Chapter 7 – The Child Prodigy
Hogwarts had never seemed so strange since Harry spoke with Hermione. It seemed that now only after the event, there were numerous witches and wizards prowling the corridors that Harry had never met. This only proved to him that things were indeed getting out of hand, for students had also begun to take notice. Curious stares would often follow the mysterious magical strangers down the halls as they walked in large conspicuous groups. The school had never been privy to so many people, and more than once as they days passed, Harry found himself unable to get to classes on time, what with dozens of people suddenly coming up to him and shaking his hands. Something of which he was rather hoping to be rid of at last now that it was his sixth year.
One afternoon after classes however, Harry ran into someone he did not anticipate. Clothed in disheveled green robes, and sporting a receding head of red hair, Arthur Weasley stood before Harry looking a little worse for ware, but nonetheless still happy to see him.
'Mr Weasley! Err… what are you doing here?' Harry asked in confusion.
'Looking for you of course!' he replied a little too eagerly. 'How's school been?
'Well… um, not bad I guess.' Harry lied. In truth he'd been feeling terrible lately, being as unsure as he was about the total unraveling of his world, not to mention his unsettling dreams, which now instead of giving him new information, were merely replaying in his head like some cruel automation, making him relive the those terrible scenes again and again.
'Just as well eh.' Arthur continued, scratching his head suspiciously. 'But… no, seriously, I've been meaning to speak with you if I could.' Harry's attention switched up a notch.
'What about?'
'Well… I actually meant in private if that's possible.'
'Ok,' he accepted warily, 'how about the pitch?'
'Sure, that'll do.'
Both made their way down to the Quidditch pitch, within a few minutes. At several times Arthur had to wheel Harry away from a few over enthusiastic witches and wizards who felt keen enough to meet him in person. But the relative calmness of the bright green grass that greeted them outside was greatly welcomed. The sun was starting to set in the distance, spreading a bright orange radiance across the fields, which gave, all in all, a fine feeling of peace, and Arthur made to speak.
'I thought it'd be better to talk to you away from the ears of the castle, you never know who's listening sometimes Harry, especially when it comes to quite sensitive information.' Harry listened intently, not sure exactly what Mr Weasley was referring to. 'I suppose you're wondering why there are so many witches and wizards at Hogwarts, myself included.' He began. Being honest with himself though, Harry knew full well why there were so many magic folk inhabiting Hogwarts and wasn't really that interested.
'No, actually.' He replied truthfully.
'No?!' Arthur stood shocked.
'I already know why.' He concluded, making sure he understood. Arthur seemed dumbstruck, as though he hadn't seen this coming.
'Dumbledore told you?' he asked curiously. Harry nodded. 'Hmm,' Arthur pondered disappointedly, 'in that case I've brought you out here for nothing. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything you had planned.'
'Oh no, not at all. All I've got is a nasty essay for Defense Against The Dark Arts to do tonight, nothing too demanding.' Arthur seemed relieved to hear this, but an intrigued spark suddenly flashed behind the elder man's eyes.
'So Dumbledore found a new Defense teacher did he?'
'Yeah, professor Marius.' Mr Weasley turned to Harry in an instant.
'Marius? You mean Morheim Marius?' he asked slightly concerned.
'Well, I don't know his first name… but he wears a real scary looking cloak.' Arthur began to nod vigorously.
'That's him alright! I know who you mean.' Harry seemed taken slightly aback, he stopped walking and looked at Arthur directly.
'You've heard of him?' he asked. Arthur looked back, a little nervous, not sure whether or not to answer the teenager.
'Know him?! Marius is legendary. At the time of You Know Who's first reign of terror, he was on our side. Or… rather, he was on the Ministry's side, working against Lord Thingy and all.' Harry's attention span began to widen considerably. The professor had never mentioned anything about himself in front of a class before, he couldn't help but feel slightly interested at this.
'Why was he legendary? What did he do?' Harry asked.
'Well… difficult to say to be honest. He was head Auror back then, completely different activities to the order, that's for sure. In those days, the Ministry had sanctioned the use of the unforgivable curses against suspected dark wizards. Marius was at the fore front of this, and I'm quite sure he'd suggested the policy to the ministry. By the end of the war, he'd captured dozens of suspected Death Eaters, and killed countless others.'
'You mean, no one knows how many he killed?' Harry felt very alarmed at this.
'Yes, that's right. Brought him fame beyond measure it did. But strange as it was, he never used the unforgivables… ever.' And Arthur took a brief moment to reflect, still unsure whether telling this to Harry was wise, since Marius had him as a student. But there was no turning back now, Harry wasn't going to let him stop there.
