Chapter Seventeen

Anna's Hogwarts Halloween

After that, the day seemed to fly by for Jennifer as tests were marked and new chapters started, newspapers distributed, and students gently admonished as they grew restless waiting for the bell to ring. Finally it was over, and Jennifer threw her books into her office and hurried out to the Dark Forest.

Brisk breezes carried brown, crisp leaves across the grounds as the sun sank beyond the mountain ridge behind the castle as Jennifer entered the forest, immediately feeling the wild, life energy that penetrated the wood. But Jennifer had learned very quickly to respect the forces within it. It was dangerous, yes, perhaps even perilous to some, but Jennifer had little to fear here. The worst of her enemies no longer dared to enter it, learning first hand what ill came of those who brought down the wrath of its inhabitants.

Carefully listening to the whispering news of the trees as she walked, Jennifer could get some feeling of the movements within the forest itself. For Halloween it seemed unusually calm with the exception of the promise of a full moon. The reminder caused Jennifer to pick up the pace, veering slightly off the path to make for the cabin, knocking gently on the door. It was the first time she'd come out here that Sirius hadn't been around, she mused.

Anna greeted her with a smile, and Jennifer couldn't help but grin. She was wearing the ivory brocade dress that Minerva had made for her, her hair pinned back in some sort of strange, clear brown clip, but otherwise looked less Mugglish than Jennifer had ever seen her before.

"Wow, you look great! Never seen you look better. How do you keep your skin so tan this time of year?" Jennifer asked in amazement.

"Tanning salon…er…actually, I don't think you'd believe it if I tried to explain it to you," she grinned at Jennifer. "I have a present for you, though. Sirius took me to London this weekend and I picked these up for you," she said, handing her a carton of bottled Cokes. After she figured out what they were, Jennifer beamed.

"Thanks! Maybe now I can find out the formula, too," Jennifer grinned, making note to put one aside for that very purpose. "Are you ready to head to the school?"

"Yep," Anna said, bringing out a bag with her. Jennifer quickly minimized the bag and cokes and they put them in their pockets as they started towards the path.

"I have to admit, magic does seem to have its uses," Anna said, making sure her bag was safe inside her coat. "I don't know what amazes me more, how different the society is here, or how alike it is."

"What do you mean?" Jennifer asked.

"Well for one thing, your justice system certainly isn't any better," Anna said. "I spoke with Lunette Vallid a few days ago, and it sounds…well, in some ways not that much different from ours, but in other ways is a bit behind."

"Like how?" Jennifer asked curiously.

"Well, like, if there's surmounting evidence it's assumed that the person is guilty with little doubt, like Sirius."

"Oh. Yes, well, justice has gotten better lately now that the Ministry is in better hands and all. I guess it's no real secret that there was a lot of corruption," Jennifer sighed. "In fact, a lot of people who were Death Eaters were cleared, and unfortunately, helped put a lot of their enemies in jail. Sirius was one of them."

"He wasn't the only victim?"

"Oh no, there were others from what I understand, he was just one of the few that came out of Azkaban sane, what with all the Dementors there," just then, there was a whinny, and Jennifer paused, glancing around. A brilliant white Unicorn glanced out of the brush, looking directly at her, shaking her mane. "Oh, sorry, Keki, we didn't mean to alarm you. I won't mention them by name again," she promised, nodding respectfully to the beast. Two other Unicorns that appeared right behind her bent their knee gently towards Jennifer, watching respectfully from a distance before fading back into the trees. The larger Unicorn nodded her head gently before fading as well. "I didn't know they were following us or I wouldn't have said that," Jennifer said sheepishly. "Unicorns hate the old prison keepers of Azkaban."

Anna had stopped to look at them, her eyes lingering even after they disappeared. She had often thought she saw a glimpse of something white in the trees around her house, but had convinced herself it was her imagination getting the better of her and the strange environment. But as they faded, Anna couldn't help but feel more secure. Even before she had known any of this existed, somehow she had known Unicorns did. And these, it seemed, not only watched the cabin, but also had some special bond with Jennifer.

"Why do they hate them?" Anna asked.

