Chapter Three
Outnumbered
It was a glorious summer morning, with a cool, damp breeze that was keeping the temperature in check. Jennifer glanced wistfully at the dinner bell as she opened the kitchen door to let in the breeze, but with a sigh decided against it. After all, she had a guest to cook for as well as three kids and Severus, and more than likely a very busy day ahead of her. Quintin sat quietly in his high chair with crayons to keep him occupied, chewing on them every now and again when Jennifer was looking the other way.
"We'll be doing individual meals this morning, Mercy," Jennifer said out loud as she ground the coffee. "Pancakes for Lucky and Leu, Falafel and tomatoes for our guest, and a fry-up for the rest of us. I'll work on the drinks. Hm, I wonder what I should give Bael for a drink? Perhaps both pumpkin juice and coffee, and let him decide."
Just then, Jennifer heard the front door and peered around the machine.
"Is that you, Lucky?" Jennifer called out.
"Ya, it's me," Lucky replied and walked into the kitchen, picking crayons off the floor and putting them back on Quintin's tray so he could throw them on the floor again. "He's getting hungry."
"Yes, we're working on it. Did you go to your school this morning?" Jennifer asked.
"Ya, I already talked to my advisor," Lucky sighed. "I'm taking a year off to volunteer for the American Peace Corps."
"That sounds aptly named. What is it?" Jennifer asked.
"It's an organization where you spend a year helping out people in third world countries or war-stricken areas," Lucky explained.
"In a way I suppose that is what you really are doing," Jennifer said with a sigh.
"Vallid suggested it. Her paperwork says the same thing," Lucky said. "I just hope it doesn't set back my chances to get into Darwin. Anyway, where we going for vacation?"
"The Temptation is moored in Gibraltar at the moment. We'll probably spend a few days there before heading up the Spanish coast," Jennifer said, handing her some coffee.
"Well, I hope you don't mind if I just stay the few days in Gibraltar and take off then," Lucky said.
"Oh, no. But I depend on you to help me with Quintin when Leu is diving! Quintin really doesn't know safety boundaries yet," Jennifer protested.
"Yeah, but you'll have Bael with you, maybe he can help. I need to spend some time with Dale before I go. It's going to be a long time for him over here, especially with limited contact…"
"Say no more," Jennifer interrupted with a sigh. "For someone who has been in that position I quite understand. Yes, you must spend time with Dale, although I should warn you that your father is quite concerned about you going on this trip as well."
"What a softie," Lucky smirked, helping her put the juice on the table.
"Why don't you go up and see if Leu or Bael are awake yet?" Jennifer suggested, putting Quintin's crayons and paper away. Lucky reluctantly put down her coffee and went upstairs. A moment later, Severus stepped in from the side hallway.
"Are we eating on time?" Severus wondered, glancing at his watch.
"I have it under control. Lucky has gone upstairs for the others and I can at least get Quintin started on the hour even if everyone else is running behind," Jennifer assured him. "I must say the table seems a bit empty this summer with Alex and her family living on their own now."
"How could you possibly think so when you just set places for six?" Severus said critically, fetching the paper off the windowsill before taking his place. He immediately frowned at the headline. "'Merlin Captured! Andrew Snape to Lead Rescue Team!' Now how did they find out about it so quickly?"
"I could name any number of people at the house party who could have tipped Ron off to what was going on," Jennifer chuckled. "And the funny part of it was it probably wasn't Hermione." Severus sighed.
"Good morning," Bael said as he and Leu walked in behind Lucky. As they greeted each other, they also heard a ribbit.
"Leu, put Copper away please, no familiars at the table," Severus said sternly.
"Copper was practicing sentry duty this morning. I saw him eat two flies, but he still seems hungry," Leu reported solemnly, taking Copper out of his pocket and putting him down.
"You may feed all of the familiars after breakfast. Wash your hands before you sit down," Severus told him.
"I know a hand sanitation spell now," Leu informed him. But it was obvious from the return glance he got that he wasn't going to be able to practice it, so he shuffled to the kitchen sink.
"What are your protocols for a gathering like this?" Bael asked.
"Since the children typically break them at every given opportunity, they really aren't important," Severus said dryly.
