Unforgiveable Jinx
As the petrification spell wears off Molly and her children, everyone gathers at the infirmary. Dumbledore and Molly force the betrothal of Ginny and Harry with painful consequences for Ginny. After renouncing the betrothal, Ginny is in Poppy's care when a compulsion spell forces Bill to challenge Harry to a duel. The infirmary is destroyed and Harry subdues Bill with Christmas decorations. Fleeing the infirmary, Dumbledore splinches himself and leaves his left leg behind. Saint Mungo's Emergency Centre reattaches the headmaster's leg. To relieve the life debts of the Weasley family, Harry suggests that Bill become his battle tutor for the next three years until his seventeenth birthday.
Bashing Dumbledore and Weasleys. SLASH. Harry is gay but only 14 so just look for him to be watching how adults react to the news.
This Harry Potter story was written for fun. All rights belong to the wonderful lady (JK Rowling) who gave the world Harry Potter to read and enjoy.
Printed Word in letters and newspapers.
{Parseltongue conversation}
)(*****)(
Scene Break: New Year and New BeginningsWith the new year, the students enrolled at Hogwarts became less hostile toward Harry Potter, but he ignored his classmates outside of their classes. He worked tirelessly on his studies, his lessons with his grandparents, and with Neville. Augusta sent several books for Harry to read and their correspondence reviewed his reading and conclusions.
)(*****)(*
The infirmary at Hogwarts was quiet and orderly early in the New Year. Poppy allowed Arthur to keep his petrified family decorated as Christmas Trees though the holidays were officially over and the students had begun classes again. There were many fewer patients with the Weasley twins as residences of a corner of her infirmary – a fact that she brought to the attention of the professors.
"When they return to normal, I shall keep a sharp eye on them," Minerva promised. "The students don't deserve to be turned into giant canaries!"
"The Weasley twins have never been 'normal'," Poppy insisted.
)(*****)(*
At mid-afternoon on 11 January 1995, Molly Weasley woke up. Her legs ached, her arms felt like lead and her mouth was drier than her mother-in-law's biscuits on any day of the week.
"What happened? Where is that boy?" she asked. "We'll never make it to the shops before they close."
Then she noticed her children; Fred, George, and Ginny – petrified and decorated like Christmas trees!
"What happened!" she shrieked, bringing Poppy from her office with calming draughts.
"Molly Weasley, remain calm. You are perfectly well," Poppy informed her new patient. "Drink this potion and sit on the bed."
"What happened to my children?" she asked and then clasped her hands together. "Is there another basilisk loose in the school?"
Poppy tried to calm the woman because the draught seemed to have no effect.
"Where is my wand? We're defenceless!" the red-headed shrew shouted.
"Molly, sit on the bed and take a few deep breaths," Poppy said pushing the woman onto the bed. "You must rest and gather your strength to help your children. They should awaken anytime now that you are awake."
"Yes…" Molly agreed before she looked about the room. "But we were at Rosie's in Hogsmeade. How did we get here?"
"I shall send for your husband," Poppy said as she handed Molly her wand. "He visits every day after leaving the ministry."
"What are these decorations?" Molly asked, her voice already rising in volume again.
"Arthur didn't want you and the children to miss Christmas…"
"Christmas? But the day is two weeks off," Molly insisted though Poppy wisely said nothing but sent her patronus to Arthur Weasley in the Ministry. A Hogwarts elf served Molly breakfast as suddenly Fred and George both woke.
"I say Gred…
"Yes, Forge?"
"I like the decorations!"
"We should create a charm…"
There was silence from the second prankster so the first one finished his own sentence, "…to turn anyone into a Christmas tree!"
"Sit!" Poppy commanded with her wand in her hand, pointed directly at the twins.
The two teenagers promptly sat beside each other on one bed and greeted their mother who smiled but found herself suddenly extremely hungry. Elves appeared with food and drink for the twins as their father appeared through the floo.
"Molly! Boys!" Arthur said as he swept first his wife and then his twin sons into hugs. "I have missed you!"
"Arthur, I saw you this morning," Molly reminded her husband who shook his head.
"My dear, you've been petrified for a month. You missed Christmas!"
"What!" exclaimed Molly. "No! Oh no! Ginny was supposed to go to that dance with Harry and he would fall in love with her at the Christmas Ball!"
Arthur frowned. "Let's talk about that later, Molly."
"No, I want…"
"Did Ginny wake up?" he asked to change the subject and Molly looked around to find her daughter still a statue decorated as a tree. The pixie lights blinked brightly and Molly began to cry.
"My little girl is a twinkling statue!" she blubbered.
"Poppy, why hasn't Ginny awakened?" Arthur asked.
To explain, Poppy pointed at Ginny and then the rest of her family, "She's the lightest one so the spell will take longer to wear off."
Molly wailed, "My little girl will be a statue forever! She weighs next to nothing!"
"Forge, we missed Christmas!" one twin said suddenly.
"That's what Father said," the other replied before they suddenly realized they had had separate thoughts. Horrified expressions on their faces turned thoughtful as they considered having separate personalities for the first time.
"Let me send for Ron," Arthur said. "He'll want to see his family."
"Where's Percy?" asked one twin. "Did he come for Christmas?"
Arthur pretended not to hear his son as he went to find Poppy. Unobserved by her husband, Molly sent two messages with her wand – the first to Albus Dumbledore and the second to her eldest son, Bill. The twins frowned but found the sudden hunger that gripped their mother calling their attention to the breakfast trays the elves had left.
When Arthur returned, he told Molly he had to go and find Ron. Their youngest son wasn't in the common room of Gryffindor Tower.
"Just wait until lunch. You'll find him…" one twin said. The second twin didn't answer and the first sat still for a moment before finishing his thought, "…in the Great Hall."
Molly and Arthur both noticed the change in the twins but didn't say anything about it. He left to find Ron, while Molly planned her next step. Albus arrived first and he assured Poppy that all was well with the Weasleys before shuffling her off to the office to file papers or count potion bottles. He stood between the twins and their mother as they talked and the twins shared a look but then returned to their food. Nothing they did mattered to their mother and they only hoped to avoid her attention.
The flash of the floo brought Bill Weasley to Hogwarts from Gringotts; since being freed from the veela's allure, he had remained in London and spent his free time with Percy and Penny. Arthur remained aloof of Percy at the ministry and had no idea that his older sons worried about the future of the family.
