Matriarch
The offer of research did soften the blow but David could tell that Severus was quite upset even though he hid it well since his colleagues could not know what had occurred. Severus had decreed that David's punishment for trying to break the soul-bond would be a series of detentions cleaning out cauldrons pointing out that he should still be a student anyway which would leave his potions teacher able to give him detentions. David agreed to do the work before he explained the bond situation so as to assure his father that he still wanted him as a parent and would respect his opinion whether he was technically his guardian or not. He only put his foot down when Severus demanded that he hand over his ring which he used to focus his magic while he worked since the point of the exercise was for the cauldrons to be cleaned by hand. David refused on the grounds that if an emergency cropped up he would not have the time to waste to locate his ring and Severus grudgingly agreed to take his word that he would not use magic while in 'detention.'
The potions master had a well deserved reputation for giving the most detentions in the school so it was to be expected that David had company. Severus got round the problem by allowing the rumour that he'd won a duel against the DADA teacher and his forfeit had been to scrub cauldrons. David was furious about the knock to his reputation but realised that he could hardly tell them the real reason. Not to mention that whinging about it would make him appear more like the seventeen year old he was physically than the thirty-something he considered himself mentally.
David and Remus spent what time they could together since they had an engagement and wedding to plan not to mention the necessary dance lessons. Remus negotiated with Albus for permission to be away from the school at the weekends which David already had the option to do as part of his contract. They rearranged their classes so that David, who was wider read, taught the theory and marked essays while Remus concentrated on the practical which meant David did not have to practice the wizard way of doing the spell. Zia magic was done on a more intuitive level so he was having to learn the spells as he went along. Even with their adjustments it was obvious after a week that they would need assistance in planning their wedding.
The first hurdle was past with relative ease. David had been worried about how they would both be able to get the same time off to visit the queen so that she could approve the match. As it was Her Majesty had remembered that David was working at Hogwarts incognito and realised that since Remus was introduced as a Hogwarts professor that the timing of their audience would need to be inconspicuous. They visited on a Saturday morning. The queen had ensured that her grandson, and probable future king, HRH Prince William of Wales, was present and turned the meeting into an introduction to the Wizarding World for him. This enabled Remus to fall into his teaching persona and put him at his ease. Once he saw that both royals appeared to approve of Remus, David carefully broached the subject of discrimination and people with disabilities from which he led on to the subject of werewolves. The couple left the palace with formal permission for their union and support for their efforts they to end unfair discrimination in the Wizarding World.
They returned to Lions' Den and discussed plans for Dolores Umbridge's downfall until Sirius appeared. He joined them for lunch and told them about a few discoveries he had made since locating the Crimson Quirinus Cella, the room which the head of the family had used for generations when governing his territory and planning alliances. It contained all the tools he would require to keep track of events within Britain and even the Wizarding World as a whole. Sirius had been very excited to locate the room since his own family's had been destroyed by Kreacher, presumably on his mother's orders to prevent Sirius being able to make use of it. The only item that had been salvaged was the family tapestry which he imagined she wanted him to have as a constant reminder that his family had disowned him. Kreacher had managed to disable it, presumably on the orders of Mrs Black's portrait, to the extent that it refused to obey Sirius or update its contents for him. David's family tapestry was in full working order and had immediately responded to Sirius as member of the fellowship. He had tested it out by looking up a few families he knew and had come across a name which had given him pause for thought.
Molly Weasley was chatting awkwardly with her daughter-in-law Fleur late that afternoon while their husbands were inspecting some new muggle obsession of Arthur's when a firecall came through and Molly gratefully excused herself to answer it. Ever since their eldest son, Bill, had left school Molly and Arthur had run the weekends on an 'open house' basis for their children to drop by but Molly disliked Bill's new wife intensely. Unfortunately for her Fleur liked Molly and was keen to spend time with her.
The call was from Remus Lupin who apologised for it being short notice, and asked whether Arthur and she would be able to drop in on him sometime over the weekend because he had something important to discuss with them. Molly noted Remus's slightly agitated state and saw the prospect of exaggerating it into panic and hence escaping Fleur. She replied that she needed to check with Arthur but that they could probably come as soon as he liked. Remus thanked her and told her to come to Grimmauld Place.
