The school year began as it had previously. Everyone sat in anticipation of the new students being led into the Great Hall by Professor McGonagall, with the sorting hat resting on a stool. The process seemed identical, if a few announcements included staff changes. As before, another new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor, Ozymandias (Ozzie) Clayton, had taken the position. The abrupt resignation of Professor McDonahue never got explained. What Livia had not expected concerned the absence of Professor Quirrell and a new Muggle Studies instructor, a man Livia found a bit imposing if retaining a fairly open and unbiased approach to the subject. Livia wondered if she would have to show all her equipment all over again or if he would object to the music club dance. She found herself prepared either way, though not enthusiastic ending the event on Ben and Rhonda's stunt against her. Livia quickly surveyed the room and decided to retire any ambitions towards a Winter Ball date or one to her brother's wedding. No one seemed to stand out and trying anything seemed destined to invite nothing but trouble. The more she thought about it, the kinder Bill Weasley seemed, albeit in an unobtainable way. One of her roommates would have done a credible job for either event, but she knew why that could not happen for her brother's wedding, at least. The needed timing basically eliminated anyone worth asking.
Professor Flitwick made his usual rounds after the meal, making particular care to point out where his Head Girl, Shelley lived, along with prefect Livia. Both had joined the tour. He later drew attention to consulting Livia whenever students had problems with their written assignments. Before it ended, he confirmed the schedules of Shelley and Livia but made sure to pull Livia aside, to let her know that the headmaster wanted to observe at least some of their dueling sessions. He did not tell her to do anything special, just that she should give her best effort and not to notice him because such a distraction would cost her. The schedule seemed rather similar, with the equivalent of two session periods per week with Professor Snape and two with himself. The headmaster may want to intervene at some point to gauge her skills himself, he warned. Everything else fell into place based on those sessions taking place in the afternoon.
The same eight students had made it through their sixth level exam with Professor Snape regarding their potions. This did not surprise him, though he warned a few to be more rigorous and for Miss Woodcock to mind her place, rather than expect to breeze through the year. A few looked uncomfortable whilst Livia only exhibited a stony but placid silence. He did not know why he even tried to bother her, except that it followed a script in terms of everyone else's expectations. Cliff and Bryan still tried to test Professor Snape's patience and definitely got cut more slack, but he had a limit even with them. Thor simply wanted to maximize what he learned. If ever grouped into pairs and Shelley chose Liam, Thor would chose Livia. If Shelley chose Livia, he chose Liam. Reggie and Tonks always worked together, as did Cliff and Bryan.
During their first session alone, Livia stated that she had a confession. Professor Snape thought it concerned what Sevy had said, but she said something else. She told him that her roommates had pressed her to find out if she had learned anything interesting about him. He looked surprised, not knowing how she would handle that, though she had shown great discretion up to then. She told him that she revealed that she had mostly learned that the professor hated his father.
"That's fairly innocuous," he stated. "I would not even try to deny that."
"What I found curious was how the other male students reacted," she asserted. "One said 'we should have guessed that' as if they knew something I should have. Or they should have."
"You were spared a lot of turmoil when a parent-child relationship has serious issues," he declared. "I know you feel you have a huge burden, and it has followed you. Yet if this relationship is bad, it too carries long-lasting effects, if ones less obvious to you. Ben could have told you."
He reviewed a few techniques to see how well she had retained them for self-modulation and controlling memories. He should have guessed she would have no issues, he thought. He worked on planting memories, too, but cared more about achieving a blank state via a breathing technique and a tranquil mind. He saw a blank but with substance. She had used a blank runestone.
"If recognized, that could be smashed into pieces," he said.
"But what if the pieces became a puzzle and looped back to nothing, like a clear sky, grass or dirt, maybe even my hairclip?"
"That is a good stall and gives you chances to think about things other than get exposed to reveal any particular memory," he confirmed. "Try it."
He found he could smash and reassemble but got a dark room or closed eyes. He only heard voices talking about lost respect and punching someone and a few other insulting remarks. "You haven't given me much to see, but I hear your friends. Sounds to me like they were ready to beat up Ben Spence. I cannot believe what those girls said to Rhonda Wayne, not that they were wrong."
"But you knew that, already, no?" she queried.
"No, I had not heard it," he offered. "I wasn't there exactly, either. I would have trouble figuring out the situation without context. Blankness still eludes you whereas objects and puzzles give you focus. This surprises me. You seem peaceful as a student. Clearly, you mask a lot."
