Chapter Thirteen

Unwelcome Arrivals

Corey and Doug raced into Honeydukes with Taylor and Danny following more leisurely behind, knowing that it'd be packed no matter what they did.

"I'm going to do some of my Christmas shopping," Corey said. "I bet Essie will love stuff from here, and I'll get Dad some black cauldron licorice. Mom always gets him some, but he's always out before Christmas."

"Professor Snape with a sweet tooth? Now that I can't see," Doug said.

"I can, that stuff is nasty," Taylor said, scrunching up his nose.

"I say, what's all the fuss about up front?" Danny wondered, peering at the swift exchange of bags and small boxes.

"Don't you know? It's the new series of cards in chocolate frogs, and there's a ton of people I know personally in it, too," Corey bragged as they stepped into line. "I suppose I should get some."

"Corey, look sharp!" Doug hissed. "Look who's at the door!"

"Who?" Corey asked, turning about. He had glanced over just in time to see a well-dressed man with an ornate cane peering in the door, as if searching for someone.

"Don't you know who that is? That's Lucius Malfoy! You don't think he's looking for your parents, do you?" Doug whispered in frantically. Corey turned towards the stranger with a surge of sudden hatred, wondering what he was doing here. Lucius had spotted the boy staring at him, frowning at the glare but soon moving on. He glanced behind Corey, making a slight gesture.

"Excuse me for a moment. And don't worry, everything's all right," Danny said in a firm tone. "Just save my place, or get me some of those card things if I'm not back in time," she said. Doug and Corey watched in surprise as she walked over to the man. He paused to ask her something, and when she replied, he looked back at Corey with a look of realization. A very unpleasant smile crept onto his face as he nodded at the boy, putting his hand on Danny's shoulder as he led her out.

"Did you see that? Did you see that?" Doug said in such a panic they had to warn him to keep it down. "Shouldn't we go after her or something?"

"Danny said to stay here. I think she probably knows what she's doing," Taylor said, trying to calm him.

"Taylor, this isn't like her going off with one of Longbottom's gang, this is serious!" Doug said.

"But-"

"Doug's right, this is not good at all. You guys stay, I'm going to go have a look," Corey said, moving into the crowd.

"No, wait!" Doug said, following him out. Sighing and looking forlornly at the front counter, Taylor turned and followed the others. The three of them stopped in the middle of the street, searching through the droves of students. "Where did they go? They couldn't have gone far."

"The Brooms, maybe?" Taylor inquired.

"He wouldn't dare go in there, not with half the professors of Hogwarts inside," Doug said, "Come on, let's try some of the shops."

"Look, there they go into the sports shop," Corey said, the two of them following behind as they walked across the street.

"What's the plan?" Doug asked.

"Plan? I need a new bat, so I have the right to go in and look if I like," Corey said, opening the door.

Tall wooden shelves filled with equipment had divided the shop into sections, and the three boys split up to look around. Glancing down each aisle, Corey finally spotted them standing by a case in the very back of the shop. Corey swiftly pushed his way through to get to the other side of the shelf, trying to get close enough to hear.

"Come, now, Danny," Malfoy said in a low voice. "You know better than to lie to me. I want to hear the truth about what's going on, and without the intentional stalling or subject changing that you normally do. I know the much better than you do, and I will not allow you to try and play it with me."

"It's not what you think, really," Danny's voice insisted. "I have everything under control."

"You have nothing under control. Do not fool yourself into believing it," Malfoy said. "It's time that you faced the fact that I am the only one capable of helping you, and if you don't start keeping me informed, you will have to face the consequences of that mistake on your own."

"Whatever trouble she's in, she's not facing anything on her own," Corey said angrily, appearing from around the corner. Danny turned around and gasped in surprise, while Lucius, standing close beside her, squinted darkly at him.

"Corey!" she said, sounding angry. "I thought I asked you to stay in line!"

"It seems that Mr. Willowby has taken up his adopted father's habit of spying," said evenly. "I suggest you rethink that career decision. Most people are rather protective of their personal affairs, and you may end up getting hurt."

