A/N Many thanks to Taylur who told me how to get round the glitch!
Chapter 14
Not all of the Marauders were at the station for the start of the summer term; Abraxus and Hawke were staying with Mrs Carmichael and Myrtle, as was Sephara as Myrtle's best friend, until after the funeral of Arthur Carmichael.
Arthur had demanded a last meal of FATTY pork chops, ice cream and a glass of brandy – all forbidden by his doctor - to wash down the potion Severus had given him. He and fallen quietly asleep contentedly puffing on the pipe his doctor had forbidden him long since and had never woken up. His last words had been,
"Stuff that stuffy little creep… I love you all, don't let the doctors or the ministry grind you down."
Somehow his expression was more smug than serene.
oOoOo
David supposed it should not have surprised him that Mary-Anne Green failed to turn up too.
He ran her to earth, by use of the mobile phone, waiting fruitlessly at CHARING Cross station. It was too late to get across London so he told her to stay put for Wendy to collect her; Abraxus, Hawke, Myrtle and Sephara were to escort some visiting prospective muggle parents to the school in a few days and she might as well go with them. Wendy would see she was all right.
It was all because of the new scheme to hide Hogwarts by obviousness; and also part of the plan to involve the muggle relatives more in their offspring's and siblings wizarding lives; some of the siblings visiting this time might be at the new school, to be re-named Rowan House, mostly for the convenience of the muggle postal service since it was currently known as Rowan Park Orphanage. There were rowan trees about too, which had helped swallow magic, since rowan was a magic-absorbing plant. For the non-magical children it would make no difference; and if any had some small skills, rowans growing outside would be unlikely to make much difference. It did make apparating difficult; but there was a tube station close by at Parsons Green. In an emergency the most skilled house elves could evacuate casualties to St Mungo's.
David had one more minor hiccup to his schedule of getting people loaded on the train.
Parnassus and Mourne arrived at the same time and things went downhill from the moment they set eyes on each other. By the time they had entered the station they were screeching at each other at the tops of their voices and attracting no little attention; and Parnassus actually reached for her wand – that Krait had felt she ought to return before the holidays whether the girl had apologised or no – although they had not passed onto the platform.
David strode forward.
"NOT before muggles!" he said in a tight, furious voice "Have you taken leave of your senses, Parnassus? That's an expelling offence! Not to mention both of you being a bad advertisement for the school, screaming like muggle chavs! Have you no self respect? What do you think you sound like? It isn't pretty! I've seen more decorum from quarrelsome whores in Knockturn Alley!"
They fell silent, flushing with emotion and embarrassment.
"Sorry Fraser" said Elisa Mourne. "She…"
"No tales" said David "I can guess who started it; you girls haven't exactly kept your squabbles private. Now go and get into different carriages; if I hear of either of you before we get to school I'll set you a prefect's detention."
They went on through the barrier, firmly not looking at each other; and David heaved a sigh of relief.
There was a new Professor this term; Neville Longbottom was to teach junior potions for a term or two since Krait was somewhat indisposed; this latest pregnancy was causing her some problems. Krait had been heard to say that if she was going to be ill with any, at least this child had the consideration to be on the way after Voldemort was dead so she didn't have to worry as much; and then added with a wry face that laying eggs would be so very much easier. Once the four missing blood group members were back in school, Severus planned on asking in Ron, Hermione, Harry and Draco if St Mungo's could not improve her, to see if the blood group could not improve matters.
Naturally, some of the older girls were giggling and making eyes at Neville; enough remembered him as an implacable fighter against evil in the sixth with Harry; and if he was not as eligible as Harry, he was famous by association. Neville was horrified and barricaded himself into a compartment with Severus, who teased him gently about not having always looked upon him as a refuge.
"I think even being reduced to terrified incoherent incompetence is better than being torn apart by predatory teenage girls" said Neville with feeling. "They get worse, I swear they get worse!"
Severus grinned.
