Pauline Returns
By Monday morning, Pauline had had enough of lying in the Hospital Wing. She was eager to rejoin her friends. Madam Pomphrey was resistant, but Pauline said, “I don’t want to fall behind on my schoolwork. Besides, I’ll still be here in the castle. My friends will take care of me. If I’m feeling down or ill, I’m sure they’ll bring me back.”
So, when Pauline came back from the shower, her school clothes were laid out for her: a fresh blouse and skirt, heavy tights, her long, bright blue coat and her Slytherin green wool scarf and hat. She dressed and, by the bathroom mirror, used her wand to dry and style her hair.
“Please refrain from using makeup for the next few days,” advised Pomphrey. “If you get flushed with fever, I don’t want people overlooking it, thinking you’re wearing blush.”
“I suppose that’s alright,” said Pauline. “Philip says I don’t need it. Let’s see what he thinks when I don’t wear any.”
In the Great Hall, Pauline’s appearance caused quite a stir, as most every Sixth Year came over to give her greetings. Philip gave her a long, firm hug, and she nestled into his arms. Morwena said, “Philip, why don’t you join us for breakfast this morning?”
Philip readily agreed. Though his presence was greeted with looks of mild disapproval by the other Slytherins, no one said anything. On that day, Pauline was going to get her way.
Their first class was Herbology, which involved a walk down the snow-lined path to the greenhouses. It was icy cold outside, but with her green cap on her head and Philip’s arm around her, she didn’t mind.
Longbotttom greeted her as well. “Langlet, good to see you up and about,” he said. “Please let me know if you need anything.”
“Thank you, Professor,” she answered cheerfully. She had always enjoyed Herbology, and it was especially fun to work with the exotic NEWT level plants. She quickly tired, however. She spent much of the class with her head pressed against Philip’s arm while he took notes for the both of them.
At nine o’clock in the morning, there was a hearing at one of the Wizgamot courtrooms within the Ministry of Magic complex. The Dennison’s counselor argued before the judge that the “drunk tank,” as she termed it, was a completely inappropriate place to keep a young impressionable boy, and that he should be returned to the care of his parents until the start of his criminal trial.
The prosecutor concurred wholeheartedly that the Godric’s Hollow jail was not the correct placement for a juvenile detainee. He argued vigorously, however, against releasing Reginald to the care of his parents.
“His father has already been cited for mishandling registered Dark Magic artifacts, your honour. If the boy returns home, he could come into further contact with books like the one he is accusing of using to hurt his victim. Furthermore, his parents have properties on the Continent. The accused is the very definition of an apparation risk. We advise that he remain in Ministry custody.”
The Judge, a stern looking woman with her grey hair pulled back in a severe bun, gazed at Reginald over the top of her gunmetal spectacles. Reginald was wearing one of his school uniforms, including a plain black tie. Though his mother urged him to look apologetic and contrite, all he could muster was a bored stare.
The Judge said, “I have read the preliminary reports, and it is likely that the prosecution will prevail at trial. I see little in the way of remorse on the face of the boy, here, and there is nothing remotely like remorse in the confession statement. I concur with the prosecution that home is probably the worst place for him to be. I’d rather see him stay at Hogwarts, though I understand that McGonagall is done with him. The accused is suspended pending expulsion.
“As you all know, there are simply not enough juveniles in Ministry custody to warrant a juvenile detention center. However, the Department of Social Welfare runs a women’s shelter. The building is secure and apparation proof. We have used this facility before to detain juveniles, and we shall do so again. The accused shall remain in Ministry custody, at least through the completion of his trial, currently scheduled for May 2nd.”
With a rap of her gavel, she sent the Dennisons on their way.
Right after lunch was NEWT Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Sauergrass stood before the class with a wry grin on his face. “I understand that there are two students here today who have progressed in their studies to the point that they are ready to give their oral presentations.” There were nervous looks all around, as no one had made this declaration to Sauergrass.
