Chapter 4

There was no prefect's meeting to attend for David; as house head he was ineligible to listen or vote for Head Boy or Girl. He saw Zvetelina onto the train, putting her firmly in the care of Jade Snape and her already respectable retinue. To which she quickly added the latest of Colin Weasley's siblings, a lad named Roger with hair as ginger and a grin as broad as any other Weasley; and Claudia Barnett, little sister of Tim, now moving into the third and full of himself to be in the middle school and permitted for the first time to visit Hogsmeade. Freya Tuthill thought about joining Jade, but she was so plainly having an emotional parting from her brother, who was almost like a twin to her, that Jade left them to it. Time enough to get to know Freya later. It was a pity the boy had no talent; he looked a good sort, if a bit Gryffindorish.

David was approached by a young woman with a trunk in a trolley.

"Hogwarts train?" she asked.

"That's right ma'am" said David, wondering who she was. She seemed too young to have offspring, and there was no child with her. And yet too old and self assured to be a sixth former, of which he was expecting one new one. She was also very pretty, with bright blue eyes in her pale face and thick chestnut hair. "Can I help you?" he added.

She smiled.

"Well maybe you as a prefect will be able to help me find my feet…. I'm the replacement for Professor Dweemer, teaching enchantment and items."

David blinked.

"Something's wrong with Merciful Percival – er, I mean Professor Dweemer?" he said, shocked

"I understand his mother is unwell; I am a temporary replacement, my name is Araminta Jones. I left school some years ago and was glad to be invited to teach."

David was no great legilimens; but her words were somehow nagging at him as not entirely true.

"Excuse me, Ma'am" he said "But before you get on the train I'd like confirmation from Professor Snape."

"Professor Snape? The potions master?"

"Yes, I'm sure you remember him well….most people do" said David.

"Uh… yes of course" said Madam Jones.

"Madam, you are lying" said David.

She looked at him in misery and horror.

"What makes you say so?"

"That you just recite 'the potions master' when many have an emotional response to his didactic style of teaching" said David.

She slumped.

"To be caught out by a student…. I'll not stand a chance then with the teachers before I find the ones who killed Voldemort!"

"What do you want with them?" David demanded.

"To beg for help" she said simply.

David read naked truth in her eyes.

"Get on the train then, Madam Jones" he said "And I shall come and talk to you when we're on our way. I know how to get you help but I shall need to know more."

She nodded, and threw him a quick, sad smile; then headed purposefully for the barrier.

From the way she steeled herself as she set herself at the barrier David knew she had not used it year after year as a student.

In fact he would be prepared to put a galleon or two on her being a muggle.

"Excuse me" the polite nothing was spoken more in the tone used to someone else's servants.

David raised an eyebrow to the tall girl who spoke. She wore the basic uniform of the school.

"Yes?" he said.

"Is this the right platform for the train to Hogwarts School for Wizards and Witches?"

"It is – or rather, through the wall into wizarding space is" said David "But it's rather bad form to mention what the school is for in a region frequented by muggles, you know."

"I hardly feel that the mores of children is a matter I need take any notice of" she said loftily.

"If you take that tone, over an edict of the staff, you will find yourself in trouble, my girl" said David "And I'll also have you know that speaking like that to a prefect is not encouraged either. Especially in a new oik. You must be Fenella Fenwick, the new sixth former. Have you transferred from Beauxbatons or Durmstrang?"

"No, not at all!" the girl shuddered "I have been getting an altogether superior education at home under the aegis of my father, and I shouldn't be coming to school at all but for my aunt's foolish and strangely motivated intervention in persuading my father to send me to school for the sixth form. I doubt I shall find any here of my own intellectual attainment, but I must endure I suppose. Are you in the sixth?"

"Yes" said David "I couldn't be head of house otherwise."

"Oh? I know nothing of such customs" and her tone implied she considered them irrelevant "How many OWLs did you attain then?"

"If it's any of your business – which it isn't actually – ten" said David. "Not great grades compared to someone of superior intellectual attainments I dare say, five 'O's, two 'E's and three 'A's. We're not all Hermione Granger to get ten 'O's and an 'E'."

