know that Prongs valued our friendship. I valued it. Sirius valued it. Sirius, gods— even Sirius. That morning you and James planted an entire roomful of overgrown honking daffodils around his bed to wake him up after he had been out sowing his oats and drinking like a grindylow the night before. Merlin, that was beautiful. Even Sirius admitted he deserved it. He didn't even remember the witch's name."

Severus twitched uncomfortably.

"Severus— you know who it was?"

Severus turned away, flushing.

"Who was it, Severus?" Remus asked, his wolf ears practically poking out of his hair at full alertness.

Severus tugged on his collar.

"Severus," Remus repeated, his eyes almost begging.

"James and I just might have found out, inadvertently, as he spouted drunken poetry, that he 'loved her shiny blue carapace almost as much as her blond curls and red glasses'."

"No—" Remus gasped. "You have GOT to be kidding me!"

Severus peered out of one eye, keeping the other squinted. "Unfortunately, no."

"I would have planted something far worse than a bunch of honking daffodils— Merlin!" Remus exclaimed. "I think I might have thrown him into a vat of ice water and frostbitten his bits off."

"Potter and I did seriously consider Obliviating each other after that," Severus admitted, "but we agreed we had to remember just in case we needed to remind Sirius of what a 'complete moronic arsehole' he was. What if the bloody bint had ended up pregnant?"

Remus shook his head violently. "I do not even want to contemplate the idea of Rita Skeeter Black, thank you very much. I feel like I need to bleach my brain right now."

"You just had to insist that I tell you," Severus quipped.

"You should have just told me I really didn't want to know!"

"Oh, and that always ends so well, doesn't it, Lupin?" Severus harrumphed, cutting his eyes at the werewolf.

Remus groaned. "You're right. You're ri—Merlin, do you have any firewhisky? I think I need to be drunk right now."

Brim nipped him squarely on the rump just then, giving him a meaningful glare.

"Ow!" Remus exclaimed. He stared down at her with narrowed eyes. "I think someone is far more intelligent than most people seem to think."

"Some of us never questioned it," Severus said with a sniff.

"Fine, my Lady," Remus moaned in surrender. "I will not inebriate myself into either Oblivion or the nine punishing layers of the Abyss, even though I most desperately wish to at the moment."

Brim seemed to eye him somewhat suspiciously, but then she plunked down a plush spider in his lap. Remus seemed to realise that his forgiveness came with a price tag, and he tossed the spider across the room.

The spider disappeared off in the distance with a gleeful "wheeeee!" and Brim shortly thereafter, her paws scraping across the stone as she comically tore after it.

"Not even a month back with us, Lupin, and she already has you perfectly housebroken," Severus quipped with clear amusement.

"Hey!" Remus complained. "I do have positive traits, you know."

"Positively lupine," Severus countered.

Remus slumped. "I love you, mate, but sometimes, I really, really want to punch you."

Severus lifted an elegant black eyebrow.

Remus looked up, a trace of raw vulnerability in his green eyes. "I meant what I said about believing that it would have broken their hearts to know if we went back to hating each other, Severus. It wasn't just Lily and James who truly valued getting to know you." His hand went to his collarbone where the tattoo of a man and wolf remained.

Severus' expression softened somewhat at the other man's words. He said nothing, but he reached out and gently put his hand on the werewolf's shoulder.

Remus smiled at him, nodding, sharing in a moment of warmth and intimacy that few would have believed possible if they weren't privy to the details of their friendship.

"Now that I'm back, I miss them, Severus, ever so much," Remus confessed. "I see Harry eleven years grown, and my heart simply breaks."

"I almost hated him beyond repair, Remus," Severus confessed with a soulful look. "I truly believed there had been no forgiveness for me at all. I saw the hated Potter of my past, but I didn't remember the friendship that came after. Then Brim came, and suddenly I began to remember. If it hadn't been for her, I would have blamed him for all of his father's sins—for those would have been all I could remember."

"I am glad that didn't happen," Remus agreed, "for Harry's sake most of all. It makes my teeth itch knowing he's been forced to live with those bloody Dursleys all this time. That was the one thing even Lily absolutely could not abide. Anyone who knew Petunia at all would know that. Anyone who had known Vernon, doubly so. He was the one 'man' that I think everyone agreed was better off transfigured into the form of a bludger."

"Or a urinal at King's Cross Station," Severus replied, utterly deadpan.

Remus busted out laughing. "Severus, you are a positively dreadful yet brilliant man."

"Kingsley asked for recommendations on what to suggest to the Wizengamot as a fitting punishment for the ex-Dark Lord," Severus noted.

