AN: Today is Sufficient Velocities ten year anniversary and while I couldn't give you an exact date it's the closest mile mark I have to my first terrible attempt at writing. So, I am very pleased to celebrate both with all of you.
Thanks, as always, go to my beta Functionality.
No Harry perspective this time, honestly Taylor and Dumbledore talking at and past one another made for a nearly 5k word update all on its own. I'll have to see about giving Harry his own chapter next… maybe… I really do not want to rewrite the entire magical shopping trip, but it will be Hermione and Ron's best chance to drag details out of Harry without Taylor listening in.
{}{}{}{} Taylor
Harry and his friends might just consider me mad for it, but I was genuinely glad to be traipsing through a lethal forest in search of man eating spiders. Especially because the alternative was spending the day in Mrs. Weasley's company. Something I wanted no part in. Especially considering she'd only just learned Harry and I broke our tether. A magical shopping district full of people ready to judge me, in the company of someone ready to shout at me about, that. No, hell no. I'd owe Harry and the rest one for putting up with her maybe, but I was not going to deal with that myself. And if the harridan had any respect for Harry whatsoever she would keep her mouth shut about it in public at the very least.
The forest wasn't even that bad. Yes, it was a bit overgrown in places and the foliage kept things from being bright even now at midday. But there were plenty of clear paths to follow through the woods, no doubt the result of large wildlife moving about. There were plenty of mundane and magical insects I wasn't overly familiar with as well but so far, no giant spiders.
"So, Professor, don't take this the wrong way, but Harry and I couldn't help but notice your absence from headquarters."
I wasn't sure why Dumbledore decided to be my chaperone for this little adventure after avoiding us for the better part of a month, but I wasn't about to waste the opportunity. The fact that we were alone together might have been more concerning… Except I was tracking his wand, staying on his non dominant side, and openly carrying a pistol. Never mind the absurd number of insects I had following us discreetly.
The headmaster's answering chuckle was perhaps a tad weaker than he intended to project.
"Ahh, well, there are quite a few demands on my time these days and between William and Alastor hounding me… well we have made progress. Even if I'd not intended to include them in my plans." Dumbledore answered.
It was a mild rebuke. Even still.
"If you trust them to fight at your side, you should trust at least some of them with the full extent of the situation." I shrugged. "We didn't have mind readers or truth potions back home, but a strong Thinker could pull information out of people almost as easily. I get that there are risks, but this is too important to sit on. What if you die? What if you told only Harry and he died too? This isn't something to tell just anyone, but people need to know. If only so someone can get out and warn the rest of the world if we fail."
"Oh, so certain are you, after only knowing about our world for a less than two months?" Dumbledore raised one white eyebrow in challenge.
"Are you going to say I'm wrong?" I stepped around a tree without looking at the man.
For a time neither of us spoke and the only sound was the crunching of old dead leaves.
"Perhaps not. But this knowledge is a risk, and a burden."
I side eyed the professor for a moment. We were never going to agree on this and if he wanted the last word, well there are other things to talk about. Like the topic I was originally aiming for.
"Harry is very interested in starting lessons with you. Considering what he's survived and how he talks, he seems pretty good at combat magic. But he's very excited to see what you can teach him." I said.
"Hmm." Dumbledore's answering hum was worryingly noncommittal.
"You are planning to teach him combat magic, aren't you? Or at least practical lessons on how to apply what he already knows." I demanded.
"That is one possible avenue of study, yes. But more important will be lessons about Voldemort himself. To succeed Harry must know his enemy." Dumbledore demurred.
"And what about all of the Lich's followers we'll no doubt have to fight? I know the whole 'know your enemy' bit, but he's already failed to kill Harry in a duel once. We might need to fight through his followers to get to him this time."
Dumbledore shook his head.
"You prove my point. After such a failure Tom's pride was surely stung. He must prove his power by killing Harry personally."
I considered that for a moment before rejecting it.
"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean it will be a fair duel. Last time Harry was tired and injured before they fought. He might insist on killing Harry personally, but I doubt he'll complain if his followers soften Harry up first. And that's assuming we don't run into each other in an active battle, or that we don't try to raid wherever the Lich is holed up. Harry's good in a fight. He needs to be phenomenal."
"...Perhaps, but with a prophecy in play Lord Voldemort will not trust anything to chance he will be certain to handle Harry personally."