'I don't understand, how did he kill people without using the unforgivable curses?' Harry prompted impatiently, looking hard into Mr Weasley's tired eyes.
'Well, that's anybody's guess really. But from what I gather, he had two methods. The first was the use of muggle weapons. Guns, knives etc… The other though, was wandless magic.'
'What?!' Harry felt horrified. 'He can do that?!'
'Yes he can. And not just any old magic either, horrible stuff. I remember well, numerous suspects who'd resisted arrest were brought in by him with terrible burns to their faces and bodies. More often than not, they were far too incapacitated to say the whereabouts of You Know Who or any other Death Eaters for that matter. For many years I'd wondered how he done it, until I was unfortunate to see it one night while I was out patrolling. Feels like only yesterday, it's stuck in my mind so much.
I was working with several Aurors that night, we'd been hunting a group of Death Eater's that had unwittingly wandered into a forest surrounded by protective wards. We'd pretty much cornered them, since the wards prevented them from Apparating out. Sure enough though, Marius was the first to find one. His reputation had grown so much by this time that the poor soul knew he was finished the moment he saw him.
Of course he tried to get away, but Marius wouldn't have that. Oh no. As the man was fleeing, Marius stretched out his arm in the Death Eater's direction. I didn't know what I was seeing at first, but now I look back, I know I wasn't crazy. His arm was literally being licked by blue flames, from his shoulder to his hand. And after a brief pause, he launched a massive ball of energy at him. It almost seemed alive when it took him, it melted all his skin down to the bone. And all the while the guy was screaming to high heaven, and Marius… he was laughing.
It was horrible to see how he'd destroyed so many Death Eaters, but it was war Harry. And after everything, he was honored above all Aurors. Sickens me when I think of his methods, but then again, I suppose we were lucky to have him on our side. Better us than them we'd always say.'
Harry seemed stunned for a moment. He'd never have suspected that this cloaked man would be capable of such wicked things, despite his sinister appearance. But that then led to the question, why did Dumbledore hire him? Did he know about his past? He accepted that the headmaster probably did, being so wise and all. But it did put fear into him, knowing that it was quite possible to be burned alive if he was angry enough, and that in all probability, he'd take great pleasure in doing it.
'What on earth is this guy doing as our defense teacher then?!' he blurted out without thinking.
'Hmm. That's a fair question Harry. I guess now that You Know Who's back on the prowl, Dumbledore wants you being taught by the best. And that's no exaggeration either. He is the best. Personally though, I'd keep my distance from him if I can. Not mentioning his superior abilities, Morheim Marius is a very shady character indeed. Dumbledore knew him through school. Said he'd always been a nice, if not quiet person. Then he went missing during the forties and when he came back, he was different. Still good at heart, but his personality had changed drastically. I haven't a clue as to what happened to him during that time, or where he went for that matter, but if Dumbledore trusts him to teach you Defense, then that's good enough for me.' Arthur finished his sentence looking somewhat drained. He probably wasn't expecting to tell Harry so much information, and had likely said more than he intended. But Harry felt there was still something Mr Weasley hadn't told him. So he prompted him again.
'Mr Weasley? Why is Marius so powerful anyway?' Arthur looked at him again.
'For some time I asked myself the same thing. So I dug through some old history books to see if I could find out. Surprisingly, he's well documented throughout the twentieth century. Apparently, he's the descendant of an extremely powerful mage from Merlin's time. His powers alone made him a Child Prodigy at birth. Wizards like that are only produced once every few thousand years, so he's one of a kind. It's likely that compared to Dumbledore and You Know Who, he's probably the next most powerful wizard alive. And that's something to think about I guess. Anyway, I think I've said enough. You oughta get back to the castle, I'm sure Marius will be wanting that essay on time, don't you think?'
Harry hurriedly agreed, and began to walk his way back to the castle, still with this new information beating around in his head. All that he seemed to be able to think of as he trudged his along was what Mr Weasley had said before. Morheim Marius was child prodigy at birth, that meant power beyond the extreme… May God help him if he didn't hand in his essay on time. So he quickened his pace into the castle, only to met by none other than Ron, who by the look conveyed on his face, seemed to know more about what was going on than he'd been letting on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you find this interesting enough everyone. The story is really starting to heat up. I won't bother to tell u all to get ready for the next chapter. I'm sure if you want to see how all this plays out you'll look at it anyway. So loyal fans, stay tuned.
