* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART FOUR
Brave New World
Chapter 34: Aurors and Curse Breakers
"I have one piece of advice for you about marriage."
Daphne glanced over at Bill, "Okay…what is it?"
"Make sure you talk to your other half about kids before you marry them," Bill said as he picked up a rug and looked underneath it, "Anything under the floorboards over there?"
Daphne shook her head, "Nothing. You sound like you're speaking from experience, by the way."
"That would be because I am," Bill said. He moved a tapestry aside, "How difficult is it to hide a wine cabinet? Surely it's pretty big."
"I told you, I think it will be in the basement, but you seem convinced that it's in the drawing-room," Daphne said, "Are you going to explain that comment, by the way?"
"Yeah," Bill said slowly, "But I think you're right. Come on, let's try the basement."
They were still searching for the supposedly cursed wine cabinet. It was a family heirloom that had gone missing five years ago when the homeowner's mother had died; she was convinced that it was hidden somewhere in the house, and she wanted it gone.
As Daphne and Bill walked out into the hall, Bill said, "Fleur and I didn't discuss kids before the wedding. We kind of rushed into it, to be honest, because there was a war on, and we were both scared about what that meant."
"That's understandable," Daphne admitted.
Bill hummed thoughtfully, "Rushing into the wedding isn't a regret for either of us but not talking about kids is. The thing is, you know how I feel about my siblings and-"
"You don't want to have too many kids and have them grow up feeling the way you did," Daphne guessed
"Exactly, I think two would be okay, but Fleur wants at least four," Bill said, "I hoped after she'd gone through labour once she would rethink that, but she hasn't. The problem is, I can't tell her why I'm so against having more kids without telling her about my resentment of my family, and she won't understand that."
"You don't know she won't understand if you don't give her a chance to," Daphne pointed out as they reached the basement door, "Do you think we're safe to just go in, or should we cast any charms?"
"Always assume the worst," Bill said, he cast a few revealment charms, and nothing happened, "It looks safe, and you sounded like such a woman just then, by the way."
"Well, shockingly, Bill, I am a woman," Daphne said sarcastically, "And I also know what it's like not to tell someone something because you're scared of how they will react. It took me a long time to open up to Harry about my past, and in the end, he took it a lot better than I was expecting."
"Well, we all know our other halves, and I'm fairly sure I know how mine would react," Bill said, "Do you want to be on light duty or searching duty?"
"This basement is creepy and full of old shit, so I'm going to go with light-duty," Daphne said.
Bill snorted, "If you think this is old and creepy, wait until you first go into an Egyptian tomb."
"Hey, that reminds me – Lumos – do you know the truth about King Tuts tomb?" Daphne asked as they descended the basement stairs.
"Do you mean, do I know if the curse was real or not?" Bill asked.
"Yeah, did the Muggles imagine it or was there a curse?" Daphne asked as they looked around the basement.
"The Muggles – Merlin's balls, that is horrific – did not imagine it," Bill said. He got distracted halfway through his sentence by a terrifying Victorian doll that was staring at him with the one eye that it had left.
Daphne looked at the doll with disdain, "Yeah, it is creepy. So there was a curse? A proper, ancient curse?"
"Yep, a proper ancient Egyptian curse," Bill said, "Shout if you see anything that looks remotely like a wine cabinet."
"How did they break it?" Daphne asked, "And is that a wine cabinet?"
"No, it's a chest of drawers," Bill replied, "It took six Curse Breakers to break it back in 1925. All of the deaths that they said were caused by the curse after that were just incidental."
"So Lord Carnarvon was cursed then?" Daphne asked eagerly, "Is that why his dog died at the same time as him?"
"His dog didn't die at the same time as him; it died 4 hours after him. Nobody bothered taking the time difference into account," Bill said as his eyes searched the basement, "And it's common for animals to die when their owners do, so I doubt the dog was a victim of the curse. What's that?"
"Uh…a box with some grapes on it," Daphne said.
"Don't touch it; that's our cabinet!" Bill said sharply as Daphne edged closer.
She raised her hands, "What are we going to do with it then?"
"Levitate it into the hall upstairs and break the curse there. We need decent light," Bill said, "You go on up; I don't want to risk it touching you."
Daphne followed his orders and waited for him in the hall. He put the cabinet down on the floor very gently and said, "Since I know you want to know and therefore won't concentrate properly until I tell you…George Jay Gould who died of fever and Prince Ali Kamel Fahmey Bey who was shot by his wife, both in 1923, were victims of the curse. Aubrey Herbert, Carnarvon's half-brother, who died from blood poisoning in 1923, was also a victim of the curse. As was Archibald Douglas-Reid, a radiologist who x-rayed the mummy and died of a mysterious illness in 1924, and Sir Lee Stack, the Governor of Sudan, who was assassinated in 1924. After that, the curse was broken."
"That is amazing." Daphne said in awe, "This isn't going to take six Curse Breakers, is it?"
"No," Bill scoffed, "It's nowhere near as old. It's going to take all of me with a bit of help from you. Can you manage that?"
"Definitely, just tell me what to do," Daphne replied.
"First things first?"
"Diagnostic charm," Daphne replied.
Bill nodded and cast the charm. It encased the box in bright yellow light, and then a heap of numbers spewed out into the air, "Okay, so every Curse Breaker has a different method, so I'll show you how I like to do this. I don't like working directly with the curse because I'm used to ancient Egyptian curses. Curse Breakers who don't work with anything older than 1,000 years or so will almost always mess about with the curse directly while it sits in front of them like this. However, ancient Egyptian curses are normally booby-trapped so that if you do the wrong thing, you suffer for it."
Daphne nodded and took in everything that he was saying.
"So I like to be sure of myself before I even touch the curse," Bill said. He waved his wand and conjured up a blackboard and a heap of chalk, "I use a blackboard because I like being able to rub out one or two numbers when I make a mistake. I knew a guy who used a quill and parchment; he used to get so confused with crossed out numbers everywhere that he was pretty much useless."
"I like that idea," Daphne said as she looked at the chalkboard, "I would never have thought of it, to be honest. I probably would have worked directly with the curse too."
"Like I said, only Curse Breakers who have broken a lot of Ancient Egyptian curses tend to do things this way," Bill said as he grabbed a piece of chalk and began to copy the numbers of the curse onto the blackboard, "And most of us learn the hard way."
"Did you learn the hard way?" Daphne asked curiously.
Bill nodded and lifted his shirt enough to show a dark pink scar on his back, "Yep, a bastard of an Egyptian curse gave me kidney failure. I'm only alive today because Char gave me one of his."
"Holy shit," Daphne muttered, "No wonder the two of you are so close."
