Chapter 14

Amos Leroy found himself under the scrutiny of several people who were – in the main – quite as beautiful as himself, since the Mad Marauders were too recently released from their parents to be too much else, despite the chase after broomsticks. Lydia was a neat little person at the best of times – even in the throes of heated mischief – and was an exquisite piece of ivory perfection with pale ringlets and magnolia skin and big blue eyes. Mei had got to an age where she occasionally made concessions to personal appearance and had not yet forgotten to try to look like a dignified fourth year; Chad rarely had a hair out of place even when plastered with mud and Mad was still looking like Amadeo not having yet got around to hacking off the golden ringlets his mother loved nor losing the 'artistic' tie over his uniform that Lionel permitted because he knew it would disappear by the time they got to Hogwarts. Polly was always fresh looking; and Leo scarcely counted as he looked like a boy, walked like a boy and smelled like a boy as Lydia cheerfully said.

"Hello" said Mei "Is it rude to ask how come you're late starting?"

Amos Leroy tossed his golden curls theatrically.

"I've been on Tour!" he said with a heavy sigh.

"Touring what? Educational trips?" asked Lydia. He gave her an impatient look.

"ON Tour! I've been singing all over America!"

"Oh do you sing then?" said Mei "That's handy, we've got a fairly musical bunch right now – especially Jade, Godders and Seagh though Lydia here does some pretty cool things with a flute. We get up concerts from time to time and Chad and Mad here write songs – his real name's Amadeo so you can see why we don't use it" she added seeing the frown of incomprehension over a boy being addresses as 'Mad'

"Why not? Amadeo is a most attractive name" said Leroy.

"For a puppy" snorted Mad "I hate it. It's sissy; and believe me I'm losing the curls as soon as we're well under way so my mum won't find out and be hurt; do it every term, cut them on the way, Lydia grows them back the day before end of term. Sorted. She'd do the same for you I reckon if you wanted to lose the putti look and look a bit more normal."

Leroy drew back in horror and put a protective hand to his curly golden head.

"Oh what a horrid idea!" he said "My curls are my TRADEMARK!"

"Oh you mean you can't really sing then?" said Mei "I thought your singing was what you were about."

"It is! But I have my image!"

"Crumbs" said Leo.

Leroy forced a smile.

"What sort of songs do you write?" he asked Mad and Chad.

"Satirical ones mostly" said Chad "Hey kids, let's do the cauldron monster song!"

"He won't understand it if he doesn't know Professor Snape" said Polly "There's no point sending someone up if the audience doesn't know the er, sendee."

"Your elf is rather insolent" said Leroy.

Several flat unfriendly stares turned on him.

"B-bit unobservant, aren't you old boy?" said Leo "She's in uniform l-like any other s-schoolkid. And d-don't you start any cheek to her b-because she's a third year and y-you're just a weevil. W-we all unbend to talk to you t-to help you feel at home b-but any more of that and we'll abandon you to the r-ridicule of your own class."

"Why should there be ridicule?"

"Because you look odd" said Mei "And we'll protect you if you earn your living from looking like a little boy several years younger than you are because that's kind of understood, if you need to make your own way in the world. Howsabout you join in with us singing 'There's a zombie in my attic'?"

"Ugg! I would never sing anything low and vulgar like that!"

"Well you're the loser then 'cos it's fun to sing; and normal schoolkids like low and vulgar anyway" said Mei. "What do you like to sing then?"

Privately she thought him a waste of space but it behoved one to try.

Amos Leroy lifted his boy's treble into a very highbrow sounding song which soared into a register beyond which words could be distinguished.

"Help, m-mummy, they've let D-DEMENTORS onto the train!" cried Leo.

"You didn't ought to soar like that without ten minutes of warm up" said Lydia critically, who knew something about it from her own chanting lessons.

Amos flushed and stopped, offended by Leo and shamed by Lydia.

He was showing off and he knew that his voice trainer had forbidden him to sing without warm ups.

"Why?" said Mei

"Because you can strain your voice and ruin it for good" said Lydia "Mum took a full operatic singing course to improve her chanting. She passed it on to us. I'll explain when we get to the point in the book where singing becomes more use than chanting. You'll also need to learn how to breathe properly; it hurts at first but it gives you better range and staying power as well as a richer timbre"

"Great" said Mei. "But y'see, laddie – never got your name – Lydia can do all that fancy stuff but she also sings popular songs as part of being a schoolgirl. Do you not get it?"

"My name is Amos Leroy; and I'm not an ORDINARY schoolboy" said Amos "I'm a child star."

