Lynne's AU Ending to The Marriage Stone

by lynned0101

One fan's take on how Josephine Darcy's abandoned but wonderful story, The Marriage Stone, might have proceeded. A powerful Harry, a surprised Severus, all the others, and a really bad Voldemort!

22. Ch 99 Peace Crumbles

Chapter 99 – Peace Crumbles

Harry took full advantage of the final week of Mrs. Longbottom's class. He was able to spend additional time with Severus in the evenings, as his bondmate took full advantage of not having schoolwork to grade to spend the time instead in his private lab. For the most part, Harry sat at his desk in the lab, doing his own school work or translations, but he was glad to be keeping Severus' company as they both worked on their different projects.

Severus was secretly delighted that Harry passed up the chance to spend his evenings with Remus and Sirius, or for that matter, with the dolts in the Gryffindor Tower. He felt he was making good progress on his research and brewing, although at this point, he had nothing concrete to show for all his efforts. He was philosophical about that. Such was the reality of potions research, and he'd long ago accepted that he'd spend hours of work only to establish what did not work. As the week wore on, he thought he was on the brink of finding something that did work, and the excitement of that prospect fuelled his interest and enthusiasm.

Petunia had been released from the Infirmary on Sunday morning and, ever the gossip even in this strange environment, had looked all week for the chance to speak privately with Amaranth about what she'd overheard while in the Infirmary. She got her chance over lunch on Thursday.

"I could not help but overhear a couple having a conversation with the nurse about using a surrogate to have a child, and I think that the young man might have been your friend Eustace," she began. "Do some witches have a problem carrying children?"

Amaranth smiled at Petunia's misunderstanding of the situation. "No, no more than muggle women; the anatomy's the same. The point of using surrogates is seldom physical here, it's usually magical – to assure that children are born with magic. For some reason, if a squib woman carries a child for a magical couple, the child always has magic. When times are difficult or dangerous and people want to be sure that their children are not born squibs, interest in surrogate mothers always rises."

Petunia seemed nonplussed by that news, so Amaranth continued. "Really, it's a good thing all around. The child will have magic, and the squib woman who carries the child gets magic, as well. Imagine if you were born into a magical family as a squib. It's a very limiting situation, you really can't fully participate in the magical world, but your family is not part of the muggle world, so you're stuck. I don't doubt that any number of families with a squib daughter have let people like Madam Pomfrey know that the daughter would like to be a surrogate."

"The nurse did say she had contacts and expected she'd be able to help them. I did not realize that Eustace was married – he didn't say anything about a family when we met."

"His marriage was arranged by his father when he was a child, and I think they actually got married a few years ago, although the wife – Margot? Margaret? something like that – might not have set up a household with him yet. Eustace's father is a bit of a blow-hard, likes to control everything, and I think there might have been some inheritance that should have gone to Eustace that he was blocking. My brother mentioned something in a letter he sent just the other day about it finally getting resolved." With a chuckle, she added "Well, they're wasting no time, are they?"

A special dinner was held on Friday evening to bid farewell to the many foreign visitors who would either be departing later that evening or the next morning. Henri Clovis had presented a case of wine to Severus to make amends for the atrocious behavior of his brother Philip, so wine was shared with those at the expanded Head Table. The volume of noise there rose with each refilling of the wine glasses.

Down in the middle of the Gryffindor table, Nitrocris sat with a rather wistful look on her face for her last dinner with her new friends. She'd never regretted that her time at Hogwarts had been spent in just one House, despite her request upon her arrival. While it might have been interesting to experience Hogwarts among the other Houses, too, she'd been surprised at what she found in Gryffindor. She was seated next to Neville Longbottom for one final dinner, amused that the others could not see past that shy, unassuming exterior to the extraordinary young man beneath.

Neville remained puzzled by Nitrocris' attention. The other boys were still doing their best to catch her eye, and she was certainly not at all rude to them, but she kept bringing him back into conversations, asking for his opinion or thoughts on various things. It made him a bit uncomfortable. Harry thought he was the only one who caught on, both to Neville's puzzled discomfort and Nitrocris' unshakable interest in the young Gryffindor, but a quick look at Hermione made it clear to him that she was also quite aware of this. Hermione seemed to approve of whatever was going on, so Harry said nothing, resolving to ask her what she knew about it when they were able to speak in private.

