At the Yaxley mansion, Edmund sat on his bed as his wife, Rem, changed his bandages. He'd been discharged from St Mungo's Hospital yesterday, Yaxley having talked the staff into discharging him for outpatient treatment. The fiendfyre burns no longer required emergency treatment anyway, only needing the dressing changed regularly, and he was more comfortable at home. The hospital staff gave in but wanted him back in a week to check how he was doing.
Once home, Yaxley could move more freely. The first thing he did was go to the mansion's storeroom. It was kept locked and heavily hexed against intruders and fell of dark magic artifacts: spellbooks, magical items, cursed objects, shrunken heads, stored herbs and animal parts, dried bones of various species, potions, and more. Still limping from the burns, Yaxley went for the racks of potions.
A bit of searching turned up the Fire-Eater Potion. It was a medical potion meant to counter the burn leftover from flames produced by dark magic and Yaxley had used it before. The hospital would never use it due to its ingredients, some of which came from protected animals and were illegal to trade, but it was much better than anything they used.
Unfortunately, it was half empty. Making a new one was chancy. His wife was a potioneer, but the ingredients couldn't be legally bought and he didn't have all of them in inventory. Perhaps a visit to Knockturn Alley to stock up? Mr. Mulpepper's Apothecary had a branch there. It was a nifty business, selling the legal ingredients in the Diagon Alley Branch and those dealing in dark magic in the Knockturn Alley Branch. That way, both client bases were covered and it doubled the profits.
Yaxley left the storeroom and went to the master bedroom where his wife was waiting with fresh bandages. He gave her the flask, and took off his clothes, lying in bed. Rem applied a few drops to a cotton ball and rubbed it over the burns on him. Instantly, the burning sensation eased. The potion would help heal burns but also absorb any lingering traces of dark magic in the burns, which was what made it heal so slowly. It was strong stuff and Rem applied it sparingly, then covered the wounds with gauze pads and wrapped them in a strip of gauze cloth.
"You're lucky I'm so good at this," Rem said as she worked.
"Yes, and I've had to help you when your potions blow up in your face," Yaxley corrected with a smile.
She smacked him on his arm over bandaged burns and Yaxley yelped, almost jumping upright at the pain.
"Never argue with your doctor," Rem warned.
"Yes sir," Yaxley promised, laying back down.
His wife loved to invent new potions and because Yaxley was independently wealthy, she didn't need to work either. She could devote her time to her hobby. The royalties she got from potions she created made her independently wealthy in her own right. Yaxley inherited his money by being the only member of his house not dead or locked up in Azkaban. That was how he got the mansion to, despite being part of a branch of the Yaxley's main family, the descendent of a younger son. Rem made her wealth.
And now, despite it only being a day later, the worst of the pain was gone. Rem helped him apply the potion this morning as well as last night, as it only had to be done once a day, but the effects were immediate. Yaxley stuck to some oxycodone (wonderful Muggle invention) but had regained use of his arm. His fingers had been wrapped around the wand, so despite the burns on the back of his hand, the digits themselves got off lightly. They should recover thanks to the potion speeding up the healing process.
The rest of the burns had lightened, no longer looking so black, more like second degree, and those on his face healed to red mottling color, mere first-degree. They didn't have to be bandaged anymore. Yaxley had raised his arm to shield his face so they'd been lighter to begin with. Soon they'd fade altogether. His hand would take longer.
And a wand, Yaxley thought. He still didn't have one. He'd stop by Olivander's in a few days. While he was at Diagon Alley, he could walk over to Knockturn Alley to get the Fire-Eater potion ingredients. If he was visiting Knockturn Alley, he'd definitely want a wand first.
Rem finished and Yaxley sat up, easing his sore arm back into the sling. It would have to stay there for some time yet. They went down to breakfast and found their two youngest children, Beatrix and Gage, already eating. Rem had used cooking magic to quickly whip up breakfast for them before changing her husband's bandages.
