Warning a lot of very bad language mostly from some disommoded bullies
Chapter 19
While Heather was settling in and her parents having the realities of magical Britain broken to them, Baddock and Pritchard were looking for someone to get back at for a variety of tribulations – one solitary swooping curser had still retained enough magical energy to gleefully seek Baddock out after the holidays and was calling him a sweaty- arsed toerag and a pimply result of the union of a troll and a she-dire – and he was not happy. That he had also been in trouble for failing to finish a holiday assignment from Professor Snape set as punishment for repeatedly careless work and then having been bested by a weevil on the train had him furious with the whole world. Severus was particularly sarcastic at this time, because Grace was really extremely ill with her pregnancy and even stabilised by the bloodgroup there was some risk that the birth might kill her because of the way the placenta had implanted. Severus had been brewing blood replenishing potions to leave for Draco in case of any delay getting to her. This also led both David Fraser to give short shrift to evil doers; and Erich Snape, who was very close to his sister, to give short shrift to everyone except little Tala Ulwin whom he saw as his especial charge, and in need of the same gentle care Grace had been in need of at first.
It was the excuse Baddock and Pritchard needed; Erich was rude, it was because he was German, and nobody liked the crowd from Durmstrang. He wasn't as hard as people like David, they reasoned, because he did not belong to the duelling club.
Erich did not belong to the duelling club as a matter of personal ethics; he took war very seriously and though he accepted that demonstrations were a valid way of avoiding war he did not see why he should display his own skills for the amusement of others. He duelled in the MSHG where, if Baddock and Pritchard had but known it, he was considered a very solid man to have at your back.
They did not know, however; and consequently set upon Erich for a bit of feeling relieving sport, convinced that two could handle him easily.
Erich was not in a mood to play games.
He did however go to David to report himself for having reacted out of keeping with the dignity of a prefect to the pair.
"What did you do?" asked David.
"I apparated Baddock most of the way through a wall – his feet are kicking feebly in the corridor and his head's in a store room – and I used levicorpus on Pritchard and transfigured his clothing into a frilly pink ball gown and frillier pink knickers underneath" reported Erich. "And I have not released them because sorry I am not and so I place myself on report to you."
"Oh well, I don't suppose they'll come to any permanent harm" said David. "No dogs here to come and piss on 'em so no dogs'll be harmed. I can't punish a prefect even if I thought you deserved it; which I don't think you do. They picked on you; I consider you within your rights to retaliate. Some Professor or other will release them sooner or later. And a lot of juniors will get a good giggle in the meantime. I think I have to see this actually."
David gazed on the feebly kicking feet and the bizarre sight of Pritchard in the sort of gown Pansy Parkinson had been wont to wear; and listened with a raised eyebrow to the abuse Pritchard screamed. It quite drowned out the swooping curser cooing its insults to Baddock's unresponsive feet.
"Well, I had thought about helping you out had you been polite about it, Pritchard, but as you can't string a sentence together without swearing at me, I think I'll leave you there" said David. "Still, be tranquil; here's Colin Creevey with his camera to immortalise you for the school magazine. Didn't you already grace that with your disgraceful wriggling at Yule too?"
Dennis Creevey was happily snapping, having taken over from his older brother as semi official school photographer.
"Smile. Pritchard….Larvely!" he said.
The two furious Slytherin sixth formers were finally rescued by the staff; and it took Professors McGonagall, Vector and Dweemer their combined efforts to figure out how release Baddock from a most non-standard curse. McGonagall had intended to ask him how he got there, but when Baddock, unable to see in the dark storeroom who was speaking to him, gave her a blast of his foul mouth, Minerva said she really did not feel much like trying to release him either. Pritchard, freed from his dangled position but not from his princess gown, and subdued in the presence of so many Professors did not feel much like talking; and it took the arrival of Severus to acquire from the boy the information that they had been bested by Erich and that they had started it.
Erich, summoned, volunteered that he had apparated Baddock to get him in this position and had yes, Madam McGonagall, worked hard to position him so nothing vital had been squeezed though perhaps less harm might have been caused if he had stuck Baddock's head in the wall as there was nothing in there to damage at all.
