Chapter Twenty-Three

Student Goals

Severus walked Quintin into the school and over to the door across the hall from where Quintin's old classroom was and into Pyther's classroom. A handful of students were already there, talking when they came in. Unlike his other classroom, classroom was arranged at different colored tables rather than individual desks.

"Look! It's Quintin!" one of the boys said, and the rest of them greeted him so enthusiastically that Quintin ran over to talk to him. Severus rolled his eyes with exasperation and looked over at Pyther, who smiled at him with amusement.

"You can sit at the purple table, Quintin, just there," Pyther said, pointing him towards one near the front of the class.

"Thank you, Pyther!" Quintin said happily.

"Mr. Pyther," Severus reminded him.

"Mr. Pyther!" Quintin repeated, then sat down. Severus sighed, glancing at Pyther.

"Good luck," Severus said sincerely.

"Don't worry, sir," Pyther reassured him with a smile, and then went over to show Quintin where to put his pack.

Severus stepped out of the room, very tempted to linger by the door to watch Quintin get settled. But Quintin seemed quite happy now, smiling as his eyes were fixed on Pyther's expression. Reminding him he had a lot to do that day, Severus began to step away when two girls nearly ran into them on the way to class.

"Quintin's Dad!" one of the girl's gasped.

"Hi, Quintin's dad!" the other one added.

"Miss Martin. Miss Dimple," Severus replied. The two girls whispered in amazement that he knew who they were and went inside, immediately getting excited to see Quintin in the classroom. Rolling his eyes at their enthusiasm, Severus decided to make his way out of the school as the halls began to fill up with more students. In fact, one of them nearly ran into him.

"Careful, Dawn," Severus warned.

"Sorry, Grandfather!" she said.

"Hello, Grandfather!" Nicky said as he passed to go to his classroom. And as he stepped near the door, Markus and Mickey came in together.

"Good morning, Uncle Severus," Markus said.

"Hello, Grandfather!" Mickey said.

"Good morning," Severus replied, finally managing to get out the front doors just as the bus showed up. He walked down the street to Corey's shop, knowing that he would be holding his breath until school let out that day.

It as not long after her Gryffindor-Ravenclaw double let out that Hermione heard a loud commotion in the hall and ran out to find Elliot and Culver had thrown some punches at each other. Several of the other students had jumped in to pull them apart; Lionel was currently holding Elliot back, while Declan O'Toole was holding back Culver.

"What in the world is going on out here?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Culver insulted his sister, Professor Weasley," Lionel explained quickly.

"I didn't insult his sister, Professor Weasley. I can't insult his sister when he doesn't have one," Culver replied, causing Elliot to try to launch himself at him again.

"Okay, I get it! Both of you in my office... the rest of you go to lunch," Professor Weasley said, marching the two boys in her office and then had Demura call Professor Ravenclaw down.

TJ was waiting impatiently in the lunch room, watching as the first years came in and sat down one by one. Finally Lionel came in, and TJ frowned when he came in without Elliot; the two had made fast friends when Elliot moved in that weekend.

"Where's Elliot? I promised to eat with him today," TJ asked.

"He got pulled into Professor Weasley's office, so I doubt he'll be down," Lionel admitted. "He got in trouble for fighting with Culver Maxen in the halls."

"What? Already? What were they fighting about?" TJ asked. Lionel looked uncomfortable.

"I'd rather not say," Lionel said, sitting down.

"In other words, Culver said something about me, didn't he?" TJ said. Lionel sighed.

"Possibly," Lionel admitted.

"Oh! Elliot! I warned him to watch out for those Maxens! He should have had more restraint!" TJ said with exasperation.

"Well, probably," Lionel agreed. "But if someone had said anything about my brother like Culver said about you, I would have decked him too."

"I think I'm going to go eat in the Owl Room," TJ said, getting up and leaving her plate untouched as she went to the library.

By the time she got there, her plate had rematerialized in her place next to Leu at the end of the table. In fact, most of the Owls who had come in for lunch had been staring at it thoughtfully until she walked in the door and took her place.

"I thought you had been planning to eat with your brother?" Leu asked.

"I did, but he got into a fight with Culver Maxen and will now be spending lunch with Professor Weasley, it would seem," TJ said, sinking into her seat with such a dark expression that everyone present was looking at her intently.

"You alright?" Charles asked quietly.

