"Children, I know you mean well, but you have to open this door. Right now!" Dumbledore had no idea what was going on. Or why. He'd met with the Mediwitches sent to transfer the young Weasley boy and was taking them to meet the poor child when he came across this: a door barricaded with physical and magical booby traps. It was nothing he couldn't disable, but his instincts were telling him to tread carefully here. The Addams boy was behind this – whatever this was – and he'd sounded serious when he'd told the others to stay outside.

"You don't want to come in here." Fred cried from the inside. He was on keep-everyone-else-out duty whilst Herido helped his brother. Ron was in a bad way, so when Heri had come in saying he could make him better, the twins decided to trust him.

"Mr Weasley…"

"There's poo!" There was no poo. "Soooo much poo!" Ron was lying on his hospital bed, only half conscious and shivering. "And vomit!" There was no vomit. "We are swimming in vomit in here!" He just hoped that was enough to keep the adults outside for a while.

"Ron, Ron, are you… he isn't listening to me, is he?" Heri asked George, who just shrugged in response. "He looks like he's over the Toxic Shock now, right?" Again, another shrug.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" The twin asked, though he felt he already knew the answer.

"Of course." He hit Ron hard across the face, but the boy hardly reacted at all. "That's probably a good sign…" There was a small part of George that doubted Herido's ability to deal with this, but as he listened to his twin telling the adults on the other side of the door about the pretend infectious puss, he realised they were already committed to this course of action.

"Hey Ronald, I bet you're feeling super hungry now, ey?" Heri tried and was relieved by the grunt that could easily be interpreted as a yes. He took a black Tupperware box from his extended pockets and cracked it open. Ron's eyes immediately shot over to the box. Heri took out a large chunk of raw, bloody meat and didn't even have to raise it half way before Ron sat upright and snatched it away, devouring it in no time at all.

By the time the box was empty Ron was starting to look a lot better. He had a beautiful pallor and his eyes were starting to focus again.

"You have one minute before we open this door." The headmaster warned.

"Ok, Ron, focus." The boy looked up at Heri this time. "Great, Ron, we need you to tell them that you're feeling all better now ok?" He looked unsure about that so George stepped forward and took over as he used a wet cloth to clean the blood from his brother's chin.

"Ron, we promise we are going to make sure you're ok. We're family. Just, please, trust us." Ron was actually moved by the intensity in his normally jovial brother.

"Ok, I do feel a lot better now." He conceded. "What on earth was in that?" He gestured to the box that Heri was putting away.

"Yeh, we also need you to not tell them about that meat." He could see the questions coming so continued. "We will tell you all about it later, but they won't understand and you want to be able to go home again this decade, right?" Ron gave a short nod, which Heri repeated at Fred who then finally opened the doors and let the others in.

And so that was how Herido found himself in Dumbledore's office an hour later.

"I'm glad to finally talk with you Herido." The old man said. Fawkes had flamed away the second Heri had entered the office, but he was choosing to ignore that. "And I'm certainly glad you chose to use your 'all-purpose cure' to help your friend." They both knew there was no such thing as an all-purpose cure for curses, but Ronald Weasley was fine and healthy by the opinion of every mediwizard who'd examined him, so he was taking this as a good thing. The Weasleys were a good family so he was honestly glad that the youngest son had been saved, even if he didn't know what Heri had done to counter the curse.

"Well I'm glad to be learning under such a distinguished man." Heri replied and he meant it. He was always grateful to learn from the best, but honestly he hadn't seen anything 'great' from the old man yet. However one look with his Sight told him the man could be incredible if he wanted to be.

"And you're enjoying your time at this school?"

"I'm enjoying English culture." Obviously an evasive response. "I'm surprised though that you aren't teaching any natural sciences. I thought you were progressive, professor?" Grandmamma had insisted he continue his science and math education while at school, and Hermione had joined him in this extracurricular study, but his other friends wanted nothing to do with it.

Dumbledore let out a long-suffering laugh.

"I'm afraid I would be hounded out of position in a week if I tried anything so radical." They shared a laugh at that and the Headmaster was surprised to find the boy so easy to get along with. Maybe the child was here just to keep him off balance. He was expecting dark and he'd got a boy who drew no distinction between pureblood and muggleborn and championed muggle knowledge. Then again he'd dealt with a curse that was so dark even he didn't know anything about it, was obviously involved in the Flint incident and he still suspected was responsible for the elf that went missing at the beginning of the year.

"Mr Addams, we need to discuss your behaviour this morning."

