Lynching
The next day at breakfast, Sev bonded with Deborah to chat about Brooke and Paul. "How was it yesterday in the clearing?"
"Wonderful, Prince. Paul already occludes perfectly, he didn't miss a single time."
"What a good eye you have, Deborah," admired. "The bad thing is that you are going to run out of excuses to keep in touch. Take him back at least a couple more times, under the guise of making sure he does it right, so you have time to talk about other things."
"Yes, we will, we have already arranged for Wednesday."
(Efficient to the max,) Sev thought. "As soon as Valerie and Andrew learn, the five of us are going to the fir tree. How about?"
"Brilliant."
"This way both of you can also make a joint one, and you'll find out how he feels about you, because I think he likes you a lot."
"Yes, he liked me a lot. We were talking about it on the way," Deborah said.
"Wow… really? Tell me about it," amazed and interested.
"I tried to find out about Brooke as you asked me, and indeed, he does it with her sometimes so as not to go hungry, but he doesn't like her, she's very promiscuous."
"Oh… I already noticed it, she made a scene for making her wait a quarter of an hour," he said. "She got furious, in the end I didn't do it with her."
"I'm glad you didn't. She doesn't deserve you, she did it even with the malefics at home."
(Like Lauren before her parents informed her, but she reconsidered and changed before she turned fifteen, and Brooke is already seventeen or eighteen and she wants to be a warrior. Unbelievable. I'm glad I didn't touch her a hair.) "Ugh... she's not trustworthy."
"Well no. I sure don't see her in the mirror anymore," she said.
"Maybe she will change. I apologized for having provoked her and rejecting her, she became very sad and I spent half an hour pampering her, without speaking, she was reflecting all that time."
"You are incredible, Prince, you never cease to amaze me, and every hour that passes I admire you more."
"Tell me. What else did you talk to Paul about?"
"As he was honest with me about Brooke, I took the opportunity to be with him too and I told him about the relationships I've had so far, especially Anthony and you."
"Wow, Deborah… How sincere you are."
"He deserved it, he was also being with me, and it was worth it, because he loved my way of being and carrying it and that I am still a virgin."
"Wow… And did you tell him about your plans with me?"
"Of course, he understood everything instantly," she replied. "He also admires you a lot and it turn him on that you love me, he appreciates me more."
"Your maneuver has paid off instantly."
"Yeah. We have decided to continue getting to know each other little by little, to take it easy, so that I can wait for you. He doesn't mind not being my first, I wouldn't be his first either, and of course, he'll also continue doing it with whoever he wants in the meantime, but he's willing to be faithful to me when I'm ready even if I'm not, very proud to share myself with you."
"Wow, Deborah... All this the first evening," admired.
"Of course, Prince, there is no time to waste," excited.
"And did you also tell him about having a child with me?"
"Of course."
"And what did he think of it?" Sev asked.
"Proud to share the upbringing of your child, and very satisfied to have that bond with you for life."
"Wow, Deborah... You've found your ideal partner in less than three days."
"And all thanks to you."
"No, Deborah, thanks to being who you are. Can't wait to do that ritual with Paul, the three of us will do one together too, maybe in the future we'll be family. The three of us will have a long talk before doing it, I also want to get to know him better."
"Of course, Prince, he is looking forward to it too."
"As he already occludes, I'll give you my notes on Ancestral Magic before Wednesday and you'll pass them on to him, so he'll understand everything much better."
"It's not necessary, I have the ones you made for the Guard, Anthony had them."
(Jack has dropped the subject,) Sev thought. "And how about Anthony?"
"Disconnecting. I haven't had time to be with him."
"Of course... And speaking of Ancestral Magic, have you thought about the Bond as a Couple?"
"I'm thinking on it, Prince, I haven't had time either."
"Sure, don't be in a hurry. If you make up your mind, we'll do it when you feel like it, I'll wait for you to propose it to me."
"I will, Prince. I'll let you know whether I want to or not."
"Brilliant."
At nine but six in the morning, Lily and Sev met the Headmaster in his office. They started chatting, he told them what he thought it convenient for them to know about what he had read in the malefic Rave, the essentials for them to be protected in summer, but much less than everything Lauren had revealed to Sev. (He doesn't want to alarm us.)
He proposed to increase the escort, and Sev informed him that they were already doing it, on their own initiative, with three other Sly who already possessed the talent without having to take them to the fir tree, and that in fact, one of them already did it perfectly, the first day he had tried, and that Deborah could also join it from July twenty-fifth.
