Chapter Twenty
Of Blood and Bloodletting
Aurelius swept into the dungeon as Maurice was setting up for Saturday Potion Lab.
"Good, you're here already," Aurelius said briskly, looking around. "Could you please have the students coming to work on projects sit in the last two rows? I need to give some of the Auror Club members a crash course on poisons to get them up to speed."
"C group?" Maurice asked curiously.
"Technically, there isn't a C group anymore. Everyone in that group dropped but Hope, so I'm going to have to put her in with B," Aurelius said, seeming a bit put out about that. "But half of the B group are lower years who haven't gotten that far in potions yet. I need to resplit them up so I can try to get them caught up before the club meets again in two weeks. I have permission already, of course," he replied when he saw the thought cross Maurice's mind. "Don't worry, those who are still left can handle it, and I'm going to be monitoring the lab myself today. Andrew is stepping in and helping Laura outside."
"What? Are you sure that's a good idea? You know how they get on..."
"Like Greek Fire and explosives... I know. But I trust Andrew to keep his cool even if Laura can't; he's come a long way since he's gotten back from that trip," Aurelius said. "Besides, I think they'll learn a lot from him. Do you think that last two rows will be enough for students working on labs?"
"Sure... we're still in the beginning stages of the Creation class, and the only sixth and seventh year majors have a reason to work on their Items projects for at least the next month," Maurice decided.
"All right, I'll try to get them caught up by then. I'll be back in a few minutes... you're not going to fill that cart, are you?" he added, noticing the coffee pot was steaming on the breakfast cart.
"I won't if you don't want me to, but people coming to lab kind of expect it. They usually skip breakfast if they're working on the weekends," Maurice admitted, having done so himself. Aurelius sighed.
"Fine, but just keep it as simple as possible and warn them to stay in the very back row if they're going to eat first. I don't want to explain it to either parent if I student accidentally poisons himself while I'm conducting a training session," Aurelius warned.
"All right," Maurice said, deciding to take a moment to make a sign to put above the cart large enough that no one using the cart would miss it.
"Thanks, I'll be back in a bit," Aurelius said, then hurried back out to the Quidditch Pitch.
The club was assembled and ready, with Andrew waiting patiently on one side while Laura waited distractedly on the other, glancing off in the distance and wondering where her father was holed up at. He bloody well can take care of himself, Aurelius thought, then checked himself. Was it really all that long ago when he felt that way about his mother? Wondering what mess she was going to get into next? This was something Laura was going to have to figure out for herself, he realized, and resolved not to comment on it, focusing instead on his brother with a thin smile. He, at least, had come well out of the other side of his own self battles, Aurelius knew, and yet... it was not hard to feel that one more battle coming for Andrew... just around the corner.
"All set," Andrew said, mistaking the long gaze as a question. Aurelius simply nodded and turned to the Club, noting that Hope stood by herself looked even more annoyed about it than usual. He forced himself to shrug it off.
"I am going to reorganize the groups now that we are left with those who are planning to finish out the year...mostly," he added for good measure, making some of the students look uncomfortable. "A group will stay the same... while B group I need to split according to years. Those year four and above will stay in B, while first through third year participants will now be in group C. This isn't meant as a demotion; it is because there are certain things we'll be learning in the future that group C hasn't learned yet in the curriculum. I have been given permission, however, to get those of you in the club up to a standard you would need to proceed in training I want to work on. Therefore, group C will be going with me to the Potion Lab today so I can give you a crash course in Cursed and Poisoned potions... we deal with them a lot in Auror work, trust me," Aurelius said grimly, ignoring the murmur of mixed excitement and concern that had rippled through the B group. "C group will also have extra assignments due in two weeks. We're not meeting next week, so I trust those of you who aren't going to Hogsmeade will have plenty of time to get that done. I suggest you third years manage your time, because B and C will be working together in poison detection next time we meet up. Those in B group who struggle in Potions might want to take some extra studying measures yourself... I'm sure you know who you are...if you need guidance, simply ask Professor Craw, and she'll advise you want you need to do to prepare. All right, resort yourselves into groups, please. Hope, you're with B."
