Chapter 11: Healing, Hex, and Pink Haired Wizards
Summary:
Tonks and Remus continue healing with the aid of Magrat, while time grows short at Hogwarts.
Notes:
The italicized quotes are from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ch.31, The Battle of Hogwarts, slightly abridged.
The quote about wizards' hats is from Terry Pratchett.
Chapter Text
Remus and Tonks were left alone after Commander Vimes questioned them. They slept for eight hours, waking late in the next morning. Igor pronounced Remus's bones healed enough that he unwrapped the bandages carefully. The pain was minimal, which allowed Remus to sit without help. He was given a long white tunic-type shirt to wear, with new trousers and socks.
"Mithter Vimeth hath bootth for you, thir," Igor said. "Lady Thybil hath given him many new bootth, and he hath ekththrath."
Tonks and Remus sat together at a small square table which had been brought into their room. It was a quiet moment while they drank tea from cups with a blue flower design. Remus's bones ached, but not any more than a normal second day after the moon. The magic of the Disc must still be helping him, he thought. Tonks was hunched over her cup, still obviously in pain.
"I think I'm well enough to cast more healing charms on you," Remus said. "Let me try."
"I don't want anyone to interfere," she murmured. "Let's ask them to leave us alone."
There was no one except the young aide in the room with them at the time, drowsing on a stool. The other witches had disappeared to the next room, presumably to eat their own breakfasts. Remus could hear a throaty chuckle. The watch had also disappeared, having decided that speeding them away was the best step.
"Excuse me, miss," said Remus.
The little aide jerked awake. "Oh! Sorry I fell asleep! I'll get Queen Magrat."
"No, wait – " but she'd scurried away.
"How are you this morning?" said Magrat, sweeping into the room a minute later. "Do you need to have more tea and breakfast? I wasn't sure how much you could eat, Madame Lupin."
"It's just Tonks. And I'm hungry only for toast. Remus wants more steaks and ribs, right?" Remus nodded. "But we need to do – healing work for each other and we'd like privacy."
"Healing work? What kind?" asked Magrat. She smiled, leaned forward eagerly. "I'd love to learn some of your magic, now you can both use wands again."
"Thank you, your highness," said Remus, not wanting to annoy her. "But it – we have to concentrate harder, since neither one of us is anywhere near full strength. We can't take time to focus on anything else, or instruct you in these spells. Can you bring us water to drink, and some new bandages?"
"Of course," Magrat said. Her shoulders slumped a minute. "We don't want to bother you. The aide will bring what you need."
"Oh, yes, and chocolate!" Remus said, "We need chocolate – " he hesitated, seeing Magrat's curiosity bloom. "It does help, but only if it's easy to get."
"Truly? I know Nanny has some special desserts with chocolate, but they don't have an actual healing effect. It's err, more amourous – never mind. Ankh Morpork has the finest chocolatiers on the Disc. I'll have some here in a few minutes. How many pounds do you need?"
"One or two?" said Tonks. "I'd love to try more, but I don't think we have time."
After Remus was assured no one would enter, he scooted his chair next to Tonks. "Which first? Your face?"
She shook her head. "No, work on my shoulder. I can barely move it." She winced as she tried to shrug.
Remus aimed his wand at the tip of her shoulder. The wound was much deeper than a simple "Episkey" would require, but he and Madame Pompfrey had developed others over the years. "Vulnera Sanentur" worked excellently for wounds when they were still bleeding and raw, but "Sana musculi" was better for deep wounds like this. He drew the wand around gently in circles across her deltoid, then the biceps, triceps, and brachioradialis.
"Lean forward - " He healed the supraspinatus, and strengthened the knitting bones as well.
"If they have any more dittany, I think I can get the crusts off, but how does it feels now?"
Tonks rotated her shoulder, nodded; when she started to swing her arm overhead, she groaned. "My chest pulls too much. Do I need to lay down? What can I do for you?"