Dumbledore was admiring the good qualities of the green-silver House, he confirmed that all those who found it easy to occlude would be reliable people, capable of keeping secrets, and anticipated that they would be the first line of the Wizarding Army that they were beginning to create.
(He has been impressed by what we did yesterday to the malefics without the need for Dark Magic, he admires us. And it makes me think about Jack. He had a hard time learning Occlumency even though my talent had passed on to him, he is not to be trusted.)
Albus proposed that if time permitted, they should also begin teaching Legilimency to all occlumancers, at least those who possessed the talent, for it was essential by next year to have more legilimancers to instruct the entire contingent in Occlumency.
Sev thought, (I think Valerie has it, she's intuitive, and the others will pick it up as soon as Iget them to the fir tree. They can start learning now, so Deborah has an excuse to keep meeting Paul. And she's wasting no time having to extract her memories, because she already occludes, he can read her directly and it will be a fantastic way to communicate, penetrate her thought, as I fell in love with Lauren.)
Lily thought, (All of us Gryffs have the talent, since we've all been in the fir tree already. I have to start instructing Alice at least and continue to do so with Cecile, with whom I can spend more hours in our bedroom. Since I occlude perfectly, they can read me without the need for a Pensieve and it will be a fantastic way to communicate with them. Then, in the summer, Alice will be able to instruct Frank in turn.)
Dumbledore then gave them their first class in learning how to become invisible. It was easier even than Apparating, and the power was also acquired by Druid Magic tree rituals, so they both already possessed it, added to the talent for Transfiguration that Albus had passed on to them the day before.
They already managed, that first day, to make entire parts of their bodies, arms and legs disappear, so the Headmaster decided to leave the next class for Monday of the following week, in which they would take two, because he understood how overloaded Sev was with work.. (Good… I will be able to meet Lauren on Thursday or Friday, like I promised, and maybe Audrey, too.)
At eleven the Slys lynched the malefic Gryffs. The operation was more difficult, since they had to wait for all the students to leave the Potions classroom, since they had classes to follow, although it wasn't that bad either, since the word had spread around the House and the Slys who were in the dungeons classroom did the first to give them free rein. Luckily, Slughorn didn't come out, after what happened the previous afternoon something like this was already expected and the big mouth and coward one preferred to stay locked up.
But the best part was that the malefics hadn't heard of what had happened to the Raves the day before. Surprisingly, the rumor hadn't spread around the school, even though it was the Huffles, who were more prone to gossip, who had found out about it. For once, they kept their mouths shut, so they too were caught by surprise and they pounced on them just as much as the Raves.
Sev took the opportunity to read them while they were being beaten, and discovered that they both wanted to leave Hogwarts as soon as possible and were hesitating about becoming Death Eaters. (Same as the Raves yesterday after beating them up, perfect.)
At lunch Sev informed the Headmaster of the results of his investigations, which he was satisfied with. (Yesterday he yelled at me and today he congratulates us. Uncertainty.) The only comments he made other than that about the incident was that they had also had to be sent to the hospital and that he had not received any news from the Ministry, from what was deduced that the Raves hadn't let loose at St. Mungo's. (Wonderful news.) Sev told Deborah and Jack, and Lauren and Lily as well.
"You're cleaning Hogwarts of Death Eaters, Severus, there won't be any left," Lauren told him, very admired and triumphant. "Even my brother is thinking about it, because he has found out what you've done, the rumor has spread around the House."
That afternoon they had a Defense class and performed their Patronuses. Sev got his turn right after Lauren, since they did it in alphabetical order, and he evoked the memory with her. The entire class gasped, including the teacher, as he had never seen two Patronuses exactly alike.
She projected to him, "Your Patronus has changed. Your happiest memory is with me?" astonished.
"One of them. I can conjure three different Patronuses, the three twins of the three women I love. My memory with you is of the pampering we gave ourselves last week."
"Wow, Severus... you will never cease to amaze me."
(I am going to take advantage of the fact that she has got very excited to ask her.) "What's yours?"
"That one too."
"And before that, what was it?" he asked.
"The night of the song, when you offered yourself to me."
"And before Easter?"
"The night of the fir tree, when you declared your love to me," she answered.
"All with me, Lauren. Do you still have doubts?"
"None. I am yours forever."
