At least it was not raining. It was cold and humid, and it was not possible to discern anything beyond 50 yards perhaps. Draco looked at his mobile and opened the message by Elizabeth Bennet.
"3 p.m. UP, might take longer, Girl insists on walking OHO."
Draco was not entirely sure, what OHO meant. UP was 'usual place'. He would ask Hermione the next time they could talk.
If he had not been so intent on staring on his mobile, he would have spotted the man holding a copy of the Prophet earlier. His heart skipped a beat. He was not doing something illegal, but he still dreaded that the auror department would step in and actively prevent him from seeing his daughter. He would have turned on his heels in the hope that he had not been spied, but the wizard let the newspaper sink and his eyes met Draco's. It was Neville Longbottom.
"Malfoy," he folded he newspaper away.
Draco nodded warily. If it had been any other auror he would have texted a short 'abort' to Hermione immediately, but it was Longbottom, the man who had let him see his daughter, when she had been born.
"I do have some questions." Longbottom said.
Draco frowned, wondering if this were the moment where Hermione's last neutral Gryffindor friend would abandon her.
"I am under no obligations to answer."
Longbottom studied him. "I should have worded that differently. I am not on duty. I am just curious."
A tiny fraction of the tension left Draco's body. "Well, suit yourself."
"There is room on this bench for more than one person, Malfoy." Longbottom said.
Draco sat down at the other end of the bench, observing the auror all the time. He flipped his mobile. He would send that text after all.
"I know that Luna will be here within in a few minutes, with her goddaughter, and I do not plan on telling anybody."
Draco studied the other man and flipped the cover of his mobile again.
"You know, I do wonder about my colleagues. It should be obvious that this is possible and yet none of them ever followed Luna on her walks."
"Luna wants to have time with her goddaughter. I just happen to be here. And I am under no ban regarding my daughter."
Longbottom arched an eyebrow. "And it is just happenstance, that Hermione is sure to do something slightly suspicious at this exact time. Right now, she is probably leading Smith on a futile chase again. She loves irritating Smith."
Draco frowned. "I haven't seen my wife since our honeymoon. How would I know?"
Longbottom sighed. "Malfoy, let's be clear about this. I know you meet Rina at your in-laws when she stays with them, I know, you meet Rina when Luna walks with her. I bet the moment she and Luna will come she is going to shout for 'dad'. And somehow you know when to meet."
Draco kept silent.
"I am not here to put a stop to this, Malfoy."
"Then, why are you here?"
"I'll tell you, but first, I have a question. I wonder… Why do you play this by the book? Why not just take Hermione and your daughter and live in Muggle London as muggles. You must know that this would be an option."
Draco felt his anger rise. "I thought you are her friend. I am sure Hermione has told you why."
Longbottom shrugged. "I know her reasons. I want to hear yours."
"Her wand would be snapped."
"Yes, but you would be on equal terms then, wouldn't you? Wouldn't that be easier even?"
Draco looked at him, completely taken aback. He shook his head.
"Do you even know Hermione?" he asked pointedly.
"I've been her friend since our first ride on the Hogwarts train."
"Can you honestly picture Hermione living inconspicuously? Laying low? Do you know what that would do to her?"
Longbottom listened intently, focused on Draco's face.
Draco waved impatiently. "She probably would find a worthy cause in the muggle world. But it would mean that she was successfully driven from the wizarding world, a world she wanted to be part of since being a girl, a world she helped save. It would mean that they won, Longbottom. All the people who do not accept her. I, of all people, could not do this to her."
He sneered in righteous anger at the auror. "I'm playing a long con, it is that what you want to hear? What good would it be, if she were with me now and would leave me in the long run? No. I am greedy. I want it all. I want Hermione happy. I want her happy with me, and I want her to do some of the reforms she has set her mind on. I want her to have a chance at that. I don't know if she will succeed in any of this, but I know, she has to try."
"Right now, it would be easier for her, if she was not your wife, you know that."
"Are you trying to play a villain from a novel, Longbottom? Something along the lines of 'If you will leave this girl alone, I'll pay you thousands of galleons'?" He lowered his voice to imitate some slimy villain he had seen on TV.
Draco shook his head. "No, sorry, I can't be bribed, Longbottom, and honestly I'm disappointed you tried. And it wasn't even a very good attempt. I'd rate your effort far below that of some of the others."
