Squib 21 Another very long chapter I'm not bothering to break up. Enjoy!
Fourth year classes were pretty much the same as Third, except the teachers were asking for a lot more homework. There were new sets of Runes to learn for specialized applications, which meant becoming at least familiar with new Ancient Languages and cultures. They had moved from European Runes to Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Sumerian Cuniform. Fourth year began carving Runes on wood, leather, soft stone, working up to small gems to set into jewelry. Next year they would move to the New World. Sixth year did the Far East, and Seventh the Lost Lands, meaning Atlantis, and the few Creature Rune sets. Eileen had already bought all the books for these, so Lily and Sevi had read ahead a bit. Dragon Runes seemed particularly curious, being carved by claws directly into bedrock.
Arithmancy moved from normal Maths to Geometry, which Lily and Sevi had done last year so they understood the formal proof system. That made the learning curve less steep! Geometry was important in delineating areas of effect.
Potions was working on Poisons and Antidotes. Slughorn had them do a full Meter of essay on the uses and effects of Bezoars, with emphasis on what Poisons Bezoars would NOT help with. Lily didn't think it was really a good idea to teach students how to use poisons that had no easy counter. Wizards were crazy!
Lily and Sevi and those in their level of the correspondence work added spoken German with simple readers. Fortunately Lily's father had started them in it at home, and some others also spoke some. They needed to find someone really fluent to talk to. In Latin they were beginning to do translation work, though not up to beginning Virgil. In French, where many in the group were bilingual, they were reading Biographies and classics, and beginning to write essays. A French newspaper subscription was added. Having finished Geometry, Lily and Sevi moved on to Algebra, which also used formal proofs. They read their Science texts, mostly Biographies, but would do their actual Labs at home during breaks. Many Science Biographies doubled for History. Given a choice of which History to cover this year, they had opted for Greece, Rome, the Middle East and Egypt, which would pair up at least some of their lessons. This also meant the first time many of the Wizard students had read the Bible, the Koran, or other religious writings. There was going to be some serious culture shock this year, but these writings are important. In their Art lessons, they moved on to the idea of 'symbolic art', with an emphasis on Modern Artists.
The group was now spread out over more levels, with a few older students nearing their "A" exams but many little ones just beginning the course. There were even several Firsties still working in the "O" level material. Three were from muggle families who had not realized the standard exams were not offered at Hogwarts, and four more were late starts from half blood or pure blood families who were just becoming aware. Remus did not mention that he was tutoring James. All 15 of the firsties were started with the copy work from Victus, now completely from saved handwritten copies. None of the study group cared or paid any attention to the colors on their robes. All 4 Houses had older students in the group now, who made sure the new ones were brought down, and taken back before their curfew.
The study group also had a new Book, another gift from Miriam. The new students were all copying Victus. The older students were beginning 'Elementary Occulomancy, Beginning the Mind Arts', which meant they were all beginning simple Meditation exercises. Even muggles did this and could learn the 'Mind Palaces', which promised faster and better learning as they organized their minds. The idea that their minds could be read absolutely horrified all of them! The book insisted this wasn't actually reading their minds, but the difference was too technical for children. It would be a long time before any of these looked a teacher in the eye again! Copies of the first chapters were quickly sent home for all the families to learn.
At home, Harold looked at Rose, "The Eastern Meditative Religions got something right?"
Petunia spoke up, "That's what Sensei means? He's been saying we need to focus on what we are doing, that we can enter a stage where only our learned actions matter and everything else outside the walls of our minds is unimportant."
Eileen, consulted, confirmed the information. More than that, "This topic, and even this book, used to be the standard Seventh Year Defense study. Each Year got one major topic as well as touching on a few minor ones that fit with the major one. One year was Curses and Counters, another Transfiguration, Beasts, Beginning Warding, Battle Magic, Medical, and Mind Arts... I'm not sure I have them all in order, but you get the idea. Now that I see this, I wonder what they are teaching because I don't remember seeing this title when I bought all the books. The man at the Bookstore had seen her coming and this year he was prepared – six copies of all new titles, textbooks or not, were in a case at the counter waiting for her. She had just smiled, slapped down her key, and taken the shrunken case with her.
The first full moon, which was the first weekend, Remus was sick again. The Marauders came up to visit him Sunday morning, even James. Sirius was serious, for once. As soon as the Intern had left them alone, he sat on the end of the bed and addressed Remus. "OK. It's OK, really. We've figured your secret out, and figured out what we are going to do about it."
Remus looked shattered, but they stopped him from talking. "We're ALL going to become Animagi. As animals, we are in no danger, so we can keep you company and try to keep you from hurting yourself or anyone else. I assume the Intern knows, and there must be a safe place for you here somewhere?"