"Hello, Lucius." Corey felt a firm hand on his shoulder as Dumbledore came behind him with Doug and Taylor close behind. "I wondered how long it would take you to turn up on one of these little trips."

"You didn't exactly leave me any options," Lucius said coldly.

"No, I believe it was you who didn't leave me any options," Dumbledore said calmly. "We may not be at Hogwarts, Lucius, but my range of influence exceeds far beyond the borders of the school grounds. Do not think that I am not watching you." Just then, several faces appeared on the other end of the aisle. It was Severus and Jennifer, both rather horrified to see Corey standing there in front of Lucius. Harry was right behind them, and was gazing at the wizard with the same calm but wary expression that Dumbledore was giving him.

"Call off your hounds, Dumbledore, before I have to send for the Ministry for Craw violating her restraining order," Lucius said, nudging Danny towards the counter.

"You are quite free to leave whenever you like," Dumbledore pointed out.

"Come along, Danyelle, there must be somewhere in this town not crawling with Snapes," Lucius said, quickly paying for the goggles she had picked out. "Then again, at the rate they're breeding, I doubt it," he added curtly before opening the door and ushering Danny out.

"Professor? You're not going to stop him? But what about Danny? He said…"

"Whatever he said was not for your ears to hear," Dumbledore told Corey quietly as the three adults came up.

"Corey, are you all right?" Jennifer asked.

"Me? Who cares about me? What about Danny?" Corey demanded.

"Sir, I don't think Miss Nelson is in any immediate danger, although I am quite interested to know exactly what Corey heard," Severus said, eyeing his son steadily.

"Yes, I'm sure, but now is not the time and here is definitely not the place," Dumbledore said, turning to how many students were now curiously peering around corners.

"Sir, Jennifer and I have reason to believe that there may some attempt at a security breech near the Bansidhe Mound," Harry said in a low voice.

"Then, by all means, the two of you should see to that. Severus, would you make certain that Danny rejoins her friends when she is through speaking with her uncle? I will be in the Three Broomsticks if you need me," Dumbledore said.

"Uncle?" Corey repeated, feeling his heart jump in his throat.

"Corey, would you mind walking with me? I'm sure your friends would be glad to run ahead and get a table while they wait for you," the Headmaster suggested.

Doug and Taylor, unusually somber, nodded and walked out of the shop. Taking the hint, the rest of the students became unusually busy with shopping or browsing items they had little intention of buying. Still with his hand on Corey's shoulder, Dumbledore led the stunned boy out.

"Are you all right, Corey?" he asked in a low voice, looking at him intently.

"Yes, it's just… uncle. Him, of all people. I always thought Danny was my friend."

"We cannot control what family we are born into, Corey. What makes you think she's any less of your friend now?" Dumbledore asked.

"Well, it's not just that!" Corey blurted out. "I mean, she came to Hogwarts a year late, she won't talk about her home life at all, and she's always acts strange around the other Slytherin students. And Lucius Malfoy just said something about her needing to talk him or she was going to be in trouble. What if she's spying for him? Trying to get at my parents or something…"

"Or perhaps, Corey, what is going on has little to do with your parents at all, and you might have heard something out of context that you didn't understand," Dumbledore suggested.

"I was only trying to protect her, Professor, honest! I thought she was in trouble! She told me not to worry and stay put, but what was I to do? She'd never mentioned he was her uncle before to anyone. All I know about Malfoy is what I've heard from my parents. I just didn't want her to get hurt, that's all," Corey explained. They paused in front of the pub. Dumbledore looked steadily at him for a moment as if contemplating exactly what to say.

"Sometimes it can be very hard to know whether or not it's prudent to butt into a good friend's personal affairs," he said at last. "Most of the time… nearly all of the time, the best course of action is to stay out of it unless they ask for help. My advice to you is, if you are not sure whether or not it's a good idea to get involved, I would say don't. However," he added, looking at him over the rim of his glasses. "If you have good reason to believe that a friend is in great peril and you know you should butt in, despite countless protests and despite any trouble it might cause, do not hesitate. Do what you have to and make sure they get the assistance they need."