"Others?" Longbottom's brows went up to his hairline.
Draco snorted. "You didn't know that Gryffindors have made it their pastime to come and pester me about what a selfish bastard I am? 'The elves are all sorted out, Malfoy. Time to back down.'"
It made him seethe with anger. The only consolation was that some of them had actually tried to hex him. "Finnigan, Arthur Weasley, although I concede that he probably was dragged along by his wife, some of the younger Gryffindors. Price for most annoying goes to Percy Weasley. He thinks Hermione has singlehandedly pushed Arthur Weasley out of office."
"I had no idea," Longbottom mused. "And you misunderstand me. I just wanted to know your reasons, honestly, nothing more."
Draco did not try to hide his annoyance. "Is that so difficult to understand? I love Hermione. And for some reason I am lucky enough that she reciprocates."
He was tempted to ask Longbottom if he even knew what 'reciprocation' meant. He had asked Finnigan whose face had become the most satisfying red. He reined himself in biting his lip. He owed Longbottom.
"That probably used up all my luck for my entire life. But I do not want to be with her if she must sacrifice all. I have no right to demand that and it would ruin everything."
Longbottom did not answer.
"So, I don't know if this answer is to your satisfaction. Now, tell me, why are you here, if you are not in the line of people telling me how selfish I am?"
"There are not that many days left. How many? 200?"
"One hundred ninety-two" Draco stressed each syllable. "Too many".
"You might be aware, that the aurors hate having a shift at Hermione's. It's either annoying or boring."
Draco did not acknowledge that. He still was not sure about Longbottom and what he did not admit could not be used against him.
"So, you might be tempted to think that the aurors are getting sloppy, but I would warn you. I think as the end of the ban nears some people will renew their efforts to find anything that might point towards you and Hermione skirting the ban. And they might come to the right conclusions. Now, what Luna does is not illegal and strictly speaking it does not violate the ban. But she is the fiancée of one of your friends which might make her suspect. And I want her out of trouble."
"Blaise told me that your Gryffindor bunch have been surprisingly welcoming. Would they suspect him?" Draco tried to keep his voice neutral. He knew that Blaise had not such a bad history with the lions like he had, but he found it strange that Potter and the Weasleys, and all the DA bunch could easily accept Blaise because he loved Luna but tried to drive him away from Hermione. Well, Blaise hadn't been a death eater. And he hadn't been the nemesis of Saint Potter. And many people went out of their way to indulge Luna.
"There are so many people who would love to make more trouble," Longbottom said. "I would advise you to be extra careful in the last months."
Draco pursed his lips. "We have adhered to the ban. I wouldn't risk a continuation now that we are so close to the end. I have taken precautions against being framed another time. I told you. I want it all. I am a selfish bastard after all."
"I assume that Parkinson put wards on your flat. And if your accidental meetings with your daughter come out…." Longbottom did not finish his sentence.
"Even if Pansy put wards on my flat – which she did not –, you could hardly blame me. I was framed and I wouldn't put it beyond the Weasel to try something else." Draco did not mention that it had been Blaise, who had warded his flat. "And I can assure you that Pansy does not know about any meetings, accidental or not."
"Not officially, I am sure, but everyone will assume she knew."
Draco looked at Longbottom sideways and his heart sank. The man knew how to plays his cards and Draco couldn't even blame him. He probably should be grateful for the warning. Considering Longbottom was the Weasel's friend that could not have been easy. "I do not want Luna or Pansy to get into trouble. I owe Luna. I cannot hope to repay her adequately, ever. And Pansy is a friend."
It hurt so much, but he pressed it out. "So, your intent is to tell me, that I should refrain from meeting Luna and Rina by accident from now on?"
Longbottom shook his head. "No, there is no need. I will just be close from now on. So, in case somebody looks into it, I'll be there already."
Draco could hardly believe it. "Someone who sees you might come to the conclusion that you are on duty."
"I would hope so." A small smile tugged at Longbottom's lip. "I would trust you to not do anything that invalidates that conclusion, nor to make my duty hell on earth like Hermione does for my colleagues."
"And what will you do, if someone will get you into trouble for pretending to be on duty?"
Longbottom shrugged. "Oh, I'll just play the 'I'm a war hero' card."
