Chapter Twelve

Regrets and Warnings

The last full week in November was the first Hogsmeade trip, and as it happened it was also Jennifer's week to visit her father. It was always so gloomy at Azkaban that time of year; the scarce amounts of greenery that dared inhabit the island was covered with snow and the waters were churning and grey; the warmth from the water causing a dense fog around the prison. She had gotten there especially early, but ever since she had been called in to find her father the year before, Jennifer had found that the guards gave her more leeway than was normally given to visitors. The inspections and questionings at each gate had long been dismissed, and she had few guards around her except for having Thatcher Boltin, the enchanter responsible for her father, accompanying her through the high security area. For the most part, Jennifer had earned quite a bit of freedom now in the prison proper.

She frowned thoughtfully as she walked down the long passages, making sure none of her packages had escaped her arms. They had never found out who was behind her father's unusual disappearance last year. Her father still swore up and down that Ederick Thurspire, Deputy in investigations, was responsible for his entombment in the crypts below Azkaban. But Minister Brown, Dumbledore, and even Thurspire himself had convinced her that there was much more to it than that. What would anyone have to gain by doing that? Sure, her father had many enemies, and no one knew it as well as she did. But given the opportunity, most of them would not have been so lenient on Thomas if they had gotten a hold of him.

Word of her arrival preceded her, and Jennifer and Boltin arrived to find Thomas already waiting patiently in the visitor's room on the other side of a magical force field. She smiled warmly at her father and gave the packages over to Boltin, who crossed through the magical field and handed them to the elder wizard.

"I brought your tea and worm mints, there is an album with pictures of Alexandria in them, and Severus put in a crest patch for you to look at. Oh, and your medicine, of course. I made it up myself," Jennifer said, folding her arms across the table as she watched him go through everything. He spent quite a long time looking at the album before glancing up.

"Well, she didn't get those black eyes from our side of the family," he grunted at last, "But no one can mistake that hair as anything but Craw."

"She's getting big," Jennifer said wistfully. "Every time I see her, there are a dozen new things to discover about her. She's really gotten attached to Carol," she sighed.

"Is that jealousy I hear?" Thomas asked, raising an eyebrow as he reached for the newspapers.

"Yes, of course it is," Jennifer nodded. "She gets to see her every day, and I'm lucky if I get to spend more than eight hours with her a week. But it's almost the holidays, and I intend to cherish every moment of it. Speaking of the holidays, what do you want for Christmas this year, Dad?"

"To hold my granddaughter," he said evenly. Jennifer grew quiet, not quite knowing what to say as he finally unrolled the newspaper. "You may envy Carol, Jen-girl, but you still spend more time with your daughter in one week than I probably will get to for the rest of my lifetime. Can't you bring her here?"

"Now, Thomas, you know that children under twelve aren't allowed back in this section," Boltin said quietly, a tinge of regret in his voice. "I seriously doubt the Warden would make an exception, even for you." Thomas waved his words away irritably.

"Yes, yes, rules, rules. Jennifer, promise me if you do manage to kill Malfoy, do it in a way you don't have to be in here. I don't think you'd like it. There are just too many damn rules," he grumbled. Jennifer gazed at him wide-eyed, but Boltin ignored the comment, finding interest in a loose thread on his uniform. "Well, if I can't have what I want, I suppose I should ask for something practical. More books, of course, something less boring, if possible. Hell, at this point I might even be willing to read one of those Muggle novels Severus is always attempting to get me to read. The Doyle thing. And a chess board perhaps? I play the guards from time to time, but I say, the pieces here are biased against the prisoners and I don't think they like me too well. What is with this motto? It looks like a watered down version of both of ours," he suddenly said after seeing the crest.

Jennifer was suddenly glad that she had opted to be the one to have shown him considering the mood he was in. Severus wouldn't have put up with it and probably would have left until he was in a more amiable mood.