Harry was relieved to see that the frostiness between his best friends, Hermione and Ron, seemed to have thawed a bit. They never let on to him that anything was amiss, but he noticed the little things that made it clear that all was not well. The details of whatever was going on between them were more than he'd ever want to know, and he was grateful that he had not again walked up on them engaged in a snogging session, but he certainly wanted them to be happy.

Actually, he was reasonably sure that their happiness was going to come from them being together. After Severus had questioned him about his ability to see the paths before people, he'd idly begun testing that new skill out a bit. It felt a bit like an invasion of privacy to look for someone's path, but it seemed very happenstance for him to see a path before someone if he made no effort to see one. He'd experimented a few times looking at Hermione and Ron, who he figured might not mind too much. He was pretty sure that they were heading along the path toward a future together.

That thought brought him back to Neville as they sat at the table. He might not mind too much if Harry tried to see his path; so Harry quietly focused his mind on his friend, now blushing crimson because of something Nitrocris had just said to him. Harry definitely saw something, but he wasn't entirely sure what it meant. There was distance involved – was Neville going somewhere? Harry recalled that pompous young man he'd met who sourced plants. Maybe Neville would do something like that, and travel? Neville certainly knew plants, more than Harry had ever imagined there was to know. Even Severus seemed to be impressed with Neville's knowledge of plants. He was really good with tending to them, too. That made sense, then. This was generally the frustration Harry had with this whole "path" thing – Harry might see something that made one person's path unique or different from someone else's, but he had no idea what it all meant.

Harry was suddenly aware that conversation had come to halt around him, and instantly realized that he'd been brought into the conversation to which he'd been paying no attention whatsoever. With a good-natured shrug, and a small smile, he rejoined his tablemates. "Sorry – bit of woolgathering there. What'd I miss?"

To his embarrassment, it was Nitrocris who answered him. "Harry Potter, I had asked you if you were going to participate in the program next week, for students and others who could not join us full-time for two weeks."

"Sure, I'll be in that class. Lots of us here will be part of it. I've heard great things about it, and I'm sure it will be fantastic. Did you enjoy your time at Hogwarts, Nitrocris?"

She smiled warmly at that question. "Best time I've had in many years. I was so pleased to have spent the time in Gryffindor, too, getting to know all of you. I wonder if Professor Dumbledore or Professor McGonagall will confirm what the Sorting Hat had to say about where I belonged before I leave? I never actually got sorted, you know. I was intending to move between all the Houses, but when Felicity came down with verdemengus, they decided it was best for me to stay put rather than risk spreading it. How fortunate that no one else became ill!"

Clearly some around the table knew about the non-sorting, but others did not, and there was a flow of questions now about those arrangements. Harry was glad to have the conversation focused away from himself, lest his mind wander again. He certainly did not want to insult Nitrocris if she asked him a question while his mind was elsewhere.

Eventually, the table started to empty, and finally even the knot of students surrounding Nitrocris and her new friends began to thin out. Harry took his leave when he saw Hermione stand, and after promising to see Nitrocris in the Headmaster's office before she flooed to her home the next morning, he left the Great Hall with his friends.

"Harry, where were you tonight? I could not believe that you were paying no attention at all to the conversation going on in front of you! Is something wrong?"

Typical Hermione. She missed nothing, and worried about every little thing.

"I was just thinking, Hermione. About nothing in particular really, just let my mind wander. I hope Nitrocris didn't think I was being rude."

"I don't think you created an international incident, if that's what you're thinking, but it's not like you to just blank out on us like that."

"Actually, I noticed something between Nitrocris and Neville, and you noticed it too. What's that all about?"

Hermione seemed both surprised and pleased by that observation. "It's been going on almost since she arrived. She's clearly sweet on Neville."

Ron snorted at that revelation. "Bloody hell! Did she tell you that?"

"She never said a word. But it was obvious to me from the way she kept bringing him into the conversations, even when Dean was all but making a complete ass of himself to get her attention the other night." With an appraising look at Ron, she added "Neville doesn't seem to have a clue about it, either." Looking back at Harry, she asked "What caught your attention, Harry? You're a bit better at seeing things like this than Ron, but this is still surprisingly subtle."

"I don't know. Tonight, watching her banter with some of the guys – and I want to hear about Dean the other night – and she always kept going back to Neville."

"Very good, Harry. You caught it. It's been like that for the past two weeks. Normally, Neville does not stay around all that long when the boys get going." Ron bristled slightly at the reference to "boys" but this was all news to him, so he did not interrupt. "He usually goes to take care of a plant, or finish an essay. He hasn't been able to escape the group all week, and he even took Nitrocris down to the lake one evening – she asked him to walk with her."