"They never seem to try to vamp ME, sexy scar or not" he said. "I wonder why…."
Neville chuckled.
"Almost I wish I had a reputation for aloof and wordy misanthropy…. I hope I don't let you and Krait down; I'd not feel nervous teaching DADA but potions…."
"You'll be fine" said Severus "And I'm going to ask you a favour."
"Anything Severus."
"Sephara. Blooded in she's no squib any more; but she lacks self confidence still. She's my pupil, as a fourth year, but she isn't yours; keep an eye on her for me, will you? With Krait incapacitated, she'll be happier knowing Sephara has someone to go to…"
"Poor old Krait….can we help?"
"If St Mungo's can't…. I'm monitoring the potions they give her, and actually I'm not sure I can't do better though obstetrics is hardly my field."
"I'd have thought you can do better than anyone at any potioneering" said Neville.
"Well at least I don't have to produce a potion to control a wereknarl…" said Severus, and had Neville in stitches recounting the exploits of the marauders to pay back Derwent for causing Myrtle to be upset.
Elisa Mourne was horrified to find that Krait would not be in evidence and that she was ill.
"Whatever's wrong with her?" she demanded of David "Is her baby going to be all right?"
"Oh you know about that do you?" said David "Well, it's the baby that's the problem; they call it pre-eclampsia and it means the baby poisons you and St Mungo's is giving her potions to improve things, but if you ask me, Professor Snape ought to analyse what they're doing and make better ones."
"Oh I'm sure he could! His potions are ALWAYS the right colour" said Elisa with the awe of one whose potions were rarely the right colour.
David opened his mouth to make indignant comment about so prosaic an assessment of Professor Snape; and shut it again. It was a bit like trying to explain how great Johann Sebastian Bach was to someone who was tone deaf.
oOoOo
Hagrid buttonholed David when they got back.
"We got a gnome problem" he said "They're everywhere."
"We'll have to have a de-gnoming day" said David "The kids'll love it and you can get in a few good homilies about some of the lesser magical creatures while we're at it. I'll tell you what. I had been planning on building a gnome catapult to eject them; and we might even get them to use it by themselves. Alice and Ellie and I took some to Glasgow inadvertently and left them playing gleefully on a fairground ride; they loved it. They'll come back for more of course; but gnomes always do come back unless you set cats or a jarvey on them to eat them, and they don't do enough damage to warrant that. And at least if they're playing on a catapult they're not digging up the pumpkins."
"Ar, that's a good idea" said Hagrid, relieved.
The term settled down; with a few stray comments about those faces that were not present, the Malfoy twins being most conspicuous for their absence since – as the unkind said – it was so unwontedly quiet without them.
Derwent gloated somewhat over the absence of Myrtle; he expressed the opinion that the ministry had finally caught up with her.
Romulus and Kinat, missing their friends and feeling for Myrtle's sorrows, took Derwent behind the broom sheds and gave him a comprehensive and thorough muggle-style beating up. They felt much better for it.
Derwent felt sore; but decided to leave it be.
Running up against the marauders, even when down on numbers by a half, was a painful business.
oOoOo
Meanwhile the other Marauders and the girls picked up Mary-Anne Green, who promptly hugged and kissed Myrtle and said that she was sorry about her daddy because daddies were special.
"If rather scatty in her dad's case" Hawke muttered to Abraxus.
Myrtle was touched and hugged the child back.
They were to meet the muggle families at Kings' Cross, the train having returned for them. There were three families; and Abraxus was relieved that they had all turned up. Their expressions held a mix of emotions, especially the grown ups who had received a real shaking to a lifetime's belief structure in the demonstrable existence of magic.
"Lisa Field, Gerald Purbeck and Freya Tuthill and families?" asked Abraxus politely.
"You're our escort?" asked a woman "I was expecting someone…"
"Older?" said Abraxus "We happened to be going late because of sad family business so Professor Dumbledore asked us. He trusts us to undertake the commission adequately."