"Yeah, well, milk it in the holidays until your voice breaks but don't try that crap on your peer group; they'll laugh themselves silly" said Mad "We understand a bit; we even let you off light over being rude to Polly. Polly's a gentler person too than Mimi – she's in your year – and if you try to push her around she'll jinx you into a ball."

"She's my adoptive sister" said Lydia "And we learned a curse or two in the Voldemort years. That's why I'm one of the ones with a zig-zag scar. I don't make an issue of it; but our fame sort of rather outweighs a kid who can sing a bit. And your voice is good but you should use it when you're away from home by singing non challenging pieces to exercise it but not too much. And if you're not sure how much to do see either my sister Jade in the fifth or Amiya Green who's head of Ravenclaw house. But I think you're going to need a lesson or two in humility before you become a decent person; and you'll get several from your peer group, especially if you expect them to recognise that name you emphasise so firmly."

"Why, don't you think younger children will have heard of me? In America they said I was a shining example of childhood to hold up to the children of the wizarding community!"

"Yeah, but Americans are nutters" said Mad "Mum took me there promoting dad's books and they drooled over me and kissed me and called me a little darling and a dear shining example etc. It was gross, I nearly barfed on them!"

"Besides, why should they have heard of you?" said Lydia "I haven't and I don't think the rest of us have – no we have a carriage full of shaken heads. If I was you, I'd lose the curls and try to live down being an idol of nutty Yankee old witches and you can join us for voice exercises after the MSHG run if you like. You might like to run in the mornings too; increases lung capacity you know and general fitness."

Amos was staring at her in horror.

She knew something about singing but she had never heard of him! He had been building rosy visions of this exquisitely beautiful little girl being a partner and a foil to him, singing together! But she didn't like his lovely curls and she agreed with the other rough nasty children that Americans were nutty – and she suggested so rough an activity as RUNNING!

"Or not" murmured Lydia who knew when she was beat.

Leroy was led firmly to Bella Black and her wider group of cronies, which included all of her age of Slytherin House bar Mafalda Prewett and a significant portion of Gryffindor, one Hufflepuff and two Ravenclaws, twenty one children in all, all packed somehow into one compartment – some of the boys were on the luggage racks – eating sweets and telling ghost stories.

"This lot are moderately civilised" said Mei "Kids this is Amos Leroy and he can't help being a child star and he needs the curls to earn his own living from sick old mommas in America to drool on him so try not to rag him too much about it unless he doesn't behave himself."

"Hi Amos" said Bella "Me an' Griselen an' Genavka an' Ian get people patting us on the head to try to curry favour with Lucius so we know how awful it is. We won't mention it – or the Christopher Robin look – if you don't."

"But I LIKE being famous" said Amos.

"Crumbs!" said Bella "Well, there's a satisfaction in waving being part of the Noble Black Family and a Malfoy connection in the face of people who need bullying I grant you that; and I guess you can't have one without the other."

"Dad likes using who he is" said Griselen. "It's kinda nice watching people change from being sneering and pompous to grovelling when they hear the name 'Malfoy'. I've never heard of you Amos; sorry."

"None of you have any culture!" said Amos, stamping his foot "And nobody told me I'd have to associate with goblins and house elves neither, it's not PROPER for someone of my artistic temperament to have to be upset by looking at horrid ugly creatures treated as though they're real people!"

There was a long shocked silence; then a sudden babble.

Amos Leroy spent the rest of the journey in a boneless state, pale green and with pustules all over his body spelling words like 'creep' and 'git' and 'racist' and 'try that for artistic temperament'.

Mei rescued him at the station.

"Don't say I didn't warn you" she said.

"I'll report them all for bullying!" sobbed Amos.

"What a sissy sneak!" said Mei scornfully "Poor ickle mummy's boy, why don't you go back to America? We know what to do to sneaks at Hogwarts, I can tell you! Especially as by the comments of the pustules you made racist remarks! Believe me, if they meant to BULLY you, you'd be bleeding in various places and need medical attention. A few corridor curses isn't bullying! Teach you to learn the counter jinxes quickly, won't it?"

Leroy snuffled unhappily, then wondered if that wasn't going to spoil his looks and stopped.

The new boy was duly Sorted into Ravenclaw.

There was a collective groan from the Ravenclaw contingent of the Marauders, Ming Chang, Pearl Brocklehurst and the two first years who had met him, Venilia Cornfoot and Avice Crawford.

"Oh no, can't the Slythers be made to have him?" said Ming Chang in lively dismay, having heard about the boy from Mei "JUST when we were getting our house half decent too we have another awful weevil!"

Dumbledore frowned at him.