The children greeted him with smiles and "daddy!"
"Are you going to help us with lessons today?" Beatrix asked.
"I wouldn't want to get in your tutor's way," Yaxley promised as he sat at an empty chair, "but I can help with your homework afterwards."
The kids nodded, expecting that. They still looked a little disappointed.
Wizard children started learning magic at eleven, but started schooling at six like other children. Most families homeschooled their children, hired tutors to homeschool them, or sent them to Muggle elementary schools. The latter was only for those who couldn't afford to homeschool them, something typically done by muggleborns or half-bloods. Most homeschooled their children themselves, while only those with enough money hired a tutor. The Yaxley did that, as did many pureblood families. Younger siblings of a family patriarch, as well as branch family members, were often teachers for other families. They weren't considered so prestigious they didn't have to work, expected to pull their weight.
The Yaxley could afford a tutor for each child in a different grade, so two would be coming by shortly, a member of the Greengrass branch family and another was a younger sister of the head of the Avery family. Gage and Beatrix would be taught one on one.
"Now don't give you teachers any trouble," Yaxley told them.
"We know, daddy," Gage, the youngest of the six, said. "But do I really have to wait two years to learn magic?"
"Yes, unfortunately," Yaxley told him, "and Beatrix has to wait until next year."
Beatrix stuck out her tongue as she reached for the maple syrup. Yaxley and his wife also took a portion of the banana pancakes and bacon and hashbrowns on the table, eating with their children. Rem then levitated the dishes to the sink and set a cleaning charm on them. Their teachers came soon after and the children greeted their respective tutor, heading upstairs. The mansion had more rooms than Yaxley could ever use so each kid had their own schoolroom for lessons.
Yaxley enjoyed his day off, although Rem had to come out and make lunch. Both of them were good at household magic but a wizard needed a wand for that. At least it made Rem take a break from her work. She was always busy inventing. He could smell a bit of sweet smoke, something like licorice, around her. She would have picked it up from leaning over cauldron and getting caught in the fumes.
"What smells like licorice?" Yaxley asked over lunch with the kids, chicken salad sandwiches with chips and fruit juice.
"A burn potion I was working on," Rem replied. "It's like a burn-healing paste that worked from the inside out. More serious burns aren't simply on the upper layers of the epidermis, but also the dermis and muscle underneath. The deeper it goes the more serious the damage, so it makes sense to start with the inside first and move onto the cosmetic stuff near the surface last. I have some ingredients figured out, like salamander blood and rue, but it's hard getting the proportions right. The licorice will make it possible to drink. It's quite… strong without it. And of course, fire made by dark magic has its own traces that have to be removed for it to heal properly. If I get the potion stabilized for normal fire, I should able to incorporate some ingredients from your Fire-Eater so it can treat dark fire burns to."
"It'd be nice to have a legal alternative," Yaxley agreed, "and you'll definitely early with that."
Whether it was a spell misfire or a potion brewed incorrectly, burns were one of the most common injuries wizards suffered. For those who went about inventing spells or potions, hoping nothing blew up, suffered the most serious burns when something went wrong. Her mother's potion business, Wise Draught, had many subsidiaries depending on the potions Rem and her mom made. Some were healing while others were cosmetic, like a potion that instantly made the hair neat and shiny as if it had been washed, no matter how messy it had been before, and more. The medical branch was Bellflower Medical Draughts, and some new burn potions would fit right in.
The kids returned to school after lunch. It was strange for Yaxley to spend the day whiling around, sleeping, sketching, and lounging in the sun room. Fortunately, he wrote and drew with his left hand so he could still draw, spiral notebook of drawing paper in his lap. It was relaxing. He resumed that in the afternoon until the children's lessons finished. Then one of the servants of the manor approached them for their combat lessons.