Hogwarts had never seemed so strange since Harry spoke with Hermione. It seemed that now only after the event, there were numerous witches and wizards prowling the corridors that Harry had never met. This only proved to him that things were indeed getting out of hand, for students had also begun to take notice. Curious stares would often follow the mysterious magical strangers down the halls as they walked in large conspicuous groups. The school had never been privy to so many people, and more than once as they days passed, Harry found himself unable to get to classes on time, what with dozens of people suddenly coming up to him and shaking his hands. Something of which he was rather hoping to be rid of at last now that it was his sixth year.
One afternoon after classes however, Harry ran into someone he did not anticipate. Clothed in disheveled green robes, and sporting a receding head of red hair, Arthur Weasley stood before Harry looking a little worse for ware, but nonetheless still happy to see him.
'Mr Weasley! Err… what are you doing here?' Harry asked in confusion.
'Looking for you of course!' he replied a little too eagerly. 'How's school been?
'Well… um, not bad I guess.' Harry lied. In truth he'd been feeling terrible lately, being as unsure as he was about the total unraveling of his world, not to mention his unsettling dreams, which now instead of giving him new information, were merely replaying in his head like some cruel automation, making him relive the those terrible scenes again and again.
'Just as well eh.' Arthur continued, scratching his head suspiciously. 'But… no, seriously, I've been meaning to speak with you if I could.' Harry's attention switched up a notch.
'What about?'
'Well… I actually meant in private if that's possible.'
'Ok,' he accepted warily, 'how about the pitch?'
'Sure, that'll do.'
Both made their way down to the Quidditch pitch, within a few minutes. At several times Arthur had to wheel Harry away from a few over enthusiastic witches and wizards who felt keen enough to meet him in person. But the relative calmness of the bright green grass that greeted them outside was greatly welcomed. The sun was starting to set in the distance, spreading a bright orange radiance across the fields, which gave, all in all, a fine feeling of peace, and Arthur made to speak.
'I thought it'd be better to talk to you away from the ears of the castle, you never know who's listening sometimes Harry, especially when it comes to quite sensitive information.' Harry listened intently, not sure exactly what Mr Weasley was referring to. 'I suppose you're wondering why there are so many witches and wizards at Hogwarts, myself included.' He began. Being honest with himself though, Harry knew full well why there were so many magic folk inhabiting Hogwarts and wasn't really that interested.
'No, actually.' He replied truthfully.
'No?!' Arthur stood shocked.
'I already know why.' He concluded, making sure he understood. Arthur seemed dumbstruck, as though he hadn't seen this coming.
'Dumbledore told you?' he asked curiously. Harry nodded. 'Hmm,' Arthur pondered disappointedly, 'in that case I've brought you out here for nothing. I hope I wasn't interrupting anything you had planned.'
'Oh no, not at all. All I've got is a nasty essay for Defense Against The Dark Arts to do tonight, nothing too demanding.' Arthur seemed relieved to hear this, but an intrigued spark suddenly flashed behind the elder man's eyes.
'So Dumbledore found a new Defense teacher did he?'
'Yeah, professor Marius.' Mr Weasley turned to Harry in an instant.
'Marius? You mean Morheim Marius?' he asked slightly concerned.
'Well, I don't know his first name… but he wears a real scary looking cloak.' Arthur began to nod vigorously.
'That's him alright! I know who you mean.' Harry seemed taken slightly aback, he stopped walking and looked at Arthur directly.
'You've heard of him?' he asked. Arthur looked back, a little nervous, not sure whether or not to answer the teenager.
'Know him?! Marius is legendary. At the time of You Know Who's first reign of terror, he was on our side. Or… rather, he was on the Ministry's side, working against Lord Thingy and all.' Harry's attention span began to widen considerably. The professor had never mentioned anything about himself in front of a class before, he couldn't help but feel slightly interested at this.
'Why was he legendary? What did he do?' Harry asked.
'Well… difficult to say to be honest. He was head Auror back then, completely different activities to the order, that's for sure. In those days, the Ministry had sanctioned the use of the unforgivable curses against suspected dark wizards. Marius was at the fore front of this, and I'm quite sure he'd suggested the policy to the ministry. By the end of the war, he'd captured dozens of suspected Death Eaters, and killed countless others.'
'You mean, no one knows how many he killed?' Harry felt very alarmed at this.
'Yes, that's right. Brought him fame beyond measure it did. But strange as it was, he never used the unforgivables… ever.' And Arthur took a brief moment to reflect, still unsure whether telling this to Harry was wise, since Marius had him as a student. But there was no turning back now, Harry wasn't going to let him stop there.
