Daddy Dearest - (No Update, Edit)

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 47 ~ Something for Sybil

Mathias looked at the doll with interest.

"Is that a voodoo doll of Professor Trelawney?" the wizard asked Andreas just to confirm it was. Mathias had read about voodoo practices.

His mother said voodoo wasn't true magic, but Mathias felt if so many people believed in it there must be something to it. So what if it wasn't logical? Most things in the world weren't.

"No, it isn't a voodoo doll, though most would think it was. I cannot physically hurt the witch with this doll. I don't stick pins in it. It is more of a…a spiritual attack. I think muggles call it a psychological attack. I go for the mind," Andreas said. "The doll helps me to focus on the individual."

Mathias nodded.

"So what are you going to do to her?" he asked Andreas.

The wizard looked around his room, then grinned and pointed at the wall

"Bring me that mask, Mathias," he said.

Mathias did so. Andreas took it from him and studied it.

"This is a Chokwe tribe African mask," he said smiling as he looked at the burgundy face and white outlining. It even had dreadlocks. "I think this will make the perfect 'ancestral spirit' to trouble Trelawney with."

He looked at Mathias rather wickedly.

"You will help me?" he asked, his eyes glittering.

Mathias smirked.

"Of course," he replied.

Mathias had no qualms about helping Andreas get back at an unfair teacher. It sounded fun after all.

"Do you want to be an 'ancestral spirit' or an 'irate animal spirit?'" Andreas asked him.

Mathias thought about this. Andreas was already an ancestral spirit. Mathias studied the statues scattered about the wizard's room and saw a rather nice, realistic lion, snarling fiercely, a clawed paw ready to strike. Its fangs were huge. The lion itself was small, but somehow, Mathias was sure that wouldn't matter.

"Irate animal spirit," he replied, walking over to the little ceramic lion and picking it up.

Andreas sat on his bed holding the Trelawney doll in one hand and the mask in the other. Mathias walked over and sat down next to him, holding the lion and looking at it.

"Now what are we going to do exactly, Andreas?" Mathias asked him.

"Well, Trelawney has a mindset like most people who meet me. They automatically connect me with spirits, voodoo and other "tribal" magics. While spirits do exist, most of my powers are inherent as are yours. I don't need to call on any spirits to work the Old Arts. But the Divination teacher would expect African spirits to contact her concerning me…so since I don't actually have any African spirits handy, we're going to make some up. How are you at making spooky noises? Moans, groans, that sort of thing?"

Mathias shrugged.

"I've never done it before, but I've heard the Bloody Baron moan and groan," Mathias said.

"Try it," Andreas encouraged him.

"OOOooooOOOOarrrrrgh!" Mathias moaned and groaned, contorting his face and curling his hands for effect.

"That's good," Andreas said. "I am going to add hollowness and echo to the sound when we send it. I will make other noises, animal noises…."

Andreas suddenly let out a big cat snarl that sounded realistic enough to make Mathias jump.

"Wow," Mathias said, impressed.

Andreas also made a few chattering noises, and a trumpeting sound. He was really very good at mimicking animals. He nodded.

"We are almost ready," he said. "I wish we had a drum. That would make it perfect. A nice tribal backdrop."

Mathias looked at the wizard a moment. He normally did not show others how advanced his spell work was, but he knew Andreas would keep his secret. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at a statue of a woman dancing, concentrated and transformed it into a small drum, a replica of one he had seen in a book. Andreas smiled broadly and picked up the drum, tapping it and listening to the reverb.

"Perfect," the wizard said, passing the drum to Mathias. "You will have to play it while I contact Trelawney and make the animal sounds. You will also have to make the moans and groans."

Mathias practiced trying to make what sounded like an African beat. It didn't take him long to find an acceptable rhythm. The Divination Professor most likely wouldn't know the difference anyway.

Andreas retrieved a candle on a wide based stand and lit it with his wand tip.

"Can't have a visitation without fire," he said, grinning wickedly.

Mathias grinned back at him. This was going to be awesome.

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"I'm certain that boy calls on a spirit guide or some dead ancestor to whisper in his ear. He has to. There's no other earthly explanation for it," Sybil Trelawney said to herself as she paced back and forth in her bedroom, an open bottle of sherry in her hand. "He has to tell me how he does it. Some African ritual I bet. He is going to tell me what it is or fail my class, so help me."

She turned the bottle up to her mouth and took a hearty swig, then wiped it with her other hand.

"The little smartass. He's making me look bad in front of the other students," Sybil snarled.