Edmund had been taught non-magical combat at a young age. As a branch family member, he was expecting to dirty his hands to help Corban, the true heir, even if he used his blade and was left covered in blood spatter. Killing using non-magical means made it harder for magical law enforcement to track. He'd done it before on orders from his uncle, the previous head of the House. Yaxley wouldn't put his children through it but they needed to learn self-defense. Being dependent on their wands was dangerous since they could be lost.
"I'll watch you train," Yaxley promised.
That cheered them up immensely and they ran off to change into their training clothing. Yaxley smiled. He didn't care too much about the argument between pureblood and mudblood and had his fill of blood and killing. However, he wanted to protect those smiles and one way to do it was to ensure their future. The pureblood stood at the top of this world and he was lucky enough to be born in one of the oldest and wealthiest. If I protect that rank, I ensure they stay at the top to. This way, I can protect them, help my friend Mathias, and free the Death Eaters from Azkaban once we have more power. It was convenient.
Yaxley knew muggleborns had knowledge wizardborn didn't. They knew non-magic combat so they were best at teaching it. His children's teacher, Joseph Clarke, was one such case. His family had a history in the muggle military so he was a good teacher, much more balanced then mine was. My combat teacher was brutal.
The children practiced joint locks and breaks, then their forms. Beatrix was older than Gage and doing more advanced forms. Weapons practice followed, the children using rubber knives to mimic the strikes. Weapons varied by day between knives, bō, collapsible batons (like muggle police used), and swords. Sparring rounded out the hour, wearing pads. They also sparred two on one against Clarke, to limited success. Their enthusiasm made Yaxley chuckle.
It was much the same lessons as Yaxley had been subjected to growing up, but his children used fake weapons and wore pads to minimize injury. Yaxley had to use real weapons in training, his injuries treated after each session, fingers even reattached as needed. No pain medication was ever given, and the injuries were never fully healed. It was enough for Yaxley to function fully, but not enough the pain went away, not for a long time. His uncle considered the pain an incentive for him.
"If you don't like it, Edmund," his uncle told him, tone dismissive, "then get stronger so you stop being hurt. Once you can do that, then you'll be useful to our House."
I have to stay on top, Yaxley thought. I did not have power before and I suffered under those who did. There's no way I'll let the muggleborns take over and put my kids on the bottom in their place.
And with that, Yaxley pushed the thoughts of the past back, focusing on his children in the present. He could normally manage without thinking about it but it popped up from time to time. I can't forget the past but I can certainly suppress it.
After cool-down stretches, the children went to rinse off the sweat and change back into their normal clothing. Gage had free time for the hour, while Beatrix would work on riding a broomstick. Yaxley let her start learning a year early. She was about equal to a first-year student already, although she still needed to work on her landings. Clarke wasn't the best flyer but he could teach her basics.
Yaxley knew his daughter would be engulfed in her flying lessons so he glanced at Gage. "How about we find something to do?"
"Sure!" Gage grinned, happy to spend time alone with his dad.
They started by playing wizard's chess. Gage struggled with it, finding wizard's checkers easier, but his older siblings all played chess so he wanted to! Yaxley did his best to teach him the game, being fairly experienced in it. He used his personal chess set and his pieces tried to give his son advice, having learned from being directed by Yaxley for so long. Quite a bit of it conflicted. Yaxley tried to give his son sounder advice. Gage was getting better, able to do moves on his own to capture some of Yaxley's pieces. Unfortunately, Yaxley would have to get Rem to cast a mending charm on the pieces later.
Beatrix eventually appeared, cheeks flushed and blonde hair windblown, smiling. Being able to fly on the broomstick was more of a reward than a lesson for her. Yaxley waved he over so he could ease the hair scrunchie out of her hair and redo her ponytail for her, earning a "thanks dad."