A knock sounded on the door. Magrat entered with a satisfied smile. "We have sweet chocolate and dark chocolate, in bars, in pieces with and without fillings, with nuts, without, white chocolate, violet infused, unsweetened baking chocolate, cocoa, and chocolate liqueur. I thought you might like a choice. I'm also sending you more tea, coffee, and the meat you asked for. Please let Us know if We can do more." Remus heard the switch to the royal, so he nodded in a seated bow. The pain in his neck had nearly vanished.
"Thank you, your majesty. It's much appreciated."
Tonks said weakly, "How wonderful. It sounds like Honeydukes. I - we didn't bring any bags with us."
"Leave that to me," the queen said. She sent the aide in to set up the delectable spread on another table.
Remus moved the table away from Tonks and got his first look at her chest wound. The healers had left her in her trousers, but removed her coat and sweater, and dressed her in a hospital gown. When he pulled the left sleeve off, letting it hang loose, he growled. A long burn sliced across her sternum, almost to her navel.
"This – is this the fire rope?"
"I can't remember. It was too fast. Something with fire, anyway. I couldn't block it. Can I have some cocoa? I don't think I can eat anything yet."
He poured her a thick mug of cocoa, and a second for him, resting for a minute. It was late morning now. The Disc watch commander had said time might not work the same when they went back. He hoped with all his heart that it was true. Was the castle still under attack?
Professor McGonagall said, "We have already placed protection around the castle, but it is unlikely to hold for very long unless we reinforce it. I must ask you, therefore, to move quickly and calmly and do as your prefects –"
But her final words were drowned as a different voice echoed throughout the Hall. It was high, cold, and clear: There was no telling from where it came; it seemed to issue from the walls themselves.
"I know that you are preparing to fight." There were screams amongst the students, some of whom clutched each other, looking around in terror for the source of the sound. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood.
"Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort's voice, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded.
"You have until midnight."
"Andromeda will take care of Teddy, you know," said Tonks unexpectedly. He looked at her. "If we don't get back. She had a plan – maybe portkeys, I'm not sure, but she wasn't going to stay at her house in case – in case. She has friends from Beauxbatons. She will get out with Teddy."
"Even if we get back and the castle's fallen, we might be able to get back to Hogsmeade. We can Apparate away – Grimmauld Place might still be safe," he said, stretching. "But let's hope we can get back to the battle. Damn, I wish you'd stayed – "
"None of that," Tonks' hair flashed pink as she glared. "I'm an Auror. I duel better than you do." She brought up her wand. "You're not leaving me behind again."
He said, "Let me have some of those steaks and a cup of coffee, then I'm healing that mess for you. It's bad, but – you know all my scars. I'll take care of you," he promised. He forced himself to smile into her eyes, hoping he could make her believe it. "Let me put this pillow to soften the chair." He levitated it to her, thrilled to see that he could perform other spells.
"Did she really say violet infused chocolate?" Tonks suddenly looked hopeful. "I haven't had that in years. Can you move some of that heap over? It smells wonderful." She lifted her lips in a tiny smile of her own while she searched through the cornucopia of offerings.
Eight hours passed while Remus and Tonks slowly used healing charms on each other. The chocolate pile grew smaller. Tonks especially searched for the fruit flavored flavored truffles, while Remus picked out the darkest of the bunch. He found some bars with nuts which were wickedly bitter. Queen Magrat concentrated on their wand movements, writing everything in her notebook. The other two witches drifted in occasionally, murmuring in quiet voices, while the doctor briskly examined them every hour.
"I wish we had Madam Pomfrey," sighed Tonks, leaning back on her. Her eyes drifted closed. "We don't have any healing potions and I'm so sore."
Remus put his wand down; he didn't want to stop healing, but she was right. Charms could only do so much. He had eaten meat constantly, as well as the chocolate; it was excellent, smoked perfectly, but he'd give anything for a blood replenishing potion. He ached everywhere. It was better than the agony when he'd arrived, yet – could he run? Fight?
"Merlin, I wish we had any pain potion." Tonks ran her hands over her wounds, pressing gently. Remus saw her wince.