"Actually, we took the best of both parts. 'Vengeance before Death,' well, it makes sense for a Craw perhaps, but I'm more than that now, and Severus wanted it to reflect both of us and our way of thinking. His family's motto was 'Beware the dragon within'… so we went with, 'Beware of vengeance; for it awakens the dragon within'. And that's something both Severus and I have worked to overcome," Jennifer said, smiling softly.

"I like Veritum pro Mortem better," Thomas said. Jennifer sighed, knowing it would do no good to argue with him. "What's the news on your next edition? You promised the next one would be named after our side of the family."

"So I did," Jennifer said with a smile, "and I am on schedule and due in mid June. As for names, we were thinking of going with Alicia Corsiva Snape if it's a girl," Thomas nodded in approval of that, "And Andrew Craw Snape if it's a boy." Thomas stopped mid-nod and his face went pale.

"Jen-girl, I don't know who you've been talking to or what you heard, but there are no Andrews of any sort in our family, Craw or otherwise, and nearly any name would be preferable to that one."

"Look, Dad, I understand why you might not want to recognize him as a family member, being half-Muggle, but there was an Andrew in our family. Francis Pyther told me all about him. He was a good man…"

"There are no Andrews recognized in our family history," Thomas said stubbornly, his eyes flashing. "How dare you even think of putting that name with Craw? There was nothing Craw about the one you refer to, and I'll not have you sully the name that way!" He snarled getting up. Boltin got up as well, standing next to him. "I'd rather you not have any named after our family at all!"

"Fine, if that's how you want it," Jennifer said, angered by his outburst. "After all, this is our child, not yours. We were just trying to do the honorable thing and name them after people who deserved to be named after, not like most of our family who were malicious cold-blooded killers. Andrew at least tried to help people instead of harm them. How many other Craws can say that?" she snapped.

"Sometimes killing people is the only way to help them," Thomas snapped back. "Or at least the only way save innocent lives. That's something you should know quite well already considering you were the one who killed Peter Pettigrew to save Harry and yourself."

"All right, I think that'll do," Boltin said firmly. "If you don't calm down, I will have to take you back to your cell."

"Take me back then! I've nothing more to say anyhow," Thomas said, turning around and refusing to look at her. Jennifer sighed in frustration, getting up.

"Fine, I'll leave. I need to get ready for the school trip anyhow," Jennifer said. "I suppose this means that you don't see Corey as your grandson either, being Muggleborn and all, or does being adopted make that all right?" she asked. "A wizard is a wizard, no matter who his parents are. If my grandmother hadn't married a Muggle, my mother would never have been born either. But of course, you had something to do with their deaths too, didn't you? You say you murdered the Death Eaters for the evil they've done, but the real reason you killed them was because they reminded you of your own shortcomings. You weren't superior to them then, and you aren't superior to them now. The only pathetic part is the fact that you don't even seem to realize it!"

Jennifer turned on her heels and left, storming down the hall. How could he still be like that, after everything that happened? She angrily brushed at the tears that were threatening to leave her eyes, taking deep breaths to try to control her emotions as she reached and passed the first guard post. Her face must have still been quite distraught when she finally made it to the front, for not even Icarus, who had been lingering near some of the guards in the break room, dared to comment when she went by. He only looked thoughtfully after her with a concern Jennifer might have been surprised of had she noticed it.

With a dash of powder, a flick of the wrist, and a clear tone in her voice, Jennifer had herself whisked into the chimney, stepping out of the crackling hearth that stood in the center of one of the friendliest and most welcoming places she knew… The Three Broomsticks. Glancing around with a slight shiver as if to try to shake off the chill of the prison, she suddenly heard her voice called and turned around to see an unexpected pair of faces in the crowd.

"Harry! Ginny! What are you doing home? I didn't expect to see you here this early!" Jennifer said, walking over to their table as Harry pulled a chair up for her.