"I'm sure that Ravenclaw house will rise to helping Amos to settle in" he said firmly.

Ming had the grace to flush.

"Sorry sir" he said.

Jack Murray was not happy having someone else in his class, house and dormitory who considered himself worthy of adulation either; as Jack's claim to fame was being the relative of someone famous having someone famous in his own right was a threat.

Jack did at least manage to comfort himself that he too was as good at Quidditch as his famous great aunt and that would bring lustre on the house and earn him approbation that way, even if the games captain was too stupid to relax the rule to let him play this year!

Some singer did not really compete there!

The only person who had heard of Amos was Argus Clearwater who was a bit of an information squirrel. Himself hopeless at Quidditch, Argus also despised it – and the factions in his year over it – and gravitated towards Amos, who was pleased to find someone who at least knew something about him.

Argus disliked opera almost as much as he disliked quidditch; but it was an almost, and at least being friendly with Amos did not mean he had to sit through hours of tedious opera whereas all the others were tedious about quidditch all day long. It did not occur to Argus that Venilia, who also was bad at and was not interested in, Quidditch managed to be friendly with Avice Crawford who was good at the game; the concept of compromise was beyond him.

Argus also disliked the concept of house elves in school, agreeing on that with Amos; though he had never stopped to consider the question of goblins in school which was far more a fait accompli and becoming well established. If he thought about it at all, he would have said that he preferred goblins in school to mudbloods; but he was quickly able to see that their ugliness might upset a highly strung and artistic person.

It was not a pretty cronyship; but it was not one likely to actively cause trouble and the more balanced elements of the house heaved a collective sigh of relief that at least they could irritate each other and not irritate anyone else too much.

Until, that is, Amos did his voice exercises in the morning.

Ming Chang shot into the first's bedroom in lively horror.

"Who's killing whom?" he demanded.

"Nobody's killing anyone" said Amos coldly.

"Have you got a gut ache or something then?" said Ming "Those were some pretty bloodcurdling yells you were giving."

"THAT" said Amos "Is my voice exercises."

"Blimey!" said Ming "If it needs that much exercise maybe you should take it on a five-mile hike first so it's far enough away that the rest of us can't hear."

"Philistine" said Amos coldly.

It was perhaps unfortunate that some of the older girls of Ravenclaw house had heard of the boy prodigy and made a bit of a pet off him; but this time Amiya Green was on the ball as head of house.

"Don't let me see anyone treat that child any differently to any of the others in the matter of discipline" she said to the house prefects "He may have a tremendous talent but nobody's doing him any favours trying to turn him into a spoiled little monster. And he should NOT be giving demonstrations; if he's at school he's at school to learn lessons not to sing, and I shouldn't be surprised if he's supposed to be resting his voice if he overdid things on the America tour. That I'm going to find out and supervise his permitted exercises too. Let the kid have a life as a normal little boy! He's not a ruddy lap dog you know to be passed around, or a doll. And I saw him actually sitting on your LAP Mabs, and that's mightily unhealthy for a boy of eleven to do. If you want to cuddle babies go and borrow one from the orphanage; they're always glad of extra cuddles. Not weevils. I mean, crumbs, can you see a normal weevil permitting that? Even one of the girls unless she's hurt or homesick?"

Amabel Treadle, the upper sixth girl in question went red.

"He seems so much younger" she murmured.

"Well it's cruel to him to keep him younger than his years; he'll get ragged silly by his peer group, poor little devil" said Amiya. "If you ask me his parents were daft not to cut all that blonde fuzz off him."

"But it's so CUTE!" said Mabs.

Amiya regarded her thoughtfully.

"And what normal eleven year old boy likes being CUTE except when they can use it to wriggle out of mischief?" she said. "Yes, I've watched Mad Lockhart loose his devastating charm and big blue eyes on Madam Sprout when he's been caught swiping stinksap for his own nefarious purposes because she's the only teacher it works on; but then think of Mad Lockhart most of the time and we're rather cramped in my office so try not to shudder too violently when you do so."

"What do we do about it?" said Romillie Travis, a lower sixth prefect.

"We treat him like all the rest with a little leeway for being new" said Amiya "And jump on him for singing anything that is out of the ordinary without permission."

Amiya's questioning of Amos revealed that his fond mama had thought that he had tired himself on the America tour and that a year or two at school might help, singing only in the holidays. It had not been she who saw him off being too prostrated with grief at losing her darling treasure for several months; it was the boy's aunt who did very well out of being his agent and Amiya suspected that her adoration would have been a little less had he not paid the bills so well. It had been the aunt's advice to him not to let his adoring public forget who he was just because he was at school that was, Amiya suspected, at least partly responsible for his stuck up behaviour; if he was made miserable at school or made enough of a nuisance of himself for Dumbledore to ask to have him withdrawn the money from tours could start rolling in again. Amiya decided she did not like the unfortunate child's aunt and gave him pithy and sensible advice much along the lines that Mei had already done, but a little more tactfully.

