Chapter 28
The Arcane Arts 101
(Opening song #2. ＷＲＫ by Millennium Parade, and Sheena Ringo)
(The next day)
Harry's question was answered the very next morning. When Hermione's Daily Prophet arrived she smoothed it out, gazed for a moment at the front page, and then gave a yelp that caused everyone in the vicinity to stare at her.
"What?" said Harry and Ron together.
For an answer, she spread the newspaper on the table in front of them and pointed at ten black-and-white photographs that filled the whole of the front page, with dozens of faces showing wizards and witches. Some of the people in the photographs were silently jeering; others were tapping their fingers on the frame of their pictures,
looking insolent. Each picture was captioned with a name and the crime for which the person had been sent to Azkaban.
MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN MINISTRY FEARS BLACK IS "RALLYING POINT" FOR OLD DEATH EATERS
"Black?" said Harry loudly. "Not- ?"
"Shhh!" whispered Hermione desperately. "Not so loud — just read it!"
The Ministry of Magic announced late last night that there has been a mass breakout from Azkaban. Speaking to reporters in his private office, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, confirmed that forty high-security prisoners escaped in the early hours of yesterday evening and that he has already informed the Muggle Prime Minister of the dangerous nature of these individuals.
"We find ourselves, most unfortunately, in the same position we were two and a half years ago when the murderer Sirius Black escaped," said Fudge last night. "Nor do we think the two breakouts are unrelated. An escape of this magnitude suggests outside help, and we must remember that Black, as the first person ever to break out of Azkaban, would be ideally placed to help others follow in his footsteps."
"There you are, Harry," said Ron, looking awestruck."That's why he was happy last night. …"
"I think he did it so he replenished his forces too." Harry said with a scowl, "Whoever this "Faulin" is must have killed some of his Death Eaters." He then looked at the picture of Fudge, which was mouthing his speech to the prophet. "Still, of all people, Fudge is blaming the breakout on Sirius!?"
"What other options does he have?" said Hermione bitterly.
"He can hardly say, "Sorry everyone, Dumbledore warned me this might happen, the Azkaban guards have joined Lord Voldemort" — stop whimpering, Ron — "and now Voldemort's worst supporters have broken out too." I mean, he's spent a good six months telling everyone you and Dumbledore are liars, hasn't he?"
Harry could feel his anger mounting, the words from the Prophet adding fuel to the fire. "Fudge is that desperate to keep his job," he muttered, his jaw clenching. "He's willing to throw Sirius under the bus to save his own skin."
Hermione, though, was still reading the article. Her eyebrows furrowed as she scanned the page. Harry looked around the Great Hall. He could not understand why his fellow students were not looking scared or at least discussing the terrible piece of news on the front page, but very few of them took the newspaper every day like Hermione. There they all were, talking about homework and Quidditch and who knew what other rubbish, and outside these walls, the escaped Death Eaters had swollen Voldemort's ranks. …
He glanced up at the staff table. It was a different story here: Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were deep in conversation, both looking extremely grave. Professor Sprout had the Prophet propped against a bottle of ketchup and was reading the front page with such concentration that she was not noticing the gentle drip of egg yolk falling into her lap from her stationary spoon.
Meanwhile, at the far end of the table, Professor Umbridge was tucking into a bowl of porridge. For once her pouchy toad's eyes were not sweeping the Great Hall looking for misbehaving students. She scowled as she gulped down her food and every now and then she shot a malevolent glance up the table to where Dumbledore and McGonagall were talking so intently.
Ron followed Harry's gaze, his own expression becoming serious.
"The toad looks like she's about to burst a blood vessel," he muttered, his eyes locking onto Professor Umbridge. "She looks more pissed than before if that's even possible."
"Guessing Dumbledore's trial over the break didn't go as well as she hoped," Harry said. He then looked around and saw that Snape was nowhere to be seen. "And I'm guessing Snapes still in the hospital wing," he added in a whisper.
Ron nodded in agreement. "Yeah, probably still in that trance-like state. Can't say I pity him though," he murmured.
Hermione, though, was focused on reading the rest of the article. Her eyebrows furrowed as she read, her eyes widening slightly as she took in the information.
"Oh my —" she said wonderingly, still staring at the newspaper.
