Hey everybody,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and I wish you all a wonderful year ahead.
- ravenclawblues 2020-01-03
CHAPTER 25
WOLFSBANE
FIFTEEN DEAD IN VILLAGE FACTORY EXPLOSION
Jack Berry
August 15, 1970, 7:45am - Fifteen men, including a married man with six children, were killed when part of a brick dust extraction tower collapsed on to the roof of a machine shop at a Cheshire works. Mr Derek Warrington, managing director of the factory, stated that something had started a fire in the dust extraction tower which caused the wall to fall.
Firemen across the two counties of Cheshire and Merseyside from four districts, Halton, Warrington, City of Liverpool, and Knowsley, raced to the scene. A spokesman for the fire brigade said: "There was no fire damage inside the boilerhouse where the dust extraction terminates - the likeliest place that would have caused an explosion. However, our men has also spotted multiple sites where the fire might have originated, which is highly unusual."
The police has confirmed that this incident is being treated as a case of malicious arson...
September 2, 1970 (Wednesday)
It was seven-thirty in the morning and Turais left Alex and Jonty behind and walked up to the first-year dormitories to check on Aigel. He knocked on the door and Travers answered the door. Upon seeing the older boy, he immediately directed his sight towards his feet.
"I would like to speak with Aigel," Turais said.
Travers turned his head and said, "Pierricoeur, Heir Apparent Black would like to talk to you."
Aigel appeared behind Travers and slipped out the door.
"T...Turais, good morning," the boy said with his head ducked.
"Good morning, Aigel," Turais said. "Have they apologized to you yet?"
"Yes, of course!" the first-year responded immediately as he nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Woah, woah! Okay, okay!" Turais laughed as Aigel blushed.
"Sorry," he squeaked. "And... thank you for the Murtlap Essence. It worked really well."
"May I take a look?" Turais asked. He has not been able to steal a glance at the boy's face yet.
Aigel tilted his chin up towards Turais shyly. The bruises and cuts were still visible but they were almost completely healed. Turais nodded in relief.
"Let me or Alex know if your roommates ever mistreat you, okay?" Turais asked. "In fact, you can find us if you want to talk about anything that is bothering you. Consider it a standing offer."
"I will," Aigel gave Turais a small smile, the very first one.
"Okay," Turais said, "I'll see you at breakfast. Remember to be there by eight for your timetable."
"I will," Aigel nodded. "And... thank you." Aigel said quickly as he turned around and ran back into the room.
Turais walked back to his room to find Jonty and Alex waiting for him in the common room with their eyebrows raised.
"I just wanted to check on Aigel's injury," Turais commented. Jonty looked like he wanted to comment but swallowed it and frowned instead.
"I already did this morning," Alex said and Alex shrugged at Turais' surprised expression. "He is my protégé. Therefore, he is now my responsibility."
Turais looked at Alex with a new sense of pride while Jonty said a disagreeing sound beside them. He couldn't resist himself from knocking their shoulders together. "Wow, my Alex is all grown up and mature now!"
Alex scratched his neck in embarrassment. His cheeks were reddened. "You're exaggerating. It's not even a fraction of what you do on a regular basis -"
"Urgh! Does that mean you're going to mother us as well now, Alex?" Jonty dragged his hands down his face. Then, he pointed at Turais, "Father hen," he then pointed at Alex, "Mother hen. I go to Hogwarts so I can escape my parents... not to be with another set of parents!"
The two boys laughed at Jonty's words and they left for the Owlery. After Turais has sent off his mail to his family (with ample teasing from Jonty) and Alex has sent off his heavy letter to his father, they arrived at the Entrance Hall where they saw Pierricoeur peeking down at them from the Grand Staircase above and full of concern. When he noticed Turais and Jonty, his face turned into a scowl and leaned away from the ledge. However, Turais was surprised to detected... concern?... from the boy's demeanour.
'That's new,' Turais thought.
"Turais, Jonty. Go ahead first," Alex said. Turais and Jonty eyed him and Pierricoeur carefully. But he nodded and left walked with Jonty to the Great Hall, leaving Alex alone with Pierricoeur.
