Chapter Fifteen
The Witch's Defense
Aurelius arrived at the Quidditch Stadium just as a wizard's Quidditch team was packing up to leave, chatting loudly to each other as they walked up the steps to the gardens. The group suddenly broke out in wolf whistles and Aurelius rolled his eyes, turning to see his mother walking over to meet him.
"College team," Jennifer explained.
"I gathered. I take it Quidditch isn't co-ed here," Aurelius said, and they walked down to the field.
"High school yes, college and pro, no," Jennifer replied.
"I thought Americans were supposed to be progressive," Aurelius said.
"Not when it comes to sports," Jennifer replied. "Anyway, I figure this stadium will give us plenty of room for demos, and I warned Wind what we were planning. Did you get permissions on your end?"
"Yes, I would have told you before now if I hadn't," Aurelius replied. "I even found us a spotter." Jennifer glanced at him and did a double-take.
"That's our spotter? Oh, come now, there's no way he'll act as a spotter. Knowing him, he'll be the one that wants to do the demonstration and you'll be on the bench," Jennifer said.
"Possibly," Aurelius said, Jennifer gazing at him knowingly. "Yes, okay, I wouldn't be surprised if he did that either, but if he did, it's because he doesn't trust me, not because he doesn't trust you," he said.
"We should put a seal on this place so it doesn't blow every single Dark Magic detector in the country and we end up with a whole bunch of WIAB units that weren't informed we were going to do a demo," Jennifer said. "Let me go talk to Wind about it... and also warn him who's coming."
"Okay," Aurelius agreed.
Not long after she had gone, Thomas arrived, casually walking down the steps and onto the field to join Aurelius.
"You're earlier than I expected," Aurelius admitted.
"Yeah, I wanted to double check and make sure this was approved across the board. I don't want to get arrested," Thomas snorted. "Vallid's coming with the head of the Auror department in this region."
"I thought Mum was trying to keep their friendship a secret," Aurelius said.
"Nobody's saying they are friends, they're just here to observe," Thomas said. "By the way, I'm helping with the demo. You just make sure things stay safe."
"I had a feeling that was coming," Aurelius said. He looked up as Jennifer hurried down the stairs. Not far behind her, Wind, Lunette, and another man in an Auror's cloak walked behind at a more leisurely place.
"Hi, Dad. Wind says you invited Lunette and Auror Eldridge today?" Jennifer asked.
"You mean Judge Vallid," Thomas corrected. "Personally, I've never met the witch," he explained. Jennifer rolled her eyes at that.
"Well, Raymond and the students should be arriving from breakfast in the next ten minutes, so I'm going to warm up," Jennifer said.
"That's a good idea, actually," Thomas agreed.
"By the way, this is a demo, not a who can flatten who demonstration, so we're planning on a timed match, Dad."
"From that remark, I'd almost suspect that you didn't trust me, Jen-girl," Thomas replied calmly.
"Not when it comes to something like this, no, not entirely," Jennifer admitted with a chuckle. "Also, watch your language; the amphitheatre is set up so you can hear chatter from the field no matter where you're sitting."
"Understood," Thomas said and set up the form. Jennifer immediately caught up and then matched his movements.
Raymond Eldridge, who was still wondering why Jennifer had requested that the Defense classes meet at the Quidditch Arena, was more than a little surprised when he saw Wind and his two guests sitting in the amphitheatre, watching them practice and talking to each other cordially.
"Dad?" Ray said unsurely, staring at his father. He was sitting between Wind and Judge Vallid, of all people.
"Good morning, Ray, nice day today," Buck Eldridge said. "Brings back memories, sitting in this stadium."
"What are you doing here?" Raymond asked.
"Your father, Judge Vallid, and I will be observing your class and the guest instructor today, Raymond. I hope you don't mind," Wind replied.
"No, of course not, but that doesn't explain why," Raymond said.
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Buck said unconcernedly. "So which Defense class gets the first treat?"
"Defense II, I believe," Wind replied.
"Good! Maybe it'll help more of them want to continue taking it at an advanced level," Buck said with interest, watching the two figures doing forms on the field. Noticing that members of his class were showing up, Ray reluctantly continued down the stairs so that he could start lining them up in the first row to make it easy to do roll call when class started.
