Chapter Two

Corey Willowby

Jennifer quickly realized it would be impossible to cover up all the oddities about the small house… the fact that there wasn't one of those television things or light sockets probably stood out to Corey like a red flag. Corey thought it seemed very old fashioned, as if he were stepping into a different time. Still, the kitchen looked somewhat normal with a stove of some sort and an icebox, but it reminded him of one of his school field trips where they went on castle tours.

"Make yourself at home, Corey. I'll get us some iced tea and we can have ourselves a little chat. I don't suppose you see this as an abandoned house any more, eh?" Jennifer asked mischievously, putting some empty glasses on a tray.

"Actually, it wasn't really me who saw this as abandoned. To be honest, it was my brother. But, excuse me if I'm prying, how come he can't see it, but I can? And nobody believes me. They think I'm making things up or imagining it," he said. Jennifer could also tell that they'd been teasing him about it ever since.

"Perhaps they just weren't meant to see it," Jennifer suggested, setting the glasses and a bowl on the table. Corey was too busy gaping at something on her desk to notice the glasses and bowl filling by themselves. "What are you looking at, Corey?" He pointed at a small picture frame on the desk.

"That evil-looking man in the picture! He looked at me, scowled, and then… he just walked out of the picture!" he exclaimed. Jennifer laughed.

"Actually, that's a collecting card of my fiancée. I just put it in a frame because it's a good picture of him. And I don't think he's all that evil-looking."

"Oh… uh… sorry," Corey said as Jennifer came over and picked up the picture. After a moment, the picture returned and she set it down.

"Quite all right. I think I have one of the few cards where he actually does show up in every once in awhile," Jennifer grinned. "Some of my students complain that the card's picture never shows up for them. Now come and sit down, I promise you it's not poisoned or anything. I'll even take the first drink if you like."

"Are you a fairy? You're something magic, aren't you?" Corey asked.

"No, I'm not a fairy! I'm human just like you are," she assured him.

"But your books are all titled things like 'How to Banish Evil Spirits' and such."

"Well, that's because I'm a witch," Jennifer said matter-of-factly, offering him a sandwich.

"Oh, no, you're much too beautiful to be a witch," Corey said, then blushed. Jennifer laughed.

"Thank you," Jennifer said cheerfully, taking a sip of the tea. "I assure you that I am one just the same, but I wouldn't be telling anyone if I were you. They might try to have you committed or something, and I wouldn't want that to happen. I had to come out and try to explain this to you before you got into any more trouble."

"Why is it that I can see your house and no one else can?" Corey asked. Jennifer sighed, gazing at him.

"I don't think I can tell you that," Jennifer said, troubled. What if he wasn't in the book? The last thing she wanted to do was tell him that he might be a wizard only to have his dreams come crashing down if it came out that he wasn't, and no matter how much she believed it, she hadn't the authority to tell him in any case. "Perhaps it's just one of those things," she said with a weak smile.

Jennifer than asked Corey about his home and family, and found out from him that he had an older brother and younger sister. The three of them went to nearby schools and helped on the farm over the summer and on weekends. She also knew, although he never said, that Corey had a habit of wandering off to get out of doing extra chores, spending most his time on the edges of the cliffs, sitting and dreaming.

"I found this house while I was exploring, trying to look for a new place to sit without my brother and sister bugging me. I like to be alone sometimes," he explained quickly, and Jennifer nodded, letting him know she did too. "They did end up finding me a few days ago, but they didn't see the house… not the way I did. Well, Essie said she did, but I think she was just humoring me."

"Yes, I can see how that might have confused you," Jennifer said with a nod. "Although I'm not sure I approve of you sneaking off to get out of your chores." Corey blinked, and then looked defensive.

"But, Miss Craw, it's summer! I can't spend it all tagging and shearing sheep and feeding them and cleaning barns. A kid has to have some fun too, you know," he complained.

"Well, I'll tell you what," Jennifer said, still looking at him sternly. "If you do your chores at home smartly enough and can keep quiet that there's a witch living next door, perhaps I'll let you come visit me from time to time. And don't think I won't know when your chores aren't done either. I have ways of knowing," she warned him.