Bill had been fully briefed about the betrothal agreement by three powerful accountants at Gringotts. The bank was purposefully keeping Albus Dumbledore so busy with audits that his power in the Wizegamot was slipping through his fingers. But Bill had only read the newspaper articles about his mother, brothers and sister being petrified.
The message from his mother had been brief; 'Help us! Harry Potter harmed Ginny at Hogwarts!'
"Bill!" Molly said, rising to embrace her first-born son. "Thank Merlin, you came to save us!"
The eldest Weasley son was dressed in good robes, and he kept his wand in his hand while returning his mother's hug. He eyed the twins who waved casually as they ate their breakfast before he turned to the headmaster.
"Harry Potter is running amok!" Dumbledore said with a sad expression on his face. "First he petrified your mother and brothers. Ginevra remains petrified and we fear he made your sister's petrification permanent to escape the betrothal agreement."
Bill turned to where the statue of his sister stood, twinkling with Pixie Lights. A charm from Dumbledore landed on Bill and his concern grew that Ginny would not awaken. Under the compulsion's magic, Bill's thoughts ran wild, 'Why would that boy do this to his sweet little sister? He is out of control. Harry Potter is going dark and must be stopped or Ginny would never be Lady Potter!'
Dumbledore sighed with relief to see his charm worked on the curse breaker. His original wand did not have the power of the Elder Wand – of course it was the fault of the wand and not the fault of old age that his power was less.
Then Ginny Weasley woke up from her petrification and she looked around with honest confusion. Her last memory had been at Rosie's Tavern, arguing with Harry about the Christmas ball, and suddenly she was in the infirmary with Christmas lights hanging from her hair and robes. Poppy casts spells to determine her health while, her brother Bill hugged her, helping her remove the Christmas lights.
Calling for a Hogwarts elf, Dumbledore sent for Harry Potter to come to the infirmary and then looked around for a chair to transfigure into a throne. In the last week, he'd found it harder to conjure a throne from nothing or even from a table, but he could still create a suitably impressive throne from any chair. Satisfied with his results for the moment, he waited for the show to begin.
)(*****)(
Scene Break: The Ring's DecisionAfter their last class, Harry headed for the library with Neville when a Hogwarts house elf popped in front of him.
"Missy says that Boy Harry Potter musts comes to infirmary now!" the little elf chattered and pulled her ears, worried that the wizard would curse her.
"The infirmary? Is someone injured?" Harry asked.
"No's, but Boy Harry Potters tolds to comes to infirmary."
"Did Dumbledore order you to tell me this?" the teen asked. "Is that who you mean, Missy?"
The little elf's head nodded very quickly and Neville said, "You can go Missy. Harry knows the way to the infirmary."
Once the elf had popped away, Neville frowned. "He hasn't asked to see you in months. Why today? And why the infirmary?"
"I have no idea," Harry said. "There's nothing going on with Voldemort."
Neville laughed when Harry said 'Voldemort' but added, "I'll go tell McGonagall. Walk slowly to the infirmary."
When he was alone and away from portraits along the long hallway, Harry called Dobby to shadow him. He took an extra five minutes to reach the infirmary door, and hesitated a moment before the headmaster's voice called, "Come in Harry, my boy."
'Now I know the next words I am going to jinx,' Harry thought. 'He'll stop calling me 'my boy' or my name isn't Harry Potter.'
)(*****)(**
When the infirmary door closed behind him, Harry faced a wall of red-heads. Molly were there and Harry noted that Mrs. Weasley looked angry enough to scare Voldemort. Ginny stood with the Christmas decorations hanging from her robes while Fred and George sat on a bed, quiet and watchful for once.
It was the last Weasley in the infirmary who caught Harry's attention; was this 'Bill Weasley'? Harry had seen the man briefly at the Christmas Ball, dressed up but with a vacant look on his face while with Fleur Delacour. She had been in a snit the day after Christmas without her escort trailing behind her any longer. A black eye had not improved her mood. Harry avoided her for weeks and never read the article in the Daily Prophet about the 'Miss Veela's Mis-adventures in Britain'.
Headmaster Dumbledore stood and called Harry to come closer though the teenager maintained his distance, kept his wand in his hand and cast spells from his family rings.
"This is a momentous day for your family Harry," Albus announced. "Today, Ginevra Weasley becomes your betrothed. Next summer, you will marry and take up residence at a Potter manor house."
"No! I shall defer the betrothal to my son or grandson!" Harry declared. "I'll not marry Miss Weasley."
"But I have the Potter betrothal ring here," the headmaster said, drawing a box from his robes. "I have held onto it since the day Lily married James for just this occasion!"
Harry's family magics recognized the ring – it did belong to the Potter family and was meant to be worn by the heir's betrothed before the wedding to acclimate them to the family magics.
"You mean after you stole it, you discovered that you couldn't pawn it!" Harry said scornfully, his wand out as his family magics erected additional shields; the ring would be returned to him this afternoon or blood would be shed on the floor.
"Now, my boy, be reasonable. The betrothal agreement is valid – your accountants agreed with that fact! And Ginevra is here and willing to be Lady Potter," Albus said jovially. "You need a good witch from a light family to anchor you – to keep you from going dark."
"Dobby!" Harry called but the headmaster's control of the wards at the school prevented any of his elves from entering the infirmary to help the teenager.
"I'll not marry…"
"You don't have a choice!" Molly said triumphantly before she took the box from Albus and opened it, letting the light flash through a ruby setting.
Ginny giggled and offered her left hand. "Hurry, Mama. Give me the ring."
"Harry should put the ring on her finger," Bill said from his place beside a book case. "The family magic…"
"No need for that," Molly interrupted her son as she drew the ring from the box, imaging the other jewels her daughter would wear someday as Lady Potter.
Glancing toward Heir PBS, Bill thought the boy's glare would burn his mother and sister to ashes in the moments it took Molly to place the ring on Ginevra's finger.
"There, now…" Albus said but he was interrupted by a scream from Ginny.
"It hurts! Get it off! Get it off!" the girl yelled in ever increasing volume as she shook her hand and pulled at the ring on her finger. "It won't come off!"
Whirling back around, Albus demanded to know, "Harry, what did you do?"
But the teenager shook his head. "I didn't do anything! Don't you know anything about family magics!"
"I do!" Bill Weasley said as he hurried to this sister's side. "You have to renounce the betrothal Ginny. Tell Magic that you don't want to be Lady Potter!"
