"Certainly Professor," David agreed cutting off any protest Remus could have made. "I'll be with you in a moment; I must just ensure that Hermione knows how to complete her recovery."
"Of course. I'll be on my way to find Minerva. I'm sure Remus can direct you to my office? Will a quarter of an hour suffice?"
"That will be plenty, thank you Professor, I'll see you shortly." David turned back to Hermione who was now standing to the side with Ron. He swayed a bit and closed his eyes. "Just give me a moment," he said withdrawing a miniature bottle from his pocket and waving his wand to resize it. He uncorked it and downed the bright green contents. "Absolutely disgusting," he murmured grimacing as he shrunk the container and pocketed it. "Right," he said to Hermione. "Sorry about that, I was feeling a little drained. Okay, first thing's first, I suggest we ask all the spectators to give us some privacy, although if you are anything like I was when I was younger it would be a good idea to share this information with at least one of your friends who can ensure you do what you need to do to recover fully."
Ron wrapped his arm around Hermione and glared at the assembled group until they backed off. "Let's sit down shall we?" suggested David conjuring some chairs. "I'm a bit unsteady on my feet and I expect you are too.
"Now you need to thank your friend Neville because he stopped Ron moving you when you had damaged your neck and that could have killed or paralyzed you. He saved your life. And you Ron should go on a first aid course before you kill someone." Ron turned bright red. "I don't mean to be harsh, but you need to know. As to what I did to you; I fixed the bones in your neck, left leg and ribs. Your broken ribs had punctured your left lung so I healed that too. Your internal organs were all a bit damaged from the impact of the fall and I sorted them out. I used your magic to heal you so your magic levels are drained.
"Don't worry, it will come back but it will take a few days. It'll be quicker if you don't do any magic for the next three days or so. Then try something simple like 'lumos' and if it takes more concentration than normal give it a bit longer. Okay?"
"You said you were drained too, but you've taken a potion, couldn't I do that?"
"Unfortunately not. Yes I am drained, slightly, but more physically than magically and the potion I took has to be calibrated to the individual person. It took months for me to develop mine and that was with expert help."
"So I need to refrain from using any magic for a bit. Anything else?"
"Yes. You're physically drained too, so you need to take it easy for a few days and get a lot of rest. Do you live with your parents?"
"Yes."
"Would it be possible for you to stay with a magical family until you're recovered?"
"You can stay with us 'Mione," said Ron immediately. "With Pansy trying to kill you we can't leave you defenceless."
"My thoughts precisely," agreed David. "But the girl may not have been acting alone. Take care. Now let's head back to the house. I need to find Remus and make sure he comes with me to Hogwarts. Oh and one last thing, once your magic comes back get on a broom. If you don't do it soon you could develop a phobia." The three of them stood up and headed back to the Burrow, Ron with his arm protectively around Hermione.
Once back at the house Remus ushered David to the fire place and they flooed to the headmaster's office at Hogwarts. Dumbledore greeted them and introduced David to his deputy headmistress Minerva McGonagall. They sat down and Dumbledore offered around tea which David declined.
"The events in the orchard required me to take a revitalicorpus potion," he explained. "So I am unable to ingest anything for another fifty-two minutes."
"I hadn't realised Miss Granger was that badly injured," said Dumbledore.
"She would have died if it hadn't been for Neville er, Longbottom? And by the time someone had come from St Mungo's it would have been too late. That hex was meant to kill."
"What's this Albus? What happened to Miss Granger? Is she alright?" asked McGonagall worriedly.
Dumbledore indicated that David answer. "Hermione will be completely recovered in a few days if she rests and I believe Ron will ensure she does so." He went on to explain the events of the afternoon. "But we have no proof of the girl's involvement. Ron believes it was done to stop Hermione becoming head-girl. For all anyone knows I could be part of a betting ring wanting to take Pansy Parkinson out of the running by casting the hex myself and manipulating the echo. However Hermione is the reason I'm here. To walk away now would be as good as to murder her and whoever else the perpetrator dislikes."
"Oh the poor girl," said McGonagall. "Any other year she would have noticed the hex I'm sure, but this year, ever since Potter died she's been struggling, there are questions over her being head-girl because of it."
"We might have an opportunity to solve that problem," mused David. "When I healed her she said she'd seen Harry and he'd told her to come back and live. We could nudge her into interpreting this as him forgiving her the guilt she feels over him and telling her she has a right to be happy, that sort of thing."
"That's definitely worth a try," said McGonagall. "Albus I think it would be best coming from you?"
"I'll have a word with her this evening. Now I believe we should turn to other matters? David, are there any restrictions on the days you could work or any medical conditions we should know about?"
"I am flexible about when I work I just need a couple of days a week to do my own research. This sometimes involves travelling to other countries but I always visit my contacts they never come to me. I have no medical conditions I am aware of. When I do something big like this afternoon I find myself a bit drained but since I have the revitalicorpus formula recovery is not a problem. I always ensure I have some made up in case of emergency. I have suffered from magical repression in the past, but I am pretty much cured."
"That is good to hear. Remus has worked here before and attended this school so I know his background, but I know next to nothing about you David, except Fawkes recommends you. I can't employ you blind so to speak, could you tell us about yourself?"
"There is not much I can tell you, but I can give you a general outline. For my own safety I can give you few identifying facts, but I won't lie. If you ask a question I cannot answer I will say so.
"As I believe the headmaster has guessed I have Spanish routes." Dumbledore nodded. "My parents were British, but were worried because Voldemort was attempting to recruit my Dad; so they hid their marriage by having it in Spain and later decided to have me adopted at birth. I grew up in a muggle family unaware of my heritage or even the existence of magic. Unfortunately those muggles were aware that I was a wizard and thought it was in their (and possibly my) best interest to squash the magic out of me so that I wouldn't be part of the Wizarding World. They did a good job of it and I ended up with magical repression.