"That's my sob story for the day over," Bill joked, "Let's get back to work. This is where all of those charts you memorised in arithmancy come in handy. Did Fawley let you do anything like this?"
Daphne shook her head, "He only let me observe."
"Out of curiosity, did he work directly with the curse?" Bill asked.
Daphne nodded, "Yep."
"Idiot," Bill muttered, "I warned him against that years ago in Egypt. It's a miracle that the bastard is still alive. I'm going to let you do a little bit more than observe, but this is complex for a British curse, so I'll do this part. So that you know, I'm going to let you know how I work. Obviously, our job here is to unravel the curse, undo it if you will."
Daphne nodded, "In a simple curse, the numbers spell out the curse that was used. In a more complex curse, the numbers are jumbled, so it's harder to find the words and therefore understand the curse."
"Exactly, and this curse is very jumbled," Bill said, "So I envision it taking a while. Once I have worked it out, I will need to share your magic to undo it. That's why I said it would take all of me and a little bit of you. I need to borrow some power."
"That's fine," Daphne said with a nod, "But I've never done magic sharing before. Well – not on purpose anyway – so you'll have to show me how."
Bill shot her an amused look, "I can guess the way you accidentally shared magic. We've all been there as teenagers."
Daphne didn't even blush, "Yeah, it was…interesting, to say the least."
"I really didn't need that image of the guy I think of as a little brother, but hey, there it is," Bill said sarcastically.
"Sorry," Daphne said sheepishly, "The first two words of the curse are a name, by the way. 1 (1, 9, 10) is VAN and 4 (15, 16, 31) is HOUSTON."
Bill smiled, "I worked that out 5 minutes ago, but I'm impressed that you got there so quickly. Talk me through your process?"
"The first number is the final number," Daphne said, "Then there are the numbers in the brackets. 1 is the heart number, aka the value of the vowels in the name added up. The only vowel in "VAN" is the "A", which has a value of 1. The number 9 is the social number, aka the value of the consonants in the name added up. V has a value of 4, and N has a value of 5, which makes 9. The 10 is the character number which is the heart number and social number added together. When the value of the final number is greater than 9, you add the numbers together until you get a single-digit, so 1 + 0 = 1. Therefore 1 = VAN."
"Just so you know, I'll only say this if I mean it," Bill began, "I am impressed."
Daphne smiled slightly, "Knowing that the first two words are "VAN" and "HOUSTON" doesn't really help us, though."
"No, it doesn't," Bill agreed, "But I'm still impressed by your raw talent. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to need silence to work out the rest."
Daphne shook her head to say that she didn't mind and said no more. It took Bill somewhere between an hour and two hours to work it out. The first three words were "VAN HOUSTON CURSE", and the last three words were the incantation used to curse the object, "Familarum Pati Punire."
Once Bill knew the curse, he could work out the counter-curse, "Okay, time for a quick masterclass in magic sharing. First of all, do you know occlumency?"
Daphne nodded, "Yes, I know the basics."
"Thank Merlin," Bill said, "This would be much more difficult otherwise."
"Okay, what does Occlumency have to do with it?" Daphne asked curiously.
"I need you to shut your eyes, clear your mind and focus on your magical core," Bill instructed, "Let me know when you're ready, and I will draw on your magical power. It will feel bizarre like I'm tugging inside your head, but it won't be painful."
Daphne nodded a little nervously, "Alright."
"And yes, it can have consequences if the person borrowing your magic does it wrong," Bill said, "But I'm pretty good at this."
Daphne glanced up at him, "Draco has a theory about his Aunt Bellatrix. He thinks she went mad because she used to let Voldemort share her magic."
"I know," Bill said honestly, "And I think Draco is probably right, but Voldemort wasn't a gentle or considerate man. He used Bellatrix and abused her trust. I bet he took more power than he should have and that he borrowed her magic far too often. I won't do that to you; trust me, Daphne."
Daphne let out a breath and nodded, "Okay," she said as she shut her eyes.
She cleared her mind and focused on her magical core like Bill had told her to. She could see the dim golden glow in her mind, and she could feel the rhythmic humming.
"Nod if you are ready," Bill's voice said. It sounded far away and echoed around her head.
Daphne managed a slight nod. Almost immediately, she felt what Bill had meant, it was like he was trying to pull something out of her head, and although it wasn't painful, it was uncomfortable.
There was a flash of light inside of her head that made her gasp sharply and open her eyes. When she did, it was to see the yellow glow around the wine cabinet explode and rain down as sparks.
Bill grinned at her, "That was fantastic. Was that really your first time letting someone do that?"
"Intentionally, yes," Daphne said with a smile, "Was it because of me that you were able to do that?"
Bill nodded, "If I had tried that on my own, it would have drained my magical power completely, but that little bit of magic that I borrowed from you made that happen. It was so small that you won't even feel the effects of it."
"Wow."
"And that," Bill said, "Is why we work in pairs. Shall we go and tell Miss Van Houston the good news?"
Daphne nodded and grinned, "Thanks for becoming my mentor Bill. This is amazing. I mean, learning from you is like a dream come true; you really are the best Curse Breaker this country has seen in the last 20 years."
"Don't say that to your fiancé," Bill joked as they began to walk towards the stairs together, "He'll get concerned."
"Nah, he's secure enough," Daphne chirped, "I can't wait to tell him about today."
Daphne got home later than Harry that night, so he was adding the finishing touches to dinner when she stepped into the kitchen.
"I had the best day ever!" Daphne said. She dumped her bag on the floor and grinned at him, "We finally managed to find the wine cabinet, and Bill showed me how he breaks curses. He is such a genius, Harry! I'm literally learning from the best, and I could watch him all day. The way he works is just so fascinating. I even helped decipher the curse. Fawley never let me near that part of the job. Then he borrowed some of my magic to break the curse, and it was amazing, the curse around the cabinet exploded because of our combined magical power-"
"Woah," Harry said sharply, "You did magic sharing with Bill?"
"No, no, Harry not like that," Daphne said quickly, "It was very professional. Did you know that both parties have to know occlumency to do it?"
"How the hell did we manage it then?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I suppose some of what Snape taught you must have stuck," Daphne said with a shrug, "But anyway, I had to clear my mind and focus on my magical core. I actually saw my magical core. Did you know that was possible?"
"I'm sure I read that somewhere," Harry replied.
"Well, it was pretty cool," Daphne said. She was so excited, and Harry found it quite cute, "Then Bill borrowed my magic, and it was like a flash migraine. I could feel him tugging inside my head which was weird but not painful. I just love it so much, Harry; I love my job!"
Harry grinned, "I love seeing you so happy and to be honest, I love my job too."
"Oh shit," Daphne muttered, "I was so eager to tell you about my day that I forgot to ask how yours was."
