Yule bonus chapter. Hope you have a good holiday, no matter which you celebrate, and I hope you enjoy the chapter. JCWriter

Chapter Three

The Dark and Stormy Night

Thomas Craw paced the length of his office, wishing not for the first time that he had a longer office in which to do so, despite the fact the office was anything but small. In fact, Cynn Brogan, Rinan Scur, George Stockton, and even Earham Singh were sitting in the room, somberly watching him pace.

"I don't care what the hospital said, there is something not right about this whole situation," Thomas said. "The reason I hired Geffard in the first place was that he wasn't known for making mistakes when it came to checking and categorizing items. He had a real nose for spotting them even before any sort of detection spells were cast, and he damn well wouldn't have handled a cursed item without knowing all of its effects first. And yet they're trying to tell me that he died after handling a cursed item? No, that doesn't sit well with me, there is something not right. Do you know if he had any debts, Stock? Any enemies in the camp?"

"Well, he's never asked for an advance or borrowed against his wages," Stock said. "And as far as I know, everyone in the camp got along fairly well with him."

"Any recent hires that I don't know about?" Thomas asked.

"No, nothing other than miners, you know how they come and go. Normal turnover," Stock shrugged. Thomas thought about it for a moment.

"Get me a list," Thomas said at last. "Especially of anyone new or anyone quitting without notice."

"All right. Let me just run over to my office real quick, I can make you one off the last payroll," Stock said. Thomas waved him towards the door, and Stock walked out, pausing and opening it further so that Jennifer could enter.

"Oh, it's you," Thomas said flatly when he saw who it was, while Jennifer was still glancing around thoughtfully, taking note of who was in the room. "When did you get back?"

"Just this morning," Jennifer said, unconcerned with the lackluster greeting. "We saw what happened to Sam in the paper…"

"No one saw what happened to Sam, except perhaps whoever killed him," Thomas grunted irritably.

"Then you don't think it was an item?" Jennifer frowned.

"I sent them to the lab, they're checking them now," Thomas said. "Although it didn't take long for Artifacts to find out I sent it to the lab first, so they sent someone along to 'supervise'."

"More than likely, they are simply trying to think up violations and pulling up every legal book they can find to give them a reason to confiscate them," Rinan said.

Thomas stopped his pacing and pointed at Rinan, glancing up at Jennifer whose lip had begun to curl.

"See? It isn't just me!" Thomas said.

"And I'm sure Severus would agree with you," Jennifer said with a shake of the head and a smile. "Still, Coffers is a good man, and I think he's only trying to do his job."

"Good men should not be in politics," Thomas said curtly. "You can't get things done by being good. The Artifacts Department would simply poke at it with interest until someone else is foolish enough to report a discovered item to them; then they would promptly stick the first item in the vault with a tag around it and forget about it."

"Something that is forgotten is also not likely to be missed," Rinan mused.

"An interesting point," Thomas admitted, while Jennifer let out an exasperated sigh and Earham pretended he hadn't heard Rinan at all. "Which does make me wonder even more. We still don't have a possible motive for Geffard's death, and I'm not ready to rule out that the items they found no matter what the outcome of the tests. But if it was one of the items they were after, why were they in such a hurry to get a hold of it? They could have waited until my team had tagged and sorted them and got back to work surveying the new tunnel for gold. No one would have been the wiser."

"It would have been no reason to murder Geffard, Thomas," Earham pointed out.

"Perhaps he discovered something else," Thomas mused. "Perhaps he found something or found out something so detrimental that he was killed to keep him from speaking out."

"Assuming he was murdered at all," Rinan reminded them. "These things do happen on site from time to time, we all know that."

"I still don't like it," Thomas said stubbornly, pacing again.

"It's part of your job to be suspicious, Thomas," Rinan grunted. "But let's not get too carried away just yet. There's no evidence of foul play, you know."

There was a brisk knock, and Jennifer opened the door curiously, and then smiled warmly.

"Oh, hello, Paul. Hello, David," she said as a young man in lab robes came in followed by the Minister of Artifacts.

"Good evening, Jennifer!" David Coffers answered with a smile.

"I've finished those tests sir," Paul said. "And although some of the items have basic enchantments, including the bag, none of the items seem to be cursed."

"None of them at all?" Thomas squinted.

"I did have to confiscate one item, Thomas," Coffers put in, handing him some paperwork. "The small Egyptian sarcophagus with the mummified cat in it."

"Never mind it was solid gold and probably worth more than any other piece," Rinan said.