Sighing softly at that, Hope finally went into the B group, not feeling as satisfied as she had hoped, considering the circumstances. At least in the process, Viorica got bumped down to C, she thought, but rather than looking disappointed, Viorica was simply excited about the fact that they were going to learn some potion techniques early.
"All right then," Aurelius said, after noting where everyone was. "Group C, please go to the Potion's Lab and wait for me there while I have a word with the other two groups," he said, only waiting for a minute for them to start in that direction before turning his attention to the others. "Today, we're going to play a game of Cat and Mouse. Some of you later years may remember the game Harry's Auror club a few years ago," he said, Hope and all of the A group were grinning at that. "A group will be the broom team, while B group will be the ground team... Professor Andrew will be his own team." the grins faded; mostly they turned confused, while Garvan and Natalie glanced at each other worriedly. "Traditionally, the game is typically played with two groups, as some of you already know. But things aren't already that simple when you're an Auror. Sometimes there are more than two sides... in fact, more often than not, there are those who love to sit and wait until a conflict breaks out and take advantage of the situation, picking off both sides. Andrew, therefore, will be the Dog, so to speak... the third Bludger, and he's been instructed not to take it easy on you, so I suggest you all to be wary of him. In fact, I won't be surprised if I come back after C group is done to find that he's the winner. If nothing else, I am hoping that you all learn about what it's like to play the game when the odds are stacked against you."
"Well, what if someone in B group takes Andrew out?" Hope asked out of turn, knowing that Aurelius wouldn't have acknowledged her hand in the air even if she had tried.
"Then I suppose that person has earned a spot in the A group," Aurelius decided, Hope's eyes flashing at that. "But don't get your hopes up. Andrew is allowed to use his full abilities as long as it's non-lethal... and since he knows more about non-lethal defense than anyone else I know, it's going to take nothing short of a miracle for you to manage it. Good luck," he added, then walked off the field.
"Good luck, everyone!" Professor Andrew agreed cheerfully.
"You can go ahead and get started since you know your rules already, Professor," Laura suggested.
"Right," Andrew agreed and disappeared. There were a few gasps as they wondered how they were going to deal with an invisible foe. Even members of the A group looks quite unsettled as Laura called them to order so she could explain the rules.
In his day, it would be highly unusual for Aurelius to see a Slytherin pair up with a Gryffindor on anything if they weren't related; in this case, walking in to see that Viorica and Amber had claimed one of the front tables made perfect sense. Nodding at that, Aurelius found a cubicle with his name on it and pulled out a stack of pamphlets to distribute to the six club members sitting there. As he did so, Dasher hopped up from the back row and stepped over.
"Auror Snape, you've taught here before as Potion Master, haven't you?" Dasher asked.
"Yes, but right now I'm simply acting as the Junior Auror trainer," Aurelius said, handing the books out.
"Yes, I know, but if you're going to be here a while, is it all right if I work on my base for my imbibing potion for creation class? I'm not supposed to work on it without qualified supervision," Dasher explained.
"I'm sure I'll be here long enough to make sure you don't blow the classroom up. Let me glance over your notation first. If it's in order and non-volatile enough that I can concentrate on my class, feel free to work on it," Aurelius said.
"Thank you, Auror Snape," Dasher said happily, grabbing his notes off the table and letting him inspect it.
"Fine," Aurelius said. "But stay away from the back cauldron, we'll be working on those."
"Yes, sir," Dasher agreed. "I shouldn't need to get up. Everything I need is in my kit."
"Good," Aurelius said. "As for you six, we have our work cut out for us. Granted, it'll be a little easier on the Harris twins there, since they're third year, but Amber, you and Lucy definitely have to catch up... especially you, Lucy, having no exposure to potion work before entering school."
"I understand, sir," Lucy said evenly. She had teamed up with another Ravenclaw, a second year boy named Stan Liber. Unlike the Harris twins, who were both interested in joining the LE department when they got older, Lucy and Stan were simply curious students who were exploring options; their willingness for hard work had helped them stick with it when the majority of other "curious" students had dropped out.