"You may sit by Severus, Bael, the setting with two drinks. I wasn't sure which you would like better, so I made both. Be careful, the coffee is hot," Jennifer warned. Bael sipped it carefully, but set it aside with a frown.
"It doesn't taste anything like the one I had at the train station," He admitted.
"What did you get there?" Lucky asked curiously, sitting beside him.
"I think it was called a soy latte," Bael said.
"Oh, yeah. Probably more soy and sugar than coffee in that," Lucky agreed.
"Can I try it?" Leu asked.
"I'd rather you wait another year or two. You can always have milk if you don't fancy pumpkin juice this morning," Jennifer said, pulling Quintin's chair over to the table. She sat down and the plates arrived, and Leu began inspecting what everyone else had. Bael was doing the same thing. "Breakfast is here, Severus."
Severus quickly folded the paper.
"I thought it was interesting that the Daily Prophet seems to already know more than I do. It would seem that Lunette and Laura have both told them that they plan on going," Severus said.
"Yeah, I know. Me too," Lucky said, Severus frowning in response. "I got up early to talk to our administration office about it. So I guess the only one who hasn't responded yet is Madame Brittle."
"I thought I saw an Owl from her this morning," Jennifer commented. Severus fixed his gaze on her. "Well, I didn't read it," she said defensively. Severus got up to fetch it.
"Is this some sort of bread in a bread?" Bael asked with confusion, taking out a ball not exactly sure how to eat it.
"It's Falafel, made of chickpeas. Francis recommended it," Jennifer explained.
"You eat it like a taco. Here, I'll show you," Lucky said, rolling up her sausage in one of her pancakes. "Just remember to tilt your head and not the bread," she explained, taking a bite. On the other side of her, Leu attempted to wrap his bacon in his own pancake, but it didn't seem to want to stay put.
"Fork and knife, please, Leu," Severus said, opening his post.
"Really, Severus. It's hardly fair to criticize Leu when Lucky's doing the same thing," Jennifer tsked at him.
"She is helping Bael. Besides, when it comes to table manners, I have decided that Lucky is a lost cause," Severus said. "Leu isn't."
"What does Madame Brittle say?" Leu asked, hoping to change the subject.
"She is asking my permission. She wants to know if I can spare her considering that Andrew is going," Severus said.
"Well, obviously you're going to give her permission, of course," Jennifer said, Severus giving her a dirty look. "Anyway, it can't be all that hard to replace an athletic and broom instructor, can it? Hogwarts has cultivated years of good Quidditch players, surely one would be willing to do it."
"And some knowledge of soccer wouldn't hurt either," Lucky reminded them. "You also need Transfiguration and Defense."
"Thank you, I'm well aware of it, although I do already have someone lined up for Defense," Severus said. "I don't suppose you've heard yet when the team is planning on leaving?"
"Vallid needs a couple weeks, so Andrew's thinking midsummer," Lucky said. "I need to get ready too, but I will be able to spend a couple of days on the boat, then I have stuff to do." Severus frowned but didn't say anything as Lucky gulped down her coffee. "All done, going to go get packed." As walked out of the room, Severus shook his head.
"She really shouldn't be going. She really shouldn't. But if I said anything, it'd only strengthen her resolve," Severus muttered.
"Of course it would," Jennifer agreed gently. "But she is an adult now, after all."
"Barely, and certainly not ready to be sent into a den of demons," Severus argued, tossing aside the letter. "Especially not with her past."
"She is more than capable of taking care of herself, Severus," Jennifer said firmly.
"I don't understand why you would be worried more about her and not Andrew," Leu put in, reminding them both he was still at the table.
"I am worried about all of them," Severus admitted. "But I worry about them in different ways, because they are different people with different strengths and weaknesses, which sometimes makes one person more vulnerable to a situation than another."
"I see," Leu said, picking up a piece of bacon to chomp on.
"What is that?" Bael asked.
"It's bacon. Try some," Leu said, handing him a piece.
Severus quickly put a hand in front of Jennifer, who was about to say something. She clamped at her jaw, but gave him a hard stare of disapproval. Bael nibbled on the bacon cautiously.
"It is very salty!" Bael exclaimed, as if not quite sure what to think of it.