"You have ten with such good grades? And you are telling me a girl got this many at such high grades even from SCHOOL?"

"Yes; though Hermione is exceptional" said David "But then, school can provide not only more extensive equipment than home education but also Professors who are each expert in their own fields. Not all Professors are as outstanding as Madam Malfoy for example with five 'O' grade NEWTs and two 'E's, or Hermione's own seven 'O's; but of course, Hermione had been at school since she was eleven, and Madam Malfoy was a latecomer at fifteen, never trained in magic at all….my good girl are you starting to see things in perspective now? How many OWLs do YOU have then?"

"I only took those subjects my father thought important – Arithmancy, Charms, History of Magic, Herbology, Enchantment and items and Astronomy."

"All passed a 'O' I suppose?" said David, looking at her narrowly.

"No, not all" she said loftily. She looked shifty.

"Right" said David "Since you are willing to rubbish the education here as inferior and yet you have only six OWLs and one of them a soft option elective like History I'll know how many are 'O's my girl, because if you think you can go about calling down the intellectual attainment from a position of low achievement – and not even a grade in Potions or Transfigurations at that – then you can think again."

"You are insolent!"

"No my girl; YOU are insolent to our school; and I won't have that. And I'll tell you now, you won't be allowed to even take NEWTs unless you have studied Potions and Transfigurations to OWL level even if you fail it, and what NEWTs you are allowed to take will be dependant on your grade; because most of the professors require at least an 'E' and many require an 'O' to permit going further with your subject. As you've had a deprived education you might get away with pleading lack of resources."

"DEPRIVED? How DARE you?"

"I dare from a position of better and higher qualifications than yours because if you at least matched me in 'O' grades you'd have boasted about it" said David. "Learn a little humility; you'll get on better. And try not to act quite such a stuck up prig or even the Raveclaws won't have you. I make the suggestions in the spirit of kindness as you have blatantly been brought up rather strangely and in your own way spoilt. Most kids have seven years to get over their parents' failings; you have only two. Make the most of them."

He left the girl gasping in outrage.

Once Mary-Anne Green was safely aboard, David relaxed slightly.

Getting Cleonie Puckeridge too was even better.

And finally he could board the train and go looking for Madam Jones.

He pretended not to notice Rom Snape's careful arrangement of fairies dancing in the word 'prefect' over the heads of a cheerfully embarrassed pair of Malfoy twins on their way to the prefect's meeting.

He discovered Madam Jones involved deeply in a discussion about cricket with Willow and her convertees, and shooed them away.

One of the smaller boys whistled daringly

"Fraser fancies Madam Jones!" he whispered sibilantly. Willow cuffed him.

"Do you WANT Ellie Devlin to have your guts for garters for saying things like that?" she demanded "Now hoppit, I have a prefects' meeting to go to to elect the new Head of School."

"Who are you voting for Willow?" demanded another child.

"Who has continually supported Draco and subsequently Ginny and always been there for the juniors even outside his house when they needed help?" said Willow "I think the choice is obvious."

"Aren't you voting for Emmeline Greengrasse as head of Slytherin then?" demanded a partisan young Slytherin.

"She'll be a good head of house; but she ain't Madam Exciting" said Willow "You couldn't palm governors off on her nor expect her to find a kid that's gone missing, nor lead the school."

David wondered vaguely as the voices faded what sort of paragon either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw had found in their House Head.

"Madam Jones" he said "Please lay your problem before me."

"My name is Jones" she said "But it's Leticia. I'm Araminta's twin and we were identical in all things except her ability to use magic. She told me everything about her lessons though and I've got and re-read all her text books. She was very good; she had five NEWTs, even though she only had a fairly average eight OWLs but they were all at 'O' grade. She went touring on the continent; and in Germany they discovered that she was muggle born and she was forced into what sounds to me like a rather unfair duel. She had written to me of an organisation called Odessa; though I have heard the name in connection with ordinary – muggle – history. It's mentioned in Fredrick Forsythe's 'the Odessa file'."

"Yes, I'm familiar with the book; and yes, the racial supremacists of the wizarding world use the same name; even as they used the SS" said David.

