Chapter 28

"Would it not be easier to brew a potion in which the bone and the flesh and blood offering and tears are blended for the ghost to inhabit?" asked Severus, with a frown.

"I am no mean potioneer but I am more familiar with using runes," said Tiberius.

"I would have thought that inscribing the runes round a cauldron would make it easier," Severus argued. "What are you using as flesh?"

"Her mother had a breast cancer scare a few years back," said Tiberius. "I sifted through all the medical records. There was a thing called a biopsy, a barbaric way muggles have of testing flesh by crudely removing some because their diagnostic machines are not so subtle as the revellaspell and specific diagnostic spells. The samples are kept for a while. I had Tilly extract them. Being specific female flesh it is better than anything from her father. She carries enough of his heritance in her bones to make sure her appearance is not altered as the flesh grows onto the bones. Actually using a potion might be surer, but I will need to be very careful as I am not as good a potioneer as I think you will be, my boy."

"Phil is a competent potioneer, and Narcissa told us that Pureblood women pass down healing and other potions that are family secrets," said Severus. Tiberius hid a smile, since the boy had no idea that most of the 'other potions' involved fertility.

"I was thinking of adopting the Evans girls into our house as well as Myrtle so that House Prince carries the blood of Slytherin through them," he said. "I know you already look on them as sisters. And then I will ask Eileen to show them the family secrets."

Severus nodded eagerly.

"They are like sisters to me," he said. "We Marauders are all like siblings."

Tiberius smiled. He had cast runes for his own satisfaction, and he could see that in the future some of the Marauders would be likely to pair up, and he wanted to be able to offer proper betrothal arrangements for his granddaughters elect. The time would come when Riddle would move against the parents of muggleborn and he wanted his Parselmouth protégés to be aware that he would personally protect their parents. It would prevent them from being distracted if they had to milk more venom from Sthass and stand against Death Eaters.

Phil had enlisted the aid of the Grey Lady with regards to upsetting the order of putting a ghost back into a body.

The moment the word 'horcrux' had entered the conversation, the young Ravenclaw had the full attention of his house ghost. Once she understood that the castle guardian had been misused to make a deliberate killing to power such an evil thing, and that young Xenophilus had spoken to the portrait of the Slytherin Founder and learned that the girl's return to life should damage the horcrux she took her not inconsiderable talents at oratory to talk for three straight days to the other castle ghosts to both persuade them to agree and to swear silence outside of the ghostly community and those involved in the ritual. Helena Ravenclaw had few illusions over the concept that Dumbledore would place a ukaze on the ritual if he knew about it. The ghosts were supposed to report the happenings in the school to the headmaster, but they had their own free will, and might make up their own minds.

OoOoOo

Lucius was happy that his apology to Argus Filch had gone better than expected. The ex squib had been wary of him, but Lucius explained glibly that he had let himself be talked into nonsensical ideas by those of his associates who were hoping to be Death Eaters, and had been stupid enough to want to impress the older ones. They ended up drinking tea together, and had found that they agreed on a surprising number of subjects. Lucius admitted that at the time, he would have chosen to be flogged over spending a week in Gryffindor House but that it had been surprisingly informative. He offered Filch friendship as compensation for having behaved so badly, and was pleased that the caretaker accepted it as recompense. A Malfoy could do much for the man; and equally, having knowledge about what was going on in the castle would help Lucius.

It was a pity he had lost his chance with Narcissa Black. Well, there were other pureblood witches, and half blood for that matter, who would, for being of less prominent family, be more grateful for his name and kin.

But not Dolly Umbridge.

Not without more danger pay than she was ever likely to muster for a dowry.

Narcissa found that she was more concerned about Myrtle Warren than she was about her OWLs, which actually meant she was sufficiently relaxed about her exams that she found them quite easy. Melliflua Parkinson had hysterics after charms, when she had shattered her dinner plate into a million pieces and Narcissa had just smiled all the way through and performed all that was asked of her. Equally Niobe Crabbe had burst into tears when her teapot bit the examiner in transfigurations and laid a turd from under the handle. Narcissa kept on smiling.