Jennifer finished the form routine then noticed the students gathering, walking over next to Ray while Thomas and Aurelius stood back to watch.
"For those of you who aren't taking Items this year, this is Ms. Jennifer Craw, our guest instructor for the day," Raymond Eldridge introduced to his class, who appeared to be made up of mostly eighth and ninth grade students. "So I suggest you give her your undivided attention... or at least pay closer attention than you normally give me, at any rate."
"Thank you, Mr. Eldridge," Jennifer said with a chuckle. "Well, first thing's first! Before we get started, I want to talk to you about a couple of the rumors going around in the school. How many have heard rumors that I'm a Dark Witch? I'm not asking if you believe them or not, but whether you've heard them?" she asked, unsurprised when the entire class had their hands up. "How many heard that I brought 'questionable' items for a demo on the first day of school?" Again, most of the class had their hands up. "How many heard that a couple of them might be linked to Callum's Seal?" she added, then half of them put their hands down. "I'm going to chalk that one up to some of you not knowing what that is, but I'll explain it in a moment," she said with a grin. "Anyway, the first thing I would like to confirm is that all of those 'rumors' are true. I am a Dark Witch, and I did pull some strings to get some artifacts brought to the school, and two of them were pieces of Callum's Seal, which controls the main gate to Tir Na Nog, also known as the Otherworld, the parallel universe that sits closest to ours. The Seal is what was failing when Ciardoth was released into our world, actually," she explained. "There are four items that make up the gate key and each represents a different branch of magic; Ancient, Wild, Light, and Dark, and each one of those items have a guardian. As the Dark Sentinel, I guard Dagda's Cauldron," she explained. "Some of the items were actually lost for a long time, which is why the Seal began to crack. But even when the items were missing, there were Sentinels in place to pass down information about the Seal and to train those who would eventually find the lost items and restore them. Now that has been done, things between our universe and others are stable again... mostly," she added. Up in the stands, Lunette smirked with amusement at that.
"But now that the admissions are out of the way and before I get started on some history, I want to talk to you about some misconceptions people often have about the Dark Arts that probably aren't covered in any class material on the subject," Jennifer went on. "Using Dark Magic doesn't make you evil. Using Light Magic doesn't make you good, either," Jennifer said firmly, gazing at the class seriously, and even met Raymond's gaze for a moment. "They are simply branches of magic, just as much as Ancient or Wild. Actually, Ancient and Wild are the original branches, which is why they're sometimes labeled as the informal branches; while Light and Dark, the formal branches, have always needed to be taught.
"So, as I'm sure you know, Dark Magic spells are typically offensive spells designed to kill, harm, manipulate, and control one's enemy. It should come as no surprise to you, then, that Dark Magic is heavily rooted in warfare. It is quite likely, as a matter of fact, that when humans first started developing magic, they were quick to turn it into a weapon, since back then, most humans were tribal in nature. Before Callum's Seal, they also had to deal with invasions by Fomorians as well as Fae races of all kinds, not to mention the fact that dragons, sea serpents, and a multitude of other magical creatures that are scarce or extinct today threatened them constantly. On top of that, humans were fighting each other over territories, seeking to gain control of land and resources, including the people that lived on them. At the same time that the non-magical humans of the primeval world were busy developing melee weapons, projectiles, subjugation devices for punishment and torture, caltrops, traps, and large machines to destroy homes, castles and lives, we wizards and witches were developing hexes, curses, death spells, and destruction spells to do the exact same thing," Jennifer explained. "Were some spells developed for evil purposes? Certainly, just as some spells are developed for good purposes, not that I haven't seen people use both for the opposite reason on occasion," she went on.
"Can you make the argument that war in any fashion is evil? Philosophically, I would not argue the point. But this is about the reality we live in and the fact that wizards, witches, and even non-magic humans are fighting all the time, and it's not likely to stop anytime soon. That is why you still need a Defense class to protect yourselves, and I'm sure all of you already know that sometimes the best defense is to fight back. The same can be said for protecting yourself against Dark Magic as well; sometimes the best defense against Dark Magic is another Dark Magic spell. At the very least, by knowing the spell yourself, it is easier to counter it if you need to defend yourself from it. So! Today, with the permission of both our governments, Minister Craw, Auror Snape, and I are going to be giving you a demonstration of various Dark Magic spells," she explained getting a soft murmur of surprise from the students. Raymond looked back at the three sitting in the stands, but they seemed much more interested than alarmed.
