Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Harry and Daphne entered the History of magic classroom. Daphne frowned as she saw Draco Malfoy sitting at a desk at the front of the classroom.
“We must be sharing this class with the Slytherins,” she murmured.
“If we leave them alone, they should leave us alone,” Harry said. He grinned. “But if they don’t, we’ll deal with them.”
Lily looked up from a stack of parchment on her desk.
“Welcome to History of magic,” she said smiling widely. “I hope that you will enjoy this class as much as my other students have.”
Lily called roll and after everyone had confirmed that they were present, she sat down behind her desk and cleared her throat. “We are going to start all the way at the beginning.”
“That is going to be fascinating,” Draco Malfoy drawled.
Lily smiled at Draco. “I certainly hope it will be.” She waved her hand and the blackboard glowed. The image of a woman with golden hair and piercing green eyes appeared on the board.
“This is Niahm a high ranking noble in the fae court. She and Merlin trained young wizards and witches before Hogwarts opened. Legend has it that they trained the founders themselves.
“But didn’t Merlin go to Hogwarts?” Padma asked.
“No,” Lily said patiently. “Merlin was born hundreds of years before Hogwarts even opened. There was a Muggle-born named after Merlin, but it wasn’t the same person.”
As she spoke, a man with long auburn hair, clawed hands, and gleaming yellow eyes appeared on the blackboard. “This was the true Myrddin Emry’s.”
“He’s not human,” Malfoy said glaring at the man. “What is he?”
“Dhampir,” Lily said, “but if it helps, his father was a pureblood before he was turned into a vampire.”
Malfoy scowled. “So, the legendary Merlin was a half-breed.”
“Merlin couldn’t help who his parents were,” Lily said her green eyes narrowing. “I would think Merlin’s contributions to wizarding culture would matter more than the purity of his blood.”
Malfoy glared but said nothing.
“Now then,” Lily continued. “The Founders were born sometime in the tenth century. No one knows the exact date, but we all know their contribution to magical society.”
As the lesson continued, images of the events that Lily described played across the blackboard. At the end of the lesson, Lily instructed them to read about the founding of the magical society of Britain.
As they exited the classroom, Daphne turned to Harry. “What do you think Niahm was like?”
“She was born in the fourth century, so I imagine she was a real rebel in the eyes of medieval society. I wonder if she is still alive. She was fae after all.”
“Maybe we’ll meet her someday,” Daphne said. “It would be nice to meet someone that taught the founders.”
“I imagine some of the oldest magic has been lost over the centuries. Think of what she could teach us.”
“Come on,” Daphne said. “We’re gonna be late for transfiguration.”
**ROE**
Arawn sat in the tavern sipping his glass of milk. He ignored the glances he was getting. A grown man ordering milk in a bar did stand out. He was just glad tankards went out of style.
“Really?” a voice said. “Milk? Why didn’t you at least order a Guinness.”
Arawn glanced at the short middle-aged man sitting down next to him. He wore a long leather apron and a battered pair of jeans. A large hammer hung on his left hip. Arawn nodded to him.
“Maybe because I don’t want to be drunk during this conversation?”
“But milk? You could have drunk water or even a bloody soda.”
Arawn pulled a face. “Have you even tried soda. No thanks. Fae like milk.”
“I’m fae and I like beer,” the man said taking a long swig from his glass.
“And you don’t have to stay sober. What happens if a king needs to make an important decision and he’s drunk?”
The man took another swig of his Guinness. “That is your loss. Now then, what do you need from me?”
Arawn explained what he’d found in his reading. When he was done, the middle-aged man swigged the rest of his beer and ordered another.
“I see,” he said slowly. “Why would you be asking an old coblanau like me?”
“Perhaps because you were her personal blacksmith and you may know what happened to her.”
The man hummed. “She can’t return. She’s dead. Been dead for five hundred years.”
“And yet there was no body.”
