I'm not saying this in front of the family, but they're really torn up.
Fred's mostly been curled up in a ball on his bed, crying.
About an hour ago, George made a break for the window like he was going to throw himself out of it, and we had to wrestle him back on the bed and sit on him. He's calmer now, more like catatonia.
Each of them is dead convinced it's his fault.
I don't know if I've ever hated anybody as much as Dolores Umbridge.
Having Terry there as the Professor might help, but we can't risk that, either. Don't even mention it to him.
Severus or Ms Perks might be able to get them something to calm them down, but I'd be worried about whether that would somehow add to their confusion. I'll ask Poppy what she would recommend.
We shouldn't attempt to get Terry in the castle, even as a dog, and I don't want you to try and move them to the Shrieking Shack while they're in their current state. We'll reassess later.
Perhaps separating them would help, and make them less confused? If you do attempt it, make sure Ron is with one and you're with the other, just so there's someone with each twin that they can completely trust.
We're keeping them on their separate beds with the bed curtains drawn, and their backs to each other. I'm with George, and Neville and Ron are with Fred.
They can't hear each other, but Fred could hear me talking to George, and George could hear Ron and Neville talking to Fred, and that was confusing and distressing, too. So now we're using muffliato.
I agree, I don't think it's a good idea to move them. They're not going to dinner; we're going to bring sandwiches up.
I hope it wears off by the time classes start tomorrow. And we're not sending them to her office to get it reapplied.
If she shows up here to reapply it, I'd be tempted to hex her myself.
Mostly, we're trying to talk about other stuff, any other stuff to distract them. It's not working very well. They keep wanting to know when the funeral's gonna be.
How awful. I'd take a page from Severus and simply tell them the funeral is going to be next Saturday.
Let us know if you have any difficulty getting access to food.
It seems like you've got a handle on things at the moment, and are doing what you can to help. And it is helping, even though they're confused and distraught. Stay strong, Lee. I know Fred and George will appreciate what you've done for them once they're in their right state of mind.
And if you've got a chance, tell Ron and Neville the same.
For the record, if you do hex Madame Umbridge, I can see how drawing attention away from the twins and delaying reapplication of the curse would be to their benefit. But at this point, you'd certainly risk expulsion for direct attacks on her person, if not something more serious, as she appears to be escalating.
I'm not saying don't hex her, just be sure you think through the potential consequences. If you're expelled, rest assured, she'll kick you off the grounds and reapply her hex to the twins, and you won't be able to help them.
Food shouldn't be any problem. There'll probably be a whole line of Gryffindors coming up the stairs with platters of sandwiches. EVERYONE is hacked off about this.
Ginny's here now. She just told me that she's exchanged private messages with her mum, and Mrs Weasley says she heard back from one of the Board of Governors members--I reckon that's Mr Selwyn, since I see she sent him a private message--and he's told her that the Headmistress is being summoned to answer to the Lord Protector. So Mrs Weasley hopes she won't reapply the spell tomorrow, but at any rate, Mrs Weasley says she won't allow it to happen; she'll pull them out of the school, first. So one way or another, this is just going to last until tomorrow morning.
Yeah, we'll tell them that if we have to, that the funeral's Saturday. Ugh.
I have just seen what has happened. I am across the Forest in company and cannot disappear without it being thought suspicious, but depending on what curse that woman used, any attempt to break it or challenge it may result in further damage.
The best thing to do is to let them rest, keep them under observation at all times, and do as little as possible to contradict what she has cursed them into believing until someone can have a look at them.
Poppy, do you have any additional thoughts about what we can do? Any knowledge from either of you about how potions might adversely interact with Confundus and Imperius would be very useful.
I have to agree with Severus with respect to anything beyond tea. Mind magics are tricky things, and there is always a danger that other treatments might magnify or twist them.
As for the after effects of Cruciatus, I would say that they should not be given the palliative unless they begin to show signs of cramping or seizures. Or if they begin to experience their emotional distress as physical pain (it might manifest as piercing headache, but they might also claim it pains their hearts).
Unfortunately, as the trauma of Cruciatus is a mental trauma rather than a properly physical one (the reaction of the body to perceived pain does, of course, result in secondary physical suffering, but the curse itself acts on the mind), it is very likely that the aftermath of that curse is amplifying whatever confundus type spell or potion she might also have administered. (Mr Jordan, if you know, I would appreciate your telling me: did she make them drink anything, do you know? Or was it a series of separate curses that she used?)
If you observe that their distress is sharply worsening rather than gradually easing, then we should talk again about the wisdom of giving them the palliative draught. Do keep it to hand, but do not give it unless I order it.
Thank you, Ma'am. No sign of cramping or seizures at all. Sometimes George gets a little shudder, but that's it.
It took about five minutes of questioning--they're still really confused--but she didn't make them drink anything, as best as we can tell.
Unless they've forgotten. Which I suppose is possible, too. Bugger. Sorry, ma'am.
It was two curses. One was the cruciatus; that was first. The second was whatever this hex is, which is mixed with confundus and obliviate, maybe. A complex spell. They remember the light from it was a really bright blue. She applied it when they were still hunched over in agony on the ground. The wretched bint.
Yeah, Neville and Ron have passed onto me that Sally-Anne Perks is wondering on the Institute's lock about a tea with chamomile and valerian and other soothing things. No a potion, just a calming herbal tea. She also thought about potions that affect memory, and forgetfulness potion, but given what Mr Snape said here, I won't give them those.
Let us know whether the tea would be all right. I'll hold off giving it to them until I hear from Mr Snape or Madam Pomfrey.
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Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 06:04 pm (UTC)Me and my roommates are right here. We won't leave them alone.