When Dumbledore told Sybil a gifted second-year Slytherin would be placed in her class this year, she didn't realize how gifted Andreas would be. She also didn't seem to realize it was because she targeted Andreas and publicly challenged him in her class that he made her look bad. All she was supposed to do was teach him and the other students the different forms of divination. If she stuck to her lesson plan instead of jealously focusing on the young wizard, all would be right with the world. Sybil did have some divination powers but she couldn't use them at will. All the staff and Dumbledore were aware of this particular shortcoming, and over the weeks, her students became aware of it as well, no matter how unearthly she made herself sound. The witch wasn't exactly a fraud, but she was decidedly fraudulent when she tried to impress others with her powers. Having someone in her class that did exhibit not only the powers she coveted, but control over them made her feel inadequate, and so she lashed out at Andreas.

The third day of class, Sybil went around the room asking the students to make predictions. When Andreas made the prediction that Professor Severus Snape would be the next person to enter the Divinations classroom, Sybil had laughed at the boy horribly and announced to the class it was obvious that Andreas Mbutu had no psychic abilities at all.

The Potions Master had never come to the North Tower for any reason. Sybil was sweet on him, and he knew it. The idea of being alone in her domain did not thrill the wizard, and he didn't want to go through all the aggravation of dealing with Albus if he hexed her, so the Potions Master stayed away.

Class continued on, students occasionally snickering at Andreas, when suddenly a silky voice said.

"Pardon me for disrupting your class, Sybil. A word if you please."

The entire class turned to see Professor Snape in all his black-robed, pale glory standing just inside the Divinations classroom door, looking distinctly uncomfortable. Then everyone turned and looked at Andreas, who was sitting at his desk with his arms crossed, a smug look on his face. Trelawney had tried to shame him in front of his classmates, now she was the one shamed.

Sybil stared at the boy a moment, and her eyes narrowed. Then she walked over to the Professor to find out what he wanted. He needed some yarrow stalks immediately…he was out and in the process of brewing. Yarrow stalks were used for casting. Sybil had plenty and eyes fluttering, provided him with what he needed.

"If you need anything else, Professor…anything at ALL, you know where to find me," she trilled as Severus beat a hasty retreat from the classroom, shuddering.

When Trelawney returned to the classroom, she stared at Andreas.

"How did you do that?" she demanded in front of the class.

Andreas shrugged.

"I just do it," he replied. "But I am not supposed to waste the power that way. I am only supposed to look ahead when it is very important that I do so. And I am not supposed to reveal what I see to others unless there is a dire need."

Sybil had scowled at the boy.

"Well, Mr. Mbutu, in my classroom you will answer my questions whenever I ask you, if you want to pass. That is for you, a very dire need, indeed," she said rather nastily. She turned away from him.

"Professor Trelawney?" Andreas called to her politely. Sybil spun.

"What, Mr. Mbutu?" she replied unpleasantly.

"Shouldn't I received points for a correct prediction?" he asked her.

Sybil frowned at him.

"No. It was…it was a fluke, Mr. Mbutu. No points for Slytherin," she spat.

All of the Slytherin students began to grumble at her unfairness.

"Fifty points from Slytherin for questioning my decision!" she screeched, her voice shrilly.

The grumbling stopped immediately.

"Now all of you open "Divination for Beginners," read chapter two, summarize it and hand your parchments in before the end of class. Start right now!"

Sybil plopped into her chair behind her desk and spent the rest of the class glowering at Andreas, who did a marvelous job of pointedly ignoring her in such a way she knew she was being purposely ignored.

Just before class let out, Sybil gave an assignment requiring the students to make three predictions that would happen before the school week was out. It was to be turned in the next day. She'd see just how skilled Andreas Mbutu was in divination.

All three of Andreas' predictions came true by the end of the week. The first prediction was that Dumbledore would shave his beard. Sure enough while Albus was out in the Forbidden Forest trying to take a unicorn census, some Fliggity Flickets, magical blood-sucking fleas infested his beard, and he was forced to shave it off for a day. He used a beard-growing spell to replace his shorn growth after twenty-four hours.

The second prediction was that a dragon would come to Hogwarts and walk through the halls unimpeded. Sybil was absolutely sure this wouldn't occur, but then Draco Malfoy paid Jasmine a visit, and as everyone knows, Draco means Dragon.

Andreas' third and final prediction was that lightning would strike the North Tower. Sybil waited for this prediction to come true all week long. On Friday, the tower still hadn't been struck by lightning and the skies were clear. So it seems Mr. Mbutu would not be getting perfect marks after all. This pleased Sybil to no end. She was asleep in her bed when at exactly one minute to midnight, lightning struck the Tower, causing the witch to scream and tumble to the floor, spilling the open bottle of sherry on her nightstand on her way down. On Monday she grudgingly returned his parchment of predictions to him with perfect marks.

It was then she was determined to learn the rituals that were the source of Andreas Mbutu's divination powers. But the boy was uncooperative. Sybil figured the young wizard was told to keep his secrets, but she was determined to force them out of him. Today he had openly defied her, so she took points from him and assigned him detention. And this was only the beginning. Andreas Mbutu would tell her what she wanted to know or spend every evening in detention for the rest of the year. She was through being "Miss Nice Witch."

