Harry and Dudley took to preschool like fish to water. They were both very sociable boys, after all, and ecstatic to spend time with friends their age almost every day. The fistfights at home stopped overnight, though the boys still screamed at eachother plenty. Dudley even stopped throwing regular tantrums midway through February. The only problem with the preschool that Petunia could see was that the one boy in class the children had already known and befriended before starting, Piers Polkiss, was something of a bully. This wasn't a direct problem, but one that Mrs. Polkiss called Petunia's attention to. Dudley was the biggest boy in the class, which brought a degree of automatic respect from the other children. With the uncanny insight of childhood, Piers had discovered he could use Dudley's friendship to gang up on his sister Robin, who was a year older but shared recesses. Petunia was sure Dudley was being led, but she wasn't sure what to do about it. It was especially confusing given her assumptions that school would help reinforce sibling relationships rather than exacerbate rivalries.
It was a mystery to Petunia why the Polkisses were so antagonistic towards eachother, until Mrs. Polkiss said Piers was mad at Robin because Robin spent so much time playing with their baby sister rather than him. She seemed remarkably unconcerned, just shrugged and said "middle child," wearily, as if that explained everything. At least Harry was left out of this new wrinkle.
Unexpectedly, this was a topic on which Severus proved to be quite opinionated when she mentioned it.
Bullies aren't complicated. The unifying feature is taking pleasure in controlling and dominating other people. Makes them feel powerful, feel better about themselves. They like to use others to get what they want. They find it hard to empathize with or see from other people's perspectives and view weaker kids as prey. They do not accept responsibility, lack foresight, and are unconcerned with consequences of their actions except for the knowledge of punishment from adults. Thus, they wait for the right moment when the adults aren't looking. I'm not surprised Piers would unconsciously view Dudley as a weapon to use in his ongoing war against his sister. He probably doesn't understand that that's what he's doing, no more than Dudley understands he's being used -S
My, my, did I hit a sore spot? -P
It was a disturbingly long time before Severus answered. Yes... I've seen the worst that bullying can do. I think it vitally important we keep Dudley's intentions pure and actions controlled. How close is he with Piers? Could that friendship be ended now, or would that cause more grief? -S
I don't think we have to panic and go all Machiavelli on them just yet, Severus. Fisticuffs amongst toddlers is pretty harmless. -P
Right, and the worst bully I knew in school was a right gentleman as soon as he graduated. Oh, wait, actually no, he was a mass murderer who incidentally betrayed your sister to her death! Silly me -S
Petunia shivered as she read his angry response, but she shook her head. She reminded herself, Severus came from a bad home and a hard life, harder than hers. It was impressive, the more she got to know him, how well-functioning he really was. She probably would have broken down long ago in his shoes. You're the outlier there, Sev. Vernon and I went to much bigger secondary schools than you did, and not a single classmate has murdered anybody, so far as I am aware. Unless you're trying to suggest your folk are all hyper violent and I should give up as a bad job? -P
...Have I ever told you how much I appreciate your perspective, Petunia? -S
No, I don't think you have -P
I really appreciate your perspective. Kids at Hogwarts may be different, but not that different. It was the war that was hyper violent, not the school. It was Black who was a psychopath, not all bullies. James did turn into a right gentleman, for Lily to choose him -S
I'll reserve judgment on that. He wasn't a bad, violent person the few times I met him, but he was quite uncouth to Vernon -P Even as she wrote, her eyes lingered more on the mention of Black rather than James Potter. Sirius Black, she assumed. She'd never met him, but Lily and James had talked about him at the dinner with Petunia and Vernon. The dinner that ended abruptly when James blithely insulted Vernon one too many times... Sirius Black was supposed to be James' best man for the wedding. Ye God. She felt a strange relief she hadn't gone to the wedding and exposed herself and Vernon to such a dangerous and duplicitous individual.