"Oh?" Remus said, raising an eyebrow. "Do tell."

"I recommended a pink, plush hippogriff, charmed to never fade or get soiled, and made completely impervious to spells, fire or any other sort of damage. Then, they could give him to the orphanage so he could be cuddled, drooled on, and otherwise being dressed up in fancy doll clothes and attending tea parties with little children… forever."

Remus' eyes went comically wide and then he burst out laughing, slapping Severus on the back. "Merlin, Severus. I hope they do. I really, really hope they choose what you recommended."

Severus sniffed. "Immortality— just hardly in the way he would have wished."

Remus was having a hard time breathing due to uproarious laughter, and he waved Severus to stop talking lest he pass out in a most undignified manner. When he could properly breathe again, he looked up with tears in his eyes. "You are such a devious Slytherin, Severus. I believe that somewhere in the great beyond, Salazar Slytherin is looking down upon you with great favour."

Brim perked and attempted to crawl into Remus' lap, which was made exceedingly comical due to her greatly increased size.

Thud.

Remus was on the ground with about two hundred kilos of rapidly-growing Nundu loving all over him.

"Gah!" Remus protested, wriggling, wrestling, and then cuddling with the very playful overgrown feline.

Brim made a soft purring sound, wrapping her forelegs around him like a protected, favoured toy.

Severus eyed the pair with amusement. "Good thing you are a werewolf, Remus. I'm not sure if a fully human wizard would be able to survive all that enthusiastic Nundu love."

"For once, Severus," Remus replied with a whuff of air, "I am glad of it as well. Never thought I would ever say that."

Brim proceeded to rearrange his face with her raspy tongue, making Remus look a little pinker, younger, and far less scarred.

Severus' mouth turned upward slightly. Things were definitely looking up.


HARRY JAMES POTTER!

HOW DARE YOU INSULT MY FAMILY BY CALLING MY SON YOUR FRIEND AND THEN FORCING HIM TO SUFFER DOING YOUR SCHOOLWORK FOR YOU SO OFTEN THAT HE DOES NOT HAVE TIME TO FINISH HIS OWN?! YOU USING YOUR REPUTATION AS THE 'BOY-WHO-LIVED' TO HANG OUT WITH THE LIKES OF THE MALFOY FAMILY JUST TO SERVE YOUR OWN PURPOSES IS UTTERLY DESPICABLE!

OH YES, MY RONALD HAS FINALLY TOLD ME THE TRUTH ABOUT YOU, MR POTTER! YOU CANNOT HIDE BEHIND YOUR EXALTED STATUS ANY LONGER! I AM GOING TO TAKE THIS SHAMEFUL SITUATION UP WITH THE HEADMISTRESS OF HOGWARTS AND REVEAL YOUR SELFISH MANIPULATION OF MY SON AND THE OTHER GOOD STUDENTS THAT YOU LAUGHINGLY CALL YOUR FRIENDS ONLY TO COMPEL THEM INTO DOING YOUR BIDDING!

I'VE HEARD ALL ABOUT HOW YOU DRAG MY RONALD AROUND THE CASTLE, AT ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT, WANTING TO PULL PRANKS INSTEAD OF STUDYING IN GRYFFINDOR TOWER AS YOU SHOULD BE! I'VE HEARD ALL ABOUT HOW YOU KEEP HIM UP SO LONG THAT BY THE TIME HE GETS BACK, HE CAN BARELY SLEEP, MUCH LESS EAT, BEFORE HAVING TO DRAG HIMSELF UP OFF TO HIS CLASSES! YOUR BEHAVIOUR IS BEYOND REPREHENSIBLE AS TO BE DOWNRIGHT HEINOUS! HOW DARE YOU DRAG MY CHILDREN THROUGH THE DIRT WHILE YOU GET AWAY WITH MURDER, YOUNG MAN?!

I'M GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS THE BOY-WHO-LIVED IS JUST AN ARROGANT LITTLE SOCIAL-CLIMBING TOE-RAG! TO THINK THAT I ACTUALLY INVITED YOU INTO MY OWN HOME— TREATED YOU LIKE A MEMBER OF MY OWN FAMILY!

YOU ARE NOT WELCOME IN MY HOME EVER AGAIN, HARRY JAMES POTTER, AND I WILL MAKE SURE EVERY MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY TREATS YOU EVERY BIT AS POORLY YOU DESERVE.

DISGUSTEDLY YOURS,

MRS MOLLY PREWETT WEASLEY


SEVERUS TOBIAS SNAPE!

