SHARING THE SUNLIGHT WITH THE FREE - THE DAWN
Chapter Seven
Kière flat-out refused to believe that there was nothing out of the ordinary about Aurelia. She could see that, even though he dropped the subject, at her request. When they went to get Aurelia's wand, she could feel the anger vibrating out of him, directed at Merlin.
'For heaven's sake,' she wanted to say. 'It is not his fault.' She felt guilty, that Kière had lost his admiration for his previous hero, all because of her. But there was nothing she could do about it.
They returned to classes, where the students, having heard the rumours about Merlin coming to test her, whispered and pointed at her behind her back. Now that the examination had taken place, it was only a few days before the news that nothing had come out of it to make its way around the school. As rumours usually do, this was twisted over and over again, until a rumour that she was only a mediocre witch, with not much magic, traveled about the castle.
Kière was fiercely protective of her - he would have cursed every one of the gossipers, if she had not held him back. As it was, the rumour was now that he did her magic for her.
Hoff Darby, envious of Kière's position as Samhain champion, and irked that he had lost out that night, channeled his energy into being horrid to Aurelia, obviously hoping that he would also anger Kière into the bargain. He was the most malicious of the students, and took pleasure in making snide remarks and nasty comments in undertones whenever the opportunity arose.
'Are you sure you can manage that potion, Bland?' he sneered during Professor Slytherin's class. He had taken the seat right next to her, for the express purpose of annoying her. She paid no attention, merely stirred her cauldron steadily. Beside her, Kière glowered. Aurelia glanced at him warningly. It would not do for Kière and Darby to come to blows - Professor Slytherin would only be too glad for the chance to give Kière another detention.
'Asking for help already? Needing your boyfriend to do your work for you?'
Aurelia could feel her cheeks redden slightly at the insinuation, but worked on doggedly, in silence. There were fifteen minutes till the end of lesson. She could last - hopefully Kière could hold his peace that long.
'How pathetic that they actually allow a Mudblood with practically no magic at all into the school,' Darby continued loftily.
'Watch your mouth!' snapped Kière. His knuckles, gripping the sides of his cauldron, were white.
'Ah, yes,' said Darby, overjoyed to have struck a nerve. 'You do not like that word, do you? And I agree, I doubt Bland could qualify as a Mudblood. Why, I would not be surprised if she was nothing more than a filthy Muggle - a dirty enemy of our kind. Whatever possessed the professors to let her into Hogwarts -'
He never finished the sentence. Kière had tackled him to the ground mid- sentence. Their cauldrons were sent flying, potion splattering everywhere. The other students ducked.
'Take - it - back,' growled Kière. He had his wand out, and was aiming it straight at Darby's chest.
'Kière, no!' cried Aurelia, just as Professor Slytherin barked, 'Banning!'
'Need someone to do the magic for you, do you, Muggle?' said Darby derisively. He extracted his own wand from his robes. 'Go ahead, Banning. If it is a duel you want, try me.'
Both opened their mouths, to curse each other, but Aurelia was faster. Desperately, she whipped out her wand and uttered 'Expelliarmus!'
Their wands flew out of their hands and she caught them deftly.
'Miss Bland! Banning! That is enough!' Professor Slytherin glared at them both. 'You will report to me for detention tonight!'
Darby smirked, then snatched his wand out of her hands. He made a big show of wiping it off on his robes.
'But Professor -' Kière protested.
'I do not want to hear your excuses. Both of you have detentions, for attacking a fellow classmate, Banning, and for improper use of magic during lessons, Miss Bland. And now I have had enough. Class is dismissed. The three of you will clear up this mess - Banning, Bland and Darby.' He shot the entire class a murderous glare, and swept out of the classroom.
'That devil!' spat Kière, kicking his overturned cauldron angrily.
'Insulting a teacher? I would be more careful about it if I were you, Banning.'
'Will the both of you hold your peace?' Aurelia said, exasperated.
'Oh, finally you speak,' remarked Darby. 'I was beginning to think that you had no voice.'
Aurelia turned on him. She had had enough.
'I warn you, Darby. One more word.' Her wand and Kière's was still in her hands. Darby looked as though he was about to make another snide remark, but thought twice about it.
Well, for all his insults, he still fears what magic I could wield. The thought was quite amusing, but Aurelia willed herself to keep her face straight. She tossed Kière's wand back to him, and they got down to clearing the mess.
