Heroes of Magic and Might
Chapter 25 – To the victor go the spoils
…
Warm, quiet, what novel concepts. He almost didn't recognize them having spent so long in the wilderness. The blanket wasn't much but it was still a blanket and when you were used to sleeping in the hollows of trees, even a pitiful thin sheet was luxurious bliss.
The wetness spoiled his bliss somewhat. Cold and wet, and panting.
He cracked an eye, finding a large black nose rubbing his cheek, and a big lolling tongue closer than he really liked. The black wolf, seeing his eye open, withdrew slightly, whimpering and glancing back and forth between him and the door meaningfully.
"Don't wanna," Harry groaned.
But the dog was determined. He sat down and stared at the wizard in that way dogs do. I am willing to sit here for as long as this takes, the look said, also, if you don't get moving soon, I'm going to grab ahold of something and start pulling till you do.
He had an infuriatingly expressive face for a canine, and he placed the blame squarely on Rosebud for the sass.
Moaning, groaning, and just generally making clear his annoyance at having to get up and do stuff, Harry crawled from beneath the blanket and placed his feet on the hard wood floor.
The wolf didn't understand, none of them did, and why would they? They wouldn't, they couldn't. He had to get up, he knew he did, there were reasons. Twenty of them to be precise, and he had no idea what he was going to do with any of them.
"Is it too late to get back into bed?"
The wolf whined and gently grabbed his hand with its mouth.
Sigh, "Dammit."
… Survey my holdings
"You know, when they decided to call this the 'Great' hall, I feel they really hit the nail on the head, don't you think so Minerva?"
Minerva, McGonagall, made a general sound of agreement, using her food as a shield from having to say real words. Real words were only likely to get her in trouble in her current frame of mind, small, square, with a little prop on the back so you could set it on your desk.
All around the students watched Co, the blue skinned man who they'd been introduced to the previous evening, along with his retinue of wizards, and several hundred armed warriors. Their apprehension was not only to be expected, it would have been strange if they weren't afraid.
They had, for all intents and purposes, been conquered. The fact that only two people had died in the invasion was a small blessing, but it didn't change the fact that things had changed quite dramatically, yet again, in a very short period of time, yet again.
She only prayed no one would do anything reckless, and she glanced at the Gryffindor table to make sure.
"Well, now that we've broken the fast. I believe there was a tour promised."
He had an interesting memory. He had been the one to promise she would give him a tour. She had said nothing of the sort, which really didn't matter and they both knew it. If your new tyrant says jump, you do it. It doesn't matter how nicely he says it, and this one did say it nicely.
Nice, seemed to be the best word to describe Co, she thought. He was nice, or, she reminded herself, he appeared nice. She had yet to properly square how he'd killed Dumbledore, though she could readily accept that Snape had it coming.
It was difficult coming to terms with the blue skinned man who'd killed one of her oldest and dearest friends, and held her own life in the palm of his hand, with the genial gabber that strode the halls looking at everything with awe and wonder.
"I thought you had already been inside the castle?" she asked, confused at his behavior.
"It looks very different from this perspective," he said. "You tend to look down on things from the birds eye view, you know."
"Not really. My animal form is a cat," she said without thinking.
"Really? Your people can do that?"
She cursed inwardly, she hadn't intended to offer information, "It can be learned," she said. "It is very advanced transfiguration."
"Trans fig you ray shun," he sounded out. "This is, the art of transformation then?"
"Yes it is," she said shortly.
"Hmm. Interesting. Never heard it called that before. I can see we'll have to go over terminology at some point in the near future. Ah, good morning children."
McGonagall flinched when she spotted the 'children' in question. It just would have to be them.
"Good morning sir."
"Good morning sir."
"A lovely good morning to you sir."
Co chuckled at the enthusiastic greeting, "Ah yes, the loquacious lizard, how could I forget."
The adventurous trio stared in confusion.
"Have we met before?" Wizard asked.
"In a matter of speaking," the blue man said. "I am glad to see you found your way back to the castle before dark."
Three lights went on simultaneously, "You were the bird!" shouted Dakota first, setting the blue man off again.
"Indeed," he laughed, "well done."
"Why did you help us," asked Laurel, trying not to sound ungrateful.
"Not that we don't appreciate it," said Wizard, trying much harder.
"Let's just say I have soft spot for the adventurous sort," said the blue man, winking like he was sharing a great secret with them.