Leticia heaved a sigh of relief.

"Then I'm not only not barking up the wrong tree, but you don't think I'm barmy" she said.

"On the contrary, Madam Jones; we - those of us of the Blood Pact who were Harry's backup and bear the lightening scar to prove it – have had more than one run in with the Odessa and consider them the greatest threat to world peace that there is, potentially more so than a single megalomaniac moron like Voldemort. He was a threat in that the Ministry just wet their pants and put their heads in a hole. Odessa is almost unheard of in Britain and unspoken of in the eastern part of Europe for sheer terror. You are looking to bring this organisation to our notice or to ask for revenge for your sister or a little of both?"

"Both…. I want Araminta revenged, but more I want people who can do that sort of thing stopped. I can tell you every stage of her journey. But, tell me, I have seen that scar on even quite young children…surely they did not fight Voldemort?"

"Yes they did…. The youngest you will have seen here is Jade Snape, who was one of the group that by their plurality helped Harry to bounce the killing curse, by taking it between many….she was blooded, as was her sister, to protect them, in case they were kidnapped. And the babes were born blooded. It's a type of magic nobody has ever done before, or not written about anyway; it's risky but the circumstances were exceptional. And we are all prepared to fight evil implacably. I'll introduce you initially to the muggle studies Hobby group – our cover in the Voldemort years – and to the blood group. We'll follow this up; I promise. Though it may not be practical to move rapidly to avenge Araminta it will be done one day. You MUST tell Professor Dumbledore who you really are though; you can swing a lot of enchanting classes on theory but you may need a little backup at times. You can get Jade to surreptitiously help with demonstrations for the first years; because of who she is and what she's seen, the kid has almost NEWT level understanding of a lot of stuff. Lynx Black-Weasley in the second will help….there's lots of nice third years but none are outrageously talented except Lionel Dell and he has an unreasonable attitude to muggles, odd kid, because he's learned to be objective in other respects. Callum Prince is probably your best bet if he's taking it as an elective. I'm not sure he is. Fourth? Pris Lockhart. Fifth? Willow, who you were talking to about cricket is blood group too, she's doing enchanting. Could probably teach it at that, she's interested in wands, wants a job with Ollivander. She looks at new kids and tells you what wood and what core they'll have and gets it right more often than not. Kinat, Hawke and Abrax are doing enchanting too, all blood group, all talented. Lower sixth? I'm not studying it….Lysistrata Attercop. Take her into your confidence; she's a loyal type but not to people who lie to her. Upper sixth? Martin Umbridge. He's not blood group but he's close to a lot of us."

"Thank you; and I don't know your name."

David grinned.

"David 'mad-dog' Fraser." He said "The nickname comes from my first year when I went for a senior bully growling and biting. It worked" he reflected "They had me down as a werewolf for years."

"In any other school that would be a cliché."

David grinned.

"We've no werewolves at the moment; Professor Dumbledore would have told me and expected me to take care of them if we had. I'm an animagus – dog – so even if Professor Snape couldn't control the change with adolescent hormones getting in the way, I could smell less like prey and keep a juvenile werewolf from hurting himself or other people, the way James Potter and Sirius Black did with Remus Lupin. He's a werewolf, by the way; teaches DADA. Nice chap."

"I am less fazed about such things than I would have been had not Minty shared everything with me…. I sometimes wonder how much magic I might have discovered latent in myself if I'd stowed away" she said wistfully.

"We've had a few squibs and near squibs and one muggle with potential below what the book accepts who just happened to be a parselmouth so we sort of acquired him" said David "And Teague O'Toole had to have it awakened in him – he's got some fey blood somewhere in there we think – and Lucius Malfoy's muggle mistress can use magical paints and get some wand response. It's not as much an either you have it or you don't thing as has always been thought; there are degrees."

"Well perhaps I shall pick up enough to do some magic" said Madam Jones "I have my sister's wand. That, a well wisher sent home, together with an account of what happened. The letter was anonymous; and I never cared to make enquiries about the writer. They didn't want to be known."

