Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his world belong to J. K. Rowling

Part 3/Chapter 21

Again, in five mile steps, Bellamy searched for a treasure. He asked Pat what he should do with it if he found it. She shrugged. "Give it to whatever African country's having the most recent famine?"

He came home tired every night, and when he soaked in the spa in the evening, he only rested his head back against the headrest, and looked weary. He started having nightmares again, terrible nightmares that left him shaking, quite unable to settle down until he'd walked off the quivering nerves. Xander always walked with him, but made up for it by sleeping most of the day.

He had a feeling, and slowed down his search, going over and over the same area, in smaller and smaller apparations. It was in Wales, and he found several hidden areas, but all of them had the feeling of incredibly ancient magic. A cave, for instance, that looked to have a blocked entrance, but when he felt, it was only an illusion. Inside there was a bier, and remnants of a skeleton. It was not what he sought, and he left it alone.

There were other hidden places, sacred places. And there was another stash of alcohol - acid brandies this time. And Bellamy watched in amusement as a red-faced man came furtively from a small home and removed a bottle for use. He widened his search again, but the area was marked on the map. If he had to, he'd come back.

On Pat's insistence, he was doing fewer hours of searching in a day. The nightmares eased off once he was no longer as tired. And again, he started talking. He showed her Nino one day, just working, stacking boxes. But he showed her his face, at first the blurred images she was accustomed to, and then a laughing, exultant look, clear as crystal. "I had my glasses. He thought it was miraculous. And of course, I could read, then. They'd always thought I was illiterate."

They were sitting close together in the spa. And he gave her something else. "He loved to play with my hair. It was long then, and he'd shampoo it, and dry it, and comb it. I think I even remember him putting it in plaits once."

"He sounds a little feminine."

"He had a sensitivity," said Bellamy, "And he was smaller than the others," and then he grinned. "He was always the most eager to save up enough money to go to a brothel as often as possible."

"Did they take you to a brothel?"

Bellamy shrugged. "I doubt if they even thought of it. They looked on me as an innocent boy."

"You probably thought that you weren't allowed to go with women anyway."

"Probably," agreed Bellamy.

"Taddeo, Silvio, the twins. And then there were Bruno and Angelo, who liked to take you on excursions. Nino who liked to play with your hair. You haven't told me about Mario."

"No, I haven't."

Pat had her arm around his shoulders, and squeezed a little tighter. "You can tell me what you want, you know," she said, very softly.

Bellamy kissed her, and rose, dripping from the water. "Let's get dressed, and I'll raid the kitchen for some ice-cream."

The day after Peter arrived home from school for the long summer holidays, Bellamy announced that he was having a couple of days off, and invited Peter to join him for a long ride, west this time, to the west coast, and staying at a motel overnight before returning. He wished he could take Pat, but Pat was still not keen on riding, and, of course, she had a baby to limit movements. So Peter and the boss rode gently along country roads, a third horse behind them, to carry some horse feed, and a few provisions for themselves. Their spirits were high, and they raced whenever the landscape permitted, laughing their pleasure.

They didn't find accommodation accustomed to coping with horses, so settled down to sleep outside instead, on conjured mattresses, with conjured blankets, as the horses grazed close by. It was a warm summer's night, and they were far enough away from cities that the stars burned bright. "This would be the way to search," said Bellamy. "As soon as I know roughly where it is, I should take a horse, and do it this way."

"Do you think you'll find it?" asked Peter.

"I think I have to try very hard. The reward's too big. Wizards who'd never put a foot out of line if things were normal, can't help themselves. The temptation's too great."

"There were not many seventh year Slytherins left to graduate this year."

"Katrina was terribly upset with Tristan. If I didn't exist, he would never have been tempted." But Peter pointed out that if Bellamy didn't exist, then neither would Tristan, Katrina, Therese or his mother, or himself.

Bellamy grinned at him, "Good point!"