"But I am supposed to be Lady Potter!" Ginny said. "When Harry dies fighting the Dark Lord, I'll be Lady Potter and have his money!"
Molly added, "This is some trick with his snake language! Dumbledore, make Harry stop!"
Albus turned once again toward the teenage boy who hadn't moved closer and was still surrounded by several shields that the headmaster had never seen before.
"Harry, my boy, this is hardly helpful. You're causing unnecessary pain and suffering to your betrothed."
"She is NOT my betrothed and I am not doing causing her to scream!" Harry insisted. He pointed to the tallest Weasley and declared, "Ask the curse-breaker! Gringotts teaches their important employees all about family magics."
Then Harry frowned and added, "Dumbledore, it was you that took the Potter betrothal ring and her mother placed it on Miss Weasley's finger. The Potter family magics must find her to be lacking to be my consort when I become Lord Potter-Black-Slytherin."
"That's the problem!" Molly screamed. "Albus! Make him renounce the Black family and the Snake family! Now!"
Ginny's distress had magnified as she slung her hand about, screamed and cried while her three brothers attempted to assist. Fred and George tried to pull the ring off but it would not budge.
Bill cursed his mother, Dumbledore, goblins, and wizards as he tried to help his sister.
He grabbed her once again and said, "Ginny! Renounce the betrothal! If you don't it will get worse and worse!"
"But I want to be Lady Potter! I want to be rich!" Ginny shouted. "Dumbledore promised I would be Lady Potter!"
"Dumbledore lied!" Bill told his sister.
"No!" Molly insisted. "It's the other family magics – the Black and the Snake family magic that is hurting her."
"No, it's just the Potter family magic," Harry shouted. "That ring was my mother's betrothal ring. It bears only the Potter family magics and they judge Ginevra as unsuitable to be my wife."
Bill looked at his mother and Albus. "Damn you both for filling her head with this fantasy!"
Her breathing becoming ragged as the Potter family magics continued to attack Ginny's magical core, Bill wrapped his arms around his sister and begged, "Please Ginny. The ring will not accept you."
Ginny Weasley cried piteously as she said, "I renounce…being…betrothed…"
)(*****)(*
Scene Break: A Duel of EnchantmentsThe ring fell from her finger to the stone floor and the ruby once again gleamed in the light of the winter afternoon. Now Dumbledore's compulsion charm took hold of Bill; first he handed Ginny to Fred and George and then he turned toward Harry with his wand in-hand. Watching the powerful wizard taking a position for fighting, Harry's eyes narrowed and he assumed the duelling stance his Slytherin family magics demanded as Heir Potter-Black-Slytherin began his first duel.
The red-headed stranger threw a focused bombard that Harry batted into the row of infirmary beds, by hissing {Propulsant} (deflect). The blast destroyed a dozen beds, curtains, tables, and blew out three windows beyond hope of repair by magic. Fred and George ducked behind the remaining beds and pulled their screeching mother and blubbering sister down beside them.
Harry's magic grabbed the second attacking spell – a powerful cutting curse that would decapitate an opponent – with a hissed {capto et mitten} (grab and throw) that directed the curse into a bookcase above Dumbledore's head. The power of the spell mangled a dozen medical books and turned them into confetti that drifted to the floor.
Dumbledore sat behind a strong shield and watched carefully as Harry Potter fought the goblin-trained curse-breaker. The boy's magic was certainly stronger with the rings from the three families but were the family magics leading him to be a 'Dark Lord'? He hoped one or more of the Weasley family members would be injured – guilt would devastate Harry Potter and make him malleable again.
The curse-breaker was powerful and determined to land a blow but Heir Potter-Black-Slytherin was equally determined as they threw punches at each other with their spells. His opponent was aware of the close quarters and focused his spells for fear of hurting his family.
Thinking of the pictures of the Weasley statues decorated for Christmas, Harry hissed {Ornate magnificat} (decorate magnify), casting the spell at his opponent as he dodged the wizard's conturbabimus (confuse) that slammed into a portrait on the wall. The portrait frame was crowded with portraits from all over the castle come to watch the duel. The spell struck them and they began babbling, wandered out of the picture frame into the other picture frames around the castle and began fights that lasted for several hours.
Harry hissed {Expelliarmus}, and grabbed the wizard's wand from the air. Time slowed in the silence in the room as Harry walked over to the wizard now wrapped from head to toe in layer after layer of Christmas tinsel that glowed bright with the power to hold him in place.
"No! Leave Bill alone!" shouted Molly casting a curse at Harry that he threw back at the woman. Molly dodged her own spell, allowing it hit to the wall above Dumbledore's head. Dust and mortar filled the air for a moment before covering the headmaster.
"Expelliarmus!" cast George to take his mother's wand.
Dumbledore made to rise, his wand up, when Harry glanced at the headmaster and hissed, {Soleant maximus}.
Instantly, Dumbledore found himself bound to his chair with a large, nasty tasting gag in his mouth. With the duel over and the headmaster confined to his chair, the wards around the infirmary returned to normal; almost immediately the floo flared to life as an angry Minerva McGonagall stepped through from her office.
"What the blazes is this? The wards are screaming that there is a fight in the infirmary!" McGonagall yelled.
She stepped forcefully around Molly to stand next to Harry, scowl at Dumbledore, and ask, "Who is wrapped up so neatly, Heir Potter?"
"I have not been introduced to the man," Harry replied. "He attacked me, but I believe my opponent is Bill Weasley."
"And you destroyed the infirmary?" she asked acidly.
Shrugging, Harry explained, "I just redirected the wizard's spells, professor."
"He used evil snake-talk the whole battle!" Molly yelled.
Then she stared at the decorations wrapped figure and screamed, "He killed Bill! Harry Potter killed my son!"
McGonagall said, "Molly, if this is Bill, he isn't dead. He's just wrapped up like a Christmas gift. He can't move but he can breathe."
"Heir Potter, if you would release Mr. Weasley. I shall guarantee his good conduct," McGonagall assured Harry.
Harry nodded and hissed, {homini revelare} (reveal man). The decorations and tinsel loosened, flew around the wizard, and then disappeared with a pop, leaving Bill Weasley naked as the day he was born until Harry hissed, {vestimenta} (clothes).
Once again Bill Weasley was dressed in wizard's robes as McGonagall held her wand under Bill's chin; her voice was cold and dangerous as she asked, "I thought I knew you William Weasley! Tell me why you attacked one of my students?"