"I – er I was going to say, stranger looking" said the woman.
"Fashions do differ in the alternate world" said Hawke "But we feel more comfortable fitting in with the other young people in the neighbourhood in which we live. Clothes do not a man or woman make; it is their actions and intent, if I may say so without causing offence."
"Oh, no offence taken.. and when you put it that way I suppose not" she said "My husband and I are a little concerned that Freya will find it difficult to fit in if she is, er, different, and encouraged to dress…differently."
"Heh, half the girls at school are Goths, copying Madam Malfoy" said Abraxus "It's alternative but not out and out weird. Is that what you're concerned about?"
"Yes" said her husband.
"This is one reason we're hoping to have more contact between the muggle born and wizardblood families" said Abraxus "To enable greater understanding. We're hoping to have a sister school that teaches 'O' levels along side studies of the wizarding world, and even some of our qualifications – like Wizarding History – that non magical siblings could study if they wished and so have qualifications in our world too. Or not; as they chose. It's to open next year so your next daughter, if she's not magical, could go there if you wished. And I guess your older boy could transfer."
The older boy looked thoughtful; the younger girl, who had been scowling mutinously blinked in surprise and stared thoughtfully at him. The youngest child of all put her finger in her mouth.
"That would be nice maybe" said the woman cautiously. "All we want is for Freya - for all our children - to be happy; and have their particular talents catered to; and she's keen."
Freya nodded eagerly.
"Are there problems for those of us without a magical background?" she demanded "Like being born in the wrong family or wrong neighbourhood in ordinary school?"
"You'll get snobbery from some kids of course" said Abraxus "My twin and I have a muggle mother and a father who was not allowed to go to Hogwarts by his mother; our cousin Sephara here is a pureblood witch. Myrtle is Muggleborn like you three and Mary-Anne has one parent of each. Her dad's a muggle, he's a really nice guy and he's scattier than a research-wizard I assure you. That's why she's with us; she ends up more times than otherwise at the wrong station and even went to Devon with a boys' school once."
Mary-Anne grinned.
"I guess it would help if I wasn't a bit vague too" she said.
Another of the children, who must be Lisa Field, smiled a rather patronising smile.
"I expect the application of scientific principle to magic will improve its effects; and so we of scientific background will bring benefit to the school" she said.
"Whatever gave you the idea that we do not apply scientific method to our studies?" said Abraxus in surprise "I do hope you're not going by Shakespeare's rubbish about eye of newt and all that…. Cousin Krait once had to write an essay on that poem as detention as to why it was why it was so wrong on so many levels. Our potions master, Professor Snape hates imprecision. Of course it is different; in magical potions, the number and direction of stirs can determine the success or failure of a potion, but such is all subject to mathematical – or as we say, Arithmantical – principles. The Fibonacci series was first described in OUR society in the thirteenth century; and we call it the Wenlock numbers. It is of great importance in many applications."
The girl's father was staring.
"You mean this magic nonsense is quite reproducible? Demonstrably so? But Lisa has shown very odd and random effects so far."
"Naturally sir; she is an untrained witch who is finding her ability. She has no wand training – you may look upon a wand as a focus, as a properly focused series of lenses may cause light to lase, so to the wand focuses the power of the mind. It's a bit like a kid who is fantastically musically talented given a trombone to play with. With enough practice and mucking around they will eventually learn how to play, but they'll do it quicker and better with instruction, and stop sounding like a sheep being strangled a lot quicker."
"That's David Fraser and his bagpipes" laughed Hawke.
They fell about laughing.
" – long story" said Hawke "Maybe for the train. And you, lad, you're Gerald Purbeck?" he spoke to the third child who smiled solemnly.
"Yes; and I get to be allowed to go to somewhere called St Mungo's for the hole in my heart" he said.
"Excuse me, are you going to let witchdoctors loose on your child?" asked Lisa's father.