This blatant piece of rudery left McGonagall no choice but to give the boy a detention – almost unheard of for a sixth former – which she would decide later.
"What, when you've finished laughing, Minerva?" Severus murmured in her ear.
"Stay oot o' this, Severus" said Minerva "Yer son is a bad boy."
"If you really want him out, I can get him out again" said Erich "Are you sure he's not less trouble this way?"
"It's a case of splinching – sort of" said Madam Vector. "Dear me, Erich, you worked out how to do this so precisely? And IN Hogwarts? A most impressive piece of calculation, there's not a part of him missing."
"I could fix that if you like, Madam Vector" suggested Erich politely. Minerva cleared her throat loudly and with meaning.
"Somehow I don't think that's a good idea, Erich. If you can get him out in one piece, dear, I think you ought to do so" said Vector.
Erich snapped his fingers and Baddock appeared in full, still swearing, and suspended by the ankle.
"Oops, sorry" said Erich, gesturing to release him; and the boy dropped to the hard stone floor with a crash.
Minerva winced.
It did silence him long enough however to realise as he got his breath back into his body that he had been calling his Housemaster, the Gryffindor Housemistress and two other Professors a bunch of fucking cunts and unmitigated fuckwits who should all be buggered by Hagrid and Grawp.
He was suddenly very, very quiet.
He started frothing at the mouth as Madam McGonagal gestured with her wand and summoned a large cake of soap into it.
"Most appropriate, Minerva, excellent" said Professor Dweemer, who was rather shaken by such language.
"Erich Snape" said Minerva "WHY did you splinch Baddock?"
"He and Pritchard jumped me and made certain insinuations about my father and some of my siblings" said Erich. "and also told me to go back to Durmstrang where they said I belong. They were casting curses also. I already most distraught was feeling because Grace is so very ill; and my temper I lost. To be causing you professors trouble am I sorry most truly but not for splinching Baddock and making Pritchard silly. Sillier I should say, my lack of precision please excuse."
"Your grammar is slipping; ye can dae better than that" said Minerva "Wee Gracie ill? It's the babe is it?"
"The placenta's over a blood clot of some sort and she could die birthing" said Severus. "It makes us all snippy."
"Weel, Erich, if this is snippy I wouldnae really like tae be on yer bad side" said Minerva thoughtfully.
"They called THEM deatheaters" said Erich thoughtfully "And Odessa types."
"Ye'll wrrrite me a twenty inch essay on the dangers of splinching and on how Hogwarts is supposed tae be a non apparatin' zone" said Minerva "And how ye got around that." She looked at Baddock and Pritchard. "Severus, I think as it was your son they were trying to torment I should take their discipline out of your hands."
"I leave them entirely to you, Minerva" said Severus "Since I'm inclined to concur with Erich's estimation that head down in the castle walls makes them much more palatable to look upon."
"Weel" said Minerva "Since I have nae doot that Mr Pritchard is as conversant wi' the awfu' words Mr Baddock wis usin' it seems tae me that they should research the background of a' those words and wrrite me a fu' defineetion; and then write me each a twenty inch essay on the richness of the English language and how many ways there are of declaring dissatisfaction wi'oot resortin' tae scatological and prrrocrreative words. It'll nae be as guid as the one Krait wrote though" she said sadly. "We hired that out round the staffroom at two sickles a go for the indigent student fund."
"I remember that!" said Professor Dweemer "Have you still got it? I'd pay to read that again…funniest thing I ever read. All the ways you can insult someone without resorting to crudity. Loved it. They won't come close, these two; no imagination."
"I'll ask Albus to look it out for you Percival" said Minerva. "Weel I suggest the twa of ye get on and start; it's going tae take ye a while tae do a' that research."
"But Madam McGonagall, we're the injured parties!" whined Baddock.