"I am feeling quite conflicted," TJ admitted, taking a deep breath and letting it out again to calm herself down. "Part of me is very glad that my brother is here. When I found out that he was changing to Hogwarts, I was elated to find out that he was coming and that we could go to school together again. I knew how much he'd love this castle, and all of the adventures that lie around every corner here. It isn't as stuffy as St. James, nor as strict, and I was certain that he would enjoy it a great deal more. But at least if he was at St. James, he wouldn't be constantly ridiculed for having me as a sister."

"Come on, TJ, you can't base that on one incident on his first day, especially when it involves a Maxen," Charles said.

"I make that prediction based on prior experiences," TJ said quietly.

"This isn't prior experiences, though. This is Hogwarts, and we don't let crap like 'prior experiences' determine our destiny," Charles said. "Isn't that right, goblin boy?"

"Right, but you didn't have to call me that to make a point," Leu said dryly.

"Also, I want to nominate Elliot Selwyn into the empty Gryffindor chair," Charles decided.

"Oh, but what about Destiny?" TJ asked.

"When she hears about what happened this morning, she'll understand," Charles explained. "This can't be any easier on him than it has been on you. It never has been, has it?"

"No," TJ admitted, taking out a handkerchief when she felt a bit misty-eyed.

"Alright, Chuck. We'll talk about it when everyone is here," Leu agreed.

"Call a meeting at dinner tonight, then," Chuck suggested. "We have only one seat to fill this year, and now that we have no reason to enter into the 'which sister' debate, I think it's better for Elliot to get in here as soon as possible."

"Alright," Leu agreed, turning his attention to lunch.

When Quintin got off the bus, he was smiling, and there were no notes pinned to his shirt. Instead, he seemed eager to get into his pack and show off a painting he had done of a stick figure man with crazy red hair and standing among houses and mountains. Rasputin followed behind him, content that Fifth Boy seemed to be in much better spirits.

"Look! See what we did today!" Quintin exclaimed.

"Yes, I see. Who is it?" Severus inquired.

"It's Hengist of Woodcroft! We learned about Hogsmeade today," Quintin explained. "We got to paint and build houses and everything. The school is going to take a trip to the museum before Christmas to see the models that Andrew built!"

"Bragged about that too, did you?" Severus said knowingly.

"Yes, but then Pyther said we could learn how to make them and we got to paint houses to put in our classroom," Quintin explained. "Can I go to the museum with my school?"

"That depends. Are you going to come home with any more notes pinned to your shirt?" Severus asked sternly.

"Pyther doesn't pin notes on kids. And he likes me," Quintin explained.

"I should hope so. Inside," Severus said, and he escorted him to the daycare room. Quintin didn't need much encouragement; he was eager to show Ashley too.

"I want to send my picture to Mum!" Quintin declared after showing it to her.

"Yes, alright, we can do it later," Severus said.

"Go have your snack, Quintin," Ashley said. Quintin handed her his pack and ran over to the table. "He seems a lot happier, doesn't he?"

"Yes, hopefully that is a good sign," Severus agreed, stepping over Rasputin outside the door as he went back to the Headmaster's Study.

Jennifer and Truman got their lunch back and went out to their favorite picnic table, stopping long enough to bundle up against the brisk breeze that stirred up the leaves and made a nice rustling sound in the air. Jennifer let him eat for a while before starting their game for the day. It was something new that she had come up with to try and excel his understanding of things and protect himself from all of the everyday stings that came from being a Truth Seeker.

"Reactionary," Truman said to one of the thoughts she was showing him. "Reactionary," he said again, and she sent him another. "Intellectual," he decided, gazing at her again. "Emotional? Maybe?" he said, waffling so much that Jennifer chuckled.

"Is that your final answer?" she asked him.

"Well, sometimes it's really hard to tell emotional thoughts from the reactionary ones," Truman protested. "I know you said that reactionary thoughts are those first impulses people get, but sometimes a reaction can last a while."

"I suppose that's true, although typically no longer than what it takes to calm down or get away from what caused it... or sometimes a good night's sleep," Jennifer admitted. "But that's only if someone's really upset, and then there are many other ways to tell that they're upset... not just what thoughts they are having. Most reactionary thoughts aren't even spoken, because the person's subconscious recognizes it as such. Then they don't say it because they know it's inappropriate. At the same time, those reactionary thoughts tend to be some of the hardest to bear sometimes. Just remember that reactionary thoughts aren't something we can control, it's simply our first reaction. I may have very inappropriate thoughts while I'm alarmed, but it's just my brain responding. It's not anything I'd ever say or act on or mean... it's simply a reflex, like a flinch, or a laugh. A reactionary response is a problem if you act on it or say it, and then it typically fills you with embarrassment or regret if you do. But the fact that someone doesn't act on those first impulses says something important about that person; that they know better, and that they care enough not to act upon that first response."

