Chapter Forty-One

Cloaks and Cola

The scramble that always happened after Natalie's party about who was going where, and the bustle Baker Street afterwards, made it so that Jennifer was too busy to wonder about anything other than how to get everyone settled. Severus, professing an errand, had left just after the party, leaving Jennifer to assign rooms to guests and get Quintin and Leu off to bed. She stayed up long enough to make sure that the gifts stored at the castle arrived under the tree and the ones that needed to be sent out had disappeared to go to the appropriate houses. Finally done, she collapsed on the couch, falling asleep in front of the fire.

So it was that Severus came home to a very quiet house. He peered into the front room and then closed the front door, keeping as quiet as possible as he took off his cloak and boots and went over to her. He shook his head at himself, thinking of what Jennifer had gone through so far this term. He leaned down and kissed her gently. She woke up with a smile, a rush of pleasant memories coming into her mind.

"Oh, you're finally home," Jennifer said sleepily.

"Yes. You needn't have sorted all those packages all by yourself. I would have helped," Severus murmured.

"That's all right, Severus. I didn't know how long you'd be, and I've gotten used to doing things myself this year," Jennifer said.

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Severus said. "You're independent enough as it is."

"Hardly," Jennifer replied, but Severus kissed her again.

"I'm sorry I left you in such a position this term... first to saddle you with the formidable task of improving that potion and then to ask you to do so much of the administration work. You had every right to be cross with me," Severus decided. Jennifer sighed.

"If you hadn't left, we wouldn't have found out about Rummert, or how Flammel's notes were being misused. Not to mention that things may have already gone quite badly for Laura had you not been there for her," Jennifer admitted quietly, sitting up and making room on the couch for him. "I spent some time at the party watching her, Severus. She's yet to deal with any of her problems. She's hiding them behind heavy walls and diverting any attempts that anyone makes to approach them."

"Yes, I've noticed. But she will be back at Hogwarts soon, and I have every intention of keeping a careful eye on her from now on," Severus promised, putting an arm around Jennifer. "I had a conversation with Harry tonight and let him know that I won't be returning to the Auror department this week."

"You're not?" Jennifer said with surprise. "That's going to put Harry in quite a bind, isn't it?"

"Aunt Viviane warned me to stay close to the castle, and I plan to heed that warning. I will keep my position as one of Alex's informants, since I can easily do that from Hogwarts. And it will be mutually beneficial since it will give me access to Ministry information I haven't 'officially' been allowed to have before," Severus went on. "But right now my attention needs to be on you, my family, and Hogwarts, including Laura."

"I can't say I'm not relieved. But what about Mike?" Jennifer asked.

"Aurelius and Alex are keeping an eye on that, and I left a message with Mike's gift that if he ever got into any trouble that he couldn't go to Harry about to come see me," Severus said.

"Oh. You gave him a present?"

"Yes, that extra Nightshroud I bought when I went to Heckletown to hunt down that present for Aurelius," Severus explained.

"The one you spent way too much on?" Jennifer asked knowingly.

"It was still far less than what I spent for Aurelius' present, even with the discount I got for keeping quiet about where I found it," Severus admitted. "The Nightshroud may not be as good of a protection as the Invisibility Cloak, but it will give him complete coverage at night, which is better than nothing."

"You don't have to convince me of that, my Nightshroud has saved my life a time or two... although one time it nearly ended it," Jennifer recalled.

"Yes, I warned him about that too. If I could have given them both an Invisibility Cloak, I would have, but as you know perfectly well, even with Alex and Earsinge to help track Moody's down, it was practically a miracle that we found it, especially in working condition," Severus said.

"Aurelius will be amazed that you found it too," Jennifer agreed.

"I should hope so at that price," Severus agreed dryly.

When Laura heard that Harry and Aurelius was going to the Black's Christmas party, she wasted no time making herself scarce, volunteering for babysitting Aubrey Lynn to keep her from having to go downstairs. Once the baby was settled, she turned into her Cu Sith form so that she could watch some of the activity from the balcony without being noticed. But when Aurelius stepped inside, his chain went off. He subtly glanced up towards the railing, feeling a bit of deja vu as he remembered the year that his father had watched things from the balcony of the Three Broomsticks. Harry and Ginny walked over to Sirius. He was chatting with Remus, and had a wine glass full of a dark liquid in hand.

"What is that?" Harry asked immediately.

"Happy Christmas to you too," Sirius greeted.

"Sorry, Happy Christmas. What is that?" Harry asked again.

"It's Coca Cola. I told you it was a dry party, unless someone spiked the punch when we weren't looking," Sirius said. "I doubt it, though. Anna and Conner are planning to hang out in there just to make sure."

"You have nothing to worry about, Harry. This mansion is full of all of Padfoot's best friends and none of us want to see him fall off the wagon, Christmas or not," Remus assured him.