The coblanau sipped his beer. “Body was destroyed. You know what mortals are like. They loved burning back in the day.”
“She is starting to remember.”
The coblanau paused with his glass halfway to his mouth. “They called her the Noble Mother for a reason. She loved all the fae like they were her children. When the mortals killed so many of our kind…” he broke off staring down into his glass.
“It was a spell,” he said finally. “Her Father cast it on her. You know that he was skilled with transmutation. He hoped she would get over her grief and rage.”
“What kind of spell?” Arawn asked.
The Coblanau finished his beer and sat the empty glass on the table. “The spell would lock her into an infantile form. She would grow up, live her life, grow old, and die never remembering who she truly was. The only difference is when she died, she would regress to the form of an infant. She would only begin to return once she had gotten over the tragedies of her past. Think of it as a long form of counseling.”
“By making her forget and live life over and over again? That seems more like a punishment than a cure.”
“Manannán hoped that by making her live life as a mortal, she would be better able to deal with her trauma. She loved her people, especially the children. Watching them be burned at the stake was horrifying to her. She swore revenge. Manannán knew that not all of humanity were responsible for what had been done.”
“So, she’s been a changeling this whole time? How long has this been going on?”
“Aways introduced into the wizarding world, always been a loner, until this life. Manannán was most pleased with her progress. The spell has been active for about five hundred years or so.”
“Wait,” Arawn said. “He’s been watching?”
“Watching?” the coblanau laughed. “He’s been placing her with families to grow up. Did you actually think he would leave any of this up to chance?”
“So, she’s ready to return? What happens when she does?”
The coblanau shrugged. “She’ll be back. I doubt she’d be able to resume her position as a noble of the fae, but she would have her memories and power once again.”
“What about her personality? If Niahm returns, would Lily be… gone?”
The coblanau hummed. “I don’t know. You must understand this; she will be back it’s just a matter of when. If she is already starting to remember, the spell will break soon.”
“I see,” Arawn said. He sighed. “How do I break the spell?”
The coblanau stared at him without speaking. “You sure? It’s going to be unpleasant.”
“For me or her?”
“Both,” the coblanau said gravely.
Arawn nodded, his expression firm. “I… she is family. I’m not letting her go through this alone. Besides, Harry is gonna need me to. They are my family.”
“Harry is her child?”
“Yes,” Arawn said.
“A fae child?”
“Yes.”
“Good, she shall not have to watch her child grow old and die.”
“So, you’ll help me?”
The coblanau stood. “Yes, I will. Come on, let’s get to planning.”
**ROE**
The owls flew into the hall, dropping letters and packages.
Harry looked up as an owl dropped a letter in front of Daphne.
“It’s from Mum and Dad,” Daphne said opening the letter.
As she read, her eyes widened, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
“Daphne?” Harry asked.
“Sh-sh-she is…”
“What is it?” Harry asked fear for his friend rising up inside of him.
Wordlessly, Daphne passed him the letter.
**ROE**
Daphne:
We wanted you to be the first to know that the blood curse on Astoria has been broken. The healers have confirmed that she is perfectly healthy and will suffer no ill effects from the curse.
The curing of her curse is very strange, and we want to tell you about that at Christmas.
Hope you are doing well.
Mum and Dad.
**ROE**
“That’s good isn’t it,” harry said carefully.
“Oh, it is, but how was the curse broken?”
“they said they’d tell you more at Christmas. I guess you’ll just have to wait until then.”
**ROE**
Later that morning, Harry followed Daphne out to the quidditch pitch. Daphne glanced back at him. She had been unusually cheerful ever since receiving the letter. Right now, she was taking the micky out of him about their upcoming flying lessons.
“Come on, we are learning to fly? Aren’t you excited?”
Harry shrugged. “I don’t really care about quidditch. Don’t get me wrong, I’ll watch the games, but I have no interest in playing.”
Daphne grinned. “Sure, you’re a wizard? Everyone loves quidditch.”