"I wonder what Pierricoeur wants this time," Jonty grumbled as he stabbed at the sausages in front of him sulkily.
"I'm sure Alex can handle himself," Turais said calmly.
Jonty eyed the Muggleborn Slytherin, who was alone as his year mates formed a buffer zone around him, down the table warily, "I really don't like this, Turais... and for it to be a Pierricoeur of all people." Jonty turned towards Turais and said solemnly, "A Muggleborn Sorted into Slytherin is never a good sign. This school year is already cursed."
The serious, dark look that his friend was making him uncomfortable. Compounded by Turais' sneaking suspicion that the boy was the child-version of Prometheus, Turais knew he needed to keep a close watch on him.
"Don't be so dramatic, Jonty," Turais said with a dampened cheeriness. "I'm sure it wouldn't be so tremendously horrifying as you are implying." Turais knew he would keep a close watch on all affairs, as usual. So nothing catastrophic was likely to occur without him detecting it well in advance,
"I think you're the one who is not grasping the full extend of this," Jonty said in a hushed tone as he eyed his surrounding. Jonty motioned Turais forward. He leaned closely to catch what the boy was saying. "My father was at Hogwarts when the last Muggleborn was in Slytherin. He never mentioned anything more than vague stories, but from what I have gathered from eavesdropping on all those conversations, those years were haunted by terrible, terrible events."
Turais leaned away from a frown. "Again, that does not necessarily correlate with a Muggleborn being sorted into Slytherin," Turais said despite knowing that last time around, Tom Riddle was a different kind of terror. "It might have been a coincidence -"
"You're the one who always told us to be on our guard at all times, Turais!" Jonty gritted out. "I guess I will just have to save all our hinds and keep an eye out for him ," Jonty grumbled as he jabbed his fork at Aigel. Letting out a grunt of frustration, he speared his hashbrowns and stuffed it into his mouth. Turais looked over to the first-years and saw that most of them avoided him like he was contagious with dragon pox.
If it weren't for timetable distribution, Turais would have invited Aigel over to sit with him. But he made a promise to himself to include Aigel for every meal until the first-year was able to connect and make friends with his peers -
"No," Jonty's voice said firmly. Turais turned his attention to his friend. "No."
"You don't even know what I was thinking about," Turais protested.
Jonty waved his fork disapprovingly. "You're easier to read than you think, Turais. And I bet this plate of food that you were thinking of inviting that boy to our meals -" Jonty looked Turais dead in his eyes, "- and don't even think about it. Not under my watch."
Turais sighed, half in exasperation and half in irritation that Jonty guessed correctly. "Fine, we will not have Aigel Pierricoeur with us for meals."
"Better," Jonty said. "And listen, Turais. I'm telling you this because I think of you as my friend. Otherwise, I could care less that you date a Gryffindor Muggleborn, have a ten children, and live your merry life. And I don't even mean that as an offense. But this situation you have with Alex and that boy is political suicide! Stop. Involving. Yourself. With. Him!"
"I appreciate the concern, Jonty. I really do," said Turais to the disgruntled boy, who let out a snort. "Hey Jonty, listen at me -" Turais pulled the plate of food away from Jonty, who unwillingly gave Turais his full attention while chewing his food noisily, " - I have reservations about the boy as well. And not only him, but his brother as well. But have you heard the saying 'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer'? Currently, I can't decide whether either of them will turn out to be genuine allies or our arch-nemeses, but let's not judge them for crimes they have yet to commit."
Turais knew he needed to keep an eye on the Pierricoeur brothers' development. But for now, they were just innocent, if slightly jaded, eleven- and twelve-year-old. Even if they were candidates for Prometheus, Turais would only have to make sure the seeds of destruction would not take hold in their mind. And he could easily do that by showing them kindness.
"Fine. As long as you know to be wary," Jonty said warningly as he pulled the plate of food back in front of him. "They will strike when you least suspect and in the most unpredictable manner. But you will not stop me from doing some sleuthing of my own." After a second, he added for extra emphasis, "And he is not joining us for meals regularly."