Ron had a puzzled expression on his face. That all seemed pretty clear when Hermione put it like that, but he'd certainly never noticed any of it. Harry smiled at Ron. One of the great constants in his life was a best mate who had, as Hermione once commented, the emotional range of a teaspoon!

X X X X X X X X X X

Harry was surprised to find Severus sitting before the fire in the dimly lit parlor and not in his lab when he returned to his rooms after his conversation with Hermione and Ron. Harry observed him for a second, to see if there was anything obviously wrong, but he didn't look upset, so Harry ventured to sit on the sofa. Severus had been studying the flame in the fire, and only looked over at Harry when Harry finally spoke to him.

"Is something wrong, Severus? No brewing?"

Severus gave him a baleful look. "You never brew potions after drinking an alcoholic beverage, Harry. Potions are dangerous enough when you have your wits fully about you, but even after a glass of wine, your reactions are slower, your mind not as sharp. No brewing tonight."

That still did not explain Severus' uncharacteristic melancholy sitting in the dim room. If Severus was not brewing for some reason, he'd normally be sitting here reading, most likely one of his numerous potions journals.

"It looked like things were rather raucous up at the Head Table tonight with the wine from Henri. That was a nice gesture, wasn't it? Did you enjoy it?"

He got a look from Severus that Harry did not quite understand. "Oh, the wine was excellent, and it certainly released inhibitions, some of which frankly, I think should be kept under tighter control." Harry could hear a "but" hanging at the end of that sentence, and with a nod of his head, urged Severus to add what he had omitted from that statement.

"That was not the wine that Henri gave me. I had to replace his gift with a case of wine from my own stores."

To Severus' annoyance, it was clear that Harry was not connecting the dots, as he appeared completely puzzled by the need to serve replacement wine. Once a Gryffindor, etc. Small words, simple concepts.

"The wine in the case that Henri presented to me was poisoned. Had it actually been poured at the Head Table, everyone who drank it would be dead by now – it was a particularly fast-acting and deadly poison. Even if we'd put bezoars at every place setting and everyone knew to swallow one as soon as they sipped the wine, probably three quarters of them would have died anyway."

Harry's head was spinning. He could feel his heartbeat as the blood thundered in his ears, and he became aware that his hands were starting to shake. "Why?" was all Harry could get out of his mouth.

Severus realized how distressed Harry was at this news, and cursed himself silently for not recalling how personally he took actions like this, even when there was nothing Harry could have done about them. He moved to sit next to Harry on the sofa, his arm around Harry's shoulders.

"I imagine that they still want me out of the way. I suspect that they were hoping that I'd keep the case for my personal use."

"They?"

"I have to suspect that Henri is allied with Philip, or perhaps even directly with whomever is directing Philip. Most likely Louis XXIII."

"Louis XXIII would murder all those people, just to kill you?"

"As I said, I don't think they expected me to offer to have the wine served at dinner tonight. You saw that Henri was not at dinner? He tried to make his excuses for an early departure as soon as I told the class that we'd be sharing wine tonight that was a gift to me from Henri. Albus was immediately suspicious and alerted Shacklebolt, who was able to detain him, and he's locked up at the Ministry right now."

Harry was appalled that such treachery had played out at Hogwarts, at the hand of someone he'd invited to be there. "Do the others know about this?"

"No, there is no need for anyone else to know. This is better handled quietly. I had no intention of having anything served at Hogwarts not prepared by house elves that I had not myself checked for adulteration. I fully intended to check the wine as soon as I received it, so no one was at risk of consuming poisoned wine. The Ministry contacted the French Auror organization to discuss the matter with them."

"What about that spell the Headmaster cast after Henri Clovis arrived here? What will happen?"

Severus knew the answer would upset Harry, but was resolved to be truthful. "In all likelihood, someone in France is dead right now from the magic in that spell. By attempting to poison me, even without success, whoever was behind this act will suffer the fate intended for me."

A whole series of emotions paraded their way across Harry's expressive face as Severus watched. He was furious, that was good. Angry – also good. Hurt – unfortunate but still appropriate. Enraged – unexpected, but not objectionable under the circumstances. And then sad and guilty. That was not acceptable.

