The Search Is Over,

Chapter 151, Ancient Runes And Old Curses

When Kreacher and Regulus entered the library, Mag was already back with her runes. She sat on a sofa near the fire chatting with Walburga and Orion who both floated close by. One of the elves must have brought her tea, for she had a steaming cup in her hand. "So how do we do this," Regulus asked a little nervously. He knew this wouldn't necessarily hurt, but he may find out something disconcerting...or he may ready himself to learn something disconcerting only to have a different yet equally unpleasant emotional crash of learning nothing at all.

"Just sit down and relax," Mag said. "Ask me the question, and I'll ask the runes. Then I will interpret what they say for you. If there are more questions, we shall go from there, as the first reading will at least provide us with a path of inquiry."

Regulus nodded. Drawing in a deep breath, he took Kreacher's hand and went to their favorite oversized arm chair not far from the sofa on which Mag sat. "Thank you for this, Mag," he told her gratefully.

"Of course," she assured with a smile. "That's what friends are for. And of course when my dragon needs a place to stay, you'll be there to help out by lending your basement."

Regulus's eyes flew wide. "What? I don't think a dragon would fit in our..."

Mag laughed. "I'm joking. He has his own cave, and though I consider him a friend, he isn't My Dragon by any stretch of the imagination. He's one of many beings that Voldemort attempted to subjugate, and I rescued him nearly by accident in my seventh year at Hogwarts."

"From Voldemort," Walburga practically squawked. Her eyes were wide with a mix of shock and disbelief. "I hardly see how that's possible as you aren't a ghost along with Orion and I. No one rescues anyone or anything from that monster as my family can attest.

Mag shook her head. "Not directly. Voldemort had linked my dragon friend's energy to a stone. He was using that link to charge his own magic, making it more powerful like the energy of a dragon. This was draining the dragon's energy, weakening him. I'm certain he would've died if it had gone on, as is he." She shrugged. "Anyway, Voldemort must have accidentally dropped the stone in the forest and my owl found it while he and I were on one of our late night flights." She smiled fondly. "We used to slip out of my dorm window and fly after everyone else was asleep. I kept my broom under my bed, because I always enjoyed flying at night. When we found the stone, a heavy faceted hematite, it was shining with a strange inner light and you could see the dragon's image in that light. I was actually able to mentally communicate with the dragon through it," she said excitedly. As she reminisced, her large, green eyes shone with an inner fire that clearly showed her fondness for the topic of dragons, as well as the memory of this particular situation. "Dragons are very smart you know, but most people don't know how to talk to them. Anyway, I asked Severus for help and we released the link connecting the stone to the dragon. We had to do so in person, though, so we had to go to his cave, which is in the Welsh hills. It was very exciting," she recalled. "Now he still allows me to visit him and even help him polish and arrange his treasures. I always wanted a dragon, and it's sort of twisted that I got my wish due to Voldemort of all people." She gave a shudder.

"Well something good should've come of the bastard's reign, somehow for someone," Walburga said emphatically.

"Is that actually true," Orion asked a bit skeptically and Mag nodded. "I swear it," she said gravely. "The dragon's name is Areecen, and he's a White Ridge Back."

"Well if that was supposed to serve to distract me and calm me down, I think it worked," Regulus told Mag with a grateful smile.

"Good," she said, smiling back. "That was indeed my intent, but it's still true. Areecen freed himself from Voldemort's bonds and so can you if you haven't already."

Regulus nodded. Granted the dragon had help, but so did he and Kreacher. "How does Severus like the dragon," Regulus wondered.

Mag laughed. "Not much at all, but the feeling is mutual. The two don't get on. He doesn't get on with many of my few friends, alas. He likes Kereston and Parvati well enough but that's about it. The others tend to be too much like him for his comfort," she added, an amused glint to her eyes.

"Severus Snape doesn't like Kreacher and Master Regulus," Kreacher demanded. His expression was quite put upon.

"Oh yes! He does, of course," Mag assured hastily. "It's just that you and Regulus, Blaise, Gellert, our general circle, are as much his friends as mine. You all either knew him first or we met at the same time like with Gellert. I meant the friends I made first when he was still my professor." She gave a dreamy sigh. "I loved him for three years. I knew nothing could ever come of it while I was a student, but he was well worth the wait."

"You went for him," Regulus asked and she nodded.

"Yes. Severus doesn't think about such things. If I'd left it to him, we'd have been just friends forever and ever." She chuckled. "I'm the best for him, though, and I didn't intend to give up until he saw that."