Turais bited down on his lower lip at the proposition. Ultimately, he settled for the compromise. "Agreed, but I will maintain my rights to interfere with any form of bullying. And also for daily visitation -"
"What is this? Child custody court battles?" said Jonty.
Turais ignored the remark, "- and for all its worth, I'm truly touched by your concern for my well-being."
"I'm not concerned about your well-being here, Turais," Jonty sighed. "What I'm worried about is your reputation."
"You know I don't care about optics," Turais argued.
"Maybe you should consider such frivolous matter that you deemed to be beneath you," Jonty hissed back as he threw down his eating utensil. "Gosh! I can't believe I need to explain this to you of all people, Turais. The only way you can maintain your power is through your status. And your status is maintained by your reputation. That boy will drag your name through the mud and your words will, then, carry no weight. When that happens, how are you supposed to achieve everything you aspired to do?"
"But only the Slytherins care about these thing, Jonty," Turais replied as he gestured the Great Hall. "Look around you. The rest of the school doesn't spare a thought on whether someone is Muggleborn or pureblood."
"Turais, perhaps you are the one who should look around yourself," Jonty pointed as Turais looked down their table. "This. This table. They are the sons and daughters of those in control of our government. Montague's father is Deputy Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Carrow's father is Head of International Magical Office of Law. Avery's father is the Deputy Head of Magical Transportation. And - Crabbe's Deputy Head of Floo Network Authority. Tremblay's family owns Port-On-Call, the largest Portkey Service in Britain. Rivers' father is Under-Secretary of the Ministry. Do you see a pattern here?"
Turais nodded as Jonty continued. "Of the what? - five, six families I have just randomly listed, how many of them are allies to your family and, most importantly, you? Big, fat zero! L'oeuf! Maybe Rivers is one-half at most. But sure, get in the good wills of the Light families and get your dream majority in the Wizengamot.
"Have you thought of what happens when the bill is passed? The Ministry - the executive branch - needs to act on it. I know it wasn't fair to only list off your political rivals' positions. I am also aware that your family has allies in key positions in the Ministry. But if you don't have these families on your side, or at least not hate you outright, they form a large enough portion of the government that can slow-walk every actionable item. Then, the bureaucracy of it would just destroy the implementation of every idea you have. How much good would that do then, huh?" Jonty challenged.
Turais found himself with a loss of words. He never considered what happened beyond the Wizengamot. What Jonty said was true. Even if he successfully brought together the Lords on both sides of the political spectrum, that would do no good if the rest of the government did not comply with the legislative branches.
"Listen, Turais," Jonty pleaded. "You have to consider the bigger picture here. Yes, the Wizengamot is the most visible portion of the Ministry because that is where all the shouting and fighting occurs. But what happens behind the scenes matters too. The only reason why the Light families seems like they are having their way is because all the current Heads of the major departments are their sympathizers. But once their terms are over and we elect a Minister that is sympathetic with the Dark families, those positions would slowly be filled with these people's parents. And believe me, they will make life as difficult as they possibly can for those they oppose."
"Okay. Okay. Points taken, Jonty," Turais said as he raised his arms in surrender. He understood better now and how he should navigate the waters ahead. Let Alex engage with Aigel and distance himself from Aigel in appearance. Of course, he would still be hugely involved with them, but in a less visible manner.
"Make sure you remember to consider all the angles," Jonty warned as he went back to his food. "You're clever enough to figure this out, somehow. I know you can."
Turais grinned as he swung his arm around Jonty. "I'm glad you know you have faith in me, my personal political strategist."
Jonty waved away his comment and shrugged off his arm nonchalantly. "I'm only watching out for my own interest. I am a Slytherin after all, in case you forgot you are one yourself."
"Sure," Turais grinned as he turned back to examine the breakfast items only to find Nott glaring at him with great intensity. Ignoring him, his eyes locked onto a particular dish on the table. "Oooh, they're serving treacle tarts for breakfast today."
At that, Turais successfully made Jonty break into a small grin - his first of the day. He shook his head and said, "Only you, Turais, would eat treacle tart for breakfast. Only you."
