DISCLAIMER: We do not own Harry Potter, we only own our original characters.
A/N: We would both like to sincerely apologise for taking so long to update! We've been having some difficulty with another chapter and so have had no mojo to put one up (terrible excuse I know!) We hope you enjoy, don't forget to review! R x
Chapter 8 – Insults Illuminated
(Harry POV)
Monday morning dawned quicker than I would have liked. I still hadn't spoken to Ron or Hermione since our argument, and they still hadn't tried to apologise.
At breakfast I sat with Neville and Ginny, who has both said that they agreed with me wholeheartedly after Ron and Hermione had tried to convince them to talk me into talking to them again. We sat talking quietly amongst ourselves, and I could feel Ron and Hermione's glares on us from further up the table.
After breakfast Neville and I walked to Potions, still talking about random things, like Neville's home garden. We sat together in the classroom again, as we had so far this year and we actually managed passable potions.
Following potions, we had our morning break, then Herbology, in which Neville and I again worked together. As we worked together Neville taught me more about each plant, talking in a low voice, gently nurturing them.
Herbology was followed by Politics with the Hufflepuffs. I admit I had been sceptical about Malfoy as a lecturer at the start of the year but both of his classes turned out to be informative and interesting. I had found out this summer that I would eventually become Lord Potter, and I had started perusing the law and politics books in the library at Grimmauld place. I found the subjects extremely interesting and I had even started considering further education and a possible career in the subjects rather than being an Auror.
After lunch, for which Ginny had joined us again, Neville and I had a study break. We decided to head to the library, hoping to avoid Ron and Hermione. We found an empty table by the Potions section and started on our homework for Snape.
"-we have to get Harry to listen to us." A hushed conversation in the next row over drew me out of my thoughts.
"I know what Dumbledore said Hermione." Ron's distinct voice replied back, louder than Hermione's.
I narrowed my eyes as I turned to Neville, and he nodded to tell me he had heard it too.
"How do you propose we do it though? He's not left that weaklings side all day!" Ron continued, clearly aggravated, and Neville frowned.
"Shh Ron, not too loud, someone might hear us." There was quiet for a moment or two before we heard them quickly leave, presumably to talk someone quieter.
"What the hell was that?" Neville asked after we were sure they'd left.
"I have no bloody clue Nev, but I don't like the sound of whatever it is." I felt my brow furrow. What had Dumbledore told them? Did they just mean he had spoken to them because we hadn't been talking all week and he was worried? Or was it something else?
Neville and I left soon after, taking the walk to the clearing for Care of Magical Creatures, before we split off from one another and I joined my group.
I was still surprised myself by how well I got on with the four Slytherin's of my group, but I was happy to expand my circle of possible friends, and I was even more ecstatic to get to know actual family.
Ariadnae and Redina were an interesting pair. For twins they were both the same but not. They were both smart and funny, their dark humour amused me to no end and I was glad to have someone else who got my own dark humour. Redina was quieter, more observant and less emotive, though I felt that if anyone upset her, or insulted her sister she would soon tear them a new one. Ariadnae was lighter maybe? She was more outgoing and willing to make friends with those she felt were worthy, but she could also be cold and distant. Of the two, I was more concerned about seeing Ariadnae pissed off as it just didn't fit her personality as much as it did Redina.
Since being at Hogwarts, not once had I seen the pair in uniform. They always wore their own clothes which were smart, looked amazing and fit their personalities. Redina tended towards leather trousers, with different lace tops, and she always wore a tailcoat and heeled boots or shoes. She always carried her dragon head cane and wore metal claw-like rings on her finger-tips on both hands, sometimes connected with delicate chains to bracelets.
Ariadnae on the other hand usually wore corseted skirts or shorts, with lace or mesh tops, and knee high, heeled boots. She always had on a leather harness, sometimes just on her hips and thighs, sometimes a full-body one. Some of them had little potions bottles, whilst others had pouches and others had neither.
I was surprised that neither one had been reprimanded by the teachers for not wearing the uniform, and for wearing questionable clothing and accessories.
Today was no different, Redina was in her usual black leather trousers with a black lace top, over which she wore red tailcoat with black detailing. She wore chunky heeled, black ankle boots and her claws were a dark grey metal with red gems and were connected to black, grey and red bracelets. I really had to ask how she was able to do anything with them on, though I suppose if she wore them everyday she would be used to it.
Ariadnae wore black shorts which were laced up the sides, and a dark green, almost black, lace top with sleeves that flare out from the elbow. Today she wore a full body harness which criss-crossed across her body and had small bottles on the thigh sections, and a green tailcoat with black detailing.
"Hey Harry." Ariadnae's voice pulled me from my thoughts.
"Hi guys." I smiled at them as I joined their small circle, and the rest greeted me as well. "Ariadnae, Redina, you both look stunning in those outfits."