"I thought you knew that."
"I guess so," he asserted. "I figured your ability to do that in class would transfer quickly."
"How about if I focused on something going nowhere, like singing a song?"
"Let me see what you mean," he stated.
After putting together a complicated puzzle, he got her singing a popular muggle song with part of the lyrics in French and with an audience of birds. "That's not bad, since the song has no emotional relevance attached to a memory. It being muggle music could really irritate someone, too, and it could disrupt their own abilities. I suggest erasing the birds to hide your rapport with them. It would be better if someone would be surprised to see Alastair and his colleagues defend you. Just like that man who never suspected you could fake sincerity, keep that to yourself."
"I saw that man again this summer, sir," Livia revealed.
"Did you learn his name?"
"No, but I tried to avoid engaging him," Livia replied. "The innkeeper encouraged me to not say much. He later told me he had been a follower of the Dark Wizard and likely got away with it."
"Your discretion seemed to please the innkeeper, which is good," he declared. "What does he know about you?"
"Well, he thinks I am a cousin to Shelley Silver, and I guess he knows I have a good knowledge of London and using sterling currency. I thought that was a safe amount of information with a little misdirection. The innkeeper made sure not to learn my name."
"He's smart," Professor Snape said. "Okay, your turn."
Livia went to work using her command to try to get at the nature of his feelings of guilt. He had not expected what she would want to find out and got through his defenses quickly enough to see a pub and a conversation he tried to hear between the headmaster and Professor Trelawney. Because she had concentrated on him, she had not followed the conversation, which sounded like an informal job interview. She realized that she needed to know what he heard to make sense of everything. She had to think of a way to render this innocuous.
"I saw you drinking, sir," she asserted. "Maybe the Leaky Cauldron. Not sure where."
"What are you trying to learn?" he asked.
"I won't know until I find it," Livia replied.
"Being cagey with me, are you?" he inquired. "You think you're ready to evade me?"
"I do not have a full picture, so I guess I have to be," Livia answered.
"You have an agenda," he suggested. "I know it."
"Then find it, sir," she dared him.
He looked for it but could not hear her. After her defenses gave way, he saw her kneeling somewhere on a wooden bench accented with a velvet pillow embroidered with a name. "I do not know this place, but you are either thinking or speaking. Who are you praying to? Where is this? Seems to me you keep getting interrupted by people wearing summer clothes, not unlike yours."
"Sounds like Durham Cathedral," she revealed. "I have gone there many times every summer I have spent in Durham with my brother. I stay out of the way there, if people are working or doing something important. Most likely, I was in a chapel space set aside for the Venerable Bede. He was a scholar, too – the first historian of the English."
"You do a lot of thinking there, I see, when you are alone," he maintained.
"I do," she admitted. "I will tell you one vow I made there, which will give you an agenda. I promised to myself there that, when I learn the name of my father, I will use it to taunt Rodrick Spence, if it would be someone he wished to count as a relative. And I will use it when it is most likely to hurt him the most, even if it's on his death bed."
"Well," he said. "I did not know how bitter that was for you. So you want to see if I am hiding a name from you? I am not. I'm reluctant to list all the possible suspects at least until I have narrowed the list. I'm not concealing one particular name. Not now. I'm sure I have pondered names over alcohol, but I find it hard to figure out which of them wanted a muggle conquest."
"I lost nearly two years of my life over being considered a lying bastard child. I have lost someone who at least made me think he cared about me – real or not – over the same thing. I lost a scholarship, I lost friends – or at least I thought at the time they were. I have been teased and bullied over this and made to wear hand-me-down clothes for years for being considered an uninvited burden by a woman who never wanted to be a real mother to me. What more do you need before I decide to focus vengeance on someone? This is the reason why I am reluctant to attend my brother's wedding. I don't fear that sister – I am concerned I will ruin the day if I get angry and lash out at her. Instead of getting over it, I guess these feelings found ways to fester. I am sick and tired of being made to feel diminished or insecure over things not under my control. I know I need to confront her at least to move past this before it eats me up." There, he will get that.
"I don't know what to say," he said finally. "At least, partly, I do understand."
"Actually, I figured you would very much follow what I mean," Livia declared.
He did not want to say more. He would think about what she said for quite some time. He recognized her pain – it gave her some insight into his own, though she lacked the details. He thought better of trying to say much. Really, he did not have much to say. She had vengeance on her mind and two principal targets. He could not find fault with that. He had his own agenda, just one he did not wish ever to disclose like she had. He realized that such a thing perhaps should be left unfinished for her. If she had this fire, it could serve her. He told the headmaster and Professor Flitwick to have her focus her aggression on her status as an illegitimate child. If she could harness her anger over times her standing has cost her, she would become lethally potent and feared.