Sybil took another large swig of sherry and sat down on the side of her netted four-poster bed, scowling as she thought of the gifted African wizard. She was so upset she could hear her heart just pounding. She sat there a moment before she realized that the drumming sound she heard was not her heart. It was from an outside source. The beat sounded…well African. She sat up straight as the beat grew louder. What the hell was going on?

Sybil stood up and began to drunkenly walk through her private rooms, trying to locate where the drumming was coming from, her eyes wide behind her huge glasses, shifting from side to side.

"Come out!" she cried, pulling out her wand and aiming it haphazardly around the room. Suddenly a great flame appeared with a whoosh before her, startling her so she stumbled back and flipped over the low divan in her living room. Glasses askew, she gripped the small sofa and pulled herself up, staring at the great flame floating before her, the drumming decreasing in volume.

Trembling the witch asked, "Who are you? Is this a visitation?"

Suddenly the sounds of animals, along with terrible moans and groans filled her rooms.

"SYBIL TRELAWNEY! YOU HAVE ANGERED THE SPIRITS OF MBUTU!" a hollow voice boomed at the witch, who blanched and screamed as a great roaring lion leaped out of the flames at her. She fell over again, tangled in her scarves. The witch frantically crawled away on her hands and knees, then stood up and without looking back ran into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Sybil stared at it, panting.

"Oh my gods," she whispered, holding her heart.

"SYBIL TRELAWNEY! YOU HAVE ANGERED THE SPIRITS OF MBUTU!"

Sybil spun to see the same flame burning in front of her…this time a hideous face in front of it, staring at her. She knew this must be one of the spirits Andreas used in his divinations. It was coming after her.

"O great spirit, I am so sorry!" she cried, falling to her knees in front of the spirit. Horrible moans and groans sounded again, then a terrible roar followed. Sybil shrieked in terror, hiding her eyes. What the hell had she done?

"Forgive me!" she cried, clasping her hands together and shaking them at the spirit in supplication. "I didn't mean to anger the spirits. I only wanted to contact you and ask for your help, like you help Andreas."

The spirit looked down at the witch for several moments.

"I SEE YOU ARE A TRUE BELIEVER, SYBIL TRELAWNEY. BUT IT TAKES A YEAR OF PREPARATION BEFORE SUCH POWERS CAN BE GRANTED…AND THERE ARE RITUALS AND CONDITIONS."

"I'm willing to do anything. Anything!" she cried up at the spirit.

"FIRST YOU MUST UNDO ALL THE EVIL YOU HAVE DONE TO ANDREAS MBUTU…"

"Yes! Yes I will do that O great spirit!" Sybil replied eagerly.

"AND YOU MUST GIVE HIM A GREAT GIFT TO SHOW YOU ARE TRULY REPENTANT FOR DISTURBING AND ANGERING HIS SPIRITS."

Sybil thought about this.

"I'll award him five hundred points and give him extra credit marks at the end of each semester. I promise!" Sybil said. Suddenly magic swirled around her as her oath took hold.

"AND YOU WILL NO LONGER SINGLE HIM OUT IN CLASS BUT TREAT HIM AS ANY OTHER STUDENT. YOU WILL NOT ATTRACT ATTENTION TO HIS GIFTS ANY LONGER."

"No. No I won't. Andreas' gifts will be kept secret," Sybil said.

"AND YOU WILL GIVE HIM NO WEEKEND ASSIGNMENTS," the spirit intoned.

"Not a single one," Sybil agreed.

The spirit looked down on her, then suddenly the lion reappeared, leaping at her and roaring. Sybil fell back screaming, her hands flung up protectively, her glasses twisted around on her face. It grew quiet and slowly the witch fixed her glasses on her nose and looked up. Only the flame remained.

Then another hollow voice sounded, different from the first.

"SYBIL TRELAWNEY, YOU MUST PERFORM A RITUAL ONCE A MONTH FOR A YEAR DURING THE FIRST NIGHT OF THE FULL MOON IN THE FORBIDDEN FOREST! YOU WILL ANOINT YOUR BODY WITH DRAGON DUNG AND DANCE AROUND A BONFIRE DRESSED IN NOTHING BUT A GARLAND OF CUT GARLIC CHANTING THE FOLLOWING MAGIC WORDS: "SAERDNA DNA SAIHTAM" FOR THREE HOURS. AFTER TWELVE MONTHS YOU WILL RECEIVE A GREAT WISDOM. REVEAL THIS TO NO ONE OR YOUR POWERS WILL BE FORFEIT! THE SPIRITS HAVE SPOKEN!"

Sybil repeated the magic words over and over until she felt she had them.

