Chapter fourteen
An extraordinary wand
One cannot make an omelette without breaking eggs… Unless you are really a powerful wizard, able to make the yolk disappear in the shell and reappear on your pan.
You cannot have a cake and eat it… unless you mastered a Duplication Charm to perfection and get along with the fact that the duplicated food will never be as tasty and nutritious as the real one.
But no matter how powerful you are you cannot make politics without turning a target for curses, sooner or later. Rather sooner than later. Thus, Charlotta was not shocked, seeing the flashing jinxes. It was not the first time someone tried to get rid of Ludwiga… or maybe it was again Gellert who was the target?
Be it as it may, there was no time to waste. As there were disapparition wards in place, Charlotta had to run to the gate… But there was a better way.
She closed her eyes, felt magic flow through her, heard someone saying "WOW!" and flew through the open door as a nightjar. Maybe it was not an Animagus form young wizards dream about, yet it was very useful. The bird was not only magically powerful as such; it was also perfect for stealth, being as inconspicuous as could be: tiny, brown, a skilful flyer.
Yet when she arrived, Elisabeth had already taken care of the aggressor. Charlotta had to admit that the Animagus form of Batory, a giant sighthound, really fit her. Though a dragon would fit as well… the red dragon of Dracula…
`Maleficum glaciare!` Elisabeth cast a magic-freezing spell on the defeated witch.
`You think she has been forced to attack?` wondered Charlotta.
`The gate does not let you in, if you are enslaved by a curse or a potion,` Ludwiga shook her head.
Elisabeth ignored them, turning to Ethan instead.
`Ethan, what happened between you and the Dumbledores?` she asked.
`Not now,` he hissed, `Children should not listen to that!`
'Elisabeth, whatever made her attack us, we have to act now,` Charlotta stepped in, `The magic-freezing charm will not hold for long and she may die if she had sworn an oath or…'
'So diagnose her,' ordered Batory curtly.
'What are you doing to my Gran?` inquired terrified Albus, 'Why were you fighting?'
`She attacked us. I think someone made her do it so I used a magic-freezing charm,' explained Elisabeth calmly, 'Which slows down the progress of any magic your grandmother might have been subjected to. Thanks to that we get some time to de-curse her, if needed.'
'But she will make it, won't she?'
Batory took a knee to look straight into Albus' face.
'She will,' she replied with her generalish tone, 'You have my word.'
A few sparks flew out of her wand.
'See?' she smiled at the boy, 'I have promised, and magic confirms my words. There is no need to worry.'
Ludwiga would not bet her wand arm on that. She respected Elisabeth deeply – after all, Batory ruined her career and risked her life in 1809 to save the von Bayerns. Yet, to help them, Elisabeth must have broken several magical contracts, the Auror's Vow inclusive, and seemingly suffered no consequences of such a massive breach of trust. If anyone knew how to unbind what magic has bonded, it was Batory. It would be easy for her to break also the promise he just had given to Albus.
Charlotta knew even better of what degree of magical treason Batory was capable. Yet she kept her mouth shut, concentrating on the spells, entangling the grandmother of Albus.
`What do we have here?` murmured Elisabeth, when Charlotta had managed to make the spells visible; an entangled network of magic covered the whole wand arm of Mrs Dumbledore, from the fingertips to the shoulder. It looked like a mess of colourful, shining threads, intertwined beyond hope.
`A standard Unbreakable Vow, intertwined with the Horkos Curse,` replied Charlotta, taking a closer look.
'And that third thing underneath?'
`It resembles the Oath of Tyr.`
`The colour fits. But it is woven in the wrong direction, then,` added Ludwiga.
`And too tight,` added Elisabeth.
