I Solemnly Swear That I Am Up To No Good

[alt_sally_anne]

I spent yesterday making bracelets and talking to Pansy about Regulus Black. She doesn't believe what the newspaper said (which is the same thing Lucius Malfoy said), that Regulus was mad and had a second personality that did evil things. Or at least it doesn't make sense to her. If you read back through his diary you can see that he thinks he's being forced, and Mrs Malfoy and the rest act like it's all a bit of a joke. They don't act worried. That doesn't make sense UNLESS they know perfectly well the person forcing him to do things is the Lord Protector.

'Lord Pretender.' Heh. I'd probably better not write that even under the lock, I might slip somewhere other people can see.

Terry what you said yesterday, about what Carrow wanted from you, that made me think something similar was the key to what was going on with Regulus. Because he was being punished, again and again, even though he was doing exactly as he was told! I told Pansy I thought perhaps the Lord Protector wanted Regulus to enjoy it -- to relish it -- and he was being punished because he obviously hated it even though he was STILL doing it.

I STILL think the Lord Protector was threatening Pansy, I mean first he had Regulus murder a pureblood boy which really shows no one is safe. And then he had him murder two girls who looked like Pansy. I think he was threatening to make Regulus murder Pansy because it really would be the WORST thing, really, to do to him. And I think that's why Regulus killed himself. I said a little of that to Pansy but really it's too horrid. Also Mr Malfoy told her she was never in danger and he would always keep her safe and she wants to believe that.

What do the rest of you think?

Also Terry and Hermione, I have the beads from George and Fred and I made bracelets BUT it occurred to me today that I might be able to do better than just a regular bracelet. Here's the thing: my father puts charms on things like this, sometimes. You want to do the charm WHILE you're making it so I could re-do the bracelets, now that I have the hang of it they're really fast.

Here are the charms I know how to do (kind of):

1. Anti-breakage. This is supposed to keep the string from getting frayed and it is SUPPOSED to break anyway if it's the bracelet or your hand. The risk here is I might make it a bit too strong and it won't break even if it IS the bracelet or your hand. It's not an anti-cutting charm, the string can still be cut. Anti-cutting charms are generally considered a bad idea because if it gets caught in something -- well, anyway, you don't want one of those. Anyway I tried this one out and then mucked with it a bit, I think it helped as the strings didn't want to fray even when I poked at them a bit with a pin.

2. Anti-loss. This is supposed to make it find its way back to you. So if Carrow took it from you Terry the idea is that it wouldn't go zipping across the room back to you or anything but he'd just misplace it and it would turn up near you within a day. These are HARD to do right and I hate to say this but I'd need a bit of your body, that sounds really awful but it's how the bracelet would know how to find you. (Otherwise it'll find me, since I made the bracelet, and THAT'S no good at all.) Hair would do but blood would be better, we'd put a drop of blood on the string. The risk of this one is just that it wouldn't work at all. It's actually easier to do the charm that makes the thing chase after you (they put it on baby rattles) but that's no good as it would REALLY attract attention if it did that, you know?

3. Anti-attention. There are lots of different charms for this and the simplest one (and the only one I think I might be able to do) doesn't make it invisible and if someone is LOOKING for a bracelet on your wrist they'll see it right there. But unless they're really LOOKING for it their eye just passes right over it. It's hard to explain but with this charm it just looks to everyone like it's nothing important. It works a lot better on something like this -- you know, because a string bracelet already looks like something unimportant. (If you put it on something like a flaming sword, it doesn't work NEARLY as well.) I tested this out by making myself a bracelet in Hufflepuff colours and wearing it around the common room today and no one said anything, so I think it worked (but maybe everyone was being polite? ha ha ha).

There are also a whole lot of anti-theft charms but most of them are pretty noticeable, like the one Draco had on his tea chest that makes your hand swell up if you touch it. You can't steal something you don't notice, and the anti-loss one is supposed to make it fall out of the thief's pocket and make its way back to you, so those ought to work pretty well.

Anyway, let me know if you want any of these. If you want the anti-loss one we can work out a way -- actually probably it would be easiest for me to give you the string, and for you to put a little blood on it and get it back to me. Terry where is the Headmistress having you work? In the Hospital Wing again or somewhere else? I was thinking of coming to talk to Madam Pomfrey maybe anyway.

Comments

[alt_lee]

That's wicked clever, Perks, those ideas about the charms.

[alt_gredforge]

We agree. We'd like to look over your charm work first if that's all right, but if it checks out, yeah, we'd recommend doing what she suggests, Professor. It'd give us all some peace of mind.

[alt_sally_anne]

Do you want to see the test bracelets? Because you could see those now. I tested the anti-breakage, anti-loss, and anti-attention, but I just tested the anti-loss for myself and it's much more complicated to do it for someone else. If one of you wants to bleed on a bit of string I'll test out the charm with you before I do it for Hermione and Terry.

[alt_lee]

I'd drip some blood for the cause, yeah. How about I wander down by the lake and meet you out there right before dinner?

[alt_gredforge]

We'll meet you out there, too.

[alt_ron]

I'll see if Pansy wants to meet up with me before dinner.

[alt_sally_anne]

OK. Ron will distract Pansy and I'll meet the three of you by the lake for bloodletting.

