Chapter 10
The happy holiday was interrupted by a momentary panic of fear and pain from fellow marauders, not marauders that Zoltan knew, but it was magnified by Alrik, Fyra and Zhenga, who he did know; but they were calm, they were dealing with it; there was no real need to panic. There was a hurried feeling of babies being blooded; Zoltan helped as best he could in dissipating some poison; then two adult feeling people joined and everything was good.
"Interesting" said Cacilia "As far as I can judge that, Eduard Von Frettchen's grotty nephew just tried to murder him, his wife and their twin sons; and as HER brother is a Marauder it means Severus got there in time. Well we're not needed, I pulsed a request to ask; I expect I'll find out more. I'll write to Jade, she always knows what's going on."
"I just got a confused feeling of pain, fear, then calm" said Attila.
"Oh, sorting out what's happening takes practice" said Cacilia "I've been blooded in for well over a year so I've learned to pick up a lot; even if I'm not as good at shielding as some" she flushed slightly. "Also Jade was peripherally involved and she's one I'm close to so I can pick up more."
"This then is an example of how this blood group can aid each other? Intervening in the case of poisoning and brewing an antidote in time?" asked Georg.
"It's more than that, papa" said Cacilia "We three helped dissipate the effects of the poison; when it's spread over so many people it just is that easy – once they're blooded in. I felt Severus blood in others to save them, a potion might have killed the babies. The kids Zoltan's age we could all just clear easily. Zoltan need never really fear kidnap because wherever anyone took him, his bloodkin could find him, clear any drug that kept him quiescent from his system and because we have elves as our kindred too use their unique style of apportation to rescue him; do a controlled focussed vanishing spell by ritual from a distance if need be."
"I was about to say 'that's impossible'" said Attila "But with this blood magic I'm not sure if anything is impossible!"
Cacilia laughed.
"Violating the laws of the universe is impossible" she said "But a controlled focussed vanishing spell relies normally on you seeing the object and knowing the place you're going to send it – even if that's only by Arithmancy. I know THAT much higher transfiguration! But with the blood link it's as certain as seeing an object in front of you where the person to be vanished is, and you know where you are so…" she shrugged. "It's not risky in the same was as doing it to a person you're not blood joined to would be, even if you could see them; because it's more akin to apparating yourself because you FEEL the person you're vanishing. And arithmantically speaking there's no difference between the various vanishing spells and apportation; not in the basic equations. Only in the detail. And because it's more akin to elf style apportation you don't get to worry about anti apparating zones."
Attila rubbed the back of his head in consternation.
"I have a lot to learn about the misuse of my own subject the blood group gets up to" he said ruefully "You told your parents about the group I surmise?"
"Yes; I don't have secrets from my parents; we have too good a relationship" said Cacilia. "They know the history of it; and how the blood group defeated Odessa and involved us."
"We are proud of our daughter to be a part of something so profound and dedicated" said Georg "And as I understand it, your children will now be born a part of it?"
"I don't know Georg" said Attila.
"They will" said Cacilia.
"WIZARD!" said Zoltan.
oOoOo
Meanwhile Clovis Gierek was a little too busy to take account of the small worries of marauders who already had adequate support; as Lucius had predicted he was becoming the focus for a wide range of fey who had been freed, like the house elves, of the compulsion to hurt themselves if disloyal in thought to their high fey masters. Warned in advance, Clovis had set up an enclave within the magical forest near Durmstrang wherein he and Tildi worked, with the aid of other bloodkin, to fuse some of the tallest trees on a small eminence and transfigure them to stone, delving too into the rocks to make more chambers below, to make a tower that was both a small city and yet somehow organic. Family places were built within it, public areas and communal eating places – the fey being gregarious – with gargoyles running water from permanent water summoning charms and drains that led deep underground and carried too the sewage that would be an inevitable part of such a small city. Kreacher and Polly were to be king and queen while the new fey settled in, fantastically powerful from the point of view of most fey, ready to teach them how to be clean and civilised as they would almost certainly have little idea of how to do, for the most part, since ragged dirty clothes were commonly covered by glamour. There were workshops in the city where clever fey fingers might weave and sew, forge and carve; and one of the lessons of being free would be in how to work for pay and keep, not steal or confund. It was the condition of living free under the protection of the Sacrifice; even as Lucius had imposed law and order on the fey and free elves who flocked to HIS mansion. Dobby kept them in order on the whole; they had a council in imitation of that of the English wizarding world on which he sat as an advisor; and one day, Lucius swore that they would have a member on the main council – once they had learned enough. It would take at least a whole generation; but it would happen. It was six years on from the time of the ritual that had removed the compulsion from English elves and fey; and next year some of those fey who had been brought as small children by their mothers, to grow up in freedom, would go to Hogwarts, having been exposed to the younger offspring of Lucius and taught by example. As some of the fey anticipated in the tower would grow up with Polly and Kreature's children.
