Warmth
Sev came down from the office fifteen minutes but five hours after coming up.
"How punctual," Deborah told him.
"Have you seen? Has it been long?" Sev asked.
"And you ask? You must be exhausted."
"Well, it hasn't been such a great deal. I took Stimulant in the morning, the effect is already wearing off. And it's been a pleasure dealing with Albus. Let's stop by the Infirmary and get Poppy to give me painkiller. It's due another dose in an hour, but I'm been in pain for most of the day."
"Of course, poor boy," Valerie said. "From fighting and shaking hands so much."
"That, and taking advantage of the fact that it makes me sleepy, then we go straight home," Sev said. "I'm going to take a good nap to stay in shape tonight. I think that it is going to be one of the best of my life."
"Of everyone's, without a doubt."
"That is. Party in the dungeons."
What a pity that we are going to lack music, Sev thought.
They formed up and went up to the fourth floor. Starting up the stairs, Sev saw the Gryff malefics coming down, who didn't even look at them. How inept, how theygive themselves away, it is not even necessary to read them. He whispered to Jack, "Look closely at those two." And when they passed by, "The two malefic Gryff camouflaged, work of you know who."
"She has read the whole school," Jack replied.
"Of course, she has been doing it for more than a year."
(Let him know how devoted she is and know how to reciprocate to her.)
They knocked on the door of the Infirmary. Madam Pomfrey answered them after a few seconds. "Hi guys, how was your morning?"
"Round, Poppy," Sev told her. "Everything has turned out perfectly well."
"Yeah, Professor McGonagall came to tell me about it a while ago. Such good news."
(She's glad that the Sly malefics are gone, she's not so worried about me anymore, until it breaks the news in the Daily Prophet and she knows that Voldemort has found out everything.)
"Come in, come in, don't stay there," she said them.
The eight passed.
"I have come to you examine me and give me more painkiller," Sev said her.
"Sure, it must be hurting if you've fighted, but I can't give it to you yet, honey, it's only been six hours since you took it."
"It isn't, Poppy, for me it's been eleven. I've spent five with Professor Dumbledore with the Time-Turner, just left his office."
"Of course... I must have imagined it. Come in, come in," Poppy told him, and to the others, "Wait for him here, please."
They both went to the nurse's cubicle. Sev only took off his raincoat, as he wore only a long-sleeved, loose-fitting shirt under it, which he could roll up without taking it off. As he did so and the mediwitch examined him they chatted a bit.
"Have you had time to read my colleague's letter?" she asked him.
"Yes, and I've already spoken to Professor Dumbledore about it as well. He will allow me to go to St. Mungo's by Floo and use the Time Turner to be able to do it on weekdays."
"Great. He told me that he was willing to interview you on the weekend anyway if you couldn't at another time."
"Oh… well, it won't be necessary," Sev replied.
"He does not care. He also works many holidays, he spends his life practically locked up in the hospital, he lives for it."
"I'm going to love meeting him. You've done me a big favor, Poppy."
"It has been nothing compared to all that you are going to do to us, with your dedication and your talent," she said. "Meet with him as soon as possible, so that he has time to apply for your scholarship."
"Sure." What a busy week awaits me.
"You have it so inflamed or more than in the morning, no wonder it is hurting you," the healer continued. "I'm going to give you an anti-inflammatory potion in addition to the painkiller, so that this night will be over. Try to rest as much as you can, tomorrow is not convenient for you to fight either."
Ugh, we have training too. Nothing, I'll dedicate to supervising, Sev thought.
She poured him the potions, gave them to him, and he drank them.
"I've given you for another twelve hours, because it's not convenient to take it all at once for a longer time, but I'm going to leave you the vials in case you need them again at dawn," said the mediwitch. "You know, the Time Turner disrupts circadian rhythms, you have to be careful with that. You are still growing and you must have a regular rhythm of sleeping and waking. Otherwise you can have disorders also because of that."
Sev thought, Of course… And I thought it was a great filly, Albus was already warning me. I don't even want to think about what we would have done if the malefic Slys didn't leave and Albus didn't prepare a hidden bedroom for us. Month and a half of sleep potions and with the OWLS in sight.