"Yes, the Interns know. They are trying everything they can think of to make this easier on me. You might have noticed I've been better, not as hurt? The Bezoars help, but there has to be something else because I'm doing better than the other guys who are getting daily Bezoars."
"What other guys? We have MORE in Hogwarts? Where do they put you?"
"At the beginning I went to the Shrieking Shack. That was ME, not ghosts, and I don't know of any others here. I think Dumbledore set it up so I'd be loyal to him. And I DO appreciate it, but the Interns set up something better. Now I go to the nearest Bull Run truck stop for the night. Trucking is a good job for Were, and the Bulstrodes hire all of us they can get. The truck stop Clinics have accommodations, and medical care in the mornings. They did try the Animagus potion, and it helps with the pain but isn't the help they wanted. Yet. They're trying variations. They also plan to train ME as a Healer's Apprentice, because I will be able to get into the wild Packs and help. The Prince family, which produces the special medicines, is also involved."
"Can you get us the potion? We were going to make it ourselves, but stuff from the hospital labs is probably better."
"I can ask. Belby would probably want you to take it in the Hospital Wing so he can help if he's needed."
Belby, behind them, spoke up; "I can and will. True friendship should always be rewarded! You are amazingly loyal friends!"
Behind Belby, Miriam spoke up. "You guys go on down to dinner as soon as Remus is discharged. I want to talk to Belby for a while." After the boy left, she sat with him in his office. "I'm the Bulstrode daughter, and I'm married to James. You were just talking to the Marauders, pranksters extraordinaire. Have you considered the effects of any prank potions on Remus? I have a very special one in mind."
"Oh, yes. We've been collecting samples of every potion used here in the last couple of years. None seem to be the cause. I'll specify. Remus is better than he ought to be. He's healthier in general than most Were. He heals faster after the moon nights. But, while the Bezoar help, they aren't the whole answer. Our Research is intended to find a potion that allows the Were to keep their minds, if we can't cure them. Remus' case suggests there might be a real cure, if we can find it."
"I thought so. Look hard at those boys. Look hard at anyone who has been in this school for the last two years. Those boys are 15, but they are as tall and physically developed as boys 17 or 18. So are the rest. Everyone of us, because I was here, too. But, the prank potion I am thinking about was mine, and I have fed it to all of them for two years. Remus didn't get any over the Summers – was he worse?"
"He was! But he was better this time. Give me that recipe!"
"I started them all on it again as soon as they came back, actually on the train. Isn't a recipe, isn't a potion, and it isn't adsorbed by Bezoar because it's a normal human product. It won't hurt anyone. All it does is help them reach their potential. It didn't make Remus tall – he always had that potential. He was just sick. It's one ingredient. It's HGH, stirred into the frosting on almost any treat they've eaten. My family uses it in our vitamin blend.
You see, James was too young. I had to stimulate his development so we could marry at the time HIS father specified in our Betrothal Contract. It was a lot easier to prank the whole school than to target him. But, that means Remus has also been taking it for two years. Remus was and is chronically ill but he improved. I suspect the whole school is in better than average health. If it didn't work, I hadn't hurt anyone."
Belby was speechless. The nerve of the girl, to treat the entire school with a medicine just to force one person into a growth spurt. "Where did you get it? HOW did you get enough for this – the stuff is rare and it is expensive to treat just one person! It's isolated from human blood! The MoM considers it to be Blood Magic!"
"It isn't Blood Magic because there is nothing Magic about it. Our Ministry just doesn't want to use anything muggle! Most of Mum's family are Lab Techs of one sort or another, in other countries that don't have such head-in-the-sand laws. They normally extract HGH and several other factors from blood they draw for other purposes, or from aging blood supplies in the blood banks, rather than waste it. It was easy for them to divert some older-but-still-good vials to Mum when they replaced dated supplies. Go talk to her and I'm sure she'll donate some to your research. But, I'll deny this forever and everyone will believe me, because how would an 18 year old Business major know all this heavy Science stuff?"
In Transfiguration they were not only increasing in difficulty, but they were now going back and forth between Animate and Inanimate. Example: turning a real rabbit into a pair of slippers, and back again. Turning a pig into a desk and back took more power than most had (yet). They were beginning to discuss human transfiguration, including the Animagus. McGonagall was quite strict that these were reaching not only difficult levels, but dangerous as well. It was possible to wind up with permanent effects if you didn't quite understand what you were doing, so the essay homework was lengthy and detailed. For some reason she was being especially hard on the Marauders, assigning them frequent detentions for the slightest of errors. They each wound up in the Hospital Wing at least once a week, often with McGonagall as well as the Interns correcting whatever they had done this time. This did not seem to discourage them in the slightest.
