Chương 123: Ch.8
Dumbledore sighed. "He needs a want to study for his classes."
I grunted and took my wand out before snapping it in front of them, shocking each of them by my resolve. I told him coldly. "I'll contact my father for him to inform the O.w.l and N.E.W.T examiners about my special condition. I won't let a wand hold me back in becoming all I can be."
Dumbledore clearly disapproved but Snape was looking at me with interest. Perenelle smiled approvingly. "You'll learn by practice far quicker now as your reflexes and thoughts will reinforce your will and make your spells far stronger, a wise choice Mr.Greengrass."
She left in a light jog that reminded everyone of her advanced age as the pace of her jog could be matched by a first year student's walk. She looked rather fragile like she was now and totally the opposite of the strong woman I knew she was.
I groaned and shifted a few more times uncontrollably before the headmaster left, leaving Snape and Madam Pomfrey. Snape looked me over and sighed. "Come see me when you're released from the hospital wing."
I groaned in response as I shifted a few more times before he left and I ended up looking solely like Madam Pomfrey which while it was unusual wasn't hard for my advanced mind to grasp.
I'd spent a thousand years as pure energy so being a temporary old woman wasn't a struggle. Hell, I'd lived in a star for longer than I truly understood at the time, having my body burnt to near destruction and repairing over and over again. This was truly no hardship.
I wasn't allowed visitors as proximity seemed to trigger a forced shift while without anyone nearby, my body shifted just parts like my nose, hair color and eye color. Even Madam Pomfrey kept her distance unless it was necessary.
For three days it went on until finally the compression was finished and I had a core the size of a marble with the magic in a liquid like form, fully filling up my core. With a thought, I emptied it all into my inner realm except for what the now one hundred and ninety odd house elves needed to take.
What helped even more was that Hogwarts was on a lay line convergence and a mightily powerful one at that. Even still when my core emptied it only grew little barely noticeable bit. I clearly had to find another way now to increase my core's capacity.
When I was all better, Madam Pomfrey noted my eyes seemed to have settled on the color green instead of their usual pale blue that was a family trait. She updated her student file on me and I asked her. "Is there a class on healing I can take in my third year?"
She shook her head. "Healing is a very serious art and while we used to offer basic starter courses on it for those in the fifth year, it was dropped because of the serious requirements to become a healer. You'd need a NEWT in potions, DADA, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration and a very in depth understanding of the human body. I myself had to work six years for my masters and I was considered a true prodigy."
I nodded. "Perhaps, but I can and am willing to learn. If I get the O.W.L.'s required to take those N.E.W.T classes will you consider me as at least a part time student? I could make healing droughts and assist with the patients to lighten your workload and all you'll have to do is explain the process and occasionally demonstrate the spells needed."
She frowned before sighing. "If you get the OWL's required and your still interested at that time I'll talk to professor Dumbledore about taking you on as an apprentice but we'll be doing it properly. That means books and study materials will be required so you'll have to buy them yourself."
I nodded readily and she smiled lightly. "Very well, off with you now."
I was out of there before she could say Episkey. I headed to the Ravenclaw common room first before heading to the dungeon. There I found Snape just about to sneak up on the first years like he'd done us. I didn't interfere but instead morphed into Professor McGonagall and when he spooked them, I coughed and said. "I'd that really necessary?"
He looked to me before sneering and telling the students to meet him inside. I morphed back into myself and pretended to be just arriving. When he turned and only saw me coming towards him he knew it was me all along but didn't press as he clearly had other things on his mind.
He grunted. "Mr.Greengrass, I take it you've been cleared by the school nurse?"
I nodded and shivered inside. "I doubt I have the guts to sneak out of her infirmary without her say so. Something tells me the results would not be.. pleasant."
He nodded slowly before saying. "Wait for me in my office, I'd like a word after I've instructed the new students on the finer points of potions."
I nodded solemnly without a show of emotions. Turning, I headed into his office to await whatever he needed to say. I looked around and poked a bit but nothing really stood out except a cauldron of what appeared to be the starting s of skelegrow. A potion meant to regrow bones to replace the old ones when they've been banished by a healer because of the severity of the damage.
I wrote a few notes next to his own on how to increase it's effectiveness and give sturdier bones faster instead of needing to wait twenty four hours to regrow a larger bone. It would regrow in about six hours with my modifications if he followed them.
I also noted a faster preparation sequence to get a perfected potion in a day instead of the three it took to brew the potion. With a slight margin for error of course. I added a suggestion to see a book in the restricted section of the library called Timeless Potions For Those Without Time.
It held a stasis spell that would be perfect all but the draught of the living death. It would last a century but it could be reapplied if you're paying attention to when the potions stasis expires.
