Chapter Twenty-Three

Courses of Action

After Jennifer's glowing checkup, Ratfly had a checkup of his own. Jennifer, Anna, and Harry waited impatiently as the centaur took a syrupy potion and spoke with the bat for a while before coming back out to the main room.

"Well, he's in good health, although rather overweight for a bat his age. What exactly have you been feeding him?" Sagittari inquired.

"Whatever he wants, usually," Jennifer admitted, "but never mind that, did you find out anything about where he was?"

"He doesn't seem to remember. He left the boundary of Hogwarts, heard someone calling him, and then doesn't remember anything until Harry brought him home," Sagittari said. "Ratfly said that for some reason he couldn't get all the way back, as if there was a barricade stopping him."

"Someone calling him? Voice or sensation?" Jennifer asked.

"Sensation I believe, although I couldn't say for sure. It's all the same to a bat familiar. You know how they retune their hearing to pick up their masters' impulses," Sagittari said.

"I've come to rely on that over the years," Jennifer admitted. "But he was close to the school when it happened?"

"Yes, and if I would hazard a guess, I would think that perhaps the "calling" he heard had been something continuous. The protections around the castle might have kept him out for that reason, especially if it were caused by a curse or spell."

"If Rolanda was affected by it too, it probably would have hit her right outside the boundaries of the school," Anna suggested.

"Quite possible, but typically a spell that affects a certain type of creature usually doesn't affect an Animagus because their level of higher consciousness. It would have to be quite a powerful wizard indeed who could manage to keep control over an Animagus," Sagittari said, shaking his head.

"Well she's gone, and if she were in her right mind, she'd have come back in an instant," Jennifer pointed out. Harry looked thoughtful.

"Not necessarily," Harry said. "When Ratfly couldn't get all the way back, he came to me… your Secret Keeper. What if for some reason the curse kept him from being able to home in on you since he was under someone else's influence?"

"Well, theoretically it's possible, I guess, if he didn't know where we were. He might not have known we had gone home and was trying to look for me by ear, so to speak," Jennifer said.

"If Rolanda had a curse on her, she might have tried to get back to Hogwarts, but the school may not have let her back in since she was cursed," Harry said. "Which means she could still be nearby."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's go look around the outside of the boundaries and see if we can find her," Jennifer suggested.

That was, of course, easier said than done, for the boundaries extended out far beyond the castle. Leaving Hedwig and Ratfly at Sagittari's for fear they might be affected again, they began to work their way around the edge from the forest side, pausing every time they heard a flutter of wings to see what kind of bird it was. Jennifer couldn't remember ever seeing so many birds in the forest before. Many of them were owls, gazing down at them with such intelligent eyes that Jennifer was sure they were familiars or members of the Hogwart's Post Fleet.

Finally they left the woods without a sign of a falcon anywhere, feeling slightly frustrated as they rounded the far edge of the lake and across the tracks towards the train station. As they approached, Anna suddenly tilted her head as if listening and stepped in front of them, walking up towards the station house and looking up expectantly towards the roof. Harry and Jennifer followed close behind, following her eyes until all three of them stopped, spotting the falcon on the eaves.

"It's her!" Jennifer confirmed with a nod. "Rolanda! Come down and change forms, please! We can help!" The falcon's yellow eyes stared unblinkingly at Jennifer, and Jennifer wondered at the murkiness of the gaze. "I don't think she's aware of what she's doing," she said, taking out her wand.

"There's no point trying to dispel her. If the influence is continuous, it'll probably go right back on her the moment we take it off," Harry said.

"I'd rather use a potion anyhow," Jennifer admitted. "You know how harsh an anti-curse can be if they've been under a charm for this long. We need to catch her."

As if suspecting what they were up to, Rolanda took flight, and the three of them struggled to keep their eyes on her in the increasing darkness. But Anna did not miss a step, and Jennifer and Harry soon found themselves running behind her, stopping short when they saw the falcon go into the remains of a gutted cottage on the edge of the forest, diving down out of sight.

