Wylde Twyned Furies - WTF
Harry Potter belongs to J. K. Rowling
Chapter 11
I awoke sore, cranky, and annoyed. Finally getting my wand, that had fallen between the headboard and mattress, I was able to cast finite to turn off the alarm spell. Getting the infernal caterwaul spell turned off at least allowed my pounding head some respite, but I could still hear the echo thumping. I hoped Pomfrey had the magical equivalent of aspirin to make me feel I actually got something from having to visit the medical wing. It was too damn early to be up after a late night, and several days of no sleep prior.
Swinging back the curtains to the bed I saw that Azalea must already be up. Probably why she hadn't been annoyed with the morning alarm going off whilst I played hunt the thimble with my AWOL wand. The curtains over the window were opened. I couldn't stop imagining eyes from the deep dark lake perving on my barely covered, far too female body. Wonder of wonders, I only had to look forward to it getting more female over the next few years too.
My stomach cramped to let me know it was there, and would as before be a constant annoyance today too. Merlin and Morgana but this royally sucked. Grabbing the curtains, and yanking them shut I ended the peep show for mermen, and the other lurkers in the dingy lake that wasn't much lighter and clearer in the day as it had been at night. It was dusk levels of lighting at best out there. Then finding my robe, I actually put something on, by covering the excuse for clothing that was apparently sleepwear.
"Tempus!" and the numerals 'nine thirty-three' showed I had slightly over twenty minutes to get dressed for my detention torture. I grabbed my wash bag and stumbled for the bathroom. I was now glad I had set my alarm spell to trigger the caterwaul intruder charm if the alarm was not turned off.
After having got dressed for the day, a second tempus charm informed me I had six minutes to get to the medical wing. I looked at my wand in my left hand and recalled Sirius mentioning last night how Lilaea had to get a second, obviously this one. I wonder what wood it is, and what the core is? It was fairly dark wood. Actually with the polished finish it seemed to have some red in the dark brown hue of the wand. It sort of reminded me of Diane's hair. It was wonderfully smooth. Shaking my head while reminding myself I needed to get moving, I holstered my wand.
I dashed out and up the stairs toward the common room. As I charged across the common room toward the exit I enjoyed the feeling of power, noticing the fear even some older Slytherins awarded my appearance in their midst. It wasn't quite the same as the parting of the red sea, but groups talking between me and the exit, quickly split apart to not be too close to me. One might even have contained fourth years, they were at least third years, if not the former.
"Breakfast is served 'till ten-thirty on the weekends!" someone yelled as I leapt two stairs at a time up from the dungeon levels of Hogwarts. Nice to know, but I of course was heading elsewhere. Thinking of my destination enabled my stomach to stop sending nauseas signals out, allowing me to continue my flight up the stairs.
I barreled into the ward to find five beds occupied and a curtain surrounding a sixth, further in from the entrance, and afore mentioned five patients.
"Ah Miss Greengrass, cutting it close?" Madam Pomfrey inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Slept through my alarm, and initially lost wand to cut it off, once it started caterwauling, but got here, as you said, on time."
"You skipped breakfast again?" Madam Pomfrey was looking at me far more annoyed than before.
"I had breakfast yesterday." I declared, slightly disgruntled.
"Eight grapes is not breakfast, especially when you then decide to skip lunch, dinner, and apparently this morning's breakfast. When it's added in that you didn't eat anything during the sorting feast, I am concerned. I will be watching you closely at lunch Miss Greengrass. I expect you to be there, and to eat a balanced meal.
"Anyway come here girl. This is Miss Granger, a Gryffindor. Cast the vitals monitoring spell that I had you casting yesterday on Mister Druewer."
As this charm seemed to be classified as neutral, I had no problem casting it silently. That enabled me to get all eight vitals monitoring simultaneously verses the one at once obtained with each vital called out as part of the monitor spell. This is what occurs when they are verbally cast, meaning the spell required being cast non-verbally if you wanted all eight to be monitored at the same time. It had the added benefit of not teaching Hermione how to cast. Petty true, but it is fun to know it would annoy her, and Madam Pomfrey wouldn't know I gained some pleasure from this morning's torture.
"So Miss Granger, what seems to be the problem?" I asked as the monitoring charm trundled out the vitals for my perusal alone. None were outside of normal. I was going to act as if I was employed here, and not on detention. I needed some positive PR.
"Oh, they shouldn't be sick Miss Greengrass. They just spent the night having got their magical vaccinations having entered our world." Madam Pomfrey informed me before Hermione was able to answer me. Pomfrey was stood at the next bed checking the vitals of another of the girls, and likely had looked at Hermione's previously too. I am sure she wasn't going to trust an eleven year old.