~
The two of them made their way to Professor Slytherin's office in the evening, to serve their detentions. Aurelia was feeling quite apprehensive about it, having never been sentenced to detention before.
Kière tried to reassure her, but there was not much he could say. They both knew what was in store for them - a long night of corporal punishment. The fact that Professor Slytherin was in charge only made it worse - he believed that the harder the punishment, the more obedience it brought in the future.
'Well,' sighed Kière, as they stood outside the office. 'Here we go.' He took Aurelia's hand and gave it a brief squeeze, then let go and raised his hand to knock.
'Merlin!'
The sound of Professor Slytherin's surprised voice made them freeze.
'What are you doing here?' Professor Slytherin continued.
A muffled voice replied. Aurelia could just make it out - it sounded like Merlin was saying something the like of 'I needed to talk to you.' Curious, they edged closer to the door.
'What about?'
'The girl - Miss Bland.'
Aurelia exchanged bewildered looks with Kière, and pressed her ear to the door, listening hard.
'Ah.the analysis.you have reached a conclusion?'
'I thought.' whispered Kière. Aurelia put a finger to her lip, still listening.
'I have indeed. She is no ordinary witch. I have reason to believe that she has, as the four of you suspect, incredibly strong magic. Also powers that have not been seen since the days of druids - druidic magic.which would qualify her as a Seer.'
Professor Slytherin gave a slight whistle. 'Well! We suspected as much.the other three will be happy.'
'That is why I have come to you, Salazar. As you know, I have not informed the others of my true beliefs. And I do not intend to let them know about this discovery.'
'Why? It does not interest me, Miss Bland's exceptionality. She is Rowena's pet. Godric is interested in her magic. Helga adores her. Go to them.'
'That is precisely it, Salazar. I noted that you had an objective view of this whole situation. The other three are too close to the girl. They will tell her -'
'I see no point in keeping it from her either. Although I doubt it would be too good to reveal this information - she would likely become more big- headed than she already is.'
'Oh, I do not worry about that. It is - well, I am afraid of what she might do with such strong magic. You remember, of course, how I came to be known as a great wizard?'
'Of course. The defeat of Morgan Le Fay.are you suggesting that that has any connection with this?'
'Yes, I am. If you recall, Morgan Le Fay was a Muggle-born witch with quite strong powers. Nothing compared to Miss Bland's here, of course - in my whole lifetime I have not encountered magic as strong as Miss Bland's - but strong enough. A few notches above the rest, at any rate. And she misused that power. She was dabbling in the Dark. She used that magic against people - both Muggles and magical folk. Her background - as a Muggle-born witch - turned her into what she was, apparently. Muggles are strange people, they can be harmless, but they can also be violent and temperamental. Morgan Le Fay was one that was both - and when she found that she was a witch, and learnt to use her magic, the world suffered.'
'If I recall correctly, she used magic to interfere in the matters of her brother's court.'
'Yes. Arthur was quite helpless, him being a Muggle and all.'
'But you stopped her.'
'That I did. I was stronger. I could do it. With Miss Bland here.Salazar, I admit that I am at a loss to what extent her powers can stretch. If she heads down such a path.I doubt I can contain her. From what you have told me about the circumstances of her birth, I fear that she may very likely follow in Morgan Le Fay's footsteps unless someone keeps her in check early. That is where you come in. I will need you to watch over her.'
'Could you not ask the other three?' The scowl was very visibly in Professor Slytherin's voice.
'You are the best choice, Salazar. The others - I do not doubt their intentions are good and honourable as well, but they are, as I said, too close to Miss Bland. They are rather protective of her, and I get the impression that they believe she can do no wrong.'
'You are right about that,' snorted Professor Slytherin.
'I may have misinterpreted their views towards the girl,' continued Merlin, ignoring Professor Slytherin's comment. 'However, I feel that you are the most detached in terms of feelings for the girl, and therefore are the best candidate for keeping an eye on her, to make sure she knows not about the extraordinary powers she has. In short, preventing her from exerting her magical superiority.'
'I understand. All right, I will do it.'
'I knew I could count on you.' Merlin sounded relieved. 'Remember, she cannot know anything about this. If she suspects - or anything.enchant her into forgetting. Use that new spell of Rowena's - Memory Charm, I think it was called.'