"You mean when I saved Ron's life. I know, I know, but the twins are my friends and I didn't think it would hurt to protect their family and to be honest I was fascinated…"

"Please, Herido." The old man interrupted. "The issue isn't that you helped young Mr Weasley, it's the way you went about it. Trying to stop us reaching a child who desperately needed urgent care was foolish." Ok, Heri took offense to that. He leaned back and closed his eyes to take a couple of deep breaths. He hadn't thought about how he would deal with Dumbledore and he could admit that was probably arrogant of him. When he did eventually open them, his eyes fell on a small fiddle half buried in bric-a-brac. He stood to check it out.

"Do you play, Headmaster?" After a long sigh, he answered in the negative. "Do you mind?" Heri asked even as he raised the bow to play.

"Legend had it that Nero used that to barter for his soul from the devil. It's all nonsense of course, but let's not change the subject…" Dumbledore didn't even see it coming: Instrumental magic was rarely used, but the Addams' were all more than proficient and by the time Heri had finished his short dirge, the Headmaster was sound asleep. He really couldn't be bothered with listening to a good v evil speech right now. Nor did he savour the idea of being looked down on just because of his young age.

Ron had been discharged later that day and showed Heri and the others to the books he'd been looking at when he was cursed. Heri was hugely disappointed when he discovered that the cursed book only had enough juice for one person. It was a shame, because that would have made a really great gift for Pubert.

"So are you going to tell us what happened?" Draco pressed for the answer they'd all been dying to know.

"Yeh, what happened to me?" Ron asked with a glare. He was blaming the Slytherins for this; if it wasn't for them he never would have been in this room.

"Ok, well, you know, of course, of Necrotizing Fasciitis?" At the blank looks he continued, "Well it's a flesh eating bacteria and a long time ago a witch in Tanzania used it as a base for an amazing curse. The curse basically changes a person and if they survive the transition – you're welcome by the way – they then need a very specific diet to live."

"Are you saying I have to stick to a special diet from now on?" Ron asked, absolutely horrified by the prospect. "What was it you gave me? What do I need to eat?"

"Long pig." Hermione paled immediately at his answer.

"What's that?"

"Does it matter?" Hermione asked quickly. She didn't think this should be announced to such a large group.

"I guess not. It was the most amazing thing I've ever tasted." Ron had a fond, longing look as he spoke.

"Well that's good, because it was human and it's what you have to live on from now on." So, apparently Heri wasn't keen on Hermione's idea of keeping this quiet.

The room was silent for several seconds before the cries of disgust and outrage started. Hermione glared hard at Heri; he was enjoying this, the evil git!

"What? No! I can't… you can't be… that's evil and disgusting and…" Ron was desperately looking for the joke here. This couldn't be real.

"What about 'the most amazing thing you've ever tasted.'" Draco teased.

"You're not helping!" Hermione cried as she tried to stop the cursed boy from tearing his hair out in despair.

"I don't think you're appreciating how lucky you are to have been gifted with such a rare curse." Heri tried to reason with the ginger boy. Really, he didn't understand why he was taking this as a bad thing. "You get to appreciate something the rest of us can't, you'll have heightened senses and reduced impulse control and you'll save a fortune on groceries." He really was trying to be helpful.

"Yes and your family are poor so that will be helpful." Daphne hit Draco this time.

"You guys are sick! Stay away from me!" Ron finally stormed out and Heri brushed off the others' concern. Ron would come round sooner or later. He didn't have a choice.

When everyone finally started to disperse Heri took a lazy look around the room, wondering what other treasures might be hidden here. Maybe he could even find something to give his family for Yule, or else leave a couple of cursed objects around the castle. He'd love to see how everyone would react to that; they were all so twitchy here.

He used his Sight to find something worth his time, and didn't have to look long before he hit the jackpot. He couldn't contain his grin as he dug out the object that was radiating twisted, unnatural black magic. It was breath-taking in its malevolence and it seemed to be calling out to him in pained wails. Poor tortured object.

A piece of Voldemort's soul. Another Horcrux. Oh boy, that Voldemort was crazy after all, Heri thought as he stared into the diadem. Not only that, he was also massively cocky to have left it lying around here. Or maybe that was the point; that someone could come across it easily.

He wondered if there were more. If Voldemort had been cutting up and mutilating his soul like a delicious pizza that could have affected his mind. It was something worth looking into. In the meantime, there was no way he was giving this little gift away.