"Damn right we are" said Gerald's father "The medical profession has failed him, he can't take a pacemaker and they've given him three years to live. Professor Dumbledore seemed to think that for wizards it was an easy fix. We'll try anything!"
"It is an easy fix" said Abraxus "I expect Madam Ponfrey the school nurse could manage it, though I don't personally think much of her skills. It's a relatively simple transfiguration involving a ticklish but straightforward joining spell. Hardly worth even going to St Mungo's for; most of the staff at Hogwarts could manage it, but the wizarding world is very proper about protocol; and protocol will be observed unless he fell ill before the medical transfiguration was scheduled. You'll be going with our mum, Wendy Malfoy I expect; she's the London Area muggle representative in our parliament so things like that are her job."
"Who elected her?" demanded Freya Tuthill.
"The other muggle families of muggleborn and halfblood pupils past and present" said Hawke. "She's also on the committee of the Society for the Support of indigent and marginalised women. Aunt Narcissa and Aunt Charlotte started it together and asked Mum in. Aunt Charlotte's a muggle too, but she has some talents; she can make magical paintings, the ones that move. It may be that those who don't have the talent to go to Hogwarts have minor talents like that, which will also be trained in Rowan House."
"Named I suppose because Rowans traditionally keep witches out?" asked Lisa's father sarcastically.
"No, named that because it was already named Rowan Park and there are rowan trees there" said Myrtle "Rowans have an adverse effect on magic because they absorb it like – like…"
"Like Prussian Blue absorbs Thallium" said the older Tuthill boy.
"Kinda" said Hawke "More like a hoover I guess, or a black hole because it actively sucks it in, and like a singularity isn't as dangerous except at the wrong angle because science is a subject to old wives' tales as magic is, Mr Field."
"It's Doctor Field" he said "But I like your analogy; and I must say you all argue well without falling back on the old phrase 'it works because it does'."
"My apologies for miscalling you Doctor" said Hawke "Most of our fellows I fear might not be able to argue as cogently; but then, how many fourteen year old chemistry or physics students can explain to you clearly why their experiments behave as they do? I suspect that most of them would shrug and say 'because sir says so'."
"I fear you are only too right" said Doctor Field. "I look forward to seeing more of this school and observing the reproducibility of the magical effects."
"Don't rely on it from first years" said Abraxus dryly. "Would you like to come through the barrier? The train is waiting on the other side. We can debate further when we are aboard if you wish; we are here to answer any questions any of you may have as fully as we are able."
oOoOo
Abraxus later said that it was almost fortunate when they got to the castle and were showing the parents around that Colin Weasley had managed to surpass himself in the failure stakes.
They entered as Severus was saying.
"Mr Weasley, you appear to have discovered a new colour unsurpassed in the spectrum of loathsome vileness"
"I don't quite know what I did sir" said Colin.
"Do you not? Then permit me to enlighten you. You managed, through being more intent in your whispered conversation with Mr Crouch-Jones, to forget the seventh stir counter-clockwise; and even so you have managed to procure a concatenation of noxious foulness even more insalubrious than most manage who lose count; and I can only conclude that you also failed to properly chop your shrivelfig. I can think of nothing better to do than to banish this unwholesome mess!" he whipped out his wand "evanesco!"
The solution vanished.
"Hmm, easier way of clearing up than what students do to test tubes" said Doctor Field.
"Shrinking solution" said Abraxus "it can go muddy if you stir it wrong but I don't think I've ever seen anyone take it to a colour beyond well-rotted puke before."
"Ah, Mr Malfoy… an interesting description if not particularly edifying" said Severus "Class, we have visitors."
The class had been too busy covertly watching Colin's misadventures to notice the door opening; and duly rose to their feet for the visitors.
"I'm sure our visitors will not mind if you go ahead now with decanting" said Severus "As we have only a few minutes before the bell…DO remember to put your names on your decanters, I cannot grade you if your labels fall off. Mr Weasley, you may repeat the potion during Quidditch practise if you wish for a grade above 'T' I will not make it a detention but leave it to you. The OWL students are in there then and I dare say if you ask nicely Mr Fraser will give you some hints."
