Chapter 15
"He kep' his promise, bless him!" said Argus, wonderingly. "And you was prepared to listen to him too!"
"My grandson is worth listening to," said Tiberius. "Hmm, yes, a tricky little ritual and I need to take it in two parts. First the painful part when I shall tattoo you with patterns and runes to connect to your magical core, and then the second part which is more arduous for me than for you as I chant to bring that magic to the fore. You've lost some of it, I fear, for lack of use, and you are never going to be Merlin, but we'll get you more than capable of holding your own against any ill-conditioned pups who bark at their elders and betters."
"Thank you, sir!"
Tiberius chose to cast his tattoos on Filch's back, where he might spread them wider and draw in more magic. He absently added a tattoo of a shield charm as well, which would be powered entirely by Filch's blood flowing. It would protect him while he learned counter curses on his own. And then he went to work. Argus Filch bit his lip and submitted, uncomplaining to the tattooing, and if part of him feared that it was all a cruel joke, and he would discover some slur against squibs had been drawn on his back, he had enough trust in the Marauders to trust those they trusted. And when Tiberius Prince had finished his invisible tattooing that the interfering old coot of a headmaster could not see or readily detect, he started chanting, and Argus gasped as he felt his body begin to tingle. Mrs. Norris's hair went on end, and she hissed. Unlike Petunia his magic had been stultified for so long that he began doing accidental magic almost immediately and Tiberius absently put up a protective shell around the squib. By the time he had finished he was exhausted but Filch would be able to use magic as well as most.
"I remembers what they said," said Filch, seizing the school wand he had been practising with, in hopes of needing it . "Swish and flick, wingardium leviosa!" and he levitated Mrs. Norris right into his arms. She growled, hissed, lashed her tail and then forgave him and gave him a headbonk kiss right across the face.
"You'll want a wand that chooses you," said Tiberius. "But then, you'll have time over the holiday to go up to Ollivander's."
"I will that," said Filch. "I owe you a life debt."
"I was glad of the opportunity to see whether I could do it," said Tiberius. "But if you feel a debt, look out for my grandson and his friends."
"I do that anyway; I owe them as well," said Argus.
"Then look on it as my pleasure to do something for a friend of my heir," said Tiberius.
"Hello Granddad! It's not quite end of term," said Severus.
"I know; I came to sort out Mr. Filch and look at your friend Remus," said Tiberius.
Where Severus was, the Gryffindor Marauders were, even if Narcissa and Charity were more discreet, and he introduced his grandfather to his newer friends.
Tiberius shook hands solemnly all round, receiving bows and curtseys, and asked Remus' permission to draw wand on him. After a long diagnostic, he frowned.
"It will take some work and research," he declared. "Unlike Argus Filch, whose condition was not so different to Miss Evans that it caused me any serious difficulties, I will need to delve deeply into the cursed nature of the wound which made you into what you are, its heritable characteristics and the whole transfigurational matter. I have my suspicions as to the origins of lycanthropy, and I fancy it has its roots in primitive demonology, when a summoned fae was forced into the summoner's idea of a wolf, from only limited contact with real ones. This is why there are serious physical differences between werewolves and real wolves. By what means it became a disease I can only guess, but at least having an idea of how this came about will be necessary to effect a total cure."
"Yes sir; thank you for even trying, sir," said Remus.
"I may have a black reputation but I will do almost anything for my grandson's friends," said Tiberius. "He has a knack of choosing them well."
Narcissa was wearing an elf-sewn gown of deep gold velvet, the same colour as her hair, trimmed with royal blue, bringing out the accents in Narcissa's eyes. It was form fitting to the hips and then swirled like molten gold about her feet, turning her into a precious statuette of gold with ivory and lapis lazuli accents. Even the boys were impressed and Lily, Petunia and Charity clapped their hands in delight.
Petunia enjoyed doing Narcissa's hair, which she did on neutral ground in the library. Narcissa, who had taken a mirror to sort herself out if it looked drastic, gasped.
"You really do have a talent, Tuney," she said, and kissed the smaller girl on the forehead. "I'm going to knock Fabian dead."
The Marauders gave her an escort to the great hall to meet with her partner, though Narcissa privately felt they probably looked more like a goblin crime lord's body guard than a guard of honour.
Fabian was suitably impressed, and even Gideon whistled.
It may be said that Lucius Malfoy did have to go to the ball with Dolores Umbridge, and hated the fact that she gloated over the fact and cooed over him.
Tiberius made an assignation with the rest of the Marauders who were busy breaking curfew to meet him in the seventh floor corridor by the tapestry of the ballet dancing trolls. As they arrived, he grinned, and a door suddenly appeared.
"Wow!" said Sirius. "What's that?"
"The room of requirements," said Tiberius. "I wanted somewhere private to look at young Remus, and this room provides anything you want."
"Nice," said Severus. "So if you wanted somewhere to brew a potion …"
"It would provide you with a laboratory and ingredients, so long as it could obtain them from somewhere unwarded, and that generally means only common ingredients. You'll discover why when you study Gamp's exceptions, it can only manufacture non magical artefacts or ingredients. Don't expect to brew Polyjuice potion without obtaining your own boomslang skin first," he warned. "Remus, my boy, sit back on that reclining chair; I'm going to examine you with the amulet on, with it off, and with you chanting the runes on it. I don't really need your friends but I assume you wanted the support."
"Thanks, sir," said Remus, who was grateful for the support.
Tiberius examined Remus carefully; Charity had been told about him, with Narcissa on hand to obliviate her if she had seemed likely to mind, but Charity had only hugged Remus and told him she would help all she could.
Tiberius nodded.