"I ask that no one get up during the demonstration, because we are going to need to cast some protection spells to make sure everyone stays safe while we're doing this," Jennifer said, getting out her wand. "The first demonstration will be a casting of the Shrieking Death spell. Although you'll be able to visually see the power of the spell, we'll be placing a shield spell upon you to protect you from its effects. This spell was originally developed by my ancestor Mallus Craw, who was, unfortunately, a very evil wizard and killed many innocent people. It was developed to mimic the power of a Beansidhe, and can actually be used to counter their cry if it's strong enough. The best defense against this spell is the Sonorous Shield, which, of course, is a very powerful Light Magic spell, and what we will be using to contain this demonstration."
Jennifer walked over to the other two.
"Dad, did you want to do the crowd or play catch?" Jennifer asked.
"I'll play catch," Thomas replied, and Jennifer glanced at Aurelius who turned his attention to the crowd to cast shields around them. "Do you want to use my Beansidhe hair wand, Jen-girl? It might give them more of a show."
"Do you have a backup with you? Mine has a retrieval charm on it," Jennifer explained.
"Yep, always," Thomas said, pulling out one of his backups before handing Jennifer his wand.
"It's been a long time since I've held a wand like this," Jennifer said, looking at it in appreciation.
"Well, don't get used to it, I'm keeping it. You wouldn't believe how much paperwork I had to do when I bought it," Thomas grunted. The two of them began walking a safe distance away from each other, double the pace of a dueling arena.
Finally, Jennifer deafened her ears and Thomas cast his Sonorous Shield, then Jennifer cast the spell at him. An impressively large blast of sound and magic raged towards him, its bright grey glow causing a cone of power so big that when Jennifer ended the spell, she realized she accidentally damaged the turf underneath them.
"Oops," Jennifer said, taking the deafness spell off as she saw the crowd silently clapping. Sheepishly, she signed, "sorry' to Wind, who simply shook his head with a smile and told her not to worry about it. Aurelius took down the shields temporarily.
"Okay, so now that that's done, Minister Craw and I are going to have a timed duel to demonstrate some other Dark Magic spells," Jennifer said, addressing the students. "I hope it goes without saying that none of you should ever be trying any of these yourselves, let alone using them against another person. Not only are most of these highly illegal outside of a formal demonstration, but most of the spells we're going to be casting can cause permanent damage or can be lethal, especially if you don't know what you're doing. The three of us have had years of practice with these spells."
"Jen-girl, if you kill me, you get to raise the twins," Thomas warned her. Wind, Lunette, and Buck all chuckled at that.
"Is that supposed to be a deterrent?" Jennifer grinned. "Dad, let's use the ground I already damaged so that we don't add to it."
"Yep, that makes sense," Thomas agreed.
"Do you want your wand back?" Jennifer asked.
"Nah, go ahead and use it for this too. It's more fair that way," Thomas said.
"Hey!" Jennifer chuckled. "Paces?"
"Judging from the damage area, I'd say about twenty," Thomas decided.
"I'll call time the moment you turn around," Aurelius said, bringing out his watch.
As they took to their paces, Raymond turned around to look at Wind, Lunette, and his father. None of them seemed in the least bit concerned about the demonstration. Instead they looked rather entertained, despite the fact that just by casting that spell, they had already unleashed more Dark Magic on that campus than it had ever witnessed. Raymond turned back around, baffled by what he was seeing as the two of them began casting powerful Dark Magic spells as casually as if they were having a first year sparring match. It was playful at first, but once they had gotten comfortable, it became obvious that Minister Craw had begun testing her more. Raymond noticed that he had switched to casting dark incantations that required a continuous verbal component just in case Jennifer countered incorrectly, giving himself a way to cancel it if he felt she wasn't keeping up. Despite that adjustment, more than one of the spells he cast was a Death Spell. A couple of them were incantations that Raymond didn't recognize and had never seen before, guessing only from the way she countered them that one was a pain spell and the other a breaking spell of some kind.
