Chapter Twenty
Holiday Preparations
Severus Snape flashed a warning glance at his last class. He whipped the test papers face down on each desk, as if threatening any student of turning them over sooner with an immediate failure. No one in the class doubted he would do it, especially Corey. But Corey wouldn't dare to try and push his luck now… he was already in enough trouble.
"I expect absolute silence. You may be going home tomorrow, but that doesn't mean anything at this moment. Right now you're in this class, and any "fidgetiness" or window gazing or any other such nonsense and you'll have your paper taken away and marked as is. Just because some of the other professors are letting you get away with your pre-holiday attitudes doesn't mean that I will put up with it," Severus snarled. "Eyes front, Mr. Brim. Five points from Gryffindor for not paying attention! Next time it'll be twenty, and your test will be removed," he said, then made eye contact with each student in turn. "If you actually care to see your test results, they'll be posted on the door before you leave tomorrow morning. Well, don't just sit there staring at me. Begin," he snapped, walking towards his desk.
Severus hissed softly at Rasputin, and with an almost disgruntled gait, the basilisk slipped off his desk and slowly walked towards the office. The students knew better than to glance up, even though a couple of them were still a bit nervous of the basilisk, half-blind or not.
Severus spent the time marking and recording other tests as they were taking theirs, barely even glancing at the names as he did so. He did, however, notice Danny Nelson's test… a perfect score in fact, putting her at the top of her class again. Of course, he hadn't seen Corey's performance on this current exam, and with this sort of straight no-nonsense question and answer test, Corey had little reason not to perform well. It was of little surprise when Corey was the first one out of the room hardly more than a quarter of an hour later. Severus gave it a cursory glance after he left, then paused and squinted at it, barely believing what he was seeing. Putting the rest of the test papers aside, he quickly ran down Corey's test and then shook his head disapprovingly. He set it to one side as the others began to turn theirs in, glancing at his watch as the last of them made their way out of the classroom.
Jennifer was already in his office, so he entered to find her sitting in a chair with her legs propped up on his half-packed trunk with some test papers in her hand, looking rather tired. She glanced up as he came in and waved.
"You know, this school seriously needs a Doorlift," Jennifer commented.
"The school has managed over a thousand years without one, I'm sure it can do without," Severus said calmly.
"The question is, can my swollen feet?" Jennifer chuckled.
"Well, we'll be going home tomorrow What are you doing here, anyhow? I would have expected you to be overwhelmed testing student labs by now," Severus asked, "and I know you're not here to ask for help."
"You're always so suspicious! I'm quite capable of managing testing my own labs," Jennifer said indignantly. "Actually, I came up to talk about Corey. I just marked his test."
"Don't tell me, he slipped to second place after missing questions that you know perfectly well that he knew the answers to," Severus said, handing her a cup of steaming tea and sitting down.
"Yes, that's exactly it," Jennifer said with surprise. "You mean he did it in your class too?"
"He missed a question on werewolves," Severus said, sounding slightly irritated. "After that discussion I had with him after the sparring incident, I am quite certain he has heard more than he cares to on that subject. No, it was intentional. How typically Gryffindor."
"What, for attempting to do something we can't by trying to help Danny?" Jennifer said with such a challenging tone that Severus frowned at her.
All of the staff were quite aware that Nelson was putting undue pressure on his daughter, but Severus was also aware that Minerva had already spoken to Jennifer about when the school could and could not interfere.
"He should be more concerned about his own schoolwork than anyone else's, although I am quite sure his actions will come back to haunt him in their own way," Severus said, continuing to mark the papers until the table was empty in front of them.
"You know, I think perhaps we're being too hard on him," Jennifer continued. Severus stared at her a moment before getting up. "After all, he has done exceptionally well this year…"
"No," Severus said flatly, getting up.
"But Severus…"
"The boy intentionally did something knowing how forbidden it was and knowing the consequences of his actions. If it had been up to me alone, I might have expelled them," Severus said. Jennifer gave him a look as if she didn't quite believe him, and he scowled at her. "He broke the deal, so he's not getting a broom. I'm quite certain you can find other things on his list that he needs more." Jennifer looked at Severus dubiously.
"I think you're just trying to sink the Gryffindor team by not letting Corey get a decent broom," she decided and got up, gazing accusingly at Severus. He blinked at her and made a face.