"Shouldn't Azalea, and Mister Potter have spent last night here too then?" I inquired.
"Well I do the boys' vaccinations this evening, but the Potters should have already got them when they were three and seven, as you did."
"They were raised in the muggle world, so I doubt they would have." I informed her, wondering if this was an honest mistake or deliberate. I was pretty sure dragon pox was lethal. Then again I am unsure if that is one of the magical diseases that has a vaccine. I was also worried if I needed the vaccinations or not, but that would be harder to get. I would get them though just in case I somehow needed them. I just wasn't so sure on how I would accomplish that.
"You are likely right. I will get Mister Potter to visit tonight with the other boys. As Azalea shares her room with you, I can let you monitor her vitals, if she agrees to it. As you mentioned the caterwaul charm, I know you can set an alarm that will wake you no matter what. Enabling you to check them tonight.
"So Miss Greengrass while I finish here, go and check the vitals on Mister Druewer. He is in a healing coma, and I have monitoring wards in there, so I will know what you are doing. Keep the privacy blinds up around the bed."
Obviously she had me cast the vital monitoring charm on Hermione to confirm I could do it still, and so I couldn't claim it forgotten or something while she left me with dickhead. There were layres upon layres to Pomfrey's sneakiness.
I don't know how much time I spent scowling at the shithead with the monitoring charm running before Pomfrey released the girls, and joined me.
"I want to see if I can get more healing, so you are going to cast the counter curse once more. Hold the wand here at this angle…"
An hour or so later and I was finally released from the torture. She had reminded me to eat a good lunch, but my mouth seemed full of ash. I was tired, cranky, and worn out once more. I just wanted to get to my room, curl up in bed, and sleep. I probably needed to run or do something physical, so I am able to eat a reasonable amount when lunch rolls round in a couple of hours. I wondered if they monitored what all kids ate, or if more likely, it was done by the house elves. They could then bring it to Pomfrey's attention after a fixed number of skipped or poorly eaten meals.
I was heading toward the main staircase, unsure if I wanted to run around the lake, or hide in my room when the three of them caught up with me.
"Hey Lily, these two agreed to come with me to see Hagrid. You are coming too." Azalea said, more than asked me.
"How was your healing class?" Daphne asked, prior to giggling.
"Bad, oh, and Azalea, you need your vaccinations. I got Pomfrey to add your brother to the muggleborn boys getting them tonight. You should have got them last night, with the girls. Can you believe the whole staff know you are forced to live with those despicable excuses, but forgot that meant you weren't vaccinated?" I was happy Azalea realized my concern in what Dumbledore was or was not doing from my comment as I had intended. "Also it seems they have a way of monitoring what we do, or do not eat. I need to get some exercise so I am hungry enough to eat something at lunch, or risk getting in trouble." I carefully watched Daphne while saying the second part, and confirmed that the information impacted her more than the general shock it afforded the two others. It seems my eating problem is likely a known disorder, and not me having difficulty with a new body's sense of smell. "So lead on McDuff."
When we got to Hagrid's hut it was to find it rather crowded. Fang happily slobbered over the new four victims, having already drooled on Harry, Hannah and Susan. Susan quickly got Hannah to sit on Harry's lap so there were three more chairs. She also somehow lassoed me, and dragged me onto her lap prior to me getting one of the open chairs. She promptly began blowing on my neck and ears, coupled with kissing the back of my neck. I am unsure who was more red, Hannah or myself. I was also amazed how touching of odd parts of my body was as erotic as if she had been touching places more inappropriate.
I knew to avoid the rock cakes, but was able to watch as five of the six others nearly broke their teeth on them. Daphne like myself had claimed to be too stuffed after eating a large breakfast to be able to eat anymore.
"I guess I should've had Azalea, and her friends come yesterday." Hagrid offered upon seeing how full his house was.
"Oh, no Hagrid, it is much better you did it this way." Susan jumped in. "With them being in different houses we need to keep finding things that we can do together, so they don't miss each other." The lot of the rotters, all agreed so I couldn't say anything. I don't think Hannah and Harry were aware why all the others were enjoying the enforced group visiting. Well Hannah might, Harry though was completely oblivious to the devils in angel suits, he thought were nice girls.
"You don't mind spending Saturday mornings with me, 'cause you don't have a shared afternoon of free time during the week?" Hagrid asked, and then actually cried in joy with tears too, when the six of them quickly said it would be perfect. I, of course couldn't say something against it, now.