"Time," Aurelius finally called. Thomas calmly put away his wand and walked over, while Jennifer was still trying to catch her breath.
"Are you going to push me like that during every class?" Jennifer complained.
"Probably. You're moving a bit slow, Jen-girl," Thomas commented. Jennifer gave him a dirty look before moving over to the students to take questions. Even Raymond raised his hand, very much wondering about the two spells he hadn't recognized during the fight.
"So what did you think?" Lunette asked Buck as they listened to Jennifer talk about the Reflex Curse.
"I think her father was right, she was moving a bit slow," Buck decided. Lunette chuckled.
"I meant about the demonstration in general, but you're right, she seems a bit out of practice. Of course, she's a teacher not an Auror," Lunette pointed out.
"With that much power, it doesn't matter what her profession is. She needs to stay on top of it," Buck decided, Lunette nodding in understanding.
"Yes, you're probably right," Lunette replied, then listened in to the rest of the questions.
By lunchtime, Jennifer was more than ready for a break.
"Maybe I should do the demonstrations the second half of the day," Aurelius suggested.
"No, your mother needs the practice," Thomas immediately rebutted, then looked up as Buck worked his way down the stairs, talking to Raymond a moment before coming over to them.
"Dean Elk and Vallid are going somewhere hoity toity for lunch. Do you mind if we eat with you guys?" Buck asked.
"There's not much here other than the school Commissary and Quickbrooms," Jennifer warned.
"Quickbrooms works," Buck said. "Come on, Ray. Let's go fraternize with the Dark Wizards," Buck said unconcernedly. Jennifer chuckled at that, leading them out.
It took a few minutes to work out ordering and to find a table large enough for all of them, but finally they got settled with their drinks.
"You're awfully quiet, Ray," Buck said once they sat down.
"Apparently Raymond wasn't too keen on finding out a Craw was teaching Items," Aurelius said.
"Aurelius, don't do that," Jennifer scolded him.
"Sorry, better just to talk about it and get it over with," Aurelius said. He looked back at Raymond, who was staring at him. "I'm a Truth Seeker too, by the way."
"Your family doesn't seem to lack for talents," Ray said, gazing at Aurelius warily.
"They inherited the talent from my first wife, Alice," Thomas explained.
"Oh, yes. Audi's friend," Buck said with a nod, sipping his drink.
"You knew Audi?" Jennifer asked brightly.
"I sure did. I was partnered with her for a bit just a couple of years after I joined the force," Buck explained. "She took me under her wing, so to speak. Gave me an education... in more ways than one," he winked. Jennifer couldn't help but be amused by that, while Ray looked completely stunned.
"Wha'?"
"Don't worry son, it was just a one-time fling during a stakeout and it was before I was married," Buck assured him, then tilted his head slightly to the side and back again. "Might've been a little bit engaged, tho'," he admitted sheepishly.
"I can see why she was tempted. There can't be any denying that you're her type," Thomas said dryly.
"Yes, I can see that. He reminds me a little of Alastor," Jennifer agreed.
"Thank you, but I could hardly compete with that, especially in those days when I was just a stupid kid. But things worked out for me all right, at least I'm still alive to tell the tale, and my son as well, for that matter," Buck added for good measure.
"I had my fair share of close calls, and a couple where I almost dragged my father down with me," Ray admitted. "Then I finally came to terms with the fact that I didn't have the instincts or the drive necessary to be an Auror long term. Between that realization and losing another family member to the cause, I retired early. It's just as well, my entire face might have looked like this," he added for good measure, pointing to the scar on his cheek.
"I respect anyone who knows when it's time to move out of the game and into something else. It's not easy. Watching a colleague go through it can be hard too, even when you know it's what is the best for the department," Aurelius replied.
"I personally might have had trouble accepting it at first," Buck admitted with a grimace, then looked apologetically at his son. "But he was right to get out when he did, and he's become a good Defense teacher. In fact, recruitment has picked up from this school since he's taken over."
