Chapter Two

Preparations

Jennifer's thoughts wandered back to the time that Anna had taken her shopping in Muggle London. It had been then during a chaotic flight away from agents looking for Sirius that Jennifer had found herself facing Cornelius Fudge, someone whom everyone had thought was dead after his Disappearance two years before. He had tried to cast a spell on her as she stood in the Muggle crowd… in fact he had tried to kill her, for what reason Jennifer could only guess. One likely reason was his association with Lucius Malfoy, whom Jennifer helped to put in jail. Several of the items used to prove his guilt as a Death Eater had been directly connected to Fudge's Disappearance.

Part of the charges pertaining to manipulating court documents relied on the evidence found by the Ministry and notes made with an inkwell owned by Malfoy. But according to the newspaper, Fudge claimed that a different Death Eater, Macnair, had forged the documents and then threatened to get rid of them, and that it was Macnair who had possession of the inkwell, buying it from the pawn and apparently selling it back.

Considering that Vallid brought to the attention that the pawn records were tampered with, there was enough question to make that a possibility… Jennifer shook her head. A well thought out explanation, perhaps, but Jennifer didn't buy it, not even for a moment. She knew only too well that Malfoy had been responsible for the falsified records.

Jennifer went over to the basement door and rapped a pattern of knocks before sitting back down on the stool beside Anna. A moment later, Severus appeared and Jennifer handed him the paper.

"So I suppose this is going to give Malfoy more leverage for an appeal," Jennifer sighed, drumming her fingers on the bar.

"I'm afraid that's not all. Malfoy's counselors are contending that his outburst during Vallid's questioning of him before the trial was due to stress and that it was a forced confession…" Anna went on.

"It was nothing of the sort. I can't see how they could even profess that with as many witnesses there were to the contrary," Jennifer said, feeling her temper rise. "He blew up because he found out that Severus was on our side. Nothing else prompted it."

"Malfoy's team is also accusing Audacious Belle of trial misconduct," Anna said. Jennifer and Severus both grimaced knowingly. "Since it came out that she was helping the Ivory Skull, who admitted that he tried to kill him, Malfoy claims that his defense was tainted, and that she had purposefully advised against certain lines of questioning solely to protect herself and not in his best interests. If she's found guilty, it may be grounds for a retrial."

"Retrial, nothing, she may lose her Auror and Truth Seeking licenses," Jennifer said, feeling horrible. "I should never have let her get involved in this."

"Audi was over her head in the matter before any of us knew about it," Severus pointed out.

"Vallid asked me to come back to the States to help her finish a few Muggle cases we were working on, and the three of us will head back here together in a week or so," Anna said. "But even if we're held up, I promise I'll be back in time for Corey to stay with me when you two head back to Hogwarts."

"What a day! First Fudge reappears and now this. What else is going to go wrong?" Jennifer said kneading her forehead.

"It's really not all that surprising," Severus said. "Fudge is far from the only person to have 'reappeared' of late. Quite a few wizards who feared Voldemort's wrath have returned over the last month, and I wouldn't doubt that the general public counts Fudge as one of those who Disappeared for similar reasons," he mused. "But it was also only a matter of time before Lucius decided to make a move again. Now that Voldemort is gone, Malfoy has lost his best reason to run things from his safe, comfortable cell. He'll be doing everything in his power to get out."

A loud rumble thundered from somewhere above, and Jennifer glanced over at the living room just as one of the bookcases swung open and Sirius appeared, glancing up the stairs before letting the bookcase gently swing back into place.

"That's quite an addition you have up there… three bedrooms and a suite? Taking on boarders? But those stairs are pretty loud. If you want, I can do something about…"

"We like them loud," Severus said curtly. "And it's none of your business."

"Severus," Jennifer chuckled lightly at him, shaking her head. "Your sister needs to know, at least. We're hoping to start on family additions this year, so we went ahead and had them add a couple of bedrooms and living quarters for a nanny since we had to add a room for Corey anyhow."

"Wow, you two aren't wasting much time are, you?" Sirius said, looking between them. "What about the school board? You're going to try to work, aren't you?"

"Dumbledore already said he'd deal with the board," Jennifer explained. "Severus has worked out a schedule so that my downtime will be during the summer, and we're going to have all four of them close together to make it easier later on."'

"Four of them?" Sirius blinked. "I feel sorry for the nanny already. Four Snape children! Boy, I hope they don't all take after their father." Severus stared coldly at Sirius, and Jennifer saw from Severus' expression that he was contemplating throwing him out.