"Well, you're ready." She gave him the two vials of potions and wrote down the doses for his weight and for six and twelve hours. "If it hurts again, come over here so I can examine you again."
Ugh… luckily my raincoat has a lot of pockets. I'm carrying four vials of potions, two letters, the lists, the note of the doses, the Time Turner and my wand. What a mess. "Sure, Poppy, I will. And in any case, I'll come to see you from time to time and tell you about my progress with Professor Belby."
"I'll love to chat with you for a while."
Sev rejoined his guard again and they left the Infirmary. (It would be good to go for the Dark Magic book, but for that I should take my backpack, I'm not going to walk around with it in front of everyone. Maybe on Monday, when we all use the Time Turner to go see Albus, then only the five of us who know how to occlude will go. But I won't leave it to him to look at it alone, otherwise he would be able to leave by his own for the Horcrux.)
"Direct to the dungeons."
This time they met no one. (It's time to go down and not up. The Raves and Gryffs have finished lunch long ago, and those who aren't resting at home have gone down to the Library to study.) So they calmly made their way to the dungeons, but as soon as they stepped on them, the calm ended. Numerous Slys were waiting for them at the bottom of the spiral stairs.
"What, Prince? Time-turner with the old man, right?" a seventh-year boy who didn't study Defense told him, the one who had been reluctant to be trained by the Longbottoms.
(Rays… Impossible to pretend in front of fifty cunning snakes. Lauren is going to have a hard time.)
"Will you lend it to us to escape to Hogsmeade to prepare for tonight?" asked the young man.
(Slys that break the rules, impossible to control. Miraculous how well they behaved in the morning training, but now that they know that we have thrown out the malefics, they no longer contain their rebellion. Let's see how I keep them at bay.)
Sev stopped two steps short of the bottom of the stairs. "I can't lend you something I don't have, we've used his. And even if I did, I wouldn't. You have the whole afternoon ahead of you, plenty of time. I'm going to take a good nap, I deserve it. So each to their own and see you when I wake up."
He took his little boy by the hand and they made their way to the Common Room, which was also half full.
"Hey, Prince, how about the old man?" this one was a fourth-year girl who had also joined that morning.
(The fifty Slys are still here, waiting for me, they all guessed about the Time-Turner. Rays, this being Sly's Head is going to be much more difficult than I expected. Luckily I can count on fourteen discreet ones, the ones who have risen in the Great Hall from the beginning.)
"Great, we have been watching the training from the window and then we have fought for a while," Sev replied.
"Have you fought the old man?" a sixth-year boy who was not from Defense asked him. "You beat him, didn't you?"
(If I tell that he beat me because the Gryffs broke my arm, the more than ten older ones who were not in the Guard are capable of going to take revenge, and that is not at all. What intuition the trio had when not spread the rumor around the school. They must be scared too, after the mess we had at lunch, afraid that I've told the people at home about them and they'll go after them. I bet they don't go out Gryff Tower for the remainder of the weekend. Let's them starve. My revenge begins.
(But an open confrontation is not in our interest at all at this time, we could go back to the enemy Houses, now that it seems that we are overcoming the resentment. We've also been cheered by almost the entire Gryff table at lunch and now we're outnumbered by them. We'll take our revenge in due time, when things calm down.)
"Don't believe it, he is in very good shape for his age," Sev replied to the boy.
"Won't you stay with us?" asked the girl.
(Ugh… this one likes me… Raise fame and go to sleep.) "Nah, I need to rest, see you in a while. Take advantage of the afternoon to do your homework and study, I want you in shape tonight and tomorrow morning, we'll have training again."
"Great, Prince, see you later."
(Very excited. Merlin, the one that awaits me,) Sev thought. (Now I am going to have them in handfuls, without being able to touch the two that I love. Let's see how I can resist, because this one is not bad at all, and it is the one that had already trained on her own, a future good warrior.)
The four boys made their way to the stairs and began to go up to the bedrooms. (It's weird for me to talk so familiarly with people I've never dealt with, only know by sight, and tonight I'm going to spend hours and hours with them. Come to think of it... Since we won't be needing the potions for me and Anthony, I could go for them before the party and offer Restorative to everyone, so they'll be fit for training tomorrow even if they stay up late. It's a bit of a hassle, because again we'll have to organize the escort to get up to the fifth floor. It's best to do it in the middle of the afternoon, when people are calmer, in Hogsmeade or studying. And by the way, we'll go to the seventh floor too, for the Dark Magic book.)
