Chapter Twenty-One
The Brief Return of the Old Professor
Dale was on his way to lunch when his owl caught up with him. He gave Jagger a few extra treats when he saw who the letter was from and then hurried to the Owl Room to see several of the others were already there, gratefully setting their books aside to grab something off the trays.
"Hey, I just got a letter from Lucky," Dale said. Connie blinked in surprise.
"How did you rate a letter? She didn't write me," Connie said irritably.
"Me either," Ambrose said.
"She probably didn't have time to write everyone so she just did a joint letter," Dale improvised. "Anyway, she says that she, Lindsay and Maurice have been spending a lot of time at her house. They're helping to baby-sit younger kids getting dropped off there so some of the adults can visit the hospital. She only sees her parents when they go to visit St. Mungo's themselves… apparently, they haven't left the hospital for the most part, but they 'spend lots of time trying to convince the other to go home and rest,'" Dale read with a chuckle. "That sounds like them all right."
"They must be exhausted," Pimra murmured.
"How is Aurelius doing?" Helena asked.
"He hasn't come out of it," Dale said, glancing at the second page. "She says that the doctor's really worried and that he needs to come out of it soon if he's going to come out of it at all."
"That's awful," Pimra said.
"You know, there was a time when I thought it'd be wonderful to be bonded to a Unicorn. But now I've seen what it's done to Aurelius, not so much," Connie said.
"And I thought it had more to do with you becoming more interested in boys," Helena teased her.
"Like you aren't!" Connie retorted.
"Is there anything else in there?" Pimra asked when Dale seemed to be absorbed in the letter. "Like when they're going to get back?"
"Hm? Oh, no, nothing like that, but she did ask if anyone's found out anything about who cast a spell on us that night. I think I'll write her back to let her know that Madame Weasley and Mr. Carnegie have been working on it."
"I hope they find out soon. I hate how Madame Weasley went and lowered our curfew like that!" Connie scowled. "Like it's going to make a difference!"
"Well, I'm going to be glad when all the teachers get back, too, although I am rather curious to find out what Mr. Toby has planned for class today," Pimra admitted with a grin.
"Butterflies," Lucky said, looking up from Dale's letter that evening.
"Butterflies?" Lindsay echoed, putting another spoonful of sugar into her tea to hide the strange aftertaste that always seemed to accompany cafeteria tea.
"Yeah, it was supposedly a lesson on perspective," Lucky explained. "He took them all out to the greenhouse, and they had to learn how to land on flowers and stuff… except for Don. Dale says that Don turned into a caterpillar rather than a butterfly and that later Mr. Toby commented that Don probably just wasn't mature enough to handle it."
Maurice snickered at that.
"Wow, I would have loved to have been turned into a butterfly," Lindsay said.
"Apparently a lot of the girls wanted to stay that way for awhile, but when Mr. Toby pointed out that many species of butterflies didn't usually live more than a day, they changed their mind," Lucky snorted. "Other than that, everything seems normal there. No accidents there, no accidents here."
"I think there's enough bad luck to contend with right now what with Uncle Aurelius being sick," Lindsay said. "I do hope he pulls out of it soon."
"Me too," Maurice said with a nod. "Partly because I just want him to be well for his own benefit, but also because I really don't want to get too far behind in my classes."
"Give me a break. The fact that we don't have any schoolwork is the one and only good thing to come out of this," Lucky protested.
Just then, there came a disturbing sound that Lindsay and Lucky immediately recognized as a goblin clearing his throat. They turned around completely unsurprised that Boulderdash was standing behind their cafeteria table with a rather large stack of books in hand.
"Miss Snape," he said, and Lucky reluctantly held out her hand for her books and homework. "Miss Black," he said, and Lindsay grimaced and took hers as well. "And Mr. Craw," he finished. Maurice smiled at him and took them gratefully.
"Thank you very much, Librarian Boulderdash," Maurice said.
"The pleasure would seem to be all yours," Boulderdash sneered. Maurice then noticed a tall, handsome dark-haired man step up behind Boulderdash. "This is my good friend, Mr. Xavier Platt. He went to school with Aurelius."
"You're good friends with a Platt?" Maurice said curiously.
"Yes, Mr. Craw," Boulderdash said. "This is Maurice Craw, Jennifer's brother."
"That explains it, then," Xavier said, but nodded politely to him.
"Oh, sorry, I guess that came out wrong, didn't it?" Maurice grimaced. "My best friend is a goblin too."