"It's supposed to be," Leu said, attempting to wrap his up in pancake again. Bael copied him, putting it in his falafel and testing it.
"It's much better like that," Bael decided.
"Yes, I think so too," Leu agreed.
"Care to try my toast while you're at it?" Severus offered, pointing him at his kippers.
"I should think not," Bael said indignantly. "Thanks to you, I already know what dead fish looks like, and that obviously has fish on it. I'm not going to put myself through a trial of that again."
"I like fish," Leu said enthusiastically. "We normally eat quite a bit of it while we're on the boat."
"That's quite all right, I've already made sure I have plenty for Bael to eat as well," Jennifer assured them. "Why don't you finish up? I think I need to do a bit of shopping before we head to the boat this afternoon."
"Should I be worried?" Severus asked, squinting.
"Not especially about that, no. But Bael didn't pack for a long stay, let alone for a sea outing. You needn't feel bothered with going, however. I can take care of it," Jennifer said.
"And what will our bank account look like if I don't go?" Severus challenged her.
"It's hardly an issue, is it? Now that the school is well-funded, we should be all right, even if I do splurge," Jennifer reasoned.
"I'm going," Severus said.
"I'm probably going to Harrod's as well as Hogsmeade," Jennifer warned. Severus hesitated, but then wondered if she had thrown that in there to dissuade him.
"I'm still going," he said flatly.
"Good!" Jennifer said, sounding more triumphant than put out. "It'll be much easier shopping if you're there to watch Quintin for me." Severus stared at her for a moment.
"You lost that one," Leu explained.
"Thank you, go change into your Muggle clothes," Severus told Leu, who immediately got up. Inspecting Leu's plate, Bael tweaked the last piece of bacon. "Why do I have the feeling this won't be a relaxing sort of holiday?"
Severus was already quite done with shopping by the time they changed and arrived at Hogsmeade.
"I don't suppose an early lunch is on your agenda? Or a stop at the Brooms," Severus suggested.
"Actually, I promised Minerva I'd stop by as soon as we arrived. She sent an Owl saying she wanted to speak to us," Jennifer explained. "Perhaps after that."
"Very well," Severus said, setting Quintin down to walk and keeping to the rear so that he wouldn't stray.
"I don't suppose by Minerva you're referring to the Royal Seamstress?" Bael asked with interest.
"Of course," Jennifer said, walking over to the shop.
"I knew she had decided to get away from it all for a while. Although it seems a strange place to do it," Bael admitted as Jennifer paused at the door.
"What's this?" she asked out loud, glancing at the sign. "'Limited hours beginning after Summer Solstice. A calendar will be posted.' I wonder if that means what I think it means?"
"One obvious way to find out," Severus said, opening the door and letting Quintin march in.
"Is this a parade?" Minerva inquired from her chair as Severus followed, then Bael and Jennifer.
"A rather short one for a change," Severus said dryly.
"You knew what you was getting into when you married her," Minerva said calmly, setting her work aside. "This must be Bael."
"Royal Seamstress Minerva," Bael said with a bow of the head and a complex gesture. Minerva made a simple one of her own.
"I hope our world isn't too much of a shock to you," she said with a mischievous wink in her eye.
"It is," Bael said solemnly. "Albus of the Leaf did try to warn me, but the London town was much bigger than he led me to believe."
"He does tend to downplay things when he's afraid it'll overwhelm someone, doesn't he, Severus?" Minerva said.
"He never did that to me," Severus said flatly.
"Oh, didn't he?" Minerva replied with a thin but challenging smile.
"What was it you wanted to see us about, Minerva? Although we are here to shop as well," Jennifer interrupted. "For Bael, mostly."
"You may also want to do more shopping of your own, Jennifer, because I have decided to go back to the Otherworld for a while," Minerva warned.
"Joining the rescuers?" Severus inquired.
"No, I'm only going to stay with them until they get to Caer Brenin, so I can help Albus with Defense. Many of their best warriors are too busy maintaining the border, so he found himself helping the castle guard," Minerva explained.
"Yes, he had been considering volunteering when I last spoke to him," Bael agreed.
"In which case, your news seems to be more up to date than ours," Severus said.