Re: ORDER ONLY: Private message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2013-04-21 06:08 pm (UTC)Fred's mostly been curled up in a ball on his bed, crying.
About an hour ago, George made a break for the window like he was going to throw himself out of it, and we had to wrestle him back on the bed and sit on him. He's calmer now, more like catatonia.
Each of them is dead convinced it's his fault.
I don't know if I've ever hated anybody as much as Dolores Umbridge.
Having Terry there as the Professor might help, but we can't risk that, either. Don't even mention it to him.
Re: ORDER ONLY: Private message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2013-04-21 06:19 pm (UTC)Severus or Ms Perks might be able to get them something to calm them down, but I'd be worried about whether that would somehow add to their confusion. I'll ask Poppy what she would recommend.
We shouldn't attempt to get Terry in the castle, even as a dog, and I don't want you to try and move them to the Shrieking Shack while they're in their current state. We'll reassess later.
Perhaps separating them would help, and make them less confused? If you do attempt it, make sure Ron is with one and you're with the other, just so there's someone with each twin that they can completely trust.
Re: ORDER ONLY: Private message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2013-04-21 06:31 pm (UTC)They can't hear each other, but Fred could hear me talking to George, and George could hear Ron and Neville talking to Fred, and that was confusing and distressing, too. So now we're using muffliato.
I agree, I don't think it's a good idea to move them. They're not going to dinner; we're going to bring sandwiches up.
I hope it wears off by the time classes start tomorrow. And we're not sending them to her office to get it reapplied.
If she shows up here to reapply it, I'd be tempted to hex her myself.
Re: ORDER ONLY: Private message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2013-04-21 06:32 pm (UTC)Re: ORDER ONLY: Private message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2013-04-21 06:43 pm (UTC)Let us know if you have any difficulty getting access to food.
It seems like you've got a handle on things at the moment, and are doing what you can to help. And it is helping, even though they're confused and distraught. Stay strong, Lee. I know Fred and George will appreciate what you've done for them once they're in their right state of mind.
And if you've got a chance, tell Ron and Neville the same.
For the record, if you do hex Madame Umbridge, I can see how drawing attention away from the twins and delaying reapplication of the curse would be to their benefit. But at this point, you'd certainly risk expulsion for direct attacks on her person, if not something more serious, as she appears to be escalating.
I'm not saying don't hex her, just be sure you think through the potential consequences. If you're expelled, rest assured, she'll kick you off the grounds and reapply her hex to the twins, and you won't be able to help them.
Re: ORDER ONLY: Private message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2013-04-21 07:19 pm (UTC)Ginny's here now. She just told me that she's exchanged private messages with her mum, and Mrs Weasley says she heard back from one of the Board of Governors members--I reckon that's Mr Selwyn, since I see she sent him a private message--and he's told her that the Headmistress is being summoned to answer to the Lord Protector. So Mrs Weasley hopes she won't reapply the spell tomorrow, but at any rate, Mrs Weasley says she won't allow it to happen; she'll pull them out of the school, first. So one way or another, this is just going to last until tomorrow morning.
Yeah, we'll tell them that if we have to, that the funeral's Saturday. Ugh.
Re: ORDER ONLY: Private message to Mrs Longbottom
Date: 2013-04-21 07:34 pm (UTC)I'll see what we can do in the meantime to make them more comfortable and less distressed.
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 06:17 pm (UTC)The best thing to do is to let them rest, keep them under observation at all times, and do as little as possible to contradict what she has cursed them into believing until someone can have a look at them.
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 06:22 pm (UTC)Once you're able to return to the castle, I would very much appreciate your assessment.
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 06:25 pm (UTC)Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 08:10 pm (UTC)Lee, do you think they're still suffering from that?
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 08:11 pm (UTC)They're not complaining about aches, but then, they have other things on their minds.
I dunno. I'm inclined to be conservative about it, and not give it to them. But I'd be glad to hear from Madam Pomfrey.
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 09:03 pm (UTC)As for the after effects of Cruciatus, I would say that they should not be given the palliative unless they begin to show signs of cramping or seizures. Or if they begin to experience their emotional distress as physical pain (it might manifest as piercing headache, but they might also claim it pains their hearts).
Unfortunately, as the trauma of Cruciatus is a mental trauma rather than a properly physical one (the reaction of the body to perceived pain does, of course, result in secondary physical suffering, but the curse itself acts on the mind), it is very likely that the aftermath of that curse is amplifying whatever confundus type spell or potion she might also have administered. (Mr Jordan, if you know, I would appreciate your telling me: did she make them drink anything, do you know? Or was it a series of separate curses that she used?)
If you observe that their distress is sharply worsening rather than gradually easing, then we should talk again about the wisdom of giving them the palliative draught. Do keep it to hand, but do not give it unless I order it.
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-22 12:16 am (UTC)It took about five minutes of questioning--they're still really confused--but she didn't make them drink anything, as best as we can tell.
Unless they've forgotten. Which I suppose is possible, too. Bugger. Sorry, ma'am.
It was two curses. One was the cruciatus; that was first. The second was whatever this hex is, which is mixed with confundus and obliviate, maybe. A complex spell. They remember the light from it was a really bright blue. She applied it when they were still hunched over in agony on the ground. The wretched bint.
(Sorry, Mrs Weasley.)
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 07:45 pm (UTC)Let us know whether the tea would be all right. I'll hold off giving it to them until I hear from Mr Snape or Madam Pomfrey.
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 07:50 pm (UTC)And Lee... make sure Professor Dolohov stays far away.
He has shown his tendency to want to be helpful as of late, but in their current state, I fear how they'd react and what they would say.
Re: ORDER ONLY
Date: 2013-04-21 08:12 pm (UTC)