Chapter 14

Lee Nuffield met Dymna at Shenfield station whence she had been apported by Beloc.

"Hi kid" he said "Heard about the cursed thing; my parents have been told you have had Rheumatic Fever; it's awfully rare but it can leave a heart murmur so they've been advised be careful with you and keep you quiet. They won't fuss over you; mum's good with people who are sick, she don't fluff up pillows you've just got nicely squashed. Do you answer to Dympna by the way or do you have a nickname? It's a bit of a monicker!"

"I've never had a nickname" said Dympna "I – it's just my name."

"Good job you're not at a secondary modern school" said Lee "For the – well, for those who aren't well off – because some of them are pretty common and would come up with names implying that you were – well, dim."

"I get called those names by the common kids near where I live."

"Wizarding world got the same types has it? Ah well" said Lee. "Here's our train, change at Peterborough if the engine hasn't caught fire, broken down, there's leaves on the line or the wrong type of rain."

Dympna gave him a sideways look. Was he joking or not? The tone was somewhere between teasing and resigned. Lee intercepted the look and gave a rueful laugh.

"Peterborough is notorious for being a station where things go wrong; one train I heard of did catch fire – not seriously – but they changed it, and the replacement went two hundred yards and shuddered to a halt. WITH I'm pleased to say the Minister of Transport aboard in the middle of winter with no heating. It's also the coldest station in England because it is the focus of all the winds from the north with nothing between it and Iceland but a stray seal in the North Sea. Yes, I AM joking but only a little bit. You'd better face the way the engine's going, if you're feeling a bit delicate, THANK you sir, yes the child's been ill, but she doesn't throw up very often and it's not as technicoloured as to used to be, almost probably no longer infectious…..oh, thank you, kind of you to give up your seat like that!"

Dympna giggled as Lee's outrageous comments cleared the double seat.

"That was not honest!"

"No it wasn't was it? Comfy?"

"Yes, thank you." Dympna said. It was nice to have a wide seat to herself not be crammed next to a big man who smelled of pipe smoke.

oOoOo

Kind gentle Mrs Nuffield and quiet, scholarly Dr Nuffield – a doctor of literature, Lee explained not of medicine so not likely to ask searching questions about the fictional rheumatic fever – put a whole new slant on Dympna's view of muggles. Mrs Nuffield too dug out an old series of school books she had 'rather dated dear, but you might enjoy them' about a girl who rejoiced in the name Daphne Isabel Maitland who answered to Dimsie.

Dympna rather took to Dimsie; she reminded her of Jade and when Lee laughingly suggested the nickname for herself seized on it eagerly.

Dimsie really was a very different girl to Dympna after all.

There were no horrid jeering children, nor others she felt forced to compete with as at Hogwarts; she met Lee's small cousin, who was sweet and uncomplicated in her adoration of Lee and his pet snakes and who prattled to them by the hour in – Dimsie assumed – Parseltongue. Lee's mother thought it sweet that the child should pretend to understand the snakes but a little unhealthy that she should spend too long playing such lets' pretend and sent her out to show Dimsie around the big garden, paddock and orchard.

The paddock housed a couple of ageing donkeys that Mrs Nuffield had rescued, and Lee showed Dimsie how to feed them carrots.

She was almost sorry when the holidays were over!

oOoOo

Others had busier holidays.

Polly, dragging Leo, burst into the Snapes to find Lydia and sobbed that there were half elf children on sale.

Lydia sent an 'I want you' pulse to Draco and Harry, telling Polly that she must learn to do the same; and they went to see what was going on.

Draco sent the children firmly home and called in more adult blood group.

Of course he reported in full later.

The owner of the unfortunate child was a man called Absolom Porkins, and Draco described him as a greedy little fart. He had inherited a male house elf; and thinking the stud fees insufficient had proceeded to lure muggle women with promises of jobs in childcare, enslaving three he thought suitable, and ordering his house elf to impregnate them. The child on sale was the oldest, called Hoggy by his erstwhile owner and named Roger by his mother. She had three other children whom she firmly called Annette, Leonard and Derek and tried to keep them aware of their human names and identities despite then being addressed as Nenny, Lenny and Derry by Porkins; and she had talked the other women into doing similarly with Michelle, Colin and Dilys, and Henry and Calley, these two changed least. Draco and Harry had arrested him for half-muggle trafficking long enough to legilimens him legally and discover he had muggle slaves, on which charge they could legitimately do him, even though the legalities over owning and selling half elves was a very unclear issue. Draco had in any case said firmly that children belonged to their mothers who were legally free even if held in slavery and were therefore born free. And to be on the safe side he had insisted the mothers give garments to their children to make sure. Which made Mengey, the house elf, belong to his oldest son Roger.