Sirius met the Weasleys and directed them straight back into the fireplace and sent them to Lions' Den. Molly only had a few moments to panic that she was not dressed for visiting such a place before she was stepping out of the fireplace and was being handed a clothes brush to get rid of the unavoidable soot by a short teenager with curly red hair and blue eyes. She noticed that he was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt and felt much better.
"Welcome to Lions' Den Mr and Mrs Weasley," said the boy. "I'm David Antirrhinum. I apologise for the roundabout way of getting you here but we did not wish your involvement to be made public at this stage. I hope this is the first of many visits. Shall we go and join Remus?" he asked as he started herding the Weasleys through the house. Before they had time to work out what was going on the pair were settled in comfortable armchairs with drinks in their hands. They were reminded of the purpose of their visit when Remus walked in looking nervous and sat down.
Remus explained to his friends about his engagement. Once she had got her head around the idea that Remus had a soul bond with the head of the Crimson House, who turned out to be the extremely young looking person who'd greeted her, and the match had been approved by his relatives as well as having royal permission, Molly decided that she was overjoyed. She congratulated the pair wholeheartedly. She embraced Remus warmly but fortunately for David she was still enough in awe of his identity that she did not hug him and settled for insisting that he call her Molly.
When his wife had returned to her seat Arthur said quietly, "I imagine you will be announcing your engagement on Thursday as is traditional and we are flattered that you wanted to tell us earlier, particularly since you don't plan on indicating David's position to the public, but there is more to it isn't there?"
"Sirius became my steward after his name was cleared," David told them. "He has been helping us work out which traditions need to be followed during our engagement and which ones we can ignore. He has been exploring the house as well and this morning he came across something that led us to contact you. We are hoping that you will be able to help us out." He turned to Arthur, "Perhaps you would accompany me to my office while Remus picks Molly's brains for tips on organising our wedding? I understand your son's was extremely enjoyable."
David led Arthur back towards the floo connection and through a door nearby that opened into a large room containing an ornate desk and chair as well as a cluster of more comfortable seats. "My reason for talking to you without your wife will become clear," he assured Arthur. "Please pardon my rudeness in doing so, I hope you will share what I tell you with her, but I am duty bound not to do so myself."
David did not ask him to sit, but instead opened hidden door in the panelled wall behind the desk and held it open for Arthur to pass though. The room they found themselves in had more functional furniture, but it was the tapestries on the walls that caught Arthur's attention. One showed an organisation chart of all the employees of the Ministry including a subsection for St Mungo's which was also under ministerial control. It was the largest tapestry which David directed his guest towards. This showed the genealogy of the Crimson House.
Arthur was stunned. It was unheard of for an outsider to be invited into the Quirinus Cella of a pureblood family. Other than the ruin in Sirius's house, Arthur had never been near one before. His own family had eschewed such pureblood paraphernalia several generations previously. He was being shown a huge level of trust by someone whom he had believed he had never met. Granted David was bound to be a relative on some level since all pureblood families were interbred, but it was still a great honour. Arthur wondered briefly whether David was aware of the taboo he was breaking, but Sirius would have known and would have told him. Arthur allowed himself to hope instead that his speculation over David's identity might be correct after all.
David showed no unease over the situation and simply directed Arthur's attention towards Arthur's entry on the chart. Along with this seven biological children, Harry Potter was listed as a Weasley ward. Arthur noticed that Harry's entry recorded him as deceased. Glancing around Arthur couldn't find David's own entry, but had to make do with the last Crimson Lord, David Dragon who was obviously far too old and too dead to be the young man beside him. Arthur made a rough calculation that he was a seventh cousin give or take a few removals.
"As you can see all my predecessor's children died young and unmarried," said David pointing out David Dragon's three children. "However the records are not complete. I know my father married and that he died later than is indicated here. I believe you've seen the Black tapestry and have even been blasted off it. I am curious as to what your own opinion is about disowning family members. Would you disown one of your children if they held opposing political views or were convicted of a crime or the like?"