"Quite" said David. "These people are as insidious as the Gestapo and ten times as dangerous. And I quite understand why most people prefer to lie low. Sending you the note was risk enough. I imagine they assumed that any twin of Araminta's was also magical and hoped YOU would take up the fight. Too many people forget the old adage that all it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to stay silent."

David went on the prowl; with most of the prefects tied up in the debate and voting, there was bound to be trouble.

He discovered that the second years had been holding an indignation meeting over Timothy Gregory, a Ravenclaw prefect who became more insufferable every year – in Lynx's words – and to whom they intended presenting a list of awful omens over those who were rotten to small people. He just raised an eyebrow and promised himself to keep an eye on that since it could sort itself out or might blow out of all proportion. He planned on making an off the cuff comment in front of the boy that prefects were only ragged if they weren't doing their jobs properly.

The two lower years had also come quickly to a decision, it seemed, to act as though Fenella Fenwick did not exist. David reflected grimly that she probably had not even noticed.

He broke up two wand fights, extricated a third year from an exotic selection of curses that had left him virtually tied in a knot and let several bat-bogeys out of the carriage window. Fortunately it seemed to be quite a quiet trip.

What he had NOT reckoned on was recognising young Freya Tuthill's older brother.

"Mr Tuthill" said David "I do NOT recall that you had permission to come to Hogwarts."

The boy flushed.

"It was my fault, Fraser" said Freya "I couldn't bear to part from him; we've always been together. I – I told my parents he'd gone out through the barrier ahead of them and he hid under my seat."

"Not exactly your fault alone, Miss Tuthill" said David "As it took the two of you to conspire….and what were you planning on doing in Hogwarts, laddie?"

"I brought my ordinary textbooks sir" said young Tuthill.

"Don't 'sir' me; I'm a prefect not a professor" said David. "My name's Fraser. What's your first name?"

"Ross, s – Fraser" he said meekly. "I – I guess I hoped I could maybe pick up SOME ability being around magic."

"Very well" said David "We shall leave it to the Sorting Hat. If it places you in a house you will continue to study privately at your muggle subjects; and see at regular intervals if you can get any result from a wand. If the Hat rejects you out of hand, you go home. Is that understood?"

"Oh yes, Fraser, thank you!" said Ross Tuthill.

"And in the meantime I shall have to let your poor parents know; they must be out of their minds with worry!" said David, wondering how to get a message out of what was effectively wizarding space to someone.

And then he bethought of the blood call and asked silently for Beloc.

With the house elf turning up David was able to ask him to tell Professor Dumbledore who would know what to do; and to pass on what he had promised young Tuthill.

"And I hope he agrees it was the best thing to do" said David "If he HAS potential it's a shame to waste it – with all that sibling loyalty attached – and if he hasn't it'll be a hard but decisive lesson for him."

"I will explain to the Head!" squeaked Beloc confidently. "Brothers OUGHT to stick by their sisters, I always stick by MY sister" he added firmly, winking at young Tuthill, who grinned weakly.

That he could see the house elf meant he was at least a sensitive; which was a good start.

Once in the castle, the Hat thought very hard about Ross Tuthill.

"Provisionally Gryffindor" it declared.

That caused a flutter; the Hat had never been uncertain in its pronouncements before.

"Oh THANK you Hat!" said Ross joyfully.

Freya was with her brother in Gryffindor, and it was no surprise later that Roger Weasley was too.

Jade had to sit and wait almost as long as Roger for her own Hatting; Harmony went into Slytherin, and young Godfrey Goodchild to the shock and outrage of his siblings. Jade had had a long chat to him on the train and found him proud without arrogance with a love of music that almost surpassed anything else; and what he was able to do untutored on her flute persuaded her that he MUST be properly taught. She suggested that if he were in her probable house he could use her instruments more easily; and obviously he had reflected that desire to the Hat. Jade was glad.

Gerald Purbeck was also keen to be with the new friends he had made and was also put into Slytherin. Victor Crabbe and Dympna Burke might also be in the same house, but Jade had no doubts on her own abilities to squash THEM.

And then it was her turn.

"Well, another enigma like your adoptive mother…clever enough for Ravenclaw, dutiful enough for Hufflepuff, brave enough for Gryffindor with Slytherin family and your own brand of ambition…" said the hat.