"What now?" said Harry quickly; he was feeling jumpy.
"It's … horrible," said Hermione, looking shaken. She folded back to page ten of the newspaper and handed it back to Harry and Ron.
TRAGIC DEMISE OF
MINISTRY OF MAGIC WORKER
St. Mungo's Hospital promised a full inquiry last night after Ministry of Magic worker Broderick Bode, 49, was discovered dead in his bed, strangled by a Death Snare, disguised as a potted plant. Healers called to the scene were unable to revive Mr. Bode, who had been injured in a workplace accident some weeks prior to his death.
"Bode?" said Harry with a furrowed brow. "Wait, I remember Bode. "I saw him at the Ministry with your dad"
Ron's mouth fell open.
"I've heard Dad talk about him at home! He was an Unspeakable, he worked in the Department of Mysteries!"
They looked at one another for a moment, then Hermione pulled the newspaper back toward her, closed it, glared for a moment at the pictures of the escaped Death Eaters on the front, then leapt to her feet.
"Where are you going?" said Ron, startled.
"To send a letter," said Hermione, swinging her bag onto her shoulder. "It … well, I don't know whether … but it's worth trying … and I'm the only one who can!"
"I hate it when she does that," grumbled Ron as he and Harry got up from the table and made their own, slower way out of the Great Hall. "Would it kill her to tell us what she's up to for once? It'd take her about ten more seconds — hey, Hagrid!"
Hagrid was standing beside the doors into the entrance hall, waiting for a crowd of Ravenclaws to pass. He was still as heavily bruised as he had been on the day he had come back from his mission to the giants and there was a new cut right across the bridge of his nose.
"All righ', you two?" he said, trying to muster a smile but managing only a kind of pained grimace.
"Are you okay, Hagrid?" asked Harry, following him as he lumbered after the Ravenclaws.
"Fine, fine," said Hagrid with a feeble assumption of airiness; he waved a hand and narrowly missed concussing a frightened-looking Professor Vector, who was passing.
"Jus' busy, yeh know, usual stuff — lessons ter prepare — couple o' salamanders got scale rot — an' I'm on probation," he mumbled.
"You're on probation?" said Ron very loudly, so that many students passing looked around curiously. "Sorry — I mean — you're on probation?" he whispered.
"Yeah," said Hagrid. " 'S'no more'n I expected, ter tell yeh the truth. Yeh migh' not've picked up on it, bu' that inspection didn' go too well, yeh know … anyway," he sighed deeply. "Bes' go an rub a bit more chili powder on them salamanders or their tails'll be hangin' off 'em next. See
yeh, Harry … Ron …" He trudged away, out the front doors and down the stone steps into the damp grounds. Harry watched him go, wondering how much more bad news he could stand.
The fact that Hagrid was now on probation became common knowledge within the school over the next few days, but to Harry's indignation, hardly anybody appeared to be upset about it; indeed, some people, Draco Malfoy prominent among them, seemed positively gleeful. As for
the freakish death of an obscure Department of Mysteries employee in St. Mungo's, Harry, Ron, and Hermione seemed to be the only people who knew or cared.
There was only one topic of conversation in the corridors now: the escaped Death Eaters, whose story had finally filtered through the school from those few people who read the
newspapers. Rumors were flying that some of the convicts had been spotted in Hogsmeade, that they were supposed to be hiding out in the Shrieking Shack, and that they were
going to break into Hogwarts, just as Sirius Black had done.
However, one good thing about this, was the members of the D.A, even less enthusiastic ones, had been spurred to work harder than ever by the
news of more Death Eaters on the loose, but in nobody was this improvement more pronounced than in Neville.
"Alright, good work today everyone," Harry said concluding the lesson for today. "It's almost passed curfew. Will stick around and clean up. Make sure you leave in pairs of two and no more."
Ron and Hermione volunteered to stay behind, helping Harry clean and organize the room. The three friends were silent, not speaking for a few minutes. But the silence was eventually broken by Hermione.
"Vespera says she's ready to start," she said.
Ron blinked in surprise. "Really? Already?"
Hermione nodded, her face serious. "Yes. She said it's best not to delay" She turned to Harry, her eyes questioning. "Are you ready?"