"He petrified my sister and the betrothal ring harmed my sister! I had to fight him… within my rights…" Bill Weasley said, his eyes cutting between McGonagall and the teenaged heir.
"Betrothal ring?" McGonagall shouted. "Who put a betrothal ring on Ginny's hand? The family magic would only hurt her if it didn't approve! Who told you to put the ring…"
Suddenly the transfiguration professor turned to the headmaster and swore, "Dumbledore, I shall turn you into an old goat!"
"No!" Molly insisted. "Harry Potter must marry Ginny! The betrothal agreement..."
"Molly Weasley! Your brain is still petrified!" Minerva observed acidly. "Do you have any common sense?"
"Why was everyone covered in decorations?" asked Bill Weasley. "When I arrived, my sister and brothers reminded me of the trees in Harrods all December."
'It is interesting that Bill Weasley knows about Harrods. This is a wizard who is well educated in addition to being powerful magically – where did that idea come from?' Harry wondered.
Heir Potter-Black-Slytherin's family magics and knowledge came to the fore with the continued betrayal by Dumbledore and the matriarch of the Weasley family. 'The family is foolish to follow Dumbledore and he is wasting a strong, magical family with bad direction! The eldest son would be much better leader for the family.'
Dumbledore made enough noise around his gag to garner McGonagall's attention and she asked Harry to remove the wrappings from the headmaster. Harry removed the gag but he did not release Dumbledore's bonds.
"This is all a misunderstanding. Shall we start again?" suggested Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eye. "This afternoon…"
"…was an attempted assassination," Harry interrupted to finish the headmaster's sentence. "Headmaster Dumbledore called me to the infirmary where a member of his vigilante group, the Order of the Phoenix, attempted to kill me with the assistance of other members of her family. The DMLE must be called…"
"What? No! Harry! This isn't assassination…" called Molly as the twins shouted before McGonagall cast a silence spell over the group.
"Harry! My boy you must not choose the darkness!" Dumbledore began again, truly worried now. If Harry called the DMLE, his Weasley minions would all be arrested, tried, and kissed before sunset. "Ron and Ginevra are your friends…"
"Stop!" shouted Arthur Weasley as he stepped through the door with Ron. "As head of the family, I demand…"
"Arthur, let me handle this," interrupted Molly with great confidence until her husband turned to her.
"The Imperius is ended, Molly. I have my own mind and you will be silent unless I ask you a question."
"Imperius? What…what do you mean?" Molly asked nervously, her children glancing at each other and Dumbledore looking as if his lemon drops were suddenly flavoured with Hippogriff droppings. A much sharper look from Arthur caused Molly to fall silent.
"Professor McGonagall, what happened here?" Arthur asked.
"I can't say, Arthur," the professor replied.
"I can tell you!" exclaimed Poppy, emerging from her office and brushing dust from her robes.
First, pointing at Albus, she explained, "The headmaster cast a compulsion charm on Bill Weasley. His mother and brothers sat there and saw the same thing I did but they said nothing. When Heir Potter-Black-Slytherin walked into the room, Albus produced the Potter betrothal ring and Molly placed it on Ginny's finger. The Potter family magics punished the girl for assuming she was welcome to become the betrothed of Heir Potter until her brother Bill convinced her to take it off. We won't know for several days if there was any permanent damage to the girl's finger or to her magic."
The medi-witch continued, "Then, Bill launched an unprovoked attack. Harry Potter simply defended himself, disarmed his opponent without harming him, and tied up Dumbledore."
"Will there be lasting damage to Miss Weasley's magic?" Minerva asked while Molly turned red and raised her wand to blast Harry.
"No one hurts my little girl!" Molly shouted as she fired a bludgeoning spell at Harry but again the teen grabbed the spell on the tip of his wand and threw it back at Mrs. Weasley who flew through the air and landed against the opposite wall.
Arthur sent Fred and George to their mother's aide while he kept one hand wrapped around Ron's arm to keep him from attacking Harry. The eldest son looked ready to combust as he turned on Dumbledore and spit, "You said Harry Potter hurt Ginny!"
Suddenly the curse-breaker grew pale and said, "Oh Merlin, I attacked an ally of Gringotts! Even if it was because of Dumbledore's lies, I'll lose my head!"
He glanced at his parents and siblings before saying, "We'll all lose our heads!"
"Bill, do not speak like that to Albus Dumbledore!" Molly yelled after Fred and George revived their angry mother.
"I will speak to him however I want! When Heir Potter-whatever reports this to Amelia Bones, we'll be dead at the hands of the goblins or shovelling dragon shite for twenty years," the eldest Weasley son shouted. Harry liked the way Bill stood up to Dumbledore and to his mother when she was yelling so wildly.
"Now, I am certain it is not as bad as all that!" Dumbledore assured the family.
"No, Bill is right," Arthur said sadly. "An unprovoked attack on an heir will not be swept under the rug by the Wizegamot."
)(*****)(
Minerva sighed, wishing for a spell to reverse time so she could change events. If she had arrived five minutes earlier, Bill would not have attacked Harry Potter. The former head boy's life was likely forfeit for the attack and Dumbledore would slip around the blame.
Mimicking his head of house, Harry sighed, "Professor, I have no desire to destroy the Weasley family. They are Albus Dumbledore's pawns, and they don't remember how to be put their own interests ahead of his 'greater good'."
The teenager shook his head and asked, "Can you propose a solution that will keep the Weasley children at Hogwarts away from me?"
"I can," she replied immediately. "I will cast an enchantment where they cannot see, hear or even understand anyone speaking about you. They cannot speak to you or cast any spells at you."
Molly moaned, "Then how are Harry and Ginny to fall in love?"
Minerva frowned and spoke directly to Molly. "There are too many life debts for there to be any marriage between Harry and Ginny. He saved her from a basilisk and from possession by Tom Riddle. Mother Magic would never allow Heir Potter to marry a vassal."
"Vassal? Ginny is not a vassal!" Molly shouted. "Harry will fall in love with Ginny…"
"Oh, do shut up, Molly!" Arthur said as he left her side to sit in one of the few chairs left in one piece. "Professor McGonagall, I accept your plan. If you will make my four children forget Harry Potter, we will be in your debt."
"Arthur!" protested his wife, her face turning bright red.