For the first Quidditch match, Ravenclaw vs Hufflepuff, Minerva appeared with a tiny girl in tow, dressed in a pinafore of the same tartan Minerva wore, complete to ribbons in her long braids. Dumbledore spotted her in the teacher section, and decided to ask. "Who is this little cutie? Is she coming to Hogwarts when she's old enough?"
"This is Minnie, one of my Great-nieces. Her parents named her after me because she was born on my Birthday, and now seem to consider that I will take care of her whenever they have other plans. Her father had a business trip, and took her mother along. No, I doubt she'll be coming here, but I don't know where they will send her. They don't live in Britain, and dropped her off by routing through Aberdeen Airport early this morning. They travel often. She's only just gone 9. I expect I'll have her for many vacations."
Little Minnie (the Hogwarts children quickly began calling her 'Mini') had a wonderful time. She had never seen Quidditch, and loved it as much as Minerva did. She sat at the teacher table for meals. The Gryffindor girls bundled her up and took her flying in the afternoon. She was absolutely stuffed with cookies and candies, beginning the moment she arrived because Minerva had immediately fed her a Bezoar. There were too many pranksters in the school to risk a child. Minerva had been taking one a day for years, because most of the clowns seemed to be in her House and loved to target her. She was better than they were, but she often played along. Her retaliation pranks were epic, and no one ever figured out who did them.
In Charms they were working on designating areas of effect, with emphasis on shields, applying what they were studying in Arithmancy. Lily had to write an essay on what she had done back in her Second year for Extra Credit. As practice this year they were using the Summoning and Banishing Charms, (which were different from Vanishing). For these, they used piles of pillows in the long Charms Corridor. Great hilarity ensued, enhanced by Professor Flitwick turning all the colored pillows into tiny stuffed dragons! Somehow it was much funnier to pelt your friends with toys than with pillows. Dragons flew back and forth like ping-pong balls! The goal, if there was one, was to keep the dragons in the air without being hit.
Letters from home were always a high point of the day for the students.
"Sev, Your sisters are just fine! Of course they sleep a lot. Babies grow while they sleep! Your sisters have gained 3 pounds apiece., which is generous. Here is a Polaroid I just took. They are so happy when they are awake! They giggle and flirt with everyone, and they are finally beginning to cuddle with the soft toys. They also love kicking that jingling toy apple Rose gave us, and batting at dangling toys. They can hold rattles, though they haven't quite figured out how to shake them. Everything they can hold goes into their mouths. Both can hold their heads up, so they can sit up now if I prop them with cushions, though they can't manage it on their own. They can both roll over unassisted and will roll right across the floor if I set them down on a blanket. They do not seem to be losing the curls they were born with. Gia had a rash so I had to change lotions.
Your father says things are not good at the factory. Aging equipment and fewer orders mean they are starting to lay people off. It's a good thing your father has two jobs, and that he has been taking those night classes at the business school. He's going into Manchester on his off days, looking for a job with better prospects. Both Mr. Evans and his foreman have written him References, and his excellent grades ought to count for something. Love, Mum"
Sevi passed around the picture before posting a duplicate on his wall with half a dozen others. The original would be tucked into a small photo album kept locked in his hidden trunk. He knew the two on the rack in his dorm were rifled regularly, even though he locked them firmly. He couldn't figure out why anyone would be interested in his Art supplies or his correspondence books, but he assumed someone was just checking up on him. Everything in both trunks had tracking tags on them.
"Lily, here is the latest picture of Harry. The light behind him makes his hair look like it is golden instead of red, sort of a halo effect. Do you think you could get that effect in a painting? We'd love to have one to hang above the mantle with the one we had done of you and Petunia when you were small.
Your father and Petunia say things are starting to slow down at the shop. The Factory is cutting back and people are starting to move away. Your father says this is the way things happen, and he is starting to look around for another location, perhaps in a larger town that isn't so dependent on one big employer.
I don't think we will move soon, but he thinks we need to go before property values drop. Petunia is to take her 'A' levels next year, so we've started looking at colleges for her. If we can decide on one we might move close to it so she could stay at home instead of in a dorm. She'd be a bit young to live away from home on her own. I'm starting to clear out the clutter and pack away things we really plan to keep so I can have the house repainted inside. It's been a while since we really did any redecorating. Harold says he will send a man with a truck to put anything I want into his warehouse for storage. That will make it easier. Since you are in Art school, I'm expecting you to help with the redecorating of this house and then decorating the new one we choose. You should start picking colors and looking at magazines for ideas. I'm having Petunia do the same for the gardens. I'm busy enough with the baby. I couldn't do without Petunia! I don't know how Eileen manages with twins and no teen in the house! Love, Mum"
"Alice, I miss you so much it hurts! I guess I got used to being with you every day in study group or at meals? Now I turn to say something and you aren't here! Auror training is both harder and easier than I thought it would be.