"Harry, you are not to take any responsibility at all on yourself for this. The Headmaster set that spell in place after we were all assured that Henri, on his word as a gentleman, would take no action against anyone at Hogwarts while he was here. Henri brought his own problems onto himself, and whoever was pushing Henri, the same. You bear absolutely no accountability or responsibility for this, and I will not sit here and watch you become upset."

Severus really meant that last. He'd seen Harry take the deaths of others to his heart, and assume responsibility for things with which he had no reasonable connection. Albus would be watching the news from Versailles over the next day or two for a report of an unexpected death among the royals or grandees. In all likelihood, the head of the French Auror organization had already been summoned to the Ministry of Magic in London where veritaserum would be administered to Henri. Once he confessed, diplomatic efforts to have him returned to France would be dropped, and he'd be kissed by a Dementor. He stood and reached down for Harry's hands, and pulled the smaller man to stand before him.

"Would you like to go for a walk? Some fresh air might help."

Well, in truth, fresh air wasn't going to do anything to lift the black cloud of guilt that was starting to settle over Harry's heart, but he nodded numbly and allowed Severus to bundle him into his cloak against the spring chill and dampness. How could someone think to do this? Kill Severus, and all those other people, just so Harry would be free to marry? Why on earth would Harry even consider marrying someone who'd be behind such a heinous plan? What kind of person would do such a thing?

By the time Harry had internally recriminated and argued and fumed at the situation thoroughly, he found himself walking along the shore of the lake, hand in hand with Severus. It was a lovely evening, even if still a bit chilly. A soft ripple sounded over the water, and in the moonlight, he saw the giant squid breaching the surface and floating along, also seeming to enjoy the evening. They had reached one of the secluded clearings that lined the far side of the lake, where a felled tree had been levitated into place generations ago to serve as a bench for quiet conversations or other private activities.

Severus didn't actually intend for them to sit. As he led Harry into the clearing, he turned Harry to face him, and drew him into a tight embrace. Harry was surprised at the comfort he received from that gesture. Somehow, in the act of holding him, Severus seemed to be pushing all the evil that kept trying to intrude on his life away. Harry stood there quietly, holding on to Severus fiercely, for a good long while. Finally, Harry sighed into Severus' chest.

"I'm sorry for getting so upset. This is nice, here. Thanks."

"Are you feeling better?" Severus inquired, concerned at the depth of Harry's initial distress. He could feel Harry's head nodding against him in response.

"I was just thinking." Severus automatically harrumphed at that, and got a good-natured harrumph from Harry in return. "A spell like that – can it be used in battle or war, to prevent people from being killed?"

"No, Harry, it doesn't work like that. The spell would not have prevented anyone from being harmed, only our diligence does that. The spell reflected the intended harm back to the person who directed the action be taken. If Henri had acted on his own, with no other direction, it would have caused the harm to come to him. That he was not affected by his own action tells us he was acting for someone else." Harry accepted that in silence, continuing to cling tightly to the taller man.

Eventually, Severus looked down at Harry and stepped slightly back, so he could lift Harry's face to him, as he bent down to capture Harry's mouth in a kiss. Harry returned the kiss as if his very life depended on it, and by the time they broke for gulps of air, both were flushed and aroused. Severus had briefly entertained a thought of suggesting that they recline on the log (with a cushioning spell, of course), but a noise from the lake drew their attention. The giant squid had floated over to see what they were doing, and those enormous eyes were creepy enough in the daylight. Harry was clearly unnerved at the sight, so the evening's activities had to adjourn back to their rooms. Severus muttered to himself, as he walked with Harry on the path back to the entrance to the dungeons, that the damn squid was better than two Prefects, a Head of House and Filch at keeping amorous activities to a minimum at the lake.

X X X X X X X X X X

Severus and Albus were having tea in Albus' office on Saturday afternoon. It had been a very hectic morning, with so many departing from the floo in the Headmaster's Office. Harry and Minerva had joined them for the morning, formally bidding good-bye to those who had attended Mrs. Longbottom's program.

Nitrocris had been the last to depart. She'd received several owls at breakfast, and a look of great annoyance crossed her beautiful features as she read the missives from her uncles, although it was replaced almost immediately with a look of great determination. Albus had caught that, and smiled approvingly. The young woman had strength and a clear vision of the future she wanted for herself and for Egypt. Her uncles were in for quite a shock, as her resolve to rule as she saw fit had multiplied many times over during her stay at Hogwarts.