"At eleven my adoptive family could no longer keep me from magic as I was invited to go to a wizarding school. I was a very mediocre student due to the repression. After a few years the muggles had enough and that holiday they abandoned me in the middle of nowhere and I was locked up in a mad house.
"I'm not sure how long I was incarcerated, but I have found that at times of great need I have been able to break through the repression and do powerful magic. So that was how I ended a long way away with a man called Godric. He recognized that I was a wizard and he talked to me and came to the conclusions that I was suffering from magical repression. He helped me combat the repression and became my mentor. I also discovered my birth family.
"So Godric mentored me and taught me and some of his friends helped particularly one I believe you knew headmaster, Nicolas Flamel? It was he who taught me to develop the revitalicorpus for my own magical signature. But now Godric and Nick are dead and I haven't interacted with the Wizarding World much for a while. After the way the wizarding authorities treated me and the way the muggles treated me I don't really trust anyone anymore. Then Fawkes found me in April and persuaded me first to publish some of my researches and travel a bit and secondly to get to know Remus and finally to speak to you headmaster."
"You've led an unusual life," said Dumbledore, "and I doubt I am the only one with questions; however I think the most vital one is whether you can give us anything to corroborate it?"
"I do not wish to give you any facts since to be blunt I have no reason to trust you with them. I can give you a message from Nick. Here." David stretched out his hand palm up and waved his wand at it; a mist started to rise from the hand. The mist solidified into a translucent figure, about ten inches tall, of a white haired man sitting cross legged apparently in mid air.
"Albus, my boy," the figure said. "If you're seeing this then David has finally taken our advice and gone to meet you. This is meant as an introduction of him to you. So first off I'd best confirm it's me. I'm thinking of the night we discovered the third use for dragon's blood and the incident involving a pink bikini, tartan socks and a welsh rarebit? I doubt you'll have revealed that to anyone.
"So identity established and I'll proceed. I think it would be of mutual benefit for you to take David under your wing for a while. He is a good student and definitely has potential in potions and alchemy although his strengths are more towards transfiguration and defence. I think you should persuade young Severus to spend some time with him to get him to practice.
"David needs to learn to trust the Wizarding World again after how he has been treated. They were all quite happy to leave him locked up. And that is where you come in. Also, Godric has passed on to David knowledge of magical repression and how to cure it and I believe that many Hogwarts students could benefit from that knowledge.
"In short take him under your wing and send me an owl to tell me how it's going. You know what, give him that job you complain is jinxed, we can have a wager as to whether he shows himself truly qualified and gets rid of the jinx."
The image dissolved. The eyes of everyone except Remus were very bright. "He was a good friend," said McGonagall.
"He was," Dumbledore agreed.
"Even if he did insist on wearing one green and one red sock," said David trying to lighten the mood.
"A tradition I continue in his memory," said Dumbledore raising his robe to show off his ankles. "Now I think the question of the hour is; what is magical repression? I have only a vague idea."
"Magical repression, as the name suggests is when a witch or wizard subconsciously suppresses his or her magic. It cannot be fully accessed under normal conditions although at times of stress the barriers may be broken. It was relatively common in previous centuries when we were being persecuted. The repression tends to occur either as the result of a traumatic event or as a learned behaviour such as in response to being severely penalized each time one displayed magical qualities. I've been blaming my school for not picking up on the problem, but if you don't know much about it, perhaps I shouldn't have."
The conversation drifted for a while around the importance of different topics on the DADA syllabus and the suggestions Remus and David had for teaching them. Finally Dumbledore said, "That all sounds fine, but there's one last question I must ask. Several members of staff and a few students are not completely human so your views on so called 'half breeds' are relevant."
"I imagine our views are similar since you have such individuals at the school. I believe everyone is an individual and needs to be evaluated on his or her own merits. So long as I don't have to work with anyone who is part dementor I doubt there will be a problem."
Dumbledore glanced at McGonagall who nodded slightly. "Well that's all then. We would be delighted to have the two of you on the staff."
"I think that there is something David should be aware of before agreeing to work with me, since most of the school will know," stated Remus turning to him. "David, I am a werewolf."
"Not a problem," David assured him. "I knew that when I met you in the library. Even if I hadn't, as I have said; I try to judge people on their character not their physical attributes."
"Thank you."
"When can you move into the castle?"
"I need to give a week's notice at the library," said Remus. "But any time after that is fine."
"I'm afraid I can't make it until the 31st," apologized David. "If I'm going to be working here I have a lot of loose ends to tie up."
"That'll have to do," said McGonagall. "But I do need you two to decide on text books by the end of the week."
David and Remus looked at each other. "I can do any time tomorrow and Tuesday," said Remus. "It's probably best if you come down to London since we will need the British Library." David nodded.
"There's one more thing," said McGonagall. "When David described magical repression I immediately thought of Neville Longbottom. He was did things a year ago when he was kidnapped and taken to the Department of Mysteries that we have never seen him capable of in class. Since he's about to enter his final year if he has got it he needs to be cured as soon as possible. Could you take a look at him before term begins?"
"Neville? I met him earlier at the Burrow. I'll have a word with him when I get back. Perhaps after I move into the castle we can discuss symptoms and identify other possible sufferers."
"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Now we'd better be heading back to the Burrow. I believe Molly mentioned mint humbugs to which I am particularly partial. Traditionally new staff are announced at the start of year feast so I must ask you not to publicize our decision."