Harder, because we have this insane teacher who screams "Constant Vigilance" at us if we miss a shot – and he is wicked fast! He's already taught me more Defense than I learned in my entire time at Hogwarts, except for that book by Victus. He was pleased when he learned I knew that! He doesn't shoot single spells – he 'chains' them, one motion leading right into the next without a pause. He can do wandless, wordless, or use foci I've never heard of!
It's also easier because I did the muggle studies and took the 'A' level this Summer. Some of the other Trainees are being told to start them, so they have to go to Night School for tutoring as well as our daily training and the reading for that. I can walk through a shopping center and not look out of place trying to figure out the money. I have the proper documents to check into a hotel, or apply for a job. I can read a newspaper and understand the references. I may not be able to use a computer or a cell phone or a spaceship (being silly here) but I know what they are! Even playing a few rounds of 'footie' with those kids who went on endlessly about 'West Ham' and 'Manchester' in the sporting sections has helped me! Next, I'm going to learn how to drive an auto. Missing you, your Frank"
The fifth and seventh year students were all finding the teachers had gone mad. Homework was doubled or worse. Theory was now mostly covered in extremely long essays, and classes were nearly all practical work. Well, except for Defense. This years' teacher may have known his stuff fifty years ago, but he was in a floating chair and almost totally deaf. His lectures did keep them awake, because the man shouted everything, gesturing so wildly they were all sure he was going to fall as the chair spun. It was impossible to ask questions – he guessed at what you were asking, apparently trying to lip read, and then got mad if you didn't understand the answer. He also seemed to be a practical joker who throve on Chaos, because many of his answers were so completely out of the class topic that they barely shared a vowel. Either he was senile or he thought he was funny! Most of the time no one else knew what he was laughing at. At least the textbook seemed to be a good one.
The few fifth and seventh year students in the study group had to reduce their schedules. There simply wasn't time to read that much in a day, and then do the essays. They wanted to get the Correspondence work done right, so they had to slow down. Very few were trying to get an 'O' on Magic homework anymore, because they already knew they wouldn't qualify for better jobs in the Wizard World. This only had the teachers upset and giving long lectures about doing their best.
Lily and Sevi and Alice were very glad they were only fourth year students! That OWLs workload looked insane. This motivated them to keep going in their correspondence work, get ahead if possible. They were doing very well, since they had tutoring at home, and they were determined to take their 'A' levels early. It couldn't hurt them. You were allowed to attempt the exams once a year, and younger students often tried so they could see how they were doing. Even if you passed and could technically leave school, you could try again to raise your score. Higher scores meant better Colleges would consider you. Alice felt it didn't matter to her, because she was going to marry, but it was clear Frank had found the program useful in the Auror training so she was doing it to please him. Lily and Sevi were going to make their first attempt next year, when Petunia did.
Ted and Andi, now Seventh Year, were determined to take the 'A' exams at Easter this year, and then finish their NEWTs as hard as they could go. They already had their plans, but Andi had to make it look good to her family! She remained adamant that she was not interested in any of the pure blood matches her Grandfather suggested, but he warned her she would have to choose after Graduation, or be sent to 'Finishing School' in France so her Aunt could introduce her to some good families.
Friday night, at the Roller Rink, the chubby Manager was talking to the old shoe guy. "See that young couple out there in the Dance Section? I think we should invite them to the next Contest. There's one next week, on Saturday."
"I'm way ahead of you, Boss. I asked her earlier, while he was tying the laces on the little guy they bring along. Must be a whole gaggle of siblings, because there are some older boys, too. They are all tall and have that curly black hair. I'm guessing the dancers are twins because they are so well matched. They don't even have to look at each other to get the moves right. Anyhow, she said next weekend is not possible because he's in some sporting match at school, but they might like to try it sometime if we could get them the information earlier."
"They are not twins. Look at their left hands! They are wearing matching rings! I think they are Married! Some people let their children marry way too young, though those two are so well matched I guess I can see it. Any idea what school?"
"She said she and her older brother are in Aberdeen Business College, but Jamie is at the Art school. I didn't know Aberdeen even has an Art school!"
"She probably means he is out at the University."
At Harold's shop, he was asked again, "What is your daughter doing this year at the Art school?'
"Well, this year they have been doing Engraving and simple Jewelry. They are still using wood or soft stone blanks while they get used to the sharp tools. Even leather – Lily did this nice wristband for my watch!"