'Certainly.'
'Thank you. I must take my leave then. Till next time we meet.'
'Goodbye.'
Aurelia backed up against the cold dungeon walls, finding it quite hard to absorb all this information. Her - a Seer after all. Strong magic. And she was not to know. Merlin was afraid that she would misuse it. Not that she felt insulted by that - she was scared too, that she might misuse it. How would she ever know how to keep it in check? Power - it was an overwhelming concept.
She looked at Kière. He looked as though he wanted to say 'I told you so', but was refraining from it.
'Are you all right?' he asked instead.
She nodded. 'Just surprised.and.it is quite hard to take in all at once.'
'Just wait - when the professors know -'
Reality struck him then. 'We are not supposed to know.oh my.Merlin! How could he think you would misuse your powers! As if you would ever do anything to hurt anyone!' As usual, he was rushing right to her defense. Aurelia now understood slightly why Merlin had chosen Professor Slytherin to watch over her. Although she did not exactly relish the idea.
Did not relish the idea. What an understatement! The fact that Professor Slytherin was to make sure she did no wrong terrified her. Was she to trust Professor Slytherin, who had never liked her, to decide on her future in magic?
She could feel the chill again, the cold catching in her throat. It could not be Professor Slytherin.not him!
It would be like the witch hunter judging her actions. The voice in her head again. She pushed it away, not wanting to think about the witch hunter and. those memories.
'It will be all right,' she said, trying to convince both herself and Kière. 'I shall tell Professor Slytherin I know, and he shall help.' The words sounded preposterous. She knew she could not do it.
'No!' argued Kière. 'You will be charmed to forget. So will I. We should just pretend we know nothing. Aurelia, you are not going to do anything, after all.'
'That is true.' She felt relieved. Kière's reasoning made sense. If they just left things as they were, went on living as they did, changing nothing, nothing could happen. 'All right. We pretend we never heard anything.'
'We have detention,' Kière reminded her grimly. 'Remember to act normal.'
'Oh yes.' Aurelia had nearly forgotten about detention. Calming herself, trying to get rid of the chill that was trying to settle itself in her chest, she knocked on the door.
Chapter Seven
Kière flat-out refused to believe that there was nothing out of the ordinary about Aurelia. She could see that, even though he dropped the subject, at her request. When they went to get Aurelia's wand, she could feel the anger vibrating out of him, directed at Merlin.
'For heaven's sake,' she wanted to say. 'It is not his fault.' She felt guilty, that Kière had lost his admiration for his previous hero, all because of her. But there was nothing she could do about it.
They returned to classes, where the students, having heard the rumours about Merlin coming to test her, whispered and pointed at her behind her back. Now that the examination had taken place, it was only a few days before the news that nothing had come out of it to make its way around the school. As rumours usually do, this was twisted over and over again, until a rumour that she was only a mediocre witch, with not much magic, traveled about the castle.
Kière was fiercely protective of her - he would have cursed every one of the gossipers, if she had not held him back. As it was, the rumour was now that he did her magic for her.
Hoff Darby, envious of Kière's position as Samhain champion, and irked that he had lost out that night, channeled his energy into being horrid to Aurelia, obviously hoping that he would also anger Kière into the bargain. He was the most malicious of the students, and took pleasure in making snide remarks and nasty comments in undertones whenever the opportunity arose.
'Are you sure you can manage that potion, Bland?' he sneered during Professor Slytherin's class. He had taken the seat right next to her, for the express purpose of annoying her. She paid no attention, merely stirred her cauldron steadily. Beside her, Kière glowered. Aurelia glanced at him warningly. It would not do for Kière and Darby to come to blows - Professor Slytherin would only be too glad for the chance to give Kière another detention.
'Asking for help already? Needing your boyfriend to do your work for you?'
Aurelia could feel her cheeks redden slightly at the insinuation, but worked on doggedly, in silence. There were fifteen minutes till the end of lesson. She could last - hopefully Kière could hold his peace that long.
'How pathetic that they actually allow a Mudblood with practically no magic at all into the school,' Darby continued loftily.
'Watch your mouth!' snapped Kière. His knuckles, gripping the sides of his cauldron, were white.