"Is my father here yet? I really want to thank them for my gift this year," Aurelius said. Sirius shook his head.

"Oh? What did he get you this year?" Remus asked curiously.

"I wouldn't show everyone what you got this year, Rel..." Harry warned.

"I'm just going to show them," Aurelius promised, taking a bit of effort to tug the other cloak out of his chest cloak until it finally came out.

"Ah, I see! It's an Invisibility Cloak... something every good Auror should have," Remus said in appreciation.

"You don't know the half of it. When I first got it, I didn't know who the previous owner was... but Tonks did, and so did Harry when I showed it to him," Aurelius said. "This is Mad-eye Moody's old cloak."

"Really? How the hell did he find that? I thought he lost that years ago," Sirius said, impressed.

"He did, he lost it in Cairo, thanks to Andrew. It's a long story," Aurelius said. "And I'm sure it took a lot of effort to track it down."

"It couldn't be in better hands," Harry told him.

"Thanks, Harry," Aurelius said with a smile.

It was just then that there was a knock and Sirius let Jennifer, Severus, and Bael in. Severus blinked when he saw what what Aurelius had in his arms.

"Good lord, Aurelius. I hope you don't plan to show that to everyone," Severus said critically. Aurelius gave him an enthusiastic hug.

"I was only showing them, honest! I'll put it straight away," Aurelius said, folding it tightly up so that he could put it back in his Chest Cloak. "I can't believe you managed to find it!"

"Yes, that makes two of us," Severus agreed, then noticed Sirius standing there with a broad smile and a glass. "What is in that?" he demanded, pointing accusingly at the glass.

"I can't seem to get a Happy Christmas out of anyone this year," Sirius complained. "It's Coca Cola."

"Oh, lovely! I think I'll find me a glass of that," Jennifer said enthusiastically.

"What is it?" Bael asked, and found himself being pulled by the arm into the next room.

"Don't worry, there's no meat in it," Jennifer said as she dragged him along, Ginny followed behind them.

"So Harry... just what happened between you and my daughter, if you don't mind my asking?" Remus asked. Severus and Aurelius glanced at each other.

"I think I'll go try and keep Mum out of trouble," Aurelius decided quickly, following the others.

"She didn't tell you?" Harry asked calmly.

"No, she won't talk about it," Remus said.

"I see. In that case, I probably shouldn't either," Harry decided. "I just want to say that letting her go was just as much for her sake is it was for the department's. I think she'll be a lot happier working at Hogwarts. In fact, I also think she'd be a smashingly good teacher."

"She's not a teacher, she's an assistant librarian. Are you sure you're not making that job up for convenience, Severus?" Remus asked critically.

"Ambrose held that position before Laura did, Remus. I created it so that Boulderdash could extend our economic and business curriculum, as I'm sure Tonks or any other board member would be happy to confirm for you," Severus said. "It simply took Hermione a while to find a suitable replacement... and Laura is nothing if not overqualified for the position. However, whether or not she wants to study for her teaching license is entirely up to her. I have learned from my own experiences that when a door closes on a person unexpectedly, it is best to keep all the other ones open so that one can make a thoughtful decision. That will be easy for her to do at Hogwarts, and no objections you have to her being there will change my mind on the matter."

"Objections?" Harry repeated, looking at Remus curiously. "You don't want Laura at Hogwarts? Why wouldn't you? You've never been comfortable with her being an Auror, and you won't have to worry so much about her now that she's right there in the same building as you."

"I don't want her in the same building as me," Remus snapped. "Not when we're working on that potion. Something might go wrong."

"You really do worry too much, Moony," Sirius said with a sigh. "Laura has known what to do if you have had a bad turning since she was a toddler, and now she's an adult who's perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

"Padfoot's right, and even if you did have a bad turning, Severus is going to be right there to make sure it doesn't affect the school," Harry said.

"And what if it's on a weekend?" Remus asked.

"I'll be there. Even on weekends," Severus said.

"Yes, he will," Harry said in support. In fact, Harry was beginning to feel a bit guilty about how upset he had been when Severus told him he was quitting the night before. Now it was clearer than ever that Severus had good reason. "Don't worry about it, I'm used to being short handed. The rest of us will adjust and pick up the slack."

"I'm sure you will. After all, in the summer you'll have a few new trainees coming in," Severus reminded him.

"I can't wait," Harry said with a weak grin.

"Excuse me," said someone from the doorway, and they all looked over to see Conner Donavan standing there. "Am I interrupting?"

"It's just Coke," Sirius said flatly.

"Yeah, I know," Conner replied with a shrug. "I had Thomas hex all of the glasses being used tonight. If anyone was putting any alcohol in them, we'd have known it by now." Sirius blinked.

"What did he hex them with?" Severus asked, squinting.

"That I don't know, all he would tell us was it wasn't anything lethal," Conner explained. "Mind if I go upstairs and talk to Laura?"