Draco frowned.
"You do not believe me? That I can do that?"
Longbottom closed his eyes, not much longer than a blink, and suddenly and shockingly he held a sword in his hand.
"Jesus fucking Christ" Draco jumped up. Muggle swearing was the only adequate reaction to that. "The bloody sword of Godric bloody Gryffindor. How did you do that?"
Longbottom's smile was smug. "The sword comes to any true Gryffindor."
"Did you have to give me such a scare?"
Longbottom let the sword drop and it vanished.
Draco frowned. "Does that mean Potter could have just summoned the sword, when he was camping for months trying to destroy horcruxes? Could Hermione have done that? Could she do that now?"
Longbottom laughed. "Asking the important questions. I think you must have a connection already. The sword came to me at the Battle of Hogwarts. And yes, Harry could have just summoned the sword, because it had come to him when he slew the basilisk. You should have seen his face when this realisation dawned on him."
"Well," Draco smirked. "That is the benefit of hindsight." Picturing Potter when he realised, he could have had it way easier was highly entertaining.
"Just one more question." Longbottom studied him. "Do you even remember our seventh year?"
"I did not store the Carrows away, just the Phoenix Potion, but then you probably do not believe I brewed that." Draco grimaced. "I should have buried the Carrows somewhere deep in my mind. They still give me nightmares."
Longbottom shrugged. "Same here. Do you remember, the one time they ordered me to torture you?"
"Vaguely, why?"
"When we lay on the floor you wanted to say something, I am quite sure. You made the same face just now when you talked about Hermione loving you back."
Draco barked a laugh. "That's probably my 'I refrain from voicing the comment that is on the tip of my tongue- face'."
"A snarky comment, I suppose." Longbottom arched his eyebrows. "What was it?"
"Longbottom, there is no point in me suppressing my sarcasm, if I tell you afterwards, what went through my head."
"And I don't remember clearly, anyway." That was an outright lie. But Draco was not going to tell Longbottom that he had admired him for his bravery. "You may just assume it was insulting."
"Aha." Longbottom crossed his long legs and leaned back.
He picked up his Prophet. "So, from now on, I am just sitting here and reading, and you can ignore me otherwise."
Draco spotted Luna and Rina and suddenly he understood what OHO meant. Rina was walking on her own, and it took her ridiculously long to reach the playground.
It was as Longbottom had predicted. She came to him, wobbling with each step and flung herself at him, just as she was about to fall. He swung his daughter up while she giggled and called him dad.
192 days. They would make it.
Notes:
Here, have some nice Neville...
Chapter 83: Bobbin lace
Summary:
Luna and Hermione are serious about their occamy smugglers hunt.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
That muggle internet thing was so interesting. Luna thought that her own mind was organised a little bit like that. Sometimes there were connections that would lead to other information and sometimes there were not.
Hermione had searched for bobbin lace and lace craft shops all over London, and in her usual structured planning had made a list in what order they could pay each of them a visit. They were disguised, because Hermione had argued that they were too well known as supporters of magical creatures. Harry had assigned Teddy Lupin to accompany them, but the metamorphmagus was in a sour mood. His mien was morose, his gait slumped, and his hair was ink black. It was obvious that he had not wanted to join them on their chase, but he would not deny his superior. Luna sincerely hoped, that the wrackspurts that danced around him were not due to Hermione being part of the search party. She was reasonably sure, that Teddy was put out because he had not been allowed to travel to Azkaban, where aurors were searching for the anchor that allowed the dementors to exist.
Blaise had joined them as well, after having dropped Penny with Draco, Meg and Robert. He had said something about being bored to death, but Luna knew it was a lie. Blaise was worried about her.
Their official quest was looking for lace to add to dresses for a costume ball. By now they had established a well-honed routine. Hermione would wander aimlessly through the shop, wandlessly searching for wards, Luna would talk to the shop assistant and ask for samples of intricate lace, while Blaise and Teddy would try to get behind the unsuspecting assistants and try their hand at picking up stray thoughts. Hermione insisted that they really should not delve into people's minds, that it was illegal to do so, and her stern stare had even made Blaise promise to stay in line.
They had looked at so many shops that Luna begged for a pause, when they had just reached a little suburb of London, where the bobbin lace shop that was their target sat beside a pottery, and a fashion jewellery shop.