And when they started arriving at Durmstrang castle to kiss Clovis' feet – the anti-fey line having been modified to permit those fey without hostile intent in, though without powers of residence to be able to invite in other more inimical creatures – Clovis led them to the tower, settled them in, and had them swear an oath of obedience to the rules.
There were free house elves too; those freed by line death, not a few because of the actions of various of the Blooded against either Odessa or the dark wizards slain this very year by Zhanargul's team, many of them Hungarian; and those freed as punishment for real or imagined offences. Clovis had learned legilimensy; and he searched for motives. And some he turned away as being free-loaders with enough resentment to try to cause trouble. If they tried to turn up anyway, Kreacher would give them short shrift; the free elf had no time for disloyalty. He could see now more shades of grey in actions than hitherto but he would not tolerate troublemakers. And Clovis used the blood-link to give the wily elf pictures of those who were suspect. He rejected too those fey who only wanted to build a kingdom for themselves now they were free to buck the authority of the High Fey; who had taken out their frustrated feelings of not being permitted disloyalty in the displacement activity of bullying those weaker than themselves; and who now saw opportunity to make themselves top of the heap of the lesser fey. Such would not fit into a community of free fey.
The aim, ultimately, was to train them all over successive generations, to live freely amongst humans and goblins; of course having humans and goblins living freely together had to be achieved first. Jade's school was a primary step in this direction; the purchase of houses in wealthy wizarding neighbourhoods by the human half of mixed race couples would be next; and gradually there would be, one hoped, growing tolerance. Trying to introduce the wild, even feral, natures of the raggedy-arsed fey into mainstream society would put any other form of tolerance back decades; it was unthinkable, unworkably; crazy even. They had to learn to return to a way of life that was lost in the mists of antiquity, when the fey had been revered as wise even if feared for being capricious; but they had lived lifestyles not unlike those of humans, before fear of magic had increasingly driven them into isolated raths and caves and strongholds where they degenerated socially. One could not compare even a self styled high fey king of the modern era with the beautiful and knowledgeable Calypso, mostly fey and possibly part human witch who bore two children to the semi mythical hero Odysseus, and founded a great line of Greek wizards. And even then the fey were in decline, inclined to seek solitary locations, and called nymphs by the ancients. Clovis had never studied Ancient Runes, but it was easy to pick up a lot of trivia from Jade who read ancient Greek texts for pleasure.
However, once goblins were accepted, moving taller fey and half elves in would be easier. And some of the fey counted as underlings and low fey were almost as tall and beautiful as their highfey relatives; marred perhaps – in the eyes of the rulers – by such things as blue legs; or tails; or even cloven hooves. The forms of some of the fey were sufficiently tenuous that such manifestations were a part of the semi-complete transfiguration from pure spirit to a body; most fey in England, Lucius had told him, had more substance because there was more human in their lines, save in the oldest; and the oldest were often given respect regardless of appearance. In Europe, though some fey had managed to achieve a set form – the Veeli for example, and the Duende, who were essentially Leprechauns, Leshy, Huldravolk, Dames Blanche, Shishigi and so on – some had scorned to do so and were thus wildly variant in form. It was notable that those who had managed to set a form did NOT come calling; they had no need of a stratified society with slaves; they were happy in the acceptance of who they were and what they were. And as such, compulsions did not apply to them. Though in some respects these folk had helped make up the variant forms; half breeds added substance to the Wild Fey as one might truly call them. The different colours must have been in their makeup anyway to become set in some species – the green of leprechauns and duende, the green tinge of Leshy, shishigi, wood nymphs and dryads, the blue in pixies, a degenerate form but still of the fey, and the various browns and olives of some of the wood nymph sub groups. It was too a fey thing that led to the birth, in most cases, of only females in many of these set forms; a factor shared by hags who were themselves of the fey. Jade had said that it was possible, as a conscious act of will, for a hag at least to conceive a male child, but that it was hard; and usual only in a second generation nymph or dryad reared as a human in that there was some cultural influence within that she did not – as yet – understand.
