Nick Cleveland and the Coven of Lancre

Nick Cleveland and the Coven of Lancre, Chapter 10

by Technomad

A few days later, Nick was up on his feet, although he was still confined to the hospital wing. When Grace came in, he was busy writing letters.

"What are you doing, dear?"

"Sending for some things I'll need. There's thanks that need to be given, and I'm the one who has to give them." Nick gave his mother a fond look. "Don't sweat it. I've plenty of the readies, and what I don't have, I can get a broom company to let me have. They've all been bidding frantically for my favour ever since I set those records." Nick attached the last of the letters to an owl's leg and set it free, to fly hooting out of the window. "Blimey, but I'm bored!"

Just then, Snape came in, and Grace's eyes lit up. Before Nick could react, she grabbed the surprised Potions Master and gave him a big "Sevvy-smooch," just as she had done when she was a sixth-year and he was a "cute as a bug's ear" first-year. Nick's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

"MOTHER!"

"What's the matter, dear?"

' "You mustn't do things like that! You're a married mother! Married mothers don't do things like that!" Nick was blushing bright red, and Grace smiled inwardly at the response she'd elicited. Complain to me that he's bored, will he? I'll fix his little red wagon for him!

"And how do you think you came into existence, dear?"

Nick suddenly raised one eyebrow. "Well...you always told me that you went down Diagon Alley, found a kit in a store, and followed the simple instructions..."

"I lied, darling," Grace purred. "You were a half-price special I found down Knockturn Alley. Almost as good, and ever so much cheaper!"

"Mum...in any case, you should ought to treat poor old Professor Snape with respect! You always preached that respect should be shown to elders!"

"And so I continue to believe, honey," Grace smiled evilly. "Which is why Sevvy, here, treats me with respect. Don't you, Severus? Just like when you were a firstie and second-year and I was a prefect, and later on, Head Girl!"

Nick goggled at his mother and his potions teacher. Snape nodded, grinning inside. "Oh yes, Mr. Cleveland, your mother was all but running Slytherin House my first couple of years here. She thought I was cute and would grab me and give me a 'Sevvy-smooch' like you just saw, if I wandered into grabbing distance."

Nick looked utterly crushed. Taking pity on him, his mother reached out and patted his head. "There, there, Nick dear, don't feel bad. You're very clever...but not always quite as clever as you think you are. In this case, you had inadequate information. Take it as a lesson."

"In any case, Grace, I came down to tell you that Professor Dumbledore wishes to speak with you. Please excuse us, Mr. Cleveland." As Snape swept out of the room, Nick thought for a second that he caught a triumphant grin on the Slytherin's face. Then he dismissed the thought as impossible.

000

A few days later, Nick was cleared to return to his quarters. Luna came bouncing up to him as he left the infirmary, her face wreathed in a beaming smile. "Hello, Nicholas! It's so good to have you back!" She gave him a hug around the waist.

"Hi, Luna. It's good to be back on my pins. Listen, sweetie...I'm going to be offering thanks to the gods for my safe return. Everything's set up, and the weather forecast for this evening's good. Want to come?"

"Of course, Nicholas! I know some other people who'd like to come, too! May I ask my cousins Marlie and Draco? And Hermione Granger'd be interested. When I told her you were Asatru, she wanted to know if you knew any Old Norse magic."

"Sure! Come one, come all! It does involve a meal, and the more partakers, the better!"

That afternoon, an odd procession left Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore had been pleased to grant permission for Nick to offer thanks, and had signed a waiver for those who wanted to attend. The attendees, who included Melinda, Luna, Hermione Granger and her two inseparable friends, and Luna's cousins Draco Malfoy and Marlie Lovegood, along with Marlie's Slytherin friends, walked over to a hilltop where Nick was waiting for them, along with what looked like a herd of animals. Beside Nick, a huge pile of brushwood waited, and several large boxes.

"Nick...is that an elephant?" Hermione's eyes were huge. "What in the world are you going to do with an elephant? Where did you get it?"