Harry shook his head, "Don't worry about it. My first day was pretty great, though."
"Tell me all about it then," Daphne said, perhaps a little sheepishly.
Harry smiled, "We flew in the morning. Then we had interrogation training which was fun. There was a lecture about stealth, and the lecturer shot me down when I suggested using an invisibility cloak because apparently, they are too rare to be considered for use."
Daphne snorted, "I bet you wished you could tell her that you own the original invisibility cloak from the Tale of the Three Brothers."
"So badly," Harry admitted with a grin.
Daphne laughed, "Did you see Lil in the afternoon?"
"Yep, much to Neville's delight," Harry joked.
"How is she?"
"She came in, bossed us all around and was a sassy bitch."
"So she's fine then," Daphne said in amusement, "I'm looking forward to seeing her at the weekend. What's happening with Teddy, by the way?"
"We have him on Sunday. We're taking him to the Burrow," Harry replied as he put a plate of food down in front of her, "Saturday we have dinner at the Notts."
"I can't wait to see Ted," Daphne admitted, "Do you think we should maybe-"
"Talk to Andi about the adoption?" Harry asked.
Daphne nodded, and Harry sighed in relief, "I'm really glad that you said that because I've been thinking about it all week."
"I was just thinking…." Daphne said thoughtfully, "It would be nice to have it all happen at the same time. What do you think about explaining to Teddy just before the wedding that he's going to live with us all of the time like he wants to?"
"Assuming everything goes through in time for that, I would be okay with that plan," Harry replied. He smiled at her, "And I can't wait, you know? To come home to both of you."
Daphne smiled, "I can't wait to see him every night rather than just at the weekends."
"It's going to be perfect," Harry said as he leant across the table and kissed her.
Thursday morning brought another lecture taught by Auror Carter. This time it was about tracking, which Harry thought was rather similar to stealth. After all, you had to be stealthy to track someone.
After a basic description of what the class would entail, Carter began to question them about the different methods one could deploy to track someone. Between them, Ophelia and Blanche shouted out the more obvious options like a four-point spell and simple old-fashioned concealing yourself and following them.
"Does anyone have any other ideas?"
Harry raised his hand, and Carter looked at him cautiously, "Yes, Mr Potter?"
"What if you had a magical map that showed every room of the building and everyone who was in that building?" Harry said.
Carter sighed, "Mr Potter, your ideas are rather far-fetched. Does anyone have any sensible ideas?"
Harry scoffed under his breath, "Far-fetched, I'd like to show her."
Neville hid an amused smile at this but said nothing. Nobody had come up with any further ideas, so Harry raised his hand again.
Carter sighed in a long-suffering way, "Yes, Potter?"
"What if," Harry began slowly, "You had a time-turner, so you knew what the person was going to do. Then you could go back in time and track them to stop them from doing it."
"Time-turners are not widely available, Mr Potter," Carter said sharply, "In fact, they are rather rare. If no one has any further suggestions, then let's move on. Can anyone tell me some things that you should do while tracking someone?"
Draco raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr Black?"
"Remember to use a charm to cover up your scent," Draco said, "Otherwise, the person you're tracking might smell you even if he doesn't see you."
"Very good," Carter agreed. A few more ideas were thrown out, and then she asked, "Does anyone have any tracking experience? It doesn't matter if it was a human. Even tracking an animal could be useful."
Draco and Theo both said that they had hunted animals on their estate. Harry raised his hand, and Carter narrowed her eyes at him, "I presume you have tracking experience from the war Mr Potter?"
"No, I didn't track anyone during the war," Harry said, "But I did track someone while I was in school. I thought they were a Death Eater, so I wanted to see what they were up to."
"Stalked," Draco corrected, "That is stalking."
Carter looked between them and smiled, "Was it perchance, Mr Black, that you stalked, Mr Potter?"
"Tracked," Harry corrected while Ophelia and Blanche sniggered.
"How exactly did you do this? With a magical map and a time-turner?"
The sniggering got louder. Harry wanted to say, 'well, yes, I did use a magic map actually along with the invisibility cloak that you think doesn't exist,' but he didn't. He just sighed and said, "No, ma'am."
"Then please stop telling ridiculous stories," Carter said sharply, "Now, let's move on to the practicalities when tracking someone…."
"I hate these classes," Harry grumbled irritably as he snapped the tip off of his quill.
"Mr Potter."
Harry looked up; he was putting his things back in his bag after the tracking lecture when Carter called his name.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Stay behind, please," Carter said.
Theo whistled, "You're in the shit, mate," he muttered as he and the others vacated the classroom.
Carter walked over to Harry and said, "I am beginning to have concerns. Is there a reason you are telling lies and coming out with far-fetched theories?"
"I'm not lying!" Harry snapped, "And I don't like it when people accuse me of that. Don't you know that a woman who was supposed to be my teacher made me use a blood quill to carve "I must not tell lies" into my own hand? Do you know what she accused me of lying about?"
Carter shook her head.
"Voldemort being back," Harry said, "It was my fifth year, right after I had watched him rise from the dead, and she made everyone think I was a liar! I do have an invisibility cloak; in fact, it's the original one. I'm descended from the Peverells, and that cloak has been in my family since at least my great grandfather, and it is still in perfect condition. I also have a magic map of Hogwarts, my father and his friends made it, and it shows every single person in that castle. It shows how they move, it shows every room, and it even sees through disguises like polyjuice potion."
Carter's eyes widened slightly as Harry continued, "And as for time-turners not being widely available. Well, they gave my best friend one in her third year so she could take extra classes. Then I used it to go back in time and save my godfather from getting the Dementors kiss when he was an innocent man, so I would appreciate it if you stopped calling my ideas far-fetched!"
"I don't appreciate the tone that you just took with me, Mr Potter."
"Sorry, ma'am," Harry said quickly.
"However," Carter continued, "I apologise for being condescending. In my experience, all of the things you mentioned were too rare or far-fetched to be considered, but I can see now that they are not rare for you."
Harry nodded, "I apologise for being rude, ma'am."
"Apology accepted," Carter said with a nod, "Now run along. You don't want to be late for swimming."
Harry was glad to get off without too much trouble, so he nodded and left the room as swiftly as possible.
"How many kids do you want?"
"What?" Harry asked sharply.
"It's just a question," Daphne said.
It was Thursday night, and they were sitting in the drawing-room together. Daphne was reading a book about the Curse of King Tut, and Harry was looking over some of the books he had bought for Auror training.
"It was a loaded question," Harry said, "You're not pregnant, are you?"
"No," Daphne scoffed, "It was just something Bill said the other day…."
Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "You do realise that you're going to have to elaborate, right?"