As they dug into the breakfast spread in front of them, Alex returned to the a Great Hall and seated himself beside Turais. Moments later, Pierricoeur appeared as well and took his seat at the Ravenclaw table. His eyes immediately searched for his brother and his brows furrowed worriedly.
"He was agitated because he noticed Aigel's healed bruises on his face this morning," Alex muttered into Turais' ear. Turais nodded understandingly. He looked over to the first-year, who was sat alone like a lone island amongst the rest of the Slytherins.
"He didn't threaten you or anything, right?" Turais asked, connecting gazes with Pierricoeur. Pierricoeur gave Turais a curt nod before rejoining a conversation with his housemates.
'A nod from Pierricoeur? That's new as well,' Turais thought.
Alex grimaced. "Let's just say there were a few heated words exchanged, but everything has been resolved. I explained the situation last night and the role you played. And hopefully, he will be less of a menace this year since we did him such a huge favour." Jonty snorted disbelievingly as he shook his head at their naiveté.
"We? It's all been you, Alex," Turais said as he scooped a hearty amount of scrambled eggs onto Alex's plate.
"Thank you, Turais. Oooh! Treacle tart! Your favourite, Turais," Alex said as he spotted the dessert. "I bet this was Slughorn's doing. Anyhow, I couldn't have done it without you."
"Just let me know whenever you need backup," Turais said as Alex smiled appreciatively. Suddenly, a familiar jet-black owl flew into the Great Hall and headed towards Turais.
"It's an owl from M.E.S.O.P.!" Turais exclaimed as Alex snapped his attention towards the incoming bird. As it flew along the Slytherin table, a lot of the students, who were casually chatting with their peers, were equally as captivated by the immaculately groomed bird.
As expected, the owl dropped a magazine in front of him before flying away without landing. Turais lifted the magazine and read the title that screamed ' ACONITE - LEAVES VS. ROOTS' with the subheading 'Start of the Herbaceous Renaissance?'. He saw the familiar face of a young boy, unmistakably a Black in the monochromatic grey, looking back at him. He has almost perfectly-combed hair, except for the characteristic rebellious lock of his fringe that was always dangling over his right brow, and a charming smile with his jaw muscle twitching as though he was on the verge of a full-on laughter.
'So they ultimately did choose the second picture I took when Sirius was making that weird chicken clucking sound.'
They sent in the three pictures where Turais was not outright laughing, frowning, or leaving the photo frame for the editors to choose from. Turais had a hunch they would pick this one because it was a more relaxed smile and also hinted at his boyish charm appropriate for a happy, young Pureblood heir.
"Woah! Your transcript is finally out?" Jonty snatched the copy of Potions out of Turais' grip and started to flip through it when another jet-black owl, flew into the hall.
"Did the owl forget something?" Alex asked quizzically.
"I've never heard an owl forget to deliver an item before," Turais squinted at the owl. "Hold on, it has a letter. The last owl left empty-handed."
They learnt the truth soon enough as the owl delivered the green letter and landed gracefully. Turais took the green envelope and opened it.
MOST EXTRAORDINARY SOCIETY of POTIONEERS
Chief Potioneer: Charlicus Finbok
(Order of Merlin, Second Class)
Dear Mr Turais Rigel Orion Black,
We are pleased to inform you that the New Potions Application on the joint-discovery named, tentatively, "Wolfsbane Potion" with Mr Damocles Belby for the expressed usage of:
1) Easing the symptoms of lycanthropy; and,
2) Preventing werewolves from losing their mental faculties post-transformation
has been peer-reviewed and conditionally accepted by the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers (hereafter referred to as M.E.S.O.P.) for demonstrating its safety and efficacy. Therefore, the final phase of Ministry-approved clinical trials will proceed prior to the final approval of your application. The transcript for the new Potion (without the methods and potion recipe) will be published as the cover story in the October 1970 edition of Potions. Please find enclosed a copy of the approved transcript (with the methods and potion recipe redacted), a list of required items for publication, and an invitation to the Head Office of M.E.S.O.P..
We await your owl by no later than 5 September.