"At least we don't run the risk of having puppies," Severus said.

Jennifer and Anna quickly exchanged glances and Anna grabbed Sirius' arm before he had a chance to reply.

"We'd better be going, it's getting late, we'll see you tomorrow," Anna said as Sirius stood, still squinting at Severus.

"Bring his leash tomorrow so we can tie him out in the backyard if he starts getting in the way," Severus suggested.

"Severus!" Jennifer glared at him, folding her arms. He went back to reading the paper, ignoring everyone.

"I may be a dog, but at least I'm not a whipped one," Sirius said as a parting shot on the way out the door. Anna waved to Jennifer and followed behind him, fully determined to correct that.

After Corey's birthday, Jennifer turned her thoughts on getting ready for the next school year. It was nearly the end of July and time to start thinking about work again. Since the Professors had to be there two weeks before term, Corey would have to stay with his Aunt Anna when Jennifer and Severus left. So Jennifer, supply list in hand, shuffled Corey and herself off to Diagon Alley.

The first stop was Flourish and Blotts for books, and Jennifer was soon greeted by several Hogwarts' students who were also getting their own books for the upcoming term.

"Professor Craw! Are you really coming back to teach Potions this year?" Harold Gimler asked excitedly.

"Yes, I am. Professor Snape will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts," Jennifer told him with a smile.

"I wondered why we had new Defense books this year," sighed Gail Sisna, one of the girls from Corey's second year class. She tapped the new copy of Diligence Against Dark Creatures. "This book is twice the size of the older one and full of charts and such. I bet he'll expect us to memorize those," she added glumly.

"Professor, where are you getting your ingredients this year?" Harold asked. "My mother is ordering ours from a catalog this year because she thinks the new apothecary is too expensive. And did you hear who owns it? Draco Malfoy! It was a graduation present from his mother."

"No, I hadn't heard about that," Jennifer said thoughtfully. "Draco is still on the Sentinels, isn't he?"

"Yes, as an alternate," Sisna nodded. "Finch-Fletchley got a position on the regular team already though, he was in here earlier with his little brother. He's hoping to get transferred to our team next year."

"Draco's in the shop right now, being its first week open," Harold said.

"Well then, we'll have to go in and say hello, won't we, Corey?" Jennifer smiled. Corey's face told her all too clearly that he didn't think having Draco Malfoy filling his potion kit would be a smart idea. He verbalized the protest the moment they left the bookshop.

"Can't we go to the one in Knockturn Alley?" Corey asked.

"Go to Sludgebats? Absolutely not, you know what your father's opinion of that place is. Besides, I don't want you down there until you're at least sixteen," Jennifer frowned at him, picking up the pace.

"We're really not going to buy anything in there, are we?" Corey asked, hurrying to catch up.

"I said I'd stop in to say hello so that's what I'm going to do. As to buying anything, we'll just have to see," Jennifer told him, then opened the door.

The new apothecary had been built on the same location as the old one had been, freshly painted and clean. Several students and parents were standing in line and they all looked up curiously when Jennifer and Corey walked in. Harold's mother was right; the prices were a tad higher, but Jennifer was less worried about that when it came to ingredients and more about quality. Corey had gone straight to the bins, tugging on her sleeve a moment later to get her attention. She reached into the Sleepsand bin and pinched a few grains between her fingers before brushing them off.

"What do you think, Corey?" she said softly, wondering if he caught the same inconsistencies she had.

"It's very gritty, nothing usable in a sensitive potion," Corey whispered back.

"I agree, mediocre at best, and at that price too," Jennifer sighed. "Good enough for basic student potions, I suppose. But there's no way I'd bring that home, your father would never let me live it down." Corey grinned knowingly at her.

"Good morning, Professor Craw, can I get you anything?" a voice asked from behind her. Jennifer turned to see Vincent Crabbe standing nearby. Jennifer smiled warmly at him.

"Actually, not today, I just stopped by to look around and say hello to Draco. I didn't know you were working here as well. It's good to see you," Jennifer said shaking his hand.

"Well, if it isn't Jennifer Snape," said Draco Malfoy, appearing from the back.

Draco, Lucius Malfoy's son, looked a good deal like his father only slimmer and a tad fairer of face. His eyes had a calculating glint to them, looking over at his old professor thoughtfully. He had good reason to be wary, Jennifer supposed, for although she had always done everything she could to treat him like the rest of her students, the fact that she had testified against her father had always left a visible strain on their relationship. They certainly weren't friends, but approached one another with precarious, reluctant respect.