"Sev," Ariel told him. "Shall I go to my bedroom for a book and then to yours, as you told me before?"
"Sure, honey, I'll wait for you there," he replied, and to Jack, "Come here for a moment, we have to talk."
"Of course…"
The three of them came in again and he and Jack sat on Sev's bed. Anthony went to his.
"Hey, Anthony, change your bed," Sev said. "Take this one here," pointing to the one that had been Avery's, the second closest to the window. "It's enough for you almost five years of enduring the noises of the bathroom."
"Of course, Prince, that's what I was thinking of doing, but I'll do it later," Anthony replied. "Now I'm going to get ready to go to the Library to study, so I'll leave you alone for a while."
"Great, come here around six, we're going to go for the potions to offer Restorative to people who stay up late so they can be fresh tomorrow for training."
"Wow, that's a great idea."
"Sure, otherwise they will be spoiled," Sev said. "It's a shame, because the ingredients were very expensive, at least they are used for something."
As his roommate finished getting ready, Sev conjured the Muffliato around him and Jack. "Let's see, several topics, I'll tell you in order. First thing, you heard, organize the escort for six o'clock, a quiet time in the afternoon, we have to go to the fifth floor for the potions and also to the seventh, to the Room of Requirement, because I have to take Albus one of the books, but we are going to go only the four older ones that we occlude and know how it works."
"Sure, Prince."
"Second, tomorrow we have training in the corridor to the left after the Library. The space opens up like the Room of Requirement, but you don't need to wander around, just stand in front of the wall and demand 'Duel Training Room'. He has prepared it for a hundred people."
"Wow…"
"He has done a lot of things these months, I'll tell you more later," Sev continued. "I'm sorry you're going to miss part of the party by going to warn the other Houses."
"Bah, it will be a moment, I don't think I'll sit down for dinner, the table will be empty. I'll stop by the Hall, tell them, and come back here."
"Sure, Jack, do it like this. Remember that Paul has to appoint with the seventh-year Huffles."
"No problem. He was in the Common Room and I gestured for him to wait for me."
"Superb coordination. It would be nice if you contacted the sixth-years tomorrow, and that way you have them on hand every day and you don't have to bother him anymore."
"Okay, Prince, I will," Jack agreed.
"Third question. Monday morning, Time-Turning for the five that we occluded. I already have it on me, look," he took it out of one of the upper, smaller pockets. "For me."
"Booah… what a filly."
"I've earned it hard," Sev said.
"Of course."
"When you need it and I don't, I'll lend it to you, but don't tell anyone else that I have it."
"Of course not, Prince."
"Well, what I was going to say. If we prefer before or after school, so that he can explain how we have to do it. What do you prefer?"
"I do not care."
"Yeah, me neither," Sev said. "Then now I'll talk to the little one and later at six the four older ones do it and we decide. He is going to teach us Red Magic, to Bond us as a Clanship."
"Wow… really?"
"Yes, with the Gryffs he has already done it. Lily told me all about it at lunch, amazing things can be done. Did you take Runes?"
"I did," the older boy replied.
"And Deborah?"
"She too."
"Perfect. Only Anthony miss it, but we will help him together," Sev said. "I think it would be better before class to be fresher, but whatever you prefer."
"We'll talk about it later."
"Yes, because I have to know tomorrow, to communicate with him in the Great Hall."
"Sure."
"Well, and up to here the obligations, now the good news," Sev went on. "There is a hidden room in this bedroom, on Tuesday he is going to show me how to open it. A safe and private place for you to meet Lauren."
"Oh…"
"He had already prepared it for Anthony and me, but we don't need it anymore, so I'm not going to say anything to him. Move to live here if you want as you said this morning and so you have it easier to meet."
"Thank you Prince," his friend replied.
"Don't give them to me, Jack. You have also taken a risk for me without having to do it. And I've already told you that whenever you want you can use the Time Turner, also with her, and so you don't need potions to take advantage of the nights."
"Thank you Prince. I'll never be able thank you enough."