"Molly, as head of the family, I order you to be silent."
"I am not a dog!" she insisted with a growl.
"You will be divorced if you do not stop causing problems today!"
"No! You don't mean that!" she yelled. "Everything would have worked out if Bill had beaten Harry in the duel. He would agree to the betrothal agreement…"
"Oh, don't mention that be-damned betrothal agreement!" yelled Arthur, frightening Molly. In twenty-four years of marriage, Arthur had never yelled at her!
"But, Ginny and Harry are…We signed…," Molly's statements grew jumbled as her confusion grew. "The headmaster drew up the agreement. He is Harry's guardian and has the right…"
Now, Harry laughed and conjured a chair on the opposite side of the room from Arthur Weasley, and he kept his wand in his hand. The look in his eyes could almost be called 'gleeful' as he said, "Albus Dumbledore has too many problems to worry about the Weasleys and their obligations. The goblins are auditing every expense the headmaster used my parent's money on for the last ten years. They will collect every knut from his vaults and from the vaults of his Flaming Chickens."
"Sturgis Padmore and Mundungus Fletcher are working off their debts in the dragon pens below Gringotts already. All the Flaming Chickens will end up in the dungeons under Gringotts," Harry explained.
"What?" asked Molly going pale. McGonagall cast a stupefy at Dumbledore before he could speak and interfere with Molly's confession.
"Harry, you aren't serious, are you? The goblins…" asked Molly as Bill slid to the floor in exhaustion, Fred and George watched silently, and Ron wondered if he could slip away; Lavender had transfigured a bed for them in a deserted classroom in the Astronomy Tower to enjoy some quality alone time this afternoon.
"How much money did we receive, Molly?" Arthur asked.
"We didn't receive any galleons directly," Molly insisted. "Dumbledore set up a scholarship program that paid for the twins to come to Hogwarts. We couldn't afford to send any more after Charlie started. Aunt Muriel paid for Percy to attend but then…"
"And Ron and Ginny?" Arthur asked. "Their scholarships are from the same fund?"
"Yes," Molly confessed, her face turning bright red in embarrassment. McGonagall stared at Dumbledore and thought of ways to kill the wizard that would leave his corpse intact for a funeral. The four youngest Weasleys had been nothing but trouble for her as head of Gryffindor House.
"I propose we just forget this entire episode happened," Dumbledore said, grasping at straws as he threw off Minerva's spell of silence.
Ginny sat on an infirmary bed between Fred and George, crying as her dreams lay shattered on the infirmary floor – she could still see the ruby gleaming in the afternoon sunlight.
Ron shook with anger – damn 'snake boy' threw his mother's spell back at her and knocked her into the wall, and hurt his sister some way or the other he didn't understand. But he knew Lavender would make him feel better.
)(*****)(
Rather than listening to Dumbledore, Arthur and Molly, Harry heard the voices of his family magics. Suddenly understanding what they demanded, Harry rose and crossed to stand over Bill Weasley. He reached down and tilted the man's head up, gazing into his light blue eyes. Bill's first instinct was to pull away but the gaze of the green eyes caught and held him.
Then Harry spoke in parseltongue and Bill Weasley's eyes flew open wide as his magic understood the words, {I forgive the theft but there will be no more scholarship funds. And there's one consequence of this duel that can't be avoided. Something happened in our duel; my family magics were impressed; very impressed indeed. You are a powerful, well-trained wizard.}
"Thank you?" Bill said hesitantly, not certain how to respond.
{The agreement your parents signed is called 'socium familae' or families ally,} Harry told the curse-breaker. {We are both victims of this agreement that neither of us signed or wanted, and the same family magics demand that there be consequences to the attempt to force a betrothal.}
"How?" asked Bill.
{I ask you to consider acting as my shield in battle and tutor me in duelling and fighting until I turn seventeen.} Harry's face betrayed nothing as he turned away, summoning the Potter betrothal ring from the floor. As he pocketed the precious ring, he gave a look at Dumbledore that frightened the old wizard.
"My family magics suggest that I take William Weasley as my shield in battle for the next two years," Harry announced. "The valid 'socium familae' makes this my choice as the senior family."
Hearing the announcement, Molly screeched and wouldn't stop; she bellowed and threatened to burst more windows in the infirmary. Minerva cast another silencing spell the woman while Arthur sat in shock; his eldest son was lost to the Heir of Slytherin!
"The Weasley family offended Potter-Black-Slytherin and they must pay their debt," Harry announced before he turned back to the curse-breaker.
Harry smiled at Bill and hissed, {The family magics assure me that you will be a very good tutor and teach me a great deal. Don't believe anything Dumbledore tells you.}
"Wait! How does a betrothal contract let you make Bill your tutor for fighting?" Arthur demanded. "He's a curse-breaker, not a battle wizard!"
"Remember that Dumbledore didn't give you a betrothal agreement, Mr. Weasley," Harry explained. "It was 'socium familae' and allies your family under my guidance. I can choose Bill as my battle tutor if I want…"
He glanced at Bill and changed his statement, "…if he and I want."
"And your family's debts to Heir PBS are too great to ignore," Minerva explained to Arthuer. "He saved Ginevra from the basilisk and the Dark Lord in a single battle. After this aborted betrothal, Bill must relieve some of the debt."
"That's stupid!" shouted Ron. "What debts? All he did was kill a basilisk?"
"No, stupid is a fourteen-year-old boy screwing a fourteen-year-old girl every afternoon in an astronomy tower classroom!" Minerva replied. Ron Weasley turned white – if his mother heard McGonagall's comment, he was dead… Suddenly he wasn't concerned about Harry Potter any longer and ran from the infirmary.
{Let me help you up,} Harry said as he helped Bill to stand and conjured a chair for him. While next to Bill, Harry slipped the betrothal ring into the curse-breaker's pocket and said, {Listen to the family magic. I'll be in touch in a few days and you can defer this obligation to the next generation if you wish. I won't force you to do anything.}
The teenaged wizard quietly left the infirmary, Dumbledore's eyes never leaving the boy though his attempts at compulsion spells fell off the boy's shields to dissipate on the stone floor.
)(*****)(
In the ruins of the Hogwarts infirmary, Minerva McGonagall wanted to send the Weasley twins back to the Gryffindor dormitory, while Molly and Arthur continued their argument as Poppy treated Ginny's hand. The girl's tears flowed from the pain of her burnt finger and her disappointed hopes.