"I do have cordials for pain," said Magrat. Remus had a bit forgotten she was there. "The poppy syrup – "
"We can't use anything which would make us sleepy. We've got to fight -the battle –"
"And I also have other kinds of pain relievers," snapped the queen. She twisted to the table beside her and pulled out two flasks. One was red – orange, while the other was green. She waggled the red flask. "This burns a bit to swallow, but the heat is good. I've also got white willow bark." She frowned at the second flask. "I think I have more willow bark." She tapped her white cloth covered box, and a drawer opened to show crumbled brown bark.
"Igor, please bring me a mortar and pestle." Remus watched her grind the bark carefully. For a 'rural healer,' as the arrogant surgeon had described her, she was as skillful and deft as Severus, producing a fine powder in a matter of minutes.
"I need a cup of water, please," she told the hovering aide. "Boil it in a clean pot as quickly as you can. It doesn't need to cool." Her eyes flicked to the short older witch.
"Nanny, I think I can use a few drops of scumble to mix it. Just a little, please."
The witch called Nanny reached into her voluminous skirt again, wiggling her hand to find the right pocket, Remus thought. He hoped the bottle was clean; this didn't seem like a very sanitary way of storing potions.
When Nanny gave the bottle to Magrat, Remus cleared his throat. "May I see that, please? We don't have scumble at Hogwarts. How do you make it?"
"It's made from apples," Nanny said with a wicked grin. Magrat scowled at her, for reasons Remus didn't know.
"Well," Nanny modified. "Mostly apples."
Remus eased the cork out gently, then jerked his head back, causing his neck to twinge. Salazar's teeth, this might have started as apples in a gentle cider, but it was as concentrated as Firewhiskey or greater. There were underlying tones which might be – turnips? – potatoes? It was probably as potent as the strongest Muggle vodka.
"Ah – " he began. "Scumble might be a bit much for us. Tonks doesn't have the head for spirits that I do."
Tonks pinched his arm, hard. "What Remus is trying to say is that we appreciate everything you're doing for us. We were in the middle of a battle – we'll be running and fighting, probably jumping. We've healed enough for this, but can't take a chance of being the least bit dizzy."
"Scumble is drunk by the thimbleful, dearie," said Nanny. "Magrat is only going to use a few drops to mix with the willow bark. It's a strengthener."
Magrat offered Tonks the red potion. She took it, hand trembling only slightly. Remus bit his lip. If this didn't help – he wished irrationally for Severus. His potions always smelled fetid, like rotten cabbage with dirty, moldy leather, or worse, but they worked.
Tonks handed it to Remus. "Smell it, please." She looked apologetically at Magrat. "If you don't mind – excuse me – he can tell - ."
He took the flask, sniffed it. "It has turmeric, cumin, ginger; coriander, maybe, and red and black peppers - there's the capsicum, and – something fishy."
"Juice from pulped kraken tentacles." Tonks and Remus stared at Magrat, mouths hanging open.
"How did you – how could you – why kraken?" demanded Tonks. "There's a kraken in the Great Lake at Hogwarts, but – you've never been there. Have you?"
Magrat gave them a mysterious smile. "I've never been there. But I've heard about you. Never you mind, go ahead and drink it. The kraken will help locate your own beast."
"We don't eat the kraken, I - I couldn't," Remus stammered.
"Yes, we can" Tonks was emphatic. "We ate fried calamari at that restaurant in Muggle London, you remember? I didn't know it was squid until the waiter brought it out and I saw the tentacles."
Remus's face flushed. "Well, yes, I like to try as many types of meat and fish I can. Good to know what I can eat the day after the moon."
"I normally avoid animal products in my potions, but I need it for this one. Don't worry, it's ethically sourced," said the Queen; the phrase baffled Remus, but he nodded seriously as if he understood. Apparently potions here never needed slugs, beetle eyes, or lacewings, to say nothing of bat spleens and dragon blood. Did she even use bezoars? He shook himself and came back to the task in front of him.