'Ah, yes,' said Darby, overjoyed to have struck a nerve. 'You do not like that word, do you? And I agree, I doubt Bland could qualify as a Mudblood. Why, I would not be surprised if she was nothing more than a filthy Muggle - a dirty enemy of our kind. Whatever possessed the professors to let her into Hogwarts -'
He never finished the sentence. Kière had tackled him to the ground mid- sentence. Their cauldrons were sent flying, potion splattering everywhere. The other students ducked.
'Take - it - back,' growled Kière. He had his wand out, and was aiming it straight at Darby's chest.
'Kière, no!' cried Aurelia, just as Professor Slytherin barked, 'Banning!'
'Need someone to do the magic for you, do you, Muggle?' said Darby derisively. He extracted his own wand from his robes. 'Go ahead, Banning. If it is a duel you want, try me.'
Both opened their mouths, to curse each other, but Aurelia was faster. Desperately, she whipped out her wand and uttered 'Expelliarmus!'
Their wands flew out of their hands and she caught them deftly.
'Miss Bland! Banning! That is enough!' Professor Slytherin glared at them both. 'You will report to me for detention tonight!'
Darby smirked, then snatched his wand out of her hands. He made a big show of wiping it off on his robes.
'But Professor -' Kière protested.
'I do not want to hear your excuses. Both of you have detentions, for attacking a fellow classmate, Banning, and for improper use of magic during lessons, Miss Bland. And now I have had enough. Class is dismissed. The three of you will clear up this mess - Banning, Bland and Darby.' He shot the entire class a murderous glare, and swept out of the classroom.
'That devil!' spat Kière, kicking his overturned cauldron angrily.
'Insulting a teacher? I would be more careful about it if I were you, Banning.'
'Will the both of you hold your peace?' Aurelia said, exasperated.
'Oh, finally you speak,' remarked Darby. 'I was beginning to think that you had no voice.'
Aurelia turned on him. She had had enough.
'I warn you, Darby. One more word.' Her wand and Kière's was still in her hands. Darby looked as though he was about to make another snide remark, but thought twice about it.
Well, for all his insults, he still fears what magic I could wield. The thought was quite amusing, but Aurelia willed herself to keep her face straight. She tossed Kière's wand back to him, and they got down to clearing the mess.
~
The two of them made their way to Professor Slytherin's office in the evening, to serve their detentions. Aurelia was feeling quite apprehensive about it, having never been sentenced to detention before.
Kière tried to reassure her, but there was not much he could say. They both knew what was in store for them - a long night of corporal punishment. The fact that Professor Slytherin was in charge only made it worse - he believed that the harder the punishment, the more obedience it brought in the future.
'Well,' sighed Kière, as they stood outside the office. 'Here we go.' He took Aurelia's hand and gave it a brief squeeze, then let go and raised his hand to knock.
'Merlin!'
The sound of Professor Slytherin's surprised voice made them freeze.
'What are you doing here?' Professor Slytherin continued.
A muffled voice replied. Aurelia could just make it out - it sounded like Merlin was saying something the like of 'I needed to talk to you.' Curious, they edged closer to the door.
'What about?'
'The girl - Miss Bland.'
Aurelia exchanged bewildered looks with Kière, and pressed her ear to the door, listening hard.
'Ah.the analysis.you have reached a conclusion?'
'I thought.' whispered Kière. Aurelia put a finger to her lip, still listening.
'I have indeed. She is no ordinary witch. I have reason to believe that she has, as the four of you suspect, incredibly strong magic. Also powers that have not been seen since the days of druids - druidic magic.which would qualify her as a Seer.'
Professor Slytherin gave a slight whistle. 'Well! We suspected as much.the other three will be happy.'
'That is why I have come to you, Salazar. As you know, I have not informed the others of my true beliefs. And I do not intend to let them know about this discovery.'
'Why? It does not interest me, Miss Bland's exceptionality. She is Rowena's pet. Godric is interested in her magic. Helga adores her. Go to them.'
'That is precisely it, Salazar. I noted that you had an objective view of this whole situation. The other three are too close to the girl. They will tell her -'
'I see no point in keeping it from her either. Although I doubt it would be too good to reveal this information - she would likely become more big- headed than she already is.'
'Oh, I do not worry about that. It is - well, I am afraid of what she might do with such strong magic. You remember, of course, how I came to be known as a great wizard?'