Daphne sighed, "Fine, but Bill told me in confidence. He said not to tell anyone, but since I tell you everything, you don't count. It just means you need to-"
"Keep it quiet," Harry said with a nod, "You know I'm good at keeping secrets when I need to, Daph."
Daphne nodded, "Did you know that Bill doesn't like being part of such a huge family? He told me that he felt like he had to be a surrogate father to everyone younger than Charlie and that he resents them for it because he feels like they robbed him of his childhood."
"Shit," Harry muttered, "That's a horrible way to feel."
"I know," Daphne said, "He feels awful for feeling like that, but he can't help it. He said that families shouldn't have favourites, but he does, and his favourite brothers are Charlie and you."
"Me?" Harry asked in surprise, "But I'm not his brother, not by blood."
"Yeah, he said it was horrible to say he preferred an adopted brother over most of his blood family but that he did," Daphne continued, "He relates to you because none of his siblings have a dangerous job or a thirst for adrenaline like he does."
"Wow," Harry said, "Well…I'm honoured."
Daphne hummed thoughtfully, "But the whole thing about kids…Bill and Fleur didn't talk about how many kids they wanted before they got married. Then they got married, and now Fleur wants at least four kids, and Bill doesn't want a big family because of the way he feels about his."
"Ah," Harry realised, "So you want to make sure our family goals are compatible before we get married?"
"Exactly."
"Well," Harry said slowly, "I'd like two."
"Is that including Teddy?" Daphne asked.
Harry thought for a moment, "Yeah, Teddy and one of our own."
"I want four," Daphne said.
"Four?"
"I've always wanted four," She said, "Growing up with just me and my sister, I always wished that there were more of us. But I don't want an odd number."
Harry smiled, "I'd like a big family, but Daph, after the way I grew up, any family will make me happy. We've got Ted, and you definitely want at least one of our own, so either way, they will have what I didn't, a brother or sister."
"And two loving parents," Daphne added.
"So let's not plan out our whole lives," Harry said. He reached across and took her hand, "Let's just see where life takes us."
Daphne smiled, "You're such a Gryffindor, living all spontaneously in the moment."
Harry grinned, "Admit it, you love it about me."
Daphne's smile widened, "Yeah, I do," she admitted.
On Friday, the boys had a lecture about Curse Breaking. Draco and Theo didn't seem particularly concerned about this because they claimed it was essentially just Advanced Arithmancy, and they had both taken that at school.
On the other hand, Harry and Neville had never studied arithmancy and had no idea what to expect.
"Good morning, Recruits!" Auror Mitchell said cheerfully as he sat down on the desk at the front of the small classroom, "I'm going to start by asking one simple question. Who has studied arithmancy?"
All hands rose into the air except for Harry and Neville's.
"Great," Harry muttered.
"Why is it always me?" Neville moaned under his breath.
Mitchell chuckled, "Alright, in that case. Everyone else draw in your books or daydream or sleep for the next half an hour while I teach these two the basics. After that, I'll tell you what we aim to teach you over the next year in this class."
Harry and Neville were forced to sit at the front of the class while the others did their own thing in the back. Mitchell smiled, "There's no need to look terrified. Arithmancy is fairly easy. How are you with maths?"
"Okay," Neville admitted.
"Terrible," Harry said sheepishly, "I failed it through primary school."
"Ah," Mitchell said, "Well, in that case, this might be a bit challenging. But once you get the hang of it, you should be okay. Let me start with the basics, arithmancy is when we assign numbers to words or phrases, and it's how spells are created. If you were to see the pure form of a spell, you would see numbers."
"So you have to know Arithmancy to make spells?" Harry asked.
Mitchell nodded, "Spells, curses, hexes, etc. You have to know arithmancy to make anything new, and you also have to know it for Curse Breaking. You ought to know that Mr Potter, your fiancé is a Curse Breaker, isn't she?"
"Trainee Curse Breaker," Harry said with a nod, "But to be honest, I have no idea what she does, technically speaking."
Mitchell laughed, "Well, Curse Breakers undo curses. To do that, they have to unravel the curse using arithmancy to work out the counter-curse. Let me start with an easy example."
On the blackboard behind him, he wrote, "Stupefy."
"Now, if we were to see the pure numerical form of this spell, it would look like this…" Mitchell said. On the board, he wrote, "4 (8, 23, 31)."
"Does that mean anything to either of you?" Mitchell asked. It looked like he knew the answer.
"Nope," The boys echoed.
"Alright, so let me show you this chart," Mitchell said, "This is how we assign numbers to a letter."
The chart looked like a scramble of letters and numbers to Harry.
"So the word STUPEFY. We begin by finding out the heart number, which is the value of the vowels added up. You can see from this chart that the value of U is 3, and the value of E is 5. So the heart number is?" Mitchell asked.
"8," Neville replied.
"Exactly," Mitchell said. He jotted this down on the board, "Now we work out what the social number is. That is the value of the consonants in the word added up. In this case, the value of S is 1, T is 2, P is 7, F is 6, and Y is 7. So the social number is?"
"23," Neville said quickly.
"Correct," Mitchell nodded, "Now to find the character number, we add the heart and social number together to get?"
"31," Neville said.
"So the three numbers in brackets are these numbers, 8, 23 and 31," Mitchell explained, pointing to the blackboard as he did so, "Do you know what the 4 means yet?"
Neville shook his head, and Harry stared at the board with a blank expression on his face.
"If the character number is higher than 9, then we need to add the two values together until we get a single-digit number," Mitchell explained, "So the final number here is 4 because?"
"31…3+1 = 4," Neville said.
"Exactly," Mitchell said, "So as you see, once you know what to do, it is fairly easy. Everybody else, listen up!"
The class focused on Mitchell once more, and he continued, "So our main goal for this class will be to teach you how to break basic curses. There will be times when the Curse Breakers can't get there fast enough, and you will need to act as our front-line defence. As those of you who studied arithmancy will know, to break a curse, we need to unravel it. Can anyone tell me how we would work out the counter curse to Stupefy if we saw it in numerical form like this?"
Harry looked at the board and just saw a swathe of numbers. He couldn't work out how "4 (8, 23, 31)" made a spell.
Theo raised his hand, "Yes, Mr Nott?"
"Once you work out that the equation spells "STUPEFY", then you can work out that the counter curse is Reenervate. Once you know that, you know how to undo it," Theo replied.
Mitchell nodded, "Precisely. However, this is just a simple spell. Real curses can be jumbled, so you can make out the words but not the order. Sometimes the whole equation is messy, and it's like one giant maths puzzle. Let's have a look at a simple curse, to begin with, and see how we get on…."
As Mitchell continued, his voice became a drone, and Harry didn't manage to take in anything else that he said.