"My Bill can't be a servant for Harry for the next two years!" shouted Molly. "The boy has to fight the Dark Lord and that would place Bill in the battle. He'd be killed!"
"Why didn't you tell me Bill was back in London?" asked Arthur ignoring his wife's worry.
"He won't join the Order of the Phoenix! Or meet any of the witches I want!" Molly muttered, ignoring Arthur completely.
"Your schemes just condemned our son to have to fight the Dark Lord at the side of the Heir of Slytherin!"
"Harry must get rid of the Black and Slytherin family magics before he marries Ginny!" insisted Molly, ignoring her husband.
With everyone's attention elsewhere, Dumbledore attempted apparition from the infirmary to his office. Unfortunately, the headmaster splinched himself, leaving his left leg behind. This was the first-time the twins saw the aftermath of a failed apparition and they listened as McGonagall and Pomphrey both cursed the headmaster while the mediwitch gathered up the skinny leg and the assistant headmistress called for the head elf. The tiny house elf popped into the room and bowed respectfully to Minerva.
"Tipsy, I need an elf to get the headmaster to Saint Mungo's emergency centre and another to take this leg there to have it reattached. Then have some elves clean the infirmary and others to bring new windows to install here. I don't think the old ones can be repaired."
"Yes, Miss Kitty," the tiny elf responded as elves appeared and set to work.
)(*****)(
Scene Break: Saint Mungo's Emergency CentreAlbus lay on the rug in his office for only a few seconds before he realized what had happened. Never in over a century of apparition had he left a fingernail or whisker behind.
'I splinched myself! Merlin, I hate getting old!' Dumbledore grumbled as he tried to roll over. A house elf popped into the room to grab him and pop out to reappear in the emergency centre at Saint Mungo's where Dumbledore saw a healer take possession of his missing leg from another Hogwarts house elf.
Without any ceremony, Dumbledore was strapped to a gurney and rolled into an emergency operating room where the healers said placating phrases without listening to his questions. When a large, dark-haired healer stepped into the room, the man looked at the leg and then pulled Dumbledore onto his side without the curtesy of a 'hello', banished the headmaster's outlandish robes with the flick of his wand, and began casting spells.
An itch began and grew stronger with each second. Within two minutes, Dumbledore was protesting and then yelling in pain. The healers ignored him while a mediwitch placed a rolled-up cloth into his mouth and told him to bite down on it. His arms were not free, but Albus spit out the cloth, screaming curses at the healers who burned his hip with dragon fire!
)(*****)(
Healer Marcus Bulstrode rose from his desk as an emergency patronus appeared in his office. The voice of the attending healer in the emergency room came from the sparkling giant turtle, "Marcus, we need your help. Elderly wizard splinched himself – leg was left behind but its recovered and available for reattachment."
Bulstrode ran from his office – every second counted when reattaching a limb to an elderly patient. Many times, the core of an elderly wizard would close off the wound very quickly to save power. If they waited too long, the limb would not re-attach despite the use of powerful spells.
Arriving in emergency, Marcus immediately examined the leg and found a clean cut that still carried a magical aura – the leg was still good. Without looking at the patient's face, he immediately examined the old wizard's hip and found a faint aura still visible with the wound. He began giving orders to the healers who didn't hesitate to follow each command. The head of the emergency department authorized the use of the valuable ingredients – including the newly acquired basilisk venom from Gringotts – to reattach the leg.
)(*****)(*
Bill looked around the room – the elves had cleaned the room and were almost done installing the new windows. He watched his family and Hogwarts staff continue to move and talk while his brain attempted to process the offer from Potter – be his battle shield.
Ignoring Bill, McGonagall and Pomphrey stood to one side as Molly and Arthur hugged Ginny – her tears had stopped finally as her parents consoled her.
"Mom? What happened?" Ginny asked as her mother cried and her father hugged her. "Why did the ring not like me? I was supposed to be Lady Potter next summer."
"Ginny, it's been a long month," Arthur explained. "It is January and the new term at Hogwarts has begun."
"I missed the Christmas Ball!" Ginny exclaimed angrily, even as her hand continued to throb. "I'm supposed to get new robes to wear!"
"You don't need new robes," Arthur said. "Just study hard this spring!"
"We need to get Potter back here and get the curse off that ring!" Molly screamed and raised her wand to send a message to Harry before Arthur grabbed her arm and pointed it toward the ceiling.
"Stop! Haven't you caused enough harm to our family already?" Arthur demanded. "What do you think will happen if you attack that boy? His family magics will defend him!"
"But we must do something, Arthur!"
"We have already done too much!" he insisted. "If we hadn't listened to Dumbledore, you wouldn't have been petrified for a month and this damned betrothal wouldn't be destroying our family."
"There are too many debts owed now, Arthur," McGonagall said. "Heir PBS said he would take Bill as a battle shield and betrothed…"
Arthur raised his head, "If Bill agrees to betroth with Heir Slytherin, he is no…"
"Stop!" McGonagall ordered. "You don't know what you're saying…"
"…longer my son!"
There was a loud but clear musical note heard in the Hogwarts infirmary. Apparently, Mother Magic was aggravated at Molly and Arthur Weasley, and with Arthur's words, the husband and wife lost their connection to the Weasley family magic as William became the head of the family.
)(*****)(*
Healer Marcus Bulstrode stood back from the operating table as the screams from his patient began to subside.
"No pain reducer for the next four hours," he told the other healers and orderlies as they began to prep the wizard to levitate out of the emergency room and into a recovery room. "The pain is necessary for his nerves to finish mending."
"Yes, Healer Bulstrode," the medi-witch in charge of the team acknowledged. She directed the orderlies levitating the gurney to be gentle but the old wizard continued to groan – reattaching a limb required a solution that included basilisk venom that made it caustic and extremely painful.
"Did you realized who the patient is?" asked the head of the Emergency Centre.
"No," Marcus admitted. "Who is it?"
"Albus Dumbledore."
Bulstrode stopped and frowned. The other healer leaned closer and asked, "Problem?"
"No," Marcus said immediately. "But he is reportedly hugely powerful. How did he splinch himself if he is so powerful? Remember Whitehead from last fall? He was a weak wizard and splinched off two limbs. Dumbledore shouldn't have lost a finger, let alone a leg."
"Well, he is very old."
Bulstrode nodded. "I better check on him in three hours. If the leg is not moving freely he'll have to go without pain meds for more than four hours."
