Chapter Forty-Three

The Professional Approach

The clouds finally parted that Saturday, and the sunlight caused a sharp glare on the lake's icy surface. Severus had taken the long way around so that he could look out on the Quidditch Pitch to see who Aurelius had gotten as his assistant... it was Jamie, Severus noted, then wandered the other way thoughtfully. Jamie's days as an Auror would soon come to an end as well, Severus mused. Harry and Aurelius were probably going to have a rough year waiting for the new wave of Aurors would finally arrive. He was certain now that Garvan, Natalie, and Hope were determined to be there for him. Would they burn out early too? Or find other reasons they needed to leave? If Viviane was correct, Natalie will have a child to deal with... would she still want to be an Auror after that? As for Hope... Severus snorted softly. Come hell or high water, Severus was certain that Hope was a life-long Auror.

Severus took a shortcut through the secret passages and stepped out by Jennifer's office. He wandered into the Potion Lab to see Maurice and Cain sitting in the front with pieces of their Items project out. Other students were still making their way in, some going straight to the cubby shelves for their Items and Potions projects while others sleepily went to the Breakfast Cart for a quick bite first.

"Good morning," Severus said to Maurice, peering over the table. Right now, Maurice had the compass, triangulation, and watch levels split; Maurice was running tests on the metals and researching charms he could put on it, while Cain was working on the triangulation device. "I see you've made progress. May I?"

"Sure," Cain said, and Severus picked up the watch potion, checking the time against his own. Severus nodded.

"I take it you used a goblin mechanism. It is quite accurate," Severus noted.

"Yes, actually putting it into the casing and getting it started was the easy part, but trying to get it accurate was a pain," Cain said. "Apparently, the trick with these watches is to get it on the exact correct time from the start... after that, the spell will take over, but it is very fiddly."

"Neither of us had the timing to get it right," Maurice said. "So I ended up taking it to the nursery and had Quintin adjust it."

"You had a four year old adjust your Items project?" Severus asked flatly.

"I did get Professor Craw's permission first... and as you can see, he did get the clock working," Maurice said.

"You're lucky he didn't take the thing apart," Severus said. "Those watch kits aren't exactly cheap."

"I know, but then if he felt the need to do it, the mechanism probably wasn't working right from the beginning and then it'd have been a waste of time trying to set it," Maurice reasoned.

"Yes, well, next time you want Quintin to help you with any sort of school project, I'd appreciate if you went to both of us for permission first," Severus said sternly.

"All right, I'll keep that in mind," Maurice said calmly, getting back to work. Severus shook his head and went into Jennifer's office. Remus, sitting on the sofa with a coffee mug, glanced up and gave a halfhearted wave, watching Jennifer and Ivano working at her potion lab.

"Oh, good morning, Severus," Jennifer said.

"I thought I'd offer my services, at least until after lunch," Severus said.

"Isn't there something else you ought to be doing?" Remus asked.

"No, Laura is on a date with Conner, then she's meeting with Danyelle for lunch. It's on the pretense of 'catching up,' but I think attempting to talk Laura into refereeing some of the football games this spring is the real motivation..."

"Conner? Conner who?" Remus asked with a frown. "Do you mean Sirius' therapist?"

"Yes, Conner Donovan. He was in Alex's class, I believe?" Severus asked.

"A year ahead of her, actually, he graduated the same year as Rose," Jennifer recalled.

"In that case, he's much too old for her," Remus said irritably.

"Actually, there's less difference between Conner and Laura than there is between Corey and Rose," Jennifer pointed out.

"Yes, less than our gap as well," Severus agreed. "Those differences can be stark at first, but after the first decade or two, it doesn't matter so much."

"Easy for you to say. You're not her father," Remus snapped.

"Yes. Well. Been there, done that," Severus said as he straightened the potion shelves. "Pyther and Alicia has everyone beat by six centuries."

"Really, Remus, there's nothing to worry about. Conner is quite the gentleman," Jennifer assured him, handing one of her test phials on to Ivano.

"Oh, he's reputable now, but you should have seen him when he was in school. An incorrigible jokester; the clown of Gryffindor. Do you remember the Ribbit Rain, Jennifer?"

