Companions of the White Warlock

Smoke Year VII - Companions of the White Warlock Chapter XXI Saturday, November 22, 1997

Harry took a deep sigh, and went inside one of the places he hated most in the world.

"Good morning, Mister Potter."

"Good morning, Madam Pomfrey," Harry replied in a cherry voice. "May I see him?"

"For fifteen minutes. Follow me, but wait outside the room until I call you in."

"Right." Harry followed Madam Pomfrey to a private room off the main Infirmary. She went in, and Harry waited. A few moments later, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny came out. "I'm sorry," Harry said, surprised. "I didn't realize. . . ."

"It's alright, Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley said kindly. "Thank you."

"For what?" Harry asked her, puzzled.

"For getting Ron what help there was possible for him," she answered simply. "If it hadn't been for you, that horrid man might still be imprisoned under some South American mountain like he deserves, but Ron would be . . . gone." She sniffled. "Only you could have gotten him here in time."

"It was the least I could do," Harry answered, with complete truth.

"Harry," Mrs. Weasley said with great sincerity, "I doubt if you have ever done the least you could do, at least about anything of importance." She glanced at Ginny.

Ginny nodded and grabbed Harry into a hug. "Thank you, Harry," she said, nearly crying.

Mrs. Weasley knelt and took Harry's hands. "Mrs. Weasley!" Harry protested, shocked.

"No, my lord," she retorted. "I know what is right. Thank you, my lord, for the life of my son. You have now saved two of my children and healed a third."

"And I lost you one of them," Harry said bitterly. "Ow!" Ginny had slugged his upper arm.

"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley scolded. She looked back at Harry. "Every one of my children fights for what's right, even if one has chosen a poor path to do it. Fred knew what he was doing. I never said a word about any of my children fighting for what's right, once they turned seventeen." She gave Ginny a dirty look over that before turning back to Harry. "Arthur and I are fighting this war, too, after all. I have known from the last night of that awful Tournament that events like these could happen. You saw that terrible boggart at Headquarters. I've known this was more than possible, and none of it is your fault." She finally allowed Harry to help her to her feet. "I know you will end this fight as soon as you can. We're still with you, Harry. We will always be with you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley." Mrs. Weasley kissed Harry on the cheek, and stepped aside.

"Fifteen minutes at most, Mister Potter," Madam Pomfrey reminded Harry. Harry nodded and slipped into the room. He crossed over to the bed, where a pale lanky figure laid very still.

Ron managed to turn his face to Harry. "Hey."

"Hi, Ron," Harry said softly.

"Now don't you cry over me," Ron said. "I sort of expected it from Mum and Ginny, but not only have Hermione, Fleur and even Luna already cried on me this morning, so have Dad, Bill, Charlie, and even Neville."

"Sorry I wasn't here earlier, but apparently there was a line," Harry retorted. Ron managed a slight smile, but Harry couldn't. "I'm so sorry, Ron."

"About Fred?" Harry nodded. Ron echoed his friend's movement and then said, "Yeah, I think I'll probably cry some more about that later. Try and keep and eye on George, okay?"

"I will. Charlie and Bill are with him."

"Better than Percy," Ron said softly, obviously with mixed feelings.

"Didn't someone tell you what happened?"

"What?"

"Percy resigned from the Minister's Office," Harry said with a shrug.

Ron was as surprised as everyone had been when they heard the news. "What's he doing, then?"

"He's transferred to Magical Law Enforcement. He plans on prosecuting any more Death Eaters or other followers who are caught. He's gone from being a hindrance to being if anything too hard on the bastards."

Ron managed a shrug as well. It had taken too high a price for Percy to act as he should. "I guess that's one way to deal with this." He looked at Harry. "Go ahead and ask."

Harry did as ordered. "How do you feel?"

"Very achy, and very very tired." He sighed. "I'm never going to be out in the field again, let alone go through auror training or anything similar, am I?"

"Probably not," Harry agreed. "Certainly you're not going out on the front line."

"I'm probably not even going to be flying again, am I?"

"You'll fly again," Harry said firmly. Ron gave him a dirty look. "Okay, you'll probably never race a broom again."

"You will find something for me to do, right? I mean, other than research." Ron scowled. "I know Hermione meant well, but I don't think I could work for her and Luna." He sighed. "Not that I would be all that good at it, anyway."

Harry put his hand on Ron's shoulder. "I need you, Ron."

"To do what?" Ron asked bitterly.

"Ron . . . I need you."

Ron's pale face flushed slightly as he remembered that Harry was no fair-weather friend. "Thanks, Harry." Harry squeezed his friend's shoulder. Ron gave Harry a twisted smile. "Do you think I should write the greasy git a thank you note? Mum sort of suggested it."

Harry grimaced. "Not unless you want to. The greasy bastard has been rewarded enough."

"Thank you," Ron said again. "I know that it wasn't easy asking for the snake's help."

Harry snorted. "I didn't like having to do it, but it was a very easy decision, Ron. I would have done just about anything that wasn't dark to help you." Ron regained a bit of his color at that. "Can I get you anything?"

