Chapter 3

The next meeting of the Mad Marauders and Mortimer was for the purpose of purchasing their NEWT level books in Diagon alley; and Leo was bursting with the news that all the blood-joined had a good idea about anyway that his sister had given birth to a daughter.

Hawke had already told Mortimer, as his ward; and Mortimer had the kudos of having held small Leona Pardis.

The others had also met the other new babies to the Malfoy twins, Abraxus' twins with Myrtle, Arthur and Erica. It meant another Erica Malfoy; but then, it was Myrtle's middle name and at least the first Erica would be out of school before this babe was anywhere near school age. For this reason the new babe was to be Erica Daphne – another good shrub as Myrtle said – and that would distinguish her.

The Malfoy twins had laughed that Hogwarts would be knee deep in Malfoys in the year those three entered; since their sister Morgan was expecting again for October, and that was twins too, not to mention Finn carrying her first baby for Lucius and Narcissa having managed a little boy at last at the end of the Summer term, her little Scorpius after three girls. And Tanjela was also expecting again, twins again too. As Merope Snape was as Malfoy as her mother that could mean ten Malfoys, a whole house complement. And Lydia pointed out that as Prince Victor had Malfoy blood, there was an eleventh in his daughter Franziska, unless she went to Prince Peak.

"And the combined efforts of the Princes and the Blacks aren't so bad either" she said "'cos there's Alphard from Willow, Hilary's expecting again with cousin Alexander's, Leona and Merope count there too, Leona as a Black and Merope as a Prince and Petunia Dursley's mother is a Black."

"And Ginny expecting twins to make sure of having the odd Potter to keep them on track" laughed Leo. "They're girls and they're going to call them Frederica and Georgina. Just to keep up the tradition."

"The school will fall" said Lydia with conviction.

This had to be celebrated; so they promptly set to work to make a sign to set up in Diagon Alley for the edification of all visiting wizards. And Mei who was best at enchanting, enchanted their paint brush to sign it in the hand writing of Mary-Anne's mother's boyfriend.

It read,

"ACHTUNG! In the interests of standardisation for the ease of magical transport all wizards and witches are now to be of standard sizes. Those wizards who are too tall will be lopped down and their excess substance added to the legs of those who are too short. Be ready for specially trained ministry inspectors who will be feeling the bosoms of all witches to see if they conform to standard size ranges. By order!"

The Mad Marauders fell about laughing over this effort; and Mortimer was becoming even keener on joining them!

But NOT until he had shown that he could stand on his own two feet at school!

Mortimer was not to be the only new one at school of course; it was a whole new school year with a whole new intake of new ones, who were staring about in awe and some trepidation at all the bigger kids getting new year's books, greeting friends, surreptitiously jinxing enemies and undertaking all the usual activities of Diagon Alley in the second half of August. Those who were fortunate had siblings or relatives to go with; and small Jingjie Chang thought himself very lucky indeed to have his big cousins Mei and Ming to show him about a bit – and to be duly introduced to such lordly beings as prefects like Leo Black Weasley and Mad Lockhart and their friends. Dumbledore tried to make one male and one female prefect where possible in the fifth; so Chad had to swallow his disappointment that it had been Mad who was picked; and Lydia and Polly that it was Lydia's cousin Julia Malfoy who no-one could deny was the steadiest Gryffindor in the fifth. Mei was already a prefect and had declared that if Dumbledore ever made her brother a prefect he'd need his head examined.

This was partly because Ming had been to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and had acquired the newest clockwork toy, the automatic robe roller, that was attached stealthily to the bottom of the robe of the unsuspecting victim whereupon it rolled it up revealing what – if anything – was being worn beneath.

Mei had forbidden him ever to use it on her or her friends on pain of her writing to Argus Filch to apprise him of it ahead of time to ban.

Jingjie had both found it funny and found enough compassion to pity any victim within his better self and declined to buy any for himself.