"That's a deal, Miss Craw. I'd like to come and visit," Corey said brightly.

Over the next few weeks, Corey came over quite a lot. In fact, he would have come over every day if he had been able to, only staying away on the few days she wasn't home or a couple of occasions he had cut corners to get done with his chores early and she had sent him to try again. His parents were too amazed to question the turn around in the boy, but so long as he got his chores done, they had no trouble with him wandering off in the afternoons; he was the sort that was never late for supper.

On the days Jennifer was gone, he learned some of her time was spent in London doing something for the government, and the rest of the time visiting her fiancée. She never really talked about it much, but spoke freely about anything Corey asked about that was in the house. It was as they were cataloging the books one day that she admitted to being a professor at a magic arts school, and Corey ended up spending most of his time dreaming about what it would be like to go there. Jennifer, however, was more interested in keeping Corey's feet on the ground despite all the things he had seen. She put him to work helping her around the house, fixing things that a Muggle could fix. Corey didn't mind these chores so much. They were a great deal more fun than sheep, and he was too busy trying to impress Jennifer to realize just how much work he was doing.

One afternoon as they were getting ready to weed the Wartroot in the garden, Jennifer heard a soft knock at the door. She sprang up from where she was kneeling, asking him to stay put and keep quiet and hurried to answer the door. In walked Severus Snape, just as evil-looking as Corey thought he would be, dressed all in black with black hair and eyes to match, sallow skin and a hawk-like nose. He immediately went to Jennifer and kissed her, and somehow in doing so lost his sinister look. Corey, suddenly aware that he should probably not be staring, made himself interested in the weeds he had been trying to pull. The weeds were pulling back, however, lashing at him in annoyance. He'd never seen weeds do that before.

"Is there something going on you're not telling me about?" Corey heard a low deep voice say from inside the open kitchen door. "My chain was ice cold, and now it's blazing hot."

"Er…" Jennifer glanced at the open garden door. "Yes, I have a guest. He's helping me weed the garden today," she admitted. "Corey, could you come in for a moment?" As Corey got up and came in, he noticed the dark man's eyes go wide with surprise before shooting Jennifer a disapproving look.

"Severus, this is my neighbor, Corey Willowby. He discovered my house several weeks ago and has been a good companion of mine. Corey, this is Professor Snape, my fiancée."

"Pleased to meet you, sir," Corey said, and instantly received a sharp, cold nod from Severus, who then turned his attention right back to Jennifer.

"Did you say several weeks? I thought the Willowbys were Muggles," Severus snapped.

"They are," Jennifer said calmly. "All right, Corey, I'll be out to help you with those weeds in just a moment," she assured the boy with a smile.

Corey nodded and helped himself to one of the glasses on the table, unsurprised as the glass filled itself. He walked outside and sat it down thoughtfully, thinking back to how Miss Craw had said that she might get in trouble for talking to him. If he could see her house and nobody else could, what could be the harm in it?

As he was working to combat the Feistyweed in the garden, pulling with all his strength, he found himself edging closer to the part of the garden that Miss Craw had warned him to stay away from. Rather than find out why the hard way why, he scooted back over, getting a better grip. The Feistyweed smacked his hand and he glared angrily at it. Suddenly it stiffened, looking for a moment like a normal weed. Thinking perhaps it might be resting, he tugged on it with two hands and suddenly pulled it out, knocking himself back into the other flowerbed. As he looked up, he suddenly saw a half-bloomed Griffonlily, glaring at him menacingly and growling at him. Irritated at being woken up it bit his finger, causing it to bleed at a very alarming rate.

"Sanguis cereus," Corey muttered, spreading out his other hand as he said the spell. He scrambled to his feet as the bleeding slowly stopped, but he was not sure how long it would last. He felt rather dizzy, so reluctantly slid the kitchen door back open.