Harry laughed as they stepped out onto the pitch. He saw Susan and Hannah on the other side of the pitch and waved at them.
“You’ve seen me use magic,” he said to Daphne.
“But not caring about quidditch,” Daphne said. “That’s just weird.”
Before Harry could say anything, a short stocky woman with grey hair and yellow eyes strode onto the pitch.
“Alright,” she barked. “Everyone stand in front of a broomstick, hurry up.”
As everyone scrambled to obey, the woman stood in front of them, tapping her foot impatiently.
“I am Madam Hooch. I’ll be showing you how to fly a broom.” Her yellow eyes scanned each of them. “Now then, I want you all to hold your right hand over the broom. When I give you the signal, I want you all to shout ‘up.’”
Harry looked down at his broomstick. The wooden handle was chipped in places and several twigs were bent at odd angles. He didn’t know a lot about brooms, but he was pretty sure this wasn’t a new one.
“When I give you the signal, you will all shout ‘up,’ ready?”
Everyone looked at each other.
“Now,” Hooch shouted.
“Up,” the class shouted. Harry’s broom leapt into his hand. Looking over, he saw that Daphne’s had also leapt into her hand.
“Good,” Madam Hooch said. “Now, we will mount your broom.”
Madam Hooch walked down the rows of students helping them adjust their grips. When everyone was on the broom to her satisfaction, she moved back to the front of the class.
“When I count to three you will all kick off the ground, rise straight up, and then lean forward to come straight back down. Ready, one two thr-.”
Harry watched as Padma kicked off and shot high into the sky.
“Get back here girl,” Madam Hooch bellowed.
Harry watched as Padma leaned forward, slipped, and fell off the broom. Without thinking, Harry reacted. Raising his hand, he directed his will towards Padma, focusing on the possibility of slowing her down.
The wind picked up, seeming to wrap around her and gently carry her back to earth. With a soft thump, Padma landed on her back. Everyone stared at her in shock. Harry swiftly lowered his hand.
“I d-didn’t do that,” Padma gasped. “I was falling and then something slowed me down.”
Harry glanced around and saw Daphne staring at him. “How did you do that?” she whispered.
“I guess I have some explaining to do,” Harry said.
**ROE**
Harry and Daphne entered an abandoned classroom and sat down across from each other. Harry took a deep breath and told her about his life.
“So that is how you knew so much about the fae,” Daphne breathed.
Harry nodded.
“There were always stories,” Daphne said thoughtfully. “Some of the old families swore the fae would return to rescue us.”
“Rescue you?” Harry arched an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“There are two factions in this world. They are the Light and the Dark.
The Light faction wants to embrace Muggle-born and all the traditions that come with them. They are aware that the magical world cannot survive without the Muggle-born. To make sure that they stay in our world, they want to get rid of all wizarding tradition and culture to make them ore comfortable.
On the other side of the isle, you have the Dark faction. They want to kick all Muggle-born out of the wizarding world and make sure no new Muggle-born can come into our world. In short, they would lock us away and make sure that we die out to protect our heritage.”
Harry frowned. “Seems like neither option is good.”
“Exactly,” Daphne said. “My Father is part of what is unofficially called the Shadow faction. We want to make sure our world survives, and we don’t mind Muggle-born coming into our world. At the same time, we don’t want to sacrifice our heritage and who we are as wizards and witches just because it is easy to do so. Our history must be preserved, if for no other reason than to avoid repeating it.”
“I understand,” Harry said slowly. “And you think that I can help?”
Daphne nodded. “We don’t have to tell people you are fae, but maybe we could find some way to educate the Muggle-born about our world. Maybe with your help, we could make them more comfortable in our world.”
“Make them more Witch and Wizard than Muggle-born you mean?”
“Right,” Daphne said.
“I’ll do what I can,” Harry said.
Daphne stood. “Thank you. Now come on, we’re gonna be late for dinner.”