Amiya's name had been mentioned by Lydia as being knowledgeable about music so Amos took it; and also leaped at her offer to work with him on his voice loosening exercises. It was flattering for a really big girl to give him time however much he might tell himself it was only what he was due!

Amos meanwhile found out what sorts of songs the Mad Marauders liked to sing when he heard Chad and Mad's latest offering to a Gilbert and Sullivan tune, the closest they ever got to opera.

"I am the very model of a modern Hogwarts potioneer

I'm ready with a love potion and also can brew butterbeer

I can make a laughing draft in a time that's really very fast

It even works on Sevvy Snape the famous sneering Agelast"

- Which word Chad had found in a dictionary looking up something else, discovered it meant someone who never laughed and filed away for future reference -

"I have with in my dungeon ingredients both good and vile

I can decant them readily in bottle, flask or even phial

In short in matters absolute you're sure to find it does appear

I am the very model of a modern Hogwarts potioneer!"

It seemed very silly to Amos; but the reception they got was warm and genuine.

It was all very strange.

"Daddy does laugh you know" said Lydia. "He just has his reputation to maintain."

"Well we help him to maintain it, don't we?" Said Chad, not unreasonably. "Anyway, agelast was far too good a word to waste."

"I guess daddy would agree with that" said Lydia "Anyway he likes Gilbert and Sullivan; in a good mood he can be moved to sing King Gama's song – you know, the one about having a celebrated sneer."

"Yes I know" said Mad "I'd give a lot to hear Severus singing that. He's got a really nice light baritone that blends so well with your mum's mezzo, I'm going to miss them doing the odd number at impromtu concerts. She's got a better voice than Celestina Warbeck."

"Gorbrin's TOAD has a better voice then Celestina Warbeck" said Lydia contemptuously "She doesn't sing from her chest only her throat and she strains on the high notes; more vibrato than a broom with a hurling curse on it."

They laughed and Chad did a wickedly good falsetto rendition of 'cauldron full of hot strong love'

"He has a Venomous Tentacular in his trousers to get him up to those notes" Mad explained.

"Oh I thought y-you'd jinxed him" said Leo.

"Philistines!" said Chad in a perfect copy of Amos' previous tone, having heard about it from Ming; and they all fell about laughing.

Amos was hurt.

They actually seemed really quite knowledgeable about music but they did not take it seriously!

He was not of course aware of how seriously they took its magical aspects in chanting.

Most people ignored the child prodigy it has to be said.

As one of the people who ignored him was Lydia, whom Amos really rather wanted to impress, he was less than happy; but as the prefects of his own house seemed bent on not letting him do anything with his voice that was not sanctioned he could hardly serenade her to attract her regard.

This was just as well for Amos Leroy's long term ego since had he done such a thing Lydia would probably have giggled at him and told him not to be an idiot.

One reason he was ignored was that most people were interested in the Quidditch.

Ravenclaw had played Hufflepuff way back in the winter term and won; so there were five more matches to fit in before the OWLs were underway.

Gorbrin didn't mind; he was happy to play several matches in a hurry. And the Slytherin team was good, and worked well as a team. Philip Burke fitted in well with him and Ed Dinalt; and Meliandra worked well with Kate Rosier.

Jade was happy too; she would happily fit in to play whenever needed, as she felt her revision was more than up to scratch. Kate Rosier was taking OWLs too, and Ed was taking his NEWTs but they were the only ones affected by exams and both Ed and Jade were too confident about lessons to be bothered; and Kate appreciated being helped out by the Prowling Marauders in common with anyone else who wanted to join a revision club. This was Slytherin and Gryffindor in a body, significant numbers of Hufflepuff and one Ravenclaw. Francesca Longbottom, cousin of Neville and a surprise to her family in being a Ravenclaw, was sick of the inter-house squabbles mostly caused these days by her own house; she was one of the prefects who enthusiastically squashed incipient prigs and brats like Me-first Murray and Amos Leroy. She was also playing for her house as head of games, and as the Marauders offered to hear everyone's revision there was no unfairness in that. Francesca was actually quite friendly with her Slytherin counterpart Kate; they had too an amicable rivalry for the attentions of Ed Dinalt who it has to be said had not actually noticed either of them as women though he was complimentary enough on their Quidditch playing. Especially Kate who had moments of sheer brilliance in an otherwise still solid performance; Fran was what is generally known as a 'good all rounder' – at lessons as at games – without a streak of brilliance over anything. Jade referred to her as 'a bit Hermione Grangerish' and anyone who had known Hermione knew exactly what she meant.