"Oh, I'm not worried about him. It's the board you'll have to contend with," Severus was saying. "You don't even know if he's on the acceptance list. If he isn't, we're going to have an even -" suddenly he paused, noticing Corey and his pallid face. Jennifer looked over as well, crying out in dismay when she saw his finger and his hand covered in blood.

"It's all right. I stopped the bleeding," Corey said shakily. "The Griffonlily bit it." Jennifer's face paled. She quickly made him sit down and fetched some water and a small kit as Severus threw open the basement door and thundered down the stairs. Jennifer washed off Corey's hand, the ice water numbing the pain. Taking out a bandage covered with nasty salve from the kit, she touched it to Corey's finger and it quickly wrapped itself around the wound. A moment later, Severus appeared carrying a small phial filled with a dark liquid that smelled utterly ghastly.

"Drink this. It's an antitoxin for the blood poisoning," Severus said, glaring at the boy until he drank it down. Smell or no smell, taste or no taste, Corey had a feeling he didn't want to make Severus angry. "Jennifer, this is precisely the sort of thing I was talking about. He has no business being in that garden let alone in this house. For all intents and purposes, that boy is still a Muggle until and if he's accepted."

"Corey, how were you able to stop the bleeding?" Jennifer asked. "That must have been an awful powerful wish. Griffonlily bites normally keep the blood from clotting."

"Oh. I used that tapering blood spell I remembered reading from the Magical Emergency Spellbook over there," Corey admitted. "I have a good memory for written material."

"That's a second year spell," Severus heard himself saying.

"You cast that spell without a wand?" Jennifer asked, blinking at Corey.

"You let him read your spell books?" Severus demanded loudly, glaring at Jennifer. "That's it, Jennifer, I'm erasing his memory at once."

"You'll do no such thing! It's true that Corey has spent lots of time here, perhaps too much…"

"Perhaps?"

"But he's also managed to keep things quiet and I trust it'll stay that way," Jennifer said firmly.

"This has nothing to do about how much he can tell, it has to do with how much he knows. Jennifer, you know better than this," he sighed, shaking his head at her.

"I haven't been teaching him actively if that's what you're implying, but I'm not going to keep him from reading if he wants to. Besides, you saw him… he's a natural. He'll get accepted." Jennifer said, putting her hands protectively on Corey's shoulders.

"Accepted for what?" Corey asked in frustration.

"Don't tell him, Jennifer, you're way over your head already," Severus warned.

"Corey, the problem is that children, especially Muggle children born in non-magic families, aren't allowed to learn magic until secondary school."

"That's no problem then, I start secondary school in the fall," Corey said.

"She means you have to qualify for a Wizardry School, dull-wit. And unless you've gotten a letter recently, chances are you're not getting accepted."

"Don't listen to him, Corey. I'm sure it'll be all right. You're too talented not to get in somewhere," Jennifer insisted, glaring defiantly at Severus.

"Half a moment," Corey said, suddenly getting excited, "You mean I might get to go to that school that you teach at? Hogwarts?"

"It's not up to us," Severus snapped at him, getting in his face. "That's only if you were accepted, if your parents agree, and if you don't get thrown out for using magic before you were of age…"

"I can get thrown out for that?" Corey started to fret.

"That's enough, Severus! Stop being so hard on him! Besides, if anyone's to blame it's me, not Corey. Don't you like kids at all?" Severus had been about ready to say something in reply but suddenly stopped short, not liking the tone in her voice.

"What has that got to do with anything?" he asked warily.

"You can snap and snarl all you like in your own classroom, but Corey is a guest in this house and won't be a victim of your teaching style. Are you going to act like this towards our own children some day? Or do you even want children?" Jennifer asked angrily, making him take a step back. Severus did not like where this was going at all.

"Jennifer, I'm not quite sure how you managed to get us on this subject but… can we talk about this some other time?" he asked, gritting his teeth and giving her a hard, insistent stare.

"Fine, then we drop the whole thing," Jennifer said, turning back to Corey. "I'm sorry about that, Corey, Severus has a lot to learn about children. Like not fighting in front of them," she said firmly. "But if you're feeling up to it, I can still show you how to take on those weeds without too much trouble. We still have some time before you have to go back."