"My family has had its disagreements just like any other," said Arthur, "but I have never had cause to disown any of my children. Even were one of them to become a Death Eater I would hunt him down but not disown him, fortunately I do not believe any of my children would do such a thing. It would take a lot to convince me that one had, even a conviction from the Wizengamot would not be enough, particularly if the trial were questionable."
David regarded Arthur appraisingly, revising his former opinion of him as merely a kind hearted midlevel civil servant with a fixation on muggles. Arthur was shrewder than he let on. "I understand that you supported Sirius before his name was cleared," he said cautiously. "Do I take it then that you have similar doubts over the guilt of another convict?"
"I have a particular case in mind," said Arthur smiling. "I have had proof for a while that the person involved is not dead, as has been claimed, and I have been trying for months to locate him to help him. Is there some way I can demonstrate my good faith?"
"I have some skills in legimency, if you'll permit me? I will only check your intentions, nothing more." Arthur inclined his head in agreement and David gently probed his thoughts for evidence of his intentions.
"You may have noticed that I am not on this chart," said David. "That is my father's entry." He pointed out David Dragon's son Roger. "He was not disowned; the separation was a mutual decision. Because of that the chart records that he died in 1979 when in reality he lived almost another year. The date shown is the date of separation. There are at least three other charts in Britain. They will all show the same thing if Roger is on the chart. My own name does not show up because of the separation. Were I to marry someone else on the chart I would simply show up as that person's spouse and no connection to my own family. As Roger Dragon's descendant I can remove the block, but I would then show up on all such tapestries, as would his spouse, and my reasons for not wanting that will become clear in a moment."
David placed his hand on the tapestry, calling up his own name and all his immediate family relationships, parents, adoptive parents, former legal guardians and godparents. For someone who had never considered anyone as family growing up, David had a lot of supposed guardians. "This information is only revealed by touch, it will not appear on the other charts. I trust what I'm showing you will not be discussed outside this house," he warned Arthur as the writing solidified and watched carefully for his reaction. "Perhaps you will explain to me how you and Molly became my legal guardians, particularly without Sirius's knowledge?"
"Good Lord, you are Harry, we'd hoped you were," said Arthur. He looked a bit closer and took in the other names clustered around David's entry. "Severus Snape is your father? That I hadn't expected."
"He is, and it was his idea that Sirius be my godfather," said David, amused by the look of shock on Arthur's face. "Sirius was astonished too; they are now friends. Could you explain how and why you adopted me? And perhaps why my being alive didn't surprise you?"
"We wanted to adopt you during your third year to protect you from Sirius since we believed him guilty at the time, but Dumbledore persuaded us out of it," explained Arthur. "After your trial we wanted to be able to visit you in St Mungo's, but were refused permission, so we tried again for guardianship since if you were family we would have the right to visit. The application was blocked. Hermione had the bright idea that we should adopt you in the muggle world instead and we tracked down Marjorie Dursley who was technically your guardian although she had made no efforts to locate you after the deaths of the other Dursleys. She was willing to sign over the guardianship rights and we presented the Ministry with a fait acompli."
"I doubt they liked that!"
"No, they didn't. We were obliviated and the papers destroyed, but the person who did so did not reckon on our grandfather clock which had gained a hand for you upon the completion of the documents. Molly and I realised what had happened and hid the clock so that nobody would know. We've used it to keep track of you. From the clock we worked out that you were in Azkaban not St Mungo's which set us wondering what else at your trial had been different to what it appeared. You were supposed to have died, but even being beneficiaries in your will could not convince us that the clock was wrong and you were actually dead. Given what had happened we believed you were in danger from the Order, the Ministry and the Death Eaters as well. So we kept our knowledge to ourselves and hoped you would come to us for help. When we heard about Lord Crimson we thought it might be you and tried to contact you, but all our letters came back undelivered. We thought you might be involved in getting Sirius his trial and it supported our ideas as to your identity so we've been trying to get information out of Sirius, but he's been very evasive."