She would admit this much, his disarming personality was an effective weapon. Listening to him talk made you want to talk as well and for someone prone to talking, like Dakota, the trick would be getting her to stop.
"An armory you say."
"Oh yes. The door was hidden but that's where we found Wizard here. Only we didn't really find him, we had to get one of the giant spiders to find him."
"You have giant spiders?"
"Three of them. Toragog, Noragog, and Marigold. That's the girl one."
"I never would have guessed, but back to that armory. Is it very full?"
"Packed."
"Really?"
McGonagall rubbed her forehead and stifled a groan. She knew he'd find out eventually. She didn't know why she thought she could hide it. Still, following behind the excitable children and equally excitable blue skinned man, she couldn't help feeling dreadfully circumvented.
… Wot is it?
"You ever seen anything like it?"
"I ave."
"No you ain't, don't lie."
"Oo says I's lyin!"
"I does ya ruddy liar!"
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE!"
The small gaggle of dwarves jumped like naughty schoolboys. "We didn't do nothing."
The stout woman in the tall hat gave them a look that expressed a level of disbelief none of them was comfortable with.
"And just what do you lot think you 'are' doing?"
Such a question asked by such a woman, and with her arms crossed, wasn't really a question so much as an accusation. The sort of accusation young boys and bachelors often got when they are found loafing around when they should be doing other things.
"Nothing," a traditional answer to such a 'question', and traditionally the wrong answer, by tradition.
"Well perhaps you aught to be doing something," though worded like a suggestion, it was not.
The dwarves grumbled and scuffed their feet but the sight of one eyebrow raising sent them scurrying for work, as far away from the angry mother woman as possible.
"Humph! No good layabouts."
"You get some in every army."
Pomona Sprout did not flinch from the wizard, walking up to her with his fancy staff, stroking the long bit of hair coming out his chin. She did not give away her unease at the mans presence, letting it scurry behind her maternal like outrage where it could easily hide.
"You in charge of that lot then?"
"Not that lot, no," he replied, admiring the massive crystal. "Where did you get this?"
"Pulled it out of the field," said Sprout. "Wrecked our plow when we found it. The Headmaster—the, the headmaster was, examining it."
"Examining what exactly?"
"You can't use magic on it," she said, re-firming the grip on her self-control. "Everything magic we tried to use on it just slid off. Had to cast on the ground around it to get it out of the hole."
"Fascinating." Raising his staff, it flashed briefly, whatever magic he summoned splashing against the stone and quickly dissipating. "Terribly fascinating. Swear I've heard of something like this before. But where are my manners? My name is Hectorus."
"Pomona Sprout," said the once professor of Herbology. "And if you'll excuse me."
"What are you up to then?" he asked, trotting along beside her.
"I've got fields to tend. Food isn't going to grow itself," she said, unsure how to feel about the man following her and settling on annoyed.
"Yes, I saw those when we got here yesterday. The weather must be good up here. They look to be farther along than I would have expected for the time of year."
Pomona allowed herself a little grin, "Well, that's magic, ain't it. Another three weeks they'll be almost ready to harvest then we can start all over again. Have to with all them mouths to feed," and she let that statement hang just so he understood who she was blaming for that.
He chose to ignore it, "It's magic you say. So, it speeds the growing, but what about water, and the health of the soil."
"Water's easy, big salt marsh not far from here, taps into the sea or ocean or something," no one had yet gone out far enough to find out. "The soil is a problem though," she admitted. "Ain't got proper fertilizer, nor anything to make it. Might be able to dredge something from that marsh but what we could really use is a good mount a fish."
"Fish?"
"Fish. Don't even need the good stuff, just grind up the chum. Lots of good nutrients in fish. Around here all we can get is dung, and only the kind that comes from us, and that's always been a bit questionable, health wise."
"If you like I can have my horse do his business in your field. I'm sure he won't mind."
The plant professor looked at the wizard with the staff, unsure what to think. He was an invader, she reminded herself, but as invasions went, it wasn't turning out so bad thus far.
… Don't be stupid
"I am not being stupid!"
"You are absolutely being stupid! You're going to get yourself killed and the rest of us along with you."
"Oy, quit yur shoutin."
"Yeah, it's a library you know."
Hermione blushed at the twins chastisement but her glare never left the other ginger. "Would you two please explain to your brother the suicidal absurdity of what he is claiming we should do."