"Amber and Viorica, I have a better idea of where your abilities in this field lie, but even the two of you will have to work hard at certain concepts since we'll be introducing you to more complex formulas when we meet again. Stay on your toes," he advised them. The two girls nodded, and he turned to address the whole row. "You'll find in the front of the book a list of the most commonly used poisons and cursed potions that Aurors and Enforcers have to deal with along with the first ten ingredients in each one and their attributes. Memorize them before we meet again in two weeks. At that point, the entire club will meet in here for a week of working on testing formulas and deducing whether one has been used or not on a victim based on descriptions. Before that, we need to get you up to date on what each looks and smells like and also how to make poison and curse level potion testers. If you'll step over to the cauldrons near the windows, I will be demonstrating a few of them... what, are they done already?"
The comment was so abrupt that everyone looked around to see Laura Lupin standing in the doorway.
"Even the more seasoned ones weren't prepared for what Professor Andrew is capable of," Laura said with a soft smirk. "Hope was the first one out," she added.
"Good," Aurelius said. "Who was the last holdout?"
"Chuck Weasley actually, although Natalie and Garvan fared almost as well, working together," Laura said. "Chuck was able to avoid most of the carnage by watching where others fell and approximating where Andrew might be at. He didn't think about the fact that Andrew was an animagus, though."
"That's what he gets for letting his guard down," Aurelius shrugged.
"I gave them the pamphlets and sent them to study. Mind if I head to Sagittari's for a bit?" Laura asked.
"Fine, go ahead. After you're done, why don't you head to the office to see if our Auror-in-training needs help with anything," Aurelius said, not missing the grimace on her face as he turned to the cauldrons. "Everyone gather around... don't pass this line on the floor, I want you close enough to see but not close enough to cause accidents," he said, then began the demonstration.
Viorica brought the pamphlet with her, using it to tick of some of the ingredients as he went through the demonstrations. It was then that she noticed something interesting; some of the ingredients would, under normal circumstances, show up in non-magical toxicology reports. Was they something, then that could be detected by Muggles?
"Miss Eddy, right now you should be paying attention to what I am doing, not speculating. You can set up your own experiment later," Aurelius said briskly, causing the other students to look at her curiously. Viorica blushed and attempted to concentrate on the poison making demonstration, then worked with Amber on poison detectors.
"We're going to be done before the others, I think," Amber surmised, looking in their cauldron. "See? The mixture is almost pearling already."
"Good, because there's something I want to check before Auror Snape destroys those poisons," Viorica said.
"I doubt he plans on destroying them," Amber said, nodding to the crate near the cauldrons. "There are some clean, red phials over there. He's probably planning to use them for our next club meeting." Viorica frowned at that, wondering what would happen if someone would get a hold of those poisons in the interim.
Auror Snape, who had been spending most of his time at Lucy's table, glanced over at them thoughtfully, then shook his head, walking over to see their progress.
"You'll be able to start bottling that in five minutes," Aurelius said, Amber nodding sagely in agreement. "Make sure you label that it's yours and put it in your cubicles. And as for your concerns, Miss Eddy, you'll learn all about safe poison storage in fifth and sixth year classes, and it's part of the Auror exam as well. It's good that you can think out of the box, so to speak, and having the imagination to think up worse case scenarios can also be life-saving. But you need to be careful with that instinct, or it's likely to make you quite paranoid."
"But there have been a lot of paranoid Aurors that have done well, haven't there?" Amber pointed out.
"A fair few," Aurelius admitted. "But it's a ruddy way to live a life, if you ask me. We have enough to deal with on a daily basis without getting eaten alive from the inside out."
"That's probably true," Amber replied diplomatically, and pulled out some bottles.
"After you're done, Viorica, bring that contraption of yours over to the desk and we'll take a look," Aurelius said.
"Thanks, Auror Snape!" Viorica said with more enthusiasm, accepting one of the empty bottles from Amber.