"She went into the old Death Eater tunnels," Anna said, glancing back at the other two. Jennifer's face had turned completely pasty as she stared down at where the bird had went. Harry looked over at her, a haunted expression on his face.

"Jennifer, perhaps you had better stay up here," Harry suggested.

"You don't want to go down there any more than I do," Jennifer said knowingly. "I'm going. Anna -"

"Going," Anna said with such conviction that Jennifer stopped what she was started to say and nodded. Harry went first, then Anna, and then Jennifer; Jennifer pausing long enough to make sure the trap door (already off its hinges) was nailed to the floor before preceding down the stairs.

"Which way?" Harry wondered, staring into the darkness. Anna pointed unhesitatingly down the front corridor and began to walk down it. Taking a deep breath of air, Jennifer tapped her wisp light to life, trying not to recall her first time down here when Pettigrew had tried to capture her. That had been a trap as well, as she was sure this probably was. Her wand seemed warm in her hand, ready for any call to use it as the three of them went further down the passage. Anna then turned down another passage, and then another one. Harry asked her to pause a moment, bringing out a sheet of parchment.

"I should have thought of this before," he said, taking out a quill and setting them both down, taking out his wand. "Cartographus Animus!" The paper and quill began to float and take notes on their area, trailing behind them. "Alright, continue."

"That's a pretty neat spell," Jennifer said. "What book is that in?"

"You'll have to ask Sirius when he gets out of the cooler. I learned it from him," Harry grinned.

Jennifer felt her head pounding as they hiked further and further in, and had to fight off the dizzy feeling, knowing it was probably fear induced rather than air quality. She attempted to concentrate on where they were going and watched the map's notation, making sure they weren't going in circles. Anna stopped at a four-way passage, looking back at them.

"I don't feel Rolanda anymore," Anna said.

"Odd," Harry said, turning to pick up the map. Just then there was a loud rumble and Jennifer felt her heart leap in her throat. Before she could turn and bolt in the other direction, Harry grabbed her, pointing down at the map. "Don't bother, look," he said, pointing at the map. "The door got sealed somehow." Jennifer stared at it for a long while, trying to keep calm. Was it just her, or was it starting to get warm in here?

"Look. We're far away from the way we came in, but we know Rolanda got out. There has to be another exit," Harry pointed out shakily. "She's trying to show us something, I'm sure of it. We need to keep going," he said, helping Jennifer back up. "Come on, the sooner we get going, the sooner we can get out of here."

Harry then took the lead, following one of the paths for a while before pausing and turning around, wanting to try one of the other paths. As they turned down the second corridor, they began to hear the sound of squawking, screeching, and singing birds that got louder as they progressed.

"Be careful, the walls here aren't like the rest of the cavern," Anna pointed out. Jennifer glanced up at the ceiling and wished she hadn't. Instead of the smooth walls it was only packed dirt, trails of roots jetting out from above.

"I'd say it was burrowed instead of made by magic... like by some large animal. It's definitely not one of the Death Eater's tunnels," Harry observed. "Apparently someone's been using these tunnels recently."

"Whatever reason they have for using them, I'm sure it's not a reason any of us would approve of," Jennifer said, pushing ahead. "We must be under the forest somewhere, since there are so many tree roots… what is that?" she asked. A small patch of light could be seen ahead.

"Wait, let me take a look," Harry volunteered as they neared a small hole covered in vines. Loose dirt rained down on them as he scrambled up and found himself peering out on a familiar glen. Grimly he cleared around the hole and then pulled himself out, moving the vines that covered it. He reached down to give Jennifer a hand and Anna scrambled through right after, her face losing color dramatically as she saw where they were.

They were no more than ten meters away from Anna's forest cabin.

"I suggest you girls head back to the castle for the night," Harry said. "I'm going to go catch up with Vallid and let her know what's going on."