"Th-thank you sir" said Colin.
"'T' grade?" asked Freya.
"Troll" said Hawke "Direr than dire in other words. Young Weasley's been promised a new broom by his father if he can make a pass grade average in potions by the end of the year; that's an 'A' grade, acceptable. It's a great incentive; he's good at quidditch like all Weasleys are, so giving up a practice will hurt, but there you are! Professor Snape only has so many hours in the day."
"How do these potions work then?" demanded Doctor Field of Severus.
"The ingredients are of course important; and the arithmantic effects of the stirring; and of course the inherent magic in a student" said Severus "A non magical person could follow the directions precisely but produce nothing but a mess, or even something poisonous that was supposed to be harmless or even curative; and yet even a squib – a child born to a magical family who cannot perform magic – or what we call a sensitive – a person who has some talent but not enough to use a wand effectively – have been known to have enough inherent magic to effect the translation from ingredients into potion. You might say that the presence of magic is a catalyst."
This was familiar ground to the doctor who was much struck by the analogy.
"So there is precision in that the potion is reproducible so long as the magical catalyst is present?" he demanded.
Severus sighed.
"Oh yes" he said heavily "Save that precision, reproducibility and accuracy are alien concepts to a bunch of harebrained dunderheads such as most teenagers appear to be. Those that aren't planning some jape or other or worrying about their love life are often irremediably dim. Or just plain accident prone. Like Mr Weasley's friend. Last week he tripped and knocked - let's just say a volatile substance – into a cauldron full of bubotuber pus before it had been processed. The resultant explosion left everyone in the room with boils on their boils. I used up my entire stock of antidote, and he had exploded all my stock for the next batch which I had been going to brew as a demonstration. Sometimes I wonder why I only threaten to poison fourth years and never actually do it, preferably when they're still in the third."
"I see children are the same whether studying magic or mundane subjects" said Doctor Field.
"Sometimes I think children should be put in cages until they are Seventeen" said Severus.
"Do you have any of your own?"
"Three plus one on the way and seven adopted" said Severus, grinning sheepishly.
"Good grief!" said Field.
"Lot of orphans as a result of a Dark wizard and his followers" said Severus. "I also have several wards and we foster my wife's half brother and sister."
"You must need a large house!"
"And fortunately we have one; the only disadvantage is living next door to these pests" he said, tweaking the ears of the Malfoy twins, who grinned identical grins.
Doctor Field said later to his daughter that she should disregard Professor Snape's sarcasm in class as his bark was obviously much worse than his bite.
oOoOo
Once the four absentees had settled in, Abraxus was approached by a first year Gryffindor child, a boy named Jake Webbe, whose mother was a muggle barrister. He had not joined the MSHG and was generally self contained.
"I say, Malfoy, something's troubling me but I don't want to accuse anyone of anything without proof and I certainly don't want to go to anyone official like a prefect. And you marauders lark around but you fix things too, don't you and find things out?"
"We do pride ourselves on that ability, yes" said Abraxus. "What's your problem?"
"Well, one of our house is pretty buddy with a Slyther" said Jake "Annis Shipton and Gabriel Adler are pretty close; and you know, they're also not well off. Only suddenly they're giving sweets to Lynx Weasley and Fabian Ramage and other people and – and one does wonder where they got it."
"Ever thought about asking?" said Abrax laconically.
"I was afraid of making it sound like I was accusing them of something" said Jake "And it IS a bit nosy; only if it's something not quite nice….."
"I'll stick my officious nose in and see what's stirring in that cauldron" said Abrax. "And if it's improper I'll put a stop to it. And whatever it is, I shan't enlighten you; though I appreciate you coming to me."
Jake nodded.
"Oh I quite respect that you'd not break any confidence they gave you! So long as it's either all right or put an end to I'll be happy."