Doubtless, being Jade, she would find out some day!
And so the fey and elves came; and were given quarters; and gently bullied by Polly and Kreacher into finding themselves a niche; and the free Hungarian elves of the now virtually extinct Czerny family and its many branches would help to stabilise a form for future generations; and the elves who had accompanied their masters to the conference of dark wizards were invited back to help to run the community; because elves at least knew about the trappings of civilisation, and many had family who had been left bereft of line in Hungary; and who now had a central point to come to. And Clovis told them to fetch any others that they may; and proceeded to discover the one half elf born, killing his mother, through the abuses of one or other of the family; whereupon Clovis told him to give clothes to any elf he was in any way related to, that was still tied to any human and bring them here; and the youth grinned savagely and went off to do just that. The unpleasant Zsombor Czerny would no longer have any elves to torture; he would have to grow up in an orphanage, and THAT ought to modify his belief that he could have it all his own way. Clovis also suggested to the now free elves that if there were any small children of the Czerny family who were not unpleasant, bringing THEM here to raise in the elf community might not be such a bad idea either; where they would be raised by the elven nurses they had, if they were young enough, not yet learned to despise and merely loved, as small children love the one who lavishes care on them. They might go to school in Jade's school as might the children of the fey; and that too would help. For the fey brought their offspring; and some were pregnant; and there were elven babies too, and Kreacher busy finding out who had babies who had been sold to try to acquire them with such funds as were available for such; which made him beloved of the elves for trying, and would seal their adoration of him when he started succeeding. And Kreacher took the half human boy as his ward to train up to lead the community someday.
Kreacher passed on to Clovis that the Hungarian elves had also brought back a mistress, as they still called her, the cowed bride of one of the Czerny males, who brought all her children to be protected. The half human boy Zaly was the half brother of her children; he would protect them. And Kreacher and Polly had every intention of bringing the boy on far enough to go to school in Jade's school next year to pave the way for other elves in the future; and the woman Aurelia clung to Polly as a strong support, since Polly was herself heavily pregnant and Aurelia had not long birthed the youngest of her children. And Polly gently bullied her too and took over much of the rearing of the three children ranging from a three and a half year old daughter downward.
And Clovis HOPED the free wild fey would manage to stop arriving before term began again!
oOoOo
Various Marauders met up at the lodge.
"Excitable sort of holiday or what?" said Beremud laconically "Attacks on somebody; Professor Gierek getting almost apoplectic from – I presume – being knee deep in elves and stuff, and all that after the big chant that should have been enough excitement to keep most people going all year!"
"I can't wait to find out what happened!" said Beryx, his nose all but twitching "It positively HURTS knowing some stuff and not being able to uncover all!"
"Mother Cacilia got some stuff from Jade Von Luytens and wrote to demand more details" said Zoltan "And I had the presence of mind to write to Ulvik too."
"Spill then, brother of mine" demanded Sigismund.
"In order and without leaving anything out" added Bronislava.
"Or we poke you" said Lindhard.
"Hard" said Corneliu.
Zoltan laughed.
"There is a boy who is the nephew of Herzog Eduard Von Frettchen who was expelled, as I am told, last year for trying to poison his new aunt to stop her having a baby to supplant him as heir; well he convinced his parents to visit with him so he could, supposedly, apologise; and he poisoned them all. His parents, the duke, his wife and their twin baby sons, her parents and brother and her brother's friend. And those boys are also marauders so we touched through them and were able to help – let me tell it my way Bronny or I shan't tell it at all – and because they're at Prince Peak, Severus Snape himself and sundry Peak Marauders went and Professor Snape blooded right away with the babies whilst chanting to hold the effect of the poison so it couldn't spread as demonically fast as it's supposed to; and he cleared the babes while the other marauders of Wilhelm's and Serrik's group cleared THEM, and then they started brewing a potion when Jade Von Luytens arrived with Ulvik – he has a group of marauders but not blooded yet – just to check. So Professor Snape blooded in Duke Eduard and Duchess Ann because it seemed like a good idea and cured the others with the potion while sundry older marauders practised jinxes on the horrid youth who had done it."