"IS that so? I've set Mr Snape punishment fer overreacting; but ye'll no' get ony sympathy frae me if ye will jump people in passages, and twa on one too" said McGonagall coldly "Ye should ask tae duel one on one like gentlemen syne ye've a grievance; or put taegither yer own army o' deatheaters, fer it's what ye'd need tae tak' doon a boy like Erich Snape who kens a thing or twa because he doesnae waste his time in class like ye pair o' babboons, now get out o' mah sight; ye disgust me!"
From the way Minerva eyed them, Baddock and Pritchard fled before the Transfigurations mistress made them into a pair of baboons in actuality.
Minerva disapproved of transfigurations as punishment; though she had come to accept the use of the woodlouse form purely for racist comments that Krait had started.
Erich's essay for Minerva was scholarly and well researched with much arithmantic reference and his explanation of how he achieved apparation within Hogwarts included a brief explanation of carrying house elf blood – in written form it was left unclear and might have been read as having a house elf ancestor – and therefore apparating through a different dimension requiring an extra integral calculus term to be introduced. This he got from Krait, who actually understood how it worked and who could reduce even Madam Vector to incredulous horror as her eyes started to glaze over. Krait had worked it out initially to see if she could make Hermione's eyes glaze in a period when Hermione was being insufferably smug over having all her seven NEWTs at 'O' grade when Krait had two at 'E'.
Hermione had been duly humbled and had not gloated again.
She also worked hard until she DID understand Krait's arithmancy.
They were working intermitently together to apply the calculations to the travel methods of the fey and their 'fadeplace' in case understanding it became important; and as a sideline to see if the fey connection had any connection to the deep impulse towards self punishment of house elves.
Only Severus, David and Fenella Fenwick had any idea about anything they were talking about and Erich only understood enough to write enough to profoundly disturb Minerva who was a fine practical arithmancer but no theoretician.
"Well she did ask" said Erich after he had handed it in.
By contrast, Baddock and Pritchard's contribution was poorly constructed, scarcely legible and came so far short of being in any respect scholarly that Madam McGonagall was moved to call Baddock's a work of illiterature and Pritchard's as sheer balderdash. Severus described each essay as twenty inches of offences against the English Language.
The pair were to suffer the further indignity of Jade finding out that they had tried to pick on her big brother; whereupon she cast on both with considerable stealth her own version of the fluorescent fart jinx that provided any effluent with the colours of puke green and violent violet. The clouds of methane then coalesced into insubstantial homunculi that pointed and went into paroxysms of silent laughter.
Baddock and Pritchard were being watched; and they knew it.
And they were most carefully watched as the foreign students turned up for the final test of the Triwizard to make sure they did not let Hogwarts down.
oOoOo
David was into the maze first, after exchanging a wink with Karl to let him know all was well. Karl looked a little worn; no doubt it had been trying being watched all the time, and having to keep acting worried.
David had no doubts that having the chance to defect would do wonders for the boy.
The maze was filled with feelings of doubt and uncertainty; and David frowned irritably. That was something introduced. Pogrebin no doubt; Dumbledore would never permit the use of dementors. He looked for small stones, the way these small Russian fey liked to hide. To laugh them to death seemed a little excessive.
"You types need cheering up" said David, casting the tickling charm.
It certainly distracted them from emanating feelings of hopelessness; they were too busy hating being made to squirm and giggle.
The little black thing that sprang at him from behind a hedge was something else entirely. And David could not for a moment think what it might be.
And then he realised.
It was a boggart.
There were no more fears deep enough for its powers to work; fear ceased to have any meaning once you had faced fear beyond fear.
"Oh bugger off" said David, irritably, walking forward ignoring it. What was the point of bothering with a ridikulus charm on something already ridiculous after all.
The boggart took a frightened look at him, and squealed and fled in terror; and David, with a flash of legilimensy realised that what it feared most was for someone to realise how small and helpless it was.
"So it's not really a dark creature; in a way it's an aggressive defence mechanism" he said "How fascinating! Now which way you devious bastard, Severus?" as he came to a split of the ways. He used geomancy, walking back and forth to pick up the way of most power; and made his choice. If he was wrong this would waste a lot of time.