"Don't you start trying to twist things about! I am not about to fall for any ploys to make me change my mind," he said, following her out.
"I'm not twisting anything. I am only trying to be an understanding parent," Jennifer said stonily. "You should try it sometime," she added before heading down to her office.
Tapping his fingers against his side in annoyance, he watched her disappear down the stairs before walking to Minerva's office to hand in his paperwork.
It was rather satisfying to be one of the first to turn in his scores in for a change, not having the tedious job of testing each potion phial as a part of his tests as in year's past. He had also been able to pack and put other things in order for what would be his first holiday away from the school in some time. He then decided to check on his sister to see how she was coming along in her own preparations, for Dumbledore and he had been able to convince her to stay at the Broom Closet during the holidays.
The Dark Forest was both disturbingly quiet and filled with a strange tension that Severus couldn't help but notice the moment he stepped onto the path. Of course, the feeling of apprehension had been growing of late, especially after the Wraith, but it had not been to this level in quite a while, not since… Severus suddenly remembered… the year Voldemort had taken up residence there. It was as if a presence had come to the forest with intent of using it to its own dark purposes. That realization made Severus feel on edge. One thing was certain; the sooner he got Anna out of there, the better. Several owls and other birds gathered restlessly in the trees above as he approached the Glen. He glanced around, wondering if perhaps he should head down to speak to Firenze first. Finally he decided against it, knocking softly on the door. It was just as Anna opened the door that his necklace grew cold and hot intermittently and he quickly took out his wand.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Anna asked as he moved her out of the way and stepped into the cabin, looking around with suspicion.
"Apparently someone is watching the cabin that shouldn't be," Severus snapped briskly, muttering a spell to try and find any spying devices in the house. "Have you acquired any new items in the last few days?"
"No one will even let me out of the cabin," Anna said with irritation, shutting the door behind her.
But the moment it shut, his chain quieted again... whatever it was, it was outside. Severus strode to the door and threw it back open with such force that Anna had to jump out of the way, and as he stepped out, his chain went off again. Birds lingering outside flew into the air with fright as he stormed out. He pointed his wand and gestured towards the trees closest to the cabin.
"Monstre hostis!" Severus intoned, staring expectantly into the brush waiting for the spell to reveal any hidden enemy. But the spell apparently had no effect, and as he stood there with his wand out, he suddenly noticed that his chain had returned to normal once more.
"Pack the rest of your things," Severus said, looking a bit pale. "We're leaving now."
"Don't you think you overreacting just a bit?" Anna sighed. "I'm leaving tomorrow anyhow."
"Titiana, someone is watching you and it is more than likely whoever has been trying to get to you. The cabin is no longer safe, and I have every intention of voicing that opinion to Dumbledore," Severus said.
"This is getting completely ridiculous," Anna said, her temperature starting to rise as she turned into the next room to throw he rest of her things together. "First, I had to come here early because Dumbledore thought someone might have found out I was 'different.' Then, I wasn't allowed to go to anywhere without an escort. And on top of all of this, Vallid isn't let me go back to work for her because Psycho Willie is out and she's afraid he's after me again. Now I'm not even allowed to stay in the cabin I was moved to because it was 'safe?' Where am I going to move to next, Azkaban?" she demanded.
"Who's Psycho Willie?" Severus frowned at her, wondering why he hadn't heard that name before. At first Anna didn't look like she wanted to answer him, but finally she sighed and gave in.
"A non-magic serial killer I once profiled in the States. He's a transient, originally from over here. He's into ritualistic killings, believing he could gain magic powers from their deaths. I guess he became fascinated with me after I interviewed to him in jail, because about five years ago, he was released 'by accident' while he was on death row because he had the wrong paperwork. It was about a year after Sirius escaped Azkaban... I know because I was in Britain when it happened.
"Somehow he managed to track me here, diverted my mail, and I began getting strange calls. Fortunately, my boyfriend at the time was with me and we were able to recapture him. But the government here refused to send him back to the U.S. unless he was sent to a state without the death penalty. Anyway, Lunette says he somehow managed to get out of prison again, and she thinks he may have found out where I was staying at in London."
"Well, no Muggle will be able to track you here or at the school, or even at our cottage. But you should have mentioned this before," Severus said with concern. "I would like to look into this more carefully, if you don't mind."
