Chapter 336
"His fake stammer, sir." Nott said.
"Correct." Moody said. "A fake stammer should have been a warning sign." Lavender raised her hand nervously. "The turban, Professor?" Moody's good eye blinked and the magical eye snapped to Crabbe snickering. "You think that's funny, lad? Girl's got a sharp eye. Odd dress accessories or
just oddly dressing might be a cause for concern."
"Does that mean the Headmaster's possessed then?" Seamus asked in aloudvoice.
"Good question, lad," he motioned at Lavender, "why don't we ask the expert
here?" Lavender squirmed in her chair and nervously flicked her hair back. "Professor
Dumbledore has an unique style; he likes clashing colours and abstract
patterns often featuring cute creatures and beautiful flowers. So…I wouldsayhe was possessed if he suddenly began to wear something different,
Professor? A more sedate wardrobe or an even more over the top one?"
"Excellent observations and deductions, lass! Take ten points for Gryffindor!" Moody said firmly. His wand pointed at the chalk and the itemof 'changeof
dress/odd styling' made its way across the black. "Anything else?" Harry raised his hand warily and almost regretted it when Moody noddedat
him. "My scar hurt in his presence, Professor." He tried to ignore howeveryone turned to stare at his forehead.
"Curse scars caused by Dark magic often will be pained in the presence of
more Dark magic or certainly the one who gave you the scar in the first place." Moody agreed as the chalk wrote it up on the board. "'Course, not everyonehas useful scars like ours, Potter." There was a smattering of chuckles in the classroom.
"Let's move on." Moody said. "Weasley, when did you realise that Lockhart
was an obliviating fraud?" Ron gaped a little before he snapped his mouth shut. "Uh, I think we realisedthe fraud part when he didn't teach us anything and set the crate of Pixiesonus. The obliviating bit…" his eyes briefly met Harry's, "well, like Harry said, just
before he tried to, uh, well, he didn't try to kill us just obliviate us."
"Same question to you lot. What gave him away way before he got the
opportunity to try and obliviate your school mates here?" Moody asked. Hermione's hand was ignored in favour of Daphne's.
"The timeline of his books was inconsistent and filled with errors." Daphnesaid succinctly. "The impossibility of it should have alerted people to the fact
that he was fraudulent and therefore had to have acquired the inherent factsof events in some nefarious fashion."
"Good. What else?" Moody's chalk was writing up 'blatant lying' on the
blackboard. Parvati was given the nod. "Um, he wore impractical clothing during his
heroics according to his books. A real hero doesn't pay attention to what
they're dressed in." Her dark eyes fell on Neville who blushed bright red.
"You've got the heart of it right, lass." Moody agreed. "Why so much time
spent on his appearance and dress? You don't wear Acromantula silk whentraipsing through muck." Draco put his hand up and Moody motioned for him to speak.
"Lockhart was easily defeated in a duel." He said crisply.
"Heard about that, and again, you'd be right about the main point. A manwithLockhart's reputation shouldn't have been taken by surprise although your
Head of House is no slouch at duelling so there may have been extenuatingcircumstances – a difficult opponent." Moody's chalk wrote up 'weak
performance.'
"His spells never worked." Dean offered. Moody nodded again. "Example?" Dean sent Harry a sympathetic look. "He banished Harry's bones insteadof
healing them."
"Bloody idiot." Moody muttered, obviously meaning Lockhart as he sent aproud look in Dean's direction. He waved his wand at the chalk. "Let's moveonagain." Harry's heart sank; he had a feeling he knew where this was going.
"Miss Granger, when did you realise Professor Lupin was infected with
lycanthropy?" Moody asked roughly.
Hermione frowned at him, almost disapprovingly. "After I completed the essayon werewolves Professor Snape set when he deputised for Professor Lupin."
"Who else realised Professor Lupin's condition before it was revealed tothemasses?" Moody asked. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 337
Greengrass, Nott, and Zabini put their hands up.
"What gave him away for you, Greengrass?" Moody pressed.