He came to a shallow lake; it looked shallow enough to wade. Two monkey like, yet scaly creatures lurked in it.
Kappa, thought David, recognising them, what do I know about Kappa? Japanese water demons, have hollows in top of head to keep water in…they cannot function without that.
"levicorpus" David hoisted the two water demons up by the ankle and they shrieked and seemed to be begging as the water drained out of the hollow on the top of their head. He crossed the lake and turned to release them. They ducked under hastily to refill their heads.
David heard Karl's voice screaming
"Nein, nein, do not hurt Uschi!" and shouted as loud as he could,
"KARL! BOGGART!"
There was a moment's brief surprise then
"RIDIKULUS!" shouted Karl, adding after a moment "THANK YOU!"
There were more pogrebin – whom David duly tickled – and then he knew he reached the centre. The manticore was a bit of a giveaway. David looked on this lion-bodied, human-headed, scorpion-tailed monstrosity with some loathing. Manticores were resistant to magic and killing one was reckoned to be fairly close to impossible. Only Hagrid had ever been known to handle Manitcores when he illegally bred his blast-ended skrewts from manticores and fire crabs.
"Gee, thanks, Severus" said David with heavy irony. The thing was trying to get at him but he had a while to think as it seemed to be contained in a magical circle that doubtless he could – and had to – cross. So far as he could see, he had two choices; transform into something meaner than a manticore like a dragon or a basilisk; or kill it without using magical means.
David had no compunction over killing a manticore; they were nasty critters. He wondered if this was Dumbledore's way of getting rid of a pet of Hagrid's he had uncovered.
David sighed.
He didn't want to give the Germans more views of his transformational skills. He pointed his wand above the manticore.
"Accio Dolmen" he said.
The sky howled with the sound of several tons of falling granite; and the manticore looked up.
Too late.
"Well it worked for Ron against a troll using the levitation spell on a club" David muttered to himself. "Hmm, have I just shot myself in the foot? There's a stone partially under my rock…." He touched it.
The wrench of movement told him he was travelling by portkey.
He had time to hope he was supposed to be doing this when he landed in a room.
There was a wall of fire ahead of him, and between him and it a table with seven bottles of potions on it; all the bottles were dark glass so the colours could not be seen and there was a poem in Severus' spiky but crabbed hand.
"Before you here upon the table
Lies your clue: if you are able.
Seven Bottles, two of use
Two nettle tea, innocuous
But three are poison, so beware
And let me tell you what is there.
Of the poison, bottles two
Lie to the left of the nettle brew
One in from each end will never harm
And at one end the homeward charm
Of the remaining, one will kill
The other take you further still
But poison finds its brother beside
The last one left to the trophy abide."
"I hate riddles" said David aloud. "Right; one from each end is nettle tea." He moved them forward "And to the left of each poison" he moved those back "The third poison is next to another so that has to be the one in the precise centre because the other poison is on the end. The homeward charm is at one end – the far right, obviously; so third from the left takes me through the curtain of fire." So saying he swallowed that one and walked fearlessly through the curtain. He was in another room with the trophy. He picked it up, feeling faintly anticlimactic; and drained the second potion.
It was a liquid portkey judging by the unpleasant sensation; how like Severus to be so swanky!
And he was standing in front of the judges with the whole school cheering him.
"A MANTICORE?" he said in disgust.
Severus shrugged.
"It had turned up in the forbidden forest; I managed to drug it with sleep potion in meat. I thought you were probably resourceful enough to find a way of dealing with it; so I left it to you."
"I think I'm going to murder you a little bit Professor Snape" said David.
Severus grinned.
"Wait until you take your NEWTs; you won't get a better potions master" he said.
"David, Congratulations!" boomed Mr Murphy "Sure, and wasn't me heart in me mouth over that manticore, and it's glad I am that ye'r so cliver, so it is!"
"What about the other two?" asked David.