"Oh, thank you great spirits of Mbutu!" she cried, prostrating herself before the fire.

It faded and disappeared.

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Andreas and Mathias almost pissed themselves they were laughing so hard, Mathias on the bed helplessly clutching his stomach and Andreas rolling around on the floor.

"I…I can't breathe!" he gasped, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Me…me either," Mathias panted. He couldn't remember ever laughing so hard in all his life.

Finally, Andreas was able to pull himself over the edge of the bed, and stared at Mathias grinning broadly.

"Dragon dung? Cut garlic? And was does 'Saerdna dna Saihtam"' mean?" he asked the wizard. Mathias was the one who told Sybil what she had to do.

"It's 'Andreas and Mathias' spelled backwards. She'll figure it out eventually, I think. After about a year, when her powers never manifest," the little wizard said, smirking.

Andreas laughed and shook his head.

"You're wicked, Mathias. Very, very wicked. It will be all right for me, because I will be out of her class…but you have to take divination your third year," the wizard said.

Mathias shook his head.

"It's an elective. I don't have to take it. My mum might still want me to, even though she bailed out of Trelawney's class her third year. She's weird that way. If she does, I'm sure I can still get out of it, even if I have to get my father to help me," Mathias said. "I don't think he likes Professor Trelawney much. He practically ran from her one evening when she showed up in the dungeon corridor. He looked really upset."

There was a knock on Andreas' door.

"Who is it?" Andreas said, scowling. He never had visitors. A male voice answered.

"A parchment was delivered for you," the student said.

"Slide it under the door," Andreas replied.

A thin, folded parchment appeared under the door. Mathias rolled off the bed, retrieved it and gave it to Andreas, who unfolded it. A great sweeping script met their eyes. Both wizards read what it said:


Dear Mr. Mbutu,

Your week's worth of detention has been rescinded and your house points restored.

Professor Sybil Trelawney
Divinations Teacher


Mathias and Andreas looked at each other for a moment, then gave each other a high five, smiling broadly. Both boys sat back down on the bed, Mathias picking up the Trelawney doll and looking at it.

"You know, we make a good team, Andreas," Mathias said to him.

Andreas nodded.

"We are both black-eyed. We are like brothers," the wizard replied.

"Brothers…" Mathias repeated, looking at Andreas. If he did have a brother, he'd like him to be just like Andreas.

Andreas put back everything, and Mathias transformed the drum back into a statue and set it back on the shelf. Then Andreas took out the parcel that had been delivered to him, and unwrapped it, Mathias looking on with interest. Andreas reached in and pulled out something wrapped tightly in a plastic bag.

"What is that?" Mathias asked him as Andreas opened the plastic bag, put his broad nose in it and breathed deeply. He pulled back with a smile.

"Iboga root, also known as Black Bugbane root. I will use this to make the drink that will take you on your journey. That is, if you still want to go," Andreas said, a sober look in his dark eyes.

Mathias looked at the root.

"What does it do?" Mathias asked him, his brow furrowed.

Andreas rewrapped the root and put it back in the box, closing it. He looked at Mathias seriously.

"You are very intelligent, Mathias. I will not give you the drink until you know for yourself what the Iboga root does. You will have to find out on your own, then come and tell me. While you research it, you will also be able to decide if you truly want to take this journey to see the Dark Soul of the World and find out how you are connected," Andreas said.

"I was nine when I took my journey, very young, but my powers were strong so it was decided I had to go. You are also strong, it is better you know now. Most whites know nothing of this connection…it goes deeper than blood. It is spirit. When you come back from your journey, if you are scarred as I am…we will be brothers and I will die for you if need be."

Both wizards looked at each other intensely, black eyes to black eyes

"And if I die for you, Mathias Snape," Andreas said in a low voice, "we will be connected even in death. It is a great responsibility and not to be taken lightly. Go and find out, then come back and let me know your decision."

Andreas walked to his door and opened it. Mathias followed him and stepped through into the hallway.

"All right. I will look it up," Mathias said, "then I'll let you know."

Andreas nodded.

Mathias turned to go.

"Mathias," Andreas said.

Mathias turned back to him.

"It would be good to have a brother in this place," the wizard said.

It was Mathias' turn to nod.

The wizard started walking up the hall. Andreas watched him until he turned, then closed the door.

"Everyone has a destiny," the wizard said to himself, staring at the package on his bed, "although some destinies are greater than others."

Andreas walked over to his bed, took the parcel off of it and slid it underneath. Then he climbed in and lay down on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"And the destiny of some of us is simply to serve another's," he whispered, his eyes unfocusing.

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A/N: Finally got it done. This was a cool chapter to write…lots of fun. Lol. Sybil has her next 12 months mapped out nicely. Mathias is too much. How wicked was that? No weekend assignments, Andreas? lol. Seems Mathias and Andreas are going to become very, very close. Please review.