Did you have a plan yet for what to do about Piers and Dudley? It might be relatively harmless now, but bullying could become a mentality that's hard for them to kick even once Piers grows out of his middle-child existential crisis. I'd hate for us to backslide -S
Same as we do for everything, Petunia wrote back with more confidence than she actually felt, grateful for the distraction. Reward good behaviors, punish the bad. The only question in my mind is how to do that exactly. I've told Dudley to be nice to Robin, and he says he is. I think he believes that -P
Well, I suppose you could invite Robin over for a playdate, but not Piers. Might get the point across -S
I like that idea, not sure Mrs. Polkiss would go along with it though -P
Hmm. It would be so much easier if you were the authoritarian dictator of Little Whinging, with all the other housewives to do your bidding -S
Oh, shut it -P
Do it the sneaky way: divide and conquer. Piers goes with a different group of friends while Robin comes to you -S
And what of Harry in your little plan? Is he here or infiltrating the enemy camp? -P
Hey, I'm the one who uses weird and overly adult metaphors for addressing children's issues, not you -S
I thought you deserved a taste of your own medicine. Your turn. Do your worst -P
Very well. He stays at headquarters. The Dursley-Potter alliance remains of paramount importance and must not be suborned by either Polkiss -S
Oh, God, I was joking. Time to change the subject. How are those new classes going? -P
Surprisingly well. I think I understand why Professor Slughorn delayed the theoretical coursework, since the older students do tend to grasp it much faster, but on the other hand, every student I've actually asked for feedback about the revisions, regardless of their grades, agree it would have made things much easier for them in the long run if they had learned the theory sooner -S
And how's your mum? -P
Not well. Christmas was the last good day we had, really. It's up and down. I've been showing her my curriculum adjustments during my visits so we have something neutral to discuss. Sometimes she seems interested, sometimes she gets upset, and sometimes she doesn't even understand what I'm talking about. Sometimes she's - his writing paused for longer than it would take for him to ink the ridiculous feather quills wizards still used for some reason - too sick to talk. I'm hoping this weekend will be better. I finished the new lesson plan for the first years based on her thoughts at Christmas and our subsequent discussion -S
Can you give me an idea, or would I not understand? -P
Oh, this is straightforward. The standard curriculum for first year potions is historically boring: Cure for Boils, Forgetfulness potion, Wiggenweld potion which is another basic cure-all, a general herbicide, an antidote to common poisons, Strength potion, Endurance Enhancer, that kind of thing. In accordance with your suggestions, I'm replacing the herbicide with the Pompion potion, which temporarily causes the head to morph into the shape of a pumpkin, and replacing the Endurance enhancer with the Hair-Raising potion, which does exactly what it says. I've also worked out a way to demonstrate a Cure for Boils that first causes them to grow dramatically, without actually causing significant pain or scarring, just the gross factor to hold their interest while pointing out the theory. Trying to make it more appealing to eleven-year-olds, you know. I have yet to decide if I'll curse my own arm with boils when the time comes or ask for volunteers -S
Is this fun for you, or your worst nightmare? Sounds like it could go either way -P
A bit of both, to be honest. The Pompion potion is so, so useless, but then again, if you do it wrong you can cause so, so many peculiar effects. There's a lot to potentially learn from it in that way -S
You could use that one around Halloween and have a competition to customize the potions to see who could make the prettiest or maybe scariest pumpkin head. Assuming that's possible, of course -P
That's not a bad idea, actually. Beyond the first year level in October, but I could have that for second or third years. Should be safe enough if I make them submit their plans ahead of time and supervise the brewing process. I might pick your brain about some other potions, too, especially if Mother decides she doesn't want to talk about it -S
Might as well. I'm turning in for the night now, though -P
Good night -S
As the days waxed through winter of 1984, some aspects of Severus' life were going well.
The problem of his mother's health was not.
She withdrew from him further. She grew increasingly dependent on his calming potions, even though none of the properties should have been addictive in the slightest. She had more and more Obscurus attacks, usually in the evenings when she was tired and crabby. As Aberforth had predicted, they became longer and harder for her control, and she became weaker. There were days it was all the healers could do to coax her out of bed. Almost every visit, she accused him of deliberately hurting her, and of trying to get back at her for being a bad mother.
When Severus was summoned to St. Mungo's in the middle of the school day on March 3rd, Eileen was unreachable. He and Albus stood next to her, Severus holding her shoulders and practically yelling in her ear over the great rush of sound and hot air that was her manifest Obscurus. She did not respond to him at all, merely sat rigidly on the floor with her eyes rolled back in her head, her whole body vibrating.
