Chapter Nine

The Art of Being Tested

Whatever the exchange had been, Severus didn't approach Jennifer about what she had been doing that day and Jennifer had little time to worry about it. The work of making lesson plans, marking homework and planning tests had caught up with her. At the same time, she was still having to keep up communication with the French Magic Consulate. It had taken a couple of weeks, but her mother had been quietly brought back to be buried beside her father's grave after the autopsy reports were finished.

Disheartening, was what Minerva had called the coroner's report, and when Jennifer finally got a hold of it, she saw it was even worse than she had expected. The death itself had not been magical in any way, and quite brutal. Only its preservation was magic. Why would have anyone bothered? Jennifer knew that it had been for a greater purpose than to serve as a way to threaten her, but what the reason was she wasn't quite certain. Resignedly, she put those matters aside for the time being. After all, she had a job to do, and no amount of threats or scare tactics was going to take her away from that.

The morning of the first Quidditch game, Jennifer went over lesson plans for Monday. She had been ready for a little excitement after finally getting caught up, but in the end, she got more what than she had bargained for.

It started right after she had finished her security rounds and made her way to the Pitch to report in. A whisper from Rolanda was enough to make her glance up at the boxes, and Jennifer nodded to her sharply. If Rolanda had any idea what she suspected, Jennifer thought to herself, it would have been the last place on the planet that Rolanda would have sent her. But Rolanda had no way of knowing that mentioning Draco's father had come to watch the game would have any effect on Jennifer.

Jennifer Craw found herself climbing the steps to meet the wizard and see if she could discern anything from his face. At the very least, she might be able to turn the tables on him a bit and get some information. She stepped into the box with a warm smile, glancing around as if looking for no one in particular. As she expected, he was the first to make a move.

"You must be the new professor, Professor Craw! My son has told me quite a deal about you." Lucius Malfoy said. He was dressed in the finest of clothes as if a Quidditch Match were a most prestigious event. He nodded graciously to her, which she returned with a dazzlingly warm smile.

"I am happy to meet you. Your son is a brilliant student. You must be very proud of him," she said, taking a seat beside him. "And I hear a great asset to the Slytherin team."

"So you're a fan of Slytherin's team then?" his smile was pleased, but several emotions crossed underneath that Jennifer caught easily.

"Yes, my father was in Slytherin house," she explained easily. "I understand he was a Beater himself at one time."

"Yes…." Lucius said thoughtfully. "Not much of one though, I'm afraid. No offense."

"I'm afraid you're right there, good sir," Jennifer nodded slowly. "A team can't win with a Beater that runs from the ball instead of protecting the Keeper. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I heard in the paper about your mother," he commented searchingly. "Quite a horrible way to go. Such a pity." Jennifer tried to control her anger at what she saw in his face. She looked forward, glancing around as if making sure no one was watching.

"Mother was a very persuasive woman who valued the truth. Unfortunately, she didn't realize that only brings the two most inevitable truths, pain and death." Jennifer said grimly. Then she looked back at Lucius, who was gazing at her as if trying to drill into her soul. "I'm not much like either parent, Mr. Malfoy. I just know you should play to win, if you're going to play at all."

A hard painful grasp on her elbow alerted her to another presence, and she was jerked briskly around to look into Snape's eyes. The fire within them was evident; he was indeed angry, but Severus Snape also had "play along" written in his face in a way that was clear only to her.

"Why Professor Craw, what are you doing up here? I thought you were going to watch after the little beasts across the way today." Severus said in a low voice.

"You were late, sir. I figured I'd save you a seat," Jennifer said meekly, looking around subtly.

"The next time you want to think for me…" he said, twisting her arm to make Jennire wince, "or talk to someone without my permission may have very, very, dangerous results. Is that clear?" She glanced up at him. Okay, so that part he had definitely meant. Jennifer nodded slowly. "Good, now get down there and tend to those two in the stands. After the game, meet me in the library. I have something important for you to do."

With one last painful twist, he let go of her elbow and she quickly scrambled to her feet, taking the appearance of someone trying to act like nothing happened. Nodding to Lucius, she stepped out of the box and scrambled down the stairs.

"Sorry, Lucius," Severus said in a low tone, shaking his head. "She's a bit on the naive side, but I think she'll serve our purpose."

"Perhaps," Lucius said, brushing off his coat. "You're quite sure she's not… like her mother?"

"Oh, quite sure," Severus smirked. "I have her eating out of the palm of my hand."