Pat was watching for them, when they came back, and again, they raced, hurtling on Shasta and Jester as fast as they could around the perimeter track, the bay gelding they'd used as a packhorse following them before deciding not to be so silly, and trotting back to nuzzle Pat instead. She caressed his ears and murmured to him. His name was Josh.

The following day, Bellamy started searching Cornwall. He was leaving the London area until last. He thought it less likely, and their information indicated that it was in the North Country somewhere, possibly the Lakes District, but he'd searched that area first.

In Cornwall, he found some open mines left as traps. The spells shielded them from view, so that people and animals could stumble into them and never be found. Bellamy frowned a long time. But when he felt and lifted the spells, they were so old. There would be no-one left to punish. Instead he surrounded each of the three mines with warning signs and solid fences, although conjured, and put enchantments on them so that Medjkind would accept that they'd always been there. He even put a suggestion on them so that the medj owner would decide to double insure with a second fence around each dangerous hole. His conjures didn't last forever.

By the end of that day, he was able to mark off another large area of the map. But he'd overtired himself again, and Pat saw him again that night, white-faced and shaking after a nightmare.

He gave himself a day off, after, and wandered into his workshop, suddenly remembering the Leixtrium. He hadn't given it a thought since the day Susan was born. But now he had an idea, forgot his fatigue, and worked for hours. Halfway through the next day, Alison found him there, a broad smile of satisfaction on his face. He told her what it was, announced that it was the secretary's job to think of a name for it, and asked if she knew how to organise manufacture and sale of a new invention.

Alison smiled at him. "I'll find out," and she looked at the dog that lay across the doorway again. "Call it Xander, after the dog."

Bellamy grinned. Devising a name for something was always the hardest part. "Xander," he said with satisfaction, and Xander pricked his ears.

But Alison had come for a reason. He'd had too long a break, and they wanted him to do two days work in London. "Two children, two pumpkin-heads from Germany, and no doubt many others," said Alison.

"Tell them I'll do tomorrow and the next day, then," said Bellamy.

The next day, he cured two children, and then there were to be the pumpkin-heads. Dieter was still the auror whose chief duty was to watch over Bellamy, and he said, "They're the first pumpkin-heads since Italy."

Bellamy nodded, "Thank goodness it's so rare." Heather was the auror on duty, but Dieter sent Ryde in as well, and himself took Ryde's place in the waiting room area. Dieter wasn't as fast as he used to be.

"I've learned how to make the barrier," Heather said, with a touch of pride. The particular barrier Bellamy wanted was transparent, and would yield somewhat, but not give way. The idea was that a frantic patient would not hurt himself, but could not escape until calm.

The monster was led in. "Two days ago," mentioned Graham. Heather made the barrier. Bellamy's special skills to make an area more transparent to telepathy were not needed any more, as it seemed he was good enough to do without, these days.

Bellamy looked unseeing at the wall, as he started to concentrate. After a moment, he closed his eyes. It always helped. It didn't take long to pull the man out of the monster, but Bellamy continued to concentrate, eyes closed, striving to calm the berserk wizard.

Xander watched from his place beside Graham, where he'd been put. The aurors, as always, had their wands out ready, just in case. Heather's instructions kicked in, the barrier was vanished, a knife was suddenly hovering in front of the patient, and Bellamy was tripped, so that he fell, interrupting concentration. The berserk man threw himself on top of Bellamy, the large knife raised, ready for the kill. But Xander flew at the man, and Ryde, half an instant later, stunned him. Just another close call. Bellamy had a minor cut on his chest, and a headache from the sudden interruption. Xander was lavished with praise, from Bellamy, from Heather, and from Ryde. He sat tall next to the boss, and wore a very pleased expression.

Heather's instructions were forgotten until the next time, and there had been no sign that the magic had come from her. The wands had already been raised, and the incantations, three of them, had been non verbal.