"Actually, I do mind," Anna said, "You may be my brother, but I'd rather you not pry into my non-magic affairs. I like to keep some parts of my life as separate as possible."
"I see. So what you're saying is that I'm only your brother half the time," Severus said with irritation.
"Well you are my half-brother," Anna said bluntly. "My magic half. What I do outside of that is my business." Anna threw down the last of her bags. Severus frowned at her but didn't comment. Perhaps it would be best if she believed that was the end of it, he mused as he shrank the bags, but Severus had little true intention of staying out of the situation.
Jennifer and Corey arrived late in the afternoon the next day. Jennifer sat down in the chair closest to the fireplace and propped her feet up while Corey announced their presence by yelling up the stairs and down to the basement. He barely stopped to shrug his coat off before asking Jennifer if she could send a note with Ratfly letting his sister know they were there. Exhausted and feet swollen, Jennifer had little inclination to stand back up but finally relented. She opened up the kitchen window and held out her arm, concentrating. Severus and Anna came up from the basement to find her still standing there a few minutes later.
"I don't get it," Jennifer said, turning around. "Ratfly didn't return to Hogwarts at all yesterday. I just assumed he'd be here, but he's not answering. He always answers."
Severus frowned. No, it couldn't possibly be happening again.
"It's early, he's probably just asleep somewhere," he suggested carefully.
"It's all right, Mom, I'll use Cheshire," Corey said after a moment. "He just tends to dawdle a lot more."
"Like wizard like familiar," Severus said. Corey just grinned at his stern expression before hurrying up to his room to let Cheshire out of his carrier.
"I'll put out some food for Ratfly, maybe the scent will wake him," Jennifer decided. She got out a bowl and it was filled with cherries before she even got it to the window. "You know, maybe we ought to think of getting a family owl, Severus, considering Ratfly is the only flyer we have. It's not fair for him to have to run all our notes, especially when we're here at the cottage."
"My opinion of owls isn't too high at the moment, although you do have a point."
"I don't suppose you'd ever consider getting a telephone?" Anna inquired. Severus and Jennifer gave her a dirty look. "I'll take that as a no," she sighed and shook her head. "I think I'll go upstairs and talk to Corey. I bet he wouldn't mind having a phone in here," she added, walking behind the bookcase.
"I can see that now, can't you? Muggles coming in here to put in phone lines in a house that doesn't even have holes drilled in the wall for such things," Jennifer grinned.
"I can't see it nor do I plan to try," Severus replied.
"I bet she's never had a traditional wizard Christmas before," Jennifer said thoughtfully. "It should be a lot of fun. Come to think of it, I haven't really had one myself since the year my mother died," Jennifer added, thinking back.
"Nor I, since mine were killed," Severus mused. "But don't go overboard, Jennifer. I expect this will be a difficult Christmas for Corey."
"I know," Jennifer said softly, nodding. "And I have no intention of going 'overboard.' But then, I suppose your idea of a good holiday is probably sitting in the basement with a new book, a batch of springerle, and no one around to pester you," Jennifer teased.
"Well, no one else but you," Severus corrected, pulling her close to him and giving her a gentle kiss.
With a bit of help from Anna and Corey (Severus wisely decided the best course of action would be to stay out of the way in the lab) the cottage was soon decked in fresh garlands, holly, ivy wreaths, spiced candles, bunches of rosemary, and lots of sculpted quartz ornaments. The morning of the twentieth, Anna awoke and came down the stairs the kitchen was already warm and smelling of breads and pies. Jennifer sat idly at the bar on a cushioned stool and reading out of cookbook called Do-it-Yourself Cooking Recipes for Witches.
"Wow, you must have been busy. It smells gorgeous in here!" Anna exclaimed with surprise. In fact, as late as they stayed up decorating the night before, she was surprised that Jennifer was up that early.
"Who, me? No, I just got up, but I'm glad you're awake. Do you want to go to Dagda's Market with me? We can let the boys sleep and get out of the house for a bit. I still have lots to do before tomorrow," Jennifer suggested.
"Tomorrow? What's going on tomorrow?" Anna asked curiously.
"Winter solstice, of course, the first day of Yule," Jennifer said. "That's when we traditionally trim the tree and light the log, and just about anybody drops in from then until Christmas. So, it's best to get all the baking done today so we'll be ready. Mercy's been cooking all morning, but I think I'm going to do a bit myself. I just need to pick up a few things first. Dagda's is going to be a madhouse today, but we really have no choice. So, are you game?"