Jennifer quickly went down the stairs, rubbing her elbow. Dang, that really hurt, she scowled. The look of apology after that last twist of the arm did not, in her opinion, make up for it. Well, she's knee-deep in something smelly now, she thought to herself, working toward the students where Ron and Hermione sat. And she knew without a doubt there was going to be no easy way out of this one. One thing she was sure of; Lucius Malfoy had definitely been involved in her mother's death.

"Professor Craw!" Hermione called out and waved as she approached. "Come sit down, you're missing it!"

"Missing what?" she asked sitting down beside them.

"Us beating down Slytherin, of course!" Ron said, looking up towards the rings.

"What, already? The game just started!" Jennifer looked up at the players, trying to figure out which were which. Just then the Quaffle zoomed past, quickly being chased by the Slytherin team. But the Gryffindor Chasers were a bit faster, diving up to the ring and making a goal past the Slytherin Keeper, who had just dived to escape a Bludger.

"30-zip already! Boy, this is going to be a short game. Ever since Malfoy joined the team, they just haven't been the same," Ron sneered.

"Well, the game's just started, guys, and it could take time to catch the Snitch," Jennifer said.

"Not when we got Harry. Look! There he goes, he's seen it already!" Ron pointed out.

Jennifer watched as Harry made a dive then sped around the outer boxes. Draco Malfoy quickly responded, crossing over Harry's path and then above him as if trying to get closer. Jennifer squinted, wondering what he was up to. It was not strange to see students head to head over a Snitch, but they didn't typically flying across each other's path like that! Unfortunately for the Gryffindor team, as one of their Beaters turned around to watch, he got clunked by a Bludger, losing his balance and barely managing to steady himself. The Slytherin Chasers then sideswiped him from both sides, spinning him around just as they threw in the Quaffle for a goal. Jennifer, who was hard pressed to try and keep up with a Quidditch game on a good day, found herself growing more and more nervous over the battle going on between Harry and Draco. Suddenly Harry took a straight dive down, while Draco kept going forward.

"Something's wrong!" Ron exclaimed in dismay.

"Oooh, that dirty little! Ron, turn your Omnioculars on slow repeat! Draco just knocked his glasses off!" Hermione said.

Suddenly there was a loud, DING and Lee Jordan called out, "and Draco Malfoy has the Snitch and Slytherin WINS, by as unethically unacceptable means OW as they could OW stop that—" The crowd went wild and Jennifer sighed, watching as Harry came to a stop to pick something up.

"We'd better go catch up to Harry, Hermione. I bet he's furious," Ron said.

"Oh! Oh dear. You both go… I need to take care of something. Give him my best, will you? And let him know I do think he's the better player."

"Sure thing, Professor," Hermione said, hurrying after Ron.

As Jennifer got up, Minerva waved to her.

"Are you available for dinner?" Minerva asked.

"Uh, no, I doubt it. It's kind of hard to say," Jennifer said carefully.

"Lunch tomorrow then. I'd like to hear how things are going." Jennifer smiled at her, knowing the truth behind her eyes. In other words, Dumbledore asked you to keep an eye on me while he was gone and you wanted to touch base.

"Sure, Minerva, that'd be great," Jennifer replied.

"My office then," Minerva said and waved again, working her way towards the pitch.

Jennifer dove into the closest side door, quickly but quietly working her way down the hallways towards the library.

It was empty. Of course it would be, everyone was still at the game. Walking to the back near the Restricted Section, Jennifer sat down, leaning on the table and shaking her head. Well, it was too late to back out now, that'd just insure failure. And not only hers, she realized. By testing Malfoy, she had not only learned what she had been after, but she had also learned part of what was going on with Severus. There was no doubt that he was working as a Death Eater, but was he really one of them? After all, it was obvious that Dumbledore trusted him completely. So did she, she realized, wondering why. Taking out her pocket mirror she looked into her own eyes. Never had that face ever looked quite so somber, or so serious. A shadow in the mirror made her look up and she saw the same calm seriousness playing on Severus' face.

"Follow," he said, turning towards the Restricted Section. Jennifer flipped her mirror closed and got up, putting it away as they walked to the back of the library and over to a locked door. Opening it, he let her in and stepped in behind her, locking the door. It was a bare room with only a few cases of literary material stacked in a corner along with a large Mirror. The Mirror must have been recently placed there, because it was standing in the center of the storeroom without a speck of dust on it. Severus scrutinized the room carefully and then looked at something in his pocket.