Slytherin played Ravenclaw first; it could be a grudge match as Slytherin-Gryffindor matches had been in the past, but with people like Francesca and Mei Chang on the team it was a sight more friendly than some matches had been recently! Francesca had rearranged things so that Mad and Chad were two of the chasers, a sight better for the team and it was a tough match, keeping fairly close. Slytherin's defence was the better however; and Slytherin started to pull gradually ahead.

They were fourteen goals up; and Gorbrin could see the snitch out of the corner of his eye with Jade and Mei both in hot pursuit.

If Jade got it there was no harm done; if Mei got it they had lost.

And he had the quaffle and there was Amber Connell and Tony Queach as beaters to get past, and then Francesca as keeper.

He back-passed to Ed who noted the younger boy's path with an arithmancer's eye and slung the quaffle hard to be where Gorbrin would be by the time it got there; and he was dodging at Francesca, diving to make her use the starfish and stick tactic, then jinking up sharply to go over her before she had a chance to move; and the quaffle was through the ring!

And then the howl went up!

Mei Chang had the snitch, unaware that a goal had been scored, ending the game on a draw!

The bludger took Gorbrin in the back and threw him from his broom.

Tony Queach was busy swearing, as Gorbrin came round, that he had hit it before the match was declared over, that he was sorry and that he never meant to hurt the kid.

"I believe you Queach, it's okay" said Gorbrin weakly. Queach got over excited; he might have hit it after the whistle for a technical foul, but if he did it was only because he never heard the whistle in the emotion of the minute. Gorbrin held no grudge, though he knew he might resent the older boy's carelessness if he was out of the next match!

Jade came over to her team-mate.

"Lie still a minute Gorbers old boy" she said.

"I told you not to call me that" said Gorbrin irritably and passed out.

When he came to, Jade, Ed, Mei, Chad and Mad were chanting over him.

"I don't need a burial service yet" he muttered.

They ignored him, moving into a complex weaving of the chant, like a half-sung, half spoken round; and the pain in his back became briefly more intense and then subsided into a dull ache and vanished.

"You'll do now our kid" said Jade in a normal voice.

"Amazing!" Madam Pomfrey was waving a wand at him "The spine knit, the cord rejoined and no apparent long term effects…."

"I am my father's daughter Madam Pomfrey" said Jade quietly.

Gorbrin sat up.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Queach's Bludger caught you in the small of the back breaking your spine and the fall to the ground severed the spinal cord" said Jade crisply "Fortunately the Mad Marauders have been studying chanting on their own time so we fixed it fairly easily….wiggle your toes and things laddie, just to check I haven't cross-wired anything and you won't try to stand on the wrong foot or pee out of your big toe or anything."

Gorbrin grinned but checked anyway.

"Seems A-1" he said laconically "Thank you people; I owe you."

"Nah, no debt owing" said Mei "Players for each other y'know?"

Gorbrin nodded and got up. Queach was still hovering and Gorbrin stuck out a hand.

Queach wrung it enthusiastically.

He knew he might have missed the whistle.

Hurting any kid was something he would want to avoid; and hurting Lucius Malfoy's son was not the wisest thing even if Gorbrin wasn't actually a rather decent kid, for a Slytherin.

Tony was no racist; Mei always declared he disliked everyone who wasn't dead and wrote symphonies equally, which was an exaggeration; Tony had rather a sarcastic tongue and Mei had been its target more than once.

"You're good, Snape, and lucky to have tuition from your dad" said Tony. "I wanted to learn chanting."

Jade shrugged.

"You've the musical base, Queach; I can give you a list of the books dad taught himself out of in the library if you like. Then it's up to you. It's how Mei, Mad and Chad here learned."

Tony Queach looked on his juniors with renewed interest.

"Respect to you kids" he said. "If you'll get me started I'll be glad to listen."

"Well, you're a bigger man that I thought you Queach" said Mei "We'll be glad to."

Tony shrugged.

"I thought I'd killed him" he said simply "Or crippled him for life at best. Times like that you forget pride, y'know?"

"Yeah" said Mei.

Her housemates weren't really so bad, most of them; some of the older ones could be a little pompous; and most of this year's weevils needed to be thoroughly sat on. But apart from the few cankers like Goodchild and Crouch-Villeneuve they were all right.

It gave one a warm glow to be able to be proud of one's house not faintly ashamed of it.