Roger, with matters explained to him, at nine years old was quite capable of giving Mengey a sock and telling him he might stay and help him and his siblings and their mothers get a life or not as he chose.

Mengey just wanted to be given orders; surviving on his own was not something he could cope with!

"Roger was on the verge of becoming totally embittered; he could have been a nasty piece of work when he grew up" said Draco "I think we caught him in time; and fired him with a desire to help rescue other slaves when he grows up. I suspect he was fairly rebellious even before our ritual hit him and cleared him of having to think careful thoughts. I left 'em in the care of my mothers; THEY'll know how to sort them out!"

The Madams Malfoy, all three of them, were indeed extremely good at sorting people out.

And Hermione had needed restraining.

"I do believe she's pregnant" said Draco "REALLY had a go at Porkins; I mean she's a bit snippy at the best of times but it looked like a hormone trip to me!"

"Draco" said Lydia "You are SO digging yourself a big hole."

Draco pulled a comic face.

"Putting spade down now and shutting diplomatically up" he said.

oOoOO

Naturally Gorbrin and Erica and their siblings helped to reassure the young half elves while their mothers decided what to do.

It was Charlotte who suggested that they set up in business – subsidised by the society for marginalised and indigent females – as a day care centre in Obscura Alley for those women who had to work part time and had trouble finding somewhere to park their children.

"With a few more employees too they can get rudimentary education to prepare them for the free school that starts in September" said Charlotte. "You can never fully go back to the muggle world; you have your children to consider."

"Honey, if that Porkins creep is an exception not the rule, it looks like an exciting world to explore" said Irene, the mother of Henry and Calley, a pretty black woman.

Christine, a redhead and mother of Michelle, Colin and Dilys nodded her head.

"He picked us from those that had no family ties so no fuss was made" she said "We've none of us anything to go back to; I had a boyfriend but almost eight years down the line – Michelle's seven – I doubt he's likely to be carrying a torch for me. We hadn't had time to get close. And we can help your work by training women who need to find themselves that has to be good."

"I'd like to stay with the others" said Anita, a blonde, the one who had been there longest, Roger's mother. "Roger is talking about this 'Hogwarts' school is that the school in the alley?"

"No it's the school for rich kids like ours" said Narcissa "And if he gets the scholarship he'll go there; and I expect he will; he seems quite capable. Our little horrors have been teaching him a wide selection of jinxes and hexes to protect his mum and his siblings. I think Charlotte has had an excellent idea; after all you all wanted to work in childcare. We'll pay you to run it and leave the rest to you…. Christine I think will be in charge; you're the most forceful."

It was a topic of conversation amongst the children getting on the train at Kings' Cross; and Lionel Dell had been sorry not to have been part of it! Still, doubtless he and his group would find plenty of other injustices over which to occupy themselves.

Dimsie arrived with her hair done differently, held by the hand by Lee Nuffield and walking right past Dawlish. Lee handed her over to Jade and went out and approached the tough-looking wizard with short wiry hair.

"Dawlish?" he asked. "Auror?"

"Yes" said Dawlish.

"You're not, I believe, permitted to do anything to muggles, are you?" said Lee, pleasantly.

"No of course not."

"Well technically and by law I'm a muggle" said Lee "And I'd like to give you my opinion of what I think of men who want to persecute and torture little girls."

With which he drove a rugby-hardened knee into Dawlish' crotch and nutted him as he folded.

"NICE one Nuffield!" called Lionel.

oOoOo

The express left on time with no further mishap and Dawlish was NOT on it – despite trying to insist.

Lionel had told him, quietly, that he had Dumbledore's express orders not to let him on.

Which was indeed true; Dumbledore had used fire talking to tell Lionel this before he left, and so legilimensy would show. Lionel met Dawlish calmly in the eyes to use the skill – if he had it. He also let him see how much he despised the man, and that did NOT require legilimensy to read.

"You'd sing a different tune I wager if she were not a Slytherin like you" said Dawlish.

Lionel's eyes narrowed.

"You know, if you were a man I'd call you out for that" he said.

This took a moment to sink in and Dawlish's face took on an ugly look.

"What do you mean by that?"

"A real man searches out villains and deals with them, not little girls of thirteen years old. Don't think you can scare me old boy; I've fought Odessa agents even if I was too young to be allowed to fight the forces of Voldemort."