"I do have limited communication with him, actually, although it's a bit unreliable because the time stream difference," Minerva explained. "I found it in the Tinker shop last Christmas. It's called the Teledim. Unfortunately, my messages take a while to get to him. I will probably arrive before my last message telling him that I would see what I could do. Care to borrow it while I'm gone?"
"Yes, that sounds like a good idea. How long will you be gone? You're not resigning from the board, are you?" Severus asked, squinting.
"I'm only taking a leave of absence. And I'm only staying as long as Andrew and his team are. I am hoping that things will stabilize somewhat once Merlin is rescued, and besides, they'll need my guidance through the portal on the way there and back," Minerva said.
"You seem sure that they will succeed, Seamstress," Bael observed.
"Only because they have no choice," Minerva said simply. "The alternative would eventually have drastic consequences on both our worlds."
"There can be no doubt of that," Jennifer agreed, slipping her spectacles down a bit so she could browse.
It was dreadfully early when Bael stumbled out of his bunk, trying to be as quiet as possible since the boy sleeping in the other was still fast asleep. At first he thought he was the only one awake, but then he made his way out of the head and noticed dim lights on as he made his way to the saloon, where Lucky was bundled up under wool blankets, snoring on the couch. He looked over at the small galley area at the other end and Jennifer grinned at him with amusement as she worked to fill the teakettle. Carefully he made his way over to her and sat on one of the stools at her offer.
"Are you feeling any better?" Jennifer asked quietly.
"I am getting used to it, my lady," Bael said, although he didn't sound too convincing. "At least it seems much calmer than last night."
"Yes between the rocks and the squall it did get a little choppy," Jennifer admitted. "Are you up for some breakfast? We have apples and oranges and tomatoes and bread and pumpkin scones if you like."
"I think I can eat. I don't suppose there's bacon?" Bael asked.
"Well, yes," Jennifer admitted reluctantly. "But I really think you ought to stay away from it, Bael, it's not good for you."
"Hey, what's wrong with bacon?" grumped Lucky from where she yawned on the couch. Jennifer sighed and began sorting through the fruit. "Makes you strong, you know. I need all the strength I can get."
"I'll make you whatever you like, Lucky," Jennifer said. "But it isn't good for Bael."
"Why not?" Lucky challenged her.
"I can't say," Jennifer said in annoyance, putting a breadbasket on the bar.
"I get it. Dad's got leverage against you, doesn't he?" Lucky prodded. Jennifer stuck her tongue out at Lucky and got the frying pan out, and Lucky grinned in response.
"What's leverage?" Bael asked.
"Well, in financial terms, it's debt you accrue to finance your assets. But in this case, she's got the debt and he's got the assets," Lucky teased with a smirk.
"That'll do, Lucky. Why don't you find the press and make some coffee?" Jennifer suggested.
"Guess that means she's not worried about whether or not it's good for us," Lucky said, getting up.
"And you had best stop taking advantage of my tolerance of your antics today, Lucky, it will run out eventually," Jennifer warned, shaking a fork at her. "Why don't you go see if you can rouse Leu from his bunk?"
"What about the other two?" Lucky asked, putting the press on the counter. Jennifer glanced at the clock.
"I'm sure Quintin will wake him up in fourteen and a half minutes," Jennifer said. "That gives me just enough time to get breakfast in order." Lucky nodded and headed to Leu's cabin.
Bael watched Jennifer scramble in the kitchen for a moment, wondering whether or not to say what was on his mind.
"You did get some sleep last night, I trust?" Jennifer said conversationally as got out teacups and juice glasses.
"I had a great deal of trouble initially, but I slept soundly once I did get to sleep," Bael replied.
"I find that's often the case for me, too, as long it's not a hurricane out there," Jennifer said. "Tea, coffee, or juice?"
"Shouldn't I be getting that?" Bael protested at last. "Or at least helping you along?"
"Nonsense, Bael. You're our guest here," Jennifer said, setting out the decanter. "Don't let it trouble you. Lucky, have Leu help you unfold the table."
"Well, it's only that… I didn't think the situation would be like this," Bael tried to explain.
"Yes, I expect our world is as much of a shock to you as your world was to us," Jennifer said sympathetically.
"No, not that," Bael said. "I mean more that you yourself are different than when we first met… drastically different, actually." Jennifer stopped what she was doing and studied him carefully.