Gage's head kind of hurt now so Yaxley had the kids help him get supplies for watercolor painting and set them up on a picnic table outside, rolling up their sleeves. They'd surely get as much paint on their hands as the paper. Rem came out to join them, taking a break from her work. She promised she'd mended Yaxley's chess set, having seen it broken up in the sunroom, and then the couple sat with the kids, all four of them painting. Yaxley could not be nearly so precise with the painting as he could when sketching but he did a fair job. The kids got paint on the table, their hands, their shirts, and even their faces somehow.
At the end of the painting session, each kid picked out their favorite watercolor painting and ran inside to put them on the fridge with magnets. The fridge was full of other works of art but they'd find space.
This is worth protecting, Yaxley thought, no matter what.
"I think I'll stop by the office and pick up some paperwork," Yaxley told Rem. "I'll get bored otherwise."
"Sure," Rem said, unsurprised. "But can you work?"
"I write lefthanded," Yaxley reminded. "There's some surveys I need to finish analyzing and review designs. I can do it at home. I'll use Floo Powder."
Yaxley's work was random. He helped examine the aura of magical artifacts for the Improper Use of Magic Office and Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office. He helped curse-breakers identify and break curses by seeing the aura of a cursed item of person. He worked in Wizengamot as a profession witness. The Aurors dragged him into missions where they needed more information, since there were things only he could see, like the recent problem with the inferi. He did surveys of locations with "bad luck" or places where deaths had taken place to check their auras, or overlooked architecture plans to review them to make sure the flow of aura would be in harmony (kind of like feng sui). There was a lot more but the last two could be done at home, having already visited the locations in person and made notes. It was just paperwork now.
"Alright, but take your dagger at least," Rem frowned. "I don't like you being unarmed."
"That makes two of us," Yaxley promised, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I should be back before dinner."
The kids would be sitting in front of the radio soon, listening to a channel on the Wizarding Wireless Network. House of Legends would be on, the narrator reading aloud books for older children, specifically for tweens, mostly dealing in PG rated action and adventure, although some younger children might be able to keep up with it. Beatrix and Gage wouldn't want to miss it so they'd be enthralled for the hour before dinner.
Rem went to her workshop to finish for the day and clean up the mess from the day's experiments while Yaxley went back to the master bedroom for his dagger. He put it on the back of his belt, out of sight by his blazer (a suit jacket was too stuffy for his tastes), struggling a little since he couldn't use his right hand properly. Once he got it, he went to the formal Sitting Room for the Floo Powder. Beatrix and Gage were already sitting on the floor in front of the radio in the less formal Living Room. Yaxley didn't interrupt them. He'd be back before the show was done anyway.
Yaxley did peek in on the family clock in the living room. It was invented by a Wesley many years ago, a convenient way to track family members. While expensive, many wizarding families had one. The Weasley's always needed it given how many children they tended to have, not that Yaxley could talk, having six himself. Four hands for his four oldest kids pointed to SCHOOL, three hands for himself and the three youngest pointed to HOME, and Rem's hand pointed to WORKSHOP, which was a building separate from the main manor, connected by a breezeway. It was where Rem invented her potions, kept separate from the house in case of fire. It was good to know everyone was where they were supposed to be.
Then Yaxley went to get the Floo Powder. It was kept in an ornamental vase locked in an upper cabinet. Yaxley often used it to go to work at the Ministry, not wanting to apparate and bother with the anti-apparition protections around the complex, so he used to keep it on a shelf next to the fireplace in easy reach. When they were much younger, Evie and Lyra got into an argument about a tiara they both wanted to wear during dress-up, so Lyra dumped the vase of Floo Powder on Evie. Since then, it was kept locked in an upper cabinet. His kids were all older now so maybe he could put it back on the shelf.
Yaxley got a handful and put the rest back. The fireplace in the formal sitting room was connected to the Floo Network but normally kept locked with a charm to keep others from appearing, like the mansion's anti-apparition charms. Anyone who wanted to enter needed permission from a registered resident of the mansion on the other side or they couldn't leave the emerald flames. It only went one way so it wouldn't get in the way of going, and he and Rem had special magic items that allowed them to come in easily. No one else could though. It took money but that was of no concern for Yaxley.