`Who was that mad to combine…`
`An idiot,` snarled Elisabeth, `One of those who should be executed pro bono publico. And on the very bottom this fool cast the Baton Rouge Promise. Ethan, how many Dumbledores made your life difficult during your rebellion?`
`Four brothers,` he replied, `Or cousins, I don`t know. Abelard, Abrax, Aurelius and Adelwolf.`
`And which of them survived?`
`None,` Ethan`s pretty face twisted into a cruel grimace, `Unless Adelwolf made it in the end, we have never got him…`
`I see,` replied Elisabeth, deep in thought, `Charlotta, any idea how to untangle all that mess?`
`Each of them is practically unbreakable,` sighed Lovelace, `Unless… You try with this fire, like the day you… You know…`
`I do,` cut Elisabeth in with a stern tone, `Ludwiga, do you still have this crooked wand of your great-great-granduncle?`
`Of course I do,` nodded von Bayern, `But remember, it is unstable.`
`Let us give it a try nonetheless` commanded Batory.
Said wand was indeed crooked, had a rough surface and was forked at the end.
`Is that a wand?` asked Albus, fear mixing with curiosity.
`One of the Wittelsbachs, the family of Mrs von Bayern, experimented with wandmaking,` explained Elisabeth, `He dreamt about a wand more powerful that all before.`
`The Elder Wand,` whispered Gellert.
`Ferenc again told you some nonsense,` snapped Elisabeth, eyeing him suspiciously, `This wand is not made of elder but of rowan wood,` she added, `It is the wand of Bellicosa you used to help the Dumbledore girl that is made of elder and there are more atypical wands, by the way. Many a powerful witch or wizard tried to improve the wand quality. This one is too wayward to be used for standard spellwork but it has a few strong points`, Elisabeth started pushing the forked tip of the wand under the spell threads. Slowly, gently, she started picking them up one by one.
Charlotta observed her with rapt attention, ready to cast a shielding spell if a thread slid off the rowan wand. Now she understood why Elisabeth had chosen that strange wand – its crooked shape helped to hold the spells.
`Fire. Now.` growled Batory, having caught the last of the threads.
`Protego Diabolica` Ethan pronounced the words with clear and steady tone, aiming at the arm of Mrs Dumbledore. A jet of bluish fire erupting from his wand. The flame crawled up the arm, making the threads of the oaths melt and snap. Three left to go, two, only one…
Charlotta cast a shield and Elisabeth pulled the rowan wand up with a jerky move. The last of the treads broke, erupting in a cacophony of words, pronounced when the vows had been made. It was hard to understand; Albus got only something about a garou, blood and a seven.
Elisabeth bowed, thanking Ethan and Charlotta.
'And what about Gran?' asked Albus, seeing that Mrs Dumbledore did not open her eyes.
'She needs to sleep,' explained Charlotta, 'She is exhausted, drained of her powers. And when she wakes up, she will not remember anything, I suppose.'
'But how come you managed in the first place, general?' wondered Albus, turning to Elisabeth, 'Those vows are said to be unbreakable!'
'A very good question, Albus Dumbledore,' smiled Elisabeth, 'You are a scientific mind… Well, whatever magic has bonded can be unbound by magic, though it may be extremely difficult.'
'Secondly,' added Charlotta, 'Each vow, oath or promise has its weak points; this is why you should not treat them lightly. Otherwise each of us would be chained with dozens of them. Thirdly, does resonance and negative interference tell you something?'
Albus nodded. 'So, they weaken each other?'
'Indeed,' stated Elisabeth, 'It seems someone vindictive but ignorant persuaded our grandmother to swear them all.'
'It seems to be a great idea at the first glance', added Charlotta, 'And is a common mistake of those who are… well…' she looked at Elisabeth.
'Control freaks,' smiled Batory, 'The more, the merrier, they think. Five oaths look more powerful than just one, right? This assumption brought many a wizard into his grave,' she smiled widely, looking at Charlotta, 'Am I right, Arithmancer Lovelace?'
'You are, general Batory,' retorted Charlotta, 'Many a wizard. Anyhow, it seems that the excess of magic forced your grandmother, Albus, to attack blindly. And the incorrect combination of oaths made it possible to dissolve them. A single one, but correctly done, would be unsurmountable.'
'But why? Why revenge? And who is that garou?' inquired Albus.
Charlotta sighed. 'Albus, Gellert, we have to talk.'