"Hey, don't confuse me with the facts; I already made up my mind" thought Jade facetiously "I want to be Slytherin, please, because of friends and family. Besides, there's my favourite ghost the Bloody Baron, who'd be disappointed if I wasn't, and it's my duty to help pull the House back to what it's supposed to be."

"Ah now that is ambition worth having" the Hat approved and said out loud "Slytherin!"

The response over Seaghsron, also surnamed Snape, was much quicker; and he too was in Slytherin.

"Took its time over you our kid" Romulus was teasing Jade.

"Huh, she was probably talking it to a standstill" said Seagh, grinning at Jade.

"He knows me too well" said Jade "We had a nice little chat."

"Only you or Krait would ever consider having a chat with the Sorting Hat" said Hawke.

"Well maybe it's occasionally glad of a bit more social interaction than just figuring out the mental ramifications of whoever sits under it" said Jade with what she hoped was dignity.

In terms of dignity, Fenella Fenwick almost lost it.

The idea that she should sit on a stool with a 'dirty old thing like that' on her head 'with who knows what lice and things from some of those brats' had her almost hysterical.

Madam McGonagall lost her temper with the girl first.

"If yer wishfu' to take NEWTs young lady, I suggest ye act wi' the decorum proper tae a girrl of a'most seventeen years old, not like a wee bitty sumpf nae more than fourr or five years old" she said "Ye'll dae as ye're told, or be expelled; and then ye'll nae be perrrmitted tae tak' NEWTs at a', even wi' the half-baked teaching ye've been getting up tae noo."

Fenella seethed; but did, sulkily as she was told.

McGonagall's fans declared they had never heard her so Scots, so this wretched girl MUST have moved her greatly! They happily stored away the phrase 'wee bitty sumpf' for future reference.

Fenella was duly Hatted into Ravenclaw where she was received with mixed feelings and the muttered belief from Byron Beckard, also Lower Sixth, that it was only on grounds of family affiliation since her father was a famous arithmancer rather than ability.

The new intake too were dismayed; and with several unwontedly cheery and cheeky faces among them David suspected Fenella was in for a hard time.

Her lessons in being a reasonable human being might prove harsh.

"And now I have the happy duty of announcing the Head of the School" said Professor Dumbledore, opening the sealed jar into which the prefects had cast their votes. The magical receptacle had already listed possible choices and recorded how many had voted for them. "Hmm, well, once again we have an overwhelming majority vote, thirty to six in fact, and I take pleasure in announcing David Fraser as Head Boy!"

David gasped.

Not just that he had been chosen – but that it had been so overwhelming a majority! Willow caught his eye and grinned with a thumb's up – had she been talking about him then? He almost stumbled up to receive the little tin badge with 'Head Girl' on it, the word 'Boy' appearing in place of the word 'Girl' as he took it. Magic was wonderful!

Dumbledore smiled at him.

"I couldn't have picked a better Head Boy if I'd been at that meeting with Polyjuice Potion" he said quietly.

"Th-thank you sir" said David and escaped back to his seat amidst thunderous applause.

Dumbledore went on,

"Like another recent Head Boy, Draco Malfoy, David is only in the Lower Sixth; and like Draco I am confident he will give us two excellent years in office" he began. "David has always been a boy you can rely on to get things done; not just when asked to, but to see a job that needs doing and to quietly, without fuss, get on and do it. His self-imposed task of making sure that everyone gets on the right train is a case in point; his loyal and unfailing support to both Draco and Ginny when they were heads is another. He was from the first year a staunch supporter of Harry Potter and his mission to destroy Voldemort; he was one of the leaders in the battle against the Huorns and led a squad staunchly and without flinching against the troop of werewolves in the Battle for Hogwarts. He has been quietly and efficiently at the forefront in the fight against evil; and although it is perhaps more mundane, it is of more import as a school head that he has always and unfailingly been kind to new children and helped little ones in distress whatever the reason. I can urge any of you new ones who have a problem to take it to David; he has an instinct that tells him whether to make anything official or keep it informal and he is there – as too are all the prefects – as an intermediate stage between the body of the school and the staff. Reporting something to a prefect that disturbs you is not like sneaking; for a prefect should have attained the wisdom and experience to decide whether such a problem requires official action or no. And the prefects of course can also turn to David Fraser for help and advice if they do NOT feel they have the experience to deal with a problem yet are loath to call in a staff member. We have been lucky, unbelievably lucky in the last few years over our Heads of School; and once again we are fortunate, and I applaud the wisdom of the prefects in choosing the only member of the combined sixth that I feel worthy of the headship."