'I don't understand, how did he kill people without using the unforgivable curses?' Harry prompted impatiently, looking hard into Mr Weasley's tired eyes.
'Well, that's anybody's guess really. But from what I gather, he had two methods. The first was the use of muggle weapons. Guns, knives etc… The other though, was wandless magic.'
'What?!' Harry felt horrified. 'He can do that?!'
'Yes he can. And not just any old magic either, horrible stuff. I remember well, numerous suspects who'd resisted arrest were brought in by him with terrible burns to their faces and bodies. More often than not, they were far too incapacitated to say the whereabouts of You Know Who or any other Death Eaters for that matter. For many years I'd wondered how he done it, until I was unfortunate to see it one night while I was out patrolling. Feels like only yesterday, it's stuck in my mind so much.
I was working with several Aurors that night, we'd been hunting a group of Death Eater's that had unwittingly wandered into a forest surrounded by protective wards. We'd pretty much cornered them, since the wards prevented them from Apparating out. Sure enough though, Marius was the first to find one. His reputation had grown so much by this time that the poor soul knew he was finished the moment he saw him.
Of course he tried to get away, but Marius wouldn't have that. Oh no. As the man was fleeing, Marius stretched out his arm in the Death Eater's direction. I didn't know what I was seeing at first, but now I look back, I know I wasn't crazy. His arm was literally being licked by blue flames, from his shoulder to his hand. And after a brief pause, he launched a massive ball of energy at him. It almost seemed alive when it took him, it melted all his skin down to the bone. And all the while the guy was screaming to high heaven, and Marius… he was laughing.
It was horrible to see how he'd destroyed so many Death Eaters, but it was war Harry. And after everything, he was honored above all Aurors. Sickens me when I think of his methods, but then again, I suppose we were lucky to have him on our side. Better us than them we'd always say.'
Harry seemed stunned for a moment. He'd never have suspected that this cloaked man would be capable of such wicked things, despite his sinister appearance. But that then led to the question, why did Dumbledore hire him? Did he know about his past? He accepted that the headmaster probably did, being so wise and all. But it did put fear into him, knowing that it was quite possible to be burned alive if he was angry enough, and that in all probability, he'd take great pleasure in doing it.
'What on earth is this guy doing as our defense teacher then?!' he blurted out without thinking.
'Hmm. That's a fair question Harry. I guess now that You Know Who's back on the prowl, Dumbledore wants you being taught by the best. And that's no exaggeration either. He is the best. Personally though, I'd keep my distance from him if I can. Not mentioning his superior abilities, Morheim Marius is a very shady character indeed. Dumbledore knew him through school. Said he'd always been a nice, if not quiet person. Then he went missing during the forties and when he came back, he was different. Still good at heart, but his personality had changed drastically. I haven't a clue as to what happened to him during that time, or where he went for that matter, but if Dumbledore trusts him to teach you Defense, then that's good enough for me.' Arthur finished his sentence looking somewhat drained. He probably wasn't expecting to tell Harry so much information, and had likely said more than he intended. But Harry felt there was still something Mr Weasley hadn't told him. So he prompted him again.
'Mr Weasley? Why is Marius so powerful anyway?' Arthur looked at him again.
'For some time I asked myself the same thing. So I dug through some old history books to see if I could find out. Surprisingly, he's well documented throughout the twentieth century. Apparently, he's the descendant of an extremely powerful mage from Merlin's time. His powers alone made him a Child Prodigy at birth. Wizards like that are only produced once every few thousand years, so he's one of a kind. It's likely that compared to Dumbledore and You Know Who, he's probably the next most powerful wizard alive. And that's something to think about I guess. Anyway, I think I've said enough. You oughta get back to the castle, I'm sure Marius will be wanting that essay on time, don't you think?'
Harry hurriedly agreed, and began to walk his way back to the castle, still with this new information beating around in his head. All that he seemed to be able to think of as he trudged his along was what Mr Weasley had said before. Morheim Marius was child prodigy at birth, that meant power beyond the extreme… May God help him if he didn't hand in his essay on time. So he quickened his pace into the castle, only to met by none other than Ron, who by the look conveyed on his face, seemed to know more about what was going on than he'd been letting on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope you find this interesting enough everyone. The story is really starting to heat up. I won't bother to tell u all to get ready for the next chapter. I'm sure if you want to see how all this plays out you'll look at it anyway. So loyal fans, stay tuned.