This Subdued Fire

Small author\'s note to supplement the last large one I left and is now gone. Ahem. Read Dan Brown\'s \"The DaVinci Code.\" I started writing this story before I ever read that book and so it fell into my hands and I noticed that the previous plot devices fit in with where I wanted to take the tale after reading \"TDC.\" Most of the following plot points I got from him and from my own research into the matter. I think it\'s entirely correct being that the Harry Potter tale contains so many clues and symbology into the subject matter of \"The DaVinci Code\", that the tale that I am penning should converge into that stream of thought. In that vein...
laimlaimer: I do not own these characters or their settings. There is no copyright infringement intended on my part and no money is being made from this story. My eternal thanks to Dan Brown, JK Rowling and also The Discovery Channel (yes, I am a huge geek!).
Thanks: To Gin, Blisso, Mon and Paril. I love you guys loads and loads. To my reviewers. Gotta love you guys. Thanks for reading my sophomoric scribblings and making me think that they\'re worthwhile.
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The Chalice and Dagger

Hermione and the rest straggled into Dumbledore\'s office. The old man looked older than ever and more than a bit concerned. He gestured them into the chairs that were arranged around the rooms. The five sat down and awaited the Headmaster\'s words. Albus seemed to be gathering his thoughts.

Finally he spoke.

\"I wish that the two of you had come to me when the marks first appeared.\" He stated.

The four students looked stunned. Harry was the one who spoke. \"Sir, how did you know about those?\"

\"Show them, Severus,\" Dumbledore waved to his Potions Master.

Snape got up and pushed the sleeve of his robe back to expose his arm. Just as Draco\'s Dark Mark had been transfigured, so had Snape\'s. The skull and snake entwined was a beautiful blooming rose, pink and glowing against the deathly pale of his flesh. There was a partially writformform in the center of Severus\' bloom. The figure looked as if the lines hadn\'t bothered to connect themselves.

\"You\'ve marked me as one of your own, Miss Granger. As leashes go, I\'m glad to have this one, but I wish that there were none on me at all.\" Severus\' words unconsciously echoed Draco\'s own.

\"But what are they, Professor?\" Hermione queried.

\"The Headmaster is the one who can answer that better than I.\" Snape resumed his seat at the edge of the room.

The others turned their expectant gazes to Albus. He debated where to begin. \"Hermione. How much do you know about the Norman conquest of England or of French history at all?\"

\"Not much, to my profound shame.\" Hermione looked chagrined at her lack of knowledge on this subject, when she could wax everlasting on any given topic.

\"How much is not much?\" Dumbledore pressed.

\"Erm...from Charlemagne onwards, sir.\"

\"So you know nothing of the time before?\" Dumbledore\'s concerned countenance lightened a bit.

\"Nothing. I\'m a veritable tabula rasa when it comes to that.\"

\"Well then, make yourselves comfortable, we\'ll be here awhile. Severus, call down to the kitchens and have the elves come up with something. I daresay we\'ll need the sustenance.\"

All six stayed silent whilst waiting for the food to arrive. Soon a veritable army of house elves came popping into the office. They bore platters consisting of fresh cut sandwiches which consisted of a myriad of meats and cheeses. Tomatoes and lettuces were on the side, for the diners to add or discard as they chose. A number of condiments were on other trays as were iced butterbeers, pumpkin juice, a sweet passionfuit concoction, water and milk. On the last tray there were baked sweets: tarts, slices of different pies and cakes. Dumbledore gave his wand a swish and snack tables were set up in front of the five.

\"Please, get something, before I begin,\" Albus instructed. They picked sandwhiches and condiments and poured themselves glasses from the various pitchers and settled back into the cushions of the chairs.

\"Why didn\'t you have the elves bring up a bottle of Old Ogden\'s? I certainly need it,\" Severus groused.

\"Here.\" Albus pulled out a bottle from a desk drawer and levitated it over to Snape. \"That should keep you happy,\" the old man quipped.

\"Not too happy.\"

\"Of course, Severus.\" Albus\' eyes twinkled in the direction of his Potions Master.

\"Not to break up your cozy little whatever this is, but I do believe there\'s a tale to be told?\" Draco snipped at the Headmaster.