"Don't think like that." I shot back coldly. "We had a prophet back home. Gave predictions in percentages of how likely an outcome would be. But sometimes the long odds win, and sometimes the prediction can be correct, but it plays out in a way no one saw coming. You can't just bet on that. You have to be prepared for things to go to hell. Maybe the Lich wants it handled face to face, but that doesn't mean other people won't take shots at Harry, or that Harry won't throw himself into a fight."
Dumbledore eyed me wearily.
"Is that why you are so carefully armed even in my presence, my dear? Being prepared for things to go to hell?" He asked, glancing down at my gun then back to my face.
"This is mostly because I don't know everything in this forest and I don't know how the spiders will react to my power." I shrugged, ignoring the endearment. "But yes, even or maybe especially in your presence I want to be ready. I don't know you, and after the stories Harry has told me, I don't fully trust you either."
Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in a way that had to be some sort of cosmetic magic.
"And yet you chose to walk through a deadly forest with me?" He asked curiously.
At that moment the first spider, about the size of a pony, fell under my control without resistance. Well, that answered one question. And at least we were heading in the right direction.
"Harry insists you wouldn't try anything drastic against me." I answered neutrally.
"And you trust Harry in this?" He pushed
"I trust him to notice if you tamper with my emotions or mind. Considering who you chose to allow to repeatedly batter his way into Harry's mind last year… I consider my concerns to be justified."
"Ahh, and I suppose telling you it was the only option would do nothing to assuage those doubts?" Dumbledore asked.
"Considering you didn't give him any other option and you both neglected to give him any kind of instruction beyond "clear your mind" and practical experience… No. I'm sure you could spin me a very pretty story with reasons that sound entirely plausible. But those would all be excuses, and it still wouldn't excuse ordering Harry to allow someone he considers an enemy access to his mind."
"Professor Snape has my complete faith and trust." Dumbledore defended firmly.
"But not Harry's, or mine, or very many others from the sound of things. And it was Harry's mind he was violating, not yours." I snapped back. How could this man not understand the distinction and how wrong that whole mess was.
We walked in silence for a bit. More and more spiders fell under my control as we progressed closer to the nest.
"I suppose you want to know why I trust him then? If so, you will be disappointed. I won't betray Severus's trust like that to assuage your doubts." Dumbledore didn't snap at me, but there was a certain steel in his voice and in his eyes.
I shook my head. I hadn't asked, and frankly I doubted anything he could say would change my mind anyway.
"But you'll ask everyone else to trust him on your word alone? And you wonder why I won't trust either of you?" I scoffed.
"Then perhaps I should be more blunt, my dear. Do you intend to work at cross purposes with the Order?"
I took my time to think that one through.
"If the Order's purpose is to stop the Lich and his followers? Then no, those are my immediate goals." Restructuring the government in the aftermath was a secondary goal and more than a bit beyond me at the moment.
"And how do you intend to go about achieving those goals?"
I stopped walking and turned to face Dumbledore. We were in range of the nest now. It was impressive, underground warrens where the smallest of them hid and great lengths of silk hanging absolutely everywhere above ground. The small ones didn't seem to have any kind of complex thoughts, but the larger ones… oh this was going to be an entirely new moral dilemma for me, wasn't it? I set the ones small enough to use for weaving, marching in my direction and fought down the fact that this was essentially mass kidnapping from the spider's perspective. Sapient or not, Harry and Ron were very clear that the spiders were willing man eaters only held in check by their patriarch's respect for Hagrid. They were entirely too close to school children for anyone's peace of mind.
"Frankly Headmaster, I think that should be my question. Harry was advocating for what I would recommend at the last meeting, though I would push for grabbing more than five Death Eaters in the first rush if at all possible. What I can't figure out is your intentions. You have people out gathering information, but as near as I can tell you aren't acting on any of it. You don't want to talk about the fact Harry is going to need to fight Death Eaters. You're sidestepping the question about getting him combat training. Most of your people are not in fighting shape… what exactly are you planning?" I demanded.
"Hmm, and tell me, Mrs. Potter, why would I explain my plans to a young woman who seems so very opposed to working with myself and the Order?" He asked archly.
"I can't think of any other way you'll get my trust, for a start." I shrugged. "And because if your track record is anything to go by? You need someone to contradict you, and point out your mistakes. But you're not going to trust me, and I get that. All I can really promise is that I'll give you a chance to prove yourself. If you don't?" I shrugged again. "I'll act using my best judgment and the information available."
"Ahh blackmail then. Tell you everything or you may act on your own to my detriment?" He smiled faintly as if the prospect amused him.