"It's safe to speak here. Anything you want to tell me about why you were seeking out Lucius Malfoy?"

Jennifer opened her mouth, not particularly knowing exactly where to start, or how to respond. She sighed softly.

"Well, I guess the true reason I went up there is to look in the face of the man I suspected had reason to murder my mother. Stupid idea, but there you are," she admitted.

"Yes, definitely stupid, but fortunately for all of us, you do still seem to keep your wits about you even when you are doing something reckless," Severus said critically.

"Well, nobody's perfect," Jennifer said with a sheepish smile.

"So we are seeing," Severus' eyes flashed. "Your office was ransacked while you were out. I found this on your desk." He pulled out the documents, and Jennifer's face fell. "If it had been anyone but me, we really would be in a mess. I assume you're now aware of what I had to tell them… that you're of little threat and that I have you working for me. Thanks to your interference, it looks as if we're going to have to make that somewhat of a reality if either of us are going to get out of this in one piece. And the first rule I need you to follow is that from now on, you're not to put any sensitive information of any kind in your office, classroom, or personal rooms. Anything interesting you find nosing about needs to go to me alone, is that clear? Where did you get this, anyhow?"

"Arthur left it for Dumbledore… the originals, I mean. Dumbledore asked me to transfer them to a different office. I think he knew I was going to look at them, but I was in a hurry, so I copied them. I guess that wasn't too smart either." Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head at her disapprovingly. "But if I hadn't, I wouldn't have found the message on the back. I happened on that by chance," she explained, pointing it out.

"Have you reported that message to Dumbledore yet?"

"No, I haven't seen him since then," Jennifer replied.

"Good. I'll take care of that," he said, putting away the list. Jennifer had quite certain that she wasn't going to get them back.

"So what exactly did you tell them about me, anyhow? And why did you go ahead and tell them anything without consulting me first?" Jennifer demanded. Severus looked at her with half his mouth curled in a frown. "They had me marked for death?" she murmured after reading his expression. Severus' eyes flashed angrily.

"Don't do that again!" he snapped. Okay, so he wasn't big on the Truth Seeker thing. Jennifer grimaced and looked away.

"Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly.

"Your family history has unfortunately preceded you, Craw, and in a big way, I might add. A survivor from a flown Death Eater family is an automatic hit against you, but if there were to prove you were a Truth Seeker, your life would be forfeit the moment you step out of the school's range. In fact, you're quite lucky that I happened to be Diagon Alley that first weekend, else you would already be dead," he informed her. Jennifer looked back at him guiltily. Severus walked a couple of steps away from the door, checking his pocket again.

"I debated what to do about the situation, up until I heard of the incident involving the Dark Mark in the classroom, when you neither showed any fear of it nor did you destroy it; you simply taught it to the class as if it had been a planned lesson from the start. When questions arose about your reaction, I easily explained that I was in the process of earning your confidence. Dumbledore had become suspicious of me, making it difficult to run errands for them. Therefore, recruiting a naive-seeming teacher with a dark wizard background would be very valuable. I am commanded to kill you, of course, if there's any sign of disloyalty. Your attempt to get involved during the game might have jeopardized you, me, and the other inhabitants of this school as well."

"How were you able to prove your loyalty when he came back?" Jennifer asked. Severus turned quickly away.

"That is not your concern, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask me that again," he said softly. Jennifer sighed.

"Very well, I won't. I only asked because, well... I don't have any intention to put you or anyone else in danger because of who I am, or who my parents were," Jennifer said, waiting until he turned back towards her before speaking again. "If I become that much of a risk factor, then do what you have to and get me out of the way." Severus stared at her. He was surprised at her resolve, but his expression also held something else that she couldn't quite read.

"Very well. I suppose that is a reasonable request, so long as you make the same pact with me if I become too much of an endangerment to you," Severus said seriously.

Jennifer blinked at him in surprise; not only at his words, but at the strange realization that there was no way she could possibly bring herself to carry that out. She then wondered if he hadn't been thinking the same thing just a moment before, and glanced at the large Mirror to read her own expression to try and confirm it.

It was then that she realized there was something really strange about the Mirror and she moved to take a closer look.

"This mirror is all wrong," Jennifer said, shaking her head at it. "I can't see what I'm thinking in it." A curious expression crossed Severus' face.

"Perhaps you are not quite close enough. Walk towards it until you can see your full self in it," he instructed, "and tell me what you see."

Jennifer went up to the Mirror then shrugged. "I don't see anything in my face. Nothing in yours, either."