"You still look dazed after that Curse Breaking masterclass," Draco said to Harry with an amused smile. They were walking to their next class, which was on Law & Ethics.
"I have no idea what it was all about," Harry admitted, "And I feel bad for underestimating Daphne. I mean, I know she's smart, but I didn't realise how smart she was. How can she understand that and do that?"
"Because she's brilliant with numbers," Draco replied, "So is Hermione actually. She loved arithmancy, and I used to love watching her in that class. She would screw up her nose and concentrate. Then she would just beam this delighted smile when she worked it out…."
"Holy shit, you sound sappy," Theo snorted.
"I have a whole new level of respect for anyone who finds that easy," Harry said with a shake of his head, "I just thought Curse Breakers were like Indiana Jones. I didn't realise they were mathematical geniuses. I mean, Bill is practically Bill Gates!"
"Do you have any idea what he just said?" Theo asked Draco and Neville.
"Not a clue," Draco replied.
"I got the Indiana Jones bit," Neville said, "But not the rest."
Harry rolled his eyes, "I really need to educate you lot on Muggle stuff," he said as they reached the classroom and slipped inside.
They were the last ones there, so they sat down at a large table at the back of the small room. The lecturer teaching this one was Auror Weir, who most of them thought was the nicest Auror around. She was always smiling and chatting away to them in corridors; the others could be pretty harsh most of the time.
"Good morning, recruits," Weir said with a smile, "This class is called Law & Ethics, so I presume you can all work out what it's about. By the end of this class, you should all have a basic grounding in wizarding and muggle law, but we will also be discussing some ethical and theological issues. Does anyone have any questions about that?"
Draco raised his hands, "Why do we need to learn about Muggle law, ma'am?"
"Good question Mr Black," Weir said, "Somebody always asks that question and usually, it is a pureblood like yourself. As Aurors, we need to be aware of the differences between our legal system and the muggles system because there will be times when our work crosses over into their work. Could anyone suggest a situation when Aurors may have to work with muggle law enforcement?"
Harry raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr Potter?"
"I can think of a few," Harry said, "Protection duty when an Auror is assigned as a security escort for an important muggle like the prime minister or, if a wizard kills a muggle, then I suppose the two authorities would have to work together."
Weir nodded, "Correct. Now in the case of a murdered muggle, we are required to work undercover. We send Aurors into the muggle police force as investigators, and they work alongside the muggles to solve the case without letting the muggles know that there are magical forces at work. What other situations might involve cooperating with the muggles?"
There were quite a few different options thrown around the room. Weir discussed some of them in more detail than others, but she gave every opinion her consideration. About halfway through the class, she changed the topic, "That was a great first session learning about the basics of cooperating with the muggle police force, but at this point in the lesson, I want to change tack slightly. As I mentioned at the start of this class, I would like to discuss ethics with you. Technically speaking, ethics is a branch of philosophy that involves defending and recommending concepts of right and wrong. Can anyone tell me what that means?"
Theo raised his hand, "Basically, we're going to be discussing situations and stating what we would do in that situation while everyone else either agrees with us or attacks our idea, and we have to either defend our choice or concede that we made the wrong one."
Weir smiled, "Precisely, Mr Nott. You have a fine grasp on this. Have you studied philosophy at all?"
Theo shook his head, "No, I just read a lot."
"Mr Nott is quite right. We aim to resolve questions of human morality by defining concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime. Do you see?"
Everyone nodded, although Harry was fairly sure that some people had no idea what she was talking about.
"Ethics is a huge area to study, so we are only going to be concerning ourselves with applied ethics during this class. Would you be able to explain what that means to the class, Mr Nott?" Weir asked.
Theo nodded, "I suppose the easiest way to describe it is that it is ethics concerned with moral issues that we face every day. An example would be the debate about euthanasia, half of the wizarding population back people who are terminally sick having the right to die. Still, the other half think that all killing is wrong even if the person wants to die."
"Exactly," Weir said with a proud smile, "We will be discussing the kind of moral issues that you could face every day as an Auror. Before we get onto any real-life situations, however, we need to talk about the theories that we use in ethics to help us make an informed, morally correct decision. Does anyone know what any of those theories are?"
Ophelia raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss. Wood?"
"Utilitarianism," Ophelia replied.
"That's correct," Weir said, "Would you like to tell us what that is?"
"It's also known as the needs of the many before the needs of the few," Ophelia said, "Or for the greater good, which people don't tend to use anymore after Grindelwald used that slogan for evil."
Weir nodded, "Indeed. The needs of the many before the needs of the few. This means that the consequences of a decision are evaluated on the assumption that the right thing to do is the thing that results in the greatest happiness. It was developed by a muggle called John Stuart Mill and a wizard called Jeremy Bentham. If we were using this theory, what would we do in this situation?…a dark lord and his followers are using the home of a perfectly good wizarding family to hide out. They have either threatened the family or used the imperius curse on them, but as Aurors, we know where they are, and we know that we can strike. What do we do?"
Neville raised his hand, "Strike. Innocent people may die, but if the dark lord and his followers die, it could save hundreds of lives in the future because it could prevent a war."
"Under this theory, that is exactly right," Weir said, "However there is more to it than just doing what makes most people happy. The idea of intent and preference also comes into play here, and some people may feel uncomfortable with this notion that sacrifices must be made for the greater good. I do believe that a large part of that uncomfortableness comes from the fact that Grindelwald twisted the theory to justify what he did to muggles."
There was a general nod around the room as everyone seemed to agree with that.
"Can anyone tell me about another theory that we use in ethics?" Weir asked.
This time Theo's hand went up again.
"Mr Nott?"
"Deontological ethics, otherwise known as the Categorical Imperative or Kantianism," Theo said, "It's all based on rules and duty. Basically, you have an obligation to perform the 'right' action regardless of any actual consequences."
"Correct," Weir said, "So given the same situation with the dark lord and his followers hiding out in the home of an innocent family, what would we do based on this theory?"
Harry raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr Potter?"
"Kill the dark lord and his followers. If this theory says that your duty is to do the right thing, then the right thing would be to make sure they can't cause any more harm," Harry replied, "But doing so and not thinking about the consequences doesn't make any sense. There would be legal repercussions, and then there would be the guilt. It doesn't matter if you kill a bad person, you still feel guilty, and you still feel conflicted by the fact you were capable of murder."
"Spot on, Mr Potter," Weir said brightly, "That is an excellent answer, and that is one of the many reasons why this theory isn't widely used anymore. Acting without thinking about consequences is indeed very reckless and dangerous."
Harry felt quite proud of himself; he had thought he would hate this class. He thought it would be like History of Magic, boring and dry, but Weir made it fun, and he found himself really enjoying it.
"There are two more theories left. Does anyone know what they are?" Weir asked.