"Like Granger, it was the essay that prompted it. I did an analysis of the timeshe was absent with the occurrence of the full moon." Daphne answeredcrisply. Moody huffed. "Anyone have a different reason?" Zabini threw an apologetic look towards Harry, understanding that Harry wasuncomfortable with the discussion revolving around someone he caredabout. "I put it together during the boggart lesson when his boggart turned intothefull moon. That coupled with his distinctive scars made me conclude he waslikely a werewolf or had been marked by one." Parkinson raised her hand and shot Parvati and Lavender a smug look. "Hisshabby clothes also gave it away in hindsight."
"I suppose they would." Moody said flatly. "Werewolves are labelled as Darkcreatures and struggle to find work especially since most of themdon't havethe advantage of the education Mister Lupin was able to undertake." He saidgrimly. "Most folk forget that the majority of them are wizards who had nochoice in whether they were bitten or not. Wolfsbane, if they can get it, keepsthem docile during the full moon unless they feel their pack is threatened." Parkinson sniffed. "You're not suggesting werewolves should be treatedthesame as wizards, Professor, are you?"
"They are wizards." Harry retorted angrily.
"The lad's right." Moody glared at Parkinson. "Put it this way: who was themore dangerous out of your previous three Professors? The one possessedby a Dark Lord, the idiot who had no idea what he was doing when he heldawand in his hand except when it came to the spell to make you forget your
own name, or the one who took Wolfsbane and locked himself in his officeona full moon?" Harry felt vindicated as he saw some of the students beginning to understand. Moody turned back to Harry. "However, you shouldn't forget that without
Wolfsbane they are dangerous even ones who don't want to hurt anyone. Defences?"
"Silver weapon curse." Tracey Davies offered.
"Silver in general." Nott added. Neville put his hand up. "A plant called aconite."
"Yes, that's very poisonous to them." Moody agreed. Harry raised his hand. "Being an animagus." Moody smiled at him. "Yes, if you're animagus, a werewolf's bite won't turnyou if you're in your animal form when bitten. Werewolves will also accept ananimagus as part of their pack if they recognise them and not attack, but ananimagus outside of the pack will sometimes be viewed as prey." The chalk had fallen silent.
"Right," Moody said, "how could you determine if I'm the real me?" He gazedaround the room. "What's to say I'm not a polyjuiced imposter who's got thereal me locked up somewhere?"
"We could do a detection spell?" offered Nott.
"Standard protocol for aurors. But the spell has issues with Polyjuice." Moodysaid swiftly. "Who knows why?" Draco raised his hand. "The potion properties distort the detection spell."
"And there's the issue of genetics." Nott added. "If someone polyjuices
themselves as a member of their own family, the detection spell can't workout there's a difference."
"What else could you do to discover if I'm me?" Hermione raised her arm. "We could trap you into a room so you couldn't
renew the Polyjuice as it has a limited working time."
"Good although you may have to wait twenty-four hours to be certain thereisn't an improved version the imposter is using." Moody gestured out at thestudents. "Any other ideas?"
"Blood identification." Zabini offered.
"Good," Moody agreed, "a blood identification will reveal the real identity of
someone although you run into problems if the person being impersonatedshares the same name with the person impersonating them. What else?"
Harry put his hand up again. "Well, I've met you before so I could ask yousomething that I know only you would know."
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"You're on the right lines, Potter." Moody agreed gruffly. "What would youaskme?" Harry ran through various options and settled on something he hoped wasn't
too embarrassing. "Um, what was the first story you told me about my Dad?"
"An alright choice, Potter. It's something personal so a tick there but I toldyouthat story in front of Amelia Bones so she would know you told me it andmight have informed our imposter." Moody said. "What else might you askme?"
"Um, where was my wand the first time we met?" Harry felt his cheeks heat up.