“We’ll start with Rhiannon MacDougal, who now has a thorough understanding of the Cruciatus Curse, do you not?”
Rhiannon matched Sauergrass’ wry grin with one of her own. If this is to be my punishment for cursing Dennison, so be it, she decided. “Yes, professor, I’m ready.”
“Please come up here and speak for a few minutes on your curse.”
Rhiannon stood and came to the podium. Years earlier, she might have quailed at such an assignment, but now she was tall and stern, in her charcoal slacks and white button-down Oxford shirt, her emerald green tie eschew just as the boys typically wore it.
“The Cruciatus Curse,” she began, “is the easiest of the Unforgiveables to cast. There’s no special wand motion. You don’t really even need to use the incantation. If you do it right, you cause deep and widespread pain across your victim’s body. The curse must be continually applied. If you lift your wand, the pain stops.
“There is a catch, though – you have to cast it right. Say I was to point my wand at Hewson, here, and say the incantation.” She drew her wand and pointed it at Paul, who looked nervously back at her.
“Oh, come on, Mac,” he said. “You wouldn’t do that to me.”
“Of course, I won’t,” said Rhiannon. “I don’t want to get in trouble.” At this there was a bit of nervous laughter around the room. “But if I did, I doubt I would hurt you very much. You see, I don’t hate you. In fact, Hewson and I are quite cordial and respectful to one another.”
She pocketed her want. “To cast the Cruciatus Curse effectively, you have to focus a tremendous amount of rage and fury at your target. You can’t send it at someone you merely dislike. You have to want to hurt them with all your heart and soul.” Turning to Sauergrass, with a sly grin, she added, “No one currently at this school could ever make me that angry.”
Sauergrass of course understood the implication. That was why he made her stand up and give her presentation that day. “But those who are not currently at this school should be warned, Rhiannon MacDougal knows how to throw a truly painful, truly Unforgiveable Curse. Well done. You may be seated.”
Rhiannon stretched out a hand to Paul and the two shook and laughed together for a moment.
When Rhiannon had sat down, Sauergrass surveyed the class once more. “There is a student among us today who performed a difficult piece of magic Friday night. Over the coming days and weeks, there will be many, I imagine, who will want to know what she did and how she did it. So, to give her a little practice answering such questions, I’m going to let Lara Guishar speak on the subject of exorcising an enduring malignant curse. Guishar, if you please.”
He extended his hand to the podium. Lara, blushing, slowly rose to her feet and went to the podium. “I really wasn’t prepared to speak today,” she said. “But you’re right, professor, the questions have already started.” Looking to Pauline, she said earnestly, “I really didn’t know what was coming, or when, or who. I knew it would be Friday night, and I knew it would be a girl, but the rest I truly did not know.”
She pulled in a steadying breath and focused her gaze at the back of the room. “An Enduring Malignant Curse is one that stays in the body and continues to do damage after it has been cast. They – there’s a class of them – are quite unlike the Cruciatus Curse. Like Rhiannon said, you have to continually apply magical energy to keep that curse going. Lift your wand and it stops right away.
“These curses aren’t like that. They keep going, keep causing harm. If not treated quickly, they can be fatal.”
She pulled in another deep breath. “But I got there in time. Just barely, but in time. And then, I had to do the exorcism. Over Christmas, I made my cousin Tatiana teach me how to do an do it. The incantation was long and difficult. It has to be chanted over and over. There are wand motions, too. I read the passage over and over. There was no real way to practice. I could rehearse my lines but the only way to really do the spell is to pit it against one of those curses. I had a little experience from dealing with the curse that hit Gillian, so that’s what I imagined I would be facing on Friday night.
“The curse in Pauline was far more powerful. It goaded and taunted me while I worked. I felt it reaching out to me. It was trying to hurt me just like it was hurting Pauline. But the chants started having an effect. Slowly, it weakened. It took everything I had to get it out of her. But the exorcism worked. The curse came out of her like a big black blob of ink and then vanished in the air. Afterwards, I couldn’t even move. I was completely exhausted. Thank goodness Philip and Benedict were there to take over for me.”