Severus began to say something else but stopped himself at the last minute. Instead, he scowled at both of them and then stormed into the basement, slamming the door behind him. Jennifer pretended that nothing had happened, pausing in the kitchen long enough to get some fresh drinks before stepping back out into the garden.

"Wow, Miss Craw, you sure know how to handle him," Corey grinned. Jennifer, who had stopped to take a drink of her tea nearly choked. She set it down with a cough before sitting next to him, recovering her composure.

"Well, in a way he is right," Jennifer said, trying to stay serious. "There is no guarantee you're on any magic school's list, let alone Hogwarts. I'm afraid your chances may not be that good. We'll know soon enough, though. Professor McGonagall, that's the Deputy Headmistress, Corey, sends the majority of the letters out the second week in July, which was last week. If you're getting one, it'll be any day now."

"What will happen if I don't get one?" Corey asked slowly. Jennifer hesitated, looking at his face. He already guessed the answer to that.

"Here, let me show you how to tame Feistyweed," she said, quickly changing the subject.

Days drifted quickly by without a sign of Corey's letter. He had even come home one night to yell at the owl that inhabited their barn, demanding the creature to come down and give him a letter. His father wasn't quite sure what to make of his son's sudden anxiety, and his mother squinted suspiciously at him every time she'd tried to take him shopping for supplies. It was then he always found a chore he'd forgotten, insisting then and there to take care of it. August was rolling around, and his mother was starting to get quick-tempered; he wasn't going to be able to stall much longer. He was, in fact, getting irritable himself, miserably aware that he would soon be condemned to life as a Muggle and his splendid summer of magic was coming to an end.

At the cottage, Jennifer was hardly any more cheerful. Usually she couldn't wait to get back to school, but as her birthday approached and the time for heading back was at hand, Jennifer couldn't help but feel guilty about the one she was leaving behind. She packed her trunks, looking thoughtfully around realizing she was going to miss the small cottage she'd worked so hard to restore, making up her mind to ask to rent it again next year. At least then she could still see Corey.

Severus walked up from the basement carrying her lab equipment, glancing at the forlorn look on her face.

"Yes, well, you can't say I didn't warn you," he said quietly. He had never really admitted that he liked the boy as he had gotten to know him over the past few weeks, but Jennifer knew Severus better than to think he disliked him. He didn't want to see the boy passed over either. "I'm going to stop over there and erase his memories before we go."

"Must you?" Jennifer asked, already knowing the answer.

"You know I must. I hope the disagreeable outcome of this keeps you from doing this sort of thing again. I've heard of professors losing their licenses for teaching Muggle children without permission," he added with a frown.

"Oh, come on, Severus, admit it, you know Corey was more than up to Hogwarts' standards. Not only does he have perfect memory, he's a Focus Caster."

"Yes, I know," Severus frowned. "To be perfectly honest, I don't understand it either. Perhaps we should send a letter to Dumbledore asking for special circumstances."

"Well, why didn't you suggest that sooner?" Jennifer said kissing him briefly and moving to grab a piece of paper. But Severus stopped her, demanding a more lingering kiss, taking her hand and placing something within it. Jennifer paused and looked at the box thoughtfully.

"Don't just stand there. Open it, or are birthday presents not allowed?" he asked, a nearly imperceptible smile starting to play on his face.

"How did you find out when my birthday was? I don't tell anyone that." Jennifer asked.

"Your father knows," Severus smirked. She should have guessed. Severus went to visit her father at prison quite often. In fact, Jennifer often found it scary to think of how well they got along. "I would have gotten you something last year if I had known, but I'm certain that this will more and make up for it."

"I had my Truth Seeker exam that day," Jennifer sighed. "And you did give me a present. I got to see you, and you cheered me up when I was feeling miserable and gave me one of your customized Subtle Slumber potions. That was more than enough."

"Quit stalling and open the box," Severus grumbled impatiently. "I am more interested in seeing what you think of this present at the moment."