There were four other weevils that the Mad Marauders were anticipating knowing; Nathan Malfoy; another Weasley cousin; Tobala Gan Torlo, sister of Gorbrin's friend Jardak; and U-May Naga, ward of Professor Assim Khan, otherwise known as Stripes, and already blooded in by the efforts of Bella Black.

Nathan Malfoy was as like to Draco to look at, at the same age as made no odds; slender, pale, with a pointed chin and big smoky grey eyes. He firmly wore his hair the same way too; Malfoys hung together and Nathan just about hero worshipped his big brother Draco, and indeed had pretty much forgotten that he was in fact Draco's cousin not brother. He was doing the rounds with Tobala, while Jardak went off with Gorbrin and his best friend Meliandra.

"You'd better be in Slytherin, Malfoy" said Leo when the Marauders met up with them "I've seen you play quidditch; with Gorbrin and Zajala and you we have half a prayer of actually beating the Ravers."

Nathan beamed.

"I was planning on playing chaser for my house if whoever's games pre will have me" he said.

"Lionel Dell's taking over because Kate Rosier's Head of House; Dell told me" said Leo. "He's still to play Keeper, Kate and Mel as Beaters, you Phil Burke and Zajala as chasers I reckon and Gorbers as seeker."

Nathan giggled.

"He HATES it when Jade calls him Gorbers, I think you really shouldn't" he said.

"Okay, I shan't" said Leo equably "I hate it when I get excited and stutter and people make something of it."

He left Nathan and Tobala teaming up with Isambard Cooper – apparently they had met – and decided not to hear in his prefect's deaf ear when the phrase 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' came rapidly into the conversation.

Taking Garjala on was likely to be one of the most profitable things the twins ever did; if they ever were able to come out of hiding after putting themselves on the death lists of incalculable numbers of parents and professors!

The Weasley child, Magnus, was the oldest of his family, technically another Black-Weasley save that they did not trouble with the double barrel. Septimus Weasley and Cedrella Black had had eight children, one daughter and seven sons and many of them had also displayed the fecundity for which the Weasley males were legendary. Magnus' father had five siblings; and if Magnus himself had only four to date, that seemed something that was quite likely to change. He was as red haired as any Weasley, an ordinary looking little boy who smiled cheerily at anyone who looked at all forthcoming. Leo pointed him at the Malfoy boy and friends; who had just found Walter Crabbe, brother of Victor Crabbe and cousin of Wilfrid in the fourth, who had thought it funny to hurt a beggar child. He held up a galleon and when the child ran over for it, laid it on her hand, making it red hot as he did so with magic.

The child was howling in agony, her hand in her armpit as Walter roared with laughter.

Nathan, Tobala and Isambard had gone to the little girl first; Nathan swiped Crabbe's wand to heal the horrific burn first then threw it back contemptuously as they comforted her.

"Mum'll see you all right" said Nathan kindly. Charlotte would soon get to the bottom of how come a child was begging and sort things out.

Crabbe pointed his wand.

"You haven't got yours yet!" he taunted, loosing the stinging hex. "Gobbo lovers and cissies deserve anything they get!"

Nathan had not; but his big brother was not an auror for nothing; and he knew well enough how to get a protective charm up without needing a wand to do it. Tobala promptly nutted Crabbe in the midriff.

At which point Leo turned up with Magnus.

"Illegal wand use, weevil?" said Leo with all the authority of a prefect "TRY not to get expelled before you even get to school; awfully bad form you know."

"He's a bully, Leo" said Nathan.

"And a racist" put in Tobala

"And really rather a nasty piece of work" Isambard was not to be left out.

"Well, that you weevils will have to try to sort out for yourselves" said Leo "If I hear him making racist comments I'll give him the prefect's punishment for it; but I can't go fishing you out of trouble. You seem to have subdued him nicely so far, carry on the same way, if I catch you jinxing him I'll set you an impot. This is Magnus; as you can guess he's a Weasley, Black-Weasley but more Weasley than Black TRY not to get him into too much trouble."

Nathan, Tobala and Isambard regarded Magnus thoughtfully.

"C'mon, we have a kid to take to my mum then let's talk japes" said Nathan.