Nick gave Hermione a look. "Her name is Savita. I got her from a zoo. Don't look at me that way...it was all perfectly legal and I have the paperwork to prove it! Poor Savita's getting old, aren't you, sweetie? That nasty ol' cancer's eating you up inside. Without all those pain-killers we had to feed you, you'd be really suffering! There, there...I can make it all better for you...AVADA KEDAVRA!" Nick's wand was up and a flash of green light hit the elephant, which tumbled over on her side with a soft sigh. Nick patted her head, sorrow in his eyes. "There, sweetie, it's all better now, isn't it? The vets weren't able to help you, and you were old and tired and ready to go. The gods will welcome you, and you can roam free on the plains of Vigridr."

As Nick levitated the dead elephant onto the pile of brushwood, then turned to the sheep and cattle, Marlie found her voice. "You killed her!"

"Nothing gets past you, does it, Marlie?" Efficently, Nick began to hit the sheep and cows with further Killing Curses, before levitating their bodies up onto the pyre to join Savita. "Just be thankful I don't choose to do this the Muggle way. Blood all over the place!" Once the animals were all dead, Nick opened the boxes. "Now come the rest of the offerings." He hefted one bottle. "Glenfiddich single-malt Scotch, the fifty-year-old stuff, for Odhinn. Peppermint schnapps, for Loki." He quirked a grin. "You can guess I kept this part of things very secret from Hagrid! Not that I don't love him, but having him be in charge of expensive booze does strike me as taking a few chances too many!"

Nick doffed his Hogwarts robes, revealing that, underneath, he was dressed in what looked to the onlookers like Viking costume; soft low boots, trousers with crossed gaiters up to his knees, a tunic and cape. He turned to the sacrifical pyre. Raising his voice, he began to chant in a language none of those present knew.

Luna leaned close to Marlie and Hermione. "That's Old Norse. Nicholas taught me some, and I can recognise it. He's expressing thanks to the gods, elves, and spirits for bringing us back safely." Nick pointed his wand at the pyre and screamed "Incendio!" The pyre was suddenly a mass of flames, and Nick moved his wand back and forth, seeming to call forth more and more fire, until it was hot enough to make them all move back a little. The smell of roasting meat and burning alcohol filled the air.

When the unnatural fire was completely out, nothing was left; the ground itself was glassed from the intensity of the heat. Nick nodded, looking up at the sky. "Good. No adverse omens. The sacrifice was accepted. Now, for the second part of the rite. Let us eat!" He pointed his wand, and all of a sudden, his guests saw that there was a long table heaped with food waiting for them.

As they sat down, Nick pronounced a blessing on the food, asking that the "High Ones" and elves and spirits look favorably on the company. With that out of the way, everybody tucked in with good appetite, and Nick beamed to see his guests enjoying themselves.

Hermione Granger had made sure to get a seat close to Nick. Leaning over close, she asked: "How could you kill that poor elephant? And those cows and sheep?"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "With my wand, Hermione. It's called the Killing Curse. And it's only illegal if cast against a person, or goblin, or something like that. Against animals, it's perfectly legal. I checked before I did this."

"But...animal sacrifices? Isn't that barbaric?"

"No. Poor Savita would have been put down in a few days by the zoo; she had inoperable cancer. Those cattle and sheep were slated for the slaughterhouse anyway." Nick narrowed his eyes. "Are you objecting to my religion's rules? Or is it killing animals that bothers you?" He smiled ominously. "You do know, of course, that my ancestors hanged thralls, naked, by their necks from the branches of oak trees as sacrifices to Odhinn, instead of giving him animals and single-malt whiskey?" Suddenly a leather rope appeared in his hands, one end tied into a very functional hangman's noose.

Hermione turned white as a sheet. "That was in medieval times..."

"That was last week, up in Lokafjord in Norway. Some fool kept pestering my relatives." Nick fingered the rope, eyeing Hermione speculatively. "I'm generally considered more mellow than my kin in the Old Country..."

"No, no, I have no problem with your practices!" Hermione applied herself to her food, her hand shaking as she speared a potato. "It was just something I wasn't expecting."

Nick lolled back in his chair, satisfied that his point had been made. "When we get back to the castle, I'll loan you some of my books about the survival of paganism in the Scandinavian magical communities. You think my kin and I are unreconstructed? Compared to the Finns, we're up-to-the-minute!"

Melinda leaned over. In a low voice, she said: "Excellent bluffing, darling. You shut her up right quick-smart!"

Nick raised an eyebrow. "Who was bluffing, Melinda?"

END Chapter 10