"This is a holiday weekend in the States. We've been here visiting her folks for a couple of days," Harry grinned. "Have to go back tonight, though."

"Short holiday, if you ask me. How do you like Whitebridge, Ginny?" Jennifer asked with a smile.

"It's definitely no Hogwarts," Ginny grinned. "And things over there take a bit of getting used to. Like everyone wearing Muggle clothes all the time except when they're on campus. And most of the magic shops are by post orders."

"I always hated that, all the pre-made magic stuff out there and their Muggle-style electric shops. My parents never let me go off campus at all, come to think of it, except on my trips home," Jennifer said.

"I met some of your old teachers too. At least, Mrs. Carmody remembers you rather fondly," Ginny grinned.

"Dear old Mrs. Carmody, what a great Potion instructor she was, especially on healing solutions. It was my best class," Jennifer grinned. "What about Mr. Elk, the old Items and Enchantments teacher?"

"Why, he's the Dean now, didn't you know?" Ginny grinned. "I like him very well, he's a wise man."

"Does he still go around with charmed feathers around his neck?"

"And that stinky old medicine pouch. What does he keep in that thing anyhow?" Ginny grinned.

"I don't think anyone's ever been able to figure that out," Jennifer admitted.

"So where's Severus? And how's Corey doing? I heard about his bad knock from Ron," Harry asked.

"Oh, they're still at the school, and Corey's doing a lot better. He's even coming today. I had to stop and see my father this morning, so I'm a bit early, but they'll all be here shortly, I'd imagine."

"We'd better be looking sharp then if we're going to get to Honeydukes before the crowd. The new frogs are out, and Ginny wants to take a case back with her," Harry said, getting up and throwing a few sickles on the table.

"Haven't you both grown out of those silly things yet?" Jennifer laughed, following along.

"Oh, the case isn't for us, it's for the students. They're not releasing them in the States for another two weeks, so I can make a profit on them. Healing courses aren't cheap, even on a scholarship," Ginny said. Harry's face quickly informed Jennifer that he had wanted to chip in, but was quickly turned down, despite his protests. After all, they weren't married yet. Jennifer chuckled quietly to herself.

"No, I suppose not. Actually, I do happen to be a little curious myself. I hope they got a decent picture of me," Jennifer grinned.

"I wouldn't think you ever took a bad picture," Ginny said. "Now, me, that's another story…"

"You don't take a bad picture either, now hush. Stop fishing for compliments in front of our friends," Harry chided after as they stepped up to the candy shop.

"Well, if you were smart, you'd compliment her enough she didn't have to fish," Jennifer said, winking at Ginny.

Several clerks were behind the counter, counting the cases that had just come in, but their eyes wide when they recognized the three standing at the door, greeting them warmly. Ginny got her case and a dozen more for herself, with Harry getting a dozen as well.

It was just as Jennifer was paying for her own case that they heard a loud, "AHA!" from behind them, turning to see Anna and Sirius Black in the doorway, Sirius with his arms crossed accusingly.

"So, you thought you could get a jump on me on this frog thing, did you? Well, I'll have you know, I'm actually in this series, and I want to make sure they got my best side," he said, stepping up to the counter while Anna, Harry, and Jennifer rolled their eyes at him. "So how many cases are you willing to spare?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but Mr. Honeydukes said no more than two cases per customer, and no more than twelve individual for students. They have to go around, you know."

"Two cases? Is that all?" Sirius muttered. "Well, maybe I'll get lucky. Two cases it is then."

"Are you going to actually eat all those?" Anna asked as they went out.

"Well, not right away," Sirius grinned as they hurried to secure one of the larger tables by the fireplace. "I'll just open them now for the cards and then put them in the ice box for later. I'm sure some of the House Elves with a sweet tooth would love to have some."

"Hey, wait a minute, I thought Anna didn't approve of House Elves," Jennifer said, putting her hands on her hips, the box in her hands nearly wriggling away in the process.