Before that took place, the Muggle Music Club held its first meeting. Professor Flitwick opted to be honest about the near catastrophe created by a personal issue among several Ravenclaw students, including members there. He felt grateful that the event turned out well, but for at least several moments, that outcome did not seem obvious. Nothing like that could ever happen again. He got everyone there to swear to it. He did not blame anyone there because they had not instigated the problem, but his group needed to take responsibility, too. Outside of that, everything went well. He asked if anyone had any ideas for improvement, but no one spoke. He turned to Shelley and Liam, given they had overseen the event, wondering if they felt the need to step aside. Liam, not in any student leadership position, did not feel such a need. Shelley agreed with him, given how well she and Liam worked together, though suggested both take the title co-chairs, given Liam's role might become as strong or stronger than hers. Professor Flitwick agreed, then pivoted to ask about the sound quality provided by using more than just the players the school possessed. The group responded favorably, particularly regarding new material entirely recorded on that new format. The leadership mostly stayed stable, though Percy Weasley had become the new chair for promoting the event. Livia thought him studious, focused and ambitious, whereas Bill and Charlie, though accomplished, had more well-rounded personalities. Nonetheless, he would do well in his position, and doing so would likely set him up to become a prefect the following year.
Livia never shirked a job asked of her, and students generally behaved around her, so she experienced few problems. She learned how to enforce discipline if needed, but rarely took joy from it. It seemed the story of what she had done to transform those Slytherin boys as well as her impersonation of Professor Snape had given a clear "don't mess with her" message. The students also knew she preferred to be helpful versus strict and they could count on her, if needed, so crossing her never made sense.
Of course, the Weasley twins tried to push the envelope with everyone. They thought that she would tell someone in Gryffindor when she caught them in two hallway pranks, one misdirecting another student and one regarding Percy. She suppressed her response to whatever the subject of the joke saw, but as soon as both left, Livia laughed rather merrily, which took Fred and George off-guard. When she told them how fond she had been of their brother, Bill, they realized she did not resemble Percy at all. She even amused them with her Professor Snape imitation, since she knew they were the right audience to derive frivolity from it, rather than make demands of her. She once also caught them alone near Ravenclaw with a map of some kind and asked if she could briefly study it. She returned it and told them "I saw nothing," winked and walked on. They realized she had a photographic memory and a purpose, not necessarily an ambition, behind maintaining her "reputation" and, since they felt pleased to see another side of her, they kept it to themselves, mostly. Charlie had told them there was more to her than being serious, and they told him that he was right. He in turn suggested to them not to talk about it.
For her first dueling lesson with Professor Flitwick, the headmaster did indeed observe. He had kept in mind what Professor Snape told him, if they needed to push her towards being more aggressive. They had not counted on her fueling this by herself to some degree. She became more fluid and reactive, though both merely read her singing something in her head. She had discovered heavy metal music from John via her brother and its power to get her to focus on both aspects of facing someone. They only heard the lyrics but the power to make her sharp came through:
Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight
Exit light
Enter night...*
Both seemed surprised and wanted to know what she had done. She described the song "Enter Sandman" to them and her early access to a demo version. They liked the unpredictability and reactivity as well as anticipation that, with the song covering her own intentions, gave her the ability to strike with some potency. The headmaster himself wanted to try a round. Professor Flitwick was right about her defensive capabilities, he thought. She countered well and lasted for some time against him, longer than most. He could mute her though, eliminating the distraction and watch her better, and she found him incredibly spry for an older man. He had his way, not a very shocking outcome. At the end, before leaving, he said to Professor Flitwick, "Not bad. We have time to make her better yet, and she has at least some room to grow. Carry on – and use that suggested idea."
"Did he just toy with me?" Livia asked Professor Flitwick.
"Not really," he answered. "Seems that way, I know, because he's that good. When you can give him a more competitive battle, he will feel good. He likes creativity. He has incredible skills there himself so the more you develop that, the more fearsome you will become to him."
"Does he think I will have to fight someone in particular?" Livia inquired.