"You can't ask for more than that. Recruiting can be a real pain," Thomas agreed, helping make room for the food.
"We ended up having to start a Junior Aurors' Club at Hogwarts to get new recruits," Aurelius replied. "We've been running on a skeleton crew for years. We've even got the skeletons to prove it." Thomas smirked at Rel's obvious reference to Owain. "Do you think our demo might get some people interested as well?"
"In becoming an Auror? Or becoming a Dark Wizard?" Ray asked dryly.
"It never hurts to be both," Thomas said seriously. "Trust me, sometimes the best way to track down a Dark Wizard is to be one, because then you understand how they think better than anyone." Raymond put his head in his hand.
"My understanding of what a Dark Wizard is has changed dramatically since I got up this morning," Ray admitted. "Every Dark Wizard I've ever met up until now has been an evil bastard that maimed, tortured, and murdered someone and needed to be brought in or put down."
"Nope, that's not true, Ray," Buck said with a shrug. "You've met other Dark Wizards and Witches before, son, you just didn't recognize them for what they were because of your bias against them... and it's understandable. Of course people up to no good are going to use Dark Magic to do dirty deeds. It's how to get the job done when you don't care about laws, or morality, or have sympathy for your fellow man. The vast majority of people we bring in are like that."
"True, and some of us started out using Dark Magic for the wrong reasons," Thomas put in. "But then we worked our way back onto the long and never-ending path of redemption. Of course, that doesn't miraculously change someone like me into a Light Wizard just because I had a change of heart. It just doesn't work like that, and I won't make any pretenses that I'm anything or anyone but who I am... a Craw who'll do anything to preserve his family." Jennifer smiled at him.
"So you use Dark Magic for defense," Ray said slowly.
"Yes, and to do my job as LE Minister," Thomas agreed.
"Yeah, his job is sorta like being the Chief of the WIAB here," Buck explained to his son. "He's Harry Potter's boss."
"Technically yes, but he runs his own department. It's more a collaboration with me signing off on things when he needs it," Thomas explained. "Aurelius here is second in charge of that department."
"Are you a Dark Wizard as well?" Raymond asked him.
"No, not really. I don't really favor Light or Dark, but I am the Keeper of Dark Magic right now," Aurelius replied. "That is sort of like being a living library; I have knowledge of all Dark spells currently being used, including many very old spells that only a small handful of people know. I also have to keep up on new Dark spells as they're invented to keep track of them and so I can learn how to cast them."
"That sounds quite daunting," Ray admitted.
"Being an Auror and a Truth Seeker help me with that part of the job a lot, actually," Aurelius explained. "Being an Auror, I either hear about new Dark spells quickly from other Aurors, or I have them used against me first hand. And as a Truth Seeker, I can go interview a person and find out from their thoughts the details of how to cast it and what it does."
"Yes, Aurelius was the best choice as a successor, Jen-girl," Thomas said with an approving nod.
"Yes, well, not only does his job help him as Keeper, but I also knew that out of all my children, he'd be the least tempted in a crisis to use any of the more questionable ones on that list, not to mention that he has certain talents that helps him keep them safe," Jennifer explained.
"I agree that I was the best choice, and I am going to hang onto the title for as long as possible until I run into another family member who is a better choice. And yes, Raymond, that does mean my mother was the Keeper before me," Aurelius added.
"When I had to pass it on, Jennifer was my only choice," Thomas grunted. "And I was forced to burden a seven year old into taking that role."
"Wait, she was seven?" Raymond asked. Buck was staring at him in surprise as well.
"The Keeper of Dark Magic is a family obligation going back over ten centuries," Thomas explained. "She was the only living Craw besides myself, and I was high on Voldemort's hit list, as well as the Death Eaters that remained when he disappeared after that backfire with Harry. So, not long after I gifted her Mallus Craw's wand for Christmas, I began training her with it, and did so until Alice talked me into letting her attend Whitebridge," he explained. Then he shrugged. "It might have hurt her grades a little, going to a Light Magic school after all of that."
"A little?" Jennifer laughed incredulously, then turned to Raymond. "I barely graduated. If I hadn't majored in Items and Potions, I probably wouldn't have."