"We've sent in Marshals to tell them it's over" said Dumbledore "Jolly sportsmanlike of you David to warn Karl that it was a boggart he was facing; of course he's been out of his mind with worry about his sister."
David thought, more about what THEY would do if they caught her; but he said nothing on that subject.
"What else could I do?" he said simply.
"The mark of a true gentleman and champion – what else could you do indeed!" said Dumbledore warmly.
Karl and Alain were now coming forward, Alain rueful but resigned, Karl with a quiet elation.
Willow brought forward little Uschi.
"Your sister, Karl; kept safe as promised" she said.
"You at Hogwarts have treated me well" said Karl. He bowed to Dumbledore "I apologise that I conspired with some of your pupils in order that you should not know what had become of my sister in truth" he said "I did not wish you placed in an uncomfortable spot. David, thank you for arranging this."
"It was my pleasure, Karl" said David "I am sure Professor Dumbledore will permit you to sit your NEWTs here if you plan to stay."
"I do indeed plan to stay" said Karl "Because my sister was a hostage for my staying in Germany where foul and dark forces are at work. The evil that they do is as great as that of your own Voldemort. I wish to learn from those who killed Voldemort and take the fight to Odessa and show up the teaching methods of Durmstrang for the evil they really are. I say to the wizarding wireless whom I see, take my words and spread them, let the people of Britain know that there is a threat overseas that would like to oppress them. Let them have vigilance!"
"I would add my words to Karl's" said David to the wireless men "He speaks nothing but truth. I have seen such things. I have seen how duellists of Durmstrang are taught the forbidden curses and are permitted to use them, especially on a mudblood like me; I am muggle born and proud of what I have achieved. My blood – mud or otherwise – spilled for Harry Potter. I wear the zigzag scar with pride. And I will always fight evil and injustice and seek to bring down any that would impose it. Listen to Draco Malfoy's new character General Disorder; he will show you the nature of these Odessa scum. And I shall be proud to play the dim Private Paartz, even as I was Tuurd the troll. Be afraid of these Odessa creeps; but not too much. We licked Voldemort before, and Professor Dumbledore brought down THEIR leader Grindelwald. They are like boggarts; once you have learned not to fear, they are nothing but small, pathetic creatures that flee from an implacable foe."
"Mr Fraser, you told the boggart to go away" said Murphy "What did you see, may we ask?"
"A wee black mannie no higher than my knee; their natural form" said David. "What else is there to see?"
There were gasps.
Murphy looked on David with respect.
"You are rather an impressive young man" he said.
"No sir; I'm just one of Dumbledore's army against evil" said David. "One of Harry Potter's cohorts. We are here to hit the ground running when he calls. Soon Karl will learn how to do that too. Evil can only ever triumph when good men do nothing. While there are those of us to fight, with the will to fight, they can never win."
There was a profound silence.
This was a departure from just celebrating the winning of the Triwizard trophy.
"THREE CHEERS FOR DAVID FRASER!" cried Lionel Dell's voice. There were three sky-raising cheers and someone started to sing 'for he's a jolly good fellow' while David blushed furiously.
Hagrid sang with the rest but had a certain air of sadness about him that confirmed the origins of the errant manticore.
At least he would accept its end this way more easily than having the ministry put it down.
If they had any idea how to do so.
"Mr Fraser" said Severus sternly "Have you any idea how to put the dolmen back?"
"Professor Snape" said David, formally "I'm afraid I never thought THAT far ahead."
"TYPICAL Gryffindor" said Severus.
He was hiding the grin inside; but David could feel it.
Harry Potter came forward, with Cedric Diggory as previous joint champions to shake David by the hand; and Harry too said a word or two about the needs for constant vigilance against Odessa.
Everyone who knew Alastor Moody chuckled.
It was true enough however!
The party went on into the night and the German agents who had been watching Karl and looking as a secondary target for Uschi were rather disappointed. Each of the runaways was taken by the hand by a smiling house elf who apparated away with them.
Blood ritual searches with Karl's blood had failed before; there was no reason to think they would succeed this time. They would have to write off this defection for the time being. The damage had been done already by the British free wireless, reporting gleefully every detail of Karl's defection speech. He would have to be killed one day of course, as an example; they would bide their time.