"Excellent choice!" Moody said. "And for the record it was in your bedroombut
I won't say where in case you actually need to ask me in the future." Harry blushed. Daphne raised her hand. "Wouldn't a code word be a better choice as
confirmation?" Moody nodded. "If it's something you've arranged beforehand because youhave an expectation of someone trying to be an imposter, that's a grandidea." He pushed himself off the desk. "Split into pairs; one Gryffindor, one Slytherin;
a boy and a girl to each pair. We tend to see things differently. I want youtospend the rest of the time working out how you would spot if someone wasimpersonating each member of the staff. So, what are things that wouldbesuspicious for Professor McGonagall? Professor Snape? Madame Pomfrey?Write it up on parchment; you hand them in at the end of the lesson." Harry got up and made his way over to Daphne who was motioning for himtojoin her; he absently noted Draco had slipped into his seat by Hermione. Daphne smirked at him. "Shall we get started then, Potter?" Harry nodded, happy with the assignment and his partner – Daphne was
snarky and wonderfully free of any kind of awe for him. They wrote out alist
of the current staff and started through them methodically. Daphne was agood partner; she was very observant with a fine eye for detail; Harry providedthe more off-the-wall suggestions. Harry's previous knowledge of Doctor
Jordan and Firenze proved useful; Daphne's family turned out to be relatedtoHilliard's which meant they had information on him. Both of themonly hadpolitical information about Alison Bunting and nothing on the newHistory of
Magic professor. With about five minutes to go, Moody called a halt and collected the
parchments. He sat back on his desk. "So, the first part of situational
awareness is people. Most murders and violent crimes are not done by
strangers but by someone known to the victim. Why? Because they're theones that have the most access and opportunity. Be aware of who is aroundyou; be aware that they might not be all that they seem. Anything suspicious, report it to someone you know is who they say they are." The bell rang.
"And remember: CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody dismissed them. They all trooped out.
"That," Ron declared, "was bloody brilliant!" And Harry had to agree.
.....
"Padfoot, Harry's farm in Russia is in lovely condition. The house elf here – Glumpy –reminds me a bit of Dobby – keen and enthusiastic. He makes his hot
chocolate with a splash of vodka. Good to hear that Harry has settled back into Hogwarts. Remember not to
panic if he doesn't call you on the mirror every night. You'll see himevery
Wednesday night for your duelling lessons. Stay safe, Moony." Bloody Moony, Sirius thought morosely. He sighed. It wasn't Moony's fault that the estates needed visiting, and Siriushad agreed for Moony to go so it was all done and dusted before Halloween. They'd already put if off during the Summer so Remus had the chance toproperly get to know Harry. But he knew from the daily missives Remus wassending him that his friend was concerned especially after Sirius's minor, veryminor, breakdown on the train. A man couldn't turn into a dog for a couple of hours without it becomingabigdeal, mused Sirius grumpily. Healer Allen had been more sanguine about the whole affair, noting that somebacksliding was to be expected now Sirius's primary motivation for healingand keeping his emotions in check was removed from his immediate vicinity. In other words, Harry was back at Hogwarts. Some of his malaise was simply missing his son; the evocation of similar
feelings of grief and loss that reminded him of Azkaban. But Healer Allenhadpointed out that Sirius had never had a chance to fully grieve for James andLily; for the absence of Harry in his life for eleven long years. Without havingto be a full time father figure for Harry, Sirius's mind and body were pushing
him to finally acknowledge his pain. But Sirius knew lurking underneath that was his fear about not being abletokeep Harry safe now his son wasn't living with Sirius day in, day out. He knewsome of that fear was rooted in his guilt over James and Lily; howhe believedhe had failed them in suggesting Peter. Some of it was rooted in his guilt over
Harry's life with the Dursleys which would never have happened if he hadn't
gone haring off after Peter. And a lot of it was rooted in his fear that nomatter
what his efforts the damned prophecy would come true anyway. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 339
Sirius took a deep breath. Fear about Harry's safety was rational. Allowing that fear to cripple himandprevent him from continuing with his plan to keep Harry safe was not –andit
would be counterproductive. He had regular contact with Harry (and he wasso relieved Harry was using the mirror every night despite feeling that it wasmore for his benefit than for Harry's); he would see him face to face every
week for his duelling lesson. He set aside Remus's note and forced himself to focus on the notes andreports he needed to read ahead of the Wizengamot session the next day. Heonly looked up when Penny knocked on the door and he realised his next
meeting had probably arrived. He swore a little under his breath at forgettingto set an alarm especially given who had requested the meeting. He rosefromhis seat as she ushered in Nott. Sirius covered the formal greetings, called Kreacher for refreshments, andmotioned towards the seating area. "Lord Nott." Death Eater, his inner voice
snarled. A Death Eater who he had a pact of neutrality with, he shot back
silently before sheepishly realising that he was in effect arguing with himself. He motioned for Penny to leave; he had the sense that Nott wouldn't want themeeting recorded. He waited a moment as Kreacher delivered the drinks andcake; the elf shot a look at Sirius that told him he expected the cake to beeaten which presumably meant he and Dobby were conspiring about Sirius'sloss of appetite. Sirius repressed the urge to sigh and sat down in a chair with a languid
elegance that belied his tension. "Your request was unexpected, Benjamin, I
had rather thought that we had covered the salient points of this month's
Wizengamot session at the meeting with Lucius, Stewart and Norman onMonday." Apart from the détentes agreed, the others had all agreed to abstain in thevote on the Muggle Affairs report which recommended setting up the
Department of Muggle Affairs. Nott smiled at him and took a sip of his coffee. "So we did. This is not about
the Wizengamot session but rather the matter of what took place at the WorldCup." Sirius arched an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware there was anything for us to
discuss."