"Perhaps," he replied. "I think it is more about covering possibilities. Professor Trelawney made a prophecy some years ago about a boy growing up able to defeat the Dark Lord, but the latter figure will have followers. Moreover, no one should entirely trust that predictions foretell truth. We also cannot measure the cost of such a triumph. The headmaster wants his labor to ensure that the best case scenario takes place but cannot solely rely upon it. He thinks ahead."
"Yes, I have heard something about this," she admitted. "The boy will attend school here?" That is what I saw Professor Snape overhear. His guilt relates to this. A big piece fell into place.
"Most likely beginning next year."
Finally, in her last year, she grasped how difficult people considered what she had done to those Slytherin students. The transfiguration of other people rated as a most difficult task and she had not done merely just a singular thing. Transforming oneself also took great skill, though she had never mastered it as she wanted. Professor McGonagall had a fondness for sitting on her desk as a cat. Livia still ruefully remembered petting the cat behind its ears not realizing she had done that to the professor. Fortunately, the professor did not hold it against her, especially when Livia had told her how pretty a silver tabby she was. Livia liked the idea of being a cat herself, so she paid close attention to how the professor had accomplished the feat until Livia could do it herself. She had learned about it for some time and transformed into a type of cat but never liked how she turned out until that fall – she was a Pallas cat a few times, then a bobcat – neither native to the area and this defeating the purpose of an animagus. She finally got it and registered as a Siberian tabby cat, noted for their somewhat long hair, neck ruff and ability to thrive in cold weather, which seemed to suit the school's location. Since Livia had long, very dark wavy hair, why shouldn't the cat at least have long fur? Professor McGonagall admired the details, including the deep tabby stripes, white paws along with part of her face and underneath her, large green eyes (more typical than blue), longer hind legs than front, large ear tufts, extremely bushy tail and toe tufts, often called floofs by cat enthusiasts. Livia liked having claws more than fanged canine teeth, even if she missed opposable thumbs. She thought maybe she should have tried for a polydactyl Maine Coon cat but liked what she had enough not to tinker more. It occurred to her that this would make an excellent prank on Professor Snape, since he never saw her as a cat.
Livia also continued to have opportunities to go outside and visit Hagrid and the owls. Shelley went once to check out the setup and to see if Brontë would recognize her voice and come to her when called. Livia made sure Brontë knew what Shelley wanted when she called her name. It seemed like the optimal arrangement and that the food given to all four kept them well for a lot longer than the average Barn Owl's lifespan. They all felt grateful for their good fortune to have a lot of freedom and the ability to eat well.
The term proceeded fairly well, even if Professor Flitwick and the headmaster had given her a lot to think about in terms of more creative dueling practice. She found more variation and again took to using a mirror as well as Helena Ravenclaw to judge if she tipped her moves at all, which seemed to be what the headmaster found. She finally did hear what the headmaster and Professor Trelawney had said, as far as Professor Snape heard, but she still could not figure out why this mattered to him so much. She realized she had to find out what he did with that information and what happened. He had started growing more suspicious of Livia's full agenda, but she pestered him for the list of names, which she had not yet learned. He tried to shut her down by telling her it did not matter, since her father likely would not acknowledge her.
"Rodrick Spence won't know that, though," she indicated.
Livia also took some time to visit Uncle Jack and ask him if he knew anyone of the right age in town that might make for her suitable date to bring to her brother's wedding. Offhand, he said he did not know but would make some inquiries. Internally, he did not think he would come up with anyone, since recent graduates of the school usually left the area. Livia sensed his pessimism, though he had not indicated a total rejection of the idea, either. Uncle Jack seemed to think, in her mind, he would have enough problems finding someone to bring himself, should he go, though he thought he could ask a neighbor who had got on very well with Renee, his late wife.
Once again, the big deal came about over getting dates to the Winter Ball. For reasons that initially eluded her, Thor Thornton asked her yet again. She asked him why, given what happened the first time as well as the second time. Did he not enjoy the date he had the prior year? He seemed rather unenthusiastic and said, leveling with her, he just wanted to go and not have much stress over who he asked or what she expected from him. He could not fake sincerity with Livia and did not want to try to do so with anyone else. Given that she had no ambitions about the event, either, she decided to accept his offer, even as it dismayed many in his own house who could not believe he asked her on his own, again, let alone that she agreed to it. He simply said: "She knows why I asked and I know why she agreed and that's it."
Her roommates found her decision puzzling, too, until she explained the lack of risk involved, and her desire to avoid any entanglements that would hurt her later. He would mind his manners, dance adequately and neither would seek nor expect anything out of the experience. That suited her at present. She thought someone in her room might lose an opportunity with someone else, too, if she had not opted to go with Thor. She did not know exactly to whom she did a favor but figured someone in her room would benefit. Shelley went with Liam, Ted took Athena and Terence went with Selene, whilst Don and Barry had dates from Hufflepuff, one being Clara.