Harry ran his hands through his hair, his eyebrows furrowing. "I guess I am. Or at least as ready as I'll ever be."
Hermoine closed her eyes and red tribal marks burned onto her cheek, and her ears grew pointed. "First order of business," Vespera said dryly now in control. "Is to get you two to be able to cast spells without using shortcuts."
"Shortcuts?" Harry said, his hand instinctively gripping his wand tighter.
Vespera nodded, her sharp eyes fixed on the pair. "Yes, Shortcuts," she said, her voice almost scoffing. "You're kind relies too heavily on those teaching tools. A true master of magic doesn't need a crutch."
"They're not bloody teaching tools," Ron snapped, his face twisting slightly in irritation, his eyes narrowing, "they're wands. Even the greatest wizards of all time use them, and even they can do wandless magic."
"Precisely my point. The reliance on wands has degraded your kind's magical aptitude over the centuries. So much so that those with the basics of wandless magic, like your headmaster and the professors at Hogwarts, are seen as legends."
"Basics!?" Ron exclaimed.
"Yes, Basic. Did you see Yuno use a wand to use his magic? No, he doesn't need one because of Morgana's teachings" she said dryly, and then raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Or have you forgotten how his magic made you feel when he summoned that horror to hunt you three?"
Harry's expression darkened at the memory of that traumatic incident. "No, I haven't forgotten," he said, his voice heavy.
Vespera raised her chin a bit "Then don't question my comments. You're facing against individuals who have continuously defied the logic of kinds current understanding of the arcane arts. I'm offering you at least a fraction, of what Morgana has taught The Dark Triad. That should at least for now, keep them from killing you three on the spot."
Vespera held out her hand, and a ball of light appeared in her hand. "Now then, as I was about to get to, wands were used back during my time to help children focus their magic to a single point. You can do the same thing without them," she explained.
"Focus our magic without a wand?" Ron blurted out, his tone skeptical but a little bit intrigued.
Vespera nodded curtly. "Yes, it's a skill that's been lost over the centuries, but it's not impossible to relearn."
"If it's so easy, why haven't we been taught it then?" Harry asked, his gaze fixed on the flickering ball of light in Vespera's hand.
"Mostly due to the druid not wanting any of his apprentices to outshine him." she said, grimacing as she said "druid"
"Wait, you're saying Merlin purposely kept teaching magic stagnant because he didn't want anyone to be better than him?" Harry said, incredulous.
"It was also a way to swell Camelot's forces." Vesepra added "Arthur preferred quantity over quality, and he had legions of wizards in his armies, even if they were weak. It was one of the weaknesses Morgana exploited during the Battle of Cannlam"
"So, Merlin just wanted to hog all the magical glory for himself, is that it?" Ron muttered bitterly.
Vespera's eyes hardened at this. "His paranoia and greed for power knew no bounds," she said bitterly. "He feared any deviation from the path he'd laid out for his apprentices. Especially if it meant his position as Arthurs's court magician would be at risk." She then let the ball of light dissipate. "And unfortunately for your kind, who took Merlin's teachings as "Great Wisdom," spread his limiting teachings through the centuries. Teachings that have become a tradition within your Ministry of Magic"
"So, all the magical 'rules' we've been taught are just Merlin's old, outdated ideas he spread around so he could keep power within the Round Table?" Harry said, his face set with understanding.
"Essentially," Vespera said bluntly, "Which is why I will be un-teaching you. Your first task will be to focus your magic on a single point like I just did. You'll continue this level of concentration until you form a sphere of magic the size of a galleon. Then you'll hold it for 5 minutes. You'll repeat the process every 6 hours every day"
"Every 6 hours every day!?" Ron blurted out in disbelief. "Are you havin' a laugh!?"
"I'm sure you'll survive this task, Weasley," she said with dull drool. "Even a "Dunderhead like you", as your Potion Master puts it, should be able to perform this task"
Ron's face flushed at being called a dunderhead. He opened his mouth to protest but Harry interrupted him.
"Alright, we'll do it," Harry intervened. "We'll follow your instructions. But how do we start? Do we just imagine our magic into a ball?"
