Chapter Eighteen

Self-Evident

Jennifer insisted on holding the wand when they tested it instead of handing it over, glaring at the Ministry Enforcers when they told her to give it to them. Arthur was called over but informed them to do it her way and he'd sign for it. Jennifer, fairly pleased with the turn of the events so far, then slid the wand back up her sleeve instead of leaving it on the tray. Sirius had put his wand on the tray and was still giving his statement when she walked up. Malfoy had refused to give any sort of account without his counselor present, and it wasn't until after Jennifer and Sirius had finished that a team of five wizard counselors along with Audi Belle showed up. It was the glance that Audi gave her that made her freeze. Something was going to happen because of this, she read, something that was definitely not going to be good for Jennifer.

Jennifer didn't know why she should trust that warning after Audi had taken her wand. But Jennifer quickly found herself fishing something out of her pocket, glancing at it thoughtfully. Sirius gave her a quizzical look, but she didn't say anything. Perhaps she was overreacting. She glanced at the counselors sitting with Malfoy as they took his "statement" which sounded to her as if he wasn't really saying anything at all.

"Excuse me, but you have one of those speed tubes for international post here at the Ministry, right?" she asked one of the officers sitting with them.

"Sure," one shrugged.

"Can I borrow it to send a note to America? I want to contact my counselor and let her know what's up." Jennifer explained. Getting Arthur to sign for it, Jennifer sent a small card into a tiny bottle chute. It disappeared quickly out of sight and Jennifer sat back down.

"You didn't tell me you had a counselor. I was beginning to think you didn't have any money." Sirius teased her.

"I don't," Jennifer admitted. "I just have very good friends. Thanks, by the way, for buying the you-know-what."

"You acted like it was important," grinned Sirius.

"If my hunch is right, it is very important," Jennifer nodded emphatically.

Just then, a bottle popped up with a small message in it, addressed in her name.

Verily, I am at your service. Just have the dates sent to me and I'll be on my way. - Vallid.

"It looks like I got myself a counselor," Jennifer sighed with relief. "Now let's see if Malfoy is going to be able to talk his way out if this."

Just then Dumbledore walked in, passing a thoughtful look towards Sirius and Jennifer before walking over to speak to Arthur. After they had talked for a while, the two wizards went over to them.

"All right you two, you're free to go," Arthur said cheerfully. "Just don't leave the country. I'll contact you or Dumbledore if I have any more questions, and I'll send you some hearing dates as soon as they're set."

"Could you please send the dates to Judge Lunette Vallid in New York? She's going to come and represent me," Jennifer replied.

"Lunette Vallid is coming here?" Arthur said with astonishment. "How did you manage that? I've been trying to get her to talk to me for months!" Dumbledore was also looking at Jennifer with a surprised but pleased look on his face.

"Who's Lunette Vallid?" Sirius asked.

"Only the most respected Truth Seeker in the world, Sirius. She's a Judge now, of course, but in her day, she had the single honor of never ever losing a case. It pays to be a Truth Seeker counselor." Arthur said. "Jennifer, I'm sure this has been said more often than not, but I swear you always seem to be full of surprises."

"Well, I should be getting them back now," Dumbledore said. "Good luck, Arthur, I'm sure we'll be speaking of this again soon. I will escort the two of you back, I think. I doubt the bind has worn off yet with so many casting it at once." He held out a beautifully crafted marble key with the Hogwarts crest carved into the turn handle, and the two of them waved at Arthur, touching the base. A moment later they were standing at the gates of the castle.

"I should get going. It's getting late," Sirius said quickly. "Jennifer, why don't you come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend, being it's the last time before Christmas and all that? You deserve a break after this."

"Sure, Sirius, sounds like fun," Jennifer agreed. He waved and walked away, heading towards the forest.

"Jennifer, you're not, how do the students say it, 'stringing him along,' are you?" Dumbledore asked, a twinkle in his eye as they headed in the gates. Jennifer thought about it a moment then shook her head.

"No, I'm positive he knows where my heart lies," she said quietly, looking at the castle.

"I'm sure he's not the only one who knows," Dumbledore said, smiling at her.

The headlines in the Daily Prophet were enough to cause every head to turn towards her on Monday, but Jennifer had the advantage of saying she couldn't talk about it for legal reasons and concentrated instead on the class material. She dreaded the thought of dueling club and double Defense with Malfoy and Crabbe, however. It was going to be really hard, she knew, to be able to try and stay calm when she was sure they'd be angry with her.