There was silence and much shaking of heads, so Weir continued, "The last mainstream theory is that the right action will be that chosen by a suitably virtuous agent. This is the theory that muggles use when they say that God will decide someone's fate. It is not widely used in the wizarding world. On top of these three methods, however, there is a new modern approach called case-based reasoning. This does not begin with theory but with the immediate facts of a real, concrete case. This is what we will be using because nine times out of ten, you will need to think about it there and then and consider it on a case-by-case basis when you come across an ethical issue. Does anyone have any further questions?"
Nobody raised their hands, so Weir bashed on and began by giving them an example.
"Picture the scene," Weir said as she sat on her desk and crossed her legs, "You are called to Diagon Alley to deal with a magical fire that has gotten out of control. You and your Auror partner are first on the scene, you immediately call for back up, but it takes approximately two minutes for the Patronus to reach the other Aurors. Then it takes five minutes for those Aurors to robe up, get to the apparition point within the Auror department and get to you."
They were all caught on her every word.
"These seven minutes are golden. In these seven minutes, it's just you and your Auror partner, and you get to play God. You decide who lives and who dies because you have to prioritise. That can give you a real complex, which is why we put you through your paces in training to make sure that every time you make that call, it kills you a little inside because if it doesn't? That's when you risk turning; it's this remorse that keeps your magic pure."
Theo frowned at these words.
"So the situation is this. Some people have gotten out, they are injured, but they are being tended to by the residents that know how to heal. Your Auror partner goes to deal with the fire while they wait for the Arson Aurors to arrive on the scene. There are two people trapped at windows; one is a young, poor-looking pregnant woman. The other is a famous, old wandmaker. You can only save one. Which one do you save?"
Blanche scoffed, "The pregnant woman, obviously."
"It's not that obvious, though, is it?" Theo asked, "What if the wandmaker dies without passing on the secrets of the trade? Then wands would change forever; we would all lose magical power. The impact on the wizarding world has the potential to be huge."
"Good," Weir said happily, "Continue, and I'll interject if I need to."
"With respect, Theo, you should always save the pregnant woman," Blanche said.
"I hate to ask a loaded question, but why?" Draco said.
"She looks poor," Theo added, "So she's probably a young mother. Statistically speaking, she would have graduated from Hogwarts with pretty bad grades, and she probably lives in poverty in the closes. It's not like she would get an important job, and her kid would stand a higher chance of being a squib if it was raised in poverty or malnourished."
Blanche's eyes darkened, "Sorry, Theo, but you're dead wrong with all of that. I have a very close friend who is a teenage mother. She aced her N.E.W.T's, she's wicked smart, and she's going to set an example for her kid by doing the job she wanted to do before she fell pregnant. You don't get to pick if someone lives or dies based on statistics."
Weir nodded, "You both made a good point. There is a time and place for statistics, but you have to use your heart and your head to make a judgement in this situation."
"Never mind the fact that it would be wrong to let the pregnant woman die," Ophelia added, "You don't know what that baby is going to become. What if nobody had saved Harry's mother from an attack? The boy-who-lived would never have been born."
"Well, he would have been," Harry cut in, "Because if I wasn't the boy who lived, Voldemort would have attacked Neville, he'd have gotten the stupid forehead tattoo, and then he'd have saved the world."
Neville smiled, "All the same, Ophelia makes a good point."
"Yes, she does," Harry agreed, "But interpret that this way. What if nobody had saved Merope Gaunt? There would be no Tom Riddle, no Lord Voldemort. You're right, Ophelia; you have no idea what a baby is going to turn out to be."
"Which is why you should always save it," Neville said, "You can't judge an unborn baby and make a call like that. What a baby turns out to be is almost always reliant on the way it is raised."
"Unless it doesn't know how to love because it was conceived under a love potion," Harry argued.
"That's rare," Draco pointed out, "Incredibly rare. In fact, I think Voldemort might be the only person in living memory conceived that way."
"That we know of," Theo said.
"Still," Draco said with a frown, "I agree with Blanche and Ophelia. You should always save the pregnant woman because it's the right thing to do and because you have no idea what that baby could grow up to be. I do have another point to put forward, though."
"Go on," Weir said with a smile.
"What about the father?" Draco asked, "We don't know anything about him, do we? Yes, he could be dead already, or he could be a waste of space who left his other half when she found out she was pregnant. But what if he's at work? What if he comes home to find out that his other half and his unborn baby were dead because an Auror prioritised a wandmaker? I mean…that's enough to turn a weak-minded man dark if he…" his frown deepened, "…lost everything like that."
Weir looked at Draco in disbelief.
"Sorry," Draco said, automatically assuming that he had said the wrong thing.
Weir shook her head, "No, Mr Black, don't apologise. This is a pretty basic situation, so it's the one I start with every year, and in four years, you are the first person to work out the answer."
"I am?" Draco asked in surprise.
Weir nodded, "The answer is to save the pregnant woman. From a moral point of view, it is the right thing. She's young; she has her life ahead of her and her baby's. The wandmaker is old, he has lived his life, you can assume he has passed on the trade to a family member," she explained, "We don't know what that baby will become; you are quite right that we take a risk there, but it's one we must take if we are to live with a clean conscience. The one thing that people do not usually consider is the consequences of the action, which is why I like to start with this scenario."
Draco looked down, and Theo grabbed his hand under the table. Draco squeezed it back appreciatively.
"In this case, the woman is young, but she is married. Her husband works hard in the DMLE, he's an intelligent man, and he wants to forge a better life for his young wife and child. When he comes home to find out that his wife has died to save an old wandmaker, it fuels his belief that the DMLE is corrupt. As a result, he turns to darkness and finds supporters who believe his theory, and he rises against the DMLE and the Ministry. Many lives are lost in the battle that follows, so by saving this pregnant woman, you are preventing that bloodshed."
"Every action has a consequence," Harry said thoughtfully.
"Exactly, always bear that in mind when choosing your course of action, Mr Potter," Weir said with a nod. At that point, the bell rang, so they gathered up their bags and left.
While Theo ribbed Draco for his 'crush' on the Auror, ("Oh come on, curly brown hair, kind eyes, she's like a MILF version of Hermione." "Oh for the love of Salazar, Theo, shut up!') Harry hung back a little.
"You were talking about Ginny," Harry said as he fell into step with Blanche and Ophelia.
"She's always talking about Ginny," Ophelia said with a chuckle.
Blanche rolled her eyes, "Well, she will be giving birth to my niece. I do need to make sure that she keeps well."
"Is she doing okay?" Harry asked.
"She's fine," Blanche replied, "Fed up of being pregnant, think she looks like a beached whale when in fact, she is glowing rather beautifully but in perfect health."