"Your Heir protected mine." Nott said simply.
Ah. Bugger. Sirius had hoped that Nott would not press the matter over whether therewasa life debt between the Houses. Although, he noted with wry amusement, Nott
was recognising that there was a life debt between the Heir of the Houseof
Black and the House of Nott, not between the Head of the House of Potter
and the House of Nott; a subtle difference that highlighted Nott's politics.
"I can understand that the Potter alliance does not wish to argue the matter," Nott said smoothly, "and indeed given the oaths between those Houses of
support and protection, there is even a convincing case that a life debt
between them doesn't exist. I would guess the House of Zabini is probably of
a similar mind since I'm certain an alliance of mutual aid and support will beannounced tomorrow." Only years of pranking enabled Sirius to keep the information off his face. Thealliances with the neutral Houses would be announced at the session but hewas damned if he was going to confirm it to Nott ahead of time. Nott's lips twitched into a facsimile of a smile. "No such oaths exist betweenour Houses."
"Your son was there as a guest of the House of Black," Sirius began, "albeit
through the Malfoy family line. It was no more than my Heir's duty to see tohis safety."
"And I would counter that no such responsibility existed for the Head of theHouse of Potter." Nott rejoined. Sirius was surprised Nott had countered with that. He'd hoped Nott's
abhorrence to recognise Harry's Potter status had been a sign that he
wouldn't be pushed into doing so.
"The Head of the House of Potter was the target of the attack." Sirius saidfirmly. "As he was the reason your Heir was endangered…"
"It is hardly the fault of the House of Potter that my Heir was endangeredbecause someone attempted to kidnap Lord Potter." Nott interrupted. "Theonly one who endangered my Heir is the one who decided to attack; LordPotter did nothing but defend my son. Regardless of your son's power, theshield he established and maintained could have caused magical exhaustionat risk to his life if the attack had lasted long enough; we both knowit." Sirius stared at him hard. Nott was determined to have the life debt
acknowledged; that much was clear. The question was why?
He sipped his coffee, inhaling the rich aroma and letting the familiarity of it
soothe him. "Let's say for a moment that as the Regent of the House of Potter, I was inclined to accept such a debt exists between the Houses, what wouldyou propose as settlement?"
Nott sat back and brushed imaginary lint from his robes. "The Weasley Heir isin service to repay the life debt incurred in the saving of the Weasley girl. I
would not consider a lesser proposition since I am certain that I value my onlyson as much as the Weasleys value their only daughter."
It was extremely difficult to keep his shock from showing. "You wish toswear
your Heir into the service of the House of Potter?" Why, why, why wouldNott
want to do that?
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"I'd prefer to swear him to the service of the House of Black but you madeavalid point about the duty of a host." Nott said with a sly look over his cup. Oh Merlin, Nott was good. Sirius had to admire the man's Slytherin talents. If
questioned by his pureblood allies, Nott could legitimately claimhe hadbeenpushed by Sirius into accepting the debt was between Potter and Nott. Sirius wanted to pace but pacing would give away his unease and so he
reached instead for the Battenberg cake Kreacher had left. He took a biteandthought over Nott's insistence and his proposal. Nott had declared a position of neutrality between the Houses of Black andNott with the détente. It could argue with Voldemort when he returned that
neither he nor his son could raise a wand against Harry or Sirius. But it
wouldn't stop Voldemort from demanding Nott's son be Marked as Nott washimself; from demanding that in all other respects the House of Nott sidewithVoldemort. True neutrality was something that Voldemort would not
countenance from a man branded as his follower.