"Tomorrow night I will be with you without fail," Sev said. (That gives me time to get Audrey into the clearing on Friday.)
"I'm going to count the hours."
"Take that bottle of wine."
"Of course."
(She doesn't recover. How humble she is, she didn't expect it at all, and I'm sure I've been able to conjure her Patronus too since the night of the fir tree and I haven't found out because I haven't checked those memories," he thought. "I'm going to ask her for Jack, she's coming clean.) "Try memories with Jack, maybe you also have several memories with which you can conjure Patronus."
"I already have, Severus, they come out incorporeal."
"Oh... Were you with him yesterday?"
"Yeah."
"Have you tried any berries since you've been together?" he asked.
"Yes, today."
"And whom do they taste like?"
"Like both of you," Lauren replied.
(Of course, because she loves us both.) "Equally?"
"No. Like you much more intensely."
"Lauren, what you feel for Jack is not mutual. He doesn't love you just the way you are, he doesn't accept you. What he feels for you is need, not true love. I don't see him in the mirror anymore."
(She doesn't answer me, I don't say anything else, it's the Huffles' turn and it's the last hour of class in the afternoon, let her thinks about it.)
When they left class, Anthony asked, surprised, "Have you seen that Parkinson can conjure Patronus?"
"Of course she can. I already told you that she was not dangerous, she has stayed to finish her studies, I read her often."
"And it's the same as yours, I think she still likes you."
"Could be. Now a lot of girls like me, you know, fame," Sev said.
He took an hour's nap with the Restorative potion, so he could take advantage of the early hours of the night to do his homework for the two days they had been in the week and to study.
As soon as they started eating dinner, Deborah bonded with him. "Anthony has run to tell me that Parkinson can conjure Patronus."
"Yes, that's how it is. As we suspected, she is not malefic."
"What a relief."
(You'll see how she asks me something about the twin Patronuses,) Sev thought. (I'll try to be as honest as possible. Besides, she knows Jack's, she'll ask me too.)
"And also that it is the twin of one of yours, the one you did alone yesterday, the panther," Deborah continued.
"Yes, that's how it is."
"When you did it yesterday, I thought it was a memory you had with Jack, because it is also the same as his."
"Well, you were wrong," Sev said.
"I have deduced that Jack's memory is with her."
(I can tell her, Deborah knows they were together.) "Yes, indeed, it is so."
"Is yours also with her?" she asked.
"Yes, Deborah, and hers with me."
"You are together?"
"In a way, yes," he replied.
"Wow… you will never cease to amaze me. I guess that's why she's stopped being malefic."
"I think she never was."
"Then it is not true that you read her," Deborah deduced.
"No, I don't read allies except in emergencies, you know."
"Does Lily know?"
"Of course," Sev replied.
"Does anyone else know?"
(I won't tell her anything about Jack, I won't get into that.) "No, only you both."
"The secret will be safe with me," she said. "What a joy to know that she is not alone."
"I knew, Deborah, that's why I told you. Someday you will be good friends."
"Of course. Does she know that you are with me?"
"Yes, she saw us at the party," he answered.
"And what does she think of it?"
"Wonderful."
"You are extraordinary, everyone," Deborah said.
"You are too, that's why I love you. I already told you that I saw four people with me in the mirror, you three and my little one."
"Static?"
"Yes, I did not see the scene unfold," Sev replied.
"And in what position were we?"
"Lily and I in the center, Ariel in front of me, you next to me and Lauren next to Lily."
"Is Lauren Parkinson?" she asked.
"What a stupid question, Deborah. Of course. We were all linked. You took me by the waist."
"And you didn't link to me?"
"No. I took Ariel by his shoulders."
"Sure…"
"I'm going to show you it in my mind," he said.
He did it.
"Wow… the family you dream of," Deborah said.
"That was on Sunday afternoon. Since then many things have happened, I think that now I would see something else, perhaps that son that you dream of having."
"Sure…"
"I'll be back in the Room of Requirement soon to look at myself again and I'll tell you," he said.
Sev then talked to Lily about Defense class and the conversation he had just had with Deborah.
"Booah, Sev, you have told her Lauren's secret."
"No, Lily, I haven't told her the dangerous secret of Lauren's family, but I will if I end up doing the Union of Souls with her too, she will understand perfectly."
"Lauren will be angry."
"Well, she'll get over it. She has told Jack, who is much less reliable than Deborah.
"True. The berries don't taste intense to her, it's good that she told you so," she said.