[alt_terry]

I really like these idea. I'll feel ever so much safer. And as for using my own blood to protect my wand...it makes me almost want to laugh. Master's been using my blood to do his foul blood magic rites for years. He never asked me first. And this feels like, I dunno, getting my own back. Taking my own blood back to beat him at his game, sneak around his rules and fool him. I think it's brilliant.

What you said about Regulus Black, it makes a lot of sense. A lot of sense, really. Because Master probably learned all this stuff about how to twist people from the Lord Protector himself, didn't he? And because he's so good at it, that's why the Lord Protector likes him so well and protects him so much, even though everyone can see Master's just mad.

One thing that's different though: that Regulus Black got to pick some of his own victims, though, didn't he? I mean, at least some of it was his own choice, wasn't it? Not that what they did to him wasn't terrible, though, I don't mean that.

[alt_neville]

I've been thinking about what you wrote last night. About what Professor Carrow wanted from you. The thing I'm wondering is: where would it have ended?

[alt_terry]

What do you mean?

I guess it would have ended up with me dead.

[alt_neville]

Maybe. But...you said he liked twisting things. If he'd gotten you to like pain, wouldn't he like it even better if he get you to, you know, make it painful for other people?

I almost hate to say this, but...could it be that Regulus Black was just a little farther down the road than you were?

[alt_lee]

Urgh. That's an awful thing to say Nev.

[alt_neville]

Yeah, I know. It is awful. He's awful, Professor Carrow, I mean.

I don't mean that you would, Terry! It's a good thing that you've hid so much of yourself from him. But maybe that's what he would have wanted?

[alt_sally_anne]

For Merlin's sake, Nev. Are you trying to give all of us nightmares?

Carrow loves to corrupt people. To encourage them to be as horrid as he is. But Terry's a muggleborn, and hurting someone is a form of power and he didn't want Terry to have ANY power EVER.

[alt_terry]

Oh, Merlin. Bloody hell.

No. No, he's right. I think Neville's absolutely right, Sally-Anne. You know what Master would have done? He would have gotten himself another mudblood. A really young one, someone even more helpless. And he would have told me, I dunno, that I had to train it or something, but that he liked it better than me. And if I was the slinking crawling thing he thought I was, I would have...

Or he would have tried to find a way to force me to hurt Hermione.

Oh, gah, I am so glad I am away from him!

[alt_neville]

Well, you've already put your finger on it, haven't you? Figure out what he wants and then do the opposite. If he wants you to hurt people, don't hurt people.

You don't want to, do you?

[alt_terry]

No! Of course I don't.

[alt_neville]

See? And that's what Sirius Black was talking about, wasn't it? Making a choice. And you've made yours.

So that's all right, then.

[alt_terry]

Yeah.

I suppose it is.

[alt_sally_anne]

It's not really THAT clever. This is what my father does, he fixes charmed objects where the charm's worn off over time, or that's gone a bit wrong. I didn't think all this up by myself or get it out of books, I just watched my father work when I was younger.

But thank you.

[alt_ron]

Well, see, your mistake was not testing it with Gryffindor colours. Then you'd have known it wasn't just people being polite.

[alt_sally_anne]

Actually you'd be surprised at how many Slytherins quite like dark red so long as there isn't any golden yellow next to it. Hufflepuff yellow is a LOT harder to miss.

[alt_neville]

Well, okay, if Draco Malfoy likes dark red, he should try dressing all in Gryffindor colours. Or maybe something close. How about a nice bright pink, yeah?

[alt_sally_anne]

Draco would never wear bright pink; that's Hydra's favourite colour!

[alt_ron]

But about Mr Black. Pansy's Mr Black, I mean. Do you think the Lord Protector wants to hurt Pansy or that he thought he could, I dunno, control Mr Black by threatening to hurt her? I mean, do you think she's still in danger even now he's dead?

I don't

I understand why Pansy doesn't want to think about it.

But.

I don't know. I can't help thinking it seems like the other Mr Black thinks his brother wasn't completely controlled and that he, I dunno. I get the feeling he thinks Regulus Black chose to kill Sanji Patil and that was sort of not what the Protector had told him to do? I dunno, it's just how it seemed and when I read what Sirius Black wrote yesterday, I thought that's what he meant when he talked about his brother making choices that turned out really wrong. But maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

And, yeah. I think it was good you talked about it with Pansy, but I can see why she wouldn't really want to.

[alt_sally_anne]

Yeah, it sounds like Sirius Black thought Regulus picked Sanji. I don't know. I don't know what to think.

[alt_terry]

Oh, and I forgot to say, I think it would be fine for you to talk to Madam Pomfrey. I'm with the Headmistress mostly these days, although I still do a shift at the Hospital Wing once or twice a week. I think it'd be better coming from you. I do think she would keep your name out of it if she passes what you say along to the Headmistress, especially if you asked her to.

[alt_sally_anne]

Well, I did go talk to Madam Pomfrey. And I tried to pretend I was just fretting about what Carrow might be doing only I made the mistake of telling her I was having bad dreams about it and she got all concerned and wanted to know if I needed a potion to help me sleep or if maybe I should SLEEP IN THE HOSPITAL WING and she'd wake me when I looked like I was having a nightmare and then we'd talk about it.

Ugh! Lying is much simpler when people don't ask so many questions.

She did listen to me about Carrow, at least. And I suppose if my insomnia gets really terrible next year I could take her up on the potion she offered me but I HATE potions. The kind from healers, I mean, that you drink. Making them in Slughorn's class isn't so bad.