Harry chuckled, "And how is Blaise doing?"
"Oh, he's being Blaise," Blanche said with a laugh, "Focusing on the practicalities, you know? He's building the house and making sure everything is ready because that's easier than dealing with her mood swings and weird cravings."
Harry snorted, "She's always eaten weird stuff anyway, so I doubt pregnancy has changed her much."
"Did she always eat treacle tart and steak pie together?"
Harry made a face, "That's disgusting."
"Are you sure she's not having your baby?" Neville asked as he fell in step with them.
"It is definitely not my baby," Harry snorted, "You slept with her after I did."
"Yeah, during the war, that would be one hell of a long pregnancy," Neville joked.
"Look, you two," Blanche said irritably, "Saying stuff like that just cements everyone's opinion that she's a loose woman who got herself knocked up. She's not Ginny Weasley anymore, she's a Zabini, and we look out for our own-"
"Sorry," Harry cut in, "I don't think that. I've never thought that, and I love her to bits. I'm sorry if it came across wrong."
Neville nodded, "She's one of my best friends, Blanche. I'm sorry too."
Blanche nodded, "Just wanted to make sure we were on the same page."
"We are," Harry promised as he and Neville jogged to catch up with Draco and Theo.
"Way to make it obvious you fancy your brother's pregnant wife, Blanche."
"Shut up, Fee."
Friday afternoon brought the activity that all of the recruits had been looking forward to the most. It was the afternoon they were allowed to spend in the simulation room they had heard about.
They gathered in the same waiting room where they had been forced to wait before their selection tests. The five doors remained, but rather than saying, "Testing Room One" through to Five, they now said, "Junior Trainee Simulation Room", "Intermediate Trainee Simulation Room", "Advanced Trainee Simulation Room", "Exam Testing Room One" and "Exam Testing Room Two."
"Good afternoon, recruits," Sheppard said once everyone was gathered in the room, "As you can see, this has changed a little since you saw it last, but this is how our simulation area normally looks. We just have to shake things up a little during the selection process. We have three simulation rooms that you will be using over the next year; you will all start in the junior room. We work things on a point-based system, so you will move up to the next room once you reach the required level of points. You will move at different levels depending on how competent you are, so for the moment, you will all work on the same situation together until pairs start to move up to the intermediate room. Do you have any questions?"
Draco raised his hand and asked, "How does the point system work?"
"Good question," Sheppard said, "Every time you use the simulation room, you will encounter a situation designed to test your magical skills, practical skills and decision-making skills. Certain things you do will gain you points, and certain things you do will lose you points. Any further questions?"
"Do we work together or in our pairs?" Blanche asked.
"You should all work together," Sheppard replied, "But you are in pairs for a reason. Your points are based on your Auror partnership, so you need to work together to advance yourself and get into the next room."
When Sheppard saw that there were no further questions, he said, "Okay then. Situation One: A dragon has just terrorised a northern English town. The Ministry has sent people to restrain the dragon, but you are being sent to deal with the aftermath. You have three and a half hours; if you finish earlier, then we'll let you know and open the door up for you. Are you ready?"
A chorus of "Yes sir," then Sheppard opened the door, and they filtered in. Nobody had been sure what to expect, apart from perhaps Harry and Neville, but the scene was one of complete carnage.
Almost every cottage in the village was in flames; they were engulfing the bordering forest too. People were screaming everywhere. Dead and injured people were lying in heaps on the streets and in the town square.
Harry swallowed hard; it took him right back to the war. Hogwarts was burning all over again, and the dead were lined up in the great hall.
"Focus on today, not the past," Neville murmured as his own eyes took in the horror around them.
Harry nodded. Nobody else had moved or spoken yet, but they needed to formulate a battle plan. He cleared his throat, "First priority has to be to attend to the injured. We need to line the dead up in the town square and cover them for modesty. We also need to set up a first aid station over there by the part of the forest that isn't burning."
"Can I suggest that Blanche and I attend to the injured?" Ophelia asked, "I know some of you guys are better healers, but we are good at staying calm under pressure which will help us prioritise which ones to heal first."
Harry nodded, "I agree."
"And my father was an Arson Auror. I know the best way to put out a forest fire," Emily said.
Harry nodded, "Emily, Max, you two focus on stopping the forest fire from spreading any further. Draco, Theo, you two try your best to get people out of the houses and then see if you can put the fires out. Blanche, Ophelia, set up a temporary hospital wing then attend to the injured. Neville and I will bring the injured from the streets to you and line up the dead in the town square."
Nobody questioned the fact that Harry had taken the lead. They all just nodded and then left to get on with the tasks that they had been assigned. It didn't take Blanche and Ophelia long to transfigure a tent out of logs that hadn't been set alight and some sheets from one of the few houses that wasn't burning. With their temporary workstation in place, they set about transfiguring camp beds.
Harry and Neville quickly lost hope that there would be any survivors. By the time they had cleared the streets leading up to the town square, they had found no survivors. All of the dead were male, and as it currently stood, there were 14 of them lined up in the town square.
Draco and Theo were having more luck in the houses. They were running in under strong shield charms and running back out holding kids or sheltering women. It seemed that all those trapped in the homes were women and children, and all those on the street were male.
"Do you think they were defending their families from the dragon?" Neville asked in an undertone.
Harry nodded grimly, "I think that's exactly what they were doing."
Neville sighed, and they moved on to the other side of the town square. They had more luck here because they found their first survivors. Some of them had nasty burns and were moaning in pain, but they were alive. By the time they had gotten all of the dead into the square and all of the survivors to Blanche and Ophelia, an hour and a half had passed.
"That's all of them," Harry said when they reconvened with Draco and Theo outside of the temporary hospital wing.
Draco and Theo were both covered in soot. Theo wiped his brow and nodded, "We managed to get most of them out safely."
"Three women dead and two children," Draco said darkly, "The house was virtually gone by the time we got there."
"That brings the death toll up to 21," Harry said. He looked over the cottages, some of which were still smoking even now that the flames were gone, "It looks like Max and Emily did a good job with the forest fire."
"We should all pitch in to help Blanche and Ophelia," Draco said, "They are good, but they can't manage on their own."
Harry nodded, "I've done my part. Those two are in charge now. Let's see where we can help them."
The foursome walked over to Blanche, who was tending to a badly burned man, "How can we-"
"Don't try anything beyond your capability level," Blanche said sharply, "You'll only screw it up and give us more work. Draco, Theo; you two are competent enough to deal with pretty much everyone here. Harry, Neville, go over to minor injuries and smoke inhalation."
"That's probably fair," Harry muttered to Neville as they did as they were told.
"It's definitely fair," Neville muttered back.