"Well, the keepers of the prison feed off of the despair and pain of others, like vampires feed off blood, these feed off of your spirit. They can even destroy a soul by feeding off of it completely… no life, no after life, just gone forever. Few have seen the inside of one of their hoods and lived to tell the tale, their kiss is quick and permanent. Whoever came up with the idea of sending them to guard Azkaban I have no idea, but I think the intention was that by sapping the prisoners of their hopes and ambitions they could not think of escape. The prison was full of them, and their constant feeding off the prisoners making them rather formidable foes. It's not surprising so many prisoners tormented by their own countless fears lost their sanity, probably the only way they could have survived at all," Jennifer said sadly. "How Sirius came out of it quite so well, I'm not sure. Partly because he was innocent, partly because he was an Animagus, and partly because he can be so stubborn at times," Jennifer grinned.

"Animagus?" Anna asked. Jennifer suddenly caught herself, hesitating.

"Oh, just a type of magus. What's important was he escaped, and they were finally able to prove his innocence. In fact, he helped during the Azkaban Revolt a couple years ago, when Voldemort –" There was a disturbed whinny from behind them. "When You-Know-Who and his followers allied with the prison keepers to release his supporters, destroyed the rest of the prisoners, then launched an attack on the school. That's when I met Keki," Jennifer said, thinking back. "Although I didn't know her name then; the centaurs told me later. I went to the forest and asked for the Unicorns help, and Keki, the herd leader, let me ride her, and the herd went to help fight the prison keepers when they came to the school. It's something I'll never forget, even though it can kind of be embarrassing at times when people bring it up," Jennifer chuckled. "Bad enough being the youngest faculty member without people starting up with the 'innocence' stuff. Not that anyone brings it up any more… at least, not like they used to. The former prison keepers still hate me though. They'd take my soul in an instant if they could. They've tried many times already."

"And you're not afraid of that?"

"No, I've never feared them, that's part of why they hate me, I think," Jennifer said as they stepped out of the forest and onto the grounds. Lights began to flicker on inside the castle, and Jennifer brought out a pumpkin lantern, lighting it as they took the final leg to the gate.

"So what do you fear, then?" Anna asked. Jennifer turned and looked at her thoughtfully a moment, debating on whether or not to answer.

"Not being good enough," she said at last, walking into the yard.

"Not being good enough at what?" Anna asked.

"Oh, everything," Jennifer smiled weakly, opening the door for them to head inside. On the way to the Great Hall, they met up with Minerva, who insisted on stopping by her office so she could take a picture of Anna in her new dress. "She always does this," Jennifer whispered to Anna with a grin. "Minerva, we're going to be late."

"Nonsense, they wouldn't start without us and it'll only take a moment," Minerva said. "You know I like to keep a personal photo collection of these things."

"What are you working on now, Minerva? You haven't asked me up to your workroom in two weeks," Jennifer complained. Minerva smiled mysteriously at her as she opened her office.

"Yes, I know. I don't want you to see what I'm working on," she said, letting them in.

"Christmas stuff?" Jennifer asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Minerva ignored her, getting her camera, and directing Anna where to stand. After getting a picture of Anna alone, she went ahead and got a picture of them together. "Wedding stuff?" Jennifer asked. Minerva turned quickly away, but not quickly enough for Jennifer to get a glimpse of her face. "You're making Severus dress robes for the wedding! Oh, wow, Minerva, you know you're never going to get him in dress robes. I want to see them!"

"No, no, no, and I'd appreciate it if you'd be quiet about it," Minerva chuckled. "You and your annoying talent, Jennifer. I wasn't going to tell you. As for actually getting him to wear them, I think we should let Dumbledore handle that issue. It was both of your decisions that you were going to make this a public affair so he's just going to have to face the consequences of that. Come on, let's not keep everyone waiting. Anna, I expect Sirius is saving you a seat at the high table, so let's be off."

Anna found herself nearly surrounded within moments of first entering the back door of the Hall. Dumbledore came over from where he was standing to welcome her. Sirius quickly followed, bowing slightly and offering her a warm smile, politely complementing her on her dress. Severus soon stepped up beside him, frowning at Sirius before asking her about the walk over. Jennifer in the meantime went to stand by her seat, taking a moment to talk to Filius.

"I think a few of us who are staying should get together about Christmas," Filius said, "to plan out some activities and try to make things more pleasant for them."

"I couldn't agree more," Jennifer nodded. "Although I'm not sure anything we do will make things easier. But I'll be happy to help, of course. What sort of things did you have in mind?"

"Well, we could have a Christmas Eve dance, and a gift exchange and…"

"Wait a minute, Filius, you forget that these kids haven't been able to go to Hogsmeade. They won't have an opportunity to do any Christmas shopping," Jennifer pointed out.