Sauergrass said, “You did a remarkable job. Once word of what happened started getting around, I did some research of my own. The curse that hit Langlet is nearly always fatal. A colleague I spoke with, who has studied enduring malignant curses extensively, knew the curse that had struck Pauline. He had never heard of a victim surviving it for more than a few hours. That she sits here before us is a miracle, no less miraculous because magic was involved.
“If we can call it good luck, considering the injury she did sustained, it was good luck that Harkenborough was there, that he drove off the attacker, that he quickly summoned help and that help knew exactly what to do. Well done, Guishar. You and MacDougal will both earn full credit for your impromptu oral reports.”
There was a half hour break between NEWT Defence and NEWT Transfiguration. As they left class together, Pauline sunk her head into Philip’s shoulder. “I’m so tired,” she said.
“We have some time,” he said. “Let’s go to the library and find a spot to sit down.”
“Yes, that sounds wonderful.”
He slipped his arm around her waist and gently lead her down the stairs. “I was rather embarrassed by what Sauergrass said about me. If I had been in Lara’s shoes, I would have been mortified.”
“She was mortified, I think,” said Pauline. The cheerful spark had left her eyes. Philip wondered if he should have taken her back to the Hospital Wing instead.
In the library, they sat down on a sofa with firm cushions wrapped in rough wool. It was away from the main door but well within the vision of Madam Pince as she sat at her desk. “I don’t think I can go tonight,” said Pauline. “I want to go to bed straight away after dinner.”
“That would be wise, I think.”
Pauline curled up into a ball and, with her head on Philip’s shoulder, promptly fell asleep. He stroked her hair and gave her a soft kiss on the temple. Nearby, Morwena and Umberto were working on something together. Morwena saw that Pauline was asleep and came over to investigate.”
“She’s worn out from the day,” said Philip. “That walk out to the greenhouses this morning took everything she had.”
“She should have skipped Herbology,” said Morwena. “No one would have faulted her for it.” She drew her wand and cast some healing spells upon Pauline.
“What are you and ‘Berto working on?”
“Slytherin business,” she answered. “Anything we do in our House comes with a great deal of pomp and circumstance. It all must be done correctly. The last thing I want is for our petition to be thrown out on a technicality.”
He wanted to know what the petition was all about, but Morwena did not elaborate, and he was too polite to ask. He would find out about it soon enough.
He let Pauline sleep until there was just seven minutes before the start of the next class. He kissed her again and said gently, “Wake up, love, it’s time for Fig.”
“Oh! I fell asleep. I’m sorry.”
“Not to worry. I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to go back to the Hospital Wing instead of to class.”
“That’s the last place I want to go, honestly. I was so bored up there, with no one to talk to but nurses and doctors. And the occasional doting Hufflepuff.” She smiled and kissed him.
As they made their way slowly up the stairs, Philip filled her in on Morwena’s brief visit. “Do you know what she’s working on?”
“Yes. Sort of. They’re being quite cryptic about it, honestly. But Wennie has some idea, some action we’re going to take against Dennison.”
“She said there was a lot of pomp and circumstance about it.”
“Absolutely.” They took their seats side by side in Meadows’ classroom. “Take some notes for me again, will you? I’m completely gassed.”
“I’d be happy to.”
After class, Morwena checked in with Pauline again. “Are you feeling alright? You fell asleep in the library.”
“Yes, I know. I made it through the day, and now I’m done. I told Hark I’m skipping library tonight. Madam Pince can do without me.”
“Good. I’d like to caucus tonight. My petition is ready, and I’ll need you all to sign it.”
“You’re eager to get the ball rolling, aren’t you?” said Pauline.
“Yes, and I’m going to roll it right over Reginald Dennison.”