"Don't ask him who it is, you really don't want to know," Boulderdash muttered to Xavier, who gazed at him questioningly. "This is Lindsay Thurspire Black."
"Oh, you're Ederick Thurspire's daughter, aren't you?" he asked. "I remember when he was LE Minister."
"Yes, thanks. Nice to meet you," she said with a smile.
"And this is my newest student, of course, Lucky Snape," Boulderdash said.
"Ah yes, Boulderdash has been telling me quite a bit about you, actually. He's mentioned more than once that you have better footwork that I do," he admitted, giving Boulderdash an almost scathing sideways look.
"Yeah, well, maybe not right now," Lucky said, pointing to the leg she had propped up on the chair.
"Dare I ask?" Xavier said.
"Chamber," Boulderdash said under his breath.
"I should have known," Xavier snorted. "You're definitely a Snape, aren't you? Anyway, I've been looking for your other siblings. Have you seen them?"
"Andrew's in with Rel," Lucky said. "Alex went to the cabin to check on Aurelius' familiar, and I think Francis and Zoe finally talked Alicia into going to our house to get some rest, since she's pregnant and all."
"I'm half surprised Alex isn't as well," Xavier said. Boulderdash peered at him questioningly. "I was under the impression that Alex wanted a large family."
"Nah, she can't have any more kids," Lucky shrugged. "Her Omnivox skill was keeping the two she has from developing language skills, so she gave it up. She's not even to live in the same house with them until they get into school." Xavier gazed at her in surprise, but then nodded.
"I never thought of that. That must be really rough on her," Xavier murmured.
"She should be back soon. I got a feeling she's gonna try to smuggle Achilles in to see if Aurelius responds to him," Lucky admitted.
"I hope it works," Lindsay sighed. "Nothing else has."
Smuggling the snake in had actually been quite easy; Achilles had long developed the habit of riding Aurelius' arm wrapped up like a bracelet. The moment Alex explained what had happened, he took up the same position on her arm for the trip to the hospital. Alex knocked lightly on the door and peered in, and Jennifer and Andrew looked at each other questioningly.
"I'll go. I could use the break," Jennifer decided and got up, pausing to give Achilles a little pat on her way out the door.
"Alex is here now," Andrew said quietly. "And not just Alex, either. I suppose a snake wouldn't break the two person rule?" he chuckled.
"Never mind that it breaks every other hospital rule letting him in here," Alex said, sitting down on the other side of Aurelius and taking his hand.
Achilles immediately lifted his head to look around and then slithered across to Aurelius, wrapping his body around the man's wrist while contentedly laying his head against his arm.
"Well, at least Achilles looks happier," Andrew smiled.
"Achilles is here, Rel. He was really worried about you when you didn't come home the other night. He'd be lost without you, you know," Alex said, and Achilles hissed in response. "There, you see? And you're not going anywhere, are you?" Achilles hissed again.
"Unless anyone catches him and the hospital makes us take him home," Andrew pointed out.
"No way. Achilles is staying, aren't you, Achilles?" she said, and the snake hissed again. "Well, that's settled then. Is it alright with you if Achilles stays here, Rel?" she asked, hoping there would be something, anything… a hand movement… even the twitch of a finger, acknowledging his familiar's presence. "Well, I didn't hear any objections, at least," Alex said, sighing silently.
"I think I'll go see if anyone else wants to come in. I'll be back later, Rel," Andrew reassured his brother, getting up and walking out.
The moment he passed the doorway, he slumped, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh before finally wandering towards the cafeteria and making his way over to his parents who got so tired of buying coffee one at a time that there were as many full cups on the table as there were empty ones.
"Any luck?" Jennifer asked.
"With what?" Andrew asked, sitting down.
"With that plan you three came up with and we don't know about," Jennifer said.
"Oh. Nothing," Andrew sighed, Jennifer looking even more tired than she had before. "Not even a flinch when Achilles went to over to him. I suppose it was a long shot."
"No, not really, Andrew. It was a good idea," Severus quietly. "We all have special bonds with our familiars, but I'm sure it pales in comparison to the telepathic bond he had with Pali."
"What else can we do?" Jennifer said softly. "We've talked to him until we're hoarse, but nothing seems to move him. We don't even know if he's hearing us at all at this point, and he keeps getting weaker…" her voice left her as her throat tightened, and Severus and Andrew both moved to steady her.
"Perhaps you really ought to go home for awhile," Severus murmured quietly.