"Yes, I understand," Truman said. "I suppose, then, that people act more often on their emotional thoughts."

"Typically yes," Jennifer said with amusement. "To varying degrees and with varying regrets after the fact. It's always better to take a step back and think things through, but when all is said in done, we're only human after all, and we're quite emotional creatures," she explained, picking her peanut butter sandwich back up. "Now, let's start again," she suggested, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Reactionary," he decided. "Emotional," he said to the next one, and they continued the game until both of them were done eating.

As they were picking up to get ready for classes, Truman finally turned his attention on something he had been meaning to ask her since before they began that day.

"So I was wondering," Truman said, Jennifer smiling enigmatically.

"Yes?"

"There's this girl," he began, despite knowing she probably had already caught him thinking about it before. "I think she might like me, but she doesn't want me to know she likes me, and she doesn't want her friends to know that she might like me, because all of her friends think I'm weird and all," he attempted to explain. "But since I know she likes me even though she acts like she doesn't like me, do you suppose I should ask her to the fall dance? Or should I just save myself the humiliation, especially since she's a Mason, so it may be long lasting humiliation at that."

"Truman, only you can decide whether you want to risk it or not, but I understand the conflict," Jennifer said. "She might be afraid to say yes because of how her friends might treat her, even though she really wouldn't mind, if it wasn't for them."

"Exactly," Truman said.

"Well, if you ask her and she chooses to humor her friends, then you'll know not to bother with it again, won't you?" Jennifer pointed out.

"Did you go to any of the dances when you were at school?" he inquired.

"I went to one when I was your age, and after sitting next to the wall completely bored all night, I made up my mind never to do it again," Jennifer admitted. "I decided that spending the night playing board games or working on my homework in the dorm living area was a lot better use of my time."

"You didn't go to prom or anything either?" Truman asked.

"I went to the Senior Prom, but only to help out. Although I did get asked to go to the prom that year by a number of different students, despite how badly they treated me in the past. It irritated me so much that I volunteered to help at the refreshment table so that they would leave me alone," Jennifer said. Truman studied her with a grin.

"So all of the boys that used to pick on you ask you to go? Including Steve Mason?" Truman asked for confirmation.

"Including Steve Mason," Jennifer confirmed. "But I hadn't forgotten what it was like to be the skinny, pale, awkward kid that nobody could stand because I knew too much about what they were thinking. I was so angry at them for trying to pretend that none of it happened, just because I might have filled out a little. I didn't want anything to do with any of them... come to think of it, in many ways, I still don't want anything to do with them. And I'm so glad that I didn't compromise, because now I have the best dance partner in the world."

"I don't suppose your husband is coming to the dance?" Truman asked curiously.

"Oh, quite unlikely. It's the second week of October, isn't it? Quidditch and soccer games will have started by then," Jennifer replied. "Besides, I really don't have much interest in going myself."

"If you're not going, I'm certainly not going," Truman decided, Jennifer frowning at that. "And that'll save me the trouble of figuring out whether to ask her or not."

"Don't you dare not go just because I'm not going, Truman, that's not fair," Jennifer chided him. "The only person I want to dance with won't be there, so it's not the same. Oh, all right! I might chaperone if you need backup, but before I agree to something like that, you need to ask her... and if she chooses to walk away, make other plans. I'll gladly meet you in the lobby for board games if that happens."

"Deal," he decided with a grin, and they walked back towards the classrooms.

"Come along, Elliot," TJ insisted, leading him into the Owl Room only ten minutes after dinner had officially started. He was greeted with such warm welcomes that it made him smile, coming not only from Gryffindor but from members of other houses as well. Chris pulled out the seat next to TJ pointedly.

"That's my sister's old seat," Charles explained to him. "She graduated and became an Auror. I expect you'll try to live up to it."

"Yeah, no pressure or anything," Chris said.

"Don't tease him. I'm sure he gets enough of it without us adding to it," Amy scolded them. "Don't listen to them, Elliot, that's your seat now. Welcome to the order."

"Once the Professors know who our new member is, they'll prepare your goals for you. Someone will likely have your goals for the year written in about a week," Charles added.

"All right," Elliot said, sitting down.

"Speaking of goals," prompted Librarian Boulderdash, who had been reading at his work table.