"You think I'm acting like a servant!" she accused him with a gasp. Bael blinked in surprise. "I act nothing like the sort, and I'm certainly no 'starting servant who is trying too hard,'" she scoffed. Bael grimaced.
"Your pardon, my lady. This land must befuddle my senses, I had no idea that you were joined to my mind at all," Bael said sheepishly.
"Oh, it's nothing like that, but I saw what you were thinking well enough. And you can stop that sniggering at any time, young lady," she added for good measure. Lucky sat down beside him. "I don't mean any disrespect at all, but I do have servants of my own, it's simply that cooking isn't Kelpie's forte, really, unless you like everything flavored and stuffed with kelp and other sea fauna and that does get old after a while."
"That's not it," Lucky said, stealing Bael's coffee cup since he hadn't touched it yet. "He means he hasn't seen you in 'Mum mode' before. And he's right, you do try too hard."
"I act no different now than what I ever do," Jennifer said defensively, turning her attention back to cooking.
"Yeah, you do. In the summer you fade into the background and live everyone else's lives instead of yours," Lucky said. "Don't worry, Bael. She returns to normal once school starts back up again."
"I won't be 'normal' when school starts up again, because you and Andrew will be gone," Jennifer snapped. "And if I behave any different than normal, it's because I'm quite worried about it, thank you very much, so I would suggest that you leave it before I lose my temper altogether."
"I'm terribly sorry, it seems I brought up something I shouldn't have," Bael said sincerely.
"It isn't your fault, Bael. Do try a scone," Jennifer said. Bael sighed. "And there's no reason for you to feel uncomfortable with the situation."
"On the contrary, he has every reason."
Bael was quite relieved to see Severus stepping into the saloon, setting down Quintin who raced to get to the small table where Leu had his milk ready.
"He has every reason to feel as uncomfortable about this as I did when everyone in Caer Danaan was treating me like a prince," Severus said quietly. "It is bad enough being taken out of your element, but then to also lose your sense of purpose and the right to make your own decisions is more than a little overwhelming."
"I'm hardly making decisions for him!" Jennifer protested.
"He has had little choice but to follow our decisions since he found out he can not go home," Severus said.
"Nonsense, he can do what he likes," Jennifer said irritably. "I'm hardly going to stop him."
"Do I have your word on that, my lady?" Bael inquired.
"You hardly need it, you have the right to make your own choices as much as anyone else," Jennifer said firmly. Bael gazed at her fixedly. "Fine, you have my word on it!" she said with exasperation.
Bael got up with a smile and took Jennifer's arm, leading her around to the other side of the bar and coaxing her to sit down.
"Well, there was nothing in that statement that said you could make my choices for me," Jennifer protested as Bael took her place.
"Talk me through it, I can manage," Bael said after staring at the oven a moment.
"Here, I'll help ya finish up," Lucky offered immediately. Jennifer tried to get up as well, but Severus put a firm hand on her shoulder.
"Honestly, this isn't a good idea…"
"You did give your word," Severus reminded her.
"There isn't that much left to do. The bacon's coming off now," Lucky said. "Leu, come get Quintin's breakfast and cut it up for him."
"All right," Leu said.
"I should at least take care of that part," Jennifer protested, eyeing Leu as if she didn't quite trust him to get the pieces small enough.
"It won't kill you to take a morning off," Severus said, sitting down beside her.
"Bael wants to see her out of her 'mum mode,'" Lucky explained.
"I already defended that one, thank you," Jennifer said curtly.
"It is probably a lost cause right now, Bael, but the Jennifer you remember will return when she's back at the school in autumn," Severus said. "We tend to devote summers to family, since we have little time the rest of the year to do so."
"I hardly see how one can spend time in the family when one doesn't ever leave the kitchen. Nor do you need to always put others in front of yourself," Bael chided her.
"Well, if I do happen to do that, it's only to make up for the rest of the year," Jennifer said defensively, reluctantly accepting the cup from Bael. "Severus is right, we have frightfully little time once school starts."
"And yet she always manages to get into trouble elsewhere," Severus said dryly.
"I didn't last year, as you know perfectly well," Jennifer clucked.