"Our Elves are freed, actually… it's sort of a compromise. We pay them a galleon a week for their services, and they pay room and board, so they don't feel like they're obligated to do more than they're paid for," Anna explained.

"How much do you charge them for board?" Jennifer asked.

"A galleon a week," Sirius said. Jennifer stared at them blankly as they walked in the pub.

"It was the only way they'd agree to it," Anna explained. "Once they're used to the idea of earning their own money, we'll give them raises. And we're picking up new ones all the time, so hopefully we'll get enough of them used to the concept that it'll catch on. We've already convinced Harry to do it at his place."

"Well, don't look at me. I like the way it is now and I think you're making it more complicated than it needs to be," Jennifer said, opening her case of frogs the moment they found a table. "I hope I get a Severus card this time so I don't have to trade for it."

"If I get one of you, will you sign the back of it?" Ginny asked with a grin.

"Honestly," Jennifer said, catching the frog as it tried to escape, peering at the card. "Hey, I got your father, Ginny."

"I got Counselor Vallid," Ginny said, "Here, let me see!"

"Can I see Vallid's card?" Anna asked.

"Here's a Dumbledore," Harry said.

Before long the table was covered with frogs. Rosmerta appeared with an exclamation, giving them each a bag to put them in so they wouldn't invade her bar. It was halfway through Sirius' first box when he finally found a Severus Snape card, refusing to let anyone see it until he had a chance to read it.

"'Severus Snape played an integral part of tracking the movements of Voldemort and his followers since their return, and his testimony was instrumental in convicting many of the Death Eaters after Voldemort's death. He is currently teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts, and his interests include reading, giving students detention, and spending time marking homework with his wife, Jennifer Craw Snape.' I say, I knew he was dull, but what sort of interests are those? Doesn't he ever think about anything but school?" Sirius asked, glancing up at Jennifer, who had a peculiar look on her face. In fact, she was doing everything in her power to keep her face from turning bright red, and was failing miserably.

"You all right, Jennifer?" Anna asked.

"Yes, er…just a wee bit hot in here," Jennifer explained quickly, contemplating how to get even with Severus. She knew quite well he meant more with that last 'interest' than what it had said. Cards were still being passed around a few minutes later when the students arrived and the pub begin to fill, and the moment Jennifer spotted Severus coming over to them she grabbed the card and showed it to him accusingly. Severus broke into a sinister smile that startled some of the students, who began to edge farther away. Jennifer began to blush again, turning back to the table as he came forward.

"Here's one of yours, Jennifer!" Ginny said excitedly. "Last pack, too. Will you sign it?"

"Oh, I suppose, but I certainly don't know what all the fuss is about," Jennifer said, reaching out for the card.

"What's her interests say? Looking in mirrors?" Sirius teased. Severus came up to stand behind Jennifer, glancing over her shoulder.

"Mediterranean cooking, gardening, and spending time with the family," Jennifer smiled, handing Ginny back the card.

"Oh, not those cards again. Really, aren't you all getting a bit old for those?" Severus asked.

"I bought them as an investment," Ginny grinned. "I get Harry to sign all of his, and Jennifer signed hers, and that doubles their value."

"All of that fuss over a piece of cardboard," Severus shook his head, sitting down.

"This from the man who finds student detentions and marking homework interesting," Sirius chuckled at him.

"Definitely more interesting than running around on all fours, chasing your tail and drinking out of the l–"

"Severus!" Jennifer said holding onto his arm in exasperation. "That's quite enough! Both of you try and be civil, there are students about if not at the table."

"Do they normally act like this?" Ginny asked Harry quietly.

"No, actually, you're getting them on a good day," Harry explained. "They're usually much worse."

"Oh, it doesn't bother me any more. Actually, I think he's starting to like me," Sirius said daringly, grinning at the suspicious squint of the man sitting across from him. "Of course, he won't admit it. But then, for a man that took thirty years to learn how to wash his hair, I figure it'll take at least another ten years or so before he does."