The evening went well, from Livia's perspective. She found another dress, if a bit simpler of one. It also worked with the marcasite diamond butterfly hairclip. As her sometime lab partner, Thor was a comfortable date. He did exactly as he said: no promises, no demands and no stress. He had a few misadventures himself, including the prior year's ball, and he wanted to avoid trying to impress someone. They looked good, they danced well and they did not care that no grand follow-up dates would follow. They both needed a break or a tonic, and they gave each other a gift in having no agenda beyond that night. If anyone noticed either of them from the event, Livia did not care. If she ever managed a date to her brother's wedding, it would not come from those students. She just hoped Uncle Jack miraculously found a solution for her.
Her winter break seemed very busy. She had time before arriving to shop, including buying a catnip toy for Abby. She later wrapped gifts for everyone. She also accompanied Alice on her birthday to preview several bands that her family thought she should check out.
The first seemed a little sedate, appropriate probably for a generation that enjoyed a 1960s crooner. That did not suit Alice. Sure, she wanted some variety, but if their playlist had little from the past decade, she did not see the point. The Beatles were not hip or new. Livia asked her what she wanted the first song to be, since often that was a big deal for newlyweds and their parents. Sometimes the bridal party joined in some way, also. Alice had thought about the first song they really danced to together, which she had to confirm that Tom would like. Livia thought that would make a decent initial criteria, especially if the vocal or some instrumental aspect posed a significant challenge.
Livia expected something romantic. No. They had gone to a party playing lots of things and they had first danced to "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey,* a song Tom had kept close to him, anyway, when he had fought for Livia's freedom. Livia found this surprising, since she thought they could have chosen so many other things. Still, the song held significance for both and, as Alice had told her, his dedication to liberating her really had shown the best of him. She had found that irresistible.
So they had an initial criteria and a sense of music their friends liked. They just had to widen this out for some other attendees. A few Beatles songs might help, and she liked those, but Alice did not wish to cater totally to other people's tastes. If Tom liked some heavy metal and rap – since he and John at least somewhat had exposed Livia to it – Alice did not think either fit at a wedding, so no Beastie Boys, no Metallica or similar. First, Alice had to hear that the lead singer could do a credible job with getting at least most of the Journey singer's range. A few bands seemed glad they did not look for a different song of theirs, considered a bit more difficult. After two modestly credible efforts that Livia had not thought quite right, Livia and Alice met a group that called themselves the Great Scots. The lead singer, a tall, thin man with dark auburn hair, possessed a bit of a biker sneer yet with an innocent, impish smile like Prince. Named Jimmy McNaught, he seemed to have an emotional range that would give him the ability to credibly brood or plaintively wail whilst singing. The entire band did a very credible job with the song, too. Livia asked each musician to play a little and called out various people, wanting to the lead guitar or the keyboard player and so on. A few could add instruments for certain songs, too.
Both Livia and Alice looked at the list of songs the band said it could play, and Livia found at least several excellent contemporary ballads from UK and US artists. She found an intriguing mix to supplement these, too. Livia decided to test them. "Okay, I want to test you. I want to hear 'Allentown.'"*
They delivered it very well even without a whistle for the opening, which they did not bring to auditions. Then Livia pivoted to the ballad "Your Song." Perfect. Alice found this impressive, though she would not have necessarily chosen both of these to perform at an audition or at a wedding. Yet she trusted Livia to pick things, to show the band would be right for their wedding. Then Livia asked "I'm confused by your notation, here; what can you do by Simple Minds?"
"We're not the Great Scots for nothing, lass," Jimmy stated. "You want something by them, we can do it."
Livia asked about the back up to some of their well-known songs on Once Upon a Time and he said, whilst they did not have quite a powerful backup as on that album, they could manage. So Livia asked for the title song and found it reasonably good. They could do some David Bowie, some Queen, some INXS, some Culture Club and when Livia asked about U2, Jimmy laughed. "They're Celts, so no difference, lass – anything you want," he said.
"Then how do you do Clannad?" Livia asked. "They're Irish, too."