"Oh, no, you're right. Oh dear, I feel sorry for the businesses at Hogsmeade too. They make quite a bit of their Christmas funds off this school," Filius sighed. Jennifer glanced up to see Dumbledore walking to his seat. Glancing at Filius, she intercepted him.

"Professor, since the students will be staying here, perhaps we could arrange one trip to Hogsmeade? It's not that far…" Jennifer started, but instantly received an understanding, yet firm look from Dumbledore.

"I'm sorry, Jennifer, under the circumstances, I cannot allow it."

"Well, then, what about bringing Hogsmeade to the school?" Jennifer suggested. "It's a bit unorthodox, but what isn't about this year? We already know who's trustworthy in town, so why don't we invite them to set up in the courtyard or something and have a winter festival? That way the kids can do their shopping, the shops won't suffer from our absence, and we can do something special for the students at the same time." Filius clapped his hands together in instant support of the idea, looking expectantly at Dumbledore before verbalizing it. Dumbledore glanced over at Filius, then back at Jennifer.

"I don't want any security comprised by this," Dumbledore reminded them in a tone that alerted them immediately that he was going to let them do it. Jennifer grinned broadly.

"No, of course not, Professor," Jennifer said.

"I think it's a positively brilliant idea! I can't wait to get started with planning," Filius said, giving Jennifer an approving smile.

"Good, because I believe I'd like you to head up the planning team, Filius, since Jennifer has the newspaper to contend with already. Jennifer, you'll assist Filius by getting the merchants lined up. You will want to talk with Rosmerta first…I want the list of merchants run through both her and myself before any of them are invited," he said, motioning them to their places.

"Yes, Professor," Jennifer nodded and quickly moved to her chair, still grinning. Severus, who had come up to beside her was looking at the other three with suspicion.

"Oh, and Severus, you'll be in charge of security," Dumbledore added with a smile, glancing towards the front at the student body who were seated and chatting among themselves.

"Security of what?" Severus asked, glancing at Jennifer. Jennifer, who had just realized what she had gotten them into, was trying to form a suitable answer when Dumbledore called the students to order.

"I have a couple of very important announcements to make. First of all, do not forget that you are to join your housemates in your house rooms immediately after dinner, where, I believe, the different houses have some activities planned for the evening. I would like to emphasize that all of you need to remain in your rooms once you have arrived there," Dumbledore glanced directly down the Gryffindor table. "And any student found wandering about with or without a good reason will probably find their way into my office. If any student has any concerns about this, you may bring them up with Professor Snape, who'll be monitoring the halls overnight.

"The other thing I have to announce is that due to some ongoing security measures being enhanced with the train, that the system will not be available for the holidays." A surprised rumble went out over the crowd, but Dumbledore held up his hand. "I know that this is a bit of a blow to everyone. Your parents and guardians have already received word of this, and we are encouraging all students to remain at Hogwarts. However, plans are already underway for some special events including a winter festival, which I'm sure you'll all enjoy." Jennifer felt eyes on her, but she didn't dare turn around. "So, without further delay, I wish you a chillingly good Halloween."

Bowls of jack-o-lantern shaped pumpkin ice cream appeared in the center plates loaded with candy, apples, and popcorn balls, and Jennifer couldn't help but peak over towards where Anna sat, wondering what her reaction would be to this sort of feast. But Anna, it appeared, didn't seem to notice. In fact, she looked quite furious, and even from here, Jennifer could tell it was directed at Sirius who was attempting to make a valiant effort to be nice long enough to find out what was bugging her.

"Now, why is it that I get the feeling this winter festival Dumbledore just mentioned was your idea?" Severus asked in a low voice.

"Would it do me any good to try and deny it?" Jennifer chuckled nervously, glancing to meet his steady gaze.

"No, considering that the only people at the table that weren't surprised seemed to be you and Flitwick," he scowled at her.

"I wonder why Anna seems so upset? She was fine just a moment ago," Jennifer asked. Severus blinked, glancing past her towards the other table.

"Well, she did seem a little preoccupied. I only asked her about the walk and she told me about seeing the Unicorns, then out of nowhere she asked me what an Animagus was."

"Uh oh," Jennifer said, trying not to panic, glancing back over to see them arguing. Jennifer made a moment to get up but it was too late. Anna had suddenly stood straight up in total fury like a thundering storm as Sirius stumbled out of his chair, hands up in attempt to gently calm her down.