(Yes you could. Allowing her be with me when our time comes,) Sev thought. "Don't worry about it, Jack, you'll find a way. Just worry about making her happy. That's all for now, see you at six, I'm going to take a nap."
"Okay, I'm going to talk to the girls, who have been waiting downstairs, and with Paul. And I'll tell Deborah about Monday so we know as soon as possible how we do it. See you later."
They hadn't noticed that little Ariel had already entered the room a while ago and had kept waiting until they finished talking.
"See you later, Jack," said the boy. "Hi, Sev."
"Come honey, give me a hug," Sev said. "Do you see? We are already together. Forever. We are only going to separate to sleep and for classes."
"Now everyone loves you, have you seen? They are interested, before they did nothing but talk bad about you."
"Yeah, I know, Ariel, but it was because I was with the bad guys. They're not as smart as you, who guessed I wasn't like them."
"Of course, I always knew," Ariel confirmed.
"What book did you bring?"
"One of Muggle Studies, from the Library, is about the History of Science."
"Wow… how interesting," Sev said. "I didn't know you also had Muggle Studies, you have a lot of electives."
"Yeah, I have. I took all but Divination."
"Wow… and do you have time to go to class?"
"I have a Time-Turner," the kid replied.
"You never told me." With how good it would have been for us, Sev thought.
"Of course, because that's a secret, but since I've already seen that you've also been given one, well, I can tell you about it."
Merlin... he's charming. "Okay, but don't tell anyone else that I have it."
"Of course not, Sev. Otherwise, everyone will ask you for it. The same thing I do with mine, it's just for me."
He's absolutely right. If I found out he had it, I would have asked him for it. "Well, you know that maybe next year you will be able to take another elective. You know I've been talking to the Headmaster."
"Yes, Albus. He is very nice."
Wow, Albus has also asked him to call him by his first name. Good, we are already a big family.
"And what subject will it be?" Ariel asked.
"Don't you imagine? What subject would I ask for?"
"Dueling."
"That is," Sev confirmed. "And I have also asked him that when the three years have passed since I graduated, he let me be the teacher."
"Buaaah… professor at Hogwarts, that would be great. You will get to Sly's Head, because there is no other teacher in the House besides Slughorn, and he is already very old."
Sev thought, What Lauren was saying, and he's absolutely right, there's no other Sly on the faculty. I have one more demand for Albus, that he grant the position of Potions teacher to Lily when Slughorn retires and that he hold out until she can be. We would both be teachers, at Hogwarts, protected from contention. Three birds with one stone, good professions for both, living together in the castle and protection.
She a Potions teacher and I, Dueling and Sly's Head. And when Albus dies and Minerva succeeds him, Lily Gryff's Head. Take that! The lovers of enemy Houses, Heads of House. I already tell you that the thing about the enemy Houses is over. And to think that I have always considered that night of September 1st, '71 fateful and perhaps it was the greatest stroke of luck in a thousand years of school history.
And if I become Headmaster I will make Lauren Sly's Head, who will be the Herbology teacher, and Ariel Dueling teacher. It's done. My family together. And then we would have influence to change things.
"You can lay in that bed," Sev said pointing to the closest one. "Now it's going to be Anthony's, but he has gone to study in the Library. I'm going to take a nap."
"Can't I get into bed with you, like you told me before?" the little one asked.
"Of course, if you want."
Sev undressed and got into bed.
"Do you sleep without pajamas?" Ariel asked.
"Always. It is more comfortable."
"Aren't you cold?"
"I'm not, I'm used to it," Sev replied. If he were to find out about the nights I spent at the mill, many in the dead of winter…
"My bed is also the one next to the window. I'm going to undress too, going to bed in my uniform is very uncomfortable."
"Sure, do it."
Sev was already settling into his usual position, face down, turned to the left, right arm under the pillow, wand in hand.
"Do you sleep with your wand in your hand?" the kid asked.
"Always. I got used to doing it in case the bad guys attacked me."
"Sure. It's just that you were two against four, and you weren't even friends."
The little one got into bed with him, but not to read his book, he hugged him from behind, skin to skin.
"That's good, how warmth you give me, I'm going to fall asleep instantly," Sev said. "Will you call me at six?"
"Sure, Sev. I'll warn you."