"Oh thank you Harry." Ariadnae grinned back at me.
"Yeah, about that, how have you both not had detention every day for not wearing uniform?" Theodore asked the question I was dying to know the answer to myself.
"Our parents got us special permission from the school board because we told them we refused to wear anything but our own clothes." Redina replied.
"And they agreed with that?" Blaise asked them incredulously.
"Yep. Because the needed our parents to come and teach, and it was basically this or we'd go elsewhere." Ariadnae answered.
"Wow. That is impressive." I laughed, joined by the others, before Hagrid called for our attention.
"Af'ernoon e'ryone. Today ya goin'ta presen' the homewor' I se' on the firs' week." He began as everyone focussed on him. "Harry, why don' ya go firs'."
I nodded and we moved to the front of the class.
"So we decided to look into centaurs. As you all know we have a herd of centaurs living within the Forbidden Forest, for which Firenze lives with." I began. "Their tribe is called the Ojibwe Tribe and they specialise in astronomy and astrology. They use the stars as a way of predicting the future, as well as for navigation."
We continued through the Kanza, Numakiki, Numinu and Mikasuki Tribes, detailing their specialisation, and where they are found.
"Now they all have their specialisations, but when a centaur reaches their maturity, they go to another one of the Tribes for a year to learn their trade. Each centaur has a calling and when it comes to deciding which Tribe they want to visit, they just know. None of the centaurs we spoke to were able to describe it any more than that. After a year of study at their chosen Tribe, the centaurs may choose to stay there, and become part of the herd, or return home. Some may even decide to visit another Tribe, if they feel that they're still not in the right place." Redina explained. "And in some very rare cases, a centaur may choose to travel to an international Tribe, if they feel that none of the UK Tribes are the right fit for them."
As we finished our presentation, Hagrid grinned at us.
"Well done! Very well done." He stood as we sat down.
The rest of the groups presented their own work, one by one and by the end of the lesson we had heard about merpeople, acromantulas, grindylows, unicorns and pixies. However, none of the other groups had been able to speak to their chosen creatures, and so our team earnt ten points each for having done so.
(Third POV)
Draco's Monday was not going quite as well as Harry's. He had woken up still unable to speak, much to his frustration, and none of his friends seemed to care.
Throughout his lessons he had been unable to do his practical work and so had been stuck doing theory work only, reading books, and making notes, his teachers had each given him a small essay do to, just two or three paragraphs on each subject that they had been looking at in classes.
What Draco didn't know was that Regulus, Lucius and Severus had explained what had happened to the other teachers in that mornings briefing, and they had all decided to punish him somewhat themselves. Dumbledore had tried to argue with Regulus and tried to convince him to remove the spell when he had first told them, but Lucius had stepped in and told him in no uncertain terms that Draco was his son and he had agreed to the punishment.
And so by the time Draco got to his evenings detention with Severus, he had five more essays to write for the next week.
"Right Mr Malfoy, for your detention tonight you will be scrubbing cauldrons until curfew." Severus sat at his desk, pointing to the bucket of hot soapy water and a scrubbing brush, and could only smirk in amusement as Draco scowled at him.
Draco took off his outer robes and jumper, and rolled up his shirt sleeves to keep them from getting wet before starting to scrub each cauldron. His nose wrinkled in disgust at having to clean them the muggle way, and at the residue of the days potions in each of them.
Halfway through his detention his father arrived, and spoke quietly with Severus, asking about Draco's punishment.
"How is he behaving Severus?" He asked his friend quietly.
"So far no problems. Some scowling and looks of disgust but he has not tried to speak. He tried a few times in class this morning." Severus replied.
"Ah he must have realised by my class he could not speak." Lucius chuckled, looking at his son, before sighing. "Do you think this will teach him to watch his tongue?"
"I don't know Lucius. We can only hope." Severus could tell his dear friend was worried.
"I don't know what I am going to do Severus. He needs to realise the consequences of his actions. Narcissa has pandered to him too much and he is going to shame the Malfoy House if he continues. He is lucky that the Black's are not already declaring a blood feud with the way he has treated the Black Twins." Lucius shook his head, looking again at his son.
"He will hopefully understand. He has another detention with me, plus your own punishment, Master Black's silencing charm and the rest of the teacher's homework assignments. We can only hope that will begin to ensure he watches who he insults." Severus answered, also looking at his Godson.
Draco chose that moment to look up and saw his father, having not heard their conversation through the privacy wards they had set up when Lucius first arrived. He tried to speak to his father and his face screwed up in frustration at being unable to.
"Draco, we will speak once Master Black removes your silencing spell. For now, take your punishments. You have another detention with Severus tomorrow and then you will have a punishment from myself. After that we will be having a serious conversation about your attitude." Lucius's voice was cold as he spoke to his son after removing the wards.