"First focus on the point you want your magic to pool at. Then try to extend it outward." Vesepra held out a finger. "Your pointer should be a good start, seeing as you wizards love pointing at stuff"
"Alright," Harry said, raising his hand and pointing his index finger outward. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on the tip of his finger, imagining his magic accumulating there.
Ron followed suit, holding his index finger out and furrowing his brow in concentration.
For a few moments, nothing happened. Harry and Ron continued holding their fingers out, their faces a mix of intense focus and slight frustration.
"This isn't working," Ron muttered,
"It won't if your mind wanders," Vespera said, eyes narrowing and folding her arms.
"What's that supposed to mean? My mind's not wondering," Ron protested, his finger still poised.
Harry, on the other hand, was still concentrating. The tip of his finger started to tingle slightly. As he focused harder, the tingling in his finger grew more intense, becoming a warm throb. He could feel something building up at the tip of his finger. He opened his eyes, and to his surprise, a faint, glowing aura was starting to form.
"I think I'm doing something," Harry said, his voice tense with effort.
Verspea tilted her head at the aura around Harry's finger. Hmph, it's a start," she said, slightly impressed.
Harry kept pushing, the aura around his finger growing brighter and warmer. But suddenly, he felt a sharp pain, like a needle prick. He winced and the aura flickered out.
"Ow!" Harry snapped, shaking his hand. "What was that?"
Vespera scoffed. "You started putting intent behind the spell," she said with an irritated tone. "Keep your mind clear Potter, and be thankful you only stung yourself"
Harry frowned, shaking the pain from his hand. "Be thankful, huh? You're a real comfort."
Ron was still struggling, his face contorted in concentration, but nothing was happening. He lowered his hand and sighed dramatically.
"This is useless," he grumbled.
"Focus" Vespera ordered sharply
Ron bristled at the order but raised his finger again, his jaw set with determination. Harry gave him an encouraging nod before closing his eyes again.
The two friends stood there for several hours, the room filled with a tense silence. Just as Ron was about to snap again, there was a sudden fizzing sound coming from his finger. His eyes widened in surprise. A small bubble had formed on the tip of his finger.
"I'm doing it!" Ron said excitedly
"Good," Vespera responded somewhat satisfied. "Now both of you keep a hold of that as you make our way back to the common rooms. That's enough for now, and I'll make sure Granger" she pointed to herself, "ensures you're completing your training"
Harry and Ron exchanged a look, both somewhat surprised by the progress they had made under Vespera's guidance.
"Alright," Harry said, "Let's get back then."
Ron gave a nod of agreement, his gaze focused on the bubbly aura he was sustaining on the tip of his finger.
Vespera closed her eyes and tribal marks and pointed ears faded.
Hermoine blinked, her face returning to a more relaxed expression instead of the permanent frowning scowl Vesperea had. She looked at Harry and Ron, their fingers still glowing with the magical aura.
"At least she didn't curse this time," she grumbled, rubbing her temple. "She had another word in mind instead of "Dunderhead." And it wasn't exactly school-appropriate."
Harry let out a half-hearted chuckle, still focused on keeping the aura in place. Ron, however, seemed a little offended. "Oi! Out with it! What, did she call me?"
"Trust me, you're better off not knowing," Hermoine said quickly, not wanting to repeat the insult. "But let's focus on this for now. It's quite impressive how you two can hold that level of concentration."
Ron shrugged. "Yeah, well, it's just a bubble, right? Doesn't feel like it's that difficult."
"It is, actually," Harry interjected, his eyes narrowing as his aura flickered momentarily. "It's taking quite a lot of concentration."
Hermoine nodded, watching them intently. "That's exactly why this practice is important, you see? It takes a lot of focus and control."
The trio made their way back to their common rooms, with Ron and Harry still holding the bubble auras on their fingertips. Despite the simplicity of the task, Harry found that keeping it stable was quite demanding. Every now and then, the aura would wobble slightly, and he would have to quickly reinforce it to maintain its shape.
They eventually reached the Fat Lady's portrait and gave the password to enter. Inside, the common room was mostly empty, save for a few fifth and seventh years who were studying.
Harry flopped down onto one of the couches, Ron following suit. They both breathed a sigh of relief as they finally let go of the magical bubble, their fingers a little cramped from the concentration.