Graham treated the bleeding cut, and Bellamy used a touch of magic to mend his shirt. But he was feeling with his senses. The man who'd attacked him was wheeled out, but Bellamy held out his hand for the knife that Ryde picked up. It was like a signature, and he looked at Heather. "Sorry, Heather," he said. "Someone's got at you."

Heather looked at him in blank surprise. "I know I wasn't as quick as Ryde, but no-one's got at me."

Bellamy looked at the almost opaque screen behind which the observers sat. But Julia was already entering the room. Bellamy leaned against the wall, waiting for the attack of trembling to pass. He was rubbing his forehead, too. It always hurt his head when he was interrupted like that.

"Bellamy?" asked Julia. "Did you say that it was Heather's doing?"

Bellamy shook his head. "Not her doing, exactly, just the same sort of delayed instructions that those French aurors had." And he looked at Heather. "I'm sorry, Heather, but you're probably still primed to attack as soon as another similar situation arises."

Poor Heather stared at the floor. In the viewing gallery, two Germans who'd been escorting the pumpkin-heads watched in fascination. Abruptly, Bellamy rose from his chair, and all senses alert, scanned the aurors, the waiting patients, and then opened the door to the observation room. He appeared to be only politely introducing himself, but the observers were also checked. It seemed that anyone could be a threat.

Julia was speaking to Heather, who now looked rather pale and sick. "Take off the spell?" asked Bellamy, calmly.

Heather nodded. A wand was briefly raised, and then Julia took Heather off for more detailed questioning. Perhaps the culprit could be discovered. Jeremy took the place of Heather as the next pumpkin-head was led in.

Ryde conjured the barrier this time, and Bellamy went to work again. The patient was kept calm, and the sharp knife that had previously been put into his pocket, was not used. Bellamy had a lot of enemies.

The rest of the day was uneventful, and Bellamy returned home. He mentioned the attack to Pat, but it was almost routine. The aurors had fended off other attacks that Bellamy hadn't even known about, although Dieter liked to keep Pat informed. The routine precautions continued to be taken, especially when in wizarding areas. Bellamy had made it known, for instance, that he would not be taking anything to eat or drink at any public gathering - more to prevent others from being accidentally poisoned than for worry for himself. He'd almost stopped going to public gatherings in any case. And these days, for the first time in his life, he told the aurors if they should expect him. The bodyguards had mostly, previously, been unwanted. But now he cooperated with them.

Susan was fretful, and Pat held her on her knee. "It's nothing," she said. "Ursula said that babies just get a bit cross sometimes, though she's a bit young to be teething. She just needs more cuddles than usual."

Bellamy smiled, and reached out his hands for his daughter. "Can I have a cuddle for a while?" The tired, red-faced child was placed in his hands. He settled her, she snuggled in, and went to sleep.

Pat said, "Esme told me once, that a baby could never have too many cuddles, that cuddles are more important than anything. She said that cuddles are food for the soul."

"They are food for the soul," Bellamy said. "It's what allowed me to come back from the lost years - I was given an awful lot of cuddling."

"Your cabin-mates?"

"Every time that Nino played with my hair, it was a caress. Bruno used to pull me close and give me a squeeze, just because I was there. All of them. It helped that I had regular meals, of course. I was always worse when half starved, but it was the constant touching, the cuddles, that brought me back."

Pat gave him a kiss. He'd just told her more than he ever had, just out of the blue.

Ursula and Margaret watched the baby later, for an hour, while they went for a spa. But Susan only slept, and after a while, Margaret slipped out into the darkness, and talked to the two ponies close to the house. She would have liked to make sparks in the air again with her wand, but she'd been sternly rebuked for that. Magical sparks might attract attention.

Pat sat close to her husband in the spa. "Why would you have been half starved?" she queried. "You told me you had a full moneybelt."

"I never remembered it, and even when I had money in my wallet, I often forgot to eat. It was like I no longer felt the need. Sex, too. I just didn't feel the need."

Pat squeezed him. She was sure now. There had been sex, probably with Mario whom he still hadn't spoken of.

***chapter end***