Corey Willowby's opinion of him was a different story; his expression didn't even try to hide the extreme dislike he had of Draco. Draco in return pretended as if he didn't exist, feeling that he didn't have to associate with such ilk no matter who had taken him in.

"I hear you secured a position as the Hogwarts' Potion Master this year?" Draco went on.

"Yes, I have. I'm quite looking forward to it," Jennifer smiled. "I came to say hello and see your new shop. It's quite impressive, and successful, from the looks of it," she added.

"Well, when you are ready to get your supplies, just let us know. We have a premium grade selection now as well as regular stock, for serious work. Oh, and if I'm not here, just ask for Crabbe, he's the manager. He'll make sure you get the Hogwarts' discount," Draco said, glancing at Crabbe with a slight smile.

"Thank you, Draco, I'll keep that in mind. Good luck and good day to you," Jennifer smiled, nudging Corey out the door. She didn't exhale until they were halfway to Ollivander's. "Well, their live ingredients looked alright, if not a bit on the small side. But that's about as far as I'll go with it."

"You think the Hogwarts' discount is more or less than the regular price?" Corey asked with a wry grin.

"Oh, I'm sure he'd give me a decent discount just so he could tell his customers I shop there," Jennifer said. "I definitely don't want to endorse them if I don't have to. Then again, it'll be good practice for my classes when I cover potency and detecting inferior products," she said, a smile suddenly curling on her lips. "Now, how about we go to Ollivander's next?"

Jennifer stepped into Ollivander's Wand Shop with both excitement and apprehension. At last, she was going to get her own wand. She had started with a cursed wand made for her infamous ancestor Mallus Craw, then had borrowed a wand from Dumbledore that she later found out belonged to Ravenclaw. Since she returned it, she had been using Severus' and Corey's wand (mostly Corey's, because being a Focus Caster he hardly ever used it.) She had never had one of her own before. Ollivander appeared out of the back…brightening the moment he saw them.

"There you are, I had wondered when you would return, Professor Craw. Hello there, Mr. Willowby… the Focus Caster with the Toadwart wand, correct? So, are you here for your wand, Professor?"

"With any luck," Jennifer chuckled.

"Well then, let's see what we have in Unicorn and go from there, shall we?" he said, getting down a box. Jennifer, forever plagued by Unicorns in her life, could see the sense in that, but after waving the wand he looked at her thoughtfully. "I think it could work for you, but I don't think that's the right one," he decided, getting down another box.

Corey had been quite interested in the entire process for the first dozen wands or so. That was when he began to lose interest, sitting on a small stool as he watched the pile of wands get higher and higher on the table. Jennifer for her own part was also getting impatient, for each wand had the same result…usable, but not quite right. If she could use the wand what else mattered, she wondered with frustration, as Ollivander brought another handful of boxes down. It was when Severus came in looking for them that Jennifer realized how long they had been there, glancing at him glumly as he gazed confusedly at the overflowing desk of boxes.

"Oh, so that is what is taking you so long? Had to be difficult, did you?" Severus said expressionlessly as he stepped over to them.

"Impossible is more like it," Jennifer sighed grumpily. "I can use them all, but none of them want to bother with me."

"I believe it is probably because she has gone so long without one truly her own, and having been given a very powerful wand years before she should have been trained to have one," Ollivander said at last. "Whatever the cause, I think it's safe to say that I do not have the wand you are looking for. You may, in fact, need to get one especially made for you. Have you considered trying Grendelbane's?"

"Grendelbane's? The Grendelbane's? Oh no," Jennifer said in complete surprise.

"If you can't find a wand here…and you are only the second person I've ever had no success in finding a wand…then to Grendelbane's you should go," Ollivander said.

"Thank you for all of your time. I am sorry for all the trouble," Jennifer said, but he held up his hand with a smile.

"I wish you only the best, Professor Craw. Good afternoon, Mr. Willowby, Professor Snape," he said, as the boxes began to replace themselves on the shelf. Severus put a hand on Jennifer's shoulder on the way out the door.

"We may as well head towards Myrkinbrek now. No use putting it off any longer," Severus said, heading towards the bank.

"Myrkinbrek?" Corey asked.

"It's a goblin merchant town, very expensive. I expect if you want a broom this year you'll be on your best formal behavior," Jennifer said. "I should probably get into the Craw vault for this trip," she added with a sigh.

"Very well, why don't you go do that and I'll take Corey to my vault and we'll meet at the entrance plaza," Severus suggested as they walked to the bank.