"I'm so glad" murmured Abraxus, not voicing out loud his thought 'pompous little swab'. At least the pompous little swab gave benefit of the doubt and didn't want to make any official accusation though, he reflected.
Abraxus did it the blunt way, grinning at Annis and Gabriel as they handed round chocolate frogs.
"Hello, new found wealth?" he said, helping himself when offered one.
They grinned conspiratorially.
"Shall we tell him?" said Annis.
"Oh yes, I think so" said Gabriel "He's a Marauder like Lynx and co. Guess what, Abrax, we're a published author!"
"The pair of you undertook a transformation into a singularity? did it hurt?" said Abraxus.
They giggled.
"We're both pretty good at Divination" said Gabriel "And even better at writing gibberish; and so we write together under the pen name of Agnes Eagle for 'Divination – Tomorrow'.
"That rag?"
"Of course it's a rag but it pays well" said Annis. "We mix in a load of genuine stuff with the sort of mushy hogwash people want to read and only make specific sort of predictions when we're dead sure, like it being a good time to make preserves if your name begins with 'M' which was the last one. It's too early for most people to make preserves, but the matchsticks fell quite decisively and they always seem to work, so we made the prediction. We got loads of letters from witches thanking us for our advice to be the ones to do the proposing if their names and their beloved made an arithmantic prime number together so long as they did it on the twenty ninth of the month. We got some letters thanking us for advising witches with less certain characteristics to perhaps be bolder and three rude ones from the ones that blew it. But we don't know if they interpreted bold as pushy, do we?"
"Well in my opinion all such advice should be taken with a large pinch of salt anyway, and those who don't deserve to get their fingers burned" said Abraxus. "Agnes Eagle… of course a variant on Annis, and Adler means eagle….there's no harm in it my children providing you stick to writing ONLY what you're certain of and generalised twaddle. You weren't here when it happened, but our previous Divination teacher was a silly old bat and she nearly caused a child's death. She said the kid's mother was ill and not likely to live long; she liked to make up doom and gloom and prophesy disaster because it made her feel big. Well this kid's mum really was delicate – as was the kid – and she went haring off to be with her mother before she died. It was no such thing of course, just Trelawney up to her first-year scaring tricks again, but the kid was lost, suffering from exposure and exhaustion and spent weeks in St Mungo's. And so I tell you that as a horrible warning to think before you write, just in case you send someone off on a wild goose chase by ill considered words."
"Gosh!" said Gabriel horrified "I'd hate to do that!"
"Me too" said Annis.
"Tell you what" said Abrax "When you've drafted your column, take it to Callum Delanay Prince. He's actually a seer, not just good at Divination, and if there's anything disturbing there he'll go into a trance and draw pictures of what could happen. THEN you get Madam Spikenard to figure out what's likely to go wrong because it might not be something you cause, but that your predictions trigger him. Either way it'll be good to check."
The first years nodded solemnly. Receiving advice from a lordly fourth year was to be respected!
Abraxus left them to it; and regaled his own group with the story.
"Well I say good luck to them" said Kinat "Excellent piece of private enterprise!"
"Handy to have them established as an author" said Hawke "In case we have problems with other would-be Tom Riddles; they can insert pieces that would mean something to those people we want to manipulate; or even use it as coded messages to friends."
"If that wouldn't be against their integrity as diviners" said Romulus.
"I'd think they'd do what was necessary" said Hawke "They're both in the MSHG after all and they're practical, sensible kids."
Abraxus did call Jake Webbe over to reassure him.
"There's nothing illegal going on; or even immoral" he said "They found that between them they had a saleable talent. You were right to check with me though; I've been able to advise them on how to keep it totally moral and legal, though I'd not answer for not being fattening" he added, thinking of the preserves.
Jake grinned. As a half blood he was familiar with the phrase about illegal, immoral and fattening.
"Thanks" he said.
Abraxus left him, shaking his head.
Being a marauder had obviously expanded in the extent of its responsibilities!