"Sirius!" Anna grabbed his ear before Severus could react and whispered to him. Severus sneered and was about to say something else when Rosmerta came up to them and leaned over the table, looking at Jennifer.

"There's someone here who wants to talk to you and Harry," she said in a low voice. "He's cloaked and all that, but I'd know his voice anywhere. It's old Corny Fudge."

"Oh really?" Severus said, glancing nonchalantly over his shoulder. "I wonder what he wants this time."

"Wait a minute, I want to see him too. I have some questions to ask him," Anna said.

"We can't all go over there. He'd probably just leave. He's truly gotten paranoid over the last few years," Harry said. "Jennifer and I will go. Severus will keep an eye us, and Sirius, you stay here with the girls," he said, getting up, Jennifer right behind.

"Don't worry, Anna, I'm sure you'll get your chance to talk to him," Sirius said. "More Snitches in the Mud, Rosmerta."

"The usual for me," Severus said, tapping the table where he was sitting before heading towards the restrooms.

"Black Anise wine, coming up," Rosmerta said, shaking her head. "I swear he's the only one that drinks it," she said before heading over to where the other Professors were sitting.

Fudge was at one of the tables on the balcony overlooking the main floor, which had a good view of the entrance and everyone coming and going below. He looked up as the two of them sat down, his hands folded on the table, glancing around to see if anyone followed them. His shadowed face had the same nervous look that she had noticed before, but there was a fear in his eyes that got Jennifer's immediate attention.

"All right, we're here. What did you want to speak to us about?" Harry asked.

"Malfoy is planning to make a move soon, he and his… circle of friends," Fudge whispered quietly. "In fact, they're after me as well. He suspects that I have the Tome, and might even suspect that I had something to do with what we spoke of before," he said, nodding to Jennifer. "But that's not what he's most concerned with at the moment. Word has gotten to him about the Dark magic that has been seeping out of the ruins of the Tomb, and I believe he's become increasingly interested in what may still lie underground."

"If he has some odd idea about bringing Voldemort back, he might as well forget it," Harry said calmly. "His soul was destroyed at the time of his death."

"I doubt Malfoy would go near the place if he thought there was any chance of that," Fudge replied grimly. "I think, rather, he believes that several relics might have been buried with the Tomb that may hold even more power now than before because of its destruction."

"Even if that were true," Jennifer said, growing more concerned by the minute, "there isn't anyone who could possibly control an item that badly corrupted. The greatest item enchanter in the world wouldn't try it. He'd be mad to do so."

"And trying to dig at the ruins will most probably result in more damage, which means damaging the forest itself and maybe even causing it to spread into town," Harry added.

"Then you agree with me that something must be done to stop him. I'll leave it in your capable hands then," he said, getting up. "Be wary, he is here in town. Whatever you do, don't be caught alone. Oh, and one other warning," he said, leaning over the table. "It is imperative that you not allow Anna to get anywhere near the Tomb again. The evil there is too strong even for her to handle, and if it overtook her…" he shuddered slightly. "If you have need of me and cannot reach me, seek Ludo Bagman, he'll know where to find me," he said.

With that, he promptly left again, hurrying down the stairs and Apparating the second he was outside the door. Harry turned to Jennifer thoughtfully.

"I couldn't see his face all the time, but I think he believes what he says about Anna," Jennifer told him. "Whether or not the Malfoy thing is true, I don't know."

"Well then, the first order of business is to figure out if Malfoy's here or not. If he's in town, I'd like to know exactly where he is," Harry said, glancing at Severus as he approached out of a dark corner. "And we should make double sure that nobody's been messing with the fields around the Tomb." Jennifer nodded slowly, feeling unwanted memories creeping into her mind. If only it were as easy to bury the past as it was easy for it to bury her.