Before Sirius even had time to say "sure," Laura was quickly shuffling backwards, scrambling to get down the hall to the baby's room and then plopping down on the rug in front of the crib, attempting not to pant as she heard someone come up the steps.

A moment later Conner peered in, stared at the shaggy green dog in front of the crib, and burst out laughing.

"Hey Nana, where's your hat?" he finally got out, wiping away tears as Laura transfigured back to her human form.

"What are you talking about?" she snapped.

"You're going to wake her up," Conner warned when the baby rolled over, still trying to compose himself.

"Never mind that. Why were you laughing?" Laura asked with a glare.

"I'm sorry... lying there like that... you reminded me of the dog nursemaid in Peter Pan. But the hat would have made it more perfect," he explained, forcing himself to calm down.

"Well, if Aubrey Lynn wakes up, it's your fault, and you can take care of her," Laura said.

"Yeah, okay. Happy Christmas," Conner greeted.

"Happy Christmas," Laura repeated. "Was that all you wanted?"

"No, actually... I haven't seen you since... I heard you have a new job at Hogwarts," Conner said. "So I was wondering if you planned on continuing services. Severus told me that it was up to you."

"I don't know. Give me time to think about it," Laura said, then frowned. "How much do you charge?"

"Oh, don't worry about that part. I already hit Severus up for the bill...medical care is covered when you work there, if you didn't know," Conner said.

"That's because they have a doctor and nurse already on staff," Laura pointed out.

"True, but that just gives them a discount in their Co-op. Everything outside of the castle is covered as well, and Severus confirmed it also includes my services. In fact, I'm the only shrink Hogwarts recommends. Jennifer hates psychiatrists."

"Yes, I knew that. She has a point," Laura said. "And I also know that it's hard to keep a secret at Hogwarts. At the Ministry it's easy, but now that I'm in the school, it won't take long for a student to poke about and find out about it. I'd have no hope of getting a teacher's license then."

"Are you thinking of getting a teaching license?" Conner asked with interest.

"I... I don't know. I'm just thinking about it because... well, I hardly want to stay a librarian's assistant forever, and I don't know what I'm going to do next, actually... so because of that... I do care what people think, you know. I don't want everyone to know I'm crazy..."

"Laura, you're not crazy," Conner said firmly.

"You say that about all your clients," Laura retorted.

"Very near, but that's because it's true. There's a lot of stigma attached to this job, Laura, and I am aware of it, but most of my clients are regular people... people who've been traumatized by something and need help to sort it out and get past it. Others are clients who use substances they shouldn't as a way to hide problems that they don't know how to solve. Or they're dealing with pent up anger or sadness and they don't know where it's coming from or how to get past it on their own. None of them are crazy, they just need help working things out. I'm just like a bartender that everyone vents to when they're feeling low; the difference is that once I'm done listening to the whole story, I can offer more valuable suggestions to how to fix it rather than 'have another ale'," Conner said.

"That explains your office," Laura said flatly. Conner chuckled.

"Just so," Conner agreed. "How about this? Why don't we start having our appointment every Saturday, and instead of having it at my office... since you seem to have taken a disliking to it... we'll go to the park or something. Then, everyone will think you're seeing me as opposed to you 'seeing me'," he winked, using air quotes. "Nobody's going to get close enough to hear what we're talking about if they think we're dating, and I can get you away from damaging my cue sticks. Although I reserve the right to suggest my office when we're faced with inclement weather," he added for good measure. Laura frowned, attempting to think it over. "If you're not sure, we could just try it out for a month to see how it goes and then you can decide."

"How come you want to meet every week instead of every other week with this new plan?" Laura asked suspiciously.

"Well, obviously, because we'll be doing other things as well as just talking, so I need to create opportunity for those conversations to happen," Conner said. Laura sighed.

"I suppose that makes sense. And I like the idea of doing other things rather than just talking," Laura said.

"Yes, I had a feeling you would," Conner chuckled.

"Fine, we'll try it," Laura agreed.

"Good, then let's meet, say... this Saturday around 1 o'clock... in front of Flourish and Blott's in Diagon Alley. I was thinking perhaps we could go shopping for things you might want for your new job," Conner suggested.

"Oh. All right," Laura agreed. Considering what they were doing, she was quite sure there'd be little opportunity to talk about anything else except her new job.

"Good. Then it's a date," Conner winked. "I should go back downstairs now. I haven't had a chance to see Rel yet. I'll even stay and let you know when he and Harry leave if you want, so you can join the party."

"That's okay. I'll stay up here until Lindsay's ready to go," Laura said.

"No problem. See you Saturday," Conner said, then went back downstairs. Stepping into the parlor, he caught Severus' eye then nodded with a smile, walking over to where Aurelius was.

"What was that about? You into another intrigue?" Anna asked Severus. She had been talking with her brother and had noticed the exchange.

"No, it was school business," Severus replied, then went back to their conversation.