"I even remember how Albus handled it," Jennifer chuckled. "Conner once told me that he still doesn't like frog's legs."

"I think that was about the same time he nearly got our son killed," Severus reminded her.

"Yes, I suppose, but he's made up for it and more since then," Jennifer said.

"Fair enough," Severus said. "Remus, I don't think there's anything to worry about. I'm monitoring the situation and have been since she left the department."

"I haven't seen you do much of anything," Remus snapped.

"Then you haven't been paying attention," Severus concluded. "So, how is the potion coming along?"

"Well, since the only reason this potion is working with all the different variants of the disease is that it's treating the symptoms, we have to stick within the confines of the potion if we wish to improve it," Ivano said with a sigh. "We are attempting to increase time in between doses, hopefully to the point that the patient only needs to take one potion for each full moon cycle. Doing so successfully would cut down the number of 'bad turnings' that patients typically complain about, because most of them are caused by incorrectly timing the current doses, which must be given by or before the twenty-fourth hour every day for the week up until the recovery potions are given."

"Yes, I can see how that would be a very beneficial change, but that also might raise the toxicity of the potion since it was just under safe levels as it is now. And what sort of effect suspension are you planning on using?" Severus asked.

"Here's our current potion notation, Severus," Jennifer offered, handing him the parchment to look over.

"It's still a bit rough," Ivano protested. "We haven't worked out all of the inconsistencies yet."

"Don't worry, Ivano, he was doing this job long before I was, he can read through it," Jennifer reassured Ivano.

"Long, long before," Remus quipped.

"Thank you, Remus," Severus said, giving him an annoyed look. Finally, he handed the parchment back. "If you succeed, it will definitely be a vast quality improvement on the current one. Anything that can further minimize the danger of losing control will be a great accomplishment."

"You'll get no arguments from me there," Remus said.

"Yet at the same time, I rather get the feeling from your expression, Ivano, that you were hoping to get more out of this research than that," Severus observed. Ivano sighed.

"It would have been nice to have a true breakthrough... not necessarily a cure, perhaps... I'd have been happy just to be a step closer to a cure, especially with this noble test subject of ours being such a gracious and knowledgeable partner in our endeavor. But the inconsistencies in the blood results have been quite a setback. I had always assumed that all victims of the bite would have the same accursed reaction, especially since the symptoms were treated similarly," Ivano said.

"Perhaps what you need is another expert in this subject," Severus said. Jennifer glanced up curiously. Then she frowned, her face darkening. "We have another alchemist in this castle, Ivano, who has actually been watching your progress very closely and believes he may have discovered what is causing the inconsistencies, and has asked my permission to do some research of his own on the topic. I believe it may lead to that 'breakthrough' you're looking for."

"No," Jennifer snapped. Her expression was unusually cold and unbending... Remus had seen that look often enough on Thomas. "Absolutely out of the question. How dare you even help him behind my back? Icarus Ravenclaw has no business in any Potion Lab after what he did!"

Remus quickly got up and pulled Ivano out of the line of fire, the two of them retreating to the other side of the room.

"Did you not forgive him for that?" Severus asked.

"I said I understood it, yes, but what he did was unforgivable! Even in today's terms, anyone who commits a crime with potions is stripped of all licenses and allowances to potion making for life. He has no rights to be doing any sort of alchemy, Severus," Jennifer said firmly.

"He doesn't necessarily have to access the lab for this, Jennifer. You simply need to hear out his theories," Severus pointed out. "Don't you owe it to Remus to speak with him if it furthers your research?"

"I don't care what his theories are. I can damn well figure this out on my own!" Jennifer shouted at him. Behind them, the door had opened from the outside, and after a quick glance, Remus gestured to Ivano and the two of them slipped out. "You had no right to approve any side by side research without consulting me!"

"Actually, I do have that right as Headmaster of this school, and I have always encouraged my faculty to branch out from their specialties and pursue any intellectual endeavors they want to pursue, that's why we built the Research Library. Furthermore, although Icarus may have been a bit out of touch for a few hundred years, alchemy was his original specialty, and he has been getting caught up on his own..."

"He poisoned his entire family! By all rights, he should be banned from any and all alchemy!" Jennifer said.

"Yes, but he wasn't. I checked the records..."