"Dunno 'bout you, but that felt like a two-hour Quidditch match," Harry said after catching his breath.
Ron nodded emphatically, his hand rubbing his temples.
"More like a Tri-wizard tournament event," he groaned, "I've never been so focused on anything in my life. My brain feels like it's just run a hundred miles."
Hermoine sat down next to them, her eyebrows raised.
"You do realize this is just the start." she said in a matter-of-fact tone, "You're going to have to do this every six hours."
Both Harry and Ron groaned. "Yeah, forgot about that part" Harry grumbled.
"Better start memorizing the clock" Ron muttered. "It's not like either of us will be getting much sleep."
Hermoine rolled her eyes. As Harry and Ron continued to complain about the task Vespera had given them, she took out her wand and placed it on the table, staring at it, deep in thought.
Harry noticed her thoughtful expression as she looked at her wand. He nudged Ron, who seemed to have the same realization, and he spoke up.
"Hey Hermoine," Ron began, "You've been staring at your wand for a while. Something on your mind?"
"It's just... what Vespera told you two about the atrocities Merlin and King Arthur committed" she answered.
"Still don't believe her," Ron said crossing his arms. "Ok sure, maybe Merlin and Arthur weren't exactly as noble as the stories state, but they're still heroes"
Harry gave Ron a look telling him to not say anything else. "Now that you bring it up, I've been meaning to ask you. Vespera said she has access to your memories does that mean you have access to hers?
Hermione stiffened at the question. "I do," she said turning to look at the two, "and what she told you two yesterday... it was the truth"
She bit her lip anxiously. "All the horrible crimes they committed, the manipulations and false prophecies Merlin used to keep power, King Arthur's cruelty, enslaving the elves, sewing hate between humans and goblins. Not just learning it either, living through it through Vespera's memories, it's- she gripped the arm of the couch a bit tightly in a mix of anger and sadness. She then let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. " What those two did, is unspeakable. And just knowing the Ministry is just another one of the institutions he founded to keep those ideals alive. I just can't help but feel... disgusted"
Ron's expression softened, his previous skepticism crumbling at the sight of how troubled Hermoine was. He sighed and took a seat next to her "I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. Not just learning about it, but living through it... I dunno if I'd be strong enough to handle it as well as you are right now"
She looked over at Ron and let out a dry chuckle. "I'm about on the edge of crying a river, and you're saying I'm taking this "well" Ron?
"Relatively speaking, yeah," he said, giving her a half-smile. "If I were you, I'd probably be in the middle of a full-blown mental breakdown right now."
Hermione rubbed her eyes and gave Ron an incredulous look. "You need to work on your comforting skills Ronald"
"Oi!" Ron held up his hands defensively. " I'm just being honest here. You expect me to come up with some deep, inspirational speech or something?"
"Ugh," Hermione scoffed, but couldn't hide the slight laugh in her breath. "You really are thick y'know that," she said as she stood up. "I'm going to bed, Harry make sure you write down "practice" in your homework planner"
"Yeah," Harry replied convincingly as she left. Ron looked over at him soon a Hermoine was out of earshot and gave him a smug grin "Left it back at Grimwauld Place didn't ya?"
Harry shot an annoyed glare at Ron. "Bloody thing kept shouting at me anytime I opened it!" he said, making a mental note to throw the annoying shouting schedule into the fire first opportunity he got.
Ron stifled a laugh but quickly composed himself, the seriousness of the situation returning.
"I wouldn't blame you, mate. That thing had a personality of its own." he stretched out his arms in a yawn. "Bit of rest sounds good don't it?"
"Yeah," Harry agreed, his weariness settling in. "I could sleep for a week right about now."
Ron nodded in agreement as he rubbed his eyes. "Alright then, let's call it a night," he said, standing up from the couch. Harry also stood up, stretching his arms above his head. The two friends said their goodnights and headed up to the 5th-year boys' dormitory, exhausted from the day's events.
(Meanwhile, The Restricted Section)
"Damn," Yuno cursed through gritted teeth as he shifted through the 3D map of the school. He look towards Arianna who was looking at map with her arms folded across he chest. Her, Galin, Yuno, and Faulin all agreed to meet after Yuno fought Vespera two days ago.