"Don't you dare come near me! I can't believe I let you in my house! I don't even like animals, but no, I took pity on you because of the storm. I CAN'T BELIEVE I LET YOU SLEEP AT THE FOOT OF MY BED!" Anna screamed, dumping her ice cream over Sirius' head. As she tried to take a step away he suddenly grabbed her arm, and as she swung to kick him, they both disappeared. Surprise registered through the Great Hall and a panic began to develop among the students. Nobody was supposed to be able to leave like that! Jennifer then cussed silently as several teachers leaped to their feet and tried to head Severus off towards the door.

"Everyone stop where you are!" Dumbledore said in a voice that breached no argument. Severus paused and glared at the Headmaster then accusingly at Jennifer, who had just managed to catch up to him. Dumbledore shook his head gently, glancing over to Severus and Jennifer. "Jennifer, would you go check on our guests via the staff room to make sure they arrived where they were going and come straight back to the staff room? Severus, would you wait for me in the staff room, please? I'll be right in."

Jennifer ran to the staff room, quickly Disapparating before Severus could get there. He took out his watch, scowled at the "Elsewhere" reading and the spinning compass and began pacing.

"Well, Minerva, it would seem you get the pleasure of making sure everyone minds their own business again," Dumbledore said with a weak smile, glancing out at the students, who quickly pretended like they were eating.

"We knew it was going to happen," Minerva said, trying to keep a serious expression.

"Yes, but did it have to happen in front of the entire school?" Dumbledore asked.

Severus was pacing in the staff room like a caged panther in attempt to remain calm but was failing miserably. He paused as Dumbledore came in, giving him a sour look before continuing to pace.

"You knew about this!" Severus said, stopping at the far side of the room and folding his arms, unwilling to turn around and face him.

"Yes, I knew," Dumbledore said, taking a seat. "There really is no reason for you to worry. I'm sure she's quite safe."

"Safe? She was just transported out of the Great Hall in front of everyone to who knows where with Sirius Black, whom it appears has been playing puppy to my sister. And you knew about it!" Severus snapped, and began to pace again.

"Sirius often guards the forest in dog form, you know that quite well. And when it became clear to him that despite our assurances she was having trouble accepting him in his human form, he naturally decided it would be easier for both of them if he just remained in dog form while guarding her."

"Well, perhaps he shouldn't have been guarding her in the first place!" Severus yelled in annoyance.

"Come, now, Severus. You cannot watch her all the time. You have other responsibilities to think about, and you know as well as I do some of the reasons she cannot stay here. The forest cabin was a perfect solution; she would be around her own kind of magic and the centaurs closely watch the location. Sirius and Remus have been in charge of security there for years as you well know, and it only made sense for him to keep an eye on her. Not to mention he is much more capable of helping her adjust since he's quite comfortable in both our world and the Muggle world, as she will need to be."

Jennifer entered the room, glancing first at Severus and then turning to Dumbledore.

"They're safe at the moment," she told Dumbledore, who nodded.

"Never mind that, where exactly are they?" Severus said, walking over to Jennifer.

"I'm not going to tell you that," Jennifer said calmly and firmly. "Not in your present state of mind. It goes against secret keeper ethics to tell someone wishing bodily harm on one of the people she's guarding where he's at."

"So you knew about this dog thing too? How come you didn't tell me what was going on?" Severus demanded.

"Severus, I asked her to keep things quiet, so if you want to yell at someone do pick on me, not Jennifer," Dumbledore interrupted. Jennifer looked over at Dumbledore with complete surprise. Severus backed off, going back to his pacing. "Now, Jennifer, I want you to give the two of them a couple more minutes, and then could you politely barge in and bring her back? I'm sure Anna will be upset but I'm sure you can help her with that. If she needs to speak with me and seems insistent, you may escort her up to my study. Severus, I suggest you follow my lead and also make yourself scarce. When Anna is ready to speak to us about this, she will. After all, this really is between her and Sirius and we're just concerned bystanders. We will let her decide when it's time for us to interfere."

Jennifer looked at the Headmaster with amazement and a new respect in Dumbledore's meddling ethics. She couldn't help but think of her first year at the school when so many things were touch and go for her, and then suddenly broke into a smile, nodding. Severus eyed Dumbledore dubiously, nodding but not looking happy at all. As Jennifer Disapparated, Severus sighed.

"Well, they should almost be done eating by now, so if you're done with me, I'm going to go get ready for my shift." Severus said, heading towards the door.

"You know, the waves always get bigger the closer you get to shore," Dumbledore said with a smile, reminding Severus of a conversation that they had had a very long time ago.