But if Nott Junior was sworn to service in the House of Potter, he could not besworn to the service of Voldemort. Theodore Nott would be placed firmly onthe side of the Light. And done under the guise of the life debt and honour, it
would make it hard for anyone to argue with. Was Nott protecting his son from Voldemort?
It seemed unlikely yet Sirius couldn't shake the feeling he'd deduced Nott'smotives correctly. And yet he couldn't also dismiss the possibility that Nott
was using his opportunity to place his son as a spy close to Harry.
"Answer me something truthfully, Benjamin, and I might consider takingyouseriously." Sirius said slowly and ignored how Nott stiffened almost
imperceptibly at the challenge. "Why do you want this life debt acknowledgedso much?"
"It's what Theodore wants." Nott said simply. Sirius's eyebrows shot up. Nott picked up his cup. "Theodore's politics are much more closely alignedtoLord Potter's than mine."
"Most Heads would be encouraging their Heirs to follow their agenda not arival one." Sirius said carefully. For a long moment, Nott remained silent, regarding Sirius intently.
"Do you remember Sebastian?" Nott asked eventually. "My brother's son?
When Christian and his wife died of Dragon Pox, I took Sebastian in as my
own and he was a wonderful Heir. Sebastian was perfect in every way; a
wonderful boy. He was devoted to my agenda and a devoted supporter of theHeir of Slytherin. When Riddle needed a sacrifice for some wretched ritual, Sebastian offered himself. Eighteen years old and he died for the cause that I
had indoctrinated him into believing." His dark eyes met Sirius's. Sirius was at a loss how to respond.
"Riddle arranged my marriage to my ill-fated Sophia to compensate me for myloss, so I could replace one Heir with another as though he had sacrificedapuppy not a person; as though one human life was simply interchangeablewith another." Nott continued in the same measured tone, his words lackingthe bitter edge that Sirius might have expected to hear. "I cannot even regret
his pitiful and monstrous thinking because otherwise I would not have Theo. This son I raised to think for himself; to question and challenge, and cometohis own conclusions. I will not sacrifice another son to Thomas MarvoloRiddle especially one who does not want anything to do with him."
"I'm almost surprised that you still want anything to do with himyourself." Sirius murmured, absorbing Nott's strikingly honest confession.
Nott harrumphed. "I know your Grandfather taught you to take responsibilityfor the decisions you make. I made my decision and I will live with the
consequences of it. Tom was once a very charismatic and powerful wizardand I was once young and foolish and swayed to his side with promises of
something new and revolutionary. At the time he made me feel excited for thefuture, and not foolish at all but proud and powerful to be accepted to standby his side." He raised his cup. "I'm certain the Heirs of the Potter alliancemight have felt something similar when they decided to rashly declare their
fealty to your son." Sirius shot him a ferocious look. "I think there's rather a substantial differencemyself."
"Your son has a very different vision for our world, and given the power at hisdisposal, one hopes a very different nature." Nott agreed calmly. He allowedasmall smirk at Sirius's questioning glance. "He called the family magic of theentire Potter alliance," he raised a hand when Sirius went to deny it, "andplease do not insult my intelligence. No alliance could have coordinatedsoperfectly; he did it alone." He rearranged his robes. "You didn't really think that
it was our détente alone that brought Wilkes and Selwyn to your door? That
prompts Gibbon and Adams to approach you now?" No, he hadn't but it was disconcerting to realise the other Ancient and NobleHouses might know of Harry's affinity for family magic; his skin crawledwithunease.
"We've drifted from the point." Sirius said evenly.
"Yes, we have." Nott murmured. His dark gaze met Sirius's once again. "Isit so
hard to accept that you are not the only father who wants his son safe, Sirius?" Sirius inwardly sighed and stuffed the remaining Battenberg in his mouthwhile he considered his answer. He set the plate aside and swallowed thelast
of his coffee. "As the Regent of the House of Potter, I'll accept the serviceof
the Heir to the House of Nott for one year to actively begin at his graduationfrom Hogwarts. Until that time he will be considered to be in service to theHouse and will need to take an oath of loyalty as soon as it is possible for it tobe arranged."