\"Oh, yes, of course. Where do I begin?\" He thought a moment. \"Ah. Yes. Norman France...Well, a tale can\'t be told without going back to the beginning.\"

Albus leaned back in his chair. \"Have any of you ever heard of Clovis I, the first Merovingian king of France?\" When all of the students shook their heads no, Dumbledore plunged into the story. \"Well, the Merovingians were descended from Merovech, whose son, Childeric, ruled a tribe of Salian Franks. Clovis I was the one who united nearly all of Gaul except for Burgundy and Provence.\" Albus paused. \"I\'m getting a little ahead of myself here.\"

He took a sip of his butterbeer and had a bite of his pumpkin pasty. \"The Merovingian line claimed descendance from a certain Galilean rabbi and the Magdalene, I\'m sure none of you miss the significance of whom I mean.\"

Indeed they hadn\'t. Eyes went wide and breaths indrawn. Albus continued on. \"There is a little bit of Merovingian in every world leader since then. A society known to the world as the Priory of Sion has had many recognizable names, including my old friend Nicolas Flamel. I myself was once a member but I\'d never risen to the position of Nautonnier, or Navigator. We, the members of the Priory, have committed ourselves to protecting the bloodline of the Magdalene. The Magdalene\'s symbol is the Rose, which you now bear, Hermione. I do believe that your Mark has a crown or some such in its center?\"

\"How did you know?\" Hermione quizzed Dumbledore.

\"Because I do. The various members of the Priory also had members who were part of the Knights Templar.\" At this Hermione\'s eyes widened again. \"Yes, dear?\" Dumbledore asked.

\"My Grandfather...the one who\'s alive now...he is a Freemason.\"

\"I suspected as much. Now, the last of real, direct bloodlines survived in a few people. The Saint-Claires, also known as the Sinclairs in their Anglican incarnation. Of whom you and Harry here are part.\"

Harry leapt up. \"Oh come on. First during fifth year you lay that damned prophecy on me and now this? This is a complete piece of tripe.\"

\"Harry. Sit down.\" Hermione\'s voice carried an authoritarian weight. Harry sat.

Dumbledore spoke, feeling his age. \"There is a connection. Why do you think that Tom has been so unrelenting in his campaign against you? Do you really think that all this is a coincidence? He is the serpent and you are the lion. Recall the symbology behind that. The four founders werere. re. Salazar Slytherin\'s blood runs in Tom\'s veins and that of young Draco\'s here.\" Albus indicated the stony faced Malfoy. \"Although, Draco is also part Black, who, not by coincidence, were Priory members and lesser offshoots of the Magdalenian bloodline. However, the Malfoy runs hot in his veins. Therefore he set himself against you and Hermione from the beginning.\"

Ginny spoke up now. \"But what has this to do with the other founders? And you started your speech with a bit about Norman France and the conquest of England.\"

\"So I did. This school was founded by the Normans. Thus their Gallic and Fraco-Germanic names and surnames. The four were also direct descendants of the Merovingian lineage. After the Merovingians were displaced by the Carolingian kings, some stayed, some scattered. Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin were among those who left. Harry, have you never wondered why your parents\' home was in Godric\'s Hollow? You\'re his heir, the last of his line.\"

\"No way,\" Harry breathed in disbelief.

Dumbledore\'s eyes twinkled a bit. \"Way, Harry James Potter. You\'ve got the blood of kings in you. You and Hermione both. And both of you are related and not very distantly so. Third or fourth cousins, I do believe. There\'s been a lot of intermarriage, to try to preseve the bloodline, you know.\"

\"But...my mother\'s maiden name was Lyonnesse...I can\'t possibly be...one of those people.\" Hermione piped up in a quiet voice.

\"What was your grandmother\'s maiden name, Hermione?\" Dumbledore asked in a knowing voice.

\"Oh, my Lord. She was a Saint-Claire before her marriage.\"

\"One of my favorite quotes from a Muggle television show is \'if coincidences are coincidences, why do they feel so contrived?\' I think the phrase is particularly apt in this case.\" Dumbledore chuckled. \"It might interest you to know that the one of the symbols of the Merovingian line were bumblebees...it certainly drew my eye when I discovered that fact.\"

The significance was not lost on the more learned among them. All of them, excluding Harry and Ginny were aware that \'dumbledore\' is old English for bumblebee.

\"What of me, sir? I know that I am descended from Godric Gryffindor, but...surely...\"

\"Your father\'s grandmother\'s maiden name was Sinclair, Harry.\"

\"Oh. I see.\" Harry fell silent.