"What's to HAPPEN to him? Is he going to Nurmengard? Did the Duke execute him? Or was he let off so they didn't have to tell anyone?" demanded Beryx.
"DO have patience. Indeed I shall make you" said Zoltan and started humming to himself, hands in pockets, staring into the middle distance.
When he had managed to escape from the green, pustuled, tickled ball and retrieved his ears and eyebrows and blown the last purple bat into his handkerchief he said, with dignity,
"If you oiks think that manhandling me is going to get you anywhere you can jolly well think again; it's the wrong sort of magic to get me to talk."
"Please?" said Bronislava "PRETTY please with icing on?"
"THAT will work" said Zoltan. "Apparently it's something Baronin Von Luytens had suggested to the Duke if his nephew SHOULD ever step out of line again – she had the idea right back when he first was expelled and I will tell it in order in my own way so stop grimacing like toads on alihotsy" he said as sundry of his fellow marauders were trying to make him tell the tale to their own satisfaction. "Ignaz Von Frettchen was given the choice of Nurmengard or being returned to babyhood."
"Crumbs, if that's possible I'd rather have Nurmengard" said Beremud.
"Yeah, well, that's because you've got more than two brain cells to rub together" said Lindhard "I take it the fool chose babyhood? And never thought through the implications?"
"Looking at all of you nodding I can see we're all brighter than the baby called Ignaz" said Zoltan "Professor Snape chanted and used Finnish naming magic; and made him the precise same age as the twins. And the duke's going to bring him up this time with his own infants, not let his cabbage-headed sister-in-law spoil him again. So with the blank canvas of an infant mind he gets to grow up to be a potential marauder not a sad jealous little git; because he and the younger twin will always be aware that the older one is the heir and it'll just be the way it is. And I wouldn't mind betting that Professor Snape put in a few twists to make him partly the son of the duchess so that if they tweak it that way, to be identical, it'll not be long before people talk about the Von Frettchen triplets. And boy are THEY going to have mileage out of that when they hit school!"
"Whoh yes!" whistled Sigismund. There was a long and wistful moment of contemplation of all the things they might have done if they had only had triplets within their group. Triplets were just MADE to set up alibis!
Or drive insane those who did not know of the plurality of the children.
"We should actually write to Wilhelm and suggest that if Professor Snape didn't think of it, he and Serrik ought to" said Beryx "And by the way, talking about brothers, how are we going to hoist one of our dorm mates out to include Zoltan?"
"We suggest hard to the other Russians in the year that they invite Pyotr to dorm with them" said Lindhard "It'll take a touch of subtle control but I think we're ready to practise that; it's no good finding stuff accidentally in the library if you don't use it."
"It isn't dark magic to actually manipulate people like that is it?" asked Beremud.
"Technically yes, but also technically no" said Lindhard "On the principle that dark magic is defined by intent; and our intentions are not inimical to either Pyotr or the other Russians. If they were we'd palm of that idiot Ernst onto them; he may have become mostly harmless but he's still a prig's prig."
"Right; let's go to work on the Russians when they arrive then" said Corneliu.
They did; with a smoothness of touch that would have made Tom Riddle blink and look to his laurels. None of the Russian boys in the second year had any inkling that they had had a job done on them, only that they had an urge to invite their countryman to join them in a predominantly German dormitory to help them sing the songs of home. And Pyotr gladly accepted without any prompting; he considered the greater number of his dormitory mates to be insane and was glad to get away!
oOoOo
The journey to the castle was marked by gasps as those looking out of the window saw the new tower; and many were the questions that were asked.
The children were not the only ones to be thus taken aback and puzzled; the villagers had sent a deputation to ask Agata Bacsó about it; and as neither she nor the majority of the staff had any idea she had waited until all her staff assembled before asking them if anyone knew about it.