"Anything to get out of the house," Anna agreed, soon heading back to her room to get ready. A moment later she was back downstairs with a strange expression on her face, as if something had occurred to her that hadn't before. "Who's Mercy?"
"Mercy? She's my Head House Elf, of course," Jennifer said, trying to button up her coat. She gave up and went for her cloak instead, glancing at the stony look on Anna's face. "Yes, Anna, of course we have House Elves. How could I possibly keep up with these two without them? They came with the house."
"Came with the house?" Anna repeated. Jennifer sighed softly, knowing from her expression that she must have had some talks with Hermione on the subject. It really wasn't that surprising, Jennifer supposed, Americans did away with them years ago.
"Why don't you sit down a minute, Anna, you look a little pale," Jennifer said, studying Anna's face thoughtfully. "You don't like House Elves at all, do you?"
"No… yes… I mean, I like them, but I don't like the concept of how they're being abused and taken advantage of!" Anna spluttered, her temperature rising as Jennifer tried to calm her down.
"Now now, calm down," Jennifer said, sounding slightly amused. "Look, how about I tell you a bit of history before we head out? Maybe it'll clear some things up. See, it all started hundreds of years ago when the Faerie Folk began to fade out of this world. Some left, some died off naturally, and others were destroyed by mankind; at the time humans were little more than warring conquerors. Because of that, a lot of land was destroyed and burned, woodlands turned to grasslands, and the Elves, which once lived among the animals in the forest, turned to domestic animals for survival, 'borrowing' milk and grain. and in return helping the farmers they borrowed from without being seen. But soon there came a terrible famine that left humans starving as well. The lords taxed the people heavily with food to feed armies when they had none for themselves. The cost to us was incomparable, however, to what had happened to the Elves. In fact, the famine nearly wiped them out, and they might have been if it hadn't been for this one lone cobbler and his wife who took a great many of them in."
"You can't be serious," Anna said, staring at Jennifer in disbelief. "You mean the Elves and the Shoemaker is a real story, and it actually started all this?" Jennifer suddenly looked amused.
"You mean the Muggles know about that? And you said they don't have House Elves."
"Well, they don't," Anna insisted. "And I don't see how after all of those centuries that you could take advantage of something that happened so long ago!"
"Who's taking advantage? They need food and shelter and like to house keep; we provide it for them and they help us maintain a household. You know, a lot of species in nature work together to help each other survive, symbiotic and all that. How is this any different?" Jennifer asked.
"Because they can't get out of it if they don't want to!" Anna said, drumming her fingers on the bar.
"Mercy, can you come out for a moment?" Jennifer said, shaking her head at Anna as a House Elf wearing a dress made of doilies and safety pins suddenly appeared on the bar. "Mercy, would you like for me to release you?" The Elf's eyes went wide.
"Did Mercy do something wrong?" Mercy asked.
"No, no. I mean, is there anywhere else you'd like to be, or do?" Jennifer asked.
"Oh, no, Mistress! You have been good to Mercy! Please do not send Mercy away," the Elf said, fretting.
"There, you see?" Jennifer said. Anna sighed.
"If you had to work for only food and shelter, would you?" Anna challenged her.
"Yes," Jennifer said. Anna drummed her fingers, knowing that she would.
"Well, what if you had to, oh, work in a mine half a mile down, or had Lucius Malfoy as a boss?" Anna asked.
"Of course not. I wouldn't do it," Jennifer said.
"Aha, there's the flaw in your thinking, because they don't have that option," Anna pointed out.
"Well, mine do. In fact, I even suggested they come to Hogwarts while we are there, and eight of them even accepted," Jennifer said growing irritable, feeling as if she were on trial. "Mercy's daughter Francie loves going back and forth; they can come and go as they like."
"Mercy, what were things like before Jennifer came?" Anna asked.
"Not very good, Mistress. Mercy and the others were left alone and forgotten, and had to fend for ourselves. It is something we're not proud of, Mistress, but we can do it if we have to. No one came to feed us, and we stayed loyal to our cottage, and only did work sometimes over the fence," Mercy admitted.
"But that means you were abandoned, so why did you all stay?" Jennifer interrupted.
"Abandoned?" Anna asked.