"Only because trouble came to us instead," Severus reminded her. Jennifer heard a sniggering noise and whipped her head around in time to see Leu hurriedly turning to face his plate. Jennifer squinted at him.
"Well! At least it doesn't take long to get her back to herself, does it?" Bael decided feeling more encouraged.
"It's a constant pendulum in these summer months," Severus warned him.
"It seems that I am terribly outnumbered today," Jennifer said, sounding both resigned and irritated at the same time.
"I don't believe it would have worked any other way," Bael said. Severus, Lucky and Leu nodded in agreement.
Andrew waited until the last possible moment to leave, memorizing as much of the Otherworld globe as he possibly could before he finally acknowledged the clock. He grabbed his travel pack and double-checked everything he could think of before going downstairs. Surprisingly, it was his father, not his mother, sitting at the kitchen bar drinking coffee, casually glancing outside as if noting that it was closer to dawn than Andrew probably was aware of.
"No mother? Did you put something in her drink last night?" Andrew said accusingly.
"Not unawares, I assure you, although I may not have warned her that I made it stronger than usual," Severus admitted. "I thought it may be better for both of you if you left discreetly. You have the alchemist flowers I made for Aepheri?"
"Yes, although I'm not sure if she'll appreciate them, considering they're not exactly alive," Andrew said.
"They are alive in their own way," Severus said. "You had best be off. Your team is probably wondering where you are by now."
"Very well. Any last minute advice?" Andrew asked.
"I doubt any advice would do you much good over there, considering the trouble I had adjusting to the differences myself. If anything, I would say don't take anything at face value, and don't be afraid to accept help if you're out of your league. That's the two things I came away from after my experience," Severus said. "Oh, and come back as soon as possible...with your sister, if you don't mind. You mother is about to become nearly intolerable."
"How well I know it. Have fun this school year," Andrew added. Knowing that the dirty look his father gave him was the only response he was going to get, Andrew focused in on his destination and Disapperated.
Thick fog rolled over the area surrounding the Lake. A soft, eerie glow came from lanterns near the edge of the cliff… subtle and dim, as if the light itself was afraid to disrupt the mist and shadows. Sitting around them were familiar figures; only Lucky looked up when he approached. Laura, Essie, and Danny were busy checking over their packs for the third time. Minerva was mending a hem on Lucky's cloak. And Lunette Vallid was reading; apparently refreshing her Fae language skills.
It was then and only then that it occurred to Andrew that everyone there besides himself was a woman, and he let out a painful moan. Everyone else looked up at him quizzically.
"You're running late. Did you forget something?" Minerva asked.
"I believe he forgot that Viviane was the one who set up his party," Lunette said with a thin, knowing smile.
Of course. To Viviane, women were the superior companions, Andrew thought with a sigh. So why had he ended up being the leader?
"Well, obviously, because you are a stand-in for your father," Lunette said.
"What, Lunette?" Danny asked.
"Oh nothing, just talking out loud," Lunette said, putting away her book.
"That is the general way that one talks," Minerva agreed, biting off the thread. "There you are, Lucky. Hopefully it's high enough now that you won't step on it again."
"Thanks," Lucky said, taking the cloak. The fabric was strange; and Andrew found himself wondering where he'd seen it before. Then she put it on, and seemed to blend in with her surroundings.
"Is that a Night Shroud?" Andrew asked.
"No, it's a cloak. But it's made out of a similar fabric called Camoleon," Minerva explained. "It'll give us partial cover in both night and day, even against Fae vision. Here is yours," she added handing it out.
"I'm not sure I actually need one…"
"You cannot be invisible all the time, Andrew. Besides, it really wasn't my idea, and I couldn't have afforded all of these anyway. Your father bought the cloth, I merely supplied the labor," Minerva explained. Andrew sighed and put it on.
"Do you have any sort of working plan yet on what to do when we get there?" Laura asked.
"First order of business is to meet with Irian and successfully get to Tir Danaan," Andrew said. Laura gazed at him for a while, and then frowned.
"That's it?" she said after it was obvious that it was.
"Father warned me to expect delays and not to over plan. Not to mention the fact that we have no idea what has changed in the war since Bael left. Despite the time advantage, the situation can escalate quickly," Andrew explained. "We're simply going to have to have one goal at a time and then assess the situation before planning the next stage."