Willow was whispering to Hawke

"What wankers voted against him?"

"Ravenclaw wankers, who else?" hissed Hawke back "Partiality not sense, how typical!"

"And thank you the David Fraser appreciation society in Slytherin; ten points away I'm afraid for that audible exchange" said Dumbledore.

Willow and Hawke squirmed.

For prefects to lose points for their house was particularly humiliating. As it was also not customary to fine prefects points the rebuke was a harsh one.

They were too old now to make asides like juniors; and Dumbledore wanted to make that point clear.

The point was also made, in some respects, that now they were in the fifth it behoved the marauders to do more work than marauding; which, in point of fact, they had planned on doing. The marauding was to be left to the tender mercies of Lynx Black-Weasley, Fabian Ramage, Senagra gan Konal and Jade Snape.

And with such an effervescent bunch the New Marauders had no qualms that the Junior Marauders would be able to carry the marauding flag more than adequately.

Professor Dumbledore had one more announcement.

"We have a new member of staff to temporarily replace Professor Dweemer; I'm sure you'll all think kindly of Professor Dweemer whose mother is seriously ill; and also I ask you to give your best efforts for Madam Jones. She has asked me to ask you to be tolerant if there are times when she has trouble with magic; I'm sure some of you older ones remember Araminta Jones, a bright star in Ravenclaw's academic constellation, and will feel sympathy for anyone who has suffered so serious a brain fever that their connection with magic has become temporarily tenuous. Madam Jones is hoping that a quiet academic atmosphere with less stress than day to day living will help her to develop her talents to a more normal level; and there will be no detriment to your studies, since her academic knowledge and understanding of her studies is quite unimpaired."

David had never admired Professor Dumbledore so much perhaps as at that moment, save when he had revealed the tragedy of his sister. With smooth conviction he had implied without actually saying so that 'Araminta' Jones had suffered a debilitating illness. He had not even claimed her as Araminta, just recalled Araminta to the minds of the older students. David did not himself remember her; but he saw several of the older Ravenclaws murmuring and nodding and casting looks that ranged between the compassionate to the pitying at Madam Jones. It explained her lack of magical ability so cleverly! And it was much, much better than trying to cover for someone who had been so bright a star, as Dumbledore put it. And it was true that in the light of the way Krait had shown that even squibs could learn sometimes that Madam Jones might hope to develop her talents indeed!

David only hoped that, if he was teaching for the rest of his life, as seemed not impossible, and certainly a gratifying thought, one day he might be half as wise as Professor Dumbledore.

It was at least something to strive for.

And in the meantime he had to strive for the good of the school as Head Boy and try to do as well as Draco and Ginny; and that meant (and at this he groaned out loud) trying to make sure Fenella Fenwick shook down properly without causing too many troubles with her self righteous ignorant self assurance!

Well, Draco had turned Martin Umbridge into a decent character.

And that was another thing.

The Porteous girl might be somewhat subdued, together with her cronies, not to mention being tied up in their NEWTs; but in his own year were Baddock and Pritchard, Slytherin bullies who had laid low under Draco, sucking up to him being a Malfoy, but who had started to try to make make their bullying felt over the last year. Ginny had dropped on it when she had seen it; and the marauders – new and junior – had responded in kind. But now it was HIS responsibility to see them kept toeing the line. And see that they did not get any of the new intake in Slytherin following their lead. Though that was largely Emmeline's job; and for that she was more than capable. And she would have no hesitation, if she was having trouble, of using the marauders as a weapon.

And with their new favourite jinx that came under the title of a weapon of mass eruction…