"No need to bring Lunette into this," Anna said quickly. "Don't you think she has enough to deal with, considering the Willie case?" Jennifer gazed at Anna searchingly.

"All the same, I think she ought to know," Harry decided. "These tunnels might have a connection to something I've been working on lately. Jennifer, I trust you'll tell Dumbledore about this?"

"As soon as he gets back from London," Jennifer agreed. "I hope the board meeting doesn't last all night."

"I hope the boys aren't in the cooler all night," Anna replied with a sigh. "But they probably will be."

Early the next morning, Dumbledore walked into the cooler to see Severus and Sirius had been busy. Many of the crates had been transfigured into furniture, and they had somehow managed to talk a House Elf into bringing them a warm breakfast tray and were playing with a deck of cards. Sirius had been in the middle of telling Severus about some of his encounters with Icarus when Dumbledore had come in, waving to him as if in no hurry to go anywhere else. The Headmaster sighed softly, shook his head, and then a smile crept across his face.

"I see you two have made yourselves comfortable," Dumbledore said.

"We improvised, thank you," Severus said, not looking at him. "I trust since you are here that we're allowed to come out now."

"Actually, you could have left at any time," Dumbledore said with amusement. "The door was never locked. Didn't either of you think of checking?" Sirius and Severus grimaced at each other. "Or were you too busy fighting?"

"For a lot of it," Severus admitted.

"We ran out of things to fight about," Sirius said, putting down a card. Severus picked it up and laid down his hand.

"Gin." Severus said calmly. Sirius stared at him.

"You cheated." Sirius accused him flatly.

"I most certainly did not."

"Oh come on, now, that's the second game in a row."

"Well, don't blame me if you throw away cards without logically thinking about what I am picking up. You should have been able to discern my hand by now."

"This isn't about logic! It's a game! It's supposed to be fun!"

"I thought we were only doing this to pass the time? Besides, I thought the point of playing a game was to win," Severus said.

"Oh, dear," said Dumbledore. "I'd like to have my cooler back to working order as soon as possible if you don't mind," he sighed before walking back out. Severus and Sirius scowled at each other.

"Next time bring your own cards," Sirius snapped.

Severus and Sirius walked into Dumbledore's study to find Harry, Jennifer, and Anna talking with Minerva. Anna, who had been pacing the floor, glanced up at the two men as they entered.

"Sorry if we kept anyone waiting," Sirius said, focusing on Anna.

"I assume since you have both emerged that you have finally come to some sort of terms?" Minerva asked.

"More or less," Severus said evenly, his gaze falling on his wife. She was studying his face carefully. Jennifer smiled softly at him, discerning from that gaze what had occurred. She sighed silently in relief. He had been carrying that guilt around too long... much too long. The weight of it had lifted overnight, and Jennifer could tell that getting closer to resolving his differences with Sirius had also brought Severus closer to coming to terms with himself.

"Dumbledore should be in momentarily. He went to meet Vallid at the gate," Minerva explained.

"How did the meeting go last night, Minerva?" Harry asked.

"Very well," Minerva answered with a smile. "But I expect Professor Dumbledore will want to fill you in with the details."

Just then she paused and looked over at the door as Dumbledore and Vallid entered, the two of them making eye contact with everyone in the room and nodding to them in turn.

"I'm so glad to see that everyone is here. And so civil," Dumbledore added, his eyes twinkling mischievously. Sirius and Severus ignored the remark. "I suppose everyone is probably curious about the board meeting," he continued, sitting behind his desk. "It went splendidly well, even if we did have a surprise guest." He looked slightly amused by that. "Doctor Weathering decided to pay us a visit."

"Doctor Weathering?" Jennifer repeated, feeling her temperature rise.

"He was there... on behalf of concerned parents and himself of course... to suggest that perhaps it'd be advisable to replace our dear Potions Master until such time she's fit to teach. Now calm down, it's all right, Jennifer, Severus," he calmly reassured them. "The protest did not last long. I had already taken the precaution of getting a statement from Sagittari and summarily had his concerns dismissed."