\"You, Hermione, are a descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw. You once said that the Sorting Hat wanted tt yot you in Ravenclaw but sorted you to Gryffindor at the last minute. And the swords that you and Draco duelled with were her special blades. Only you could\'ve broken the glass that they were behind and only you could\'ve handled them with the skill that you did. Did you not feel a sense of rightness when your hand closed around the hilt?\"

Hermione nodded briefly. Dumbledore conjured a facsimile of the blade and handed it to Hermione. \"Look at it,\" he commanded.

The blade was finely wrought and chased silver and steel, with deep blue sapphires in the hilt. Engraved in scrolly lettering was the name \"Rowena Ravenclaw.\" Right below that was an etched rosebud which had a tiny cross etched into the stem.

Dumbledore turned vaguely sad but still uplifted eyes to Draco. \"I don\'t want you to feel left out. It is true that Salazar Slytherin was a part of the Merovingian line.\"

Draco smirked at his Headmaster. \"I feel a \'but\' coming on, sir.\"

\"But there\'s some sort of obcurity regarding your heritage through the Slytherin-Malfoy line. I\'ve never been able to discover it and if Lucius or Tom were aware, they\'ve never let on either on purpose or by accident. In any case, you and Tom Riddle are the hereditary opponents of Rowena Ravenclaw and of Godric Gryffindor. From my research, your antecedents were also opposed to Merovingian rule and also to the Magdalen. I would suppose that is why they took on the serpent as their seal.\"

\"And if Hermione\'s crown denotes her as Queen, why do I then have a sword in my Rose Mark?\" Draco asked.

\"You are the dagger, Draco. The eternal opponent and opposite to Hermione. You\'re the weapon and not the wielder. Hermione is the chalice. You are there to wound and she is there to hold. She has marked you as her own because Tom Riddle\'s time is growing near. Harry was marked by Tom as a natural enemy: the serpent always fears the lion. He is the lightning with which Tom will be struck down, but the three of you are an integral part of it. Yes, Harry cannot survive while Tom lives and vice-versa, but why has Tomr ber beble ble to escape his certain destruction? The three of you are necessary to bring about his downfall. It does not all rest on Harry\'s shoulders. Draco is the sword, Harry is the impetus and Hermione is la Reine who will administer both.\"

\"And I, Headmaster?\" Ginny spoke from her chair.

\"You\'re Harry\'s match, my dear. Your Rose contains a heart with a lightning bolt inside, correct?\"

\"Yes.\"

\"You\'re the chalice that holds the affections of the lightning.\"

\"Oh.\" Ginny pinked with delight. She reached out a hand to Harry, who held it tightly.

Snape found his voice, having heard all of this once before. \"What about my Mark, Albus?\"

Dumbledore turned knowing, amused eyes to his Potions Master. \"That is a secret that has yet to unfold, Severus.\"
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Additional author\'s note.

The Merovingians were indeed the rulers of France who were of the Salian Tribes who claimed kinship with Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The Priory of Sion did and may well still exist. Nicolas Flamel was a real person and also a Grand Master or Nautonnier of the Priory. It is true that many of the ruling houses of Europe descend from Merovingian bloodlines and that these bloodlines were preserved in the Norman French rulers who conquered Anglo Saxon England, beginning with the reign of William the Conqueror and before through intermarriage with the Anglo Saxon rulers. Even the current president of the United States has a bit of this bloodline in him as did every president before him. The chalice is an obvious reference to the Holy Grail or San Greal. But splitting the word in a different place makes it Sang Real, or \"Royal Blood.\" Which is where my slight diversion takes place. If you\'re at all curious about any of these old myths and legends, Google them. There\'s scads and scads of info about it. There\'s also a load of canonical Harry Potter links to the Grail legends, which I discovered whilst researching this fic. An example would be the the numerous references to Sirius (the Dog-Star), the bees of the Merovingian crest, Hermione as being the \"curly-haired one\" (a reference to the Magdalen herself), JKR\'sertsertion of Nicolas Flamel, her insistence of it being Harry\'s mother\'s love that enabled him to survive (a reference that Harry carries a bit of the \'divine feminine\' within him, that he is both chalice and blade), JKR\'s repeated references to number 12 and the fact that Ron, Harry and Hermione make up the \"golden trio\" as they are referred to in so many fics. I could go on and on about the symbology but I won\'t. I just have to say, do your own research, it\'s fastingting.