"If Madam Pomfrey won't confiscate them, some sugar quills would be nice," Ron said thoughtfully. "Some chocolate frogs would be even nicer, for that matter."

"Shall I ask Dobby to have your card collection sent up?" Harry asked.

"Well, I do have a bunch I haven't put in the folders," Ron admitted. "It looks like I'll have some free time."

"Would you like some real paper work to do?"

Ron narrowed his eyes. "What kind?"

"You could take over as Treasurer from Tonks," Harry suggested. Ron looked torn. "Shall I have Tonks stop by and tell you what it all entails?" Harry asked.

"Sure," Ron said quickly, but then sighed.

"What else is wrong?" Harry asked.

"Hermione and I. . . ."

"What?"

"I guess we won't ever be getting back together."

"Why is that?" Harry asked.

"There are a whole lot of side effects to this . . . this, well Snape called it a 'poison cocktail'. I think he enjoyed listing them all to me."

"I didn't know the git was here," Harry growled.

"He wasn't. He was the last person to see me at St. Mungo's before they brought me here," Ron said.

"What does that have to do with Hermione?"

Ron looked embarrassed. "You can tell me, Ron. We aren't thirteen anymore," Harry urged.

"No, we're not," Ron admitted. "I'm sterile and, well, it won't work for fun, either. No little Weasleys from me, and no Happy Hermione, either."

"Maybe Hermione wouldn't care about children," Harry suggested.

Ron looked away but pointed out, mumbling, "I could never satisfy her before, remember? Now it's even more impossible."

"There are other ways to satisfy her," Harry told his friend. Ron wrinkled his nose. "Don't look that far ahead, okay?"

"I'll try," Ron said.

"Rest and get your strength back."

"It will never all come back," Ron said. He quickly held up his hand, saying, "I know, I know, I need to work on it and recover as much as I can."

"I think there might still be a line of more people to cry on you," Harry teased. "I'll ask Madam Pomfrey about the sweets."

"Thanks, Harry."

Mrs. Weasley and Fleur quickly took Harry's place. Harry consulted with Madam Pomfrey. "He can certainly have some sweets, especially chocolate," she finally said. "However, his metabolism will always be lower than it was. He'll put on weight easily, and he'll also lose muscle tone and mass."

"I'll send up a sugar quill," Harry said. "He really just likes chewing on them when he's trying to avoid writing. I'll send a case of frogs. Maybe you can put one just outside his range, whatever that is. That will encourage him to move around more."

Madam Pomfrey smiled. "You're going to be a fine father some day, Potter."

Harry blushed.

Severus Snape glanced around the large front room of the small cottage. He sneered. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"How about making yourself useful without abusing or lying to anyone?" Remus suggested. Snape turned his back on Lupin.

"Your personal effects will be along shortly," John Russell said in a more moderate tone.

"And I suppose I am now supposed to become Potter's tame Potion Master?" Snape spat.

"Of course not," Remus said. "For that to happen, you would have to have feelings. You know, not just bile but feelings like shame, gratitude, and decency."

"If it wouldn't violate my parole, I'd dearly love putting you down," Snape retorted.

"If I hadn't grown out of my adolescence, I would say something like 'the day after your parole ends, we can finally decide this', but there is nothing left to decide," Remus replied. "You can make yourself useful by your brewing and by anything else you remember, or you can spend you time working for yourself, or you can sit here and sulk until your term is up. You decide."

"If there's one thing both sides of this war possess, it's self-righteousness," Snape declared.

Remus smiled nastily. "It must have been awfully difficult for you to be caught between such factions, when you're convinced everything should revolve around you instead."

When Snape opened his mouth to retort, Russell stepped in. "Enough, the pair of you. Anyone would think you were a pair of ex-lovers instead of childhood enemies." Snape and Remus both recoiled at the image. Russell looked at Snape. "You're clear on the rules?"

"I am," Snape agreed. "I have no desire to be returned to the cell next to Pettigrew."

Sunday, November 23, 1997

"You're here early. What do you want, Mister Weasley?"

Percy looked very different to John Russell. He had always been a very serious boy, far too serious for his own good, and had turned into a serious young man. Percy was now far beyond 'serious'. "Can you really get information from this 'Companion'?"

"Almost certainly. It's a particular magical knack I have."

"And if he resists giving up his secrets?"

"It could easily destroy his mind," Russell said seriously.

"And that would be wrong," Percy said to himself. "It would be torture."

"Torture? No, in that it would not cause physical pain," Russell answered. "That doesn't make it right. It could be necessary."

"I don't like the idea, but I want you to do it," Percy said. "That's wrong, isn't it?"

"On some level, yes," Russell agreed. "It may or may not be more wrong not to gather that information. It would be wrong to do this for revenge. You are rightly angry, about Fred's death and what happened to Ron. How all this has hurt you and your family." Russell took a stab. "Not to mention what nearly happened to you."

Percy winced. After a moment of silence, Percy whispered hoarsely, "How do we live with doing it? With wanted to do it?"