"Ves must've sensed the sigil you placed on Potter." he continued "Now we don't have any way of eavesdropping on the D.A meetings".
"Well, y'still hav' me don'tcha? Wouldn't be that hard for me to spy on 'em" Faulin said as she leaned against a bookcase.
"Yeah it wouldn't be-" he said with a nod "but "Cho" still needs to look like she's returning with the other Ravenclaws. If you sneak off to the library after hours or start hanging around the three of us the next day, you'll look suspicious."
"Couldn't you just put a sigil of Faulin? That would solve the problem." Galin interjected as he fiddled with a bullet between his fingers
"Yeah obviously, but the situation has changed now that Vespera's back" Yuno looked at the map again. " It's more than just spying on Potter and his allies now. Knowing her, she probably took Potter and Weasley under her guidance to use magic the way we do, which can develop into a problem later if we don't stop it. The main priority should be to cripple her movements, and by extension, Dumbledores Army"
Arianna perked up at Yuno's statement and pushed herself off the bookshelf she was leaning on. "You're right, we do need to cripple their movements. And now's the perfect time to do it"
Yuno's head jerked up to face his sister, looking at her with interest.
"How so?" His eyes then darted to Galin and Faulin, who both seemed to be awaiting her response.
"Well, we're gonna need some help," she said. " or rather someone that's gonna want to "claim all the credit of catching Dumbledore's Army" all to himself"
Yuno rolled his eyes and let out a groan. "Seriously!? You want your boyfriend to help us takedown Potter's group?"
"Listen," she snapped defensively, shooting an annoyed glare at him, "I'm just pointing out the situation we can take advantage of. Umbridge is on the hunt for any evidence to incriminate Albus, and Draco is the captain of her Inquisitorial Squad. If I tell him that we figured out where and when Potter, offer our help to rat them out, as well as promise him that he'll get all the credit for it, it'll give us the perfect distraction to-"
"Break into Dumbledore's office, and steal the resurrection stone" Yuno finished his eyes widening. "He'll be so busy dealing with Dolores, and the Ministry agents he wouldn't even consider it was all a distraction."
Galin couldn't help but smirk. "And we got the perfect lockpick to get past his wards," he said as he raised his hand up and let Anti-Magic radiate off his knuckles.
"Looks like we got a plan then. Will pull it off this weekend, that's when they'll be meeting during the day" she turned to Faulin. "Think you can cover our tracks on your end?"
Faulin scratched her chin and then gave an impish half-smirk. "I'm gonna surprise ya' on tat' one Pendragon. Should be ready t'go by Friday though"
"Tease," Arianna said with an amused scoff.
"Well, better head-" Just as Yuno closed the 3D map of Hogwarts, The Triad and Faulin heard the rustling of papers from the isle beside them, which prompted Galin to load a clip of bullets into his handgun.
"At our 3 o'clock," he said in carrying whisper
Yuno raised his hand and a ball of green sickly green light flew from his palm and illuminated the isle. At the very back of the wall was a small figure huddled up with two bat-like ears on the side of its head.
Galin raised an eyebrow as he lowered the gun, watching the small figure with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. "An alf-kin?"
Faulin shared his expression, "Wha' could she possibly be doin' here durin tis hou-" then a hiccup from the house elf interrupted Faulin. She scrunched her nose up knowing as scent of alcohol burned her nostrils
"Umm," Galin cocked an eyebrow and looked over at Arianna. "Better question. Why does she smell like she just came from Dalton's house parties?"
Arianna's eyes softened at the elf before her and slowly stepped forward. "Hey there," she said gently, approaching her. "What's your name?"
The elf looked up at Arianna with wide, watery eyes. She hiccuped again, attempting to slur its words. "W-Winky, madam. I is Winky."
"And what brings you here, Winky?" she asked kneeling down so their eyes were level with each other.
Winky looked guilty and then pointed to Galin. "Following the sir here, Winky was- hic. Sir has drink under his bed that better than sweet-hic-butterbeer-hic. Winky bad elf for-hic- stealing."
Arianna and Yuno's heads immediately snapped to Galin. "You smuggled your stash!?" she snapped at him with an annoyed expression, while Faulin put her forehead into her head and let out an exasperated sigh.