"Only because he then poisoned himself as well!"

"To which, he is eternally damned. Isn't that punishment enough?"

"Craters, no! Why are you sticking up for him? Why have you always stuck up for him? It infuriates me to no end!"

"Yes, so I see," Severus admitted.

"And yet despite that, despite the fact he did something totally reprehensible as all of that, you are allowing him to dabble in Potions research?" Jennifer said furiously.

"It's called a second chance," Severus said, still quite calm. "You're a Craw, I believe you've heard of them."

"Get out! Get out of my office!" Jennifer yelled, pointing to the door. It was then that she finally noticed that Ivano and Remus had left. Instead, it was Maurice standing in near the doorway with his arms folded, and there was a Sonorous Shield on the door.

"I'll go out the back," Severus decided. "I believe I'll go drop Quintin off at the Pythers for the night and I plan to sleep in my sitting room."

"Damn straight you will," Jennifer seethed. Severus left the door to the Perch open to give Jennifer the satisfaction of slamming it after him. She then glanced at Maurice, who was still by the other door.

"I cleared the Potion Lab and put a note on the door to come back after lunch," Maurice explained.

"Thank you, Maurice," Jennifer said, checking on the test phials and turning off what burners she could. "I don't know what Severus could be thinking. Consult Icarus, indeed," she seethed. "I know, I'm going to build a ghost trap. The next time Icarus comes into my office without my permission, I'm bottling that nuisance! That'll make him think twice about coming in here."

"Fair enough. He shouldn't be trespassing when he knows you don't want him in here," Maurice agreed, stepping over to the shelf. "I don't know where you keep your ethereal bottles, but I'll help you with the trigger."

"At least you seem to understand," Jennifer said.

"We're Craws. There's no greater crime than one committed against one's family," Maurice said, picking out a couple of components. "And you're a teacher. There's no greater crime than one committed against children."

"Exactly."

"And yet he's teaching."

"That wasn't my doing! Well, not completely. I'll admit that Dumbledore talked me into having him moved here, but it wasn't to teach, it was simply to get the Sentinels together so we could find the missing Sentinel," Jennifer said. "And it was Dumbledore's doing to make him a teacher after Trelawney went insane."

"Oh. I wonder why he allowed that?" Maurice asked. "He doesn't seem the sort who'd approve of what Icarus did any more than you would, regardless of the reason. And he doesn't have any family connection to him like you do either. That's why you tolerated him afterwards, isn't it?"

"It is," Jennifer admitted. "Maybe I should go ask Albus about it."

"I think that's a good idea," Maurice agreed.

"Oh, but the research..."

"I think that's off for the day, don't you? Nobody's fool enough to get in the way of a Craw on a rampage. Even if Ivano hasn't seen you blow before, Remus knew well enough to warn him to stay away," Maurice said. "Come on, Sis, let me help you get these last few samples bottled and call it a day. I'm sure Dumbledore won't mind an impromptu visit."

"I guess you're right," Jennifer said, then sighed with a smile. "Look at you, all grown up. When did that happen?"

"I'm not officially grown up until after my NEWT exams," Maurice decided.

"You'll do splendid," Jennifer said. "Let's get that trap set up. I'm not leaving without doing that."

"Of course not," Maurice agreed, and the two of them got to work.

Albus Dumbledore was delighted to see Jennifer. He was also delighted to visit with Radiance, who came in ahead of Jennifer to warn him that she was planning a visit. He showed Jennifer into Rosmerta's sitting room in the back of the Three Broomsticks, still carrying Radiance on his shoulder.

"She's such a marvelous creature, Jennifer. You very rarely see them outside of China. I wonder how Hagrid got a hold of one?" Radiance was obviously appreciating the extra attention, making cooing noises at his gentle head scratches.

"I know better than to ask too many questions about that, all I know is that her paperwork was legal," Jennifer grinned.

"Well, I welcomed the opportunity to get to know her better," Albus said.

"Yes, I figured that I had better send her along while Maurice and I set up that ghost trap, but he insisted that I write Icarus a formal letter asking him to stay out of my office first just in case Severus wanted to take issue with it," Jennifer said. "Honestly, I don't care one wit if he does take issue with it. What's one more mark on my record?"