"I'll worry more if I'm not here," Jennifer protested. "I'd spend the entire time in terror that I wouldn't be here if he…oh, Severus!" she said, unable to hold it in anymore.
Severus quickly slid near to her and threw her cloak over her with the hood up for a mock privacy in the crowded room and held her to try to calm her while Andrew somberly helped himself to some coffee and pretended not to notice. The rest of the people in the cafeteria had become more subdued as well, their voices softening and their eyes on their own tables or each other.
It was just then that Andrew saw someone standing at the door that seemed quite familiar, but his face was so somber and worried that it took him an extra minute to recognize who it was. Connor Donovan had never been known in school for being serious. Conner's eyes met Andrew's and recognition took hold, and he walked further in, hesitating again when he saw Jennifer's state. But finally he decided to approach anyway, nodding to Andrew before focusing in on Severus.
"Professor Snape?" Conner asked. Severus glanced up and focused in him thoughtfully, while Jennifer quickly attempted to pull herself together. "Pardon me for disturbing you, but I saw Rel wasn't well in the paper and when I asked around and found out the circumstances… well, I decided to come see if I could help." Jennifer looked up curiously.
"Conner?" Jennifer said, gazing at him thoughtfully, tucking away her handkerchief and readjusting her glasses.
"He hasn't acknowledged anyone, Conner," Severus said evenly.
"Yes, Xavier told me when I came in," Conner said with a sigh. "But maybe I can get through to him, at least I want to try. I was with him that night, Professor… the night he bonded to Pali. Maybe it'll make a difference."
"Very well, Conner," Severus said, glancing at Andrew.
"I'll show him back, Father," Andrew said, and Severus nodded thoughtfully.
Severus watched them as they left and then turned to Jennifer, who was gazing fixedly at the door with a strange expression on her face. Finally she noticed that Severus was looking at her questioningly.
"I'm sorry about the scene, Severus. Perhaps I am a bit tired," Jennifer admitted quietly.
"Scene? What scene? Did anyone notice any scene?" he said in a slightly raised voice, ignoring her sheepish expression. Everyone in the room immediately shook their heads, including Lucky, Natalie, Lindsay and Maurice, who seemed absorbed in their game of cards.
"Anybody got any aces? I think we could use one right now," Lucky said, tossing down a card.
Conner stepped in and Alex got up, offering him her seat and excusing herself. Aurelius seemed stiff and cold despite the warm temperatures in the room, staring up at the ceiling so long before he blinked that Conner had at first wondered if he were already dead. The only movement was the snake around his arm, which lifted his head and tasted the air when Conner sat down.
"Hello, Achilles, long time no see," Conner said, and the snake put its head down against Aurelius again. "Hello, Wart, I see you turned out about how I expected," Conner joked, but then cleared his throat. "I know, that was wrong, but I've always been known for my poor taste in humor, haven't I? Stew and I would pull all sorts of stunts at school, as you probably remember. And then you showed up with your holier-than-us attitude and… well, we couldn't resist the temptation," Conner admitted. "That's probably why you dared me to go in the Dark Forest that night. Of course, I knew from the start you had every intention of waiting until I went out there and then just ratting me out to get me into trouble. I was totally onto that, so I dared you to go along. At the time, I really couldn't make up my mind on whether your agreeing to it was gutsy or just plain not knowing any better. But I figured I could handle anything that came up while we were out there. Boy was I wrong, wasn't I?" he said, glancing at Aurelius, but he hadn't moved.
"I remember you wandered off just after we had gotten settled, and of course I had to go after you, because you had no idea what was out there. And then when I tracked you down, there he was… a big brute of a Unicorn, covered in blood as if he ran into something. Not that it took long to find out what, because that's when the manticore showed up. It was enormous… bigger than I had imagined they were, and you… you must have already been bonded to Pali at that point, because you rushed out to try and save him. Then when you got stung… it looked so bad, I thought you were going to die right then, really. To be honest, I was terrified you were going to die right afterwards, too, and I think if Dumbledore hadn't shown up when he did, you probably would have."
"I should have," Aurelius whispered so softly that at first Conner thought he imagined it. Achilles tested the air then decided to slip under the bed.
"What?" Conner said in surprise.
"I should have!" Aurelius snapped fiercely, his eyes no longer glazed over but filled with fire. "I should have died then and been done with it! All the years I've wasted on that stupid ugly horse! All the heckles and jibes and sneers I've gotten because of him! I've had to drop everything else, no matter my job or what I'm doing, every time Pali called. And this is my reward? You should have left me! You should have let me die then!"