Luna opened her bag. "We all need to eat something, and I need to have a look at the patterns of occamy nests again. All this lace I saw has turned my brains into shambles."
They ate some of the sandwiches Luna had brought. Teddy's mood seemed to lift. Luna nodded to herself. She had known that Teddy's hunger had been responsible for his mood at least in part. 'Time for carbs' as Draco always said, when he wanted to dissipate the sour mood that came when the children were hungry.
When he had finished his sandwich, Teddy even had the energy to look around.
"Funny," he said. "That pottery over there. That came up in another case. Pansy sent me there to plant some wrapping paper with recording and tracking spells."
Hermione's head perked up. "You aurors really have no constraints. It should be forbidden to scatter recording objects randomly throughout the whole country."
Teddy blushed. "It's for a murder case."
"People still have rights," Hermione stated. "There should be conditions for observations like that."
Luna exchanged a look with Blaise, and in his eyes, she could see the same fear she felt. Had the Grangers been observed? It would explain why Hermione had been angry at Teddy joining them and was nagging about the restrictions that should be set on aurors' sleuthing. Not that Hermione needed any additional reason to be suspicious of aurors.
"And is this pottery suspicious?", Hermione asked Teddy.
"It is another case, I can't tell you," Teddy glowered.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, we'll be extra careful, just in case."
Blaise scoffed. "Not that any of you Gryffindors know how to be careful."
Luna shook her head. "Love, I'm not a Gryffindor." Blaise arched an eyebrow at her.
They went into the shop and started their usual routine. Luna had just noted a bobbin lace pattern that reminded her of occamy nests, when Hermione came to her side and began to talk about how she hoped that her miscreant of a brother would not crash the costume party which was the cue that she had detected wards with her probing.
Teddy who stood at the back of the shop assistant shortly changed his hair colour to blue, but controlled himself before the shop assistant turned to look at him. Luna bought some lace to divert suspicion and Hermione kept talking about her imaginary brother and his party crashing until they had left the shop.
Hermione informed them of her assessments of heavy warding, while Blaise confirmed that the bobbin lace patterns had an occamy nest feel to it.
"The shop assistant is a witch, I am sure. I hope she did not detect my attempt to brush her mind." Teddy bit his lip.
"I thought, we had agreed to be careful!" Blaise scowled. "Why did you try legilimency?"
Teddy flushed. "I am good at it," he defended himself.
"Did she occlude?" Hermione asked him.
"She might have," Teddy admitted.
Luna patted him on his sleeve. There was no point in chiding him. Done was done.
"We'd best try this out immediately, in case she did." she suggested.
"Shouldn't we give this to the aurors?" Blaise asked. He sounded worried.
"Hey," Teddy protested. "I am right here."
"No offence, Terry, but this might need more than one auror." Blaise let the knuckles of his hands snap. "If they are as heavily warded as Hermione says, I would like to be backed by Harry or Pansy or better even both."
Luna shook her head. "I think, Harry's at Azkaban today? He told me they are looking for the anchor that prevents the dissolution of the dementors."
"Pansy is working at breaking some people free from curses, I was given to understand." Hermione put in.
Blaise cursed under his breath.
Luna sought his gaze. "We have to get in now. We don't want them to move the occamies."
"If Teddy hadn't done legilimency we could play this by the book." Hermione scrunched her face.
"As an auror I can try to collect evidence, if there is a suspicion."
"A fast break in, collect evidence, and out again." Luna pleaded with her friend.
Hermione scoffed. "I count on you all. If it comes down to it, I was never here." Her piercing eyes met Teddy's and she waited until he had nodded, before she led them around a corner, where they shed their disguises and disillusioned themselves. Even through the disillusionment Luna could still see Blaise glowering at Teddy for his blunder.
"The area behind the lace shop is illusioned and warded. I suggest we do not dismantle the wards but try to creep in under a scutum. There is a chance after all, that the witch in the shop does not suspect anything."
"We have to be careful not to be seen, when we pass the wards under the scutum. We should cast an illusion behind us, so that only the last person to pass can be detected." Blaise might not be happy, but he would not be left out of the planning and added his personal touch.
Teddy was still in a huff, but grumbled his agreement.