"Everything looks the same otherwise?" Severus frowned, apparently confused.

"Yes, of course. Why?" Jennifer asked.

Severus then took her shoulders and physically straightened her towards the Mirror.

"What about now?"

"Same thing. What am I supposed to be seeing?" Jennifer asked, looking behind at him in bewilderment. Suddenly Severus had a surprised, almost terrified expression that made Jennifer very nervous.

"Face forward and close your eyes. Don't open them until I tell you to," he ordered.

Jennifer impatiently and did as she was told, too curious to keep still for too long. "Now open them and tell me what you see," he told her.

"Same thing," Jennifer said with a sigh as she looked in the Mirror.

"Same thing? You see me behind you?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, you're standing right there," she shrugged, looking at him from the reflection in the Mirror. At least this way, she couldn't see the confusing mixed emotions he seemed to be projecting at her. In fact, his expression seemed rather calm. Funny that his lips hadn't moved when he had spoken, though. The silence grew, so she looked back at Severus.

Then she blinked; he wasn't there behind her. Turning around in surprise, she then noticed him leaning against the wall outside of the Mirror's view, looking unusually thoughtful. She looked back at the Mirror, seeing the same image as before. She looked back over at him.

"Pretty screwy mirror. Somebody needs to have this thing realigned or something," Jennifer chuckled, wondering what its purpose was.

"Stand back here for a moment. Actually, stand by the door and let me take a look," Severus told her.

As Jennifer watched him carefully, it seemed to her that he was going out of his way to avoid her gaze. At her angle, she could only see him in the Mirror and not his expression, which was even more frustrating. He stood there for a long moment, completely silent and still. Suddenly he took out a cloth and covered it.

"So, are you going to tell me what you saw?"

"No," Severus said, still not turning around. "It doesn't tell the truth, obviously, so it's of no concern to you what I saw."

"If it's not important, then why won't you look at me?" Jennifer frowned, coming closer. "Besides, I told you what I saw when you asked me."

"Then I guess I've finally succeeded in getting you to answer to a test question, so I'm one up on you, I think," he said briskly. "Besides, it doesn't really matter. Dumbledore put the Mirror here tonight for the distinct purpose of me stealing it."

"What?"

"Yes, only it is 'we' now, as I had to tell Lucius that I'd keep testing your loyalties to prove to them you're not a threat. Therefore, here is your first mission. I'm shrinking this Mirror down to fist-sized. You are to Apparate to a location I give you – you can actually leave from my office, just not come back in that way - drop it off, and come straight back."

"I can't Apparate."

"Yes, I know it's not supposed to be possible, but the Headmaster has ways to get around it in case of evacuation emergencies, and I needed a way to come and go discreetly. So in that room, you can Disapparate…"

"No, really. I can't Apparate under any circumstances," Jennifer explained. At last he turned around and stared at her incredulously.

"How did you manage to become an instructor without having passed your Apparation test yet? Oh, never mind! Take a broom, I suppose, just be quick. Leave right after sunset, and make sure no one sees you leave or come back. Meet me in my office afterwards so I know that you've returned safely. Don't go to your office tonight; it's ransacked and you're not supposed to find out about it until tomorrow. And no mentioning anything we have discussed tonight except to me and me alone, no matter who asks. If I think anyone needs to know, including Dumbledore or Minerva or whoever else you normally confide in, I'll tell them about it myself. And try to keep any information that you acquire from using your ability strictly to yourself unless it's an emergency. Make yourself a worry stone with a Snoop Charm on it. One of our most famous students has an Invisibility Cloak." Taking out his wand, he said a quick phrase, shrinking both the Mirror and the cloth. Picking it up, he handed it carefully over to her.

"Change before you go, non-Hogwarts clothes," he added.

Jennifer nodded, deciding not to mention her broom skills. Magic mirrors are virtually indestructible so she shouldn't have to worry too badly if she crashed once or twice. He gave her the directions (they were fairly easy to follow, and disturbingly close to Hogwarts). Then he listened at the door, checking the stone in his pocket. "You need to be on your best guard, Craw, and keep your wits about you as you did earlier today. Don't speak to whoever they send to fetch the item, you're seen as a lowly servant. Bow, and don't turn your back until you're safely in the air."

"Worried?" Jennifer asked quietly, attempting a weak smile.

"Yes," Severus admitted with a stern gaze. "Now we're even. Enough tests for one day." Nodding emphatically in agreement, Jennifer slipped out the door.