Truly a lot of knowledge was hidden within these walls yet everyone seemed content to walk on by with a simple NEWT in each subject when the magic at their finger tips would improve the world around them even by today's standards.
I may have had to much time on my hands because I couldn't help myself in writing a quick list of possible substitutes for each of the ingredients involved and cheaper variations along with the process needed to go about changing the structure of the potion.
By the time he arrived I'd written nearly a full stack of papers and only stopped because I heard the door close. I looked up and he raised an eyebrow. "Don't let me stop you. If inspiration has struck then by all means get it out."
I finished the last two pages before setting down the quill while he read the first few pages I'd slid to the side as I finished. When he set the papers down he asked. "How much of your course studies have you finished? To be able to do this it would require at the very least a mastery of the subject."
I sighed, knowing I was caught. "I started studying at the age of five when I showed my prowess and my father insisted I learn everything available by market standards. I've completed the course books and I've read through most of the library. As for spells, I've master using most while not all are silent yet though if Professor Flamel is right that will come soon enough. As for potions and Herbology all I need is practical and even then I've a deeper understanding than my mother whose a potions master like yourself as I'm sure you're aware."
He nodded slowly before saying. "Are you Old Ben?"
I winced internally before realizing it was also external as well as his smile confirmed. Sighing I nodded. "I saw the coarse books and how the students were going about it and decided to write a simple instruction manual at first but it just took off from there the night I wrote it and by morning it was a book. So I sent it to my father to publish hoping it would become a wider practice or at least reach the students here."
He nodded with a smile that while it fit his mood, it still looked uncomfortable. "I'd like to offer you the position as my assistant for the duration of your stay in this school. As for your regular grades, I'll mark you as proficient and full marks but you'll still have to prove to me you can brew the potions. As for your class time, you may use it for self study. Your job will be to assist me with potions whenever I require and to help grade papers before the end of each week. You'll be required to spend time out of class and at night helping me with potions depending on what I'm brewing at the time."
I agreed readily. "On two conditions."
He raised an eyebrow and I smiled genuinely. "I want to know how much the others suspect. I can't become too busy running errands as I've my own studies and things I wish to accomplish after all."
He nodded. "That's acceptable. They suspect as I did before I caught you writing what appears to a revolutionary change for the way this potion made."
I sighed in relief, if they only suspected then I could dissuade them of the notion as I had no plans to grade everyone's papers. "Alright, my second condition is that you allow me a pass to move around the castle at night, whether I'm working for you at the time or not. You can give the excuse to Filchand and the prefects that I was serving detention for not doing class and homework for all I care, but I need some time for my own projects and I suspect my days are about to be filled with work."
He narrowed his eyes before saying. "No pranks are to be done or played during that time. As for Filch, you'll have to get around him on your own as I can only excuse you so many times but if necessary I can claim your innocence a few times. As for the prefects, consider it done."
I nodded. "Deal, though I'll need today off and tonight as an exception for the pranks because I've an idea for getting around him but it requires a distraction on say, the seventh floor."
He raised an eyebrow understanding what I was getting at. "Just make sure no student is injured in your distraction."
I nodded. "I'll see you tomorrow professor and it was a pleasure doing business with you."
He sneered it I didn't take it to heart as he was reading my papers by the time I closed the door. I walked through the classroom of first years making a cure for boils. When I saw one Hufflepuff adding the wrong ingredient in at the moment, I waved my hand as a small explosion blew him on his ass while a protego shield stopped the cauldron from overflowing with boil creating potion.
Unfortunately the student had gotten it on him but the class wasn't screaming in pain like he was as I vanished the contents of the cauldron. Professor Snape came out and demanded. "What happened?"
I raised an eyebrow before sighing. "Gregory here added porcupine quills directly over the bubbertuber essence and it backfired. I shielded the cauldron in time and vanished the contents but it blew up in his face before I could react in time."
I pulled out a modified cure for boils and handed it to his class mate. "Spread this on his boils evenly and help him get to madam Pomfrey."
I waved a hand and lit up the path in a simple coloring charm. "Fall the yellow brick road."
His classmate and fellow puff helped him up whole Snape looked on with approval before barking at the rest of the class to pay more attention to the instructions on the board. I turned to the kid's potion that had left.
With a few changes to the ingredients and five minutes, I finished the potion and set it in a phial on the table telling Snape. "He helped a friend in need and was in such a hurry to help that I can't have him failing for my instructions."
He sneered. "You're too soft on them."