Yours sincerely,
Charlicus Finbok
Chief Potioneer
Turais dropped the letter in shock as Alex reached for the letter and dropped it in the same manner moments later. Turais' mind went blank as he felt his magic and blood coursing throughout his body. Although he has been expecting this for a long time, he still couldn't believe the day has finally arrived.
"Turais, were those two owls from M.E.S.O.P. -" he then took in Turais' shocked expression and looked sharply at letter in Turais' slacked grip. He peered down at the letter from behind his shoulder and when he was finished, his eyes were shocked with admiration and his hands were shaking with excitement. The entire table was looking at their Head of House with intense curiosity as to what news has caused such an effect.
"Turais…" Professor Slughorn said shakily as though he was struggling to breathe, "Turais… my boy, the Wolfsbane Potion has been conditionally approved for clinical trials? The Wolfsbane Potion has been conditionally approved. The Wolfsbane Potion has been conditionally approved ! What amazing news!"
Professor Slughorn said the sentence three times loudly - each time with increasing confidence - to hammer in the truth and Turais silently thanked him for that. However, he could only feel the frantic pounding as his heart threatened to escape from his chest as he breathed heavily.
"Turais, my boy! A Potion that alleviates symptoms of a werewolf during full-moon. A Potion that keeps them sane during full-moon. You've done it!" Professor Slughorn shouted as Turais felt dizzier and more disoriented by the second.
"You'll get an Order of Merlin - definitely second class but potentially first class - for this discovery!" Turais heard Professor shout out when a flare of magic rushed up into his head as the world turned black.
Turais opened his eyes and immediately shut them again. "So bright…" he mumbled.
He felt two pairs of hands squeezing both his hands gently as he felt a soft caress on his cheek.
"Hey Turais, time to wake up," he heard Orion said somewhere to his left. Turais turned his head slightly to hide away from the light.
"Can I sleep in today?" Turais mumbled into his pillow. "I was just dreaming that the Wolfsbane Potion was conditionally approved. I want to go back to that dream…"
Turais heard a couple of amused chuckles. Those chuckles did not belong to Sirius and Regulus; they were adults. Confused, Turais sat up with his eyes still closed; it is still too bright. "Father, are there visitors today? I'm not even dressed properly… and why is it so bright? I thought we replaced the curtains."
Some more chuckles. Something was definitely not right.
Turais creaked his eyes opened and saw a few figures surrounding his bed. He blinked as the images focused.
"What? Why am I in the Hospital Wing?" Turais turned to see his father and his brothers. He then looked forward to see Professor Slughorn and Madame Roland. "What happened?"
"Well, you fainted during breakfast this morning," Orion spoke softly. "Seems like you got a bit too excited and your magic ran wild."
"What? I'm not at home? I thought I was dreaming of being back at Hogwarts and wait…" Something clicked in Turais' mind when his memories came back to him. He looked at Professor Slughorn. "Did I actually receive a letter telling me that the Wolfsbane Potion was conditionally approved?"
"Yes, my boy, it seems so," Slughorn beamed as he held the green envelope out. Turais took it gingerly as he re-opened the envelope. The wax seal was broken already, he noted mentally. He read the letter over again, three times, to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
He looked up at Orion, whose eyes glinted in the lightest shade of cloud grey. It was filled with joy, with pride, with gaiety.
"We did it," he said faintly as he motioned for a hug, which Orion indulged him. "I can't believe this. So many lives will be changed for the better." The impacts the Potion would make finally reached his mind. Although the Potion was not actually released to the public yet since it is still in clinical trials, the Ministry has now approved that the Potion was safe for consumption. Now, actual lycanthropic patients could sign up and be enrolled in the Ministry-regulated experimental Potions program to test for the Potions efficacy. The Potion would now directly benefit some werewolves now!
"No more painful transformations. No more uncontrolled werewolves harming innocent people. It's here," he breathed.