Corey felt uncomfortable all of the sudden, getting the feeling that the Headmaster had something specific in mind that Corey didn't quite understand.

"You best run along inside now, and try to enjoy the rest of your trip." Dumbledore suggested. Corey nodded and walked inside. Dumbledore paused to look down the street as if listening for something. Frowning, the Headmaster stepped into the Three Broomsticks.

Jennifer shivered as she and Harry walked towards the Dark Forest, wand in one hand and a potion phial in the other as they approached the magic-polluted area. Even if the dark magic permeated the ground was not evil in and of itself, it attracted creatures of evil nonetheless. Even outside the barrier, Jennifer began to feel the pull towards her darker thoughts much like it did the night she had gone into the Tomb itself.

"Dumbledore's right. It seems that the more time passes, and the more things feed here, the stronger the damage is getting. This barrier isn't going to hold it much longer," Harry said in a low voice as they approached the mound.

"Then what are we going to do? I mean, if this keeps up, it'll contaminate the entire forest," sighed Jennifer. "It's really no wonder why the centaurs are so angry."

"Look, what's that over there?" Harry asked. Jennifer looked over at the frost-covered ground with a shrug, not seeing anything out of the ordinary. "On the other side of the barrier… it looks like a hole or a burrow of some sort."

Harry muttered a spell under his breath. He stepped through the barrier, his face suddenly showing strain as his thoughts started to muddle.

"Wait, take this," Jennifer said, rummaging around in her pocket and pulling out a clear gem. Her mind wandered a bit as she remembered the last time she used it, slowly handing it through the barrier to Harry.

"Thanks. Wait here. You certainly don't need to try and handle this much Dark Magic in your condition," Harry said.

"Fiddlesticks, I'm a Craw," Jennifer said indignantly, "but I'll stay back here just in case something goes wrong."

"Good idea," Harry agreed diplomatically and walked over to the hole.

Carefully he dug out some of the snow from around the opening. The hole was over a meter long and looked rather deep, and the sides were made out of packed mud, hardened by the frost.

"It looks like some sort of creature made it, and there's more than one hole. I can see at least a couple more from here…if it wasn't so big, I'd think it was a snake hole," Harry said.

Jennifer heard an odd hissing noise and realized it was coming from Harry. She kept her wand ready just in case he needed backup, wondering if she could even get a spell off if she had to. After a moment of silence, Harry looked up at Jennifer with a shrug, and started to walk back.

Suddenly there was a low rumble that began to spread outward from the hole. The ground began to shake, making Jennifer realize that there must be tunnels around the Tomb that hadn't collapsed yet. Harry ran for the barrier, tumbling just before he made it through. Jennifer reached over to help him out. That was when she felt a cold chill creep up her spine. She turned just in time to see a large, looming shadow move up behind her. Harry, recovering from the sight of the Wraith a split second faster than Jennifer, pulled her inside the barrier with him as the creature attempted to wrap around her. It cried out in frustration and gathered all of its energy to attack the barricade, draining nearby plants out of their life force. Trees already devoid of leaves turned grey and shriveled, and evergreen shrubs below them wilted as the creature came forward, trying to push its way through.

"Harry, cast Sonorous Shield on yourself!" Jennifer ordered, pointing her wand at it. There were few spells that could turn away a wraith, but the cry of a banshee was by far her best shot. Its partial immunity to light magic made it difficult to overcome by those means, but Jennifer was a master of the dark. She felt the vibration of the carefully intoned Shrieking Death spell as it left her, and a wave of sound blasted at the Wraith and caused it to wince in pain. But just as the spell began to force its retreat, the spell began to weaken and falter. Jennifer tried desperately to maintain what little power she had left, but her magic gave out and it failed completely.