"True, but I bet you could have blasted the hell out of that school if they didn't pass you," Thomas pointed out.
"I nearly got kicked out for turning Steve Mason into a cactus. I would have hated to see what they would have done to me if I had tried any of the other spells in my arsenal," Jennifer chuckled, then noticed that Raymond had paled a bit. "It wasn't all bad. I did meet Wind Elk and Rosemary Carmody who both convinced me to go into teaching, and Whitebridge taught me a great deal of restraint over those seven years. I am very grateful for that, despite the fact that my husband still picks on me about some of my spell choices over the years because of it."
"Oh, you mean the whole casting Golden Touch on Voldemort thing..."
"Don't you start, Dad..." Jennifer warned him, threatening him with a french fry.
"What? What was that all about?" Buck laughed.
"Oh no," Jennifer groaned as Thomas told his second hand account of what happened according to Severus' point of view. Aurelius, who had heard this story a hundred times now, decided to simply concentrate on eating, while Raymond and Buck stared at Thomas with fascination.
"So, if my son-in-law hadn't taken a chance and cast Cosmic Sleep on her at that millisecond, my daughter wouldn't even be alive right now," Thomas finished.
"When I think of the odds involved in that... both with him getting that spell off and then actually being able to wake her from it, it's quite astronomical," Buck said with wonder.
"Actually, the Cosmic Match thing seems to plague our family quite a bit," Thomas admitted with a shrug. "To be honest, that wasn't even her closest call with death, really."
"Dad."
"It pales in comparison to how close she came to getting buried alive with Harry when they took Voldemort out, or almost dying from someone trying to poison her while she was pregnant with Alicia, or when Lucius Malfoy nearly tortured her to death..."
"Dad! Enough history, please! I do have to work with one of them," Jennifer pleaded in embarrassment.
"Don't worry, Jen-girl, Aurelius put up a Sonorous Shield before I started telling the first story. But the point is that it's been one calamity after another since she left Whitebridge. She's been such a trial to keep up with. I really don't know why Severus hasn't had a nervous breakdown by now," Thomas admitted.
"Rel, say something," Jennifer pleaded.
"He's not come close to blowing any secrets yet, really. All of this is public knowledge back home," Aurelius replied. "It's even public knowledge that you've been given several doses of the Elixir of Life to keep you alive during all of that. So was I, by the way. I've been given two, which is why I still look like a kid even though I'm in my thirties."
"Two in me as well," Thomas added. The other two wizards kept staring at them. "Unfortunately, there's not much of it left these days. Severus screwed up and potioned someone with the Elixir against his will, and he had the Philosopher's Stone destroyed."
"Yes, I remember that when it hit the papers. Everyone was talking about it even here," Buck said. "But I admit it does explain a lot about the three of your appearances."
"It does," Raymond agreed. "To be honest, Jennifer, quite a number of teachers were wondering about it. I even heard a parent or two comment about it."
"One of them was Stacey Newman Cole, wasn't it? We went to school together," Jennifer said, and Raymond admitted that it was.
"I remember her, she was the head of that clique of girls that used to push you in the pond with all the swans, isn't it?" Thomas recalled. "All of those ugly duckling jibes..." Jennifer cringed in pain.
"Dad, I really don't want to think about it," Jennifer admitted.
"Why not? You finally have your revenge. You're now the swan, and she's the one who's an ugly old bat..."
"Dad, you haven't even seen her," Jennifer said, rolling her eyes.
"Raymond, is Stacey Cole an ugly old bat?" Thomas inquired.
"Perhaps she wouldn't be if her personality didn't match the description," Ray said in a lowered voice. "Still, compared to most women her age, I'm certain most of them seem like ugly old bats compared to your daughter. It's just as well that she knows a fair share of Dark Magic so she can defend herself from it all," he admitted.
"There, you see? It seems we have another convert, and you have another ally, Jen-girl," Thomas pointed out. Buck clapped his son on the shoulder.
"Not so bad dining with Dark Wizards, is it?" Buck teased.
"Ironically enough, I found it quite enlightening," Ray admitted, and then began talking about his classes and the upcoming demonstrations that day.