"It also helped that one of the board members, Caitlin Shea, is eight months along," Minerva couldn't help to add.

"It didn't improve his case much, no," Dumbledore agreed with a chuckle. "I think, Jennifer, it is safe to say that you won't have to worry about that protest anymore. Between Sagittari, the head of the board, and my own confidence in you, we have our bases covered." Jennifer nodded and leaned back in her chair, but Severus couldn't help but drum his fingers with irritation that anyone would have attempted such a thing in the first place.

"Now onto more important news…the new curriculum for next year has been approved and it includes a requirement for all students, beginning with those now in fourth year, to have at least one year of Muggle Studies. And, I've also been given permission to hire an instructor for the extended curriculum so that our third years with extra time may go ahead and pick up part of the course this year if they would like. Anna, if you're still interested in the position?" Jennifer and Severus looked over at Anna with surprise. Harry, Sirius, and Minerva were grinning broadly. Who better to teach the course than someone who lived most of her life as a Muggle? Anna stopped pacing and nodded.

"I'd be more than happy to," she agreed. "And it'll give me something to do while everyone feels I should be under house arrest," Anna muttered.

"Good. Minerva will help you get settled after we're done here, and I'm sure Sirius and Severus will see to having your things moved," Dumbledore said with a smile. "Welcome to the staff, Anna, I certainly can think of no one better suited to teaching this course than you. No one else has had the same experiences as you have had adjusting to life here, and I'm quite sure that experience will help you make for an enlightening and interesting class."

Anna smiled back and thanked him, not entirely convinced that the position hadn't been just Dumbledore's way of getting her safely in Hogwarts. Still, there was little doubt there was a great need for many of the students to become more tolerant of the non-magic world, and even the Muggleborn could use some help adjusting to their new environment as well. Anna felt she could compose a course that could do both at the same time. One thing was certain; Muggle Studies was no longer going to be a pushover course when she got through with it. Jennifer, who had been watching Anna, chuckled to herself. Wait until the students learned there was another Snape on staff.

"Now, about Rolanda," Dumbledore said, turning serious. "I believe you are right in that she was trying to get back to us yesterday, or to at least warn us about the tunnels."

"Tunnels?" Sirius asked.

"The Death Eater tunnels near the forest border," Harry explained. "Something or someone managed to connect them under the forest as far as the cabin. Only it didn't look as if it were magically made," he added, glancing at Vallid, who nodded thoughtfully at him. Sirius and Severus exchanged glances, their faces both losing color.

"Well, it is high time they were filled in, I think. Permanently," Sirius said. Dumbledore nodded to him.

"I tend to agree. If you can manage a thorough exploration of the area to make sure we didn't miss anything and see to that, Sirius, I'd be grateful."

"Gladly," Sirius nodded.

"As for Rolanda, I believe if she was able to gain enough control of her senses to get this far, she may attempt to do it again. Minerva, I'd like to arrange a constant patrol just outside the grounds. Perhaps we can somehow manage to find her and bring her safely in," Dumbledore said. Jennifer glanced at Severus questioningly, and he met her gaze and nodded to her.

"Sir, it'll be easier to spot her if a Truth Seeker's is looking for her. Severus and I can stay and help with that once we go pick up Corey," Jennifer offered.

"That would be quite helpful, Jennifer, thank you. Now all we need to come up with is a plan for if she does not return," the Headmaster said, folding his hands together.

"Maybe I can help with that," Harry put in. "Perhaps we should try to get some birds caught on purpose." Everyone looked over at him curiously. "I'm thinking we could tag them with items that the Ministry could be able to track… I'm sure Minister Brown would have some ideas on what we could use to do that… then we let them loose in the area, or perhaps delivering post to one of the places that seems to be affected. If it works, we may be able to track the cause to its source."

"Well, we had best all get to work, then," Dumbledore said. "Good luck to you all."