Magic of the Heart

Remus watched from the doorway as Philomena surveyed herself critically in the mirror, trying to get used to the way she looked. She grimaced and performed a quick altering charm on the cut of her robes. She surveyed the results with her head to one side.

"Tighten it about the waist," said Remus, startling her. "Make the skirts fuller, and pleated."

She whirled about, embarrassed. Remus smiled reassuringly. "It's perfectly understandable," he said easily. "After having to look at the same reflection for a good six years."

Philomena gave an embarrassed smile and turned back to the mirror. "You think so?"

Remus shrugged. "Of course," he said.

She turned back to the mirror and made the alterations he'd suggested. "Like that?" she asked, unsure.

"It's a popular style," laughed Remus, "but I shan't let you out of the house looking as good as all that unless you're armed with a club."

Philomena grimaced. "Not that I'd be able to use one," she muttered. "Never was any good at self defense. In any form."

Remus' eyebrows disappeared into his hairline. "No good at self defense?" he repeated. "But…"

She sighed exasperatedly, stepping away from the mirror and sinking onto the couch. "If I could defend myself would I have spent six years in a child's body? Let them bleed me?"

"I'll admit I wondered about that," said Remus carefully. "When I saw what control you had without a wand…"

"That's just it," she snapped. "Control."

"Did Ralf use his connection to-"

"No, no." She waived an exasperated hand. "He didn't need to. It's… I can't use magic when I'm frightened."

Remus frowned. "But… on the full moon, you…"

"I didn't," she insisted. "Not until we were outside. When I felt safe."

Running a hand through his hair, Remus sat himself opposite her. "I think I told you that I teach Defense," he said. "And I want you to know that… fear is something so fundamental that it cannot be eliminated. Everybody has fear. Even the Dark Lord, I am sure, is afraid of something.

"One cannot … hide from fear. One must learn to compensate for, to function in spite of, fear. Courage is not a matter of being fearless, but of facing one's worst fears. One must recognize one's fears, so that one can learn how to-"

He came abruptly out of his lecture mode when he heard a bitter laugh which was almost a sob. "You don't understand," she grated out. "When I'm frightened my Magic leaves. It's physically gone."

"Physically?"

"I feel it," she insisted. "You'll think I'm mad, but I can feel my magic. It's… it's like a ball of energy in my heart. When I use it, it heats up, and warms me through. When I haven't used it, it grows cold, like ice. When I'm afraid- it's gone. It melts…"

"I'm afraid I don't understand," said Remus confusedly. "No matter what your abilities, Philomena, or lack of them, I promise I'll help you develop them. I knew when you first told me that your Magic wasn't normal, considering that Wandless Magic is not a human gift. It is probably the effect of being born to a Werewolf, and as Snape told me, your Physiology is slightly mutated… It is indeed possible that your Magic is bound to a physical core, much like mine is usually channeled through the core of my wand."

She shuddered. "It's a weakness," she said. "I suppose it wouldn't matter if I wasn't such a coward. It sometimes leaves when I get overly excited over anything."

Remus frowned, considering. "Your heart," he repeated. "Fear and excitement cause an erratic pulse- perhaps that's the reason."

Philomena shrugged. "What difference does it make why my magic leaves? It's not a repairable condition; the fact remains that I'm useless in a fight. Always have been. I've read so many books on Physically Bound Magic, and secretly written to so many Mediwizards, specialists… they all said it couldn't be separated, rebound, changed, or even made to channel through a wand as usual…"

"Philomena," said Remus softly, "You're not useless. You are a powerful woman. Perhaps you are not so in every situation, but that doesn't matter- every man has a weakness. You are a Seer, with the power to control your Visions. You are capable of extremely advanced Wandless Magic. You are a beautiful woman. True, this … stuttering… of your magic will make you unable to do certain things, but I'm sure going into battle is not one of your ambitions, and I'm certain you are capable of fulfilling any other ambition you might have."

She relaxed into a small smile. "Thank you, father," she said. "I… I'm afraid I'm just having trouble getting used to it all. Remembering that it's real. I still wake up some mornings, startled to realize that yes, I live here, and it wasn't a dream. That I can call the Visions, that the Pulses ARE there. That I'm in control of my condition. That…"

"It's not a condition," Remus chided softly. "It is a gift."

Her smile widened. "It wasn't before," she said. "You made it into one. You and Mr. Snape." She leaned on his shoulder and listened to his steady heartbeat. For a long moment, neither said anything.

"Blue," said Remus suddenly.

She lifted her head slightly to look at his face. "What?"

"Give the robe blue trim," he clarified. "Bring out your eyes."

She smiled, and dropped her head back on his shoulder. "I'll think about it. You're not being kept from something volatile in the lab are you?"

He shook his head. "Nothing liable to explode. As a matter of fact, I've finished proving that those cloak pins simply aren't practical. The silver has too much of an unpredictable effect on them- sometimes it leeches the spell, sometimes boosts its power, sometimes causes it to malfunction…"

Philomena grimaced. "They should set them in steel. It's a neutral metal."