"Oh, yes. Any thoughts to what we should do for a group goal this year?" Leu asked.

"Well, I was thinking we might do something special for the WHAT Museum," Amy suggested, everyone looking over at her curiously. "You know how they had those temporary exhibits this summer, right? Well, I was thinking we could do a temporary exhibit of our own for next summer showcasing the school. We can do some back history, and maybe include some cool items and stuff."
"It is a very intriguing idea, Miss Weasley," Boulderdash interrupted. "But I doubt the Headmaster would let any important artifacts out of this castle for that."

"No, but it doesn't have to be rare, does it? We can tell a lot of history out of every day things that aren't necessary worth much except for who owned it," Amy explained. "For example, I happen to know that Harry Potter has a Snitch from when he first played for Gryffindor. He might be willing to let us borrow it."

"How about Alicia's broom from when she broke the fastest Quidditch game record?" Leu suggested.

"Well, yes, but it can't all be about Quidditch! It needs to be about other things too!" Amy protested.

"Something from the Junior Olympics, perhaps? I still have my medals," Apollo suggested. Viorica snapped her fingers.

"I know! I can donate my microscope and write up a plaque about the Lycanthropy research. Or is that too recent?" Viorica wondered.

"Considering how important it was, I definitively think it counts. What do you think we ought to include, Diana?" Leu asked, noticing the Hufflepuffs hadn't said anything yet.

"Perhaps something from the Trade Elves," Diana suggested.

"Great idea, Diana," Leu agreed. "And great idea, Amy... assuming that we vote to do this, that is."

"I've been so busy thinking about what all we could do for the exhibit, I don't think I can come up with anything better," Hadrian put in.

"All in favor?" Leu inquired, and everyone's hands went up, including Librarian Boulderdash. "Passed unanimously."

"I should point something out at this point, Llewellyn," Boulderdash said. "Being that this is going to be in a public museum, all of the written documents, plaques and labels that will be needed for such an exhibit will need to be meticulously accurate. You will need a research team, and then I would suggest wasting little time in getting Professor Scribe and Professor Snape on board to check your accuracy."

"I'll help organize and set the teams," Amy said. "Diana, do you want to lead the research team? I know I can count on you to be accurate," she said, and Diana nodded at that. "And if you're a History major, consider yourselves drafted."

"No problem, Amy," Leu said. "And if you talk to Professor Scribe for me, I'll talk to the headmaster so that we can set up some proofreaders."

"You got it," Amy said. "And considering your relations with the staff, maybe you should work on the scrounging for artifacts team, Leu."

"Alright," Leu agreed, taking swift volunteers to help him out.

After eating dinner, Henry leaned back and checked the shelves behind him.

"Hey, most of everyone's goals are here now... at least those of you who hadn't gotten them yet," Henry said.

"It's mostly Ravenclaw students that haven't gotten them yet," Dasher said.

"Yes, sorry. It seems that nobody reminded Professor Ravenclaw that he needed to contribute to the goals as well as myself and the Headmaster, but it's all corrected now," Boulderdash said. "And don't think just because it's last on your goals that it's his, by the way. I made sure that the suggested goals were scrambled so that you still can't tell who set which goal."

"Even when they're scrambled, it's still easy to tell who set some of them," Charles said, helping Henry hand them across the table. "I can almost always pick out the Headmaster's, at least. His are way too personal to be anyone else's."

"That's simply because he knows you so well. I don't think all of them are like that," Amy replied.

"I suggest you Owls finish eating and head upstairs to do your homework. You're going to need plenty of time on the weekends for research from now on," Boulderdash warned. "Because I believe this project is going to take the entire term to complete."

Leu, Noah, and Dasher had returned to their dorm room before finally unrolling their goals to look them over. Leu was already pondering what he was going to add for his personal goals, but he found himself frowning at the three goals that the staff had chosen for him.

"Anything different on yours this year?" Noah asked, looking over his scroll as well.

"Yes, get this: 'Find a second self that helps you escape the water and take to the sky.'" Leu read.

"Really? That sounds like someone wants you to become an Animagus, doesn't it?" Noah concluded.

"I can't think of anything else that might mean," Leu agreed.

"You should try to finish that one. You're old enough now," Dasher encouraged him.

"Yes, that's true. But Uncle Sirius is in the Otherworld. So who do I go to about it?" Leu wondered out loud. "I suppose I could ask Andrew. I'm sure he'd help. But what to pick?"

"A seabird, obviously," Noah said.