Meanwhile Tiberius had had the inspiration of asking The Grey Lady about using a potion for the restoration of Myrtle, and found the ghost's pithy suggestions very useful. He prepared carefully, including the careful inscribing of runes of Ingwaz and Berkano and other subsidiary runes around the cauldron. Myrtle was almost bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Mr. Prince," said Petunia, urgently, "I think Sthass should be here. And if he can cry directly into the cauldron it would be better."

"You have a connection with him that I do not; I will not deny him," said Tiberius.

This time Petunia happily went down the tube on her own, and to the amazement of Tiberius, returned riding behind the gigantic head of the snake.

Myrtle squealed and disappeared into a toilet.

"Come out, Myrtle! Sthass is sorry! He thought you were an enemy," said Petunia.

Myrtle emerged, warily. Sthass bowed his great head before her and hissed.

"He said he will help to put right the wrong he has been made to do," translated Petunia.

And trying not to be intimidated by the presence of a basilisk, even one with his deadly eyes hooded, Tiberius brewed, chanting the formula that would add to the power of the potion, adding Myrtle's bones, her mother's flesh and his own blood.

"In, young Myrtle," he said, and the little ghost zipped into the caudron. The basilisk bowed over the steaming liquid and his tears ran freely into the cauldron where they turned the mixture achingly white. There was a squeal, and Myrtle stood up and flung her arms around the big snake's neck.

Ssss I can speak too! Ssss she hissed happily. And then she looked down at herself and gave a horrified squeal. "I don't have anything on and there are boys here!" she yelped.

Narcissa came forward with a robe and Myrtle slithered gratefully into it.

And Sthass bowed once more, and with a farewell hiss, disappeared back down into his lair.

"And now we smuggle you out of the castle to my home," said Tiberius. "And my granddaughter will begin teaching you the proper etiquette for a young lady of a prominent house."

Myrtle pulled a face.

"Why do I have to learn all that?" she asked.

"Myrtle, before you came to school, would you have liked people, perhaps foreigners fleeing Nazi Germany, being rude to you, laughing at the way you do things?" asked Tiberius.

"Of course not!" said Myrtle.

"Well, my dear, you should realise that the refusal of muggle born witches and wizards to learn the ways of the world in which they live is quite as rude as the refusal of some foreigners to learn the language of the country which gives them succour, or to comment unfavourably on the customs of the world which permits them to live in freedom," said Tiberius. "I am well acquainted with the muggle world, which is how Severus' mother came to meet his father, so I understand what I am talking about. You are a witch, and unless you choose to give up your magic and live as a muggle, then it is only right for you to learn our ways, and be glad that you don't need to learn another language."

"Well why did nobody explain that before instead of just bullying me?" demanded Myrtle.

"Because children do not always have the right words at their disposal to explain, my child, and because people are prejudiced and saw you as wilfully ignorant," said Tiberius. "We will teach you to speak like a pureblood witch, and with a change of hairstyle to a modern look, presented as my granddaughter from … Canada … and nobody will realise that we have done an impossible ritual."

"Does it matter?"

"It matters that the headmaster is not fully trustworthy," said Tiberius, sharply.

"Dad said Professor Dumbledore smiled too much when he came to visit," said Myrtle.

"In some ways your father has been wise. I am sorry that his cynicism was too great to allow him to enjoy some time with you in his old age," sighed Tiberius.

"Thank you for giving me a new family. I … I will try to learn," said Myrtle.

"There's my good girl. And next term you will be hatted as a transfer student, as Sev's cousin," said Tiberius. "Your name is now Myrtle Prince."

That he planned to make the Evans parents his adoptive grandchildren and their daughters ritually Severus's sisters he did not plan on making as public as his new great granddaughter.

And with Myrtle floo'd back to the tender care of her new Aunt Eileen, term might come to an end, and the end of the year for the Marauders.

And next year, the youngest members would not be the youngest in the school any more, and would be ready to look out for Sirius' little brother Regulus, and keep him away from Death Eaters.

End of year one.