"Oh, dear. Perhaps you should start from the beginning," Albus suggested. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll get us some tea."

"Don't trouble yourself," Jennifer sighed, taking off her cloak.

"Not at all. I brought plenty of my special blend back from Tir Na Nogh," he explained. "So tell me what you're fighting with Icarus about this time."

"I'm not fighting with Ick so much as fighting with Severus. Do you know about the research that I've been doing Ivano Disparte?" Jennifer asked.

"Oh, yes, Remus and I have been discussing it at length," Albus said. "It sounds like you two have been making a great deal of progress."

"On alleviating the symptoms, yes, and now we're working on a modification that will dramatically cut down how many potions needed for treatment. If we're successful, Remus would only need to take one potion during the full moon cycle," Jennifer said.

"That sounds quite a tremendous improvement," Albus said. "Might I see your formula thus far?" Jennifer pulled it out of her cloak pocket and handed it to him. "So what does this have to do with this fight of yours?"

"Well, Ivano's disappointed that we're working on reducing the symptoms rather than making any progress towards a cure, but we ran into inconsistencies with the blood that prevented that. When he mentioned it to Severus, Severus had the gall to suggest that we consult Icarus about it."

"And?"

"And? Icarus poisoned his family! He has no business advising in anything having to do with alchemy. I don't understand why Severus even suggested such a thing!" Jennifer ranted.

"I see. Well, I believe it is because Severus thinks that Icarus might have some valuable information to contribute," Albus decided. "In fact, he must have believed it enough to risk sleeping in his sitting room for."

"Wait, wait, let's leave emotional relationships and personal conflicts out of this conversation for a moment," Jennifer protested, waving it off.

"Good idea," Albus agreed.

"My objection isn't personal. It is a matter of professional ethics," Jennifer explained. "You know as well as I do how strict the Alchemist Board is in licensing, not to mention Ministry rules of conduct when it comes to alchemy. Even minor offenses of legality gets questioned on occasion. I was reviewed several times when I was younger, and Corey has been on probation more than his fair number of times when it wasn't even his fault. Any sort of illegal potioning charge is cause to get a review to lose one's license, and the Ministry can revoke it on a guilty sentence immediately. Icarus doesn't even have a license, nor would he be able to acquire one even if he did have a clean record since his knowledge is a thousand years out of date. But the fact that he poisoned his entire family would be a swift loss of any and all licenses and the Ministry would restrict all of his magic, especially potion making. If he wasn't a ghost already, he'd have been imprisoned forever, or put to death, or Dementor's Kiss, especially back then. Consequently, he really has no business anywhere near a laboratory."

"I understand your position. Although technically, he was imprisoned. He was sent to Azkaban for centuries," Albus pointed out.

"Fair enough. But I don't think there's any sort of limitation on being banned for poisoning," Jennifer said.

"No, not that I know of," Albus said thoughtfully. "Tell me, Jennifer. What is your professional opinion of him as a fellow professor?"

"He can be a bit of a pest and doesn't always follow etiquette when it comes to entering other professor's offices," Jennifer began, Albus hiding an amused smile. "But he's a good teacher in general, quite patient with his students, and very knowledgeable about his area of expertise."

"And are you concerned that any students or staff will come to harm because of his presence?"

"No, of course not. If there had been, Severus would have removed him a long time ago. He and the other founder apprentices can be a complete headache from time to time, acting on their own and behind the back of the Headmaster, but they do so with the intention of preserving the school. But that is an entirely different matter... that is a matter for the administration of the school to deal with. That doesn't have anything to do with giving permission to someone who used potions in such a reprehensible manner the permission to dabble in them again. I am the school Potion Master, after all, and I'm well within my rights to refuse to work with someone like that, not to mention within my rights to take it to the school board or the Alchemist Board to make certain that doesn't happen."

"That is correct," Albus said, growing thoughtful. "I think I shall come and help you by defending your point of view and help you and Severus come to some sort of resolution, especially since there are some legal concerns and liabilities to consider for the school. And since that is the case, I believe I will ask a couple of others to join us."

When the quill to his journal began to move on the current hour, Severus sighed and glanced up from his work to see what it was. Then he stared at it a moment with a frown before finally rolling his eyes.