Leo made sure they were out of sight before he took his thoughtful gaze off the Crabbe boy.

This then was the kid who had, by all accounts, so soured Victor Crabbe that his unacceptable behaviour had got him expelled. Leo had heard that this was a spoiled baby; and, it seemed, cruel into the bargain. Lovely little would-be deatheater in the making! Leo determined – if the kid fetched up in his own house as seemed likely – to keep a very close eye on this one.

U-may was excited; now she was to be in school with Bella and Mimi and the others!

"Oh mighty guardian" she asked, bowing deeply to Assim Khan "Is it likely to be permitted one day that I might call you 'most honoured father'?"

Assim regarded her with heavy lidded gaze.

"Is your wish, Oh oldest flower of my household, that you should be my daughter then?"

"It is my dearest wish, Oh most dread and wonderful guardian" said U-may.

"Supposing I wanted to have you grow up more English and call me 'daddy'?" asked Assim who had been struck by the close and loving relationship between Severus and his children.

U-may gasped.

"Oh honoured one, being English will please me very well, if such is your wish!"

Assim held out his arms; and she ran to him. He was purring deep in his chest.

"Think you that Purnima will like me to be her daddy too?"

U-may nodded vigorously.

"She doesn't remember her real parents; and mine didn't want me when they found I was a Parselmouth. YOU want us both!"

"I do, my daughter. I do" said Assim softly. "And Bella will be my bride one day; but somehow I think if you ever tried to call her 'mother' she would cuff you in the English fashion with two fingers to the back of the head in gentle rebuke."

U-may giggled.

"Yes I expect she would!" she agreed.

In Diagon Alley U-may also attached herself to Nathan and his growing band; she had been to Malfoy Manor to meet him at Bella's invitation and Nathan had been glad to meet up with a fellow weevil. He was expecting to meet Jingjie Chang soon too, for Gorbrin had told him about his friend Ming's cousin.

They had a respectable number to band together against the likes of Walter Crabbe anyway.

The Changs ran into the Pippins, cousins of the Spikenards.

Salvia Pippin pulled an agonised face, unusual for one so usually calm and on top of things.

"Mei, I'm praying that you get my latest cousin in YOUR house" she said "Lavender and Rosemary are mostly harmless, m'brother doesn't mind sharing a class with them but Hazel, their little sister! Ouch!"

"What's wrong with her that we should have to have her foisted on us?" asked Mei mildly, knowing that this was just Salvia's way of sounding off and not personal attack on Ravenclaws. After all, another cousin, Daphne Spikenard, was a Ravenclaw in Mad and Chad's year, the other fifth form prefect and guilty of little more than being a dead bore.

"She's a seer" Salvia shuddered.

"That ought to please your grandmother" said Mei "I thought you were disappointed that you weren't and felt you let her down?"

"Yes well, there's a difference between having some ability in divination and being a SEEHRess" said Salvia, emphasising the word. "Hazel does the actual trance crap and she doesn't half think a lot of herself for it; and she takes herself FAR too seriously. She's a bit like I heard old Madam Trelawney was like, always POSITIVE she's right in the way she reads people. And expects to be treated tenderly for her trances when she has them. And I think they're genuine enough; if she was faking it to get attention I could be sorry for her. But she's middle aged! At eleven!"

"Crumbs, she does sound a bit of a traditional Raver, doesn't she?" said Mei with devastating candour. "Sounds like we should sick her onto Amos Leroy and let them bore each other."

Salvia laughed.

"Oh THANK you Mei, that's the first thing I've found funny since I realised she was up this year! If she is in your house, will you try to protect her from herself? And your brother?"

"I'll do my best" said Mei, cautiously. "Unless she pisses me off so thoroughly I withdraw protection long enough to teach her a solid lesson."

"Well can't say fairer than that; ta" said Salvia.

Bella Black and her gang hastened round as fast as they could – they had arranged for Smiths to have the books for their electives sorted out to save time – so they could lay in wait for, and pounce on the child named Charis Rawlins as soon as she arrived. And as soon as someone was addressed 'Madam Rawlins' they duly pounced.