Apparently, Turais fainted and fell unconscious for three hours, much to Turais' embarrassment, in front of the entire school. He wouldn't be able to live this one down anytime soon and was already imagining all the taunts and teases he was going to receive soon. Professor Slughorn has excused Turais from classes for the rest of the day to "recuperate" with his family, although Turais knew he was pampering his prodigal and soon-to-be Order of Merlin awardee second-year student. However, Turais accepted it all the same as he could use the free time to show his brothers around the castle.
Unlike last time when they visited him at night, this time they came during the height of the day; therefore, once Madame Roland signed him off, Turais toured his family around the school grounds and showed them the Quidditch Pitch, the Black Lake, the greenhouses and then finally headed back to the mostly-emptied Slytherin common room.
Sirius and Regulus were very excited during the entire tour as they got a sneak-peek at Hogwarts before their time at the castle while Turais was glad to have a taste of what life with his brothers would be in the future.
The reception to the Slytherin common room was mixed, however. Orion glanced at every brick and step with a sense of nostalgia; Sirius was generally uncomfortable and claimed everything was cold, wet, and unpleasant (Turais secretly agreed with him); Regulus loved the Slytherin common room as much as the rest of the castle. Regulus quietly told Turais that he was feeling hungry when Turais realized that they have missed lunch due to the tour and it was two in the afternoon already. Therefore, Turais guided them to the kitchen in the Hufflepuff section of the dungeons.
"Turais, why are we heading to the Hufflepuff basement?" Orion asked, confused. He clearly had no knowledge where the kitchen was.
"Father, trust me. I am certain I know more about the castle than you do," Turais challenged with a smirk.
"Oh, do you think so?" Turais thought Orion was going to rise to the challenge but, to his surprise, his father didn't. "That would be highly likely, Turais. I did not spend a lot of time exploring the castle during my time and I mostly kept to myself."
Orion looked forlorn. But Turais saw his murky grey eyes spiraling and settled into an unyielding steel as his masking resurfaced and looked impassive once more. Turais was slightly taken aback by the amount of defense he mounted to block the sadness that he saw seconds ago.
'What happened during his time in Hogwarts?'
He was distracted from his thoughts by the screams and squeals from Sirius and Regulus as they saw a few ghosts floating through the walls in the adjacent hallway.
Due to the proximity of the Black Lake to the Slytherin dungeons, the hallways were constantly cold and damp despite the powerful Warming and Drying enchantments. However, as they entered the Hufflepuff basement, the cold and damp air slowly turned warm and dry, in part due to the furnace in the kitchens nearby and in part due to being surrounded by land once more. The hallways also seemed more brightly lit and cheery, to Sirius' contentment.
Soon, they arrived in a hallway lined with food-themed paintings and Turais stopped in front of the painting of a fruit bowl. Turais turned to his father and lifted an eyebrow, Orion returned a smirk and motioned for him to continue. Turais reached for the pear in the fruit bowl and tickled it as Sirius and Regulus leaned in wondering what their older brother was doing.
Suddenly, the pear giggled as Turais' brothers jumped back in alarm. Orion laughed at his two younger sons, who both grinned sheepishly. Turais grabbed the large green door handle that was in place of the disappeared pear and opened the door.
He heard the three gasped as they walked into an enormous, high-ceiling chamber that looked like a replica of the Great Hall above it. Some house elves were walking around carrying cleaned cookware to one end of the hall while others were cutting ingredients to prepare for dinner in a few hours. A familiar house-elf noticed Turais and walked up to them.
"Mister Black, I is Quincy. How may I help sirs? Does sir have another snake to feed?" He said in a squeaky voice.
Turais crouched down and looked at Quincy, whose large black orbs widened even more at his action. "Hi Quincy, I don't have a snake to feed but I do have my family. We missed lunch so I was wondering if you have any food we can eat?"
Quincy nodded quickly, his pointy ears straightening in excitement. "Yes, mister Black. You is very kind. Quincy is honoured to serve kind mister Black and his family. Please follow me."
Quincy walked them to a nearby table and many different house-elves swarmed around them delivering plates and cups and various food items: tea, bread, cheese, milk, jam, apples, and ham. Looking at the spread on the fully covered table, it was like a luxury picnic buffet.