Draco frowned unhappily, before nodding sharply, not wanting to anger his father anymore.
"Good." Lucius bid farewell to Severus, before turning sharply and leaving the office.
Fifteen minutes later Severus dismissed Draco, who trudged out of the classroom exhausted from his three hours of manual scrubbing.
The rest of the week passed quickly, and before they knew it Redina and Ariadnae were walking to their Double Wizarding Etiquette class.
Taking their seats, they pulled out the necessary parchment, quills and ink that they would need, and waited patiently for the start of class.
"Good morning class." Professor Malfoy walked in from his office, just as the last few straggling Gryffindor's ran in and took their seats, the door slamming shut behind them.
On the Gryffindor side of the classroom, a girl raised her hand. She had big curly brown hair with a bow in it and was sat next to a boy with dark blonde hair who was looking at her confused.
"Yes Miss Brown?" Professor Malfoy asked her.
"Sir, I was wondering if you might be able to explain what happened on Saturday morning between you and the Black twins?" She asked timidly.
"Yes, I suppose I could spend this lesson to teach you about insults." His eyes flickered to Draco then to the Black twins before turning his attention to the class. "As you should know, in our society there are many different houses. I of course am the head of the House of Malfoy, Draco is my heir, Mr Longbottom is heir apparent of the House of Longbottom, Mr Potter is heir apparent for the House of Potter, and so on and so forth.
"There are many different types of relationships between Houses. Many are political, some personal, through marriage or comradery. The Wizengamot, as we spoke about in our first Politics lessons, is an excellent way to cultivate these relationships. But there are also many ways that these relationships can deteriorate.
"One such way is an insult, and it is very important to understand the difference between an insult from a person or a House. But often when a member of one House insults a member of another House, it can often be taken that the House of the insulter is insulting the entirety of the other House.
"When Draco decided to insult not just one, but two members of the House of Black, it could have very easily become an insult their House.
"As the Head of my House, it is my duty to ensure that those Houses I don't wish to insult, do not find insult from any member of my House. This is why I apologised to both Miss Black's.
"This was especially important in this case as the Malfoy and Black families have a relationship of a political, marital and comradery nature." The Professor explained calmly, stood at the front of the classroom with his cane in front of him, both hands resting on it.
"Yes, Mr Potter?" Professor Malfoy asked as Harry raised his hand slowly.
"So, are the relationships your House has with others recorded anywhere?" He asked.
"Very good question Mr Potter." Professor Malfoy nodded in approval. "Yes there is a record of this. Usually it is kept by the Head of the House, and they disseminate it among their House. It is then passed from Lord or Lady to their Heir."
The lesson continued as such, with the Professor explaining about Blood Feuds, and different levels of insults a House can give/receive, before the class was released for lunch.
"Did you notice that Weasley and Granger did not seem to want Harry asking about House relationships?" Ariadnae asked Redina as they left the classroom.
"Yes, I noticed they tensed. I wonder what that was all about." Redina replied.
"We shall have to make sure Harry is informed of such things. Hopefully now we have this class he will start to think of these things and ask his Sirius as his Magical Guardian." Ariadnae said, as Redina nodded her head in agreement before they sat for lunch.
On Saturday morning the girls went for their usual morning run with Susan and Hannah, enjoying some time outdoors with their friends. They caught each other up of their weeks, and Susan and Hannah asked about the issues with Draco the following week, not having believed the rumours going around the school that were steadily getting more ridiculous.
At the end of the run, instead of going back into the castle with the two Hufflepuffs, Redina and Ariadnae stayed out by the lake, waiting for their parents to join them.
"Good morning my loves." Their mother greeted them, smiling happily as she gave them quick hugs.
"Morning Mama, Papa." The twins replied together.
"Are you girls warmed up?" Their father asked them as they finished greeting each other.
"Yes Papa, we jogged around the lake this morning with Susan and Hannah." Redina replied.
"Oh good. I am glad you girls are making some friends. And those two Hufflepuffs seem like lovely girls." Xanthia smiled at them, making the girls smile back. Regulus nodded in agreement and approval that they were warmed up.
"Good, well your mother and I need to warm up, so why don't you two do some body weight exercises whilst we run the black lake." Regulus told them, before he and Xanthia took off for their run.
Redina and Ariadnae spent the time their parents were warming up doing some push-ups, squats, lunges, sit-ups and partner planks to get their muscles working.
"Great job you two." Their father nodded in approval as he and Xanthia returned. "Now I want you to spar."
Ariadnae and Redina moved so that they were stood 10 feet apart, crouching somewhat, with their hands raised in front of them in fists. At an unspoken signal the girls moved, dancing around each other in a fluid motion that most would not be able to keep up with.