Before she or Harry could move, Jennifer heard another blast as it came in from the side. She scrambled behind the Sonorous Shield as Severus took over, grim determination lining on his face as the Wraith angrily turned in his direction. But Severus was not alone, and Jennifer was soon aware that Dumbledore had come up beside Severus, casting a spell of his own that seemed to bathe the Wraith in a pure prismatic light. Harry joined in, and Jennifer got enough courage to try again, adding her spell's power to the others. Wailing in anger, the Wraith drew itself up, but then turned and fled into the Dark Forest.

Exhaling in relief, Jennifer followed Harry back out of the barrier and towards the crowd that had gathered. A loud commotion met their ears as they came out from behind the Sonorous Shield and heard the crowd discussing what had happened. She smiled over at Severus to let him know she was all right; and he slowly put away his wand. Rosmerta was beside Dumbledore as were several other townsfolk and students. Even Lucius stood a few feet away, staring at Severus in such an odd way that it took Jennifer a moment to realize why. Lucius had been rather alarmed to see Severus casting one of the Forgotten Death spells… a spell that Lucius had thought only to be known by one person: Jennifer.

Well, Jennifer thought, it was bound to come out sooner or later that she had passed it on to Severus. Once Voldemort had learned the Plague spell, Jennifer had known that she had to pass them on. If anything had happened to her, no one would have been able to defend against it. Besides, had Severus not acted when he had just now, it was quite possible that things might have gotten out of hand.

"Madame Pomfrey, if you would, see that the students get back to their shopping, including Miss Nelson. The excitement is over now," Harry and Jennifer heard Dumbledore say as they came near. "Jennifer, would you keep an eye on things here for me? Make sure everyone stays where they're supposed to, and that they stay away from what they're supposed to as well," he said loud enough that everyone lingering nearby heard him clearly.

Lucius glowered at him darkly but didn't say anything. He glanced over his shoulder and nodded to Danny, so she left to join her friends.

"Harry, why don't you see if you can't find Sirius, and if you have the time, could you please help Severus and I track down the Wraith so we can make sure it doesn't linger in the area?" Dumbledore added. "I doubt it will be back here but I would rather be safe. Perhaps we can come up with a plan to either permanently drive it off or destroy it."

Jennifer was a tad annoyed about being left behind, even if deep down she knew it was for the best. She'd only be in the way if she went after the Wraith, but in town she could easily make sure Lucius didn't get into trouble. In fact, she would have loved to have an excuse to put him in his place if need be. But now that he was finished talking to Danny, Lucius had little intention of sticking around, especially when it was obvious that barriers still surrounded the infected area. Jennifer was fairly sure that Lucius had noticed the holes and might have even had some idea to what had caused them. But before she could get a good look at his face, Lucius nodded to Jennifer with an icy but dignified glance and Disapparated. Sighing, Jennifer made doubly sure that everyone had made their way back to town before she walked back to the Brooms to rejoin Anna and Ginny.

It was the middle of the night when Severus arrived back at Hogwarts. Jennifer woke just as he was attempting to slip into the bedroom and sat up before he could dim the lights. Severus regarded her for a moment before he tiredly sat on the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing awake? I thought you'd be asleep by now," he asked.

"I couldn't really sleep, it was too stuffy in here," she said.

"Oh, is that why all the windows are open? And every candle and lantern is lit as well," he added, gazing at her questioningly.

"So how did it go? Did you find the Wraith?" Jennifer said, quickly changing the subject. The last thing she wanted to do was worry him about her nightmares again.

"No, we lost track of it. But if it's in the forest, it isn't feeding. There were no signs of disintegration or unexplained damage to anything else after it left. It has always waited a long time in between attacks, as you know, so Dumbledore thinks it might rest for a while. It's a miracle nobody has gotten killed, as powerful as that thing has gotten."

"Sirius almost was killed by it," Jennifer pointed out, leaning back. "If only I could have held that spell."

"We also found more signs of those holes around the mound itself. Whatever creature is living there, it didn't show. I can't help but wonder how deep the thing has dug underground," Severus mused. Jennifer gazed at him thoughtfully.