"What!?" Galin exclaimed putting his hand in the air defensively. "The legal drinking age in Scotland is eighteen. I was just giving party favors to older Hufflepuffs."
"Tye naur gwaeron!" Yuno hissed at him while continually punching him in the arm
"Hey! The boss said not to curse in our language!" he replied fending off each assault easily.
"I would be swearing at you in English if the school didn't put a taboo on the "f-bomb"
Winky tilted her head at the two students bickering, letting out one more "hic."
"Ignore them," Arianna told the house elf while rolling her arms. "They're always like that"
"Winky is sorry for-hic- causing trouble." she huddled into a ball.
"Don't be, it's not your fault." Arianna put her hand on Winky's shoulder while giving her a reassuring closed lip smile. "A Tye lótesse quet- -esse lambe fa tye méra (and you may speak in your tongue if you would like)"
Winky's eyes widened when she heard the old language come from the girl's mouth so fluently. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes, then spoke in her soft, quavering voice again. "You's speak-hic- the Old Speech?"
"And yet you don't seem to understand it," Arianna said tilting her head. "Most alf's normally switch back to the Old Speech when they hear it, yet you don't"
Winky hiccuped and rubbed her eyes again, her small form trembling with emotion. "Wizard say old speech is bad," she answered. "Not meant for house-elf-hic. That old speech will cause house elves to die"
Faulin expression hardened at Winky's words. "Merlin's doin'" she sneered before spitting to the side on the ground. "Must've conditioned them to think their own language was evil so they couldn't communicate in secret, and it's a safe bet that the few who did know a bit were killed."
Galin leaned against the bookshelf, a slight frown on his face. "Shit didn't know it had gotten this bad that they were conditioned to forget their roots."
Winky let out another hiccup and tears welled up in her eyes. "Winky was bad," she said softly. "Winky was a bad house elf. That's why her old master, Mr. Crouch, sacked her."
Arianna sighed. "Damn that bastard for doing this to them. She's not going to listen if I treat her as an equal, which means…." she then put a hand on Winky's shoulder. "Are you happy at Hogwarts, Winky?"
"Well if you ask me, Mr. Crouch was a bit foolish of letting go of such a loyal alf" she soothed. "I tell you what, would you like to serve a new master?"
Winky's eyes widened at the suggestion, and her hiccuping subsided a bit. "Serve a new master?" she repeated a small note of excitement in her voice.
Galin and Yuno frowned and shifted uncomfortably. Faulin turned her head way slightly biting the lower part of her lip.
"Yes," Arianna said sweetly. "she's very kind and could use the help around the house. She can even teach you all about the old speech and the old ways. It'll make you work more efficiently"
Winky's whole expression changed, hope and excitement shining in her eyes. "Really, madam?" she said, her voice still wobbly but with a hint of a smile. "You want Winky to serve you?"
"I would be honored Winky" Arianna said sweetly, she looked over to Faulin. "You still have the coin Yuno gave you"
"Yea'" she muttered without looking a Arianna and tossing the coin over, which Arianna caught it deftly in her hand. "Just give that a flip and you'll be sent to our home, ok?"
Winky looked at the coin in her hand, her expression a mixture of awe and uncertainty. Then, as if compelled, she gave it a timid little flip.
Immediately, the coin began to glow with a bright, silvery light, and Winky let out a soft gasp just before vanishing with a faint PING.
Arianna let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding before, punching the ground, causing the room to tremble slightly "That made me want to puke" she seethed through gritted teeth, her fist balling so much her nails started to cut into the palms of her hands, "having to speak to her like that, to degrade her value like that"
Galin expression softened when and walked over to her. "She would've resisted otherwise," he said kneeling down beside her. "You did what you had to,"
Yuno walked up to her, sitting on the ground and positioning himself so he was facing her. "It was the right thing to do. The boss was always better at dealing with his magics anyway. You gave her a chance to start a new life."
Arianna closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself, the anger slowly ebbing away as her brothers' words registered. She knew they were right, but it still didn't make it any easier.
"I know," she said after a while until she opened her eyes. "But that doesn't mean it didn't piss me off" She stood up and her brothers followed suit. "After we have the stone, he hit the Ministry next." she took her dagger out of its sheathe. "And we won't be using stealth this time around."