I shrugged. "Perhaps, but then, maybe you're not soft enough on them. Your pretty intimidating for them and especially the Hufflepuff's. They're a naturally nervous lot and with a simple look you seem to have them stumbling over themselves."
He raised an eyebrow. "Not another bleeding heart."
I shook my head. "I just think we have different methods. If they think you're going to snap at them all the time they become skittish and that's no fun. A good surprise is far more effective or if you've a particularly annoying student, a demonstration. After all the students all have pets that potions effect. They can either cure them or get a new pet."
He seemed enlightened by my words as I turned and headed to my new laboratory on the seventh floor. I was exempt from class for the rest of the day anyway so I had plans to go over and a peeves to find. Luckily he was in the grand staircase scaring newbies.
When he scarred the last of the students away, I clapped. "Nice going for a basic scare. What you need is a game changer. Walk with me my friend."
I headed to the seventh floor and he followed while I told him. "There's a map in Filch's office that looks like some folded up parchment. With it we can evade even the teachers so long as we prepare. So, what do you say Peeves my boy, care to distract the old goat and his cat tonight while I snatch our future chaos on a platter?"
He cackled with glee. "Peeveses at your command!"
He saluted me and I told him the game plan being the suits of armor and a certain nest of pixies being unleashed in it to cause chaos. He grinned then asked. "What's my parts?"
I chuckled. "That's the thing peeves. You're going to get them to chase you around the school while they're stuck inside the suit of armor. Imagine, yelling kids, a great many things breaking and all the chaos when the suit falls apart to reveal the swarm. And through all of it you'll be an innocent bystander that heard buzzing in the suit and went to investigate in case a poor student was being bullied."
He cackled with insane glee as he knew if he played it right not even the bloody baron could punish him. We waited until night and I snuck out with him at the lookout. When the coast was clear I enchanted the suit of armor to stay together before loading it up with angry pixies.
I used a silencing charm on the suit of armor and filled it to the brim. I then disillusioned myself and gave the pixies a basic understanding of war to do with telepathy. Once I gave the signal they were off to the races with peeves caterwauling.
I was as quick as lighting moving down the staircase while Peeves had the pixies running into everything that wasn't nailed down. It took five minutes to arrive at Filche's office and by that time he was racing to Peeves with his snitch of a cat.
I slipped into his office and summoned the marauders map with one hand while smiling and summoning all the non dark prank items to me. An entire chest full of them came flying at me so I emptied half of it before putting it back and leaving undetected.
I went around the chaos that ensued as I'd confounded the pixies to think the portraits were students and the students were walls. I stopped at the top of the stairs to view my and Peeves's handy work. Damned if students weren't running and screaming everywhere confusing the pixies more.
They'd thrown half the pictures off the walls and were gnawing on a few while swinging from the rafters. Peeves did his damndest to look innocent and when he told them the story they believed him as he'd been almost decent for himself since the beginning of the school year.
Dumbledore spoke up. "Perhaps they're leftovers from the previous nest. We shall need to make certain there isn't another nest in the school where students can just walk into them. Thank you peeves for doing something constructive."
Peeves saluted him before blowing a raspberry and swooping away. I passed several old classrooms and deposited a couple dozen here and there before ginning and heading back down to Filch's office and dropping a thousand in the chest I'd gotten the pranks from along with several eggs in his desk drawer and almost a starting hive hidden under the mountain of papers and confiscated things he kept there.
I then went through the dungeons and headed back up to the seventh floor with a secret passage on the map. Once I was safely back in the room of requirement, Peeves found me. He cackled and I smiled. "The best prank is when they don't know it's one. Now feast your eyes on this my friend. I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."
The map unfolded for me once more and I laid it across the desk. His maniacal laughter was only made louder when I showed him the prank toys I'd taken including several dozen packs of water balloons with magical tie-dying solutions on them.
Thus began his reign of chaos as whenever we were together I would give him a list of pranks to pull. From that day on, Peeves was never the same. I on the other hand began a month long incursion with the teachers as they tried forcing me to reveal my hidden skills.
No matter the problem though I wouldn't bite. I ended up in the hospital wing a few times because of things just appearing above my head or in my path they expected me to vanish or transfigure. Herbology got a lot harder for me as Professor sprout constantly asked me questions no second year should know.
Charms, well, charms was fun. I was almost careless a few times there and it wasn't until the last week in that Flitwick caught me and it wasn't even by his design. A rouge bludger came flying at him from behind and I grabbed a branch without, transfiguring it into a bat and beating it away in the nick of time, only for him to have already turned around with his dueling reflexes and his wand at the ready.