"No, not blackmail. An honest warning." I stressed the difference. "And frankly, if you tell me your plans and Harry and I don't like them? I'm likely to act on my own or with Harry anyway. I've been sitting back to learn about magic, and because I'm hoping these spiders will let me remake my costume, and most of all because I don't have targets or easy transportation. Given targets and a new costume? Transport is still going to be slow, but I can't see any reason to delay for much longer."
Dumbledore hummed noncommittally. I shrugged and set down the expanded box I'd brought along as the first of the spiders reached us.
Had he really volunteered for this just as an excuse to feel me out?
"Tell me Mrs. Potter, what are your plans for the school year?" Dumbledore asked mildly.
Ah… now wasn't that a nasty question full of implications. I delayed awhile, simply watching the line of spiders disappear into the expanded box.
"I suppose if I have nothing else to do with my time, I could always stake out Knockturn Alley. It's supposed to be a rough area. Sooner or later a known Death Eater is bound to come through on an errand. I should be able to get away with a couple disappearances before anyone catches on. With a bit of truth potion, or creative application of insects, I could work my way up the chain from there. Or, I suppose I could follow Harry to Hogwarts. Going by his stories he needs someone to watch his back there, you and your staff certainly haven't."
I'd hoped Winslow's staff would be an anomaly, but Hogwarts Professors were largely on par with my expectations.
Still, I wanted Harry watching my back too. I could probably trust Moody. He wanted to fight even more than I did. I was less certain about the rest of the Order. With the Dementors out of play I could disappear into a crowd and take care of myself, magical world or mundane. But there was still only so much I could do operating on my own when the enemy is spread across all of Britain.
I also wasn't in a hurry to spend most of the year on my own with no one to talk to. There would be leads in Hogwarts. Someone in the school would be reporting back to the Lich. That person, or more likely persons, might be a threat to the rest of the students, a lot of those kids wouldn't even be teens. If there was going to be a threat in the school I wanted it locked down before anyone got hurt. The staff certainly were not up to the task of safeguarding children.
None of which might even matter. Dumbledore could block my access to his school, or kick me out at any time. But now he had to decide. Did he prefer me running around on my own, or in his school where he could theoretically keep an eye on me? Or would he find both options too distasteful. He could offer to actually include me in what the Order was doing, if they were doing anything worthwhile, I might actually go for that. Or he could choose to do something stupid. Probably not right this second, he had to assume, correctly, that I had him surrounded now. But later? If he picked his moment carefully… No, I wouldn't be letting my guard down until I was safely back at Headquarters with Harry.
Dumbledore hummed thoughtfully.
"Tell me Mrs. Potter, is your offer of silk clothes as a safety measure against shrapnel still something you are willing to do for the Order?"
Huh… was he going to try to pin me down by turning me into the Order's personal armorer?
"I don't see why not. Anything that gives people a better chance of surviving a fight is worth pursuing." Like potions and guns and whatever else I could find to add to my bag of tricks.
"Hmm, and you have no trouble controlling the Acromantula?"
"No, not sure how I feel about controlling sapient beings, but Harry and Ron were very clear that they are unrepentant man eaters, so I'll get over it. They're as easy to control as any other bug."
Dumbledore looked at me in surprise for a moment before schooling his features back to neutrality.
"Then I believe the place you could do the most good, Mrs. Potter, is here at Hogwarts. The patriarch of this colony has kept his many children away from Hogwarts out of respect for Hagrid, but that particular spider is old, and his health is failing. Should he die… In spite of Hagrid's opinion, I must admit there is a good chance they would attack the castle, or at least skulk around the edges of the wards in the hope that they can abduct a few unwary students from the grounds."
Damn the man, he had me. It probably meant he was more concerned about what damage I might be able to cause out on my own or influencing his Order. But the spider in question was inside my range. I could feel it, and it was absolutely on its way out, though I didn't dare to guess how long it might take to die. And damn him, but it also lined up with what I wanted to do.
"I will of course insist that you not attack any of my students during your stay." Dumbledore added seriously.
"I will defend myself." I returned sharply. "I've heard what your school is like, professor and if any of your students think it might be amusing to curse the non magical in the back they'll be in for a painful surprise. From what I hear, almost a quarter of your students won't understand that until they've had their noses broken. And even then, the lesson might not stick."
If I was going back to high school I was not playing bully bait. If anyone thought I'd let them? I was going to make examples out of people. I had pepper spray and police batons the jokers might enjoy, and if anyone tried to escalate to lethal force? I was going to be ready.
"I assure you our staff are more than capable of handling trouble makers without any… vigilante justice."