They squeezed in between the bobbin lace shop and the pottery, holding hands, so that they would not lose each other. The only ward Luna disabled immediately was an anti-detection-spell ward. They needed that disabled or they would not know where to drop the scutum.
"Remind me to put that back in place, when we leave," she told Blaise.
Blaise cast a shimmering illusion behind them then. "Five minutes," he said.
Hermione pointed at a pole about fifteen yards away. "The wards end there, as far as I can say."
Luna went first, under the scutum Hermione put on her, running fast. Teddy was next, then Blaise. Finally, Blaise who was the best at casting a scutum at a distance drew Hermione in. Hermione panted when she arrived at the pole, and Blaise swiped a drop of sweat from his face. Casting a scutum always took its toll.
The storage building that came into view after they had passed the pole was huge.
"Merlin", Luna breathed. They really had felignats on their side today. This must be the place where the occamies were kept.
And indeed, when they had magicked their way in, Luna was impressed by the cleverness of it all. The inside of the building reminded Luna very much of the occamy colony they had found in India. Occamies were frolicking about, clearly feeling at home, cotton strings, men-made but close to how occamies did them, crisscrossed the hall to weave intricate patterns and small occamies played, curling around the strings. The animals were trusting, they approached them curiously and Teddy was touched and in awe when the occamies curled around them, chirping happily. Hermione laughed when she was tickled by a full grown occamy, that dived into her hair.
Luna was almost distracted by the beauty of it all. She had to remind herself that these occamies were not where they were supposed to be. Blaise had already left the reverie behind and strode determinedly towards the far corners that were in shadows. Luna was sure, he wanted to get out as soon as possible.
Luna pinched Hermione in the side, and she sobered.
"Shall we put some tracking spells on the occamies?" her friend asked. "Even if they spirit them away, we could find them again."
"Not on all, just a few," Luna agreed.
Casting on the occamies they saw, tracking spells, iced with a Do-not-notice charm, they made their way towards where Blaise had gone. Luna called out to Teddy, but he was still enraptured. Not surprising for someone who had never seen occamies before. Even for Luna it was difficult.
"Do you think they harvest the eggs?" Hermione whispered.
Luna nodded. "With that many occamies, they can steal dozens of live eggs. Maybe up to hundreds." The thought made her sad and goose bumps covered her back. It had become rather chilly, and she shuddered.
They had reached the far corner where Blaise had cast a lumos, that did not reach far into the shadows though. Hermione reached into her bag and took out her muggle phone. She pressed on it several times, until a bright light came out of it, that pierced through the hiding spells, Blaise's lumos had not dissolved. Hermione mumbled something about them having to hurry because of a low battree. Luna remembered from her last visit to Narcissa that bats somehow had a connection to muggle electry. It was very puzzling.
In the light of Hermione's torch, rows and rows of chests with drawers suddenly emerged and they hastily ran towards them. When Blaise opened one of the top drawers, there were small partitions in the drawer, and in each of the partitions sat something that looked like a bubble filled with a liquid. They had a turquoise-blueish hue to them and although they glittered in the light, Luna was sure, that they would be squishy. They were carefully placed in nests of soft cotton that suggested they were fragile. Most of the drawers held the same bubbles, but in one drawer they found bubbles that were shining white, with an opal hue to them.
Hermione began to shudder violently. "These are scutum spells, permanent scutum spells."
"Salazar," Blaise whispered. "You mean this is what Prudy used on Draco?"
"Occamy eggs, before they hatch, brimming with life and magic… They probably drilled a hole in the egg and then applied the curse. And then they removed the shells."
"What do they want to do with all these spells?"
Just thinking about all these curses and spells and that they were meant to be permanent sent icy shivers down Luna's spine.
Hermione seemed to feel the same. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms in the effort to get warm again.
"What do we do now? Take some of the drawers and retreat? Call in the aurors?" Blaise put his wand on the floor and proceeded to unhinge the drawer with the scutum spells, and two others.
"Why is it so bloody cold?" Hermione's teeth began to shatter.
"Where's Teddy?" Luna asked.
"We need to run. Now!" Blaise's eyes were fixed to the shadows. Apparently, the place was not without additional protection. Luna froze in fear, when the shadows parted and spewed out a dementor, first only one, then two, and then several.
Hermione was the first to cast a patronus, her otter sprang to life and circled them, closely followed by Luna's own hare.