Dawlish was a little taken aback; but he looked into the eyes of a young man who has faced battle and who had the same sort of look as those who had the scar even though this youth was too young to bear it. Lionel let his blood synchronise with his group and prepared to do whatever was necessary to carry out Dumbledore's orders; and somehow Dawlish sensed the power that backed him, realised that here he was not about to win.

"Your name, boy?" he snarled "I shall report you!"

"My name is Lionel Dell and I shall be honoured that you report me for my school spirit and obedience to my headmaster" said Lionel. "To receive such an accolade from ANY auror is quite splendid. To whom might you report such, Mr Dawlish?"

Dawlish snarled and turned away.

The boy had committed no crime; in the old days he might have faced a hearing for defiance of the Ministry but this new government seemed to think that people should be allowed to express opinions against the government and ministry quite freely and even to meet and demonstrate!

Dawlish may have gained 'O's in all his NEWTs but somewhere he had missed a few points and during his training such things were not considered deficiencies.

"Ravenclaw I expect" Lionel murmured to himself as he went through the barrier.

Of course the stuffier members of the ministry weren't happy right now anyway.

One of the things Lionel heard Jade telling her set on the train was that her mum had been in the ministry over the holidays lodging a formal complaint about Dawlish and had become irritated with the statue in the foyer with its noble witch and wizard looked up to by an adoring house elf and comic goblin and admiring centaur and had undertaken a little transfiguration so the house elf and goblin both looked proud and the witch and wizard (now Harry and Ginny) knelt to be more of a height with them, all looking out together and all with wands pointing forward implacably spraying water. The centaur was given a more disdainful expression but was otherwise left more or less alone, backing the group but shifted round so its backside was now pointed at the receptionist and spraying its own jet of water.

Jade reported gleefully that nobody in the ministry had been able to put the statue back yet.

"And they won't either unless they put together a forty or more strong blood group 'cos she was the focus and we all backed!" said Jade chuckling. "Besides, it's been changed using thoughts in Parseltongue; and we KNOW the ministry can't sod with that because they couldn't duplicate Dark Marks!"

"Dad was in there" said Erica "And they were fuming! HE guessed what might have happened and suggested that maybe the statue changed spontaneously to represent a bright future but with constant vigilance. Is there something about that phrase that's funny?"

"It was the catchphrase - still is I guess – of Alastor Moody when he was teaching DADA" said Jade. "Uncle Lucius is clever; they'll convince themselves it's the true answer, it beats having to accept there's a witch so powerful she can do that without word or wand or breaking step on her way somewhere."

Lionel was impressed.

oOoOo

Dimsie had shared her new name with Jade, rather shyly, and found that Jade had read the books.

"Good" said Jade "So if I say 'am I or am I not the hardest in this dormitory' you'll giggle too?"

"I thought you were more like Dimsie herself than Erica" said Dimsie. "Thank goodness we don't have a Rosamund!"

"Yes, one would have to TRY to be kind to her but I must say, people who turn on the tears don't half make me want to shake them a little bit!" said Jade. "I think I like Dimsie better than Dympna by the way."

"Dimsie's had some shocks" said Dympna/Dimsie "Maybe she's learned some things from them."

"Muggle studies hobbies group" said Jade wisely.

oOoOo

Gorbrin was still hoping Meliandra Bulstrode had learned enough from dropping Parkinson to feel like being friendly; though she was offhand something about her drew him to the sullen girl. Meliandra however seemed sufficient unto herself, joining neither with the bloodsnobs of the class nor with the more laid back.

She did get into a temper almost as bad as the spoilt tantrum she had thrown in Diagon Alley when Wilfrid Crabbe refused to let her have her share of the Herbology library book that they were working from, since there were enough only for two per house and four people were working out of the other. She snatched at it and a page tore.

Meliandra's screeches dropped to instant silence.

Madam Ermin was not as bad as the first years had heard Madam Pince had been; but a torn library book was a serious thing.

"Look" said Crabbe lowering his voice "No need for near pure bloods like us to take the blame; there's two goblins in our house, blame either of them."

Meliandra slapped him hard and loudly.

"You COWARD!" she yelled "If you think I'm going to lay the blame on anyone you creep you can think again!" and she picked up the book, looking terrified and headed for the door.

"Half a mo, Bulstrode" said Erica "Are you heading for the library?"

"Yes; I'm going to get owning up over and done with."

"Let me try something first?" said Erica.

Meliandra shrugged.

"Why not?"