The Obscurus flung out a great limb, a visible one this time, and blasted Severus off his feet even through double shields. His left hand caught in Eileen's robes, and his arm twisted and painfully snapped as he spun into the outside-facing window face-first. The window shattered with his impact. The wards did not, until the Obscurus hammered again on his back, forcing the wards to bulge and thin until his body was forced through. Then he was falling towards the street. He flicked his wand and managed to apparate back into Eileen's disaster of a room. His left arm screamed in agony as it jarred against his side. Blood was running into his eyes from a gash on his forehead and also dripping out of his nose. The Obscurus still raged against Albus' shields, and Severus was not equipped to do anything about it. He knelt and silently recast his own Protego maxima. Carefully, he tested his left arm, relieved he could move his fingers, barely. He cautiously used his right hand to support the left and secured it against his chest, gripping his robes. Then he wiped the blood from his eyes just in time to watch the Obscurus fling itself against his shields again. The impact jarred him, and his injured left arm fell loose again. He gasped in pain. "Mum, you're hurting me!" he said through gritted teeth.
The Obscurus... wailed. It was a strange, unnatural sound like a strong wind through a derelict building that yet bore the echoes of a human voice. It retracted and then cupped itself around his shield, not hitting it but hugging it, almost defensively. The moment Albus moved again, it swarmed over to the older wizard, though, with renewed fury.
"Severus, get out. I'll follow you," Albus said with forced calm. Severus did not need to be told twice. He got up and stumbled half-blindly towards the door. Valerian and the Unspeakable, Broderick Bode, were waiting and ready for him and guided him to a chair as soon as he was past the wards. Severus mopped his face again and looked through the hall window as Albus circled the perimeter of the room. The Obscurus perceived his intent for the door, unfortunately, beating back at him relentlessly but always from the direction of the exit. Severus was puzzled by its seeming intelligent behavior; the Obscurus had never recognized the significance of the door before. Nor had it previously engaged its targets selectively. What was it doing? Did it/Eileen think it was protecting him from Albus somehow? Or was this more animalistic, blocking its only prey from escape?
Albus cast Aguamenti of all things. For the life of him Severus could not figure out why, but he watched as Albus directed the font of conjured water towards the healers' window, followed by another wordless enchantment Severus did not recognize that made the whole window ripple. Whatever else it did, Eileen was soon transfixed, turning to stare at the window and then at Albus, and her Obscurus suddenly vanished into invisibility again. Oddly, although Albus was clearly uninjured, he appeared blind as he felt his way, ducking and weaving, along the wall to the door, which Bode again opened and closed for him. As soon as he had joined them in the hall, Albus blinked, took out what appeared to be a large, antique cigarette lighter, and clicked it. The Obscurus reappeared in a strange flash. It blew about for another minute as a puff of smoke, searching for its enemies, then fell still, floating in the middle of the room like a gentle cloud. Eileen started looking around more, appearing confused rather than angry or afraid, and the Obscurus drifted back into her.
"What did you do?" Severus asked. Valerian he noticed quietly let himself back into Eileen's room now the danger was past. "Ow!" he snarled at the other healer who had taken hold of his left arm. It was the apprentice, the same ex-student of his he had berated over Christmas. The name finally came to him, Chauncey Dunn.
"Sorry, sir! It's broken!" He more carefully straightened the arm and intoned, "Brachium Ermendo!" Severus' arm was encased in a bluish light and cold, liquid sensation. The bones rapidly realigned and mended. It was still sore, but not nearly so painful.
"Thank you, sorry for yelling," he muttered. He flexed his fingers again. They worked. He looked back up at Albus as the healer tended to his face. "What did you do?" Severus repeated.
"A spell of my own devising," Albus said enigmatically. "All it really does practically speaking is spare the room in these kinds of duels, but it disoriented her to cover my escape. And it appears the disorientation also confused and distracted her enough to calm her ire."
"This time," Bode said, watching Eileen through the window. "I doubt the same would work again, unfortunately. She's developing a real dislike of you."
Albus frowned at the device in his hand and stowed it back in his pocket. He nodded and sighed. "She's progressing fast, Severus, for the Obscurus to become visible already. It is not yet blackening, though, so perhaps..." Albus had explained the blackening of an Obscurus was what poisoned them in the end, although Severus was of the opinion Eileen was already well and truly poisoned. Last time he'd talked to Aberforth, he had thought the color of an Obscurus once it was visible was a reflection of the pain the Obscurial was experiencing in the moment, not necessarily the power and stage of the Obscurus itself. He said Albus always brought out the worst in Ariana's Obscurus. Credence's apparently was always black by the time Aberforth met him.
Valerian returned.