Blaise was hindered by the drawers and balanced them on one arm and reached for his wand. His face became ashen, when one of the turquoise bubbles fell out and missed him only by inches. Luna cried out in fear and sent her hare aggressively against the dementors. Finally, Blaise was able to pick up his wand, his cobra raised her head, her shield in place, striking at the dementors. The three shining patronuses circled them as they retreated.
"Teddy!" Luna called out. "Teddy!"
They retreated step by step. The dementors seemed to multiply, probing at the tight circle, their protectors drew around them.
"Something we did must have triggered the dementors." Luna could not help herself. She voiced her thoughts out loud. "They can't be here regularly. Occamies would not like dementors."
"Or the witch in the shop alerted them. I don't believe they are here by accident. They are here to deal with intruders." Hermione's breath was a mist before her face.
Blaise's exasperated grunt clearly told them both that there would be time to theorize later.
Teddy was still enraptured by the occamies, even though their happy chirping had stopped, and their frolicking was subdued by the heavy presence of the dementors. Luna called out again, loudly, to get his attention. Three dementors separated from the horde that closed in on them and edged closer to Teddy who had a small occamy on his hand and another in his hair. His hair had adjusted to the rainbow hues as the occamies' feathers.
Hermione's otter came just in time, almost knocking Teddy over. Blaise shouted and his cobra stretched to make a shiny circle around the three of them. Luna's hare hopped to close the gap.
"Teddy, get here, into our circle." Luna called.
Teddy ran, his eyes wide. "There are so many," he panted.
"We have to leave", Blaise pressed out.
"Get past the wards, then apparate to the Longbottoms. Their house has auror protection wards." Hermione's voice was rough. Luna saw that her hair had escaped its ties.
"Why not apparate immediately?" Teddy asked.
"There are anti-apparition wards, and though we might break through them, that will certainly alert the smugglers. And for the sake of Merlin, conjure your patronus, Teddy."
"They are in on us anyway," Teddy argued.
Luna shook her head. "I doubt it. I think we triggered the dementors in that corner. There probably is an anchor."
Teddy was so nervous that he only managed a non-corporal patronus and the dementors pressed in. Luna tried to breathe in calmly and concentrated on the limpiepinkies that connected her to Blaise. Her hare glittered with an extra shine and she could open a gap in the mass of dementors that allowed them to reach the pole.
Their retreat through the wards was a veritable nightmare. Teddy almost balked at Hermione ordering him around, but Blaise told him in no uncertain terms, that Hermione was the strategist. Teddy went first under the scutum cast by Hermione while Blaise stretched his cobra again. Luna was next, and during her short run under the scutum she felt the cold of the dementors reaching out to her heart, flooding her brain with memories of her schooltime before her fourth year, before she had met Harry and the DA. She almost fainted with relief that the wards were also meant to keep the dementors in. She had to concentrate hard to conjure her hare again, while Blaise made a beeline for them. Blaise's face obtained a greyish hue, when one of the white scutum carriers splashed out of the drawer. Now Hermione stood alone at the pole her otter still on guard. Blaise exchanged a look with Luna, and they came to an understanding.
"Prepare for apparition, Teddy," she said as Blaise cast the scutum on Hermione and she sent her hare to protect Hermione. Luna simultaneously cast the anti-detection ward again, waving her wand fervently. As soon as Hermione had reached them, Luna took her hand and their vision whirled as they apparated to Pansy's and Neville's house.
Notes:
So, I hope you all like this reveal...
Originally I did not plan on Blaise being part of this, but he just looked me in the eye and asked me if I were seriously thinking that he would not come along and protect Luna...
Sometimes the characters just have a life of their own...
Chapter 84: Bethan's disease
Summary:
Pansy tries to find what happens with the magic that is plundered from the muggleborns.
Notes:
riane_b13 persuaded me to do a quick round up, so that everyone gets an update what we currently know in regard to the muggleborn case.
Little figurines with rubber stoppers (with a goblin silver core) move if a magical person touches them and an alert is sent to someone using that person's magical signature.
Harry has found the curse that steals magic, the praeda curse.
Ron's friend/girlfriend, a muggle detective searched in the data of the National Health Service and alarmingly many muggleborns are affected by an illness the muggles call Bethan's disease.