The twins had adapted to Ron's new reality better than he had. They focused on their extra lessons and Heri had been good enough to teach them how to help their little brother when the time came. They weren't at all happy about it, but family was family and they were quickly realising just how far they'd go to support their own. They hadn't had to kill anyone yet, but they both knew that if it came down to Ron or a stranger, they'd choose Ron every time.

Quidditch provided a good enough distraction. Slytherin trounced Gryffindor even without Flint playing which had caused a petty rift between the twins and Draco. So far it had only resulted in bickering and silent treatment, but Heri was quickly moving from amused to annoyed with the situation. He was starting to think about locking them together in a room and letting them fight it out. Well, he'd always been good at making his own fun.

As Draco made some sarcastic remark to bait the two beaters, Heri looked out over the great hall for something more interesting. His eyes fell on Ron. Heri was impressed with how long the boy was holding out, especially after hearing about what a glut his usually was. Still, he wasn't looking too good now. He was staring down at his dinner but not really seeing anything, shaking and jumping at the slightest noise that penetrated the ambient chatter; a dropped fork, a raucous laugh, and Heri thought maybe he just needed one last nudge to push him over the edge.

Nobody paid him much attention when he hissed a command to Kounna, but his friends did notice when she returned a moment later and were a little disturbed when he took a Giant House Spider from her and held it cupped within his hands. His eyes never left Ron when he started chanting under his breath – too quiet for anyone to hear.

And nobody really noticed when Ron started to cough, but by the time he was standing, bent over the table and choking, many had gathered to try to be of assistance. He gave several more violent coughs and then threw up an enormous tarantula.

Pandemonium ensued and the staff quickly made their way over to the boy, who was now freaking out. He desperately tried to bat away the smaller spiders that were now coming out of his nose, his ears, and even his eyes. Only three of the teachers turned to witness Heri watching with a sadistic smirk.

Heri had been too busy concentrating on the spell to pay attention to the cries and shouts of the twins, but once they started to plead with him to let their brother go he finally spared them a look, slamming his palms together as he did, killing the spider and ending the spell.

The spiders that had manifested disappeared, but Ron still ran screaming from the hall.

"Bloody Hell! What did you do that for?" Fred asked and Heri wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn't because he'd enjoyed that quite a bit.

"Fun." He answered with a smile. "A little bit of boredom; honestly, anything other than Quidditch was refreshing." The twins wanted to question him further, but knew it would be pointless, so they rose from the table to follow their brother.

"Leave him." Heri said, sharper than he'd meant to. He just really wanted Ron to break already and knew that moral support at this stage would result in either a longer wait for him, or fratricide. He wasn't keen on either right now. The twins hesitated, but finally sat back down. It was then that they realised the power Heri had over them. He was fun and mischievous and a good friend, but he was also dangerous and they finally understood.

"You guys should come stay with me over the break. I know a man who can help Ron, once he's ready." Heri offered. "Percy is not invited." He quickly added for clarity. He'd hate to get stuck hosting that Weasley too.

Dumbledore had seen the spiders disappear and knew that Ronald Weasley would be fine once he'd calmed down, but he was very glad that it was almost Christmas. It had only been one term and he was at his wits end with the Addams boy.

Fortunately, it only took another day for Ron to snap. Unfortunately, it happened when Heri was communing with his family and everyone knew better than trying to open his drapes when he was 'sleeping'. By the time he was back in his body and heard Blaise desperately trying to wake him the situation was looking dire.

Neville had alerted everyone that his fellow first year Gryffindor hadn't returned to the dorms for curfew, and with a groan from the Slytherins, they all helped track him down. They couldn't contain the situation however and soon Draco came across Percy Weasley running hysterically down a corridor not far from Gryffindor tower. He was covered in blood and had a nasty scratch across his face.

"Malfoy! Get back to your dorm immediately! It's not safe!"

"Wait! Wait, Weasley, tell me what happened." Draco had to grab hold of him to halt his progress. He had a pretty good idea of what was going on and knew he couldn't let the prefect raise an alarm.

"Let go!" Weasley struggled, but Draco was getting better at running on adrenalin and had the presence of mind to feel out and focus his magic throughout his body. He used the extra strength it gave him to shove the older boy hard against the wall.

"No." He said calmly. "This is about Ron, isn't it? We have to help him right?" The prefect was still struggling so he shoved harder. "This is your brother we're talking about, so calm down and take me to him. I can help." He was silently congratulating himself on how sure he sounded. Inside he was telling himself that Herido would turn up before he had to actually face the cannibal. He didn't.