As they dug in, Orion finally brought up the topic of the Wolfsbane Potion again. Turais was grateful because he really wanted to process what has happened and he had the best person beside him to talk about it.
"So… my son's already a published Potioneer, but he has just discovered a new Potion and will likely become an Order of Merlin awardee, if Professor Slughorn has any say in the matter…" Orion trailed off, clearly processing the events as well. He clasped his hands together, his food abandoned, and brought it to his mouth as his eyes darted around.
"And be the youngest person to have an Order of Merlin," Turais added helpfully, trying to be happy at the idea but failing as his guilt weighed down even heavier.
"Yes… and that. Oh Merlin, what have I done… what have our House done… to deserve you," Orion took in a shuddering breath and closed his eyes.
Turais has no answer. He didn't deserve it. All of the honour should have been Damocles'. He was a "time-traveller" who had the benefit of learning everything once before and knowing facts that are still unknown to those at this time. And for Merlin's sake, he was the Master of Death. He has an inherent advantage to begin with…
But... because he was the Master of Death that's why he could be reborn as Turais Black and change things for the better in this world when he couldn't for his original one. His purpose for coming here was to change the future. Now he has, why was he feeling guilty? But he just saved the werewolves from many years of suffering because he said something and sped along the process of the potion, which was the right thing to do… right?
"Turais? Turais? Are you feeling unwell again? Do you need to go to Madame Roland again?"
Orion was shaking his shoulder. Turais snapped his attention to his father's worried expression, realizing he was lost in his own thoughts.
"No… I'm feeling fine, father," Turais said, "I just… I just don't think I deserve the Order of Merlin… if I get one… it should be all Damocles, he did all the hard work. I literally just told him to use aconite roots only and switched some steps on his potion recipe around. I did absolutely nothing else. I haven't even brewed the potion to completion once. I still don't understand how Damocles could submit it as a joint-discovery… I just don't deserve it . He does, but I don't," Turais admitted his guilty conscience and felt a knot in his chest loosen up a fraction. Although it was not the complete truth as he could never mention being the Master of Death, the guilt he was feeling was completely real.
"Turais, if you didn't tell Damocles what you knew, it could have taken him many more months, maybe even forever, for him to come to the same results. I read your letters when you mentioned that Damocles said your involvement in his project was the singularly most important event that precipitated the completion of the Wolfsbane Potion. Damocles has worked on this project for years , and he is an accomplished Potioneer. Have some faith that he can tell what factors were important to allow his project to fruition," Orion said.
"He wouldn't have offered you joint-discovery if you just told him to add water into a cauldron and start a fire beneath it," Orion added for extra emphasis.
Turais chuckled at his words. "I'll have you know that adding water and starting a fire under the cauldron are very important in potion-making."
"Alas, I'm not a Potions Master," Orion said and Turais' snort turned into a laugh. Orion laughed alongside him. A minute later, Turais' guilt creep back into his mind.
"Turais," Orion said softly, sensing his troubled mind has returned. "Remind me. Who did the experiment on the difference in neutralization reactions on aconite roots compared to its leaves?"
"Me," Turais said softly. That was true, he was the first to discover the difference in aconite leaves and roots in this timeline, although he wasn't aware of that fact until he met Damocles.
"There you go. You discovered something novel and you, as kind-hearted and generous as you are, shared your knowledge with Damocles that allowed him to develop his potion. You might feel like you have only contributed very little in this project, but, as Damocles said, it was potentially the most important part of it. The significance of a contribution does not always correlate with the amount of effort or time. You don't have to feel guilty of anything," Orion said, placing his hand around his son's shoulder and pulling him into his warm embrace.
They hugged in silence for a long time as Sirius and Regulus wolfed down their food noisily and the house-elves busied themselves around them.
"I'm going to have an Order of Merlin," Turais said softly, finally feeling a peace of mind and stopped objected the thought.