"If they aren't provided food and shelter, they're considered abandoned. Anyone could come along and offer and they could leave without fear of harm or dishonor," Jennifer explained impatiently. Anna grew thoughtful.
"Yes, but you came, Mistress, and Mercy and the others stayed. Mercy and the others really like Mistress Snape and don't want to leave," she said emphatically.
"Don't you worry, Mercy, I would never abandon you. You're the best House Elf a person could have, and I certainly wouldn't let any of you go before Christmas. I'm going to go buy the Yule Log at Dagda's, so I want you to send the others to pick it up later and put it on the porch, all right?"
"Yes Mistress, thank you! May I go back to work now?" Mercy asked.
"Of course!" Jennifer said, turning to Anna as the Elf disappeared. "There now, you see? That's all settled. They're happy here. If they weren't, I'd let them go in an instant."
"You'd run a house with no Elves?" Anna inquired.
"Of course not! I'd just get ones that were happy here," Jennifer said, stepping into the fireplace. Anna shook her head, having a feeling she wasn't going to win this argument… at least, not yet. Anna Apparated to her and found herself in a bustling market.
The Dagda Marketplace was centered in a large warehouse run by several different wizard farming families, sectioned off in different booths and vendors. Barrels and crates lined the floors filled with goods for sale while House Elves, wizards, and witches bustled by as they combed the marketplace for the best deals and the freshest quality. Jennifer loved it there. In the States where she grew up, the local wizard grocery had been completely modernized, and she would be happy if she never saw another can of pumpkin or packaged dehydrated herbs again. And although such things, unfortunately, existed in Britain too, on a friend's advice, she had decided to try out Dagda's Market, and had never looked back. Right now it was packed with more witches and wizards than usual as they tried to get their last minute items before Yule.
Anna soon learned that people tended to get out of Jennifer's way when she came through, some of them smiling nervously and others greeting her warmly by name. Just as Anna began to get used to her surroundings, Jennifer was almost finished with her shopping. She bought a rather peculiar collection of fresh fruit for Ratfly, hoping to lure him home with his favorite treats, and a large bottle of anise stars.
Finally they walked to the far corner of the market where several tree farmers sat peddling across from a tiny goblin, who was standing in front of the tallest pile of the largest fire logs Anna had ever seen. The smallest one was about two feet in diameter, and the larger ones were five times that. Young children climbed precariously over the pile of Yule Logs to pick on out. One by one, they were chosen with the same precision as a child choosing the right Halloween pumpkin.
"Well, Anna, I don't think Severus would approve of me getting on that thing in my condition, so why don't you pick us out a good one?" Jennifer winked at her.
Before Anna knew it she was climbing on the pile, looking for one despite the fact that she didn't think there was any way they'd get it in that small hearth. All the time she walked along the pile, she could have sworn she could hear the logs whispering, "Pick me! Pick me! Not that one, it's too green! I am not! It's too moldy! Come over here, you don't want those puny things!"
At last she found one near the bottom and the goblin looked none too pleased about that fact when she pointed it out. Jennifer, noticing his reaction, picked that moment to shake her pouch and had the goblin's full attention and he somehow managed to wrestle the huge log out without toppling the precarious pile. Jennifer quickly paid him and it was put aside with their name on it.
"One more stop, Anna, and I think you'll like this one," Jennifer grinned. "I have to go to Myrkinbrek to pay for Corey's broom so it gets delivered on time."
"But I thought you both weren't getting him a broom because of the forest thing. At least, that's what Severus said…"
"I know what Severus said," Jennifer whispered, stuffing her bags in her cloak. "But I think the boy deserves the benefit of the doubt, especially at Christmas. After all, he has turned his marks around and he really does mean well. What's Severus going to do when it shows up on Christmas morning, take it away? Even he's not that cold. Besides, even if he wanted to return it, goblins offer no refunds," Jennifer winked, getting out her floo powder.
It was hours before they finally returned home. Jennifer found Severus pacing the living room when they appeared, Anna's arms filled with bags and boxes while Jennifer was conspicuously carrying nothing.
"And just where have you two been? I was half tempted to come looking for you…"
"Calm down, Severus, I just went to the market and I took Anna Christmas shopping."
"Where to, the North Pole? You might have been there and back by now," he snapped.
"No, to Myrkinbrek, now will you calm down? Nothing happened… well, other than the fact your sister spent too much money and my miniaturization spell fizzled," Jennifer chuckled.