I had to admit to knowing some higher level transfiguration and we got to talking on dueling practices and my reflexes being perfect for dueling purposes. I admired to being taught a bit by Tina, the DADA teacher when in fact she'd been teaching me every chance we got in the room of requirement when I wasn't in the hospital wing, with Snape, grading papers, repairing objects from the room of requirements or planning chaos with Peeves.
Needless to say I had a very busy schedule. He stood in for one lesson and was surprised to even learn about the room of requirement. He actually planned a few classes in there now that he knew about it. He was kind enough to lay off with the paperwork and offered to help my dueling and charms to improve.
Doing things wandless all the time and even silently was helping my core greatly but what seemed to make the largest difference was the physical training itself I was doing under weight pressure while dodging and fighting wandlessly.
I studied and planned during classes while reading the all the libraries contents with the source book. I planned to finish it by winter break hopefully then I could start my own studies in the room of requirement. As for events around the castle they could be called incredibly tense.
Snape knew I used the pixies before but when he asked me where I got them I simply said I'd found them in an abandoned classroom and pointed the way. He puns a few remaining there and disposed of them while telling me to warn him if I knew of any others so I mentioned a few other classrooms smelled like them and showed him my dog nose.
He'd almost laughed, almost, if he were capable of it I believe he would have. Anyway I showed him the classes but stilled outside the one closest to Filch's office. I pointed the way and told him it was bad.
He found filch drunk at his desk unfortunately for the man and got him out in time as he'd knocked over a stack of objects on his desk, landing on the pile and disturbing the nest. As soon as they were out of the room I slammed the door closed and sealed it with as many spells as I could hold at once while turning the glass temporarily into steel.
He dropped the drunkard and helped me while calling for help. The nest has thrived in Filch's office more than I'd dared to imagine as they'd grown to over a million strong and were tearing it up in there.
I waved a hand and summoned a small sprinkler in filches office and used a electrifying dark object I summoned from the pile. The entire school heard the boom as the dark object exploded into a bolt of lighting and the windows began melting. I grabbed Snape and dived for it just as they exploded.
We landed across Filch as dead pixie parts flew everywhere like rain. I got up and scowled at the drunken man. "You've has a nest of pixies in your office this whole time and you haven't thought to clean the place once?"
The whole school had heard me as they'd shown up to investigate. What was worse was that instead of thanking Snape or myself, he punched me and yelled. "You killed my cat! Mrs. Noris was in there!"
I took the blow and spit out a mouth full of blood while Snape stunned the drunk man and strangely enough his supposedly dead cat came over and sat by him. I gave him a could glare before turning to Snape. "This is the last time I do you a favor like this."
I walked away and as I passed the headmaster I told him coldly. "Have him out by the end of the month and you can avoid a lawsuit. A staff member striking a noble family's heir is more than even you can save him from."
He tried to stop me with a hand and a pleading gaze but I shrugged it off and headed to my common room. And like that the school had become very tense. Dumbledore pleaded with me and tried to reach my better nature but I rebuffed him at every turn until finally Snape had come to me.
He didn't have a sneer on his face now, only a solemn gaze. "The headmaster has asked me to plead his case."
I raised a cold eyebrow. "So you're here to defend a man who'd strike kids?"
He shook his head. "No, I've told him that's a case he cannot win. I'm here to apologize for putting you in that predicament in the first place. I saw the raw talent and the will to see it forged into something great. I failed to see the kid it resides in. I shouldn't have asked you to find the pixies in the first place as that was mine and the rest of the staff's duty."
I sighed. "I don't blame you for asking for my help, I don't actually blame you at all. I was frustrated in the moment because I saw the blow coming and didn't react the way Professor Flitwick and Professor Scamander are teaching me. I should've stunned him or immobilized him with a spell. Hell, he shouldn't have been drunk in a school full of kids."
Snape nodded looking gloomy before patting me on the shoulder and leaving silently. The next time Dumbledore came to ask me to reconsider, I handed him a Greek curse that once brought about the legend of Tantalus. I'd modified it a bit but it would work. "Have him agree to have this placed on him and he can keep his job. Being drunk in a school full of children should never have crossed his mind."
Dumbledore took the curse and looked it over and it was reasonable considering I could have him sent to Azkaban if I pushed it. I wasn't even pissed really, I just wanted a change of pace. He told me he'd see to it and left me alone to continue my work.
I'd taken a free day and had proven to Snape I knew my stuff as I'd brewed the draught of the living death and it's cure simultaneously. After that I'd been grading all the papers for his classes while he made potions and we occasionally talked shop.
A couple days later Dumbledore had convinced Filch to agree and I placed the curse on some parchment before having Filch read it aloud and sign it. "I swear to never imbibe alcohol in any form whilst I'm in Hogwarts or have plans of being in Hogwarts. So more it be? I'm not a wizard, this magic stuff won't work!"