"Sirius was worried by your interest," David told him. "Then when he found the chart and saw the adoption he decided you suspected what was going on and that I needed to confront you to find out your intentions before you revealed your suspicions to the wrong person. I have wanted to be part of your family for years. I am honoured that you adopted me, particularly since you did so at a time when being connected to me publicly had considerable cost. However I could have discussed all this with Molly as well, I have a second reason for inviting you in here; I believe Molly may be my cousin."
"Molly has never mentioned being related to a zia," said Arthur doubtfully. "The Prewetts had a reputation for being very blood proud, my father-in-law was the exception, so had they been closely related to a zia everyone would have known it."
"As you saw my aunt's record has her dying young, just like my father," began David as he removed his hand from the chart and it returned to its former display. He pointed towards the entry for his aunt who was named Ginevra Dragon. "I understand that your daughter is called Ginevra, and that she was given that name by her grandmother, Molly's mother? Ginevra is an unusual name. Do you know much about your mother-in-law's family? Have any of your children demonstrated metamorphmagus or healing abilities?"
Arthur shook his head, but seemed less certain than he had been that this was leading nowhere. "Molly doesn't speak of them very often, but I believe she had two uncles whom she never met. Her mother's name was Sylvia not Ginevra, but she was a metamorphmagus, although neither Molly nor any of our children have inherited the talent. We had hoped our son Charlie would make healing his profession since he showed an aptitude, but he turned to dragons instead. I understand that Sylvia asked Molly not to seek out her relatives. She was dying when Molly was pregnant with Percy, and when we visited she asked Molly to name the baby Ginevra, so then when we had Ginny we used the name."
David looked at him earnestly, "It would raise a lot of questions were I to reveal that you had adopted me, but by rights the role of matriarch at my wedding belongs to Molly – and she would be my first choice anyway. I am hoping that I am right about her being my cousin, since that relationship could be revealed without as of a problem. The person who could otherwise claim the matriarch role would be extremely undesirable."
Arthur indicated he was willing to listen and David gestured a cluster of names on the chart which were highlighted as he did so. "This is shows my closest female blood relation," he said pointing to the name of Bellatrix Lestrange. "Since she is on the run she would probably not take the role, but instead nominate someone else. Sirius believes his cousin would nominate her sister Narcissa. Which means I could end up with Draco Malfoy running my stag night; I hate to think what he would do."
David waved his hand and the writing on the chart rearranged itself again. "So there you have my motivation; my hope lies in my aunt Ginevra. Sirius and I both think she is likely to be Sylvia Prewett. I can't approach Molly about this because of the separation, however Sylvia's descendants can ask for block to be removed, which would settle the matter. I understand that you have no sisters-in-law, which would mean Molly is my closest female relation and can be our matriarch."
"I must discuss it with Molly, but I expect she will agree to remove the block. I concur that it would be unwise to reveal that we adopted you since if anyone checked it would be obvious what your previous identity was, and I appreciate the opportunity for some revenge on the Malfoys. Narcissa will not like being upstaged by Molly. I also think Molly would hate to see anyone else presiding over your wedding."
David led Arthur back through the house to where they had left their partners. He drew Remus out of the room to give Arthur a chance to talk to his wife in private so as not to force her into acknowledging him as family. As it was her reaction was soon known by the high pitched shriek that she emitted before she ran out the door and hugged David as though he would disappear if she let him go. David allowed her free reign for a minute or so before he cleared his throat, "I believe it is customary to have a celebration when a long lost family member returns," he said. "While I have no fatted calf to offer I expect Simba is way ahead of me and is creating a wonderful meal. Will you stay for supper? There is much to discuss. It is vital that Albus not know that I am alive."
"At the risk of sounding parental, I'm extremely proud of you," Remus told David later that evening after the Weasleys had left. "You allowed Molly to manhandle you without protest which would have really upset her and you ensured that they did not feel guilty about not doing more to help during and after your trial."
David, who was curled up in kitten form on Remus's lap, used telepathy to reply. "The only people who have ever been parental around me are Molly and Arthur. Sirius and Severus have tried at times but they don't really know how to go about it and the Dursleys couldn't be called parental by anyone's standards. Even their behaviour towards Dudley was appalling in its own way."