"It's mine" said Clovis "Well, that's to say I and sundry others put it there; I really did NOT think, Agata, that you'd want a wild bunch of raggedy arse fey arriving and living actually in the castle."
"But why should they?" demanded an irritable Helois Fabeln.
"Because I took part in a risky ceremony to free them from the compulsions to obey their more powerful relatives, Helois; which ultimately will make us all a lot safer" said Clovis "And I volunteered to be the blood sacrifice so they seek me out because they feel my blood. Quite simple. So I got in some help to put up the tower so I know where the little buggers are, and I got in a couple of free elves I know to run the place and teach them how to BE free with all the implications of responsibility as well as rights that such implies. You can't undertake a ritual without following through all the consequences; and in time they'll learn to be guardians of the school too."
"Quite" said Agata. "What am I to tell the villagers?"
Clovis shrugged.
"Tell them that you're not responsible to say yay or nay to any magical denizens of the forest but that the fey who have moved in are bound to the school by oath not to make trouble in school or village. Which is true."
"You think of everything!" said Agata, relieved.
"I do my best" Clovis bowed.
"I think it is most presumptuous of you to undertake any such ritual without consulting the headmistress!" cried Madam Fabeln.
"Heloise, I think you are rather presumptuous to assume that I did not know" said Agata coldly "I fully supported the ritual, all who took part in it, and those who helped out in any capacity. Clovis was not the only member of the staff involved; he was merely a particular focus as the volunteer to sacrifice blood which was needful to break a less benign blood ritual that tied the lesser fey to their masters by something akin to the Imperious Curse. I was happy to give the use of the castle during the holiday, and indeed to remain to assist, for the group involved, and most proud that some of my staff had been chosen to be a part of it. Clovis thought things through further than me; but then he knows more about the fey than I do" she added.
"It is ridiculous! I am a more senior member of staff than that boy, why was I not asked to be a part of it? I should have refused of course but I should have been asked!" said Fabeln.
"Because, you silly old moo, apart from the fact that you WOULD 'of course' have said no, as anyone who knows you would know that you would, you're totally useless because you only teach because you can't do anything else and you stick to a subject that doesn't actually need you to prove that you can even cast spells" said Attila.
"Tact. Or not" said Cacilia.
"Be as tolerant as you like, Cacilia; you haven't spent as many years in the same staff room as this old toad* as I have; nor listened to her foolishness as often. She complains for the sake of complaining and moreover tries to find ways to make others seem at fault or inadequate because she is so inadequate a person herself that by trying to make others seem less she has some mistaken idea that she makes herself seem greater; not realising that the rest of us see through her spite-filled ploys and laugh at her. But we did not, those of us who were part of it, go through a twelve hour ritual at personal discomfort to have someone with so little idea of even common magic, let alone higher magic gripe at it; as well might a muggle refuse, of course, to accept a place in Durmstrang, as if anyone would offer it to one who could not, let alone would not, grasp its significance. You should realise, Heloise, that your understanding of what was done was on a par with the understanding of a muggle over what is done at a school for wizards and witches. And most of us barely understood more than about half of it; and were proud to be a part of it for what little we did understand. I'm sorry Agata, but she gets my goat."
"Do tell" said Agata dryly "Orlando, we do not need your unvarnished opinion in addition, rumbling approval towards Attila deep in your chest gave us it well enough thank you."
"I have already expressed my opinion to Heloise; she knows it well enough" said Orlando Carcano. "And actually she has less concept of what goes on than Kathleen my muggle wife who understands in principle what she cannot do in fact; because Kathleen has a brain and also knows how to exercise it."
"That is it! I'm not staying here to be insulted any longer; I resign!" said Professor Fabeln.
Agata sighed.
"If you must, Heloise" she said. "I will ask Lazlo Ijas to step into the breach for the rest of the year. I believe he's only chasing down loose dark wizards of a relatively minor nature. Cacilia, have you any news of him, my dear?"
"Last I heard he's attached himself to the royal household of Kazakhstan" said Cacilia "Mopping up the adherents of Uncle Tootles, whose real name I'm afraid I've forgotten."