"Oh, look. Someone tried to steal from Gringotts!" Tracey stated having read the headlines of the daily prophet that was on Hagrid's coffee table.
"The attempted robbery occurred on the same day you took Azalea, and I into Gringotts, Hagrid." Harry said, and when Azalea glanced at me I could see she knew, that I knew more about it.
"It says the vault was emptied the same day, just before the robbery." Tracey continued, and now Azalea was looking at me, and obviously my Occlumency shields weren't doing well hiding my emotions from my face.
"Hagrid you emptied a vault at Gringotts that day for Dumbledore." Harry said.
"Look, don't you all worry about that. That was official Hogwarts business. Professor Dumbledore knows what is going on, an' you don't need to worry nothin' about it, see." Hagrid butted in, grabbing the paper that Tracey had now picked up, and shoving it under some other books, and papers that were on another table. "Here, have some more rock cakes." Hagrid forced each of us, to at least take one rock cake 'for later', while herding us out of his house before more questions could be asked.
As the door slammed shut the others that weren't already clued in that Hagrid knew something about the Gringotts attempted theft were wising up. Looking around I could see that even Harry, Hannah, and Susan were catching up with Tracey, who was catching up with Daphne, and Azalea.
"You already knew." Daphne stated while staring at me, and not asking it as a question.
"Wer… What!" Susan yelled.
"She knows. Probably everything. I know my sister." Daphne stated.
"Look lets walk toward the lake." I stated to get us away from Hagrid's. By walking fast, and not waiting for others to comment I was fairly sure they would follow, and wait for me to talk, rather than keep talking where we had stood.
"Fine, last night Azalea told me about the strange vault they also visited in Gringotts when they got their galleons for school supplies. How Hagrid clammed up saying it was official Hogwarts business, and it was for Professor Dumbledore. That the vault appeared empty except for the one wrapped item he removed. Hagrid also in the time they were together talked about how great Dumbledore was. When added to the fact that during the sorting feast Dumbledore talked about a corridor being out of bounds or suffer a terrible death and an old paper that mentions the theft conveniently left when we are at his house... Well I smelt a set up."
"Hey Hagrid does not set people up!" Harry yelled.
"Not Hagrid, he is a really nice kind man who hero worships Dumbledore. His biggest failings are talking too much about things that should be kept secret, and possibly being blind to the manipulations that Dumbledore might be doing."
"So you believe whatever was in the Gringotts vault, is now in the third floor corridor, Why?" Daphne asked.
"Well the reason sort of hinges on whether Dumbledore is deliberately manipulating Mister Potter into becoming his weapon that will do what he wants including sacrificing himself, or if he has become senile, and doesn't realize he is causing students, primarily the Potters and their friends, to be in danger this year."
"Why do you think Dumbledore wants to kill my brother?" Azalea stated while the others were staring at me like I had a third head. I was glad for Sirius's ability to appear as Harry's concerned sister, well he is his concerned Godfather, so not much of an acting stretch. It did however, allow me to push the conversation in the direction that made all pay attention to what I wanted them to.
"I had said sacrifice, not kill, and that is only if Dumbledore is actually not the leader of the light that history portrays him as."
"Hey Dumbledore is the leader of the light!" Harry interrupted.
"One who hid you and Azalea away in a nasty place, while telling the wizarding world that the 'boy-who-lived' and sister are in a safe place and they don't need to know where they have been hidden."
"How can you claim that he lied?" Susan declared a little irate."Dumbledore is the leader of the light. He is a hero, and the good guy."
"He claimed that the Potters were safe. Books are published full of lies about Mister Potter's childhood, and he does nothing to stop them. That makes him complicit in the lies and rumors being circulated, as he is the Potters magical guardian. A guardian who never bothers to visit them to ensure they are not being abused, fails to inform them he is their guardian, and does not stop the rumors and lies circulating...
"That's twice you have hinted or mentioned abuse." Susan butted in again.
"If you can let me finish answering the first question first." I tried to get things back on track, and took another breath. "I am pointing out that regardless of which of three things causes Dumbledore to behave as he does, the result is the same."
"You had said two before, not three. " Azalea started, then backed down as I growled.
"Either Dumbledore is too busy, too stupid and or senile, or he is doing this deliberately. Either way it ends up with a situation where the thief shows up at Hogwarts to steal the item now hidden in the third floor corridor, and Dumbledore is either too busy to be there to stop it, too stupid to ensure he is there to stop it, or he has ensured the Potters and their friends are the only ones available to stop it."