"What was that about?" Amber asked in a low voice when Aurelius walked to check the other tables.
"I wanted to see what the poisons looked like under my microscope," Viorica said.
"Microscope again?" Amber said critically.
"It has a lot of ingredients in it that are poisonous to people even without the magical component... that means it might show up... probably even in a blood sample," Viorica decided.
"No one is likely to give you blood samples to test that," Amber said.
"I wasn't planning to poison anyone to check their blood, silly! But think about it this way... say a wizard gets poisoned and it takes long enough that they happen to die out on a street in London so the police pick them up. What can their forensics team see in their investigation, and what can't they see? That's what I'm curious about. I've already found out there's no way to tell from a blood test whether or not one's magic or not, but that doesn't mean that potions wouldn't leave a trace... at least the ones that have some basic herbs and plants in it that are found everywhere in the Muggle world... like henbane, foxglove, bitter almonds and the like."
"Miss Eddy, are you sure you know enough about bloodwork to be able to tell the difference?"
Viorica looked up to see that Aurelius had walked back up as they were bottling. He didn't look critical about the claim; simply curious.
"Well, only enough to tell if someone's blood is normal or not normal compared to a neutral sample," Viorica admitted. "It takes years of training to see more than that."
"I'm sure I know that better than you do." Aurelius said bluntly. "But I'll see about getting you some blood samples on prepared slides for the next time we meet."
"Great!" Viorica beamed.
"What's a slide?" Amber asked.
"It's what you use to put samples under a microscope, of course," Viorica said.
"My wife has an enchanted one that she uses in the lab sometimes," Aurelius explained, Amber staring at him in response. "And yes, it's true that spells and test kits yield the most information in most cases, Amber, but there are times in forensics when you simply run out of all the standard tests and have to go beyond it for the answers. We've even had to take DNA tests on occasion."
"Really?" Viorica said with interest.
"Yes, it's one of the reasons my father is the Headmaster here instead of sitting in Azkaban. Ask him sometime if you like," Aurelius said with a thin smile, before walking over to help Lucy and Stan bottle.
Viorica arrived in the Owl Room to see a bunch of glum faces at the table.
"What an exciting day! Auror Club was so much fun!" she said enthusiastically. Hope, Chuck, Natalie and Garvan glowered at her.
"What did your lot do?" Harvey Oxford asked curiously.
"We spent it in the Potions Lab learning all about poisons and how to detect them," Viorica explained, sitting down beside him. "Auror Snape even let me use my microscope do look at some of the poisons he made, and he's going to bring me some slides for my microscope with blood samples for next time the club meets. I do have a lot of poisons and cursed potions to memorize, though."
"We all have that," Garvan said curtly. "We were given pamphlets at the end of the 'game' to study."
"That wasn't a game. That was a slaughter," Hope said. "I swear, Uncle Andrew was specifically attempting to target me!"
"He cleared out most of the ground crew really early, Hope," Natalie reminded her. "It wasn't just you."
"Maybe, but it was quite obvious that the odds were completely in his favor... being able to turn invisible, and an Animagus, and a Professor," Hope glowered.
"I think that was the entire point of the exercise, really," Garvan said. "It wasn't about the game at all. It was about us coming to grips with a no-win situation."
"I don't think it is a no-win situation. More like a highly-unlikely situation," Chuck decided.
"Next to impossible is more like it," Hope brooded.
"Do you suppose that we'll play the game again this year?" Chuck asked thoughtfully. "I don't know about you, but I'd rather have another go at it."
"Well, if we are, it won't be for a bit," Viorica pointed out. "We're not meeting next week, and the week after that, we're all meeting in the Potion's Lab. By then, Quidditch season will be in full swing, so we won't be able to meet on the Pitch all the time."
"She has a point there... we do have time to plan if they do decide to try this again," Natalie said. "Do you think he'd tell us if we asked him?"
"No, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to prepare just in case," Hope said firmly. "There's no way I'm going to be the first out if we do ever go up against Uncle Andrew again."