Jennifer quickly opened the box, and smiled at once, knowing exactly what to expect of the gold pocket watch that lay inside, attached to a long golden chain so it could be worn around her neck. The trim was polished black, holding the glass in place, made very similarly to the watch that she had given Severus last year only his was trimmed in gold with black casing. Inside was a small clock face, surrounded by another wheel with its own hand that listed many of the places Severus was often found, along with an "elsewhere" and "mortal peril" listing. Inside the case was inscribed the words; When you find me, I find myself.

"Open sentiment? Is that allowed?" Jennifer asked with a mischievous smile, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Everyone will think you're softening up." He blinked at her.

"I hope you won't be going around showing everybody that watch," he said sternly.

"Of course not, Severus, I was just teasing. I won't have to try and guess where you are any more… thank you," Jennifer said, gazing into his eyes lovingly. "Now if only my other birthday wish would come true."

Just then there was a flutter at the kitchen window and a loud whooping * Hoooooot * as a giant horned owl landed, demanding complete and undivided attention. Jennifer turned around and cried out in alarm, a chill going down her back.

"It's Revere," Severus hissed.

The Postmaster's owl was feared by many for the letters it brought, letters that had to get through no matter what… the sort of letters that filled a house with dread and despair.

"Oh no, I wonder who died," Jennifer said, her face white as a sheet, her thoughts going to her father in prison. Trembling she took the letter as the sour owl eyed her expectantly, waiting for her to read it. A small note was attached to the letter, and as she noticed the handwriting on the letter and whom it was addressed to, she squealed in delight, hurriedly reading the small note.

"It's Corey's acceptance letter!" Jennifer explained to Severus, quickly scribbling out a note and handing it to the irate owl. "There you are, sir, please could you see that this gets to Hogwarts? Thank you." As the owl departed, she went to grab her cloak.

"Dumbledore says they had trouble delivering it and told the postmaster to send it to me!" she said excitedly.

"Wait, wait, you can't go out there looking like that," he snapped as she tried to run out the door in her Hogwart's robes. Aiming his wand at her, he cast a Muggle disguise spell, and Jennifer found herself wearing slacks and a business suit, her hair up in a bun. She glanced in the mirror.

"Maybe some glasses to make me look older, more like a Professor, yes?"

"No. Stop worrying about fixing something time cures all too quickly on its own. Besides, you're a whole year older today, now go and deliver that letter."

"Aren't you coming?"

"No, I look dreadful as a Muggle. Now go already! I'll get these trunks moved and meet you in the Alley in a little while," he said, pushing her out the door.

The farmhouse was set back from the road, and Jennifer walked up to it, hearing a strange snapping sound from the barn. She knocked but got no answer, so proceeded over to the barn where Corey, his brother, and his father were involved in tagging the last of the new lambs that were born that spring.

"Good afternoon," she said making them all look up in surprise. Corey blinked and then squinted at her, looking her up and down.

"Afternoon, ma'am, can I help you?" Corey's father asked, peering at her curiously.

"I have a letter I need to deliver to Corey Willowby," she grinned. Corey, who had been busy trying to hold a pair of lambs, whooped in sheer delight, the lambs leaping out of his reach trying to make a run for it.

"I thought I got passed over!" Corey said, excitedly reading the envelope that Jennifer had handed to him. "Oh, thank you, Miss Craw!"

"Here, now! How do you know this woman, Corey? And gather those lambs back in there!"

"Don't worry, sir, I'll get them," Jennifer said calmly. Taking out her wand, she pointed it at the two lambs, muttering the floating slumber spells. The two lambs suddenly curled up and drifted off to sleep, levitating up just above their heads. Mr. Willowby and his other son, Charles Jr., gazed up in amazement at the two lambs, but Jennifer pretended not to notice the looks.

"Magic can be so useful around a farm," Jennifer said, winking at Corey. "My name is Professor Jennifer Craw, and I had been staying at a cottage just down the road from you over the summer. Corey came over and did some extra chores for me, didn't you, Corey?"