Regulus nearly said that he doubted anyone else was standing in line, but considering that Mag thought Severus could've designed the stars themselves if he'd wished to, he didn't bother. Instead he asked his question. "My question for the runes is, was anything done to Kreacher and I the night of Father's death? Also...if so are we free of it yet?"" As he spoke, he squeezed Kreacher's hand. Remaining silent, the elf pressed his in return, round blue eyes watching Mag as she reached into the large black velvet bag in her lap. The runes clinked together as she stirred them about before carefully drawing three out and placing them on top of the bag without looking. Her runes appeared to be made of clear quartz with some sort of black stone growing inside of each. Only when the three runes were finally set into their proper positions did Mag's expression change from one that could be interpreted as far removed to a considering one. Not until they were all placed did she glance down at them. She studied the three runes with a thoughtful frown on her face for several seconds before speaking. "Something was done to both of you by Voldemort on that night, yes. Now I shall interpret the runes to explain as best I can what." She pointed a slender finger at the first. "Mannaz is the rune named after humanity itself, but as with every rune, it has the more subtle elements hinted at by a Viking wizard of old. The best in men, and their shadow, the reflection of that which can wound within ourselves. The conflict...usually the implication is between two different human beings, but in this case, it came out in a reversed position, pointing to the struggle within. Voldemort surely wished for you to destroy yourselves with your own hands. It's actually very similar, in my opinion, to his curse on the Dark Arts position, I may now know what Runes he used for that...but you don't care about that, of course, so let's move on to the next Rune." She smiled, giving her head a slight apologetic shake for going off track, as it was rarely her way. Regulus couldn't help but see the thought flash in her mind, that she would be sharing this curse against the Defense class rune theory with Albus and Severus later for the sake of exploring theories. As quick as the concept had come, though, she put it out of her mind, progressing to the second rune in Regulus and Kreacher's reading.

"As you likely know, this next one is Thorn in the modern view, or Thurisaz based on the older tradition...it is very unpleasant when it comes Reversed, and has some problematic points even when it's upright. Luckily for you it is upright. Thorn has a legal kind of an element to it. But not always in the formal setting of a system of law, it can be...more personal than that, and I feel it has been in this case. Combined with the first Rune Mannaz, it implies another person, seeking proper justice from being wronged by you. So, a kind of personal revenge, based on something you did in the past. This final rune, Teiwaz, is the most interesting of the three. A German edition of Beetle the Bard tells the forgotten myth of the god Tyr. He forgot about the giant wolf Fenris, and had to sacrifice his own hand to trick the Nordic wolf," Mag summarized. "This Rune came out upright, so it is in your favor. Like Tyr's own memory lapse, your forgetting may have been done by Voldemort but the overall triumph is still yours. Which makes sense, considering you are alive and he is not," Mag mused. For Regulus's second question, Mag did not have to reshuffle the rune set and pull out three new runes. To Regulus and Kreacher's shared surprise she regarded the original set of three, as if they already answered the second question even before it was asked. "As the final rune, Teiwaz, describes best the situation in the future, and its tone is wholly positive, I would say, you have broken the curse, much like the Nordic god Tyr managed to get the better of the wolf. Though in the original myth it may have been different, even your memory loss seems in some way to somehow be for...the greater good," Mag thinly smiled at the familiar implication of the legendary Grindelwald phrase. "I see the curse as broken, and with two runes out of three being upright, the overall outcome must be positive," the red haired witch thoughtfully concluded.

"The justice seeking is clearly Voldemort seeking revenge for the six of us attempting to kill him," Orion said darkly. "Of course he would never care that he bloody had it coming for what he did to us first."

Mag nodded. "Precisely. Such is always the way with people like him. They are basically psychologically incapable of taking responsibility." Her lips twisted up into a dry smile. "Of course this in no way means that they still do not deserve to be killed for it."

Orion grinned, nodding back. "Of course! Death to the lot of them."

Regulus blinked, allowing himself to process the good news...as well as the fact that, for once, there was actually good news." We're truly free of him. No curse is lurking to strike at us later," he told Kreacher with a joyful laugh. Nodding Kreacher squeezed his hand, wiping tears of happiness and relief from his eyes with the sleeve of his tunic. "That's wonderful," Walburga gushed. "Why, child, I would hug you if I only could," she told Mag. "Please do consider yourself hugged." Mag chuckled, smiling almost shyly at the matron of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black..

(Dear Reader,

If you're a dragon buff, check out Areecen's story in more detail in Mag and Severus's book, Knowledge Is Power, also uploaded here with our other stories.)