"Anyway, it's good for you," said the queen. "Here's another flask for you, Mrs. Lupin. Drink up."
Tonks swallowed the red potion. Her eyes squeezed shut tightly. "Oh…" Remus thought she was in pain. Merlin, what had they done to her? Then her eyes popped open.
"Wow!" She grinned. Her hair flashed red, then yellow, then orange. "Remus, take it! It's like Pepper-Up potion, but without the steam."
He knocked back the red potion, feeling it burn all the way down his esophagus like the best curry. The kraken juice filled his mouth and did indeed remind him of the Muggle restaurant he'd taken Tonks to. It was the first time he'd kissed her, in the alleyway behind the eatery just before they Disapparated. Her mouth was hot on his as they spun together back to the little park opposite Grimmauld Place. She smelled deliciously of fish and triumph.
As heat rushed through him, the pain in his muscles dropped away. He grinned for the first time in – he didn't know how long. He couldn't help it. A flush spread through him. His pulse thudded strongly in his neck and all his nerves tingled at once. Tonks slipped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. For the first time he thought they might actually make it home.
"I know what the diadem looks like and I know where it is," said Harry, talking fast to Ron and Hermione. "He hid it exactly where I hid my old Potions book, where everyone's been hiding stuff for centuries. He thought he was the only one to find it. Come on."
He lead the other two back down the staircase into the Room of Requirement. It was empty except for three women: Ginny, Tonks, and an elderly witch wearing a moth-eaten hat, whom Harry recognized immediately as Neville's grandmother.
Harry looked at Tonks.
"I thought you were supposed to be with Teddy at your mother's?"
"I couldn't stand not knowing – " Tonks looked anguished. "She'll look after him – have you seen Remus?"
"He was planning to lead a group of fighters into the grounds –"
Without another word, Tonks sped off.
Harry watched her, wanting to call her back. He had a bad feeling about this. But he had another urgent task.
The furor of the battle died the moment Harry, Ron, and Hermione crossed the threshold to the Room of Hidden Things and closed the door behind them. All was silent. They were in a place the size of a cathedral with the appearance of a city, its towering walls of objects hidden by thousands of long-gone students.
Deeper and deeper into the labyrinth Harry went, looking for objects he recognized from his one previous trip into the it was, right ahead the blistered old cupboard in which he had hidden his Potions book, and on top of it, the pockmarked stone warlock wearing a dusty old wig and what looked like ancient, discarded tiara.
He had already stretched out his hand, though he remained ten feet away, when a voice behind him said, "Hold it Potter."
He skidded to a halt, turned, and saw Crabbe and Goyle. Through the small space between their jeering faces he saw Draco Malfoy.
"So how come you three aren't with Voldemort?" asked Harry.
"We're gonna be rewarded," said Crabbe. "We 'ung back, Potter. Decided to bring you to 'im."
"Harry?" Ron's voice echoed suddenly from the other side of the wall to Harry's right. "Are you talking to someone?"
With a whiplike movement, Crabbe pointed his wand at the fifty- foot mountain of discarded magical item. "Descendo."
"Ron!" Harry bellowed as somewhere out of sight Hermione screamed. He heard innumerable objects crashing to the floor.
"No!"shouted Malfoy, staying Crabbe's hand as the latter made to repeat his spell. "If you wreck the room you might bury this diadem thing!"
Harry lunged for the tiara; Crabbe's curse missed him but hit the stone bust, which flew into the air; the diadem soared upward and then dropped out of sight in the mass of objects on which the bust had rested.
A jet of scarlet light shot past Harry by inches: Hermione had run round the corner behind him and sent a Stunning Spell straight at Crabbe's head.
"It's that Mudblood! Avada Kedavra!"
"Don't kill him, DON'T KILL HIM!' Malfoy yelled at Crabbe.
Harry yelled at Hermione, "Look for the diadem while I go and help R-"
"Harry!" she screamed.
A roaring, billowing noise behind him gave him a moment's warning. "Like it hot, scum?" roared Crabbe as he ran.