These particular agents had no time to bide.
Severus had legilimensed every visiting foreigner and any British visitor he did not know the allegiance of; and pointed out five German and one French Odessa agents.
Grim faced blood group members assembled; Harry, Severus, Sirius, Krait, Erich and David.
"One each" said Severus.
"I hate killing" said Harry "We have no choice?"
"Kill to save innocents" said Severus, harshly. "No-one said you have to use your wand, your naked mind. You had a sword you left lying around after the last little do as I recall."
Harry gave a rather rueful grin and went to get Gryffindor's sword. It knew him well enough now to come under a summoning charm.
David used a silenced luger as did Erich; Sirius stabbed his. Severus cut the throat of his and Krait became her namesake and bit hers with swift deadly venom.
The bodies they took to the Forbidden Forest to be heavily disguised as Thestral shit as Krait said with black humour.
And then the desperate blood call came.
Narcissa was protesting faintly – and futilely – about manners as the entire Blood group appeared in Malfoy Manor, invading Draco's suite at his cry for aid for Grace; even heavily pregnant Ginny Potter was there, a month or more behind Grace, who had fallen pregnant straight away.
The heartbeats were synchronised; and Krait was running hands over Grace's belly, feeling what was going on, reaching for a mind within. Severus stood by with blood replenishing potions and a vial of unicorn blood – Krait had made sure to donate this in plenty of time – and holding Draco's hand as though he was a little boy.
"At least we got rid of the problem first" said Harry grimly, thinking about leaving Hogwarts with German agents about and no bloodgroup members. "Ginny, love, are you all right?"
"No; I'm going into labour in sympathy" said Ginny "But yes, because I don't think I'm having any problems."
Krait was busy using charms to manipulate the baby and loosen the cervix.
"Ready with those potions, and everyone ready with their support" she said.
And then the bloodgroup knew pain; took it, divided it, dissipated it to keep Grace from being weakened by it; and Severus was pouring blood replenishing potions into his adopted daughter as the blood poured from ruptures made by the problems with her placenta, and Krait was using charms to hurry the baby out, hurry the placenta out so she could cast healing spells and stop the terrible flow of blood as the bloodgroup fed her power to do it. And it was over for Grace; and she held in her tired arms the tiny red thing with a tuft of white blonde hair.
"We decided to call him Edward after the Bloody Baron" said Draco "Rather appropriate the way he looks right now; though I'm not sure he doesn't look more like a skinned rabbit."
He was grinning a ridiculous grin of pride though and hardly noticed Grace poking him for that!
Then they were supporting Ginny; shielding Grace.
Small Molly Potter was born early, angry, and none the worse for the experience.
It was all over; and the blood group went to sleep, any old how, any old where.
David wondered if Albus had missed them.
It really didn't matter.
Albus was equal to covering for them.
They had to get back before too long though; there were OWLS to be taken for some of the group.
Back at school, Dumbledore got rid of the visitors; the French contingent worried about their missing member, the Germans generally relieved over theirs and not wanting to know why they had vanished and thinking it better not to mention this to the Britishers in case the agents did not want attention drawn to themselves and had gone voluntarily into hiding to seek the errant boy and his sister.
Dell noticed the lack of Blood group; and having heard of Erich's concerns – Lionel generally managed to hear things not intended for his ears – made the assumption they were with Grace.
"And we wish her the best of luck" he said soberly. "I think it's time we explained all this to Heather; eleven is not a bad number, arithmantically."
"We havenae got the dolmen; David borrowed the top of it" said Alice
"It's the location, not how many pebbles there are" said Lionel firmly.
Heather was delighted to be invited in to the Tuthill-Dell bloodgroup; she had no preconceived ideas to worry her or to associate it with dark magic.
And besides, as Lionel said, it was their duty to be as strong as possible in case Grace died and the school did not have its main bloodgroup.
And being Lionel he meant every word of his call to duty.