She'd bid rather formal farewells to Severus, Minerva and Albus, but had a hug and kiss on the cheek for Harry, to his slight embarrassment. She was still smiling and waving as she disappeared into the green flames in the floo taking her home.

Almost as soon as she disappeared, it occurred to Albus that they had not asked the Sorting Hat where it would have sorted her. As he want to retrieve the Hat from its spot up in the shelves in his office, Severus asked "Why on earth does this matter? She's gone back to Egypt, Albus, not just down the road. We'll not be seeing her again."

Minerva responded "Actually, she's made Neville Longbottom promise to write to her, and she said she'd be writing to him. She asked him and his grandmother to come to Thebes this summer for a visit, too." Severus looked rather surprised at that, although Albus' eyes twinkled even more merrily than usual. When Albus returned bearing the Sorting Hat, they all looked on with interest as it was asked to tell them into what House it would have sorted the young Pharoah.

It delayed its answer for a beat before replying, "Slytherin."

Minerva sputtered and Albus looked shocked. Severus found their reaction very amusing, but restrained himself from laughing at them. After their shocked reactions had subsided, Minerva and Harry departed for Saturday dinner while Albus asked Severus to remain behind for a few minutes so they could speak before joining everyone in the Great Hall.

"Did you tell him, Severus?"

"Yes, Albus, I did, about the poison. I took your thoughts on the subject into account of course, but felt that Harry would never trust me if I withheld information of that sort from him. He was a bit distressed at first, but I think he's past that. Is there news from the Ministry? Or Versailles?"

"There's news from both actually. It was a great shock to the French wizarding world last night to learn that Louis XXIII had suddenly died of unexplained causes. Their mediwizards have not been able to determine the cause of death. As I understand it, aspects of his death mirror a poisoning, but there is no evidence at all of any such substance in or around the body. I predict that they will continue to run scans for another day or two before announcing that he died of natural causes."

"The French Auror organization was still reeling from the death of the head of their royal family and then they were totally shocked when our Ministry contacted them about Henri Clovis' arrest for attempted murder. Henri really was a rising star there, and when they arrived, there was talk initially of damage to diplomatic relations and the need for extradition. But then he took the veritaserum and freely admitted what he did. They walked out, and left him to English justice, they were so appalled. Henri has already been Kissed." Severus nodded solemnly at that news. An awful fate like that was never something over which to rejoice, even if the person was being Kissed because of a plot to murder you yourself.

"Do you think anyone will ever see a connection between Henri and Louis?"

"If you mean that Henri's actions caused Louis' death, no. The spell I cast that day works only on magic, so the death of Louis will not point to anyone. It delivered the consequence, but not the causation. Will we begin to hear of Louis' plots in the days to come? I expect we will. It would appear that the stories of his conniving were true. Philip Clovis has been rumored to have been doing his bidding for years, and now it appears possible that Henri was involved, as well. Who knows how many others have been cajoled into participating in these sorts of things?"

Severus could not argue that Louis' name and reputation would take a beating in the next weeks and months, but he still found Albus' reaction to Louis' death by virtue of a spell he'd put in place horribly coldblooded, one more reason to be very wary of Albus Dumbledore.

When Severus returned to his quarters later that afternoon, he was surprised to find Harry there, working on one of his translations in front of the fire. He seemed calm, although the way he was worrying the corner of one of the photocopy papers showed that something was still bothering him. He looked up from his work, with a small smile, but his eyes were troubled.

"I saw a copy of the Daily Prophet before. It seems that Louis XXIII of France passed away unexpectedly on Friday evening."

Severus picked up the story, based on what he'd heard from Albus. "And their mediwizards are not able to determine the cause of death. There are some indications that he died from poison, but there is absolutely no evidence of any poison in or around his body. A most curious case. However, in the absence of any poisonous substance, he could not have died from poison. I suspect this will ultimately be regarded as a death by natural causes, once everything else is ruled out."

"I don't know what to think about that."

Not very articulate, but Severus thought he knew what Harry meant. He took a set next to Harry on the sofa, and held Harry's hand in his own. "Louis brought about his own death. He sent someone to Hogwarts with the goal of killing me with a gift of poisoned wine. His plan backfired. He had not considered that I might be generous with the gift and offer to share it with the group, including his agent, who panicked and tried to bolt. Then the plot rebounded on him because he did not realize that we were protected by a very unusual spell."

Almost in spite of himself, Harry smiled. That made sense, and it helped him come to terms with the Headmaster's role here.

"And what happened with Henri?"