The head of the Emergency Centre frowned. "That's a long time."
"His magical core must repair the damage and pain potions interfere with the healing process. The limb would rot if the blood vessels and such don't heal."
)(*****)(
Helmond ran through the door of the Hogwarts infirmary and searched the room for Heir Potter-Black-Slytherin. Not seeing his client in the room anywhere, but recognizing the red-head curse-breaker facing off with Molly and Arthur Weasley, he approached carefully. When the loud musical note was heard, he paused and watched a flare of magic as the father lost his position as head of the minor branch of the Weasley family.
'Well, that might solve some problems,' the goblin decided. 'Now, we only need to retire Arthur and Molly to a warm climate and forget about them.'
Making eye contact with Bill Weasley, Helmond made a point of glancing around the room, 'Where is Harry Potter?'
Bill cut his eyes out in the hall, 'He left this madhouse.'
Helmond hurried from the room and in the hall, called for Dobby. The house elf appeared and quickly grabbed Helmond to pop the goblin to Harry's location outside the library.
Pleased to see his accountant at Hogwarts, Harry greeted him with a bloody blessing, "Helmond! May your children's shoes be made from the skins of your enemies."
'Heir Potter-Black-Slytherin counts today's development as very important indeed.'
"What happened Heir Harry?" the goblin asked. "Darkest and I both felt something distressing you! I beat him to the floo to come check on you."
Snickering at the image of the two goblins pushing their way to the floo, Harry explained, "The headmaster and the Weasleys attempted to enact the agreement by putting my mother's betrothal ring on Miss Weasley's hand!"
The goblin's jaw dropped, "What? But the family magics…"
"The Potter family magic punished her. She screamed and tried to get the ring off.
"How did she survive?"
"Her brother Bill convinced her to renounce the betrothal and the ring fell off."
"Then you are free! That cancelled the contract!"
"Well…maybe not," Harry said. "Dumbledore had placed Bill under a compulsion to attack me. We fought a duel in the infirmary."
"Weasley was in one piece when I just left him there with his parents?" Helmond said. "I thought you would have decorated the walls with his entrails."
"My family magics were very impressed with William Weasley," Harry replied. "He is strong, knowledgeable and well-trained. I asked him to be my battle tutor for the next two years."
"What?"
Harry shrugged, "I asked Bill Weasley to act as my battle shield until I am seventeen."
The goblin stopped and was lost in thought while Harry continued his reasoning, "The agreement was 'socium familae' and that means the Weasleys are my 'allies'. Bill's an accomplished curse-breaker while I'm only fourteen and I need a trained wizard to tutor me! I know I'll never get to be just a kid."
"Very wise Heir Harry." The goblin nodded as he considered the advantages to Gringotts from this arrangement.
"Bill hasn't said yes yet. I told him to listen to the family magics for a couple weeks and then we'd talk."
"You…" the goblin paused. "You left him with the betrothal ring?"
"Yes, I put the ring in his pocket and gave him the option to decline the offer," Harry explained.
"Gringotts will encourage Mr. Weasley to take the position," the goblin said firmly.
Seeing the determination in his accountant's face, Harry paused and then called for Dobby. The elf popped into the room, bowed, and asked, "Yes, Mr. Heir Harry?"
"Dobby, I hope to have a battle tutor soon. I want you to select two more elves – strong and smart ones – to work under Kreature to protect the wizard. They are to work invisibly and protect him while he is at work, in public and at home, but not interfere with his job unless he is in danger."
"Curse-breaker Weasley's work is dangerous," Holcomb replied. "Tombs have many curses on them."
"Then we will train more smart elves to help with his work," Harry replied. "And he hasn't said 'yes' yet, so there's nothing to worry about today."
)(*****)(
Unhappy to be ignored, Molly shouted, "What about Ginny and Harry?"
"Yes!" Ginny agreed. "Dumbledore promised that I would be Lady Potter!"
Arthur frowned as he realized that his authority over the family was gone and his eldest son was in charge now. Without a word, he reached for another biscuit and his cup of tea.
"Well, say something, Arthur," Molly insisted. "You're head of the family!"
"No Father isn't," Bill said. "I'm the head of the family now."
"What does that mean?" asked Ginny. As far as she was concerned, her mother was head of the family and as soon as she married Harry, he would learn that Ginny was head of their household as well.
"Do you ever listen in history classes," Minerva chided the girl. "In a magical family, the head of the family decides if you can get married, move…"
"The head of the family decides if you can go to school," Poppy added, just a little gleefully that there might not be raucous Weasleys at Hogwarts next year. "You know Minerva, Severus will be sorry he missed this afternoon."
"I promised to share the memory with him," Minerva explained, not taking her eyes off the Weasley parents.
"Mother and Father, it is time for you to return to the Burrow. You have to work tomorrow," Bill told his father. "And Mother has many things to keep her busy at home."
"We're not safe there," Molly insisted. "Dumbledore wanted us to live at Grimmauld Place to be safe from the Death Eaters."
"There aren't any Death Eaters left alive and I raised protective wards at the Burrow," Bill said. "In fact, I shall place a fidelius on the Burrow to protect you."
"No," Molly insisted. "We need to be at Grimmauld Place!"
"Mother, why were you ejected from Grimmauld Place last fall?"
"Find Harry and ask him," Molly ordered, attempting to control the conversation, and put her son in his place.
It was Minerva who answered Bill's question saying, "At the last Order of the Phoenix meeting, it was explained that Molly and Arthur were ejected from Grimmauld Place for threatening Sirius Black and the Black family's house elf, and for stealing from the Black vaults."
"But we have to be at Grimmauld Place to be safe when Harry has to fight the Dark Lord and die!"
"Mother…" Bill began to interrupt. "Heir Potter-Black…"
"No, when Harry marries Ginny, she'll be safe at Grimmauld Place when he dies fighting the Dark Lord!"
"Dumbledore's predictions again," Minerva said, shaking her head sadly.
"Dumbledore is a great wizard! He is Harry's magical guardian and you should listen to him!" Molly insisted.
Bill's face was stony when he insisted, "The Burrow is safe. Father has his job and we'll talk about next year after the end of the school year. If my siblings are to continue at Hogwarts, I must see good grades."
"What do you mean 'if'?" screeched Molly. "My babies deserve an education!"