Erica got out paper and coloured pencils and opened the book at the torn page, and started to very carefully copy.

"What are you doing?" asked Meliandra "You can't just add a page!"

"It's cleverer than that" said Jazka "She fixed my squint using this; Erica's brilliant!"

Erica drew the tear carefully; then concentrating she equally carefully rubbed it out. The page mended as she did so.

"Wow" said Meliandra. "Thank you Malfoy; I am in your debt."

Erica shrugged and grinned.

"It was Crabbe's fault really anyway; but catch HIM owning up."

"He wanted to blame the goblins" said Meliandra.

"DID he now" said Erica. She got out her pencils again and started to draw the unsuspecting Crabbe who was busy writing from the notes he had almost finished.

Erica gently lengthened his nose for him. Crabbe rubbed it, aware it felt odd, not taking much notice. The pustules across his forehead spelling 'fink' also caused him to scratch a little. Erica enlarged his nose a little more, gave him points to his ears – Crabbe was starting to wonder if something was going on by now, but nobody had wand out or was even looking at him – so he looked like a comic opera wizard wearing a goblin mask. Plus the vituperation of course.

"That'll do" said Erica calmly and put the drawing away in her bag.

Crabbe went into supper all unconscious of his appearance – not having stopped to wash his hands on the way in common with a distressingly large number of first year boys – and was taken aback to be the subject of sniggers.

"Crabbe" said Hawke Malfoy "Didn't you look in the mirror to straighten your hair when you washed your hands?"

Crabbe muttered something.

"I think you should go and repair any omissions you made in your ablutions" said Hawke "And you may feel as though you should seek advice thereafter."

Crabbe's howl of anguish was audible in the great hall from the nearest boys' bathroom.

oOoOo

Madam Pomfrey confessed herself at a loss as to how to deal with the problem; and reluctantly called in Professor Snape, who surveyed the boy critically.

"Well almost anything might be considered an improvement on your normal appearance Mr Crabbe but I have to say these embellishments have managed to achieve the near impossible to make your visage even more repellently loathsome than ordinary" he said. "Hmm, this is not a standard kind of jinx, I detect no wand work…have you been handling any cursed items lately Mr Crabbe?"

"I don't think so sir" said Crabbe.

"I will take me a little while to research a means to return you to normal" said Severus "As it is neither life threatening nor likely to affect you seriously you can continue as you are while I do so."

"I can't go about looking like this!" wailed Crabbe.

"Then you had better remain in the sickroom" said Severus "I'll see the staff set you plenty of work so you do not become bored" he added seeing the boy brighten at the thought of getting a holiday out of it.

Crabbe returned to the school after almost a week, having had the less than pleasant experience of being chanted over by Professor Snape using most uncomplimentary words about his appearance whilst doing so.

Erica investigated the drawing and found that the power of Severus' chanting had driven it back to being a normal portrait; and nor would it now alter in any way.

"Crumbs he's HARD!" she said to her own group.

oOoOo

Crabbe's appearance was not the only thing being commented upon.

Dione, who would also have agreed as to the hardness of Severus in more respects than one, was decidedly broody. She was also starting to blossom early.

She had the protection of doing most of her classes with the majority of the marauders – as well as Potions she was taking DADA, Charms and Herbology. Only Myrtle, Romulus and Willow shared Herbology with her but they were enough of a protection. And as Willow was in the same interesting condition Dione had sympathy from that quarter even if Myrtle was a trifle smug about how good she and Abraxus were being and Rom sighed gently, hugged Dione, and muttered something about oversexed dads.

Lindie and Emma of Ravenclaw were inclined to giggle.

"Who's been giving you Amortentia, Parnassus?" said Lindie "As I recall you were going on about true love when we talked about love potions…. Seems like you been left in the lurch by true lust!"

"So very Ravenclaw, ready to leap to conclusions before they have all their facts straight" sighed Dione "It's why, as a little bird told me, some people can calculate the rate of flow of the average aguamenti spell to be equal to that of the Dee in spate…."

Emma flushed.

"That's not fair!" she said.

"And picking on me with the same tone of giggle as a fourth year is?" said Dione. "I don't like you two very much; you're silly."

Nobody likes being called silly; especially people from the supposedly academic house.

Emma let fly with a jinx.

Dione's own Protego went up; she had been practising. Several others flashed out from the wands of her bodyguard.

"Creed are you insane?" said Romulus "Have you any idea the length of time you can spend in Azkaban for jinxing a pregnant woman? And you've no excuse of not knowing, 'cos you two were commenting on it. It's forbidden for a reason you know; the effects to an unborn foetus are incalculable!"