Attila laughed.
"So perish the memory of Tulegen Nurtazin" he said.
Heloise Fabeln burst into angry tears and fled; she had expected her resignation to be met with a refusal and soothing words; that she was to be replaced by one of her own pupils was intolerable!
But she had little choice but to tolerate it.
oOoOo
Agata welcomed the school back after the Yule break and mentioned in passing that if any of them had noticed the new tower they should not be either concerned nor yet too inquisitive since it was the domain of a group of fey who had sworn oaths of mutual benefit with the school but who would probably take steps against the intruders which would be unpleasant to any so impolite as to pry. She handed them over to Clovis as Herr Professor Gierek was their greatest expert on the fey.
"Which I fear is not saying a lot" said Clovis. "I do know that they can be a capricious lot with an even more warped sense of humour than any marauder and you're likely to be sent away with your feet on backwards and the head of an ass and that's if you don't irritate them too much. They have sworn not to hurt the children of the school; which means anyone UP to the age of seventeen. And it does NOT cover doing something amusing to those who annoy. You are warned."
"As he says" said Agata dryly "Those of you studying history of magic will be wondering why Professor Fabeln is not at the table; she has sent her resignation for personal reasons and the rest of this year will be taken by Professor Ijas who has stepped in at short notice."
The short notice was about six hours; but Lazlo just grinned. It would be both sweet and hard to be teaching so near to Zhanargul; but he had at least her father's permission to formally court her when she left school. And as she was to do a year at Prince Peak, there would be no hardship doing another year teaching in Durmstrang to give Agata every opportunity to find a suitable replacement. He rose.
"Some of you recall me from school; I DO hope you won't tell the lower school anything too reprehensible about me" he said. "I'm looking forward to sharing what I've learned since I left school, that there is a lot more to history than lists of dates and that those who don't read history are doomed to repeat it. I'd like you all to think hard on the different levels you should all be at in order to address a debate we'll be having as the first lesson in each class on 'why Gerhardt Grindelwald was a complete prat'; try to muster cogent arguments and parallels in history. If you're all prepped up we should have a lot of fun."
"Be a first, history being fun" murmured Sigismund to his group.
"It is when Zlatko explains it" said Beremud.
"And" interposed Lazlo "For those of you reflecting that Zlatko can make history live, you do him the credit of recognising his enthusiasm and recognition of the true importance and meaning of historical facts. Only by examining WHY events happen can one ever predict in the future WHAT will happen. I beg your pardon Madam Bacsó; overcome by enthusiasm."
"Oh I am always happy to have staff who are enthusiastic about their subject" said Agata. "I believe I might invite myself to the more senior debates if you don't mind; it does sound fascinating."
"And welcome!" said Lazlo.
The lower school, for whom history was a compulsory subject, brightened considerably; nobody liked Frau Fabeln, not because she was in any way a cruel disciplinarian – though her discipline was, as Sigismund complained rather erratic – but because she was so boring! Her homework was always left to last and frequently skimped; because if enough people skimped she did not do anything about it bar shout at them; it was only if there were one or two who skimped that she was likely to set a massive detention of five hundred lines; or if someone she disliked dropped below a mark she chose arbitrarily to cover THEM – and any other unfortunate below that mark, unless it was a favourite who would get told that as they were trying hard they need not take a detention. Consequently all the school despised her because she was blatantly unfair, weak and unable to teach. Almost anyone had to be better; and the marauders at least could feel that Lazlo was one of the Blooded and therefore probably an interesting person to start off with. Besides, as Sigismund said, he had been seen in the castle when Jade Von Luytens' class of dark arts students were chasing liches which meant he almost had to be dead hard and cool.
And what perhaps was of greater interest to the Musical Marauders was that Adolph Zollschlange of the fifth had returned to school with a red nose, and still sneezing being mostly over fairy flu but not fully because as it was his ZP year he did not want to miss any schooling.
There would be bound to be a few hypochondriacs with snuffles who were convinced they had caught fairy flu from him; so they were all set to put into action the planning they had done back in September in the lodge; and hands were rubbed, grins were grinned, and evil chuckles were chuckled evilly.
* kröte, toad, in German is also indicative of a spiteful person.