"I never would have done that!" Conner snapped back.
"Only to save your own skin! There was never a thought to what it might do to me. Typical Gryffindor!" Aurelius said with disgust. "To think I'd have to live another moment like this thanks to your stupid little camping trip sickens me to no end. This is all your fault!"
"My fault? You're the one who dared me to go in the Forest, Wart, not the other way around. I simply made sure you went with me," Conner said.
"Then maybe it's time I returned the favor," Aurelius snarled, Conner frowning in confusion. "Because I'm going to hell. And I'm taking you with me."
Before Conner had time to react, Aurelius was suddenly on him, tackling him and toppling his chair, pinning Conner to the ground in an attempt to free him of his wand. Conner immediately found himself at a complete disadvantage by wanting only to restrain Aurelius without hurting him, for Aurelius had no qualms at all about getting a hand around Conner's throat while the other reached for the wand in his belt.
"Expelliarmus!" someone shouted from the door, the spell neatly knocking the wand away and propelling it towards the far wall.
Xavier Platt ran in with Alex right on his heels, her eyes wide from surprise at what was going on in the room. Xavier was quickly able to pull Aurelius back by the collar in his weakened state, and was able to keep a handle on him despite the fact Aurelius was still struggling to get at a wand. No more than a few seconds passed before Aurelius realized that Platt didn't keep his wand on his belt and began struggling to break free instead.
"Is this adequate Slytherin behavior?" Xavier snapped.
"Oh, shut up, Platt! This isn't school," Aurelius snarled.
"Once a Slytherin always a Slytherin, you of all people know that! This pathetic display of bravado won't get you any closer to death, and you are disgracing your family and your house in the process!" Xavier scolded.
"So what else is new?" Aurelius shouted angrily back, trying to wriggle away.
"Well, enough is enough! I swore a long time ago that I wouldn't spend any more time babysitting you because you don't have enough sense to control yourself, and I'm certainly not planning to start now! You are getting back in that bed where you belong, or so help me, I'll call Professor Snape in here to handle it," Xavier warned him.
"No need, Mr. Platt. I'm already here," Snape said, and the two of them stopped struggling in surprise as Snape walked in the room with a flash in his black eyes as if suited to murder. Conner blinked in surprise. It had been years since he seen that look and didn't want to be on the other end of it again, quickly getting up and edging his way out a doorway packed with onlookers who had come to see what the fuss was about. "Mr. Snape, did you or did you not once swear an oath of loyalty to me to do exactly as I asked to the letter if you were to stay in my house any longer?"
"That was years ago!" Aurelius said.
"I did not give you permission to speak!" Snape snapped at him. "And I don't remember putting any sort of time limit on it, Mr. Snape! You are not meeting the conditions of those terms at this moment. Xavier is right; your behavior is completely unacceptable, and if you don't correct it immediately, I will, and you'll find that second option quite unpleasant. You are to get back in bed, keep your mouth shut, and if I ever hear of you attacking a fellow Slytherin again when he is acting in the best interests of the house, I will personally drag you into Conspiracies in uniform and have you stripped out of your colors until you have nothing on and officially renounce you from the house, I don't care how old you think you are. Right now you're behaving like nothing more than a sniveling whiny first year Hufflepuff. You are officially on my time until further notice, Mr. Snape, and I do not give you any sort of permission to kill yourself considering you hardly deserve such a privilege. And if you are stupid enough to do so against my orders, be well aware that your chances of becoming a ghost is extremely high in your current state, and I swear I'll bury your remains next to Myrtle's bathroom and you can spend the rest of your eternity dealing with her," he said with a grim, sinister smile on his face. "Get in that bed. NOW!"
Angrily, Aurelius did as he was told despite the open defiance in his eyes. He climbed back into bed, refusing to look at anyone, but most especially seemed to be blatantly ignoring Xavier.
"Doctor, if you have anything you need to give him, now's the time while I'm still in the room," Snape said.
Morfinn slipped into the room, giving Snape a very wide berth before finally going over to the bed with bottles in hand, pouring one into a spoon and the other a cup. But he hesitated momentarily when he saw the daring look Aurelius was wearing.
"You don't want me to do it for him, Mr. Snape," Professor Snape warned, and Aurelius scowled, grabbing the spoon out of Morfinn's hand and then swallowing the contents of the cup afterwards.