"You're hoping it's a snake of some sort, so that perhaps you or Harry can convince it to bring up those artifacts, aren't you?" Jennifer asked, not sounding too happy about the idea.

"Certainly not to use them… only so that they can be destroyed so we can be sure that they won't fall into the wrong hands. Even Dumbledore had to admit that the concentration of dark magic may lessen if the effect is partially caused by one or more dark artifacts if there are any down there. Of course, this is all just speculation. We have no way of knowing what is or isn't down there, unless you recall seeing anything."

"No, not really," Jennifer sighed, pulling the covers around her and shivering. "It was just too dark and I didn't get into the Tomb itself until after I was injured. There was a side passage we didn't go down, though, who knows what it might have led to."

"I wonder if Icarus might have some idea what might have been put in there," Severus mused, getting up to shut some of the windows.

"Oh, no, please don't try to talk me into speaking to that dreary ghost again. Besides, I'm so mad at my father right now that I'd rather avoid speaking to anyone in that prison for awhile," Jennifer said. "Don't close all the windows!" she added in protest. Severus brushed the snow off the ledges and shut the last window, ignoring the look on her face as he latched it.

"Let's not forget how sick you got doing this last year," Severus said, frowning deeply as if daring her to try to argue with him about this. "You're in no more danger of suffocating in here than I am dying of heat stroke in this room," he said, kneeling down to try and get something out from under the bed. "Now, tell me what happened with your father. I hope it wasn't over the new crest."

"No, I told him about the names," Jennifer sighed. Severus looked up, giving her his 'I told you so' look. "I know, I should have listened to you. He didn't want to have anything to do with the name Andrew. Fine, if that's the way he wants it, we'll pick another name, perhaps another one from your side of the family. How about Augustus?"

"No! That's my uncle's name and I despise him nearly as much as he despises me," Severus said with a scowl.

"You never told me you had an uncle!" Jennifer exclaimed, folding her arms.

"I haven't seen him since I was eleven when he washed his hands of me after my father died, and as far as I'm concerned, it's not important except that I don't want that name."

"Well, after all I've heard about aunts and uncles from Corey, Harry, and now you, not to mention poor Danny, I am quite glad that both my parents were only children," Jennifer decided.

"I suppose I should have told you sooner that her mother was Lucius' sister. Iris also used to be best friends with Narcissa at Hogwarts, both Slytherin of course, that's how she and Lucius met. Narcissa was the one who originally introduced Nelson to Iris, at his insistence. Lucius once told me that Nelson married for her money, and when Iris died giving birth to Danny, he took the girl and left to who knows where. He was probably afraid that the Malfoys might use their influence with the Death Eaters to persuade him to give the girl up, so he decided to wait until things settled down before returning," Severus conjectured, leaning on a very large, brown-wrapped frame he had gotten out of his Cloak Chest.

"I just hope she's going to be all right," Jennifer said. "If only we knew for certain what was going on."

"Well, I am going to attempt to talk to her before she goes home for the holidays. But Danny is a very strong-willed girl. I don't know if she'll listen," Severus admitted.

"If any teacher can get her to open up, I'm sure you can," Jennifer said, watching him unwrap the frame with growing curiosity. "Whatever are you doing?"

Severus smiled cryptically before moving a small picture of Jennifer's mother and father to her dresser, hanging up a very large painting of a harvest moon rising over the ocean. A fresh, salty breeze began to blow through the room, and the soft sound of seagulls could be heard at times over the lapping waves.

"There, fresh air as you please. This was supposed to go in your office as a part of your Christmas present, but I thought if I brought it out now that I might actually get an hour of rest tonight," he said sternly. But Jennifer could tell he wasn't truly annoyed with her.

"It's lovely. And it's a Francis Pyther too?" Jennifer questioned with a smile.

"Yes, well, don't rub it in. There aren't many good painters around, and he happened to have a few landscapes in his studio at Hogsmeade, so I picked one up," Severus said, dimming the candles low. Jennifer didn't protest, watching the dark water move in the moonlight until she finally fell into a peaceful sleep.