But he seemed to have no control over what he had done. Flames of abnormal size were pursuing him, licking up the sides of the junk bulwark, which were crumbling to soot at their touch.
Now the fire was mutating, forming a giant herd of fiery horses; flaming serpents, dragons rose and fell and rose again.
Harry seized a pair of heavy-looking broomsticks from the nearest pile of junk and threw one to Ron, who pulled Hermione onto it, behind him. They soared up into the air. Below them the cursed fire was consuming the contraband of generations of hunted students, the guilty outcomes of a thousand banned experiments.
Harry heard a thin, piteous human scream from amidst the thunder of devouring flame, and he saw them. Malfoy with his arms around the unconscious Goyle, and Harry dived.
"IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU, HARRY!" roared Ron's voice, and as a great flaming chimaera bore down upon them he and Hermione dragged Goyle onto their broom. Malfoy clambered up behind Harry.
All around them the last few objects unburned by the devouring flames were flung into the air, as the creatures of the cursed fire cast them high in celebration: cups and shield, a sparkling necklace - and an old, discolored tiara –
"What are you doing, what are you doing, the door's that way!" screamed Malfoy, but Harry made a hairpin swerved and dived. The diadem seemed to fall in slow motion, turning and glittering as it dropped toward the maw of a yawning serpent, and then he had it, caught it around his wrist and shot towards the door to the room.
Moments later clean air filled Harry's lungs and they collided with the wall in the corridor beyond.
Hermione got to her feet. "Let's stick together. I say we go – Harry, what's that on your arm?"
"What? Oh yeah – "
He pulled the diadem from his wrist and held it up. A bloodlike substance, dark and tarry, seemed to be leaking from the diadem. Suddenly Harry felt the thing vibrate violently, then break apart in his hands, and as it did so, he thought he heard the faintest, most distant scream of pain, echoing from the diadem - the horcrux which had just fragmented in his hands.
Remus, Tonks, Rincewind, and the Librarian stood on the square marked out in in bright metal in front of the machine Hex. Each stood on a different side of the square, facing inward and holding hands. Tonks and Remus stood on opposite sides with the others between them. They'd been given new clothes – a tunic and long wool shirt to cover it, stout trousers and tough boots. They'd been offered cloaks. Remus didn't want to wear one because it might interrupt his casting, but they'd wrapped the Librarian in two thick ones. It seemed to make him feel safer with the idea that he'd be towed along between them.
Remus wasn't very fond of this wizarding – Muggle hybrid machine, or the young wizards who moved around it. They seemed more like Muggles than wizards and hadn't cast any spells. The wizard with glasses had given his name as Ponder Stibbons, had explained that Hex had a beehive and an anthill inside, along with a Glooper and a beachball which emitted a 'parp' noise every fourteen minutes. It had glass tubes and wires in random patterns. For some reason, he was most proud of a group of stuffed plush bears, two large, two small, which he called the FTBs. Ponder told them that the path back to Earth would be activated when he pulled the Great Big Lever – Remus couldn't follow his explanation after that. Somehow the energy built up in the machine would transmit to the copper beaten into the square around them and under their feet, and while they all held the crumpled horn from a snorkack, which Rincewind had received from Luna Lovegood, they would be apparated back to Hogwarts. The horn had apparently been changed into a special universe – spanning portkey.
He was more reassured that older wizards were present as well. They'd prepared a ritual to supplement Hex. Two of them would stand in each corner of the room, making eight total, with candles linking all sides of the room. Reassuring green smoke was already puffing from them while the wizards were incanting slowly, waving their staffs. More help still were the three broomsticks that the wizards had given them. Archchancellor Ridcully had explained with embarrassment that while it was traditionally only witches who used them, wizards could do so in extremis. Remus had no idea why this divide between urban wizards and rural witches existed. He had no time or desire to penetrate their culture. All he cared about was that they could have working brooms.