Remus nodded. "That, or gold. Gold has strengthening properties, and I don't think it will react badly with the opal. I think the main reason the silver isn't working, is because both it and the opal are Negatively charged… They need an opposite component to work to best effect."

"Negatively?" she asked confusedly. "I thought both were Light elements."

"Yes," he answered, "they're both light. But all Magic, or Energy has either a Positive or a Negative configuration. It's purely a matter of Metaphysics- Positively Configured Elements are compatible with Positively and Negatively configured elements. Negatively Configured Elements are only compatible with Positive."

"I see," she said. "Then why did they set the opal that way? If they knew they wouldn't be compatible."

"That's just it," explained Remus, allowing a bit of his frustration with the project to show through. "They didn't know. The artist who made the collection happens to be Muggle, and hasn't the faintest idea what they're used for. We are required to use Muggle goods, since the Ministry has Bases controlled, and they'd know we're doing unofficial research, for which we'd need a permit if it were official, which we'd never get, because Milo and I are part-human, and the others on the committee aren't exactly in the Ministry's good graces for other reasons. We're also on a tight budget because we just so happen to need to train our forces for a war- which we aren't doing officially either, since officially we aren't at war- which in turn means that we simply can't afford to special order something fancy. We take what we can get."

She frowned thoughtfully. "Ralf dealt with Bases," she mused. "Dark ones mostly, but also the rare ones, or the especially powerful restricted ones which bring in a large profit in spite of being Light Magic. As far as I know, his business is still running strong. He's never had trouble with the ministry, because he's a Squib, and they aren't under the same level of surveillance. I suppose the ministry figures that a non-magical entity is incapable of breaking a magical law…"

Remus' face hardened. "Fools," he grated. "I don't know which is worse, the extent of the spells or their inadequacy. On the one hand we're watched at every turn, and are prevented from doing the most basic things. On the other, it is perfectly possible to implement the same sorts of spells to track Unforgivable curses, and they don't do that."

Philomena sighed. "I'm sorry for bringing that up," she said. "I was just suggesting that you could use a similar angle. A Wizard source is impossible, since it'd be illegal for him to sell it to you. A Muggle source is less than ideal since they don't have the correct product. What you need is a Squib to be your middleman. Legally, they may purchase anything from a Wizard."

Remus laughed. "Not that simple," he said. "I'm quite sure it's against Ministry policy for a Werewolf to own half of the materials we need, and-"

She held up a hand to stop him. "It's not illegal for you to use them. It's illegal for you to purchase them. A Squib is allowed much more freedom in the magical world than a Wizard, which is something I'll never understand. I suppose the Ministry Officials think that simply because they can't operate a dangerous object it ought to be all right for them to have it, buy it, sell it…"

Remus blinked. "However did you get so familiar with Wizarding Law?"

She smiled. "I went through Ralf's legal papers, of course," she said. "I was the one that took care of his filing system and the office. He simply didn't think it would occur to me to actually read them, instead of simply looking at the title and pushing them into alphabetical order."

"You… kept his office?" Remus asked carefully.

"Oh, I didn't do anything illegal," she chided. "I just took care of incoming and outgoing mail, complaints, requests…"

"How large was his organization?" asked Remus suddenly curious. "I knew he had a shop in Knockturn Alley, but-"

She laughed. "Shop in Knockturn Alley," she repeated. "Father, Ralf is not only the head of an international black market. He is head of the only international black market. It's the largest criminal organization in the world. He's got a finger in every and any smuggling market possible, wizard and Muggle. Not only that, but he runs several legitimate businesses on the side, including a chain of Banks which operate in every conceivable currency, in every conceivable country."

Remus blanched. "I had no idea…"

Her eyes glittered. "You're not supposed to have an idea. Nobody's supposed to have an idea. Don't misunderstand me- I hate Ralf, and have hated him for quite some time. But I can't help but admire his cunning. Not one member of his organization realizes the scope of it- in fact most of them don't even know there IS an organization. No branch of it has any idea that the same man controls them others. Frankly, I don't know how he's managed to do it."

"Merlin," breathed Remus. "It's got to be stopped. The Ministry…"

"They know," said Philomena blandly. "The strange thing is, father, that he manages to do all of these things with complete legality. He's incredibly slippery with the law, knows every last loophole. They can't stop him, because it would be illegal to stop him, even though the things he's doing are absolutely illegal for others."

"He's broken plenty of laws," snapped Remus. "Your treatment for one."

Philomena shook her head. "He was my guardian," she said. "And what he did qualified as 'medical treatment.' The bleeding, and even keeping me in virtual stasis, was officially prescribed by a legitimate doctor as a treatment for the Visions. It did have some relevance, as well- when one's anemic, one's powers are diminished. One isn't physically capable of having a Vision. And if one's body does not mature, the Seer gift cannot mature, thereby essentially guarantying it cannot get 'worse.' Actually, father, I believe the only officially illegal thing he's done is to bite you, and have a daughter."