I snorted. "It will if you sign your name, in blood. It's a blood curse contract. If you break the vow or intend to do so then you'll never be able to drink alcohol again. It will forever elude you. As the spell is a curse with no counter."
Filch said a few choice words before realizing he was in front of the whole school. Professor McGonagall reprimanded him and he signed it. The parchment burned up and split into two. The second I took saying. "This will ensure you're honest. If you activate the curse then your life as an alcoholic is over."
The students were solemn and I headed to my seat. Nym asked about what I was up to next and I mentioned Peeves and pranks. All across the school for the next three months various and funny accidents occurred with students ending up as mimes, clowns and simply polkadotted.
They would have a random act of true non-violent randomness from good luck to getting caught in the wrong bathroom with moaning Mertle. Some were even being accosted by paintings as they accused them of being some enemy or other.
Even the fat lady outside the Gryffindor common room has screamed and fled once leaving the entire house outside their common room all night because one kid was painted as a zombie.
Then things went missing and appeared all over the castle getting classes canceled until they found the culprit which was a Slytherin sixth year who'd been pegged with prison colors and was being forced to act like a klepto.
When a seventh year Gryffindor boy had walked into class naked, things escalated and Snape was forced to ask me to calm it down on the pranks only, as I'd informed him, I wasn't involved. Peeves had taken my playbook as it were and all the prank items and had gone to war with the school.
Snape asked me. "How did he get ahold of your prank book? Why do you have a prank book?"
I sighed. "The book was essentially a guide for pranksters and mischief followers I was fighting to further the culture. As for how, well, he took it from my desk when I helped that seventh year keep from setting the room ablaze. I noticed it missing then and found him doing the pranks inside it but he claimed I wasn't using them so he would."
It was a pack of lies mostly as I'd given him the book to pass on when he saw potential pranksters and detailed for him nearly every prank he'd pulled including scaring girls in the mirrors by showing them what they fear the most. A trick I taught him while we filled those balloons.
Peeves is like a gun, it needs someone to fill it with 'bullets' as ideas and aim it properly. So long as you prepare for the recoil there's no real damage done. Truly chaos in a bottle marked harmless fun. I'd let Tonks and Charlie in on it while helping them with their practical works and while they enjoyed the laughs, they were too busy themselves for the planning.
I'd spent nights repairing things and making suitcase portals while planning chaos with him, down to the dirty details. Soon enough winter break rolled around and the school was haggard as they'd all been on the constant lookout as minor truth spells made you spout your feelings to whom you admired and no one was spared, not even myself.
Though I'd fought it off after hugging both my friends and telling them I admired their friendship and willingness to hang out with me. Charlie admired Professor Scamander for her caring and nice behavior to the dragons at the preservation and when he'd turned to me, I stunned him and locked him in a silencing charm and leg locker curse combo till it wore off.
Seeing my way worked they'd turned to violence as I'd hoped and damned if people weren't firing spells at each other left and right out of fright. Even the teachers had been hit a few times as chaos reigned supreme.
Something inside me reveled in it and dare I say it, fed on the chaos. The savages of it as curses got darker and darker until one of the seventh year Slytherin students used the cruciatus curse on a muggleborn boy they'd been picking on.
They'd used the prank magic to do something darker. Even worse still something about it called to the beast in me, wanting to relish in the suffering and kill. I pushed it away for now and threw a powerful bone breaker curse at the trio. Their arms were broken and they'd dropped their wand screaming.
Their cries ironically called the attention of the teachers. When they arrived I was standing over four students, one was a first year who'd been tortured and was unconscious while the three seventh years were crying and holding their arms.
I looked to Dumbledore coldly. "They were taking turns using the cruciatus curse on him. I only arrived when they switched turns and he fell unconscious. I used a bone breaker curse to force them to drop their wands. They took advantage of slapstick humor and fun to cause pain and misery."
I blatantly kicked the loudest one in the temple, knocking him out right then and there in front of them. McGonagall said. "That's detention! They're already disabled!"
I snorted. "Do what you want, but I'll do far worse if I see this again."
I turned and met the eyes of the last two deviants and unleashed a large portion of my killingintent and bloodlust. They both froze in a silent screams as their hair went white from fright. I released them from my gaze as I turned and left.
No one stopped me and only Nym and Charlie followed me out to the lake. There I sat and thought on the reasons behind my craving for chaos. I'd thought I'd been bored at first but now I can't but feel it's something more.
I thought about it for a while and Nym sang a song I'd been singing a few times earlier this week called Something Just Like This.
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