HOW DARE YOU TAKE YOUR INEXPLICABLE HATRED FOR ALL GRYFFINDORS TO SUCH AN UNHEALTHY LEVEL AS TO TORMENT GOOD STUDENTS LIKE MY SON?! HOW DARE YOU FORCE MY SON TO CLEAN CAULDRONS WITH A TOOTHBRUSH JUST FOR ASKING QUESTIONS DURING YOUR CLASS?! I'VE KNOWN YOU FOR NEARLY 15 YEARS, SEVERUS SNAPE, AND I NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD SINK SO LOW AS TO TAKE OUT YOUR PETTY GRUDGES OVER LOSING LILY EVANS POTTER OUT ON INNOCENT CHILDREN LIKE MY YOUNGEST SON! OH, DUMBLEDORE TOLD ME ALL ABOUT YOUR HEARTFELT CONVERSION TO THE LIGHT... I SAW IT EVEN THEN FOR THE BLATANT LIE THAT IT WAS, AND I AM FINALLY CALLING YOU OUT ON IT!

I KNEW THE STORIES ABOUT YOU MAKING UP WITH LILY AND THE OTHERS WERE NOTHING BUT A PACK OF LIES IN A PITIFUL ATTEMPT TO SAVE FACE! ANYONE WHO LOWERS THEMSELVES TO ASSOCIATE WITH THE LIKES OF YOU IS NOTHING BUT THE BLACKEST OF STAINS UPON THE WIZARDING WORLD. HOW DARE YOU RAIN YOUR DARKNESS AND HATRED UPON MY GOOD FAMILY!

I WILL BE REPORTING YOUR ABOMINABLE BEHAVIOUR TO THE HEADMISTRESS AND THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS, YOU MAY CERTAINLY COUNT ON THAT!

SEETHINGLY YOURS,

MRS MOLLY PREWETT WEASLEY


Dear Mrs Molly Prewett Weasley

Mr Moony is appalled by Mr Younger Weasley's shameless spewing of utter bullshite.

Mr Padfoot says it's getting pretty deep at the Burrow.

Mr Coal believes you might want to invest in some Muggle hip waders for your family under the circumstances.

Mrs Hushpad believes you are completely out of line and may require a psychological examination as well as a new pair of bifocals.

Mr Mini-Prongs wishes you to kindly throw yourself into a bonfire.

Mr Slither thinks it must be terribly uncomfortable for you, what with your head shoved so far up your ample arse.

(letter dissolves into a odiferous green slime that eats completely through the kitchen counter)


Dear Mrs Weasley,

After bringing your concerns before the Board of Governors, I am enclosing for you a collection of memories which have been donated by each of your son Ronald's professors at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, under the personal supervision of our good Ministry officials. The entire Board of Governors has reviewed the memories in question and have deemed the memories in question to be unaltered and the information contained within to be entirely true.

The following memories can be taken to the Ministry Department of Wizarding Education and viewed under a Pensieve without charge (due to the circumstances) at the arranged time of 5 July 1991 at 9:30 a.m.. Copies of these memories have been stored at the Ministry Archives under case number 56FA24Y-0000096-WEASLEYR and will be made available to you and Mr Weasley as Ronald Bilius Weasley's parents and legal guardians.

Enclosed memories inventory:

Professor Pomona Sprout: Ronald Weasley mixes up fertilizers for fanged geraniums causing them to spit out all of their fangs, causing injury to 15 fellow students during his Herbology class. Ronald blamed Neville Longbottom, but Professor Sprout's memories of the incident clearly indicate otherwise.

Professor Rolanda Hooch: Ronald Weasley flagrantly disobeys orders to remain on the ground until every student's broom has undergone a mandatory safety check. His malfunctioning broom smashes into a stained glass window and destroys three shelves worth of rare books in the Hogwarts library.

Professor Filius Flitwick: Ronald Weasley botches a charm spell, causing Miss Lavender Brown to gain critical mass and rendering her unable to move from the floor until said spell was subsequently removed by Professor Flitwick.

Professor Minerva McGonagall-Fairbairn: Ronald Weasley consistently demonstrates improper allocution and transforms mice into toadstools instead of matchsticks and has been repeatedly caught and reprimanded for copying answers from nearby classmates during tests.

Professor Cuthbert Binns was unable to provide memories due to his status as a ghost, but memories in this case were taken while under interrogation by Ministry Official Rosemary Killswitch-Starkweather.