"Ministry of Magic!" Yaxley announced as he flung his hand down.
Experience kept him from choking on the dust and his vision turned green from emerald flames. He was next looking at the interior of the atrium at the Ministry of Magic. Yaxley stepped out. The atrium was where many people came and went but it was pretty much empty now. It was mid-afternoon, before the evening rush as everyone tried to get home.
He walked from the 8th floor atrium to the 2nd floor where the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was. Yaxley found the door to his office locked, naturally, but he couldn't tap his wand on the doorknob to unlock it now. Instead, he drew his knife to do the same thing. It wasn't made of anything as fancy as goblin-wrought silver but it was made by a metal charmer so it had some magical properties. The doorknob unlocked and he went in.
Yaxley only had one hand and didn't want to carry a suitcase, so instead had a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He was filling it with paperwork when there was a knock on the doorframe. Glancing up, Yaxley saw Edward Lupin standing there, looking a bit awkward.
"Lupin," Yaxley smiled. "Good to see you in the office. You alright?"
"I'm fine," Teddy promised, "back on duty. Are you supposed to be out of the hospital?"
"Yep, I'm an out-patient now," Yaxley said. "I was picking up some work to keep me busy."
There was no way he could be an idle, independently wealthy pureblood, spending the day attending parties and donating to charities, scheming to improve his social status. So boring.
"How's Ethan doing?" Yaxley continued, still searching through papers in a file cabinet.
"He's on light duty at the office," Lupin explained, "like me. We're doing paperwork. Uncle went to Hogwarts with some others."
"Hogwarts?" Yaxley repeated, startled, almost dropping a folder. "Why there?"
Lupin hesitated, not sure if he could tell him. "Well, the beasts in the Forbidden Forest have been acting strange since the new moon and earlier today one came onto campus grounds. One of the students killed it before anyone was hurt. Uncle was worried it might be connected to Hale's experiments since those weren't natural either."
Yeah, Yaxley didn't know of any Death Eater activity at Hogwarts. We've got recruits among the students but their only orders are to take note of any sympathizers, try to find new recruits, and study. Nothing overt. Either something else had happened or someone besides their group was causing trouble. Once with Hale was one thing, but a second incident?
"You've got to be kidding me," Yaxley frowned.
"Kind of my reaction," Lupin agreed, eyes down. "But I'm on light duty so I can't go in the field."
He had to investigate this, Yaxley thought. Even if no one was hurt, he wouldn't let anyone cause trouble at their school where their children were.
"Let me talk to Potter," Yaxley decided.
He stuffed the file he had into the messenger bag and left it in his office for now, closing the door behind him. Lupin took Yaxley back to the Auror's area and to one of the fireplaces there for messages. Yaxley took a handful of Floo Powder and tossed it in the fireplace. Hogwarts was protected from coming and going through the Floo Network, part of its network of anti-intruder jinxes. However, he could still talk to them.
"Hogwarts Headmaster's Office," Yaxley ordered, kneeling in front of the fire.
It was a bit strange to stick only his head in the fire but could see into the office, vision tinted flickering red around the edges. Strangely, when doing head-only transportation, the fire didn't change to emerald. He didn't get it but whatever.
"Excuse me," Yaxley said into the office. "Is someone there?"
He could faintly hear voices. They went quiet and someone walked over, revealing to be Harry Potter.
"Yaxley?" He asked, confused. "What is it? Aren't you supposed to be resting?"
"I'm an out-patient now," Yaxley first corrected. "I was at home but stopped by my office and heard about your trip. What happened at Hogwarts?"
Potter sighed. "We're working it out. The necropsy's being performed on the beast as we speak. I was talking to some of the students who witnessed the attack."