The child thus surrounded by five much older girls, one an elf, was startled but managed to look self possessed.

"Charis Rawlins?" demanded Bella.

"That's me. I don't think I know you."

"No; but you will, everybody does" said Bella "Even the teachers we don't have. I'm Bella, these are Mimi, Drusilina, Maud and Isabel. And we wanted to tell you how much we tremendously admired your grandfather and his foster parents and how clever it was to make a film to cover the substitutiary locomotion that I've forgotten the real name for, 'cos we used the words from the film to get the castle armour dancing not last year but the year before and we sort of got in trouble and got praised in the same sentence by The McGonagall who teaches transfigurations 'cos she said we shouldn't have been able to use a made up incantation to get them going."

"It's in belief structures" said Mimi "we believed in it hard enough so it worked."

"Crumbs" said Charis "That's rather impressive. How did you know about me?"

"Simple" said Bella "Madam McGonagall told us it was based on truth and that it was a ministry cover-up so we poked around the records to find Charlie Rawlins and what girl he most had detentions with, and things and then the next lot of Rawlins kids and so on. We used past copies of the Prophet too in the hatch, match and dispatch columns. And you're my cousin, kinda, if he DID marry Elizabeth Hitchens, 'cos Hitchens are a branch of the Black family. Leonard Hitchens and Peter Hitchens are in the lower sixth and the fourth respectively in Ravenclaw, they're okay. I should think you might be a Gryffindor though."

"My family seem to be" said Charis cautiously.

"Maud and me are Gryffs" said Isabel "The other three are Slythers; Slythers and Gryffs work a lot better these days than when your parents were up."

"And we're the Belle Marauders" said Bella "your dad and mum were younger than the original Marauders and I guess they might have thought they were prats but WE take Marauding a lot more seriously; and my cousin Sirius who's one of the original Marauders recognises they could have done better and helps us not to be prats. And they DID all fight Voldemort of course. We've got protégés who are weevils – first years– so if we introduce you to them, it's a friend to start with for both of you 'cos they only know boys otherwise."

"Well I don't know anything about Marauders but I can ask mum and dad" said Charis "And I think it's an excellent idea to start off with friends, assuming we hit it off all right. Still, it's all so exciting, I should think we have that in common. Are these girls relatives of one of you?"

"No we found one being kept almost as a slave in India" said Bella "And she's really nice; she has a WICKED tongue too. And she's bound to get up to mischief. The other one is the younger sister of our Gorbrin's best friend, she's clever and resourceful, you aren't racist against Goblins and elves are you? And you DO plan to get up to mischief don't you?"

"I can't say I'd thought about it" said Charis " I never met any goblins or elves before. Is Mimi an elf?"

"Yes, and if you've never thought about it that's good because you don't have any preconceived ideas about how to be racist" said Bella. "You can have a lot of fun if you all work together."

"Well as to getting into mischief, I guess it depends on why" said Charis "It seems silly just to get in trouble for the sake of it."

"Partly to have fun" said Bella "But really to hone our skills so when we get old enough to fight evil and save the country from dark wizards we've got the ability and the chutzpah to do it. You don't get to be a fighter against evil sitting at a desk with a shining morning face growing good."

"I suppose not!" Charis was struck by that.

She was claimed at this moment by her fond mama who gave the older girls a rather uncertain smile and proceeded to bombard her offspring with questions; which Charis seemed to accept with a calm aplomb.

"Hmm, can't make up my mind if she's all right or not" frowned Bella.

"She's like Isabel and Drusillina" said Maud "Kinda calm and collected on the outside; but I think she's all right really."

The Madams Malfoy – all four of them – were meanwhile finding out about the child beggar.

The ascertained that her name was Bathsheba – she was a little uncertain about any more than that – and that she had five younger siblings except that the baby was dying because mother had died and baby didn't eat food that was put in front of her and dad sent them all out to beg so he could get enough booze and buy food if there was any over.

Bathsheba was eight, she thought.