"How is she?" Severus asked, ducking out from under the apprentice's wand.
"Weak. Very apologetic. She would like to see you, but I suggest we finish cleaning you up first. I don't think she would respond well to seeing blood smeared all down your face and robes."
"Healer Valerian," Albus interrupted. "I was just telling Severus, this progression is very concerning. We need to treat more aggressively if we are to have any hope of arresting the process, much less reversing it."
"What do you have in mind?" Valerian asked. "We've done everything you've suggested so far."
"Well... nothing we have done has been able to directly confront her trauma, the murder she witnessed and the guilt she feels for it. She isn't able to reason with us because of them. She's barely able to respond to her son because of them. But if we could numb those overwhelming feelings..."
"How?" Severus asked suspiciously.
"Conservatively, a Confundus charm could redirect the guilt, temporarily, so that she would be more able to participate in other therapies. More aggressively, a memory charm or Pensieve could be used to modulate the grief into something more productive."
"I think that would be very dangerous with her state of mind," Valerian said.
"The Department has means to extract, study and modify memory and other thought with great precision," Bode commented. "I would be happy to look into it, and I'm sure the project would be approved. Eileen's Obscurus is the best study candidate we have had in hundreds of years, after all, and with no risk of child endangerment from the research..."
"Thank you, Broderick," Albus agreed.
Severus just stared at Albus and the Unspeakable, amazed at the sheer, brazen gall of them, of their negligent intellect. Albus was grasping at straws, looking for anything that could reign in Eileen's out-of-control mind, since Severus clearly could not do it the old-fashioned way. Bode just wanted data of any kind. It might even work...
But it was so, so wrong. "No."
Albus appeared shocked at the outright refusal. "Severus, we are running out of options, and running out of time," he said pleadingly.
"I know that. But what you suggest would rob her of her free will, her right to feel, her right to grieve for the man she was married to for almost thirty years. You can't just take away the nature of his demise to remedy her guilt, you'd have to take away the fact of it entirely, or target her feelings about it directly. Modifying her memory of her husband, without her consent, and I can tell you, she would not consent... that is no better than an Imperious curse." Severus may have hated Tobias, but he would not let his hatred take away someone else's love. He'd made that mistake before. Never again. "Plus, there's no guarantee it would work, and you'd almost certainly end up giving her permanent brain damage even if you did get the Obscurus under control. She doesn't like it here. She still asks me every visit to let her go home. She certainly doesn't want to live out her days in the Dai Llewellyn long-term care ward as something less than her current self." He met Albus' sad eyes, then Bode's, finally Valerian's.
"If we don't do something different, she will surely die, and soon at this rate," Albus warned.
"If she is to die, then I would have her die with her mind as intact as we can keep it, and as happy as we can make her."
"Are you sure, Severus?" Valerian asked as Bode tactfully bowed his head and stepped back slightly.
"I'm sure." He gesticulated. "She's dying. I'm the one who has to live with it if we decide to experiment on her without her agreement as you suggest. You can ask her if she wants you to try Confunding her, Albus. But not now while she's so afraid of what just happened."
"She'll refuse any suggestion that comes from my lips," Albus said softly.
"And if she says no, her word is final. I won't talk her into it for you because I don't agree. You don't get to ask again when she has another attack. Valerian, keep her safe but give her whatever she wants within reason. I will brew whatever potions you require. I will come to be with her as much as I am able. Just keep her comfortable until the end."
Valerian nodded sadly. Albus bowed his head. "I will not argue with you, Severus. I would ask... will you permit me to collect a blood sample from her? For research purposes, as I had mentioned to you, and Aberforth, before."
Severus treated him to a withering glare. "You can ask her. Not me."
Author's Note: Severus might be a little overly paranoid about bullies after dealing with Sirius Black for seven years. His whole world view might just shatter if and when he discovers Sirius didn't betray the Potters.
Albus used the same "Mirror world spell" thing he did whilst dueling Credence - much less impressive from the outside lol. And though Albus is well-intentioned and isn't afraid of death/letting people die when it's their time, he has very little sense of the principle of "patient autonomy" because he's manipulative all of the time anyway, why should end of life be any different? Valerian doesn't see Eileen as capable of making her own decisions in the first place (to be fair, he's right), and to Bode she's more an experimental object than a person, so it is left to Severus to protect Eileen's dignity as best he can.
Thank you for the reviews, updates still Friday and Sunday.