"With stripping away a person's mind? His personality?" Percy nodded. "Percy, there are times when you have choices between evils. If we don't do this, more evil may come. More could die."

"Is that enough?"

"No," Russell, "it's not. It eats away at you." He looked off into the distance. "I rather think that when the war is over, I shall have to retire. Being around so much innocence is starting to be painful. You look at an eager thirteen year old, and know how wonderful that life could be, and you also know how many horrendous things could happen to that student. Anger, hatred, bigotry, rape, murder . . . and so much else." He shrugged. "There are steps I can take which might just frighten this wizard into giving us some of his secrets, but in the end, we may either have to leave him his secrets, or strip them away from him, one way or the other. One life against dozens. If it turns out he has little information, then we've damned ourselves for nothing. We can't do this on the off-chance. We have to probe, and then, maybe, we can justify destroying a mind."

"I researched the laws," Percy said. "Archaic rules apply when there is a White Warlock. Potter and the Minister can authorize you to do what you need to do. There have to be three observers, who could order you to stop by a majority vote."

"And why did you research that, when you were so against special rules for the White Warlock?"

Percy hung his head in shame. "Revenge," he said softly. "A Dark act."

"In its way, a very Dark act," Russell agreed. "You need to be tested."

"How? for what?" Percy asked, startled.

"You need to be an observer if we go through with this," Russell said. "And, as you see a man's mind and personality being destroyed, you will have decide if we go on or not."

Percy swallowed nervously.

Russell gave Percy a twisted smile. "Don't worry. Maybe we won't get permission."

Ron Weasley tiredly opened his eyes. Everything made him feel tired, and every muscle in his body hurt, although he thought he perhaps ached a bit less today that the day before. The effects of the complex set of poisons on the knives that had wounded him would last his entire life, and while over the next few weeks or months the pain he felt should diminish, over the years it would again grow worse.

Ron looked off to the side and saw Hermione. "Oh . . . hi. . . ."

"Good morning," Hermione said quietly.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked. "I'm worried about you."

"Oh . . . thanks, I guess," Ron said awkwardly. "I guess this is all kind of, well, depressing."

"True," Hermione said. "I hope you don't mind, but I've been trying to find out what all these affects are supposed to be. . . ."

"Snape gave me a long list," Ron said. "Actually, he made me listen while he dictated them to Madam Pomfrey. You can ask her."

"You wouldn't mind?" Hermione asked.

"Snape said that there's nothing that can be done," Ron said, "but I suppose if anyone can find something the git doesn't know, it would be you."

"Does she have a record of everything Snape said the poisons are doing to you?" Hermione asked.

"Did Harry tell you something?" Ron demanded.

"No, he avoided my questions, which made me think there might be something else going on," Hermione retorted.

Ron turned his face away. "I'm sterile, and not only that, well, it won't work anymore."

"What won't work?"

Ron colored. "I know I never lasted long, but now I won't even get the chance to do that."

"Oh . . . you know, there are some Muggle treatments that might work for that aspect of things."

Ron shrugged. "It doesn't matter."

"Do you think that a woman would only be with you to have children, Ron?"

Ron shrugged.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief. "Besides, who can say if Snape told the truth? He hates us, too, not just Harry."

"He wouldn't risk being caught in a lie," Ron said.

"This combination of poisons is pretty obscure, so far as I have been able to discover," Hermione retorted. "He could be counting on the fact that no one, except maybe Voldemort, could gainsay him."

Ron shrugged again. Hermione scowled, which Ron did not see. She leaned over the narrow bed and kissed the side of his head, and left, passing Percy in the outer part of the Infirmary.

"Are you busy, Professor?"

Russell gave Hermione a twisted smile. "I've been very busy today, but I certainly have time for you. Let me guess, you have questions about Ron's condition."

Hermione nodded. "Assuming Snape was telling Remus and Ron the truth about the long-term effects. . . ." she paused.

"He likely was. Go on."

"Would he really know these things for certain? And would he have told everything?"

Russell considered for a few moments before answering, "He would not know the effects for certain, or at least not all of them. And it is possible he might be holding back something."

"Would it possible for me to see him?"

Russell took a bit longer to consider that. Finally, he said with a small sigh, "As a member of Harry's Council, you can certainly get access to Snape almost anytime you need to. Despite a fair amount of caustic comments, he did agree to help our cause. However, may I make a suggestion?"

"Of course!"

"Don't approach Snape unless you have some facts to argue with him," Russell warned. "If you can't disprove or at least challenge some aspect of his statements, don't think you can force any admissions out of him."

Hermione thought about what she knew of Snape, and of Russell. She had to agree that Russell certainly knew Snape better than she did, and she had no reason to disagree with the Prof's assessment. "You're right."

"Spend some time researching the problems," Russell said. He walked over to his desk and pulled out a sheet of parchment. He picked up a clean sheet, and waved his wand over the two, copying the information. He handed the copy to Hermione. "These are the potions and some of the speculations on how they might interact. If any more information comes my way, I'll send it on to you."

"Thank you," Hermione said simply, grateful she would not also have to go through Pomfrey.