Harry invented a method to extract a constellation/pattern that shows the magical signature of the person who enchanted the item.
Luna, Hermione, Blaise and Terry found the carriers for the perpetual spells, occamy eggs minus the shells. As it happens, that is exactly the same carrier that Snape used to encase a scutum spell that was used on Draco after the battle of Hogwarts.
And just to be clear: Harry was the person who found Snape's memories and decided to withhold this evidence (let's not go into detail), but they are not currently in his possession, because they were stolen from the memory vault in the auror department. (it's in the chapter 'The Figurine')
So, I hope that helps to stay on track!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Pansy was sitting in the living room of the Northams. She had decided that there was no way she would get the information she needed while still playing muggle doctor.
The couple stared at the teacup she had levitated to demonstrate that magic was real.
"Emma was cursed, our daughter was cursed, like…. In a fairy tale."
Pansy nodded.
"Your daughter had magic, real magic. She was hit with a curse that stole her magic from her. She died because her magic was an integral part of her. They stole it, and with her magic her life force left her. As if she was slowly bleeding to death."
Ms. Northam cried.
"I am so sorry." It hurt to see the mother's pain. "We do everything to bring her murderers to justice."
"So, you're magical police?" Mr Northam asked. "Can I see your badge?"
Pansy blinked. "I don't have a … badge. I can show you my uniform if that helps. But I mostly work undercover."
Mr Northam nodded, and Pansy transfigured her muggle clothing to auror robes and back again.
"Do you work with the police? I mean our police?"
"Only very occasionally," Pansy said. "Although in this case there are many connections to your world."
"Why only tell us now?" Mr Northam wanted to know.
"Because when Harry and I spoke to you in February we were very much in the dark. And we had no idea about the dimensions of the case. We usually do not break the statute of secrecy. I shouldn't do that even now, but we need answers."
Mrs. Northam sniffled. "Ask."
"The curse weakens the attacked very quickly if it is cast randomly. If it is directed in such a way, that another person receives the magic the curse works much slower, and I suspect it could work for years if the connection is carefully done. We suspect that there must be something that works as a syphon."
Pansy had tried several angles with her fellow auror Sylvia, and they had come to the conclusion that it needed more than wand work, especially since there had been no wand work near any of the children.
"I thought about this. Since the curse weakens the attacked so fast, I suspect that there must be some item that made Emma feel better. Something that she held on to. A favourite toy, perhaps."
Pansy studied the photograph of little Emma that sat on the shelf next to the little owl figurine or rather the copy she had made the last time. Emma's smile still cut at Pansy's heart. The sun was dancing in her hair.
It hit her then.
"Her bracelet."
Pansy could have hit herself. Her godson had a ring that was attuned to Hermione's necklace for emergencies. Rina, Lizzie and Meg had bracelets. It worked with their magical signatures. She could have thought about that sooner.
"Oh that!" Mr Northam said. "That was just some costume jewellery. There was that stand at the fair, where they helped children make their own stuff with silver wire. Where was that again, honey?"
"Emma was so proud, that she managed and that it looked nice." Mrs Northam agreed, but she couldn't remember the name of the fair either.
"Was Emma attached to the bracelet?"
The couple nodded slowly. "She wouldn't even take it off in the shower. Said it protected her, that she felt better with it."
"That must have been the syphon. Do you still have it?"
"I'll fetch it," Mrs Northam stood and went upstairs.
"May I use your telephone?" Pansy asked. Mr Northam looked at her as if she were a dumb troll.
"You don't have a phone?"
"We communicate in other ways." She really would need a phone. Thank Merlin she knew Dudley's number by heart. She typed it into Mr Northam's phone.
Harry's cousin picked up the phone at the third ring.
"Hi Dudley, Pansy here. Are you free? I might have an idea. I have to check with Neill."
They agreed that Pansy could come immediately.
Mrs Northam returned and shook her head.
"It's gone. I don't understand."
Pansy cursed. "They did away with the evidence."
"But nobody entered our house", Mr Northam protested.
"You wouldn't have realised. That was a mistake. They should have neutralised it, instead of doing away with it."
It was possible to neutralize enchanted items, even goblin silver. Horace Slughorn had invented a potion that made that possible. It took time though and maybe they had intended to return the bracelet after it had been cleaned of magical residues. Still, it was goblin silver and that would have been suspicious.