"That's a good question, lass," Jimmy answered. "First, my Gaelic is not entirely perfect, and second, we do not have a lead voice like their soprano. We know the music, of course. If you sang in her range, we would listen and could do 'In a Lifetime' with you. "
"My natural voice is more contralto," Livia asserted. "I more credibly mimic male tenor voices. I love her voice, but I could butcher that part as easily as get it right."
"I have to hear this mimicry," he stated.
"Look out," Alice declared. "She could take your job."
Livia suggested they do "Once Upon a Time" again and she took the lead vocal. She did not even need a mic to be heard well. At one point, they both sang it together, with the rest of the band backing up as needed. "Are you Scottish, lass?" Jimmy asked afterwards. "You really understand that man's voice."
"No, but I attend school in Scotland," she replied.
"I have a friend who does a very good voice," Alice recounted. "It's Culture Club, though. Livia helped him get it right. What songs of theirs do you do?"
"For a wedding, I would suggest 'Time (Clock of the Heart)' rather than anything else," he responded. "You just want us to do it?"
"Knowing Gary, he would want to sing it himself," Alice said.
"If he's as good as your friend here, we don't mind," Jimmy pronounced. "We usually take breaks, but they benefit me most, so I would be glad to give my singing voice some extra rest."
Livia got a good vibe from all the musicians and liked that they could do various things, including what Alice would like. The lead vocalist had a very strong voice and he could push it into a falsetto range without seeming too phony. The instrumentalists all played well. None hid behind another as a "weak link." Livia made sure she heard each well and they played reasonably fine to suit the list of song choices they gave Alice. At first, Alice might have lamented not having John to judge the bands, but she saw that Livia had a great ear, shared a lot of her proclivities and lined up the right group to perform. Alice signed the contracts herself and gave them a cash deposit via her father, for which Livia and another band member, Geoff McDonald, witnessed. Alice brought the song list back for Tom to review with her, so they could agree on the selections and set an order preference, though the band reserved the right to negotiate that, in case any changes of instruments made one progression more challenging than another.
Alice felt overjoyed to tell Tom that evening that they had selected a band, though she left their song list in their room so they could review it alone. They had begun preparation mode for their holiday party and confirmed that everyone they expected to come would attend, including Bertie and Kate. During Livia's time in the kitchen with Alice, she asked about Gary and Penny's possible venture. Alice told her that Gary would provide all the details during the event, so she did not want to spoil anything by answering. Of course, that did basically answer Livia's main question – some kind of progress had occurred and possibly more. Livia's sense of Alice indicated that Gary would share good news with everyone. She left it to Gary to reveal the particulars, rather than read them from Alice more than she already had surmised. It was his story and Penny's.
It took over a day to have everything the way both Alice and Tom wanted. They even put some decorations on Abby's cat tree and gave her a festive red ribbon instead of her collar. Given that Abby was a tortie, almost any color worked. Alice fussed that her first holiday party in the new house went perfectly, from the atmosphere to the food. She got precisely what she wanted when all the guests told her and Tom how great everything looked. She happily informed them that she had selected a band with Livia's help, and everyone would enjoy the event.
"Do they do anything by Culture Club?" Gary asked.
"Yes, they do," Alice answered. "And I knew you would ask. If you want to sing with them, the lead singer said he would enjoy giving his vocal chords some extra rest between sets."
"Brilliant!" he said. "But I can't do that by myself. Livia, you'll back me up, right?"
"Of course, you know I will," she stated. "Presuming I'm there."
"What?" several said at once.
"No offense to anyone, but everyone in my graduating class will be otherwise engaged that weekend," she revealed. "I really rather not go by myself. Alice, your family will protect you. In my mind, that puts a big bullseye directly on my back. My reluctance is mostly grounded in that. I'm hoping that your Uncle Jack comes across someone suitable because I don't see it at school."
"What about that fellow who drove Ben and his new girlfriend away from your last dance?" Tom asked.
"I have not seen him," Livia replied. "So I have nothing to say."
"That can't happen, Livia," Bertie stated. "On behalf of my family, I extend our wing to you. In fact, I want you to rub her nose in this. If you help Gary, he should do the same for you."
"You know I will," Gary agreed.
Jake and Audrey showed some cute baby pictures and, though they had a relative watching Amanda that night, they never liked to stay away too long. They still felt like new parents because no one else had any at that point. They essentially became trailblazers for the group. Audrey still looked forward to returning to teaching, thinking that socializing babies early had a parallel to socializing young dogs or cats.