Percy eventually showed Draco into the Gryffindor common room, though he was still muttering about getting a teacher. The scene that greeted them would stay with Draco for a long time. He had never seen a dead body before, never mind one that had been mutilated so. There was blood all over the carpets and sat in the middle of it all, rocking back and forth was Ron Weasley. While Percy seemed frozen in place, Draco approached the boy like one would approach an animal so as not to spook it.

When Ron looked up, the blonde smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

"I bet you feel better now, right?" He said quietly. He couldn't believe this was happening: a Malfoy soothing a Weasley! He just hoped it never got out. "It's ok…"

"It's not ok!" Percy snapped back to reality and started for the door. Draco knew he couldn't let him leave, but now he had two Weasleys to deal with and more importantly to keep quiet. He let out a huge sigh of relief when Heri and Blaise came in.

Heri took one look at Percy and sighed before flicking his hand in a shooing gesture. The older boy fell like a dead weight to the floor.

"Oh, Ronald." Heri smiled. "I appreciate your work, but your brothers are going to be so mad about your choice of subject." Oliver Wood's face was completely intact. It seemed both houses were down one quidditch captain, but he thought that Gryffindor would suffer the more for it.

After that things moved along more smoothly. To their horror, he took out a huge anvil devil and meat cleaver and started to chop the body up into more manageable pieces. Blaise offered up his House Elves to clean the room, because they were apparently used to getting blood out of soft furnishings. The twins were found and tasked with cleaning up their little brother, but they had been initially overwhelmed with the reality of what Ron had done. Wood was a team mate and a friend, and where the concept of killing for their brother had seemed so distant; this was too real and too personal. It was only when Herido pointed out that he certainly wasn't going to clean the boy up and that if they didn't do it, he'd be arrested and sent away that they finally focused on their task and tried to comfort their brother. One thing at a time, they told themselves.

After the body was butchered and bagged (nobody bothered to ask about that), Heri gave one of the elves a local address to deliver it to.

Heri was more or less pleased with the situation: Ron wouldn't have a choice in his allegiances anymore, because he was his best bet for survival, not to mention the fact that his thinking would have to take a massive overhaul.

The only problem now was Percy. He was tempted to 'disappear' the prefect. It wasn't like Ron would know it was his own brother he was eating after all, but he could already tell that the twins would be upset with that solution and he really didn't fancy dealing with it. His options then were limited and he was running out of time, so he picked a solution that might prove interesting in itself.

Snape woke to a gentle wrapping on his door and scowled. Anything that needed his attention at this hour wouldn't be good. No doubt it was students up to mischief.

The last thing he'd been expecting was Herido Addams standing in a pitch black hallway levitating an unconscious Percy Weasley and asking to come in.

Things got more bizarre after that.

"So you want me to obliviate Weasley? Of what?" He almost regretted asking when he saw the satisfied smirk on Addams' face. "What, are not capable of doing it yourself?" He spat, unable to stop himself. It wasn't really a fair question as no eleven year old child could, but all the same Heri's eye twitched in annoyance.

"No." He answered, his voice laced with an irritation that made Snape uncomfortable. "Unfortunately it will take another summer to do it safely. My recent attempts have resulted in major brain damage." He spoke of this like it was no big deal and the Head of House felt both awed and disgusted with the boy. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before he spoke again.

"I think you know I can't do what you're asking. It would be unethical and illegal." Snape was actually dying to know what it was Percy Weasley had seen, but he couldn't afford to be so reckless. Heri considered threatening or hurting the man to make him comply, but he had the impression that Snape could be awfully stubborn.

"Tell you what, Professor, you do this for me and make a vow not to reveal anything you learn here today and I'll give you something you want."

"That's an awful lot to ask. What could you possibly have to offer in exchange?" He scoffed. Inside Snape imagined the dark child had a lot he could bribe him with. Any knowledge of the Addams family was invaluable.

Heri learned forward with that knowing smile the teacher found so very annoying. He summoned a file from the far end of the room, and the casual use of wandless magic was intriguing, but when Snape realised it was the hospital file on Harry Potter's death he started feeling uneasy.

"I can tell you what happened on Privet Drive six years ago." Heri teased and the potions master froze. The fact that he knew that address proved the child had some knowledge of Potter, and he'd spent years trying to figure out what had happened, but was it really worth the risk? Heri tapped the desk and sighed. "I can also tell you where young Mr Potter is now." Ok that had Snape's complete, undivided attention. Surely that meant the boy was indeed alive.

"Ok."

Sorry, I got a little caught up with Ron, but we are going back to America next chapter. xx