I took one slow deep breath. This wasn't going to work. I needed to be direct, and explicit. Like talking to Bitch, only I didn't need to pare things down to save on words.
"The last time I set foot in a school someone I saved betrayed me to my enemies, who attacked me out of costume breaking all conventions and rules of conduct. I had to stage a nonviolent revolt to get out." I looked Dumbledore dead in the eyes. "Before that a group of girls nearly killed me with a 'prank'. No one was punished and the administration buried all of it."
Dumbledore looked genuinely uneasy as his fingers fidgeted on his wand.
"Harry has told me about your trusted professor Snape. About how he insults and belittles his students. About how he turns a blind eye to the insults and attacks his house makes on other houses. Harry told me about how his own head of house, your deputy headmistress, told him there was nothing she could do about Umbridge torturing him under the guise of detention. Your divination professor who stinks of alcohol and never leaves her tower, your history professor who doesn't even notice students sleeping through his lessons. But oh yes, I'm sure seven, sorry librarian, nurse, Filch, and you. Eleven adults busy with grading assignments, and their other duties manage to keep a careful eye on hundreds of students spread out across an entire castle, and the surrounding grounds. That bullying never happens, and fights can't possibly break out."
Dumbledore tellingly said nothing.
"I can promise not to kill them unless they cast something intentionally lethal or the imperius curse. I can lead off with pepper spray and a baton. But if you expect me to go unarmed when every last one of them is carrying a versatile and lethal weapon? I'm telling you now, the answer is no."
"Your swarm-" he started to speak.
"Is far more traumatizing, and won't be much of an advantage come winter." I cut him off mercilessly.
Though if some of the magical breeds proved more resilient… but if they didn't I was going to fortify and insulate some room and make it a massive hive ecosystem. Unless he decided I wasn't welcome in the school, in which case I'd hunker down in headquarters.
"I was going to say," Dumbledore's tone became frigid, "your swarm acts as a warning system. Do they not? Surely my students are not such a grave threat?"
I eyed him carefully for a moment.
"My swarm is excellent at seeing threats coming, but it is heavily reliant on having a lot of insects and recognizing the threat before it happens. Winter may make that extremely difficult. And let's say one of your students tries to kill me, and fails because I saw it through my swarm and dodged. That spell could go on to hit someone else. And even if it doesn't, I don't see how that would change the reality of one of your students attempting to murder me. Actions like that have consequences. Or at least they are supposed to. And if you are so certain that your students wouldn't go so far, or that your teachers could prevent it, why even worry about the possibility?"
"Someone so willing to commit lethal violence around a crowd of bored school children? How can I know that you won't interpret a harmless prank as a lethal attack? How can I be assured that you won't kill one of my students over a misunderstanding?" The twinkle was gone from his eyes now and his voice was flat.
"So you are expecting me to be attacked at some point? If you're so worried about this then let me go after the real threats. With a couple of your Order members and some careful planning I could do a lot for the war effort outside the castle."
I kept my face and voice neutral, but I was already getting sick of this debate. Age and teenage stupidity did not preclude someone from being a lethal threat. If they did, he wouldn't be so concerned about me killing someone.
"… Tell me, Mrs. Potter, you are so eager to join this fight, but how do you plan to deal with the possibility of facing an imperiused enemy?"
I took a moment to digest that. Old man just had to pivot when I expected him to dig his feet in for a fight. Was he still trying to get a feel for my ideals and motivations? Or was this an attempt to make me flinch at the idea of combat and make me more willing to cave to his opinions on lethal force?
"We have similar powers back home. Responses vary depending on the power and the situation. In one case right before I left there was a man, a cultist, rapist and murderer, who could order anyone he could see and they would do whatever he told them. I destroyed his eyes to stop him. The worst example was the being that bastard worships, the Simurgh. A monster that spends most of its time in orbit, but descends once or twice a year to sing. We can't kill her. We've tried, but nothing has worked so far. The point though, is that anyone who listens to her song long enough becomes her weapon. They might immediately try to murder their family, or they could stay dormant for years before detonating a bomb in the middle of a crowd. But they belong to her, and they are a lethal threat to the rest of the world. It can affect most of a city all at once."
Dumbledore's politician facade cracked.
"If you show up to fight her, they strap a bomb to your neck and tell you you're on a time limit. You stay in her range for too long, they blow it. If they don't manage to drive her off quickly enough? They declare the city lost, build a wall around it, and staff the wall with military and capes to kill anyone that tries to leave."