She showed up early for dueling and was immediately greeted by a few of the students who seemed to be really glad to see her, telling her about all the matches the week before. They were recounting the Weasley-Malfoy match when Severus came in, gazing at her thoughtfully with a nearly imperceptible smile on his face. He hadn't thought she was going to come back, she realized as he strode up front, and was slightly surprised to see her. But as the dueling class took their lines, Jennifer frowned, because Crabbe and Malfoy were not there.

Severus had noticed the glance but didn't act surprised at their absence, going ahead and starting the class. Trying not to think about it, Jennifer fell into her normal place, correcting stances in the back during forms, and then turned her attention to judging the dueling matches.

On Thursday, she received a letter from the Ministry. The hearing was scheduled for the first week in January, the first day being just the day before classes started. Jennifer sighed, wondering how much her class was going to suffer for it, and how ironic that it was going to start the same time she had been planning to teach justice. There was no way she could talk about it now with two students involved. Every way she looked at it, she knew she had to proceed cautiously.

Friday ended up both as bad as she thought and better than she thought. The class was focusing on dispelling items; they were going to dispel the pen today. Malfoy and Crabbe came but were eerily silent, their faces holding a numb anger and a feeling of betrayal towards their teacher. It didn't help that Jennifer could not keep herself from feeling guilty every time they looked at her, even though she knew quite well she was doing the right thing. Lucius had my mother killed, he almost killed me, and he needs to go to prison, she told herself. It was for her students she was actually feeling sympathy for right now. She forced herself to bury her thoughts on the matter and teach her class as she would any day, trying to stay as warm as possible to all of them.

The afternoon she spent getting caught up on marking homework, writing tests and reviewing her lesson plans, something that she had gotten behind on with all the activities of the last couple weeks. Finally she put the last paper down, nibbling on a sandwich. Her headache was increasing from stress and she rubbed her temples. Turning around, she fired up the burners on her potion lab. She couldn't remember the last time she used it, for even though she kept it clean and ready, Severus was usually one step ahead of her when she wanted something. She measured out the formula for a mild sleeping potion, chuckling at her full bottles. That would have never happened at Beauxbatons, but that seemed now like a hundred years ago, so much had she changed in the last year and a half.

Finally it reached consistency and she took a sip, wincing at the taste. That was not right, she thought, pouring it out. She'd followed the book, but it tasted like it was missing something. She combed her shelves and pulled down a bottle, trying again. She grimaced, knowing from the smell it wasn't right. That was when she heard a familiar soft knock.

She stared at the door a moment, knowing he wasn't going to go anywhere; he knew from the watch she was in there. Turning the burners down she opened it to find Severus standing with a potion in his hand, holding it out to her. Sighing softly, she let him in, closing the door behind him.

"I smelled the burners on when I was heading up for the evening. I had a feeling you wouldn't ask. Drink it." Severus said, frowning at her sternly.

"How exactly did you modify this, anyhow?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm not telling you. Just drink it," he scowled. Jennifer sighed and drank it, handing the mug back.

"Thanks," Jennifer said awkwardly. "Does it have Nightseyes pollen in it?"

"No," Severus said, glancing at her desk, making a face at the bottle sitting on it. "It definitely doesn't have this in it, either. I wondered what that odd smell was," he said, putting the bottle back on the shelf and turning off the burners for her.

"You made two ingredient changes. One as a delay and one to take the bitterness out," Jennifer kept fishing, trying to get a clear view of his face.

"You should take better care of your equipment. Some of these pieces are scratched."

"Peeves did that last year when he decided to break me in," Jennifer chuckled. "Okay, fine, I won't press then."

"It wouldn't do you any good if you did," he said.

"How are Draco and Vince?" Jennifer asked. Severus turned and looked at her.

"Now don't start worrying about them… they didn't give you trouble today, did they?" Jennifer shook her head. "At any rate, they are my responsibility. You just concern yourself with getting Lucius put away and let me deal with any consequences that may come. You have enough on your mind." Jennifer gazed at him, wishing she could think of something to say. He set the rest of the bottles back on the shelf, meeting her gaze for a moment. "You had better head up to your rooms. I made the potion a bit stronger than normal. You will need your sleep for Hogsmeade tomorrow," he said quietly.

Jennifer, who was already starting to feel tired, knew better to argue. He held the door open for her as she walked out, then closed the door and leaned on it for a moment, watching her go.