"I am worried that they were able to work the truth," confided Remus. "Tonks is an auror and lives with Sirius who was careless over some of his actions like decorating that room for you, but if Molly and Arthur can work it out you're in a lot of danger. It is possible that other people had devices which track whether you are alive or not. I suspect Albus would have one, although he might have recycled it when you were convicted. We are lucky that the Weasleys supported you despite the evidence to the contrary. We cannot count of that kind of loyalty from anyone else."
"I think everyone underestimates Arthur because of his muggle fixation," mused David. "But in general I agree. Molly and Arthur did not rumble my work persona so since I keep Crimson hidden from the public anyway I should be alright. The main hurdle will be the Yule Ball, since Fudge might recognise me and Albus probably knows already."
"True, but not attending would only confirm people's suspicions. Are you willing to continue with your lessons? I will give you an EE for your actions with Molly, but there is still room for improvement."
"If we must," sent David as he stretched and jumped off Remus's lap to transform.
"Now," said Remus once he was sitting sideways leaning against the arm the sofa with his arms around David, in human form, who was reclining against him. "There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about. Since we acknowledged the bond my connection to you has grown stronger and I've been able to sense what you are feeling more often. You've been getting more and more apprehensive and I'd now use the word 'terrified' as time has gone on. At first I thought you were nervous about getting royal assent, but the emotions became stronger after we left the palace. So what's wrong?"
David took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I am terrified," he conceded softly. "When I was young I never had anyone that I trusted. I learnt early on that anything I said got back to the Dursleys and got used to not trusting anyone. Then I started at Hogwarts and although I didn't see Albus often, there was something about him that caused me to break my habit and trust him. He sent me James's invisibility cloak and we had a brief conversation when I was looking at the Mirror of Erised. Then at the end of the year I was rendered unconscious when faced Voldemort to protect the philosopher's stone. When I woke up in the hospital wing Albus was sitting there waiting for me. Nobody had ever taken more than a clinical interest in me when I was ill."
David paused and after a couple of minutes Remus prompted him, "So you trusted Albus first and he betrayed that trust?"
"Yes," agreed David quietly. "It took a long time, I didn't trust him enough to tell him about the basilisk I was hearing when he asked me in my second year, but then when he was the only one who believed Hermione and me about Sirius and helped us save him. But not only that, he wanted to save Buckbeak too, that was the point at which he fully gained my trust. I trusted him even more than I trusted Ron and Hermione. So then when what happened, happened, I couldn't believe it. I refused to believe it. And after being drugged on his orders and then months of Azkaban with him visiting me and referring to what had happened and taunting me about it, I finally admitted that he had betrayed me. I know you and my father have your doubts and think it was an impostor. I'd love to believe that, but I think in the end it wouldn't make much difference because I've still lived with that betrayal, even if it wasn't real, for so long that I'm terrified of trusting anyone else. I don't want to be in the position where someone else, even if impersonated, could do that to me again."
"So you're feeling that you are being forced to give me that trust and so put yourself back in that position?" asked Remus.
"Yes," said David. "No, well, not forced, I mean I want to, but I don't want to. I'm just scared." He struggled to explain. "I really want to trust you that much. I think I need to trust someone that much, even Moody trusted some people, but at the same time the power that gives you over me scares me."
"The guardian aspect of the bond can't be helping," said Remus thoughtfully. "If I gave you my word not to use those powers would you feel better?"
"Yes," said David fervently. "It's not that I don't want to listen to your advice, but knowing you can insist it is followed is difficult. The bond can't be changed, I've checked, but having your word would help a bit."
"You have it," Remus said seriously. "I promise not to use the guardianship powers to force you to do anything you don't want to do. Is there anything else I can do to help?"
"I don't think so," said David. "Part of the nature of the bond is to make us want to protect each other so intellectually at least I know if I'm going to trust anyone you're the best candidate, it's just going to take me a while to become comfortable with it."
"If you think of anything be sure to tell me," insisted Remus. "And I can assure you I have no intention of betraying your trust."
