Knowledge is Power

Chapter 24

Mag knew she should be ecstatic that Severus was so interested in her wand. She adored everything about him. He was the most beautiful, fascinating, exciting, intriguing man in the world, so of course she wanted him to notice her and take an interest in her work. Just not before she gave him his wand for Christmas. If she went into all the details now it would ruin the surprise because he'd quite likely ask for one of his own. THEN she'd have to ruin the surprise by saying she was giving him one for Christmas. Rubbish!

Then inspiration struck.
"It's just that it's a work in progress, and I'd rather wait until it's complete to talk about it."
Severus looked disappointed, but he nodded.
"Very well," he said glumly.
He looked as if he'd like to ask more but restrained himself with an obvious effort. This made Mag all the more excited to present him with his wand for Christmas!

//Sorry, Mags. I tried to think of something to say but I had nothin',// Nightshade thought apologetically.
//You did good, though. Pulled that bullshit right out of your hat but fast,// he praised, and she smiled.
//It's alright,// she assured.
"I'm off to find the Baron," she told Severus.
Finding the Baron was a task all on its own. Hogwarts was huge and he could be anywhere. She checked the library, then the great hall with no success before inspiration struck and she headed to the astronomy tower where she found him peering up at the darkening sky.

"Can you see everything up there without equipment," Mag asked, wondering if being dead gave one better vision.
"That," The Bloody Baron said, turning toward her. "depends on the weather."
"Interesting."
He nodded.
"I suppose it is."
"I got runes today," Mag told him.
"They're carved of black tourmalinated clear quartz."
"I approve," the Baron said.
"Shall we go into the great hall where you can spread them onto the table?"

She nodded eagerly. The Slytherin common room would be too loud and distracting with all the students yammering as they were wont to do.
They didn't speak again until they reached the great hall, walking along together in companionable silence...Rather Mag walked and the Baron floated at her side. In the great hall the two sat side by side at the Slytherin table and Mag spread the runes out before them.
"You interpret these in readings in much the same way you would for runic wards," The Baron explained.

He glanced down at her rune set.
"That's a nice one," he said, nodding in approval.
"I'm glad you got the original Nordic style of runes rather than the bastardized Celtic one. I am teaching you the Nordic way rather than the Celtic, because I believe original magic of any sort is always the most potent and correctly interpreted," the Baron explained.
Mag nodded eagerly.

"Yes, so do I!"
She was thrilled to hear that the Baron seemed to think of the old ways of magic in the same way she did.
"When you cast the runes for a reading, they will either come up upright or in reverse," the Baron explained.
"Obviously upright means favorable and reversed means not so much."
He chuckled.
"If you do a basic three rune cast for a simple yes or no question, and all three are in reverse, it usually means catastrophe. At times when there seems to be no good reason not to do a thing, it can be difficult to listen to a reading, but one must respect the message of the runes. Often the reason shows itself later as things unfold."

He pointed to the rune Isa, meaning ice. It was simply a straight line.
"Of course this rune will look the same so has no upright or reverse in itself. Therefore it must be interpreted with the rest of the runes and the more you work with them the greater your understanding will be on how to listen to what they are saying."
He pointed to the rune Wunjo, meaning joy.
"If this is upright, for example and Isa is also in the reading, it means that things are frozen at present, not moving, but be patient as the outcome will be for your greater joy. Moving things along when they are not ready, could be to premature and cause things not to work out."

That made sense to Mag. She felt the understanding click in her mind and nodded with eager excitement.
"I see...At least I think I see. If Wunjo was in reverse with Isa it would then mean that if things are pushed before they are ready to move it will end badly and not at all in joy. Is that right?"

The Baron gave her a rare smile.
"Exactly! I knew you had a head for this!"
The two sat late into the night, the Baron showing her how to read the various casts and explore all manner of possibilities of interpretation. It was past Midnight when the two noticed the time. Mag thanked the Baron and went up to bed, promising to practice casts daily for herself and for friends.

Idly she considered a midnight flight once in her dorm room, as she was still awake, but she was rather exhausted. Besides...it wouldn't feel the same without Nightshade. She hoped he was having fun with Severus. Knowing the two were in the midst of forming some sort of attachment made her feel closer to the man she loved. With that contented thought, she drifted off to sleep.

When she dressed for classes the next morning, Mag tucked the velvet bag that held her new rune set into the pocket of her Slytherin school robe before heading up to breakfast. Perhaps at lunch she'd see if Kereston wanted a reading so that she could practice. During the next week she practiced as much as she could. She mostly did readings for Kereston and Millicent. Often just with yes or no questions, explaining why the answer was yes or no depending on the runes that came out and the direction they emerged for the spread. She also did a general reading for each of them wherein the runes explained one's past, present, future, where one could expect challenges and from what source one could expect help.

Kereston's runes were mostly coming up about a career, which didn't surprise Mag considering Kereston's aspirations to become Minister For Magic some day. Mag was surprised to see love and romance coming up in Millicent's general reading as a direct response to Millicent's need for safety against Voldemort. It was fascinating to Mag how much one could discover with the runes. All in all, the reactions to Mag's readings were satisfactory. Kereston liked her reading a lot and found Mag's findings to be quite accurate. Millicent didn't dislike hers though she did find the prospect of romance uninteresting to her at present. The fact Mag predicted it around two years in the future, seemed to disgruntle her nonetheless, though.

***** For those interested in Millicent's romance, check out our story, Millicent Bulstrode Falls In Love, also uploaded here. Until the next chapter...beware of turkey eating owls!