Pansy shook her head. Such a dumb mistake. They should have faked a break-in. Another opportunity to get evidence. Perhaps.
"Where did you keep the bracelet?"
Mrs Northam took her to Emma's old room and Pansy searched the room for magical signatures. She used the new spell Harry had invented and soon she had produced a paper with gold-yellow dots. It looked like the pattern that had they had detracted from one of the stoppers.
"Got you," Pansy said.
"Is that like fingerprints?" Mrs Northam asked staring at the paper. "Magical fingerprints? These people have been in my house."
"I'm afraid so. But we're one step closer to getting them.
"The doctor diagnosed this as Bethan's disease." Dudley told her.
"Bethan's disease." Pansy looked at Dudley's device, the small thing that could be opened like a book, that was run with electrity or whatever and worked a little bit like the phone Neville had taken a liking to. Only it was possible to apply letters directly into the machine. Dudley's fingers flew over the machine.
"Look here, it's even in Wikipedia." Dudley pointed at the screen. He read out loudly. "Bethan's disease was discovered in the UK in 2013. Its main symptoms are fatigue, listlessness and a deterioration of health in general leading to immunity problems. In some cases, the brain seems to be affected leading to bouts of hallucinations. It befalls children between five and ten and does not respond to standard immunology boosters. As of now, mortality seems to be low, but a remedy has not yet been found."
Pansy bent over Dudley's machine. "This article is a stump."
"Yes, that means it's not yet considered to give sufficient information, but that doesn't mean that the information it gives is false. Neill might have that illness. That it is real?"
"Dudley, magic and curses are also real."
Dudley flushed. "Sorry, I just…"
"Who is this Bethan who supposedly found this illness?" Pansy asked.
Dudley tapped on the screen of his device, on the name Bethan. The image on the screen changed.
Bethan, Galw (* 9.8.1973-), male, doctor, … This article is a stump.
Dudley frowned. "What name is Galw?"
Pansy scoffed. "These imbeciles. They don't even have imagination enough to invent a name."
"Bethan, Galw. It's Welsh. Beth-yn-galw. That roughly translates as 'how to call this thingy?'"
"How do you know that?"
"My parents live in Wales."
"So, this is a sham." Dudley pointed at the screen.
Pansy nodded. "And I cannot stress enough how much it worries me, that it seems to occur often enough to earn a name in the muggle world however imaginary."
Dudley hung his head. "I had hoped this could be something I understand."
Pansy laid her hand on his arm. "Remember. We don't understand either. But at least I know what curse it is."
She asked Neill about the things that were constantly around him and quickly identified his watch as the syphoning piece. It looked like a plastic muggle watch, but when Pansy ran an analysis, she discovered a core of goblin silver mixed with what might be regular silver.
Neill confirmed that he barely took of the watch, because he felt better when it touched his skin. It was a watertight watch, so he even took it with him into the shower.
Pansy explained to him, that the watch constrained the flow of magic from his body and that this would indeed mean that the stress on him would be less.
Neill was relieved that he had not imagined this.
Pansy asked him to concentrate on the connection that they now knew was there. If they were lucky, he could give them clues.
"Sometimes I dream of a boy, dark-haired, about my age. His mother strokes his hair, and his father lets him horsey-ride although he should be too big by now." Neill closed his eyes.
"A boy, are you sure?" Her thoughts whirled. "Does he use magic? Or does he use your magic?"
Neill opened his eyes again. They were wide and frightened. "I think, he does. But I'm not sure, he knows about me." His voice was a small whisper.
"We have to go to my home. I need to see Neville about this." The school scroll. The school scroll had not failed, after all.
"Could you come with me, Dudley? Neill? It might be a good idea to try to cut the connection and remove the curse in a magical environment anyway."
They apparated directly to Neville's and her house.
Pansy almost toppled right over Blaise before she could balance herself.
Blaise let out a string of curses. "Be bloody careful with these things. I don't want to get hit by any of these."
He held something that looked like drawers and in it were oval bubbles in different hues, some of them in the turquoise shade Pansy had come to identify with the praeda curse.
Why was the house so full? What did Draco do here? Hermione? Meg and Robert? And Colin? Why was Colin here?
Pansy took a random hand and picked herself up. It was Teddy's.
"I found the carrier."