"So if he is too busy or too stupid he still shouldn't be our magical guardian, as we are not being represented. It still results in lies, rumors and abuse just as if he was deliberately causing it to occur. By using Hagrid to introduce the two of us to the magical world, we hear great things about him, and he appears a hero in our eyes. Making us more likely to allow him to manipulate us, if that was his intent." Azalea summarized.
"Lilaea where is your wand?" Daphne asks me.
Confused at the weird comment I draw my wand that was in its holster.
"Must be bleed through." Daphne mutters.
"Bleed through?" I asked wondering if this would clue me in on the bleeding issue from Thursday's letter.
"You drew your left hand wand. With your jumping to conclusions that require knowledge you shouldn't have, I was expecting you to draw your right hand one."
"I don't have a right hand wand. I am left handed." I was seriously wondering how we had entered twilight zone again with a conversation with Daphne. I also wasn't truly left-handed, my athame worked best in my right hand and I had found I could write with either, but my wand only felt right in my left hand.
"Of course you don't. Don't worry about it Lils. So what do you think is being hidden, and who do you think the thief is?" Daphne changed the subject. I was annoyed to see that Azalea was not confused like the 'puffs and myself were.
"Oh, nice, is it cherry?" Susan asked stroking my wand. When did she get so close to me? How the hell should I know what it was?
"It is cherry, Susan. Seven and a half inches, with a crushed Peruvian Vipertooth's fang for its core." Azalea called out, obviously realizing that I wouldn't know what it was. However, how did she know? Susan stepped away as if the wand had shocked her, and was looking at me strange.
"How do you know that?" I quickly tried to put concern into my voice, figuring my sister for some reason must have told her, and I should respond 'concerned' finding someone knew information I hadn't provided. I also was trying to work out what had happened. Was Susan embarrassed because she had forgotten others were around while she touched my wand? Was it a social taboo? I sort of felt hurt, and her sudden… well it appeared she now feared, or disliked me?
"Ollivander doesn't sell cherry wands with dragon cores to children?" Susan challenged… Well she was challenging me.
"We don't have Ollivander wands, Susan. My wand has the same dragon's other fang, for its core. The wood is from the same cherry tree, but eight inches, verses my twin sister's seven and a half." Daphne replied. "We got them from Gregorovitch, on the continent. To answer your interrupted question Lils, I told Azalea, and if Susan is going to spend time around you, she should know too."
It seemed I was going to have multiple questions with Azalea once I got her alone. I was on the one side happy that with this new information shared, Susan was keeping her distance. However, I just wanted her to not be so aggressive. I at the same time enjoyed feeling wanted, and being pursued. Unfortunately, I now had more questions, and worries. What was bad about dragon cored wands? I was fairly sure Hermione's wand had a dragon heartstring core. I didn't realize wand cores could play a part in the dating scene. It was hard enough with puberty in the muggle world, to work out dating as a teenager. The last thing I needed was more complications thrown in with wand cores too, along with the whole gender snafu.
"We should get cleaned up before lunch." Hannah stated, and I was disappointed in how fast Susan agreed, and actually dragged Harry off before he could do much more than a quick bye to his sister.
"Well should we not also freshen up before lunch?" Tracey asked, filling the pregnant silence as the three 'puffs left us behind.
"I need to exercise. I am going to run a few times around the lake before a shower. Well at least once, I hope." I said as way of excuse to leave the others. I think I had hopefully got the relevant information across to make every one wary of the danger, but felt I had lost the thread of the plot on a few items. I also wondered if I was about to go through my first break-up of a relationship that I was still unsure I had wanted. It probably would be for the best, but I didn't like that, I think?
"I'll join you, or I might have difficulty at lunch too." Daphne stated.
"Come on Tracey, let's leave the ice princesses to their madness." Azalea stated, grabbing Tracey, and pulling her as if afraid our madness was a contagious disease.
The cloak was probably not the best jogging outfit, and I shoved my hand in the pocket when the rock cake kept banging my leg as it swung across them. Throwing the bloody thing as far as I could into the lake, yielded a surprise. A tentacle from the giant squid whipped out catching it, and making me laugh.
The laugh helped calm me down a lot. I don't know how long it had been since I had last laughed free of worry, and woes. A little thinking, and I worked out that it was actually the other times Friday evening. A world away when Diane was making fun at my attempts to dig up the stump from the backyard of our house in Jersey. The memory made me laugh harder.
"Here, you can toss mine, if it makes you that happy." Daphne said while thrusting her rock cake at me.
I collapsed laughing when the squid caught Daphne's rock cake, and waved two tentacles in thanks. Well I knew what I would be doing with Hagrid's rock cakes, from now on.
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