The Madams Malfoy were not sure whether to be more appalled at her ignorance over how a new baby should eat or over the behaviour of a father who seemed to ignore his offspring other than as a means to bring in enough money to feed his drink habit.

The first purchase was baby milk from Hubble and Sterr; then the witches swept Bathsheba off to her poky apartment right at the other end of Lemuria Lane where they proceeded to take over, feed the baby – and Narcissa left Charlotte in charge while she apparated the child to St Mungo's for proper medical rehydration – sort the children out and take them firmly away from the drunken lump that snored naked in the main room.

How much magical ability there was likely to be in them was perhaps debateable; but the Madams Malfoy, discovering a need in society, had just expanded the crèche to become an orphanage, and as it was associated with the free school, now starting to make a reputation as a good place with all right people, children were less afraid to go there.

When Narcissa returned, she and Finn took the lot of them to the capable care of the three women who ran the place. The fourth and fifth children might have enough ability to end up on scholarship to Hogwarts; the rest were too low in talent to be worth a scholarship unless they developed any other talent like music or art; and frankly it seemed highly unlikely from such parentage, for from what Bathsheba said, their mother was not talented either and put up with being beaten without even using defensive spells.

They just left the inadequate father be.

He would be unlikely to go looking in Obscura Alley for his missing children; he would just have to fend for himself.

And the child Bathsheba would have to learn that she had to put herself and her siblings first for once and her father a long way down the list; for he was not worth her concern.

It has to be said that the various offspring and etceteras that the Madams Malfoy were escorting down Diagon Alley were most put out at having missed the chance to interfere. It has also to be said that the reason Gorbrin and his friend Meliandra were not around was because they had caught sight of one of the targets of their dossier-compiling and had been tailing him! Most of those they had kept notes on had already been rounded up in the sweeps against those who did goblin coursing – Lucius had been much relieved since he did not want the amateur detectives to get themselves into danger – but there were still those who disliked goblins who would not go that far.

It provided hours of harmless fun for the two children and helped to make sure that their targets knew that Lucius – as they thought – still had an eye on them. The two were getting better at shadowing, however; and picked up a lot of knowledge that their targets were NOT aware of. And which might prove useful one day.

Their target today apparently owned property in Tangent Court; and was doing his own rent collection. Meliandra and Gorbrin picked up that he refused to let apartments to goblins; and that he encouraged his more racist tenants too to make life uncomfortable for goblin neighbours.

Armed with a pen that could take down words spoken at a distance – invented by Willow and now a part of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes once Garjala had heard the idea and passed it on – they kept verbatim notes.

They would need more paper and parchment for school but such was life. This was important!

Nathan had done what was necessary in passing on Bathsheba to his mothers' excellent care; he WAS interested but felt himself not yet equal to doing such things for himself.

He was sure he would learn.

Meantime he at least was content to learn about it from more of a distance.

Erica might have liked to have gone and helped; but her time would come and Erica was an obedient little body content to watch her siblings as she was told. She knew that one day she would be a part of her mothers' organisation doing social work; as did the twins Griselen and Genavka, and they already knew plenty. Zajala was determined to separate herself from poverty.

It was understandable enough; and neither Lucius nor the mothers blamed her in the least, so long as she never went far enough to be callous to the troubles of others.

Ian too preferred still to stand back; it was Bella who liked to be in the thick of everything!

But she had chosen to spend her time finding the Rawlins child; and so missed all the excitement. Still, it was traditional for Marauders to go poking after trouble in the holidays; and Bella fondly hoped that soon her group of Marauders would be allowed to do so!

It has to be said that it was the fault of the overfed crup that the fight started.

Crups, resembling forked tailed Jack Russel dogs who were loyal to wizards and aggressive towards muggles, were in the opinion of some of the wizarding community – notably Krait and satellites – almost as bad as Hagrid's blast-ended pekes.

The overstuffed magical dog growled at Charlotte; and Nathan's cat, a feisty lilac point Siamese who sounded enough like a violin to have probably originated from a transfiguration exam, hurled himself upon the offending creature.