"It is true that we will be able to tell what's going on better when we get to Tir Danaan," Minerva said in tentative support. "We may have to rely on our animal forms if the Unseelie has managed to breach the roads from Lugh to Danaan, however. I will copy my map of the area so that you all may have one if we get separated."
"Wait, does Lucky have an animagus form?" Laura asked.
"Ya, though I didn't know anyone knew about it outside the family until this came up. I just learned recently," Lucky explained. "Sirius started teaching me right after I graduated Hogwarts, though it took nearly a year. I didn't think I'd ever be able to figure it out considering how bad my Transfiguration always was, but he insisted anybody could do it with enough practice and kept dogging me until I learned how." Essie snickered at that. "Dad was the one who asked him to do it, though, after the farm incident. He wanted me to pick one immune to fire, so that I'd have another option in case I found myself in a situation without my bracelet and cloak."
"Now that's what I've come to expect from a Snape. Overkill planning for everything," Laura said with an appreciative nod.
"Well, in this case he warned me not to do so," Andrew interjected firmly, trying to remain stoic despite his irritation. "And although it's not his mission, I chose to take his sound advice on the matter. Thank you, Minerva. I've memorized most of the area between the Maze and Caer Brenin, but I'm quite sure these will come in handy, especially if we end up off the road."
"Of course," Minerva said with a thin smile.
Minerva had little trouble seeing the friction that was already building between Andrew and Laura, and wondered if the group's makeup wouldn't prove to be the biggest obstacle to their mission. It was understandable that their would be; Laura's view from being an Auror for two years was bound to give her a different perspective than Andrew's; as much as Andrew had been through since he was born, he was still first and foremost a teacher…and her former teacher… which meant he was less likely to listen to her advice despite her experience, or Lucky's for that matter.
"With any luck the way will still be clear. I believe we'd benefit from getting to know each other better before we run into trouble," Minerva added.
"I know some of us don't socialize with each other outside of family or school events, but if there is one advantage to this group is that we already know each other well," Andrew said.
"I believe Minerva is referring to getting used to know one another as a team," Lunette suggested, Minerva nodding in response. "That is a whole different relationship compared to that of acquaintances we give token Christmas presents to. Might I suggest, Andrew, along with keeping the plan to keep our options open as far as the beginning of this journey is concerned, that we also keep our preconceptions of one another in check? Because I rather think our casual assumptions about each other may endanger the mission if we're not careful."
"I quite agree," Andrew said. "Although I highly doubt it'll be a problem." Minerva and Vallid glanced at each other.
"You really didn't expect he'd listen, did you, Lunette?"
Everyone looked up to see Viviane stepping out of the mist with a wry smile.
"He's too much like his father for that. I'm not sure listening is even in his vocabulary," she added as she walked forward.
"Then why did you make him leader instead of Counselor Vallid?" Laura asked.
"That would be a waste of talent. Everyone else here is better suited to their own purposes," Viviane explained bluntly. "Leader is such a minor position, and is the weakest link." Andrew blinked at that.
"With all due respect, Lady Viviane, I very much disagree with that," Essie spoke up. "Andrew is a very good listener and has been since he was very little. In fact, he was the family's peace maker for a long time."
"She has a point, Viviane. Andrew was one of the more sensible students I ever had," Minerva said.
"The key word being 'was,'" Viviane said tersely. "Be that as it may, it is a good thing there is some lingering faith in him. It may keep all of you alive while you figure out how to become a team. Considering how many depend on it, I trust you will get your act together." With a subtle movement of her hand, there was a soft rumble… not unlike thunder in the distance. "You should gather your things and leave now. Irian awaits beyond."
They glanced at one another unsurely, and then Lucky shrugged.
"Allons-y," she said, getting up.
"Hold hands and follow me," Minerva advised them.
"Goodbye, World," Danny said.
"Let us know if it says goodbye back," Laura replied as they randomly joined hands.
As Minerva walked towards the edge of the cliff, the others noticed a faint crackling in the air in front of her. At the end of the line, Andrew found himself wondering when exactly he was supposed to take the lead, oblivious to the fact that everyone else was wondering the exact same thing.