Professor Quirinus Quirrell has since been replaced, however, memories of gradebooks and performance evaluations as well as copies of official complaints of blatant plagiarism of Percy Weasley's essays were reported before his leaving Hogwarts for the summer. Copies of the essays in question have been enclosed.

Percy Weasley: Memories of having previously written said essays have been included.

Comparison study has been enclosed. Accusation of plagiarism: VERIFIED. Report was not sent out due to extraordinary events involving Headmaster Dumbledore at the time the official letter was to be sent out.

Professor Severus Snape: Memories of Ronald Weasley's performance in his Potions class including every incident requiring detention, docking of house points, and injury of another student due to wanton carelessness. Other memories include insults directed solely at Slytherin students based on their house affiliation, which was consistently noted during many class sessions. One incident involved Ronald Weasley being caught purposefully sabotaging the potion of a fellow student, Theodore Nott, by tossing in a wad of Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, causing the cauldron's contents to expand and then explode, which coated most of the classroom in a sticky pink substance that smelled strongly of mouldy cheese. The foul odor caused several of his fellow students to vomit repeatedly and others to flee the classroom for the nearest lavatory. Five of those students had to spend the night in the infirmary vomiting copious amounts of tiny pink bubbles. During further review of the incident in question, it was determined that Ronald Weasley had actually been aiming for the cauldron of fellow student Draco Malfoy but missed.

Said incident cost Hogwarts one full day of cleaning by both magical and manual labour and making it necessary to move subsequent Potions classes to a different location that unfortunately had no laboratory equipment available, temporarily setting back the education of every single Potions student at Hogwarts.

As the parchment explaining this situation was sent out and returned to Hogwarts, signed by yourself, we are currently investigating whether your signature was legitimate, as you have repeatedly denied, in front of several witnesses, any knowledge whatsoever of this particular matter.

Professor Silvanus Kettleburn: Memories of Ronald's performance in class indicated consistently acceptable marks. However, there was one recorded incident of Ronald Weasley kicking a niffler in front of the entire class when it did not do what he demanded of the poor creature.

All of the enclosed memories are verified as unaltered, collected under official Ministry guidelines and have been signed, notarised, duplicated and are currently being kept under file number 56FA24Y-0000096-WEASLEYR in the Ministry Department of Wizarding Education, Office of Records.

As Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Mrs Weasley, I must inform you that your son's poor marks and equally poor behaviour in class were not caused by his rather limited association with Mr Harry Potter. Ministry officials have thoroughly interviewed Mr Potter, who voluntarily agreed to be questioned under Veritaserum and also examined by Master Glendon Abernathy, Master of Legilimency, under the supervision of his current legal guardian, Lord Sirius Black. On the occasions that Mr Potter was accused of abusing his friendship with Mr. Ronald Weasley, Mr Potter was, in fact, quietly studying with fellow student Mr Draco Malfoy in the school library during said hours. At other times, he was doing his homework in study hall under the supervision of various Hogwarts professors. Mr Potter has also volunteered to help tutor fellow students after hours in the library, which has been verified by Madam Pince, Hogwarts Librarian. In fact, Mr Ronald Weasley was offered tutoring himself by Mr Potter on multiple occasions but he has consistently refused all such offers . Madam Pince has verified this as has Professor Fairbairn-McGonagall.

It has been the decision of the Board of Governors that, in real concern for your child's educational needs, Mr Ronald Weasley must attend the remedial study sessions being offered this summer under the supervision of Ministry official Griselda Marchbanks, to ensure a completely unbiased evaluation of Mr Weasley's classroom skills. Mr Weasley is to report to the Ministry's Office of Wizarding Education, located on the seventh floor, at eight a.m. sharp each day. He will be required to remain there until 6 p.m. daily. Supervised lunches and breaks will be provided at no charge to you. The standard fee for these remedial lessons, due to the seriousness of this case, have been waived. These classes will begin starting Monday of next week and will continue until the first-year aptitude test has been successfully passed.

You are not required to send your child to these sessions, but if you should not, be aware that your son will be required to take a first-year level aptitude test before being permitted to join the second-year classes at Hogwarts. Failure of the aptitude test will require that Mr. Weasley be held back one year at Hogwarts to repeat his coursework, for which the usual fees for a student of said level will need to be provided.

Sincerely,

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall-Fairbairn and Professor of Transfiguration

(Her seal, the cat on the Fairbairn heraldry shield)

Constance Whitechapel-Burns, Head of the Office of Wizarding Education

(Her seal, the quill and the parchment)

[Signatures of the Board of Governors of Hogwarts]

(the seal of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry)


A/N:Revenge is a dish best buried in evidence. Heh. Heh. Heh.