"I will," David assured him. "And thank you. I think it happened again I would not survive."
Remus was not at Hogwarts for the announcement of his engagement since Friday was the full moon. This meant that by the time he returned on Monday the whole school was waiting to question him. After an exhausting day in which he had taken more house points than he would normally in a month Remus lay on his sofa, his book forgotten beside him and grumbled at David for not showing him any sympathy during the day. David wisely decided it would be best to show his support with actions rather than words and so levitated Remus slightly and slid onto the sofa before lowering him back down so that his head rested on David's lap. He had seen his godparents sit like that at times and hoped that Remus would be comforted by the contact.
David's actions had the desired affect. Remus was so surprised and pleased that his coaching sessions had paid off to the extent that David would initiate contact that the stresses of the day were instantly forgotten and happy speculation on Gryffindor's chances in the quidditch cup replaced them. Still tired after the full moon Remus ended up falling asleep. David sat for a long time looking into the fire and thinking about the resent whirlwind of events in his life. He had become caught up in his own situation and lost track of Hermione as Voldemort and Remus claimed his attention. Things would have been easier if he had been able to reveal himself to her and Ron, but Molly and Arthur had cautioned him not to do so whilst they were still under the headmaster's nose. There was a general suspicion that the old man used mild legimency on people to come by the knowledge that made him seem omniscient. Severus was an accomplished occlumense and as an Order member Remus had enough training to protect him from mild wandless attacks. The students did not have those advantages. Instead Molly was planning on 'introducing' David to her family and encouraging them to befriend him. Finally David decided it was too late to continue his musings and he woke the other wizard before leaving for his own bed.
In the early hours of the morning David woke with a start. The light in his room was blinding. He put his hand over his eyes to block the glare and reached out to the castle to ask what was going on. Lady Hogwarts was frantic. The wards around the astronomy tower which prevented people jumping to their deaths had been removed. The castle had used her control over the lighting to wake David and alert him to the problem. David wasted no time even getting out of bed but apparated straight to the top of the tower. He landed on the floor with a bump and made a mental note not to apparate from a sitting position in future without taking into account the change in height between what he was sitting on and the place he would land.
His suspicions as to the reason for the wards being removed were confirmed by the presence of Hermione Granger on the tower. She had climbed up onto the parapet and appeared to be ready to jump, but the thud of his arrival had caused her to turn her head. She obviously decided that he was no threat since he held no wand and his pyjamas consisted of a t-shirt and boxer shorts so there was nowhere he could be hiding one. She said nothing but just returned to looking over the edge. David summoned her and as she flew through the air towards him he stunned her. The immediate problem dealt with David put up some wards to replace the ones that had been dismantled. He was no expert so they were unlikely to last forever, but they would do until morning when the headmaster could replace them. Finally he communicated with the castle to thank her for the warning and assure her the problem would be dealt with.
Realising that if he were found to have done all that without a wand he could kiss his secret identity goodbye David apparated both of them to his quarters and hurriedly put on his dressing gown and shoved his fake wand into the pocket before apparating them both up to a classroom near the hospital wing which was bound to be deserted and then levitating Hermione into the wing from there.
There was a first year with purple and blue spots in one of the beds so David was careful not to make much noise as he laid Hermione down, tied her to the bed in a belts and braces approach in case the stunner wore off and then left to wake Poppy. The nurse had David remove the ropes so that Hermione could be moved into a private room for reviving and interrogation, she also woke the headmaster.
When confronted with how she had been found Hermione broke down and admitted that she had been intending to kill herself. David insisted on checking her himself for spells or potions that could be modifying her behaviour but he was unable to find anything. Seeing David refused to accept that she was acting of her own volition Albus drew him out of the room and took him to his study for a chat, leaving Poppy to tend to Hermione.
Albus watched David closely as the younger man became more and more anxious as they walked to Albus's office. Once inside Albus waved him into a seat and produced some tea. David refused the tea on the grounds that the caffeine would prevent him getting back to sleep but also declined the offer of a different beverage. Albus explained patiently that he had been alerted to Hermione's changed behaviour over the past few weeks by several of her teachers and Minerva had been arranging for her to take a break from her teaching apprenticeship so as to reduce her workload for a while to help her cope. He painted a picture that made her suicide attempt if not predictable at least consistent and believable.