**ROE**
Voldemort scowled as he breathed in the musty smell coming from the turban. He listened as Quirrell stuttered through a lesson on zombies. Say what you would about the man, he was a brilliant actor. It was just unfortunate that his magical aptitude was mediocre at best.
He hated sharing a body with such a weak wizard but needs must when options were slim. He was far stronger than he ever hoped to be by this point. Years of feeding off the life energies of animals and when he could, Muggles had made him strong enough to sustain a ghostly form outside of a body for an extended period.
“Shame I still cannot effect the world without possessing someone,” he grumbled.
drawing off Quirrell’s magic was speeding up his recovery tremendously. It was a shame that he could not truly possess Quirrell, but trial and error had taught him that male bodies were not capable of carrying two souls. A partial possession was the best he could do. Anything else would cause the body to burn out rapidly.
“Just a few more months,” he hissed.
A few more months of Quirrell drinking Unicorn blood would make him strong enough to survive on his own as a spirit. It was a shame that Quirrell would have to die. He had been a good servant, but sacrifices had to be made for the Greater good of the wizarding world. If he could get the Philosophers stone, he would be able to regain a body. If not… he could be patient. Either way, Quirrell would die.
Lord Voldemort had sacrificed his body for the wizarding world. It was only right that this servant sacrifice something to restore what he had lost.
**ROE**
Arawn sat up on his throne as the woman appeared in front of him. She was old with long white hair and blank white eyes.
“Mother,” Arawn said.
“Gwyn or is it still Arawn?” the woman said. As she spoke, her form shifted into that of a young woman with flaming red hair and amber eyes.
“It’s still Arawn.” Arawn studied her, no expression on his face. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“You haven’t come home in a while.”
“The Dagda isn’t happy to be reminded of your… indiscretion.”
The woman snorted. “If my darling ex-husband didn’t want me to cheat on him, he shouldn’t have cheated on me. I am not Hera. I am The Morrigan, and I will not put up with such disrespect.”
Arawn smiled. “I’ve missed you Mother. How is Father?”
“He is well. He knows what you are planning.”
“You don’t approve?”
“Oh, I do approve,” the Morrigan said. Her form changed again. Now she was a young girl with raven hair and bright blue eyes.
“It is going to be ever so much fun when Niahm returns.” She looked up at Arawn, her eyes wide. “You won’t leave her alone, will you? That would be sooo mean.”
“I’ll stay with her until she recovers.”
“Good,” the young girl said. In mid word, she changed back into a young woman.
“It is always creepy when you do that.”
“It keeps your attention,” Morrigan said. Her playful grin faded. “When will you break the curse?”
“Samhain,” Arawn said.
“I’ll be there.”
Arawn blinked. “Why?”
“Because we were friends. I was her Godmother long ago. She’ll need to see a familiar face at least at first.”
“Alright,” Arawn said carefully. “I will see you on Samhain.”
“See you then,” she said. Ghostly wings flared out from her back. The wings wrapped around her, and she faded away.
**ROE**
Lily listened to Harry’s explanation carefully. When he was done, she nodded in satisfaction.
“We’re not quite ready to reveal ourselves, but no use in crying over spilt milk. The rest of the class thinks it was accidental magic, so as long as Daphne keeps quiet, we won’t have a problem.”
“She said she won’t tell anyone.”
“At least you’ll have someone that knows what you are.”
Harry nodded. “It’ll be good to have someone here that I can actually talk to.”
Lily glanced at the clock. “It’s getting late. You should head to your dorm.”
Harry stood and kissed Lily on the cheek. “Goodnight Mum.”
“Goodnight son, I love you.”
“Love you to,” Harry said before turning and leaving the office.
**ROE**
Harry finished writing his letter to Luna and tied it to the leg of the school owl. Not for the first time, he wished he’d purchased an owl of his own. As he watched the owl fly off, he smiled. He’d promised Luna, he would write her and he was not going to forget that promise.