Cathy and Doc neither endorsed nor contradicted the parallel. They knew Audrey correctly asserted that puppies and kittens benefitted from socialization whilst very young but had no idea how it extended to people. It sounded intriguing and very different from the ideal of some that women belong at home raising children. No one there bought into that notion, though.
Gary finally called together everyone's attention, for a toast but also a story. Bertie had put a deal together. Gary and Penny would own the pub/B&B establishment in Keswick in the New Year and a generous portion of the financing had come from Alice. Their hope was to not only pay back their loan for the business but that, if all went well, they would slowly pay back Alice and buy her out, if she wished. Bertie, Kate, Tom and Alice had all looked at the property and, though it passed inspection, they saw a few areas that needed some help in making the location both attractive and successful. They all saw the key in patience – that is, not trying to recover everything too quickly and price themselves out of establishing the place. Gary and Penny agreed and since they would largely run it themselves and live in one of the upstairs rooms, they had the opportunity to economize. If they needed the room for guests later, they could think of either an addition or living close by, depending on the situation. They wanted to keep Bertie and Alice informed as to the best way forward as things progressed. Gary and Penny also thought about "baptizing" the pub with having a local wedding in the town hall and celebrating there. Everyone liked the idea, especially if it meant they would open in time for seasonal travel.
Meantime, Alice got a lot out of her first term in Newcastle and already had scheduled taking qualifying exams towards the end of their school year, which would free her to do her own research mostly. She might need to assist in the teaching of a few classes, not so much for the money as for the experience. She did not technically need the latter, but she believed Tom that trying to teach made someone understand their own subject so much more, so she embraced the opportunity. She had heard another student specializing in 17th century English history talk about framing the English Civil War, Restoration and Glorious Revolution as a singular event, like a play in three acts, as a means of getting students to get a handle on seeing each with a function but all serving a historical arc in the evolving relationship between monarch and Parliament. That student had concentrated so heavily in researching the legal and moral justification for executing Charles I that she had not pulled back to see a wider picture, an important context for undergraduates just beginning their own projects. That "a-ha" movement crystalized for Alice what Tom had said about teaching Livia. She finally saw it at work in a context meaningful to her.
The holidays were more about the mood and spending time together than the presents. It's not that no one gave any or received any. They did not dominate the day – except for maybe Abby, since she really loved catnip. Tom's father called from his office before heading to his house. Cathy had gone there to supposedly fetch him, but she also spoke on the phone as well. Since she had gone to Durham the day before, she did not have a great deal to say, other than "Merry Christmas," but she wanted to do it away from her mother and sister. Cathy enjoyed a better relationship with her mother than Tom, but she recognized its limits and tended to keep her mouth shut rather than speak her mind. She would tell her father what she thought and he usually agreed. Still, he had to live with Emma and loved her, despite her obvious blind spot concerning her children. He claimed things had improved somewhat with Lydia out on her own, but Cathy did not see it, mostly because she did not visit her parents too often. Cats in a no-kill rescue needed help continuously, and though she got days off, her schedule had some fluidity with the occasional emergency, too. She did not wish to drive Rich's car, either, though he did teach her how to drive and pass her license test so she at least could use the car without him when necessary.
After an enjoyable holiday party at Tom's employer – with Livia tepid about any wedding date prospect attending – Livia exchanged some mail with Shelley, Ted and a few others, but no one found a mutually agreeable time to meet. That prospect would have to wait for spring recess, when Livia possibly could meet them all at King's Cross. Livia decided to visit Shelley starting around Wednesday, 9 January. Livia decided if she pranked Professor Snape the day before, she maintained a modicum of respect despite his displeasure. She suspected that cake and whiskey made him a terrible drunk on the following day, even though no one she knew could imagine him being worse than he seemed on a daily basis. They rarely saw him alone, without an adversarial agenda. She saw something different. Livia still did not know what to think about what he had done in regards to Ben at that dance. She guessed he saw some parallel that he could judge better after he had matured. Perhaps he simply relished making a boy jealous of him, since she gathered from his school career that this never had happened. It seemed to her that he did not care too much about himself except when that one particular student came into the picture. Maybe, she thought, he realized that if he had acted another way, the girl might have seen him differently.
Just after noon on Tuesday, 8 January, Livia locked her bedroom door and apparated to the school, inside and close to where students often could not travel. She made sure to give herself a kind of force field so no one in the student corridor could see or hear her as she picked her way through the security measures intended to keep students out at times. Having seen Christopher Prince negotiate these made the task even easier than she had done before, though she rarely had problems, anyway. She had fashioned a collar for herself with a little heart saying happy birthday, which she knew she would wear as a cat. She knocked on his door and heard his usual, "Go away, Albus." It was her cue. She next meowed very loudly near the door and scratched at it.