"Because I caught her at a good time, she was very excited about our Patronuses."
"Sure. Lauren is up and down, she feels things very deeply and is carried away by them. "
"Yes that's how it is," he said. "That's why I have to make her happy, she is the weakest of the three in that sense. I'm going to see her tomorrow night. Don't go to the Room of Requirement in the afternoon, so we can give the Time-Turner its fullest."
"We already have gone today, Sev, after school."
"Oh really? And what have you seen?
"Also the five of us," Lily replied.
"Wow… great, we have the same wish. Have you seen it unfold?"
"Yes, we pampered each other, like the other time."
"Surely in mine too," Sev said. "I'm taking Lauren back tomorrow, I want her to look at herself again, and I have to, too, after all the plans with Deborah."
"Of course."
"Have you looked at with Remus and Cecile?"
"Yes, we have seen the four of us on a night run through the Forest, the three of us Animagi, and he was a werewolf. We had a blast," she answered.
"Wow... who would have thought...?" excited. "And to think that he was about to kill me transformed."
"Remus has cried a lot when he has seen it."
"Of course, he gotmoved," he said. "He must be looking forward to it. Let's see if we are as good at becoming Animagi as we are becoming invisible and we can do it as soon as we turn seventeen."
"And what animal are you going to transform into? Now you have three to choose from."
"Into a lion."
"Male?" Lily asked.
"Of course."
"But your Patronus is a female, it will be more difficult for you."
"But I want to do more things with you being an animal than running through the Forest," Sev said.
They both laughed.
"Oh…"
"Sure, silly. Since we make the effort, make the most of it," he said.
"I think it's great, although I think that animals don't enjoy themselves like humans, at least females."
"Yeah. So be the male if you want."
"We will inform ourselves and we will think about it between now and then," she suggested. "First we will have to test it as humans."
They laughed.
"Of course. And with Alice and Frank have you looked at?"
"The five of us have looked together."
"And what have you seen?" Sev asked.
"A duel against Death Eaters, with the shield."
"Alice and Frank must have been amazed."
"Yeah. Because their desire separately and as a couple has prevailed, but the thing about the shield and the curses has been Cecile's, Remus' and mine," Lily explained.
"Sure. What happened to me with Valerie and Andrew. Deborah's and our desire as a couple prevailed, a skirmish on broomsticks, hundreds of feet up. In hers they were seven against fifteen, in that of the four, against twelve, and ours alone, two against ten, five times more, and we did not suffer a scratch."
"Wow, Sev... Incredible."
"Yeah. It was spectacular, flying in formation with the shield, hurling curses, they dropping like flies. In ten minutes we killed them all. I'll show it to you in my mind when we Bond, you'll love it."
"Like a movie."
"Of course. How many did you kill?" he asked.
"Five against five."
"Of course, if the wish was Alice and Frank's, it was less ambitious than those of us who already know the shield, more realistic. And besides, we Slys are more combative."
"What Albus said this morning. They will be the first line," Lily said.
"Yes, I think so too. I already have the name, the Green-Silver Squads, the front line of the Wizarding Army."
. . . . . . . . .
The next day, at Potions class, the Gryff trio was absent. Sev laughed out loud. Take that! The rumor has already spread around the school and they think we are going to lynch them too, that's good. Points to deduct for the Gryff House, so we compensate a little for what we are losing for leaving class early and arriving late. This year Sly is not going to win the House Cup, it doesn't matter, the important thing is that we are cleaning Hogwarts.
At noon he asked Dumbledore to cancel his flight lesson and leave it for the next day. (I want to be more rested to see Lauren tonight.)
In the afternoon, in Transfiguration, he politely apologized to McGonagall telling her that he had to be absent from class before he finished because he was unwell. She also kindly accepted his apology, without actually smiling at him but giving him a look of deep understanding and admiration, with a certain defiant glint in her eyes, and of course, she didn't deduct any points.
(She knows full well what I'm about, she knows everything through Albus, and she approves of what we're doing, that we're taking a chance on justice to do justice, and she wishes she was doing it herself. I can't wait to get in touch with her finally. I have to ask the old man, that we both have a talk before the end of the term.)