"Oh, really? Then how come I still feel like I'm still drowning," Severus muttered on his way out. Dumbledore chuckled softly to himself.

"Romeo was an idiot? What kind of password is that?" Anna wanted to know as Jennifer showed Anna her room.

"Better than 'Juliet's priest needs a better apothecary', that's what your brother's is at the moment," Jennifer smirked. "We've been keeping all our passwords similar since we've been engaged so we could reach each other quickly in an emergency. Here, why don't you sit down and relax," Jennifer suggested, pulling out her tray which filled up with sandwiches and cups of tea. "I'm not much into sweets. Good thing the Elves always make trays up for the teachers after the feast."

"Elves?"

"Yeah, the House Elves run the kitchens, and they usually have trays ready for teachers in the evenings, and a good thing too! I'd starve on Halloween if they didn't," Jennifer admitted. Anna was standing near the couch, but instead of sitting was busy staring at the sleeping bat hanging upside down from the owl perch with his wings folded. "That's my familiar, Ratfly, he's a fruit bat."

"That is your familiar? A bat?" Anna asked, deciding to sit instead in the chair since it was farther away from the perch.

"Well, I suppose they are a bit unusual compared to normal Hogwarts familiars, but he's a great messenger, even if he is a little lazy. My Dad got him for me before I graduated. He hated my white rabbit. 'No Craw has ever stooped down to having a rabbit before,' he'd say, and so when I got out of Whitebridge, he immediately got me a Dark familiar," Jennifer chuckled. "Mother was quite furious, but I love Ratfly. He can sense things, like he can sense when I want him, and sense danger. My rabbit never did anything but hide in annoying places and look cute." Jennifer sat down on the couch, looking at Anna thoughtfully. "I suppose it'd be prying if I asked what happened before I came and found you."

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about it. Hey, how come you didn't tell me that Sirius was a dog?" Anna demanded, frowning at her accusingly.

"Dumbledore asked me to keep it quiet," Jennifer said quickly, feeling a tad guilty as she said it. The first time she'd heard him say anything of the kind was when he told Severus he had said that, but she had a feeling that backing him up on the statement wouldn't hurt. "And actually, Sirius isn't a dog, he's an Animagus."

"As far as I'm concerned, he's a dog," Anna said. "I should have known better than to trust an animal. And I should have listened to Severus when he told me to stay away from him."

"Well, I don't know what all Severus has said about that, but he and Sirius have been at odds for years. I have the feeling he blames his getting mixed up with Voldemort partially on him, although he really hasn't said anything to me about it," Jennifer admitted. "Don't get me wrong, Sirius has his faults, but he definitely has his good points too. Not many people could have lasted so long in Azkaban and still had the strength to escape, not to mention risk everything like that to help Harry. Actually, besides maybe Dumbledore, I can't think of another person who'd have done it," Jennifer said thoughtfully. "And then to try to put his life back together and put a good face on things like he has, it's pretty incredible. In fact, I might have gone out with him myself at one point had I not already fallen for Severus." Jennifer's mind started to wander as she thought back again to that first year. She suddenly became aware that Anna was glaring at her and blinked, focusing back in.

"Let's get one thing clear right here and now, Jennifer. I don't know what you're getting at, but if you mean to imply you think I'm interested in Sirius Black, you're dead wrong. In fact, I have no intention of ever speaking to him again." Anna said.

"Yeah, I tried that with Severus too. It didn't work," Jennifer said.

"Can't we talk about something else?" Anna asked in annoyance. Just then a dark expression crossed over Jennifer's face, and Anna frowned. "What was that?" Jennifer tilted her head to the side with confusion.

"Strange, for a moment there, I thought I heard someone whisper my name," Jennifer admitted, listening.

Jennifer Craw. The whisper came again. There was no doubt this time. Someone, or some thing, said her name. She looked up at Anna, who was looking at Jennifer with concern.

"Your face changed again. And I felt something. Something evil," Anna said. "Whatever it is, it's in the school."

"Then what are we doing sitting here for? Let's go find it," Jennifer said jumping up. "If we see Severus, we should grab him too," she added, glancing at her watch. "Looks like he's out in the halls somewhere." Jennifer stopped by the door and picked up a few potions she had sitting on a small stand there, putting them in her pocket.

"What are those for?" Anna asked as she stepped up behind her.

"Emergencies," Jennifer explained quickly, opening the door. "Come on, let's go."