Narcissa broke up the fight with an aguamenti spell, enabling Nathan to leap on his pet, named Machiavelli, while the witch gathered her pampered crup to her.

"Nasty little beast you have there" said Narcissa coldly "You should muzzle it if it can't leave the familiars of new kids alone."

"My Popsy NEVER goes for cats! You must have a squib or a muggle with you!" said the witch.

"Oh, ill trained is it? Or are you one of these types that LIKES setting crups on muggles? With muggle born likely to be in Diagon Alley, if you know your mutt is likely to misbehave you should stay away from the place when it's a new year, what's your name? I've half a mind to write to the ministry suggesting you have your licence to own a magical beast revoked if you can't act responsibly!"

The witch paled.

"I – I must have got the date wrong" she said "I – I think I'll be leaving now."

Narcissa gave her a hard eyed stare.

"Do" she said "And be aware if I ever see you here again at this time of year or letting your mutt anywhere near muggles I WILL follow it up. It's people like you that cause unrest."

The witch beat a hasty retreat.

Baiting the muggle parents of the muggle born might have seemed a fun idea but having her beloved Popsy taken from her by the Ministry at the request of this VERY expensive witch was a lot less fun!

Getting a licence to own a crup or a kneazle was NOT a given; and any complaints were taken seriously by the ministry!

The Mad Marauders meanwhile were enjoying the impact of their poster.

People took posters of ministry regulations seriously; though there had been a lot less in the way of foolish or oppressive new laws enacted since the new government had taken over – despite the best efforts of various ministry departments to introduce regulations without government sanction in their own fields of influence – there was still a wariness.

By the time they had read the notice all the way through most people were aware it was a hoax and were laughing in relief as much as amusement. A few stupider ones were worrying about what this directive meant for them.

Kindlier people enlightened them; less kind did not.

Some people almost asked to be taken for a wind up.

A few coarse comments were thrown over the second half of the notice; and someone called out the suggestion of opening a book on it being Lucius Malfoy who would be the highly trained inspector of bosoms.

"No takers!" called someone else "I never bet on certainties!"

It was a very successful jape; one that half caught people until they had realised its whole, and then afforded amusement to those caught as well as to those who had set it up. The best sort of jape there was. And those who took it seriously could scarcely have been anticipated, surely, by any reasonable person, so their distress was NOT bullying.

And the tall wizard running hither and thither in a welter of flailing arms and legs sobbing was pretty soon told by other, less mentally challenged, people not to make a fool of himself.

Severus was right.

Nine people out of ten WERE moronic given half a chance.

"Reckon the group around Nathan might make another generation of Marauders?" asked Lydia, watching the giggling and racially mixed bunch jostle happily on the way into Fortescue's for ice cream.

"There's a strong possibility" said Mei clinically. "Jingjie knows a little; I wouldn't tell him too much but he's got a higher sense of responsibility than Ming. Ming might have made a Marauder but he'd have to settle down a bit."

"I think he will" said Lydia "He's just bored because he's so clever. But it's Gorbrin and co he goes around with more than our lot. You know, we might bring that lot into the blood group without being necessarily Marauders as such; sort of back up. Like David and Ellie aren't Marauders but they are warriors."

"That's a good point" said Chad.

"It's rude to point, it's a good blunt" said Mad.

Chad poked him absently. It was an old joke.

"Well, we'll watch them" said Leo. "Who is it, Nathan, Isambard, Tobala, U-may, Magnus and Jingjie. Six strong; but then so are we, and maybe seven. There's no rules on that."

"The original marauders were four because it was the three sworn to keep Remus' secret and help him" said Lydia. "There can be no rules about a band of brothers sworn to fight evil. The Young Marauders were a bit er, many headed and mutable; Harry, Ron and Hermione were the core, but mum came along and kinda bound herself, Draco and Neville to them too. And dad became an original Marauder, and so is Stripes Khan now. It's just the way it goes; and whatever way it goes, if it feels right it is right."

The others nodded.

That was the way Marauders operated.

And it worked.