He thought he must be dreaming. Is Minerva now pranking me? He opened the door and Livia the Siberian cat rushed into the room, turning towards him so he easily read her "Happy Birthday" message. The cat winded around his legs like a figure eight and gave him the full scent-marking routine. Obviously, the cat Mrs. Norris did not quite look like that nor did Professor McGonagall's animagus. He only knew of one person who had found animals who liked him. "Okay, where are you, Miss Woodcock?" he asked. "The cat liking me gives this away."
Livia the cat moved a little from him and then emerged as herself, still wearing her collar, "You called, sir?" she inquired.
"Show off," he spat out. "You keep finding ways to do this. Not giving up?"
"Not until you laugh, sir," Livia replied. "I don't mean a fake one, either."
"Well, I guess you won't be leaving this place any time soon," he observed dryly. "What makes you think I will laugh at anything?"
"One, the headmaster tries; two, you made your own joke; and three, you are a living human being," Livia stated. "I think those are credible. Was my cat convincing?"
"Very much," he said, honestly. "Took you some time to settle on one, with the first ones being rather unusual. I would gather you have registered that one?"
"Yes," she admitted. "I worked the other types I had were wild and not native to Scotland. Defeats the purpose. A long-haired, tabby cat fits, even if this type has recently become recognized as its own breed."
"Really? What is it called?"
"A Siberian," she asserted. "It's the national cat of Russia, obviously. A specific breed will not seem apparent, however, given the variety of coat and eye colors currently recognized."
"What makes it a purebred, then?" he queried.
"The particulars of its fur, its eye shape, the length of its hind paws and I think a rarity of one being outside Russia," Livia stated. "But it shares characteristics with other breeds well equipped for winter, so at first glance, these aren't evident to an untrained eye."
"I see," he said. "Where are you supposed to be, Miss Woodcock?"
"Durham, in my room."
"Maybe you should return," he suggested.
"But I haven't sung for you, yet," she protested.
"Let me guess, you want to meow it," he said, dryly.
"If you wish it, or if it makes you laugh," Livia offered.
"One question, first – why did you attend the Winter Ball with Thor Thornton, after what happened two years ago?"
"Well, he asked last year, too, and I rejected him," Livia revealed. "This year we found ourselves in the same place. Neither of us saw anyone worth asking nor dating, and we did not want to pretend otherwise. On that basis he asked, on that basis I agreed. No promises, no demands and no stress."
"Oh," he declared. "Well, there's only one voice I want to hear, but that does not make me laugh, as you know."
Livia cringed a little. "I thought you might say that. I'll do it on one condition – you let me lessen your regrets and sorrow over her."
He figured that she would say that. "Okay."
This time she had the full image in her mind and matched the voice note for note, inflection for inflection. He closed his eyes. He could see her, too, in his mind. He missed that Livia matched the expression, everything. If she wore a wig, he would have sworn the past had come alive again.
"Give me your hand, sir," Livia requested. This time, he complied.
She spent closer to ten minutes this time, actively thinking about clearing out as much that had accumulated since she did this before. It seemed either the same, if not worse. She acted like an air purifier trying to dissipate the black, dense and sticky fog. She took longer to get it as clean and colorless as possible. Her mental imaging helped her focus and sped up the process, though it still tired her, if not quite as much as the first time she did it. She got the black smoke very thin and nearly invisible. He became fidgety, so she opened her eyes and let go. "Well?"
"You have gotten better at this, too," he admitted. He made no other comment, however.
"I hope so, sir," she said. "You have a good day tomorrow. See you again soon."
She exited, took down her protective field and went home. That was powerful, he thought.
*Author's Note
A live version of Metallica's single "Enter Sandman" was released in 1991. The track, written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett, appears on the album Metallica of the same year.
The band Journey issued its single "Don't Stop Believin'" in 1981, originally from its album Escape. Written by vocalist Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon, the song was rereleased in 2009 and has enjoyed a resurgent popularity in digital sales.
The song "Allentown" by Billy Joel first appeared on his 1982 album The Nylon Curtain, though he included a live version of it in his 1987 Soviet Union concert, released as Kohuept. Many outside of the US would be more familar with the latter version.
The tune "Your Song" first appeared on Elton John's second eponymous album of 1970, released as a single that year. Like much of his music, his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin composed the lyrics.