They lunged forwards, Ariadnae throwing her arm out to punch at Redina who ducked, gracefully dodging the offending fist, before following the motion of her body coming up with a punch of her own. She caught Ariadnae in the stomach, and then followed with another punch that Ariadnae spun to avoid, kicking her leg out to sweep Redina off her feet. Redina fell, before quickly jumping back up, and she and Ariadnae continued their spar.
After ten minutes of this, their father called an end to the spar, with no clear winner as both girls dodged and took hits in equal measure.
"Excellent job girls. Excellent." Their father grinned at them. "Now, as usual, you will fight us."
Their session continued with Ariadnae sparring with Regulus, whilst Redina sparred with Xanthia, before swapping. Finally, the girls sparred against their parents, two on two.
"Ok, that's enough." Their father called an end to their three-hour sparring session, panting along with his wife and daughters. "Let's hit the showers then it is time for some lunch I think."
The small family walked back to the castle, going back to the two Professors rooms to shower and have lunch as a family before preparing for the evening Fall Equinox celebrations.
Following showers and a light lunch, the family of four began preparing the alter for the evening's festivities. The family all changed into ritual wear of linen trousers and tunics, edged with silk around the collar, cuffs and hem. The colours varied, with Regulus in deep blue, Xanthia in bronze, Redina in red and Ariadnae in green.
Redina and Ariadnae removed the main part of the alter from a trunk in the living area where they keep ritual items when not in use. They moved it into the cleared space in the centre of the living room. The beautiful table was made from a fallen tree, its bottom half had been left untouched, the bark of the tree a striking deep chestnut colour, whilst the top of the log had been intricately hand-carved, by the family, with runes of protection, peace, love, offering and kindness, and patterns to represent the four seasons. No magic was used in the creating or handling of the alter, as the girls carried it to a place of honour.
Once settled, the girls began preparing the offerings. They first placed small swatches fabrics of hemp, linen, cotton and wool on the alter, overlain with one another, with the edges of the top of the alter still visible. Next Ariadnae removed a silk-wrapped candle from the trunk. Unwrapping the silk from the three-foot yellow and orange candle, before placing it in the centre of the alter, with the silk pooling around the base of the pillar. In front of the candle, she placed a bronze figurine of Earth Mother Goddess, Modron, the Goddess for which the Fall Equinox is celebrating. In front of this, a skilfully carved, ritual knife was lain, in preparation for the blessing.
From the trunk, Redina selected a wicker basket, made of pale willow saplings which she placed on the left side of the candle. In the basket, she placed two wooden trowels and a wooden scythe used for gardening.
The girls paused as their parents returned from foraging for the offerings needed for the ritual. In the wicker basket, Regulus placed carrots, parsnips, turnips, sweet potatoes, beetroot, radishes and celeriac. Whilst beside it he lay onions, ginger and squash.
On the righthand side of the table Xanthia arranged bushels of apples, cobs of corn and a number of pomegranates, two whole and two hand-split, with the fallen fruit left to rest on the alter.
Ariadnae placed a hemp pouch of gold coins, used only for rituals, on the left-hand side of the table, on the far side of the table, the top open and some coins spilling out onto the alter. As well as this, Redina placed cotton-wrapped iron ingot on the opposite side of the table, the wrappings opened at one end.
Finally, the family placed pinecones around the table and scattered fallen leaves from chestnut trees, and dried slices of oranges, lemons and grapefruits.
With the alter prepared, the family gathered around it and Regulus moved to light the candle whilst Xanthia, Redina and Ariadnae held hands.
"Earth Mother Goddess, we ask you bless us, your children, and guide us in our next stage of growth. We pray you bless the harvest, for this year past and ensure abundance for years to come." Regulus intoned, whilst lighting the candle.
Regulus then picked up an apple and ritual knife, before cutting the apple horizontally to reveal the hidden five-pointed star. One half is placed back onto the alter in offering, and Regulus takes a bite from the other half, then passes it to Xanthia who in turn hands it to Redina, then Ariadnae, all taking a bite respectively.
After the offering, Regulus moved back to his family and takes Ariadnae's hand, so that the parents are either side of their daughters. Xanthia then begins to sing a song of harvest, peace and prosperity for her family.
As the song comes to a close, the family then release each other's hands, and move to sit independently, cross-legged in front of the alter, eyes closing as they begin to meditate. As they meditate they reflect on how they handle pressure, how they manage their emotions and the emotions of those around them and how easily their peace of mind can be disrupted. They also think about ways that stress can be reduced to bring more balance to their days, to ensure that they continue with non-violent communication with one another and eliminating unhealthy relationships.
Following the meditation, the family once again join hands, and, heads bowed, pray for peace and stability, including a stable climate, love and bounty. The family rise as one, before Regulus blows the candle out and they thank the Earth Mother Goddess. They then have a hearty feast of breads, grains, autumn vegetables, fruits and wine and the alter is left for seven days and seven nights, to ensure the Goddess receives their offerings.