"This is promising," he said. "There's a marked difference between having the amulet on and chanting and not wearing the amulet. This suggests that if I can devise a ritual to embed similar runes into your being, we might be able to overcome your affliction. Now how many of you others would be prepared to give some blood to aid a blood ritual to cure him?"
Seven hands went up, but Charity Burbage also asked,
"Wouldn't that be dark magic, sir?"
"Well, now, er, Cherry, wasn't it? Let us return to your basic understanding of the Dark Arts. What is it that makes a dark creature different from a dangerous creature?"
Charity looked flummoxed.
"I don't know, sir."
"What did your DADA teacher say?"
"That dark creatures were the ones that were listed in the book, sir," said Charity.
"Well! What a singularly useless teacher! What's his name? I shall go have words with him later," said Tiberius.
"He was sacked for interfering with little girls, sir," said James. "The position of DADA teacher is cursed; nobody has been able to hold the position for a year since Professor Dumbledore wouldn't give it to Voldemort."
"Is that so? Dear me. Well perhaps I should volunteer to take on the position for the next two terms, anyway," said Tiberius. "A dark creature, my children, is one which has a dark intent. A tiger will eat you if it is hungry, tear you apart if you threaten her cubs or chase you off with violence if you are on her hunting territory. A dark creature will suck out your gladness, or torture you or otherwise hurt you for fun. Remus here is a dark creature when he turns, and in that form will have no compunction about ripping apart his dearest friend. This is why the chanting is so important, as it is a form of meditation enabling him to maintain the part of him which is good and true and sane. I suspect the chanting would have some effect even without the amulet. Now, to return to your question, Charity; is my intention to cure your friend one which will cause destruction, terror, or pain with the intent of enjoying such negative things?"
"No sir; so it's not dark magic," said Charity. "Everyone says blood magic is dark magic so I was a bit scared."
"Everyone also says I'm a demonologist, which I'm not," said Tiberius. "I know how to get rid of the perishers. However, it'll work in my favour if half the upper school are scared of me," he grinned. "The ones who follow … hmm, now I wonder if we should accord Mr. Riddle the respect of reading the same books in the library as I did?"
"What do you mean, sir?" asked Severus.
"I came across a book which mentioned something called 'egophonic magic', said Tiberius. "It enables a wizard, or witch, to hear when their name is spoken, and to catch a short conversation following that, and can be set up to drain a little power from whoever speaks the name into the owner of it. I wonder if the reason he has picked a unique soubriquet is to be able to use that? I think perhaps you should be wary of naming him until you know enough to block from him. Which will require occlumensy and you are all a little young to learn that. Though I'll get you started on some techniques to help you when you are old enough," he added. "I believe he hates his real name, Riddle. Also anyone might speak of a riddle, and I think as a name, under various spellings, it is common enough in the muggle world. As is Tom. Speak of him as Tommy or Riddle only; don't combine them in case he has set up conditions to hear the name in combination."
"It sounds a good precaution," said Severus.
"I'd rather suggest paranoia than risk you giving away plans when you are old enough to really target Death Eaters," said Tiberius. He looked suddenly grave.
"I want you children to trust me, no matter what you hear," he said. "Will you do so?"
"Why, are you planning on joining the Death Eaters to get rid of them?" asked Severus.
Tiberius twitched.
"The joys of having an unnaturally clever grandson," he said. "Well! We shall certainly start occlumensy classes with the lot of you next term. I trust you to keep a secret – you've kept Remus' secret- but if anyone used legilimensy on any of you, I'd rather not be betrayed by accident. I would prefer the lot of you to be older, but the recruiting does go on in school and I believe Dumbledore is too arrogant to see what's going on under his own nose, and Horace Slughorn too stupid. At least as an ex Slytherin I can poke around in Slytherin House, and see if I can extract any brats from the consequences of their own folly, as you bunch have done with young Avery. I'll make a pet of the Slytherin, you know, and come down hard on the rest of you; make that I'm disappointed in my Grandson's choice of house, and a scion of the Noble and Ancient Family Black for that matter. But the harder I am on you Marauders, know that I am testing and forging you for surpassing the rest."
Severus nodded.
"It's a way we can start to make a difference," he said. "And you can push those who need rescuing towards us, and Dave Greengrasse, who's okay."
Tiberius nodded.
"And totally reprehensible of me to involve you lot at all, but I can't easily operate as a spy without you all grumbling about me," he said. "And at least if I'm doing the spying, Dumbledore can't actively involve any of you to do it for him."
"Surely he wouldn't do that?" asked Lily.
"Lily, do you think he accepted a werewolf into his school purely in order to promote tolerance? There are other juvenile werewolves whom he has not invited into the school, and the wolflings, the offspring of werewolves who have fewer taints unless both parents are werewolves. He chose the son of two Gryffindors of good standing, full of courage and duty. And expected the said werewolf to be isolated because he dared not make friends, and to have only himself to turn to. Oh, for the greater good, of course," he added sarcastically. "He didn't quite admit it but he didn't deny it when I taxed him with it. I was at school with Albus Dumbledore and we did not get on. He set Eileen against me, I'm sure," he added. "And I trust him to run a war against Riddle, but I don't trust him not to expend whatever pawns he feels necessary. Including children. I am sorry, Remus, to destroy your faith in his kindness."
"I … I did ask him if there were others in a similar situation, and he said that I was to … prove that it was possible. I … I do not want to be used!" His eyes went amber in anger.
"And you will not be. I was chuckling at his consternation that all your friends knew and were still friends with you, and yet you had kept your promise not to tell anyone. Now, any questions?"
"I expect we'll come up with a heap over Yule, sir," said Sirius.
"Then you can save them for next term," said Tiberius. "I am going to go and tell Dumbledore that he needs a teacher of the Dark Arts. Defence against them, of course."