"And if you would have run into trouble and your spells had been down?" he asked, tapping his fingers against his folded arms in annoyance.
"Relax, I took my cloak," Jennifer said. "Don't be such an old scrooge, Severus, we're quite capable of taking care of ourselves. Any sign of Ratfly?"
"Hm, no, and Hedwig is late," Severus replied darkly. "I knew this exchange would never work."
"Nonsense, Severus, the Secret exchange worked fine last summer. It's no more normal for Hedwig to be late as it is for Ratfly to disappear. Something is terribly wrong here," Jennifer said. Just then there was a loud *thud* outside, and Severus swept to the door and opened it with his wand out, only to relax and put it back again.
Jennifer and Anna appeared next to him and Corey's head popped out from behind the bookcase with curiosity.
"Oh, it's only our Yule Log," Jennifer laughed with relief. "Look at us, all jumpy as if expecting something to go wrong. Well, it's obvious that the House Elves are dependable at least." Corey frowned and slipped back behind the bookcase.
"Jennifer, why don't we send one of the more trustworthy ones over to find Harry and make sure there's nothing odd about this delay?" Severus suggested. "Perhaps we are overreacting, but then again, I'd feel better if we knew for certain."
It was quite late that night before they heard back from Harry. As Anna volunteered to help Jennifer finish up the baking, Corey was enlisted to help Severus down in the lab, locking the door behind them.
"As if there was any danger of me going down there," Jennifer snorted softly, trying to wipe some of the flour off her face and only succeeding in making it worse. "I hate being underground. If I wasn't on the cliff side so I had a bit of window, I imagine I'd go insane in my office at work. Are you about done with the gingerbread men?"
"Yep, all ready to go in," Anna replied.
"Okay. We need to stop what we're doing when it's time for them to come out, because if we don't get them in the ice box straight away, I'm sure you'll know what will happen," Jennifer said, nodding knowingly. Anna looked at her for a long moment. "Trust me, the last thing we want is an army of runaway gingerbread men loose in the house. Especially since our insurance doesn't cover cookie invasions." Anna groaned softly.
"I should have guessed," Anna said.
There was a knock at the door, and Anna got up to answer it as Jennifer slid the cookies in. It was Harry, and he was cradling something in his arms that looked like an exhausted bat.
"Special delivery, one pooped fruit bat, anybody want to sign for this?" Harry said cheerfully, causing Jennifer to rush over.
"Ratfly! Ratfly, my poor bat! Harry, where did you find him?" Jennifer asked, taking him into her arms, knocking on the basement door.
"He made it to my house last night. He didn't have anything on him but was exhausted so I let him sleep. I sent a note with Hedwig, but apparently she didn't make it?" Harry asked as he followed them in.
"We haven't gotten any post since we arrived, except for some notes from Essie that Cheshire delivers," Jennifer said. "Not even a Christmas card."
"Then you're missing a lot of post, including several from Dumbledore and Sirius for you, Anna, and some cards and an invitation to a party at the Black Mansion on Christmas Eve," Harry said. Just then there was a knocking noise in the oven that grew louder and louder. "Don't tell me you're baking those blasted cookies too," Harry said with exasperation, and then grabbed some mitts he saw on the counter.
Jennifer gingerly put Ratfly down in her room and hurried back in as Anna began to back away from the oven.
"Anna, open the ice box and stand behind the door!" Jennifer yelled.
Not knowing quite what to expect, Anna did as she was told. Jennifer opened the oven and pulled the tray out. Gingerbread men attempted to escape and Jennifer deftly batted them back into the pan. Just as she slid the tray on the icebox shelf, one managed to escape before the door was shut. Harry dove for it before it escaped and managed to grab hold to the wriggling cookie. He threw it in the icebox and then helped them hold the door shut as they the gingerbread men tried to pound their way out.
"How long do we have to do this?" Anna asked frantically.
"Just until they cool down a bit," Jennifer assured her as another wave of pounding hit the icebox door. Finally, it began to subside. Harry turned around, his back to the door as he looked in his mitt.
"I'm afraid I broke that last one, Jennifer. I have a leg here," Harry admitted.
"Oh well, one out of two dozen isn't bad," Jennifer grinned.
"Pretty tasty too," Harry added after chomping on the warm cookie. Anna, on the other hand, suddenly lost all of her appetite for gingerbread.