He didn't feel like he deserved the Order of Merlin as Harry Potter for defeating Voldemort because he was forced into the prophecy and saving the world because of Voldemort, not by his own volition and choice. Hermione did eventually get through his thick skull the fact that he could have run away and did nothing. But he didn't, and that was more than what she could have said for nine-tenths of the Wizarding population. This time, he managed to achieve the same honour without the added weight of the prophecy and rescuing the Wizarding World from the brink of destruction. It was awarded to him purely due to his own choices and academic accomplishments. Without the sense of responsibility and duty attached, he only felt elation and contentment.
"Can you imagine your grandfather Arcturus' face when you receive the Order of Merlin before he does? He's been trying to buy his way into one for years now. He will be so proud and jealous at the same time. I can't wait," Orion chuckled at the thought as Turais felt a gentle rumbling by his side. Turais smiled at the thought too.
At around the time that classes ended, Turais parted ways with his family as they headed home while Turais met up with his, presumably, worried friends in the common room. When he entered the common room, he found it mostly empty. The students have not made their way back yet.
However, he found Nott and Dolohov locked in a seemingly intense conversation.
They caught him standing by the entrance and stopped talking. Nott disappeared up the staircase while Dolohov plastered a fake smile as he stepped forward.
"Hi Turais, how are you feeling? I hope are not too surprised by your own achievements, seeing that you were taken ill like a fainting damsel."
Turais' eyes narrowed at the false pleasantness. He did not miss this about Hogwarts.
"Thank you, Antonin. I am very touched by your concern. Perhaps you should try it sometimes. Having achievements, I mean," Turais smiled back.
At his words, Dolohov's fake smile transformed into a sinister leer. "I won't get too cocky, Black, if I were you. You may be book-smart, but you still have much to learn about how the world works. And unfortunately, you will find it does not revolve around you."
"Thank you for your valuable lesson, Dolohov. I am always eager to learn, you know. But only from those who are better, in moral and in ability," Turais also dropped his smile and stared back with an intense warning.
"Well then, here is my penultimate lesson for you, Black. There are evidently some things that no magical abilities can save your hides from," Dolohov snarled.
"Lesson noted, Dolohov," Turais retorted with equal force.
The two boys stared at each other across the empty Slytherin common room until they heard the deep rumbling of students' footsteps near the entrance. Dolohov turned to head up the staircase but Turais called out, curious but also sniffing out any details of his threats.
"When is the last lesson?"
Dolohov stopped in his tracks but did not turn around. Then he spoke softly, "You will find out soon enough."
He disappeared up the staircase just as the students flooded into the common room while Turais continued to stare at where Dolohov just disappeared. He did not like the ominous declaration. Not one bit. Could people stop issuing death threats for one year? Was that too much to wish for?
Suddenly, he felt a hand clasped on his shoulder from behind.
"Hey Turais, are you okay? Jonty and I went up to the Hospital Wing during lunch but Madame Roland said you left already," Alex appeared on his left while Jonty popped into view on his right.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Madame Roland said I was just a tad too shocked by the news. I just spent some time with my father and brothers exploring the castle afterwards. Sorry for not telling you," Turais apologized mindlessly.
"It has not even been twenty-four hours and you miss them already? You must be breaking some kind of 'dopiest brother' record. I have to tell Alice and Jane," Jonty said beside him. Then, Turais felt a slight nudge to his side. "Hey, are you alright? Why are you staring at the staircase?"
Turais blinked and saw that he was staring at a couple fourth-years making their way up the stairs. He snapped his head and looked at both his best friends.
"It's nothing, just lost in my own head a bit. It's been a wild day," he said with a pacifying smile.
"Ain't that the truth. Blimey, you're going to be an Order of Merlin awardee if Slughorn has any say in it," Jonty punched him in the shoulder playfully. "He has been droning on and on about this the entire class today -" Suddenly, his eyed narrowed at someone in the distance. "- I'll be right back..."
However, Turais did not hear what he said as his mind returned to Dolohov's thinly veiled threats.
'I will find out soon enough…'
Threats against main characters is a universally bad omen. Turais is in for a ride. Yikes.
That being said, I am proud and excited to reveal the title for my next chapter - Chapter 26: A Star Seeker was Born. For those of you who were waiting for some Quidditch action by Turais. It's here! See you next update.
- ravenclawblues 2020-01-03