"Headmaster, it would seem Professor Craw has returned with some guests and is escorting them up as speak," the portrait of Dippet informed him.

"So I see," Severus said. "Have Maisy get some tea ready, Armando. Where is Professor Ravenclaw? In the Research Library?"

"I don't know, he tends to wander on weekends. Shall I find out and ask him to attend?" the painting asked.

"No, just find him so I know where he is. I don't want him in here just yet," Severus said, glancing at the tea set that had appeared. He opened the doors and pulled the knob at on the stairs.

A moment later, Albus stepped up the spiral staircase.

"Ah," he said, and then chuckled. "So much for taking the long way."

"You of all people should know better," said Minerva McGonagall. The two of them stepped in together, followed by Taylor Brittle.

"Good afternoon," Severus said. "Is this everyone?"

"For the moment," Jennifer said primly, and the door slowly shut behind her.

"Fine, have some tea and a seat, then someone can explain to me why you're all here, although I can hazard a guess," he said, glancing at Jennifer, who simply held her chin up.

"I am here on behalf of Potion Master Craw, who has a concern and a complaint about some recent discussion concerning Professor Ravenclaw, and also to possibly mediate a peace treaty," Albus added with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

"Recent is right. I only brought it up this morning," Severus said.

"A splendid time to come to some sort of agreement. One doesn't want to mull about things like this, and she has some legitimate concerns about this issue," Albus said.

"Yes, and as a board member, I have some concerns about this issue as well," Minerva said sternly. "Severus, no matter how few people have read Ambrose Tinker's Hogwarts, a History Revisions and Addendum, the entire board has, and it is now a matter of public record. Everyone knows what happened to Ravenclaw and his family. Not even the most progressive reformer is likely to side with you in this."

Albus glanced back as Taylor.

"Yes, well, I'm here to remind you that only licensed alchemists and their students are covered under your co-op insurance policy. And when I asked Corey about Ick's chances of ever getting one, he said it ranged from 'laughable' to 'impossible'," Taylor said. "Although personally, I think -" Taylor was cut short when Jennifer jabbed him in the side.

"As Potion Master of the school, she does have some rights as to who is allowed to use the lab and who has permission to experiment, including unlicensed members of staff, as you may recall since you were once in that position," Albus pointed out.

"Fine, you win. I will speak to Icarus myself about the issue, and I will not bring it up again," Severus said. He glanced at Jennifer, who was smiling thinly. "This is a completely new tactic for you, Jennifer. I was expecting a more dramatic response," Severus admitted. "And I do wonder what you three personally think of the issue," he added, glancing at Taylor. But Albus held up his hand.

"There is a time for opinions, and a time for facts... and a time to support a good friend's position whether you personally agree with them or not," Albus explained.

"Fair enough. Are you ready for tea now?" Severus asked.

"Of course, delighted... Minerva stop being nosy," Albus added when he saw Minerva inspecting the chessboard curiously.

"I was just seeing how the game was going," Minerva said innocently, taking a chair.

"If you'll excuse me, I think I'll pop downstairs and see if Danny's had lunch yet," Taylor said.

"Be my guest," Severus agreed. Just then, his secretary cleared his throat.

"Would this be a safe time to interrupt? I managed to locate Professor Ravenclaw," the portrait of Dippet spoke.

"Oh, well, I'll deal with that later after our guests are gone, Armando," Severus decided.

"I suppose that is up to you of course, Headmaster. But I think I should still tell you that right now he's in a bottle in Professor Craw's office," Armando explained.

Jennifer, who had just sat down, jumped to her feet furiously.

"I warned him to stay out of my office without my permission!" she exclaimed angrily, stomping out of the study and into the Doorlift. Severus propped his head up in one hand.

"That was closer to the reaction that I was expecting," Severus admitted.

"How I love these visits to the castle, Minerva," Albus declared brightly, handing her a cup and grabbing the honey pot before sitting down with one of his own.

"They always prove to be quite amusing," Minerva agreed.

"And seeing Severus' expression to the chaos makes the years just drip away," Albus chatted merrily. Resignedly, Severus decided not to comment, and passed the biscuit tray to them to give himself a moment to figure out how to change the subject.