"Yes Miss… Professor Craw," Corey grinned, liking the sound of that. "Here father, please read this, please say I can go!"

"School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Corey?" his father said thoughtfully. "Well, it's true he doesn't seem to be much of a farmer. He's too lazy for that." Jennifer couldn't see Corey being a farmer either, but was willing to use a bit of diplomacy to help out the decision a bit.

"There's really no reason he can't be both, Mr. Willowby," Jennifer said. "And while he's at school, he'll be out of the way during the winter, not to mention properly fed."

"Feeding him, that in itself is a chore. He'd come home for the holidays though, wouldn't he?" Charles Sr. asked, eyeing the sheep above his head.

"Of course," Jennifer said. "If you'd like, I can even take him to get his school supplies this year. I'm heading that way anyhow."

"Oh, well, I suppose that'd be all right, but if his mum could come along that'd be better. She's been after him to go see about uniforms for ages now. Just as well we held out 'til the last moment now, I see." As Jennifer was helping Mr. Willowby with the finer points of pound to galleon conversion, (Mr. Willowby ended up getting a calculator) a truck pulled up and Corey's mother and sister got out. Corey's sister screamed in surprise at the two lambs floating over their heads, but his mother didn't even blink.

"What is going on here?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Don't worry, Freda, Professor Craw here did it to them. I expect it don't hurt them none. She's a professor at the school Corey's been admitted to this year. We may need to sell a ram or two, but I expect it'll be worth it."

"I'm going to be a wizard, Mum!" Corey said.

"Nonsense, nobody's going to be an anything without consulting me first," Freda frowned at her husband.

"But look, Mum, I'm going to be able to magic like this, watch! Windgardium leviosa!" he said, raising his hands slightly. Up went the electric tag gun from where it sat beside his father, the cord dangling down like a vine.

"You should be proud of your son, not many wizards can do that at his age. He's a Focus Caster… he doesn't need a wand. It's a rare talent among our kind, let alone born a Muggle."

"That means non-magic folk," Corey said.

"I know what it means," Freda snapped. Startled, Jennifer looked over at his mother's face, her eyes growing wide.

"You're a Muggle, but you weren't Muggleborn, were you?" Jennifer said in realization. "Your mother was a witch."

"And they sent a Truth Seeker to boot, did they?" Freda sighed resignedly. "Very well, I suppose it was time enough that it was known. I can't bloody well deny it now, can I?"

"Freda? You mean you knew all about this wizard stuff?" her husband asked, and then suddenly chuckled. "Oho, so that's how your mum always managed to catch us when we snuck off as kids. It's all starting to make sense now."

"I tried not to think about it. I wanted rather to forget it," she said, looking apologetically at Corey. "You see, the Professor here can tell you that being non magic when you have a magic parent is no honor to say the least. I did have the benefit of having a Muggle father, however, so when I turned out to be like him, mother settled down into Muggle life so that I could have a normal childhood, blending into this little community of Haven's Bluff. I didn't really seriously think any of our children would end up this way, Charles. I didn't begin to wonder until Corey began to see houses his brother couldn't."

"Does this mean I get to go?" Corey asked, trying not to sound too persistent.

"Well, your father is convinced, who am I to argue? But let me get this one thing clear right here and now. Your brother has things he does better than you, and your sister definitely has things she does better than you, and just because you got magic doesn't mean you can get big headed about this…"

"No, Mum," Corey said, "I promise, I'll be good."

"We can take you out as sure as put you in, mind that now," Freda said firmly. "And I grant there will be little time for your dreamin' or slackin' off there and if your marks fall I'll have you pulled out as well. If you're going to do this, you're going to learn some responsibility." Corey didn't apparently like the sound of that word but nodded anyhow.

"Whatever you say, Mum, just let me go."

"Very well. I suppose we should get to Diagon Alley while we have a magic escort and get it all done with, that is, if the Professor would be so obliged?" Freda asked.

"Happy to," Jennifer said cheerfully, tapping her wand to her hand and changing back to her normal robes. "Whenever you both are ready, Mrs. Willowby," Jennifer grinned.