A hot tea and a big piece of cake facilitate even the most difficult discussions, this was what Charlotta had learnt from Elisabeth. So she took the boys back to the palace, asked an elf for a tart and… Well, how can you explain such stuff to children, even as extraordinary as Albus and Gellert?
'So who was that garou?' insisted Albus.
'It is a rude word, Albus', said Charlotta, 'It means a child of an Animagus… and an animal.'
'But… yuk.'
'I fully agree with you, Albus,' nodded Charlotta, 'Anyhow, it is not possible, an Animagus does not turn into an animal to the extent needed…'
'So why people say that?'
`Oh, Albus,` smiled Charlotta, `People tell lies.`
`Albi, my great-grandma Joyce was a slave. A talking tool, that is what she was. An object. So…` started Gellert.
'What?' wondered Albus, `But it was only Black people who…`
`So look into your books,` snapped Grindelwald, `And you will see how she looks like.`
`But… But you are as white as can be!` Albus shook his head in disbelief, `How come your grandma…`
`You don`t know what to look at,` retorted Gellert, `I can see an African in me. Anyhow, she has no idea about her ancestors, she does not have to be of pure African origin, you know.`
Albus bit his lip, not sure how to ask the question without insulting his friend.
`So… It is about her? This garou thing? But… what for? If she is Muggle-born, why don`t they… I mean, why don`t they simply… `
`Call her a Mudblood,` finished Charlotta, `Well, of course they also say that. But in Americas the wizarding society is not that obsessed about blood purity, you see. This is because most of them are children of Muggle migrants… or slaves, they have no family tree to boast with. And the true natives have never been that much against Muggleborns… At least native Muggleborns, of course, because the native American Muggles accepted wizardry. The situation of Muggleborns of European origin is different, mainly due to their religious views, condemning magic.`
`It makes sense,` nodded Albus.
`Nonetheless, ` sighed Charlotta, `There are other prejudices there. Many a native hates all the migrants, considering them occupants. And the Muggleborns of European origin spread their racism as well. You know what I mean? They divided humanity into groups, basing on their origin and…`
`I know what it means,` interrupted Albus, 'But why? We wizards have never done that.'
`We are not that innocent, ` replied Charlotta, `But dividing humanity into four races is indeed a relatively new Muggle idea. The Muggleborns, unlike purebloods, were brought up to believe it and they don`t discard it the moment they buy their first wand. Even their children and grandchildren are often contaminated with that nonsense… Which just boosts the conflicts between them and the purebloods, of course. You will see the problem once you start school,` she sighed, `Their mindset is so different that it comes to a clash. The Muggleborns, as a rule are racists. They believe in the superiority of their religious denomination. And their boys consider themselves better than girls… till they get hexed hard by a witch, at least. Anyhow, coming back to Joyce Freeman, called the Jaguar. She was born a slave. She is, in all probability, a Muggleborn. You have to know also, Albus, that at the time she was a child, there was no organised wizarding education in the Deep South. I mean, schools of magic existed but there was no register of Muggleborns so that many children have not started their education on time.`
Albus frowned. He knew it was dangerous to let magic grow without control.
`As you may guess,` continued Charlotta, `When the magic of an untrained Muggleborn went berserk – and it happens rather sooner than later – the children had to go in hiding. Some were rescued by adult witches or wizards… Some had to cope on their own. Joyce hid in the forest and soon a group of magical teens gather around her. And they started exploring magic…`
`Without a teacher?` asked Albus, wide-eyed, `But how?`
`Like it happened at the dawn of magic, I assume,` replied Charlotta, `Your magic is inside you and you have to guide and master it on your own, teachers can only support you but do not replace your own effort. Anyhow, some of her friends had had some magical education. There were purebloods escaping marriages or carrier paths their parents tried to enforce upon them. There were Muggleborns who had attended wizarding schools but felt outcasts in the magical society… and in their own families as well. Remember, many Muggles consider magic as inherently evil, it is not easy for their children, if they are magical. Last but not least, there were children of the isolationists… Those natives who stayed among themselves, separating themselves from non-native wizards. Such isolated societies are hard to tolerate for young people, you understand. In a nutshell, on the swamps at the Mississippi River, not far from Baton Rouge, a wizarding society emerged, uncontrolled by any MoM.`
`But there is a wizarding school in Baton Rouge,` pointed Albus out.