"Now, that can't be helped, Mr. Scur. You know what our trade agreements with Egypt are like, and considering the strange collection within the bag it's quite possible this one had been stolen at some point. In which case, you couldn't have sold it legally if you had wanted to," Coffers pointed out. "However, the rest of the collection is hardly without its merits. Some of the histories of those items are rather interesting, in fact. Like that monkey paw, for example… I found some rather interesting legends about a mummified monkey paw in old Archives records. Apparently one came to our country before… from India, I believe, that was cursed to grant three wishes to three men, who all ended up coming to terrible ends. The widow of the last was said to have hired someone to have taken it out of the country in hopes to be rid of the curse."

"Yes, I've heard that story before," Thomas said.

"I wonder if that's why all the local miners seemed to be afraid of it," Stock said, everyone glancing at him curiously. "When Sam brought the pouch with the paw out of the mine, there was a lot of murmuring going on. In fact, several of them refused to work while it was on the site, saying that bad things would happen to them if they tried."

"Well, there are no curses on that paw, Mr. Stockton. I tested it myself," Paul said. "I also had some chemical tests done as well, Mr. Craw. We found no traces of viruses or malignant bacteria on anything that might explain his sudden collapse." Thomas frowned at that, and then glanced at Stockton.

"Get me a release of that autopsy," Thomas said.

"Thomas, considering that the death happened on your property, perhaps you should get Adler on this one?" Coffers ventured.

"Considering everyone keeps telling me it was just a coincidence, why should I have to?" Thomas retorted. "When can I pick up those other items?"

"I just need to finish recording their properties for Mr. Coffers, sir. I should have them done sometime tomorrow," Paul said.

"Thank you, Scarlet, that'll be all," Thomas said, waving the lab assistant off. "Unless there's anything else at the moment?"

"No, not at all, have a good evening, Thomas," Coffers said, apparently glad to get out of there. Jennifer looked after him thoughtfully.

"Now that that old blowhard is out of the way," Thomas began after Coffers closed the door. "Jen-girl, how would you feel about taking your own look at those items?"

"I would be glad to, Father, although Paul was one of my students, you know. He's not likely to miss anything."

"I agree on many occasions he's been more than thorough, and between he and Ginger the work in our investigations lab has been exemplary," Thomas grunted. "But I want better than thorough this time, Jen-girl. I want to be certain."

"In that case, you'd better send them to Hogwarts," Jennifer decided. "I'll tag along with Severus this weekend and get to work."

"That'll do nicely," Thomas decided, finally deciding a seat before offering his companions some drinks.


The sky had darkened menacingly as Jennifer had left the Ministry, making her pause and listen to the thunder in the distance. She went inside then to find that Ben had gotten home and was at his computer, while his two sons were playing on the living room floor… or rather arguing… for Janus kept pulling his toys closer with a resounding, "Mine!" while Rus was content to watch him uncaringly, saying the name, "Jay!" over and over again.

"Hullo, Ben! There's a nasty storm coming in," Jennifer said, turning up the gaslights.

"I know, I'm just checking my messages before I turn it off. Do you want me to let Alex know you're home?" Ben asked.

"Oh… um, yes, I suppose, but I think I'll hold off having a family dinner until tomorrow night. I don't want anyone out in this. I'm afraid it'll just have to be the seven of us tonight," Jennifer decided, venting one of the windows and kissing both the boys before wandering towards the kitchen. Ben watched her go before he broke into a hearty chuckle, shaking his head as he saved his work and shut the computer down.

Jennifer paused long enough to peer out the back door, sighing in disbelief to see that Ambrose and Lucky were still in the backyard kicking a ball back and forth.

"Honestly, don't you both have the sense to come in when the weather gets bad?" Jennifer scolded them.

"What? It's not even raining yet!" Lucky protested.

"I think I just felt something," Ambrose said ominously.

"No, you didn't!" Lucky murmured as a sudden wind came up and she tried to look calm despite Ambrose's quick decision to run into the house.

"Come on, Lucky! We don't want to be hit by lightning or anything!" Ambrose said.

"Gimme a break, it'd hit the tree first," Lucky snorted, walking more calmly behind him while Jennifer suddenly paled.

"My tree!" Jennifer exclaimed, standing near the door and staring at it worriedly. She looked behind her to make sure they were inside before uncuffing her wand and quickly casting a spell on it to deflect lightning. Just then, the rain began to come down, dropping tiny pellets of ice along with it and causing Jennifer to scramble inside. "Lucky, don't you dare turn on that contraption!" she scolded, cutting off the girl's descent upon the television. "Why don't you two make certain all the familiars are in?"

"Should I open the window in the attic?" Lucky asked.