"There are a lot of different kinds of seabirds, though. Maybe I'll look in the library, or ask Sagittari for ideas after Magic Creatures class," Leu decided.

"What are the other two like?" Noah asked.

"They're more personal," Leu said, looking them over with a frown.

The first was simple enough to reason out; look after your friends' needs and honor them. It seemed as if it was aimed straight at Noah, despite the fact that 'friends' was plural. But the last one was rather different; Open your eyes, ears, and mind so that you can listen intently to your friends, and regain your curious spirit. While that goal also appeared concerned about his friendships, it was definitely more encompassing. Had he gotten a bit too thoughtful and closed off over time, he wondered? Apparently, some of his advisors believed so, or those wouldn't have been in there.

"I have one I want to share," Noah said. "And it's quite straight forward, too: 'Ace your NEWT exams.'"

"Ace your NEWT exams? Is that even possible?" Dasher asked with a laugh.

"Well, it seems to be in direct conflict with his one here, that says, "Spend more time with your mates," Noah said. "Still, I don't have to eat and sleep like the rest of you. If I study when everyone else is sleeping, maybe I can pull both of them off." Leu grew thoughtful at the word choice. Whoever gave Noah his had said 'mates' rather than friends, making Leu think it had probably been the same teacher who had suggested he get an Animagus form instead of one of the others.

"Must be nice not to have to sleep," Dasher said. "Between that new project of ours, Quidditch, and my new prefect duties, I'm not sure I could ace all my OWLS this year even if I wanted to. I'll give it a shot, though. I'll put it on my personal goals, how's that? Just for fun," Dasher decided, and wrote it down.

"I never did congratulate you for that... getting Prefect, I mean," Leu said. Dasher grinned.

"Apparently your mother picked me before she left, but Ravenclaw was quick to approve it. My father and uncle were pretty proud of me. My mother was a bit anxious about it, though. She's always afraid people will look down on me and thinks that being in any position of authority makes me a target," he explained with a sigh. "But I can very well handle myself if that happens."

"Sure you can! Worrying is just what Mum's do, that's all," Noah said.

"What was your mother like, Noah?" Dasher asked thoughtfully.

"She was very caring... and very pretty. My sister was really pretty too," Noah said. "My mother wasn't a witch at all; I wouldn't be surprised if my father fell for her because of her her looks. She had long flaxen hair which she always wore up as everyone did in those days, but it's a shame, really, because it was beautiful when it was down. She was a good mother, too, although I think my sister and I sometimes took a bit of advantage of her not being magic sometimes. But my father always heard about it and put us in our place once he got home... he was on the Wizard's Council. They were so torn up when I died," Noah said with a sigh. "Especially my mother. They never did tell her I was a ghost, not once her entire life."

"What? Really?" Leu said with a frown. "You never told me that before."

"Father thought it'd be too cruel, you see," Noah said. "He came to visit me once or twice, though, before they moved away. I think he might have gotten remarried after my sister had settled down... I heard they had good lives and didn't have ghosts, so I suppose that's what matters most."

"Did your sister's children go to Hogwarts at all?" Dasher asked.

"No, they went to Greenbarrow. None of my relatives came here until Farren Dering went to school," Noah explained.

"Who?" Dasher asked.

"My birth mother," Leu explained. "I'm his sister's decedent several generations removed. Did you ever speak to my mother?"

"No, she never came down to the boat house. I just knew someone I was related to was here. I didn't even know her name until Professor Weasley connected our family tree," Noah explained.

"Oh," Leu said, slightly disappointed. "It's a shame, though. I think she would have liked you."

Noah smiled at that.

"Thanks, Leu. I'm just glad my sister's line is holding up so well. It's very comforting to know I still have family, even if it is several generations removed. A ghost likes to know they're not the last of the line, you know?" Noah explained.

"Yes, I suppose that makes sense," Dasher agreed.

"You never told us any of the ones they wrote down for you, by the way. Or are they all too personal?" Noah asked.

"Oh! Well, I suppose I can tell you about this one," Dasher said, looking over his list. "It says, 'Share your perspective with the school'," he explained. "So I was thinking that maybe I could do something on the school newspaper. Professor Black has been trying to get more people to help out this year anyway, a lot of the journalism club graduated last year."

"If you join the paper, maybe you can write something about our plans to make a museum exhibit," Leu suggested.

"I will when we get it formally approved," Dasher said.

"Don't worry about that, it will be," Leu said, then began pondering his first goal again.