`Indeed,` nodded Charlotta, `You are very knowledgeable, Albus. But it was founded later, by the very group we are talking about. Coming back to them: soon they were not a group of fugitives, but an army, demanding political changes. And once they disturbed the order, all that shitstorm about garous started.`
`Because they were Animagi? But this requires a long preparation. The ritual takes time and you need a mandragora…`
`There are several ways to learn it, Albus,` smiled Charlotta, `You are talking about so called Mandragora-Enhanced Self-Transformation, used not only by the Animagi candidates but also for other self-transformations. However, there are at least five other techniques, far more popular, by the way.`
`Really?` Albus could not believe that. How come he had not read about that yet?
`Mandragora based Animagi transformation is used mostly in Great Britain and by the MACUSA. In other countries, the mandragora is applied mostly for other self-transformations and self-transfigurations. But coming back to our Animagi, indeed, many of the Joyce`s companions mastered the transformation in their own way, nowadays known as the Deep South Method. It seems that there were several factors facilitating their achievement. Firstly, the magical field around Bator Rouge is particularly well-suited for transformations of all kinds. Secondly, everyone there, also Muggles, believe that a human can turn into an animal.`
`Really?`
`Many muggles believe that magic exists, though they have no idea how it really works. So, once children noticed they wield some extraordinary powers, they expected the transformation. And what is magic if not the force of our mind? You cast a spell you must first believe that you can. Lastly, if you are surrounded by many Animagi, you are also encouraged to work on your own transformation. This outburst of Animagi made some wizards believe that they were in fact garous, created by a powerful dark wizard.`
`It makes no sense, Albus shook his head, `Even if he existed he could… father just one type of them. And why was he never seen?`
`Allegedly, the garous ripped him apart,` snorted Charlotta sarcastically, `Of course, you have a point, Albus. If it had been true, there must have been a whole colony of evil warlocks there in the first place. But it did not matter. What matter was to make the wizarding society afraid so that they would support sending an army against Joyce. And to tell that Joyce and her companions are not humans was necessary to justify murdering them. And at this moment a very dark story starts… `
.
.
Charlotta`s talk about racism as a new thing: well, we are in 1890, the idea of a `human race` being a child of XVIII century. People like Elisabeth or Charlotta were born in the world where the society was split according to gender, religion and feudal social hierarchy, not by skin colour. Peter the Great whom we met in this story before, made an African a general and a governor, not to mention being his godfather. The man, Abram Petrovich Gannibal, married a Russian noblewoman of a very old family – and no one found it inappropriate (His famous great-grandson, BTW, was the poet Alexander Pushkin).
Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana. The name is French and could be translated as a "red wand" like Beauxbatons… (though a "red pole" would be a more correct translation, this strange name is said to originate from the red-coloured poles upon which the local tribes impaled fish as a sacrifice for river gods). Where else could Joyce roam then? Maybe in Phoenix…
The nightjars / nighthawks / goatsuckers / poorwills, truly existing birds, though small and grey, are potent magical beings. Ancient Greeks linked them to the dream god Morpheus (this is why Charlotta, an Arithmancer got this Animagus form). In the Slavic mythology the bird is believed to be a carrier of souls which are about to re-incarnate or, being a nocturnal being, as a death omen.
No, they don't milk goats.
Horkos and Tyr are deities (Greek and Germanic, respectively) linked to oaths. Horkos personifies the harm gods inflict upon a person swearing a false oath.
Tyr, a protective deity, swore an oath to Fenris the wolf; he broke it so to imprison Fenris and save the others from the monster. A tragic figure, I must say: he sacrifices his honour, breaking an oath, and his arm (as angry Fenris bites him, realising he had been cheated) for the greater good of his family.