In the background, Yaxley saw a younger student in Slytherin robes creep over to look. He recognized Gabriel Grindelwald at once. The boy's background was too famous, and infamous, not to be known to the Death Eaters.
"Yaxley?" Gabriel asked innocently. "Like Jayden and Rue?"
"Ah yes," Harry glanced back, "He's their father."
Yaxley didn't like that. If Gabriel was friends with his kids, Jay would have reported it to him. It sounded like he barely knew them. Like he'd just met them, in fact.
"Potter," Yaxley said seriously. "Were my kids mixed up in this?"
"Um," Potter hesitated at that. "Rue was in the area and Jay has been staying near her since. She's spooked."
Yaxley did not believe this!
"I bet she is!" Yaxley retorted. "Potter, is that anti-apparition nonsense still down? I'm coming to Hogwarts."
"Yaxley, you've been relieved of duty," Potter reminded.
"Which means you have no authority to stop me," Yaxley reminded back, "not that you would anyway. I don't work for the Aurors. Don't make me sneak into the school. I can do it."
"I'm well aware you can turn up places where you're not allowed," Potter assured.
"Well, I can also take a look at this beast," Yaxley added. "I'm up for it as long as there's no fighting. There may be similarities in the aura if this was also twisted by Lazlo Hale. I don't need a repeat of those inferi near my kids!"
Gabriel tensed, kind of stiffening. He'd glanced away but looked back at the fireplace in surprise. Potter hadn't noticed as Gabriel stood behind him, but Yaxley saw the surprise. Did he just recognize Lazlo Hale's name? That was probably bad.
It was another reason Yaxley had to get to the scene.
Potter stared and then sighed. "Fine, the anti-apparition jinx is still down in the front courtyard."
"Thank you," Yaxley said politely.
That got a bit of a scoff from Potter but he didn't say anything. He knew Yaxley was hard to control.
Yaxley got his head out of the fireplace, shaking ash from his hair. The flames returned to normal.
"What did he say?" Lupin asked.
He'd only been able to hear Yaxley's side of the conversation.
"I can apparate to Hogwarts," Yaxley told him, "and you're taking me."
"I am?"
"I can't apparate without a wand," Yaxley reminded. "Even if Potter wants you off the case, you can visit Victoire while you're there. I'm sure that would be nice for you."
"It… would be," Lupin admitted.
The teen looked tired to Yaxley, circles under his eyes. He likely hadn't been sleeping properly since the battle at Hale's lab. Trauma like that was hard to manage but Yaxley knew seeing a loved one like his girlfriend might help. Mathias told him to befriend Potter's godson for the Death Eater's use but he was a good kid and Yaxley didn't mind helping him.
The two walked over to a part of the open office area that lacked the anti-disapparition jinx. There was a blanketed anti-apparition jinx to prevent intruders but one part lacked anti-disapparition so the Aurors could leave and quickly go where they were needed.
"What are you up to now?" One of the other Aurors, Helen Morris, called out.
She had a dubious expression, used to Yaxley's mayhem.
"None of your business," Yaxley dismissed, shooing with one hand.
Morris scoffed, looking back down at her paperwork. "As long as you don't use the Imperious curse again."
"Hey! The court deemed that self-defense!" Yaxley defended.
Lupin blinked, confused. "An unforgivable curse?"
"Long story, from before Potter was Captain," Yaxley waved a hand as if it was nothing interesting.
Lupin looked very interesting.
Morris ignored both boys, focused on her work. She had spent the previous two weeks stationed as an Azkaban Guard, as the Aurors had taken over that duty with the Dementors banished. It was necessary but thankless. Right now, she was filling out the report about her shift there and didn't have the energy to get dragged into Yaxley's nonsense.
Lupin and Yaxley entered the right area, the former taking out his wand. Yaxley made sure he had ahold of Lupin and then they both vanished.
Two for one. That's nice. Everyone's gathering at Hogwarts. What do you think will happen next?