"No, because the last time we did that when it rained, we found stains on Alex and Ben's ceiling the next morning. Open up the one at the end of the hall instead," Jennifer decided. Just then, the light outside brightened and then dimmed. Before the thunder finally caught up with the lightning, Severus had emerged from the library with a book in his hand. He gazed fixedly at Jennifer only for a moment, but she smiled at him with a knowing, reassuring smile.

"Just a summer squall, though a nasty one more than likely. Everyone's in," Jennifer explained. "Lucky, go open that window like I asked."

"Yes, and why don't you bring down your summer homework? It seems a fine time for you both to work on it… down here, so I can make certain you're both working on it," he said for good measure, lighting a small fire in the fireplace as Lucky reluctantly did what she was told. "Mercy, how about tea and sandwiches?"

"I was about to make dinner," Jennifer protested.

"Small sandwiches," Severus added, despite the fact that Jennifer knew that Mercy would simply pile them up all the higher if she thought they were too little.

"I like rain," Ambrose said cheerfully, watching as it began to pour. "It rather makes me feel sleepy sometimes, though."

"Same with these two," Ben chuckled, for although Icarus had been wide-awake and active just a moment before, he had decided to curl up and take a nap. "I think I'll just lay them down here in the pen."

Ambrose immediately helped out by picking up the toys and had them all put out of the way by the time Lucky got back with their assignments, and then the two of them sat at the dining room table.

"I don't suppose you can help me in the kitchen for a moment or two, Severus?" Jennifer asked.

Severus slipped his bookmark back into place with a thoughtful look on his face and followed her. Ambrose watched curiously as he walked through the dining room, then leaned over to where Lucky was sitting.

"I didn't think Uncle Severus ever helped out in the kitchen," Ambrose whispered.

"He doesn't. She probably just wanted to talk to him," Lucky said with a shrug.

"About her trip to the Ministry?" Ambrose asked, and Lucky hushed him softly.

"Homework," Severus reminded them sharply as he sat down at the counter and the two of them quickly turned their attention to what they were supposed to be doing. A curious shimmer appeared within the archway between the kitchen and the dining room. Lucky sighed, knowing that the Professor had put up a Sonorous Shield.

"Let that be a lesson to ya, Bill," Lucky said, shaking her head. "If you want to learn anything in this house, don't act like you're interested."

"How I detest storms," Severus muttered as he put away his wand, Jennifer gazing at him with a sympathetic smile as she started a pot of coffee. There was another flash and they paused to listen to the thunder rumble through.

"It is getting closer, but considering how fast it's moving, I'm sure it'll be over before you know it," Jennifer said. "It really has cooled down, hasn't it? Perhaps I'll make an eel and kidney pie or something."

"Since when do you make anything traditional?" Severus challenged her.

"Just for a change of pace," Jennifer said with a grin, pulling out the cheese and a pan and setting them on the counter.

"So how did your snooping about go this afternoon? I trust that's why you asked me in here," Severus said, helping himself to a piece of the cheese since Jennifer had made the mistake of setting it within reach.

"I wasn't snooping, Severus, I was simply asking my father if there was anything I can do to help," Jennifer said defensively, attempting to ignore the dubious look on Severus' face. "You see, Father thinks Sam's death wasn't a fluke at all. He thinks that he might have been murdered," Jennifer explained. "In fact, Rinan, Cynn and Earsinge were there when I got there and they were all discussing the possibility."

"Yes, well, what does that have to do with us?" Severus asked.

"Well, the doctors who examined him said that it was most likely toxic poisoning from something in the sealed cavern itself, while the locals thought that it might have been one of the cursed items they found; but the Ministry just got done checking those items and found nothing magical or toxic on any of them."

"That would seem to support Thomas' theory of foul play then, wouldn't it?" Severus said, taking the offered cup from Jennifer. "Only you haven't answered my question yet."

"Oh, well, Father asked me to double check the items to make sure that Paul and Ginger hadn't missed anything," Jennifer said.

"Wasn't Scarlet one of your best items students?" Severus asked flatly.

"Yes, so he was, as was Ginger in Potions, I admit," Jennifer said. "And I'm sure they were quite thorough, but there's no harm in a second look on something like this, just in case it is connected to that poor man's death. Now, don't worry, Severus, I had no intention of looking at them here. I'll just wait until Alex comes home for the weekend and I'll pop back to Hogwarts with you and go over them all."

"Oh very well, I suppose there is no harm in that," Severus decided with a sigh. "Unless you've volunteered me in something you haven't told me about?"

"I'd never do that, Severus!" Jennifer protested, but before he could challenge it, there was a huge crack of lightning and a loud peel of thunder, the house shaking violently. "Goodness that was close! It almost felt like it hit the house."

"With all the lightning rods we have on the roof?" Severus asked, but then they heard Lucky scream and both ran in the hallway.