It took the remaining two hours that they had left in the room to tend to the injured, and they lost another four due to their injuries. All in all, it wasn't the fun afternoon they had all been looking forward to. In fact, they came away from it feeling incredibly deflated.
"You look world-weary."
Harry nodded and rubbed his eyes, "Today was our first time in the simulation room. They give you a scenario and test how you deal with it. Today we had to deal with the aftermath of a dragon attack. The final death toll was 25."
Daphne sighed, "I'm sorry, that doesn't sound like a fun way to spend a Friday afternoon."
"It wasn't," Harry said. He sank into a chair at the table, "Did you cook?"
"No, I got Kreacher to cook," Daphne said sheepishly.
"I keep telling you, the only way to learn is by actually doing it," Harry said with an amused smile, "What are you going to do when we're in the cottage in Devon?"
"Bring a house-elf with us?"
"No, definitely not," Harry said, "Learn to cook."
Daphne rolled her eyes, "I'm far too busy to learn to cook now. I mean today, Bill-"
"I love you babe, but I don't want to hear about Bill every night I come in," Harry said honestly, "I'm sorry if that's harsh, but I've had a shit day, so I know that Bill is a wonderful mentor who you admire but I don't want to hear it right now."
"That's harsh, Harry," Daphne said stiffly, "I mean, it's a bit of a dick move. Just because you had a bad day, that shouldn't mean I can't enjoy my job."
"No, enjoy your job by all means," Harry said, "But I just don't want to know how awesome Bill is all of the time. I know he's awesome, I've met him, and…frankly, I have no idea how you two do what you do."
Daphne frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Curse breaking," Harry said, "We had a class about it today. Apparently, we need to know the basics in case we need to break a curse before the Curse Breakers can get there. I just don't know how you do it, Daph."
Daphne smiled slightly, "It's not that hard; it's just numbers."
"Just numbers?" Harry asked in disbelief, "I don't get it at all. How do letters become numbers? It makes no sense; I just don't understand. Why is a spell numerical in its pure form? I don't get it."
Daphne bit her lip, "Yeah, I can see that."
"Please help me understand," Harry half-joked, half-begged.
"You're asking me to explain my entire job in the space of a few hours," Daphne pointed out.
"I know, sorry," Harry said sheepishly.
Daphne shook her head and smiled at him fondly, "What can I say? I do like a challenge. I think I might have a way to teach you…you work best under pressure, don't you?"
Harry frowned but nodded, "Uh yes, why?"
Before Harry realised what she was doing, Daphne pulled her wand out and said, "Soperius!"
Harry jumped back in shock, "What did you do?"
"I just cursed you," Daphne said, "You have one hour to work it out and un-curse yourself. Did you retain any information from today's class?"
"What? No! What do you mean you just cursed me?" Harry asked in a rather high-pitched, panicked voice.
"You work best under pressure. You needed motivation," Daphne said with a wave of her hand, "Don't be a pussy about it."
"What did you curse me with?" Harry asked.
"You have to work that out for yourself," Daphne told him, "So get working. Surely you remember something from today?"
Harry shut his eyes and thought hard, "Uh…heart number is vowels, the social number is consonants, and the character number is both of them added together."
Daphne nodded, "To see the curse, you need to use a diagnostic charm like…this."
Golden writing appeared in thin air, "So the first word in the curse in its numerical form is "2 (14, 6, 20)."
"How on earth do I get a word out of that?" Harry asked blankly.
"It's all about working backwards," Daphne said, "Look at this chart," she scribbled out a quick numerical chart like the one Mitchell had shown them, "You focus on what must be true first. For example, there must be more than one vowel in the name; otherwise, the heart number wouldn't be higher than 9. Now that you know that there is more than one vowel, you need to work out what vowels would create the number 14. Start by assuming there are two vowels and if you can't get the number you need, then try again with the assumption that there are 3 vowels."
Harry frowned at the chart, "Uh…okay."
It took him about 10 minutes to add up all of the possibilities, "5 and 9!"
Daphne smiled at him, "Yeah, so the two vowels are?"
"E and I," Harry said.
"Exactly. Now do the same with the consonants. The social number is 6, so?"
"There's only one consonant?" Harry said.
"Not necessarily," Daphne replied, "There could be two consonants with a low value."
Harry groaned and let his head hit the table with a loud thump, "Daphne! I thought I was actually getting the hang of this shit!"
When Draco got home, he felt completely deflated. Pulling women and kids out of burning buildings wasn't his idea of fun, but at least there had been minimal deaths. If he was honest though, he wanted to come home, have a drink, then crawl into bed.
The moment he walked into the kitchen and saw Hermione covered in dirt and sobbing her heart out, he knew that wasn't going to happen.
"Hermione!"
Hermione looked up tearfully, "Draco, I'm so glad you're home!"
She launched herself at him and his nose wrinkled up. Not only was she covered in dirt, but she also stunk of sweat and muck.
"What's going on? Are you okay?"
Hermione nodded, but tears were still falling from her eyes, "I had to bury him, and his body was all stiff and heavy, and it was awful!"
Draco's eyes widened, "What? You buried someone in our back garden?"
Hermione sniffled, "Where else was I supposed to put him?"
"Hermione," Draco said nervously, "Who have you buried? What's going on? Did you just find a dead guy, or did someone try to hurt you or-"
"Draco!" Hermione said through her tears, "It's not a person. It's Crookshanks. I came him from work, and he was just lying there all stiff and cold and…."
She broke down into tears again before she could say anymore. Draco breathed a sigh of relief, partly because he had been worried that his fiancé was a murderer for a moment there and mostly because he fucking hated that cat.
"Oh love, I'm sorry," Draco said while he held her and patted her back gently, "I know you loved him, but he lived a good, long life, didn't he? He lived through a war; he was a brave old cat."
"He was," Hermione sobbed, "He was the bravest cat."
"The bravest cat I ever knew," Draco said solemnly.
"Draco," Hermione sobbed, "Are you making fun of me?"
"No, he was a courageous cat, as far as cats go," Draco said, "But he was old. He's probably in a better place now."
Hermione buried her head in his chest, "What am I going to do without him? He's been tripping me up forever."
"Well, we could always get a dog when you feel ready for another pet," Draco said, "Or you could get an owl?"
"I hate owls. They're arrogant and proud," Hermione said. She wiped her eyes, "And dogs are so yappy and annoying. It would be like having Harry around all of the time."
Draco snorted at that but didn't mention anything about her getting another cat. She knew why. He didn't like cats, and he had made her aware of that when Crookshanks had hung around him during their last year at school.
"Come on, let's find something funny to watch on TV and open a bottle of wine," Draco said, "It's Friday night. I'm not going to let you spend all night moping and crying."
* ~ TBC ~ *