I took a moment to shut the box as the last spider climbed inside.
"Victims of human masters are to be pitied and saved if possible. But if they can't be saved? If you can't find and eliminate the one controlling them, if it's a fight and you can't pick out who is guilty and who is a victim? You have to prioritize yourself, and saving as many people as possible. Take comfort in the fact that you ended their suffering, and that the victim wouldn't have wanted to be used as a murder weapon."
I shrugged.
"No one likes it. But reality doesn't care about what we like."
"That is… an incredibly dark way of viewing the subject." Dumbledore responded carefully.
I sighed. This man just did not get it.
"You'd rather leave a mother with the memory of gleefully strangling her own children? When the alternative is to save those children? Who do you think a mother would tell you to prioritize in that situation? Or maybe you'd like to see the kind of slaughter someone with my abilities can accomplish if I was forced to attack everyone in my range, and then keep moving to find more people? Do you think I would enjoy knowing hundreds or thousands died before someone did what was necessary? If it came to that I wouldn't blame the person who took me out."
Dumbledore startled at that, but I pushed on.
"Yes, you go for the Master first if you can. Restrain the victim if you can, but if you can't…. Make it as quick and clean as possible, but don't second guess."
I looked him dead in the eye. I was sick of this beating around the bush nonsense. I'd ordered around grown adults to get my territory in order. I'd stood on equal footing with Accord and the Butcher in a neutral meeting. I'd looked seasoned heroes in the eye and made them back down. And here was one ancient politician feeling me out and trying to figure out how best to use me as if I was a half feral dog.
"Just because your magic is more versatile doesn't mean Parahumans can't be just as horrific, or worse. In my short career I've fought some of the worst in my world. People counted on me for food and clean water. To protect them from murderers, gangs, and monsters. Now I'm here, playing nice with you because I don't know enough about magic, or the people, or the politics. But for all the differences I'm still drowning in similarities."
Dumbledore said nothing, but eyed me cautiously, so I continued.
"You can bar me from the school. Harry and I aren't bound at the hip anymore after all. You can order your people not to work with me if you don't like my mentality or methods. But if you want me to stay out of this your only options are going to be extreme. I won't let you tamper with my mind or confine me without a fight." I added just a touch of the swarm voice to reinforce my refusal.
And if it came to a fight now? I had several horse sized spiders waiting to tip things in my favor.
"…Mrs. Potter, you are a remarkably confrontational young woman." Dumbledore mused, running his withered hand through his beard. "What exactly would you consider an offensive worthy of lethal force from my students, or anyone else for that matter?"
"Any of the so-called unforgivable curses." I responded instantly. "Things like blasting, cutting, or piercing hexes. Creative applications of what should be harmless magic; a tripping jinx on a moving staircase, for example, could be incredibly lethal."
I hesitated for a second.
"Love potions would be borderline for me. With our marriage vows those could kill Harry or I if things go too far. And I take a very dim view of rapists, but it's also not exactly a fight. And it could be a little tricky to track down the culprit. Same for poisons I suppose. I would want justice, but I would be concerned about possibly getting the wrong person."
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully.
"If you will give me your word that you will restrain yourself to nonlethal responses, with an exception made for an outright battle breaking out in the halls… then I would like to set up a room in Hogwarts for your weaving."
I tapped the butt of my pistol against the side of my leg. Really, it was reasonable. The idea of holding back when everyone could be bargain bin Eidolon made me nervous. But from his point of view…
"Fine. But if I'm attacked, don't get angry with me for swarming idiots. It's safer for everyone, but no one just shrugs off the memory of getting buried in insects. I won't have people thinking I'm an easy target." I shook my head. Going for a lethal response second cost me little if the enemy was too busy batting doxies and pixies away from delicate eyes to aim properly. And I'd have a gun on hand if I absolutely needed it. The Lich likely knew I could do something like that already thanks to my display against Snape I'd just have to keep the numbers down.
Dumbledore's whiskers twitched in what I thought might have been a fleeting smile.
"Then, my dear, I do believe my continued discomfort with your muggle weaponry, and your displeasure with restraint, means we have reached a compromise. I'm sure Harry will be pleased to know you are joining him at Hogwarts this year."
He would, wouldn't he. Funny, despite the rocky start… but given what he had told me about wanting a family and how he felt about his friends. Well, it wasn't like I had room to talk; it hadn't taken long for me to get attached to the Undersiders either. And despite everything, I did trust Harry. Getting forced away from yet another friend would have sucked.