'Of course. The defeat of Morgan Le Fay.are you suggesting that that has any connection with this?'
'Yes, I am. If you recall, Morgan Le Fay was a Muggle-born witch with quite strong powers. Nothing compared to Miss Bland's here, of course - in my whole lifetime I have not encountered magic as strong as Miss Bland's - but strong enough. A few notches above the rest, at any rate. And she misused that power. She was dabbling in the Dark. She used that magic against people - both Muggles and magical folk. Her background - as a Muggle-born witch - turned her into what she was, apparently. Muggles are strange people, they can be harmless, but they can also be violent and temperamental. Morgan Le Fay was one that was both - and when she found that she was a witch, and learnt to use her magic, the world suffered.'
'If I recall correctly, she used magic to interfere in the matters of her brother's court.'
'Yes. Arthur was quite helpless, him being a Muggle and all.'
'But you stopped her.'
'That I did. I was stronger. I could do it. With Miss Bland here.Salazar, I admit that I am at a loss to what extent her powers can stretch. If she heads down such a path.I doubt I can contain her. From what you have told me about the circumstances of her birth, I fear that she may very likely follow in Morgan Le Fay's footsteps unless someone keeps her in check early. That is where you come in. I will need you to watch over her.'
'Could you not ask the other three?' The scowl was very visibly in Professor Slytherin's voice.
'You are the best choice, Salazar. The others - I do not doubt their intentions are good and honourable as well, but they are, as I said, too close to Miss Bland. They are rather protective of her, and I get the impression that they believe she can do no wrong.'
'You are right about that,' snorted Professor Slytherin.
'I may have misinterpreted their views towards the girl,' continued Merlin, ignoring Professor Slytherin's comment. 'However, I feel that you are the most detached in terms of feelings for the girl, and therefore are the best candidate for keeping an eye on her, to make sure she knows not about the extraordinary powers she has. In short, preventing her from exerting her magical superiority.'
'I understand. All right, I will do it.'
'I knew I could count on you.' Merlin sounded relieved. 'Remember, she cannot know anything about this. If she suspects - or anything.enchant her into forgetting. Use that new spell of Rowena's - Memory Charm, I think it was called.'
'Certainly.'
'Thank you. I must take my leave then. Till next time we meet.'
'Goodbye.'
Aurelia backed up against the cold dungeon walls, finding it quite hard to absorb all this information. Her - a Seer after all. Strong magic. And she was not to know. Merlin was afraid that she would misuse it. Not that she felt insulted by that - she was scared too, that she might misuse it. How would she ever know how to keep it in check? Power - it was an overwhelming concept.
She looked at Kière. He looked as though he wanted to say 'I told you so', but was refraining from it.
'Are you all right?' he asked instead.
She nodded. 'Just surprised.and.it is quite hard to take in all at once.'
'Just wait - when the professors know -'
Reality struck him then. 'We are not supposed to know.oh my.Merlin! How could he think you would misuse your powers! As if you would ever do anything to hurt anyone!' As usual, he was rushing right to her defense. Aurelia now understood slightly why Merlin had chosen Professor Slytherin to watch over her. Although she did not exactly relish the idea.
Did not relish the idea. What an understatement! The fact that Professor Slytherin was to make sure she did no wrong terrified her. Was she to trust Professor Slytherin, who had never liked her, to decide on her future in magic?
She could feel the chill again, the cold catching in her throat. It could not be Professor Slytherin.not him!
It would be like the witch hunter judging her actions. The voice in her head again. She pushed it away, not wanting to think about the witch hunter and. those memories.
'It will be all right,' she said, trying to convince both herself and Kière. 'I shall tell Professor Slytherin I know, and he shall help.' The words sounded preposterous. She knew she could not do it.
'No!' argued Kière. 'You will be charmed to forget. So will I. We should just pretend we know nothing. Aurelia, you are not going to do anything, after all.'
'That is true.' She felt relieved. Kière's reasoning made sense. If they just left things as they were, went on living as they did, changing nothing, nothing could happen. 'All right. We pretend we never heard anything.'
'We have detention,' Kière reminded her grimly. 'Remember to act normal.'
'Oh yes.' Aurelia had nearly forgotten about detention. Calming herself, trying to get rid of the chill that was trying to settle itself in her chest, she knocked on the door.