Remus and Tonks had searched their memories of the battle. They had each separately come in through the passage from Hogsmeade through the Room of Requirement. There was no other quick way to get into Hogwarts; the wards prevented Apparition. The new passageway from the Hogs Head Inn to Hogwarts had taken them fifteen minutes to run, the first time, and they needed to save all their strength. Remus wished that the snorkack horn could take them directly into the Battle, but he doubted it. Therefore: the brooms. He and Tonks could each ride theirs, as could Rincewind, but the orangutan Librarian – no. They decided to place a Lightening Charm on him and Levitate him between them, while Rincewind flew behind, able to catch the Librarian if he should tumble away. The ape was draped with crossed bandoliers of his small bombs. He had curled his lip at this suggestion. He'd gone sullen, and it had taken Rincewind half an hour to convince him he'd be safe – this involved Remus and Tonks demonstrating the Lightening Charm and Levitation, and pulling him gently around the High Energy Magic building for several circuits. He was finally ready, as Remus prayed to gods he did not believe in that time hadn't run out on them.
Ponder stood in front of Hex tapping a screen repeatedly with his fingers. He'd sheepishly told Remus he didn't know how to explain its use, except that it was similar to using runes. His assistant, Adrian Turnipseed, who'd shyly whispered to Tonks that he liked to be called Big Mad Drongo, stood beside him, feeding a long strip of paper from the screen into the inner workings of the machine. Hex whined and its tubing began to flash different colors. First it was a slow red. The wizards in the corners sped up their incantation. A new ring of candles lit in front of them, encircling the travelers. Then the light pulsed yellow, and a second ring of candles flared closer around them. The candles dribbled wax, green smoke filled more of the chamber, and then a third ring of tall candles jumped to full brilliance around the beaten copper square. Hex suddenly flashed green, while white sparks of light raced from it to the copper square, tracing faster around with each circuit. The lines shrank inward toward the group as the wizards' voices grew louder. Finally they gave a huge roar, staffs held high. There was a blue-white flash which dazzled everyone. When they could see again the copper square was empty.
The resulting wind blew the hats off all the wizards, who scrambled to recover them. (A wizard without a hat is nothing more than a sad man with a suspicious taste in clothes.)
"Did that work?" demanded Archchancellor Ridcully hoarsely.
Ponder was still at Hex's keyboard, watching an hourglass run down.
"I think so. They should be able to send back the signals we arranged as soon as they pass from the Discworld continuum into their own multi-verse – never mind, sir, I think it will be in -five -four-three-two-one" – a coruscating spray of red sparks shot up from the copper platform. As the fireworks rose higher, a puff of dust seemed to spring from them. Every wizard's hair and beard pulsed a bright pink for a second; the bright colors pulled whoops of joy from every throat, the undergraduates to the Archchancellor.
Ridcully opened the secret flask compartment of his hat. He passed the flask around, letting each wizard take a solemn ritual nip to clear their gullets.
"Great work, Ponder, my boy. You give credit to our motto." He intoned solemnly "Nunc Id Vides, Nunc ne Vides. Now you see it, now you don't."
Tonks felt a pressure inside her body even tighter than the normal squeeze of apparition. They traveled not in blackness but in a strange color she'd have to call a fluorescent greenish yellow-purple. The trip lasted an infinity; it lasted a second; it was cold as frost, hot as steam. Just when she felt she'd scream, the world coalesced again as she landed with knees bent correctly. There was an instant of nausea, but she didn't vomit. She had always been excellent at apparition. She felt the stone of the street, smelt hops, malt - what was that? It could only be the distinct odors of a goat pen. She opened her eyes, saw that Remus, Rincewind, and the great orangutan were with her, bounced up to her feet with a fierce grin - and Aberforth Dumbledore was pointing a wand directly at her chest.
"Incarcerous," he shouted. Thick ropes fell around the four of them.
"This is the second time I've seen you and Lupin tonight," he said in a low growl. "I've never seen the other fella or the ape. I duel to kill - you have five seconds before I cast the Blasting Curse. Talk fast."