They had the most difficult operation, they already knew that they were not going to catch the malefic Rave from sixth grade by surprise, since those from his House had already been missing since Monday. What they did not count on was the help of the Rave House itself. They were the ones who held Slughorn and the malefic inside the classroom while the Huffles came out, seized his wand and pushed him out, leaving him at the mercy of the eight Slys. The Raves stayed to watch the show, blocking the door so the teacher wouldn't come out and the access through the corridor so the students who had the next class in the classroom in the dungeons wouldn't pass.
(Our allies, the brilliant eagles. I'm sure they had it all planned out in detail, too. What a great team we made, without the need to communicate.)
They were eight against one, he was much worse off than the others. Sev read in him that he wasn't going to come back to Hogwarts, that he was giving up on his idea of becoming a Death Eater altogether, that he was even going to avoid having contact with the other four again, and of course, that he wasn't going to report them. Still, to keep his back, Jack Obliviated him like the others.
(Round. We've gotten rid of the most dangerous one, and after this, I'm sure no one else in the school will ever think of joining Voldemort. No one else will join their ranks, and ours, yes. Like-minded families will stop sending their kids to school here. Let's see how Lauren's brother takes it, he just had Potions class now, maybe he's seeing it all.)
He turned to look down the corridor. The older Raves had sent the Sly and Gryff second-years away, telling them class would start half an hour later that day, but he saw Lauren's brother, who had run away from them, crouched behind a statue, and was watching everything intently. (Very good. Let him know what awaits him if he becomes a Death Eater, I already tell you that he is going to change.)
When they finished with him, it was three Raves who weren't in Defense who took him to the Infirmary, since they didn't trust Slughorn to take care of him and they didn't want the children to see such a bloody mass when they got back to class.
The rest stayed with the Slys, and both Houses once again shared the complicity that had arisen between them and led to a veritable revolution in the school.
They decided not to go to class, and the snakes invited the eagles to their house, a new milestone. The Raves were able to visit the Common Room of the dungeons, being amazed by the spectacle offered by the open window at the bottom of the Lake.
They all settled around the table where everything was plotted, they let the eagles sit facing the window so they could enjoy it. There was another bottle of firewhiskey left and they shared it, toned down so it would reach everyone equally.
When people began to arrive at the Dungeon Room shortly after six o'clock, the revelry was still going on. The Slys came over to greet the Raves, since they already knew them from training, pleasantly surprised.
"Let's see if you ever invite us to your house. We have to have a party both Houses together." This was Brad, while he poured himself the last shot of whiskey that was left in the bottle.
"Our house does not have a password, but a riddle, anyone who guesses it right can enter." This was Julia.
"We consider you Sly perfectly capable of doing it, because in a different way you are as intelligent as we are." This was Genevre. "So now that you have cleaned the school of malefics, you can go there to visit us whenever you want. Go from nine to curfew, because we Raves live practically locked up in the Library, just like you do now."
"As if we come back later, let them tell us something, they are not going to punish us all at once." This was Sev.
"You're absolutely right," Brad said. "Well, the party we plan to have after the exams we all do together. Is your Common Room bigger than this one?"
(Brad is already organizing.) Sev laughed.
"Yes, much more."
"Fixed then. We'll make a collection, the Slys will take care of bringing the provisions and you'll provide the space to do it."
"You'll have to count on going to Hogsmeade for a couple of weeks, there won't be enough drink in town for everyone at once," Genevre said.
"As if we have to Apparate and go to London. We'll buy Muggle drink in stores and that's it, much cheaper and more accessible."
"Then we're going with you, to help carry everything," Julia said.
"Great, eagles skipping the rules, that's how I like it." Brad was proud and satisfied. "It's going to be historical. I'll already take care of organizing everything in one of the last training sessions."
"A good send-off to school, huh, Brad?" Sev told him. "Let's see who organizes the parties for us when you're gone. I'm going to miss you a lot."
"You will invite me to stay some weekend to come to train. There are spare beds in the dormitories, the ones left by the malefics, and I'll train someone to take over when I'm gone."
"Wonderful. We are going to have a blast."
They continued chatting until after seven, when the Raves went home to drop off their belongings and go to dinner later.
Sev thought, How happy the school is going to be when we start mixing. In the end, the old man hasn't told the teachers yet, the truth is that for the little time we have left in class it wasn't worth it. He will announce it at the end-of-year feast or at the beginning of the next one, and we can sit in the Great Hall with whoever we like, every day with someone different if we feel like it. It's going to be magnificent.
. . . . . . . . .
So far the fifth part of the story. The next one is titled 'The Year of the Revolution VI. The Learning of Forgiveness'.