"Albus heard from the Ministry a while ago. The French Aurors were summoned there today, and they arrived with the usual bluster and threats. But once Henri took the veritaserum and confessed, they parted ways with him. He's already been Kissed. He's not a threat to you, or to me, or to anyone else, anymore."

That seemed to placate Harry. His smile deepened a bit as he thought it over.

"Oh, by the way, Severus, this message came to you from the Potion Makers Guild this afternoon." He offered up a thick parchment envelope that a fussy barn owl had delivered an hour earlier.

Severus took it with curiosity. He recognized the handwriting, but thought better than to tell Harry it had been written by Andre Serrent. The letter inside came from Master Dorester himself.

Severus sat quietly reading through several pages, as Harry watched. When it appeared that Severus had come to the last page, Harry finally interrupted. "Well, what's up? What do they want?"

"This is a rather remarkable letter from the Potion Makers Guild. I submitted the lycanthropy potion for their review only one or two months ago. Normally, they fuss over a submission like this for years, decades even. They wish me to attend a meeting at the Ministry this coming week to discuss a few questions they have, all in preparation for their announcement that it is to be recognized as a treatment for lycanthropy in certain cases."

"Why do they have to review and recognize it? You already made it and Remus demonstrated that it worked. What role do they have?"

Severus was once again taken by the earnestness of Harry's approach to things. How very Gryffindorish! "I could have kept information about that potion to myself, and we could probably still have proved that Remus was cured. Sharing the potion with the Guild for their review was a big help to our case that day, though." Harry said nothing, but his heart leapt at Severus' reference to "our" case, and his eyes glowed at Severus' admission that he was starting to regard himself as part of Harry's family.

Severus realized that Harry was quite unaware of the many nuances of this aspect of wizarding society, so he explained further. "As a Potions Master, I can sell potions that I develop as I wish. For example, I could choose to produce small quantities of this potion and sell the doses for exorbitant fees to those afflicted with lycanthropy and rich enough to afford what I charged. I would not need the Guild's approval to do that."

Harry's face reflected his disapproval of such a money-grubbing approach, so Severus quickly continued. "I do not wish to keep this to myself. I want the potion recognized and accepted as a treatment that can cure lycanthropy if the witch or wizard is able to master the spell component of the cure. I want to find someone to work with us to produce it, to make it as widely-available as possible, to all who need it."

Harry was really smiling now.

"Unfortunately, Harry, there is a potential downside to this openness. I expect that I will have to identify Salazar Slytherin as the author of a notebook that suggested both the approach and the details of the potion and spell that I refined in producing the potion, and that will likely mean that I have to identify you as the person who translated the notebook from the original Parseltongue."

Harry recalled a particularly awful few months in his time with the Dursleys when someone sued his Uncle Vernon's company over something called "patent infringement." Harry wasn't sure at the time what was going on, other than the fact that he'd gotten some particularly horrid beatings when his uncle was upset then. He had overheard enough yelling and ranting to figure out that someone claimed that Uncle Vernon's company had stolen some idea that they had patented in producing one of their drills. "Does Salazar Slytherin have a patent or legal claim to the work you did? Will there be a legal problem?" he asked.

"Goodness, no, Harry. First of all, after all this time, no one could assert any protected right to Slytherin's own original work. Second, I did make a few adjustments to his work as I did my tests; I had some ingredients and techniques available to me that were not available in his time, and made some changes to his work myself. I expect to be able to get the patent on this potion in my own name, in any case. But I do anticipate questions that will necessarily involve identifying you and Slytherin."

"If there's no problem with Slytherin's connection to this, what's the problem? I certainly didn't contribute any potions knowledge to this; I just translated a notebook. I really like your idea of making this available to everyone who needs it and can master the spell. When I was translating it, I thought it was a cure for everyone. I still wish that was the case, but even if only some can be cured, it's better than having nothing." Harry still bristled at his reaction to learning how very few magical beings had enough magical power to actually cast spells or do things that he was beginning to take for granted with his own power. However, he'd also never forget the look on Remus' face that Christmas when he heard that there might be a way to stop the transformations. That alone made doing this worthwhile.

"That will be the kind of revelation that will create even more madness."

Harry had to laugh at that. There was so much madness in his world already, really, what's a little more?

X X X X X X X X X X

The madness in Harry's world was swept aside for a short while the very next day. That Sunday was going to be remembered as the day that Neville Longbottom banished a demon in Hogsmeade.