Minerva leapt into the conversation again, "Bill, if Ginevra works very hard, she might pass enough of her classes to be able to attend Hogwarts next year, but I doubt Ronald passes any of his classes. He is distracted by a classmate's charms entirely too much for a fourteen-year-old student."
"What do you mean?" Molly asked aghast that her innocent son should be spoken of this way.
Poppy smirked, "I made both Ron and his girlfriend demonstrate they know the contraceptive charms."
"What?" asked Molly, Arthur, and Bill simultaneously. Ginny sat back in her chair, trying not to draw attention to herself. She had thought about experimenting with Seamus to learn how to capture Harry's attention and now was glad she had not.
"My Ron would not…" Molly protested though Arthur fell silent when McGonagall made a sour face, which told Bill everything he needed to know.
Minerva cleared her throat and said, "Mr. Weasley."
Bill and his father both looked up but everyone noticed the assistant headmistress was looking at the son, rather than the father.
"Your brothers, Fred and George, are two very intelligent boys. They both did very well on their OWLS last year and qualified for the advanced levels of arithmancy, potions, and transfiguration. They declined to attend the arithmancy class…"
Arthur frowned at Molly who wouldn't look at him again. Even Dumbledore had to have a parent's approval for a student to drop an advanced magical class.
Bill nodded, "I'll speak to them. They can pick up independent study in arithmancy and take the year-end exams after completing the class this summer. Their scores will determine if they return next year."
"Bill, you can't deny your brothers the chance to take their NEWTS," Molly fussed.
"I won't deny them the chance," Bill agreed. "But if they're going to just play and spend their time on jokes, my money will be better spent elsewhere."
"What do you mean 'your' money?" asked Ginny. "Get Dumbledore to use the money from the Potter vault for a scholarship like always. If you become Harry's guard, can you get his money?"
"Ginny, I have my own vault – I worked very hard for seven years at Gringotts and saved my salary and bonuses. If you attend Hogwarts next year, it will be my money that pays for your tuition and supplies, not Heir Potter-Black-Slytherin."
"You get paid bonuses?" asked Molly, her voice growing louder. "Why haven't you shared the money with us? I need a larger kitchen at the Burrow!"
)(*****)(*
Poppy examined Ginny again to make certain there were no side-effects from the petrification. Her parents used the floo to return to the Burrow and McGonagall waited to escort Ginny to her dormitory.
"You'll have several assignments from before Christmas…" Minerva stopped and spoke sharply to the girl. "Ginevra, are you paying attention to what I am saying?"
)(*****)(
Albus Dumbledore was hospitalized for three days – the first day was to ensure that the leg had fully reattached and functioned normally. The second day was to sleep and recover from the 'excessive' pain he had endured. The headmaster attempted to lecture Marcus Bulstrode about the appropriate use of pain potions and the healer got into a shouting match with Dumbledore that brought Healer Frederick to the VIP suite to calm tempers.
The third day Dumbledore remained at Saint Mungo's was to recover from a case of goblin itch – a nasty rash that covered half of his body and caused him to scratch without ceasing until he was fully dunked in a tub of a potion with the consistency of Hippogriff snot. Healer Bulstrode made certain to check on the headmaster each day and proscribed the 'snot bath' for a second time for the afternoon of the third day. Albus signed himself out of Saint Mungo's the following morning and used the floo to return to Hogwarts.
The Daily Prophet included news each day of the headmaster's hospitalization in the sports section of the paper. He was a contestant in the Tri-Wizard Tournament with interesting happenings while the news stories of problems with Fleur's love life were stale. The handsome curse-breaker from Gringotts escaped the veela's allure and she was disappointed in love according to the reporters.
A week after returning to Hogwarts amid continued demands for interviews from reporters; Dumbledore was thrilled when Cedric lead Hufflepuff to victory over Gryffindor in the latest Quidditch match. That gave the Daily Prophet a new set of stories and pushed the unfortunate incident to the back page.
'How fortunate I decided to re-instate the Quidditch season,' Albus thought. 'Let Cornelius take the credit but only the headmaster could actually let the games occur.'
Then Albus had to deal with the goblin audit for the rest of the day. He missed the three staff meetings and had no idea how the year was progressing for the students. The tournament's next task was approaching and Albus grinned with glee – the underwater endurance test would certainly impress the public. He planned to use his own brother as his hostage, Cho Chang for Cedric's hostage, and Bill Weasley as the hostage for the veela. He shuddered slightly – her allure made him nauseous if he was in the company too long.
'Now, how do I pull Harry Potter into the contest?' he wondered. 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is involved in this someway or the other…' He had to chuckle at the silly name. 'Could I get Harry involved to save Cho? I wish I knew of someone Harry cared about…'
)(*****)(*
Ginny sat on the floor beside her bed in the girl's dormitory. The other girls had been more kind than she had expected. She'd bragged about being 'Lady Potter' for the last week – her mother and Headmaster Dumbledore had promised she would be betrothed to Harry this year and married next year. She'd never be poor again!
Now, the betrothal was gone, Harry was furious with her entire family and he was very powerful – he could curse all of them. Her hand still hurt and her finger was crooked and broken. Madam Pomphrey promised that in a few weeks it would be healed but it took time when family magics caused the damage. There was noise on the stair as suddenly Luna Lovegood appeared, stepping around the Gryffindor girls as if they were merely trees in the forest rather than teenage witches trying to block her path.
"Hello, Ginny. I hope you're feeling better without so many blustery fidgets around your head," Luna said with a kind smile. At that moment, Professor Flitwick completed a complicated charm for Professor McGonagall and Harry Potter vanished from the minds and vision of the four Weasley children enrolled at Hogwarts.
"Hello," the red head replied carefully. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to bring you this," the blonde girl said, handing over a single glove. "It's a magical bandage for your hand. It will mimic the colour of your skin, and protect your finger while it heals while looking like your regular hand."
"Where did you get it?"
"_ got it for me," Luna explained. "I wanted to help you and _ got it from the goblins."
"I couldn't hear what you said," Ginny replied and Luna tilted her head to one side.
"Just know it came from a friend of mine," Luna said as Ginny slid the glove on her hand. It did resemble her skin and protected her injured finger.
Without a word of thanks, Ginny rose from the floor and went to a mirror to check her hair.
'If I see… who? Who do I want to see?' she wondered. Already forgotten, Luna headed down the stairs and wove between the different girls who attempted to block her exit from Gryffindor tower.
)(*****)(