Creed went white.

"I'm sorry Parnassus" she said.

"But you didn't ought to be flaunting yourself in that state!" said Lindie Drew "It's a bad example to the kids! You should be expelled by rights, an unwed mother!"

"Who says I'm unwed?" said Dione.

She certainly considered herself to be married to Severus.

"Well – you ought to wear a wedding ring then!" said Lindie.

Dione shrugged.

"Perhaps I should" she said.

oOoOo

Her response to Emil Porteous was a little different.

Porteous grinned nastily.

"Well, well, Parnassus, there's you looked all virginal and untouchable and all along you're a goer! How's about a little go with me?" he reached out to touch a breast familiarly.

Porteous reminded Dione rather too much of Kevin, the man whose rape of her had resulted in Ismenia; but she had more tools at her disposal to fight back now. Porteous received a very directional stinging hex that made him double up howling in anguish and only later found out that his backside was also covered in hickeys and his rear end reddened as though he had been enjoying a homosexual relationship.

As Porteous was uncompromisingly racist too, Dione happened to mention that she had heard that he was on good terms with a big bearded centaur.

That made for a sufficiency of jokes in the boys' showers to keep Porteous purple with rage and embarrassment.

oOoOo

Dumbledore did comment,

"My dear Miss Parnassus, or perhaps I should say Madam Snape, I do wish you might have waited a few months."

"I never was any good at arithmancy sir" said Dione. "Actually I DID brew a contraceptive potion and I thought I got it right. I wanted to show off to Severus. But I guess I made a blooper."

"Well if you tried….even the best potions fail sometimes my dear. Ah well, we've done this before. Just try not to give birth early during the exams; it upsets the examiners."

"Sir, even Krait never did that!"

Dumbledore twinkled.

"No, even Krait never did that. I should expel you; but I don't plan to make that a habit for the weaknesses of human nature. And you've had enough bad in your life I can see why you want some good. Are you happy to be with child?"

"Deliriously sir; I wanted his baby anyway, I meant to wait but, well, there you go."

"Quite so; and so this baby is meant to be."

oOoOo

Dione did ask Severus if it would be in order for her to wear a wedding ring however.

"I am your third wife aren't I?" she said "Lindie Drew said…."

"Lindie Drew says a very great deal some of which is not terribly wise" said Severus "But I think it a good idea. It proves you to be attached and no scarlet woman. I'll get you one."

It did not scotch all the comments; but it did quiet some.

The first did not even notice.

They had more interesting things to discuss than Dione's expanding belly; like Crabbe's expanding nose.

Erica brought in the story of Pinocchio to read.

However Crabbe was lucky that another matter distracted his classmates; for Gorbrin noticed that Mardo was staring at the Daily Prophet with a white fixed expression; and went to him as soon as breakfast was over.

George Monk was already supporting him and showed Gorbrin a news item.

The story ran of the messy killing of a goblin scarlet woman named Gridala, speculating that a deatheater may have escaped or possibly it had been at the hands of the juvenile male that apparently lived with her who appeared to be on the run since he was nowhere to be found.

"Not that they looked for him at school mind" said George "This is Mardo's mum!"

"This needs to go to Professor Dumbledore" said Gorbrin. "It's beyond a House Head" and certainly he thought beyond little Madam Sprout.

Dumbledore unravelled the story and listened with kind eyes.

"I will certainly put the Quaestorium right about where her son is" he said "My poor child! What a way to learn about such a thing. George, why don't you take Mardo to the sick bay? He needs time to grieve, you may take the day out of school as well. I shall return."

When Dumbledore did return he asked for Severus.

"I want to sound off" said Dumbledore. "Incompetent blithering idiots! It's apparent to the meanest intelligence this is a sex crime – and so a pervert is on the loose – but oh no! Dawlish has picked up the case and he will have it the boy must have done it! The fact that he was in Scotland in classes and she was in London – with too great a distance for even a time-turner to make it possible is neither here not there. I must be shielding him because I don't want to spoil the reputation of my goblin students. The child is eleven; I pointed out, even if he had a means of magic transport and time duplication beyond those known to the ministry is it likely he's going to commit a nasty sex crime and on his own mother? But apparently there's no telling what goblins might do!"

"Dawlish is beginning to be wearisome" said Severus. "I'll apply my mind to it."

"Thank you Severus. With your tortuous brain upon the subject I feel happier!" said Dumbledore.

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"My tortuous brain is as ever at your disposal, Albus."