Remus shook his head in bewilderment. "It's too much to believe."

She nodded. "The sheer scope of it is mind boggling," she agreed. "He is so careful to keep his own hands clean- though his agents and employees are an incredibly corrupt lot. Even if the Ministry were to convict them all, they wouldn't have anything to convict HIM of. Barring your going forward, of course, which you can't because that would implicate yourself as well… no matter how many of his people are taken by the Ministry, he can always find a replacement, or simply cut off that branch, and concentrate on the remaining ones."

Remus wrinkled his brow and considered this.

"I'm sorry," Philomena said suddenly. "I didn't mean to bring any of this up. I just remembered that I do know where you could get the Bases you want. There's a shop in London, run by a Squib. To the Muggles, he's just another jeweler. It's called the Fantastique Boutique…"

"I'm not funding Ralf's international black market," said Remus coldly.

She shook her head. "He doesn't do business with Ralf," she explained. "I know because I've had to post Ralf's bimonthly plea for him to join, and have filed his monthly refusal. From what I can tell, although he isn't completely above board, he has an extreme dislike about working for others."

"I'll look into it," Remus said distractedly.

She sighed. "I'm sorry," she said.

"None of it's your fault," he said firmly. "You couldn't have done anything to prevent it, nor did you willingly do anything for it."

She nodded shakily. "I suppose so."

The Wards rang out, startling them both. The smoke spelled out:

Recognized: The Enigma.

Armed: Wand

Emotion: No Reading Available.

Remus dispelled the smoke with an impatient hand. "Impeccable timing," he grumbled. "Wonder what's gone wrong THIS time."

She jumped up. "I hope he's all right this time," she said. "He wasn't looking to well last time I saw him."

"That would be lack of sleep," agreed Remus. "I do hope he managed to pull himself together over the week. He can't afford a slip up."

She looked at him quizzically, but he didn't think it his place to explain the myriad things that could go wrong if Severus let the smallest thing slip, or made the smallest mistake.

Remus went to open the door for Snape when he knocked softly. "Good evening, Remus," said Severus quietly. "I'm here to collect you for a rather sudden Order Meeting."

"Good evening to you, too," said Remus dryly, thinking that he would have laughed at somebody who suggested a month ago that Severus would voluntarily wish him a good evening. "How bad is it? What happened?"

Snape waived a careless hand. "Oh, nothing deadly," he said. "Just the routine, 'we have a small problem that one of us could solve in ten minutes, but we must discuss every angle of for three days before we eventually get around to doing it."

Remus raised an eyebrow, and led the way back into the living room. Philomena rose when the two entered. "Good evening, Mr. Snape," she said.

Snape smiled at her. "Ms. Lupin," he said, "you are looking quite well."

"As are you," she replied. "I hope you are doing better."

He shrugged. "I don't recall feeling poorly," he said.

She gave Snape a pointed look which he ignored and caused Remus to hide a snigger.

"I'll warn you, Severus," he said, "she takes after my mother, with a demonic bedside manner. She's worse than Poppy when someone's ill."

Philomena turned red and seemed about to defend herself, when Snape cut in with a curt, "We have an Order meeting in half an hour, Lupin. And I suppose I don't need to remind you that this will be the first time Albus has had a chance to talk to you since Ralf came hopping into the last one. He'll have questions, and you need answers."

Remus blanched. "Oh don't tell me you haven't thought about it, Lupin," chided Severus. "You knew all along it was going to happen, and that you weren't going to like it."

"I know that," replied Remus. "It's just that I thought he'd have had it out with me a while ago, and he didn't. I was starting to think it had blown over."

"With Albus, things like this do not 'blow over,'" said Snape. "I am sure the plan still stands as we made it in the beginning. However, I have a feeling your daughter, with her Seer ability, could be quite… useful to us all, and therefore I believe she will have to be told."

"I shall not involve her in any of this, Severus," said Remus firmly. "She's not joining."

"She needn't of course, if that's what you wish," placated Snape. "When you knew you were going to take her in, you knew it would involve the Order. Now while she needn't join, and I am most definitely not suggesting that she go on any mission, I do believe it is necessary for her to know what is going on. While most people believe that the less one knows the less one can betray, as a professional, I must insist that most secrets are revealed because those who hold them do not realize that they are not to be mentioned. It is your decision, of course, Lupin, but I need you to make it now. Do we tell her about the deception, or not?"

"I am in the room, you realize," said Philomena crossly. "I'd appreciate your either telling me, or keeping it from me properly."

"Well then, Philomena," said Remus, trying to calm his nerves. "Sit down. We are going to have to explain several things."

"We don't have much time, Lupin," said Snape. "I'll wait outside if you wish."

"Don't be a prat, Severus," snapped Remus. "You drove me into telling her this, you're going to stick it out."

Snape smiled serenely, and sat down. "As you wish," he said quietly.

Remus took a deep breath and began his story.