Albus listened to David's concerns and his protests that Hermione would not do something like that and told him sadly that it was impossible to predict whether a person would or would not be tempted by suicide. He confided that even with over half a century of employment at Hogwarts he still could not pick which students would have such a problem and which would not. As the conversation wore on Albus noted David's agitation increased and began to wonder whether his interest in this student was entirely healthy for a teacher. He had admitted outright that she was the reason he agreed to work at Hogwarts and he had noticed David looking at her during meal times.
Albus moved the conversation on to how David had known there was a problem and wondered why the castle had chosen to inform David rather than himself about the wards. Deciding that David had zoned out for a bit and was getting more anxious as the conversation progressed rather than calming down as was intended he wrapped things up by explaining that Hermione would be sent to St Mungo's in the morning for evaluation and would probably be there a while. He was unsurprised that David protested that she would not be safe in St Mungo's, indeed he had blanched at the mention of the place, and Albus was certain of the need to keep him away from her. Perhaps David had even been part of the problem. Albus asked David to give him his word not to interfere and to leave the student in the hands of the medical professionals. When David refused Albus unveiled his metaphorical claws and insisted, allowing his eyes to glint dangerously in an attempt to intimidate his employee. It did not have the intended result.
Faced with Albus Dumbledore in all his fury David forgot his fear and unease around his former attacker and instead found the courage to stand up for himself that he had not had since Azkaban. "I let you kill Harry," he said his voice cold with fury, "but you will not sacrifice Hermione to your twisted agenda. Would you promise something in the full knowledge that it would mean that one of your friends would die?" David disapparated out of the office not even giving the headmaster a chance to reply.
David appeared in Hermione's hospital room knowing that he had little time. He was thankful that Poppy had returned to bed having given Hermione a sleeping potion. David tore some strips off the hem of his dressing gown, transfigured the cloth into glass phials and collected three samples of blood. There was one sample for him to work with, one for Severus and one to give to Remus to keep as a reference. He then located the tracking charm the headmaster had put on her as residing in a ring she was wearing and he modified it to let him know her state of health and to stop it being removable. He really wanted to be notified about her state of mind but he could not think how to do that over the required distance. Having done what was needed, though not legal, David apparated to Remus's sitting room where his bond-mate was waiting.
"How did things go with Albus," asked Remus sitting up on the sofa to allow David to join him.
"Sorry, I can't so soon after being alone with Albus," said David gesturing to the sofa whilst moving to the armchair instead, "I've probably got myself fired and I've just done enough to put myself back in Azkaban for a few months so I may need to take up a new post as your cat if I'm proved wrong about what happened tonight."
"We can work with that," Remus assured him. "What happened? I was halfway up to his office when you asked me to wait here for you instead but nothing seemed amiss in the parts of the school I saw."
David explained the events of the night and his belief in foul play and his plan to test the blood despite Albus specifically telling him not to. He did not stay long after outlining what he was going to do but said that he would return in a few days once he had run some tests and asked Remus to keep one of the phials safe and give the other one to Severus.
When Remus went to breakfast, after a few hours of trying and failing to get any more sleep, he informed Albus that David had left him a message asking him to cover the classes for a few days since he had been called away on an emergency. Albus gave no indication of being surprised or of having expected this news but rose and announced to the students that the tutoring sessions David ran were cancelled until further notice.
David was too far away for the bond to allow him to communicate telepathically with Remus so David apparated into Remus's rooms each evening for a few minutes while he was away. On Sunday morning nearly a fortnight later during breakfast Severus received a letter and a parcel. After a quick scan of the message he asked Albus to accompany him to his dungeon laboratory. When they arrived Severus unwrapped the package and placed its contents on the work bench. He then fetched several items from the store cupboard.
"Did you know that the kitchens have been missing cheese over the last few weeks?" he asked Albus.