"There's smoke up there! Why is there smoke?" Lucky shouted.

"Now, don't panic, Fortuna! Stay near the door, all of you!" Severus snapped as he and Jennifer raced up the stairs with their wands out.

The haze upstairs didn't seem to have a source, but when the two of them checked Ben and Alex's bedroom, they saw water pouring in. Immediately, Severus backtracked over to the attic, feeling the trap door before pushing it open with the iron and getting inundated with smoke and rain for his efforts as he clamored up. "Stay there, Jennifer!" Severus ordered.

Jennifer peered out with her wand in her hand, blinking in surprise to see a large hole blasted out of the back of the attic. Many of the boards and shingles were still smoldering, but fortunately many precautions had once been taken against such an occurrence, and with the help of the rain it was quickly extinguished.

"Now that's going to be a pretty mess in the morning," Severus said grumpily as he came back down onto the third floor and closing the trap, looking forlornly at the soaked hall. "Ben and the boys are going to have to stay in the two 'just in case' bedrooms for awhile, Jennifer. You may want to warn him and have him gather up what he can that might get ruined."

"All right, Severus," Jennifer said, while Severus paused to cast a dry spell on both himself and on the floor, despite the futility of it. A moment later, Ben ran into his bedroom while Jennifer went over to reassure Ambrose and Lucky, who were both holding Janus and Rus at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's all right, you can go back to the living room now," Jennifer said. "There's no fire at all, although Ben and Alex's room is flooded. The attic was a little damaged from the lightning."

"A little?" Severus repeated in disbelief as he came downstairs, getting a sharp look of warning from Jennifer.

"Lucky, why don't you and Ambrose find a book to read out loud to see if you can calm Jay and Rus down," Jennifer suggested.

"How about Paul Clifford?" Ambrose said mischievously. "You know, the dark and stormy night bit?"

Severus gave him a dirty look and fished through Janus' books and gave him The Happy Magic Train. Reluctantly, Ambrose took it and sat down with Lucky, who seemed no more thrilled at the selection than he did. But the moment Janus saw the book, he made an effort to climb up on the couch and Ambrose soon found him in his lap.

"I just don't understand how that lightning got through our barrage of lightning protections on this house," Severus went on when he joined Jennifer in the kitchen. "Granted, it's been a while since I've looked over the securities, but I had taken every precaution. From the way the damage looked, it was as if the lightning came in sideways of all things, almost as if it were deflected off something rather than grounded."

Jennifer suddenly stopped dead in the middle of the kitchen floor with the coffee pot in one hand and her cup in the other.

"Oops," Jennifer said. Severus gazed at her searchingly, then squinted when she became increasingly embarrassed. "Actually, Severus, there's a slight possibility that I might have done something that would cause that. I… well, if you must know, Lucky said something about the tree getting hit by lightning, so I thought I'd take a bit of a precaution and put a deflection spell on it."

"You what?" Severus said with a deadpan expression. "Jennifer, I put protections on that tree at the same time I put the ones on the house. If you deflected them, it's no wonder it didn't ground properly!"

"You protected Corey's tree? Oh, that's very thoughtful of you," Jennifer said, and Severus rolled his eyes.

"Don't you give me that innocent routine, Jennifer, that stopped working years ago. Have you forgotten that our insurance doesn't cover lightning damage anymore? They tried to raise our rates for the third time straight and we dropped it for better lab explosion coverage. Do you remember?" Severus scolded her, and her face fell.

"Oh, dear, I do remember that now," Jennifer admitted, sitting back down and leaning her chin against her hand. "I'm sorry, Severus. I guess I just panicked."

"I suppose it could have been worse," Severus said with a more relaxed sigh. "We may have half an attic and a leaky bedroom, but there was nothing but a few scattered embers to put out and everyone was downstairs."

"I suppose it's a good thing you started insisting everyone stay on the first floor during storms then," Jennifer said with an apologetic tone in her voice.

"Yes, it's a good thing everyone humored my little paranoia, isn't it?" Severus said, knowing that his wife had always thought it a bit silly. "I had better go into the front room and make certain that Fortuna has calmed down."

"Send her in here to help me, Severus, the work will do her some good," Jennifer suggested.

"Very well. When the rain lets up, I'll send an owl over to Sirius about the damage. I suppose I'll have to go to the bank tomorrow," Severus mused. "As much as we've been taking out lately for this project or that, I'll be quite surprised if they don't decide to close the bank the moment they see me coming." Jennifer chuckled softly as he slipped into the front room, pausing after a flash and able to count a few seconds before hearing the rumble of thunder. Feeling more reassured, Jennifer went back to making dinner.