"I never said we should!" he decried. "Just thinking out loud is all."
"If you have to do it out loud."
"It isn't really thinking.
"Ah, shove off you two. I wasn't doing anything wrong."
"Only talking about attacking Co," Hermione hissed quietly.
The twins goggled, " "Are you bloody mad?" "
Backed into the figurative corner what could he say, "And when did you all turn into such bloody cowards."
"He has an army," said Hermione. "Can you understand that? Not a bunch of children with wands but a real army. Do you know what a real army is for Ronald?"
"Do you know what this is for," he fired back, holding up his deadly weapon.
"Shoving up your arse," said Fred.
"If you don't put it away, now," said George.
"I don't believe you. You see one army and you let him walk all over you."
"Last I checked," twin one.
"He wasn't walking over anyone," twin two.
"Try tellin that to Dumbledore!"
No retort came to that.
"It—it was a fair fight. McGonagall said so," Hermione tried to justify.
"Yeah, while our new overlord was standing right next to her. Bet he made her say that."
"And what if he did?" said Fred.
"What?"
"And what if he did?" George repeated. "What would you have had us do?"
"We could have fought!" Ron shouted.
"And we could have died!"
"And for what?"
The twins glared down their brother who glared back fuming.
"You're a bunch of bloody cowards."
"Is it really bravery to run towards a pointless death?"
The question, so smoothly spoken, made Ron's lip curl even further, "What do you want, Slytherin?"
The perfectly polished Anna DeWinter returned his heated glare with a stare as frigid as ice.
"A little quiet perhaps. We are in a library."
Stubborn to a fault, Ron was fully prepared to drag the argument on indefinitely. However, some part of his brain had catalogued the fact that he was not only outnumbered four to one, but that those who should have been on his side were not, and did not look to be changing that any time soon. A tactical retreat was initiated.
"Nice to see him is such high spirits," said Anna once Ron was gone.
"I hope he doesn't do anything foolish," said Hermione, watching him storm out the doors.
"I'm almost certain everything he does is foolish," said Anna. "Even the way he breathes."
The brothers of said breather snorted, "While we may agree with this."
"He is still our brother, you will remember."
"On a separate note."
"Is there something we can do for you."
"Not at the present, though let it not slip your mind that I had considered such a proposition," she said, sliding them a look that suggested several fun and inappropriate activities they would likely never get to engage in, though just the fact she would suggest them drew a chuckle.
"Were you looking for something then?" asked Hermione, who had not been partial to the part of the conversation not spoken aloud.
"I don't suppose you have a spare dose of sanity sitting around?" the older girl asked.
"Not around here," Hermione mumbled, not as quietly as she intended.
"The world just keeps hitting us," said Fred.
"Boom, boom, POW!" said George.
"I wouldn't put it quite like that," she grinned, "but it does make the point. Which I think leads us to one obvious conclusion."
"And what's that?" said Hermione when Anna didn't continue.
"Why haven't we learned to duck?"
… Hi ho puppy, away!
"Okay, I know I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, Rosebud does it, so why shouldn't they? But still."
Sitting beside him Bill could only grin. "It's not unheard of. Back home the goblins were a bit bigger and so were the beasts. Wargs, they called them."
"I still can't believe it. Which one of them got the idea into their head first? That's what I'd like to know."
"Probably that one," said Bill, pointing to the only goblin currently sitting on a wolf who wasn't trying to throw him off.
"Stands to reason I suppose," even if he couldn't find the reason.
He didn't know why, or how, and only vaguely when, but his new 'minions' had taken it upon themselves to learn how to ride the wolves. The wolves, who were not under his command any more than Rosebud was under his command, saw the whole process as some sort of game.
"At least nobody's gotten eaten yet."
"Probably helps you've fed them all."
And he'd been wondering how he was ever going to get rid of all that meat.
"I feel like I should be doing something with them, you know. Like, training them, or something."
Bill nodded, "They do look like they could use some training. You know how to use any of those weapons?"
"Nope," though that was probably less of a hinderance than it seemed because neither did they, as he had learned.
They were all young goblins, recruited by the big one on the pig because they were there and had no better prospects. Now they had him, which it could be argued was not much of an improvement.
"So, what are you going to do?"
"I don't know Bill," he said as another goblin got rolled over by a playful wolf, "but I gotta do something. I just hope I don't screw it up."