"No," replied the headmaster. He had no clue where this conversation was going but was willing to be patient. He had learnt very young that people thought you knew more than you did if you did not inform them that you did not understand.
"This," said Severus holding up a corked phial, "is human blood. You can see for yourself that it was taken last Tuesday and has not been tampered with since." He handed the phial over so that the headmaster could check the charms on it himself. Once Albus was satisfied Severus opened the phial and poured a drop onto a piece of treated parchment. The writing appeared on the parchment listing the chemical construction of the blood. "Note the calcium level," said Severus.
Albus looked at the parchment but saw the calcium level was low but not dangerously so and indicated for the potions master to elaborate. "It's low, but not a problem," said Severus, "except that the person who donated this blood had recently taken a sleeping potion of some kind, and all known sleeping potions cause calcium levels to rise by up to double. If you correct for the increase and take that into account along with the elevated iron levels and the missing cheese it points to the patient having been addicted to jungajoy and then suddenly ceasing to use it.
"It would be a very efficient form of murder," said Severus dispassionately. "No poison shows up in the victim's system and if the dose is gradually increase to get the victim hooked nobody would notice it being done. The only unnatural action in the depression and suicide that are caused by the withdrawal is an unappeasable need to eat cheese and a guilty conscience about doing so that make the victim hide his cravings."
"It's Miss Granger's blood?" asked Albus unnecessarily.
Severus nodded and indicated the bottle that had come through the post. "That is the proposed antidote. It's the result of ten days round the clock work of someone who if he wasn't happy in his own job would have me worrying about my position."
"Is it really necessary? I have been receiving favourable reports from St Mungo's."
"David has had the Grangers slipping large amounts of strong cheese to their daughter. The amount needed to keep her from slipping further into depression is every increasing. The wards around St Mungo's prevent visitors bringing their own potions in with them so David has sent this to me in the hope that I can convince you to get it to her."
David woke up on Wednesday afternoon in his own bed in Hogwarts with no idea how he got there. The last thing he could remember clearly was staggering into his room at Lions' Den at the potions he had been taking to keep himself awake wore off after he had finished brewing Hermione's medicine. He found himself reaching for his glasses out of a habit he still could not break over half a year since he had fixed his eyesight. He removed his arm from under the bedclothes and he realised that he was still wearing the overalls he wore when experimenting with potions. Instead of glasses his hands came up with a note explaining that Remus had brought him back to Hogwarts rather than leave him to recover on his own in Lions' Den.
Poppy walked into the room while David was reading the note. She waved her wand over him to check his health and explained that she would have kept him in the hospital wing to recover but there was a case of babbling fever in quarantine and the main wing was liable to be too noisy. Poppy went on to complain that she had been unable to remove his clothes and insisted he let her help him change into his pyjamas.
Once he was more appropriately dressed, Poppy ordered David to stay in bed and lectured him about his reckless use of stimulants and cavalier attitude to his health. She reminded him that since it had resulted in physical and not magical exhaustion he could not fall back on revitalicorpus potion to cure himself. She left him a communication stone so that he could call her if he needed anything. As she went out she softened her expression to thank him for curing the head-girl and mentioned that the headmaster would be down shortly.
David's interview with Albus was brief and unpleasant for both of them. Albus had to admit that he had been wrong, which no matter how many times he tended to remind others that he was not infallible still hurt. David was uncomfortable with the memories that lying in bed with restricted movement in the presence of Albus brought to the surface. He commented later in the evening to Remus that he was amazed he did not have an actual flashback, but thankfully Albus had not been wearing his burnt orange robes and they had not been in the hospital wing. Remus had a ghost of an idea and commented that he had a favourite bed in the hospital wing from all the time he spent there and was pleased to find out from David that he had always occupied one particular bed too. It would be cruel in many ways to engineer a flashback, but it could provide a lot of information so Remus filed away the idea for further consideration. He moved the topic on before David could become suspicious and they discussed Molly's proposals for their engagement party. Both liked her idea of keeping it exclusive since they would be forced to put up with many unwelcome guests at their wedding. Whether to invite Albus or not was the main problem.