"Fine, now will you just leave me alone?" Aurelius asked, his voice quickly losing its bite as the adrenalin ran thin and he realized just how tired he was. But despite the fact he was quickly losing strength, Morfinn couldn't help but notice there was more color to his skin, and when he felt his arm, it was no longer cold or clammy.
Reassured that the potions were finally working, Morfinn smiled and nodded to Severus, who, although looking quite guarded, seemed to be calming down himself. Just then, Morfinn felt something against his arm and froze stiff in surprise. When he glanced down and saw a snake passing over his hand, recognition took hold, and he Morfinn sighed.
"All right, who let Achilles in? You know perfectly well that's not allowed," Morfinn said, looking out towards the crowd peering in the doorway.
"I don't know," Alex shrugged.
"Haven't the foggiest," Andrew added.
"Leave him alone," Aurelius grumbled tiredly. "He's not hurting anything."
"He must have wandered in on his own, so you may as well leave him. He'll simply come back in if you don't," Jennifer suggested solemnly.
"Oh, very well," Morfinn said, getting up. "I suppose I ought to warn the nurses that there's a snake in here, then. We've had enough excitement for one night. And I still want someone keeping watch on him at all times."
"Yes, I quite agree. This was just the first hurdle, after all," Severus said.
"I'll sit with him, Professor," Xavier offered. Severus nodded, walking towards the door.
"Grrrrowl!" came a soft appreciative noise in Severus' ear. But when he turned to look, no one was there, for Jennifer had already run over to hug Conner, laughing and crying at the same time.
"Oh, Conner! We can't even begin to thank you!" Jennifer said enthusiastically, pausing to wipe her tears off. "Do you realize you probably just saved his life?"
"It was just a second shot at redemption, considering he almost died that night when I should have known better than to go in there in the first place," Conner said with a shrug and a smile. "I'm just glad to have helped, even though I'm still feeling the aftereffects," he added, putting his hand to his throat. Morfinn stepped over to them, nodding when Severus gazed at him questioningly.
"There can be no doubt the fight's back in him now, can there?" Morfinn said, Conner immediately agreeing. "The potions are working now, and I have little doubt that he'll make a full recovery as long as we can keep him from falling back into a catatonic state again. However, I'm afraid recovering from the mental battle is going to be a much longer and harder struggle for him. Are you sure I can't recommend a psychiatrist to help it along?"
"No psychiatrists. I hate psychiatrists," Jennifer said fervently. She didn't notice Conner pursing his lips right behind her. "What Aurelius needs now is friends and family to keep his mind active and to convince him he still has a lot of life to look forward to."
"He also needs help dealing with the pain, Jennifer," Morfinn said.
"There's no cure for that," Jennifer said, shaking her head. "He lost part of himself when Pali died. Part of him will never get over it, any more than I got over Keki's death."
"But I'm sure it can be lessened," Conner said thoughtfully. "Was there anything in particular that helped you get past the initial pain, Professor Craw?"
"Severus and the children," Jennifer said immediately. "The parts of my life that came after my initial bond with Keki. After all, I knew after that first night I rode her that I couldn't ever get close to her again. Severus meant more to me, and I never wanted to feel like I was leaving me behind again, although I admit I did the night she died."
"Briefly," Severus admitted. "But it was not your fault."
"And this is not Rel's fault, either," Jennifer said firmly. "I think what he needs most right now is to strengthen his bonds with friends and family that existed outside of his relationship with Pali. He's pining over his missing bond now and having to deal with going on without him, but if we just keep supporting him and staying by his side, sooner or later he's going to turn around and realize that we're there."
"I agree," Conner said, glancing at Morfinn, who looked thoughtful. "Just keep flooding him with people who care about him and can put up with his mean streaks regardless of what he throws at them, and sooner or later he's going to realize he won't be able to push people out that way. Lord knows he's going to try that route."
"I would have to have someone in there all the times to make sure he doesn't try harming himself in any case," Morfinn said, nodding in agreement.
"True, although I don't think he will," Conner said, glancing at Severus. "He may have gone against his father's wishes in a life and death situation, but he wouldn't ever go against Snape. Xavier is right about that."
"Why else do you think I did it?" Severus retorted. "Teachers do know something about psychology, you know."
"You were brilliant, Severus," Jennifer said with an admiring smile.
"Really, Xavier and the Professor were the heroes here. All I did is piss him off and make him want to kill me," Conner chuckled.
"I think you're all heroes," Morfinn decided with a smile, pausing to look in to see Xavier still talking to a very sleepy Aurelius, who was gently petting the snake around his arm.