Chapter Nine
The House of Cards
October rolled in cold and dry and the students' thoughts quickly turned to the pursuit of Quidditch. Jennifer found it very reassuring; the tension in the school had been quite high of late, and both staff and students were jumpy as if wondering when the other shoe would fall. It had been, surprisingly, very quiet lately, and except for Severus' continuing lack of magic, nothing outrageously odd had happened in the last few weeks. Even the Daily Prophet hadn't reported much in the way of Muggle Sightings, although it continued a running story of the Ministry's investigation as well as several different orders who were trying to figure out what was causing the disturbances.
Jennifer plopped down into a chair in the staff room beside Severus just as Minerva called the staff meeting to order. Minerva smiled at everyone as she took her place at the head of the table.
"I suppose you all are wondering why I've called you here," Minerva said. "Well, as you know, Halloween is upon us again, and I know in the last few years we have dealt with it on a low scale fashion. But this year several of the teachers have come to me about the restlessness among the students, due to happenings in the outside world. Some have suggested that we should have a Halloween Dance, and perhaps invite some of the school's friends to attend as well."
Severus looked at his wife accusingly, but she shrugged at him. She didn't have anything to do with it this time. It became obvious that Filius, Rolanda, and Alvin had, however.
"I think it's a splendid idea," Pomona said approvingly. "I think we could all use a nice respite, considering."
"Minerva, I'm not sure this is such a good idea, especially the part about inviting outsiders, what with the security concerns…" Severus started.
"Now, Severus, the castle was checked over thoroughly by Sirius and it was completely sound," Minerva said, Severus grimacing slightly in response. "We have never had one incident at any of our functions, and I daresay we won't have one now, especially with plenty of volunteer chaperones," she hinted, the table suddenly growing quiet. She glanced slyly at Jennifer before adding, "Filius' enchanted band will be providing the music." Jennifer's hand went up and Severus turned and stared at her.
"I like the music," she said with a shrug and a smile. Severus sighed and slowly raised his hand.
"Anyone else?" Minerva asked with an amused smile, looking for another person to volunteer.
"Essie!"
Corey and Doug caught up with his sister before she started up the stairs after dinner. "We're going to go visit Caprica. Do you want to come?" Corey asked.
"Oh, no, I can't, I have sparring club tonight," Essie said. "But tell her hello for me."
"Sparring club? Since when do you have sparring club?" Corey said with surprise, putting his hands on his hips.
"Since the week before last, actually," Essie admitted.
"Wow, Essie, I didn't know you even liked that sort of thing," Doug said, looking at her curiously.
"Yes well, I thought maybe it'd be nice to learn to protect myself a little," Essie said, taking another step. "You know, to help me with my Defense class."
"Essie," Corey said, following close behind her. "Is that beast Greisley still putting on you? Because if he is, I swear I'm gonna…"
"No, Corey, I'm fine. Really," Essie said before running up the stairs. Corey stopped and looked over at Doug, who shrugged.
"Remind me to keep an eye on that kid from now on. I can't believe Essie's got this idea in her head all by herself," Corey said, heading up one flight and down the hall.
Caprica, as it turned out, was in the middle of a card game along with another painting and two ghosts. Part of the deck was in the painting, the other seemed to be floating in astral form between the two other players. The two of them watched for a long time before Icarus finally laid down his cards.
"Gin. We win again," Ick said. Caprica and Janus threw down their cards, looking at each other.
"How are you doing that?" Corey asked, staring at the deck as the rest of the ghost cards went into the painting to be shuffled by Bedivere O'Laren who was in the frame next to Caprica. The four Apprentices turned to look at once, each one breaking into their own unique smile.
"Corey!" Icarus smiled. "And just where have the two of you been lately? And where are the others?"
"They're at sparring practice," Corey explained. "And I am sorry we haven't been around, but we've been trying to figure out how to help my Dad."
"I had heard he lost his powers again," Janus said, glancing at the cards he was dealt thoughtfully.
"Again?" Corey repeated.
"Like he did on the isle," Janus said. "I did say that right?" The others nodded reassuringly to him. They had been working on his English for months.
"That's right, I almost forgot about that," Corey said, turning to Doug. "When Dad came home last year, he couldn't do magic for several weeks after. Sagittari said he'd cast some powerful spells and he thought that might have messed up his magic. Fortunately, it got better about the time Mom had Andrew, and a good thing too what with Mom being sick. You know, I wonder if he might not have cast a spell or something and made himself sick again?"
"I'm sure they would have thought to check that already, Corey," Doug said.
"Still, why do I get the feeling there's a connection?" Corey said thoughtfully.
"Tell me, Corey," Bedivere asked as he finished the deal. "Do you know if they've found the Lia Fál yet?"
"The Lia Fál?"
"The last piece of the seal," Caprica nodded, playing a card. "It is said that if someone destined to be the high king of Britain stood before the stone, that the stone would sing, signifying him as an heir with a right to the throne."
"I doubt it works for the ruling house now though," Icarus said slyly.
"I should think not. Generations of usurpers have invaded Britain since that stone sang," Janus grunted.
"But there are several high kings that still have pure bloodlines out there," Bedivere pointed out. "Did you not tell me, Caprica, that Dumbledore was using one of them to try to track it down?"
"Yes, but obviously he's had no luck yet," Caprica said.
"What makes you sure that Dumbledore doesn't have it and just hasn't told you?" Corey asked.
"Let me assure you Corey," Icarus said, glancing back over at him. "If anyone in this school finds it, we will know," he said, putting down his cards. "Gin."
"They must be cheating," Janus squinted at Bedivere.
"It's not cheating to use every advantage you have been given to get the result you want, surely you know that of all people, Janus." Icarus said.
"Translate?" Janus asked.
"Gladius acutus dona victoria," Bedivere said.
"Ah yes," Caprica agreed, looking at her new hand. "The sharpest sword does reward the victory."
"But only if the sharpest mind is wielding it," Icarus pointed out, playing another card.
Now that Essie didn't have to worry about fear demonstrations anymore, Defense class had gotten a bit easier; despite the fact that Snape's temperament had gotten worse than ever. She had even managed to die only once on her last test (she had died three times on the one before) and was dutifully studying every chapter, determined… even knowing she couldn't do better than that show-off Greisley… to do better in the class than she had the year before. She had also been doing her best not to let Victor get to her, even though she remembered that Dumbledore had said ignoring the problem wouldn't go away. But still, she knew she couldn't possibly defend herself against him yet. She'd only started sparring class a few weeks ago, after all, and she had yet to win a match of any sort. She was often too nervous to cast a spell at her opponents, and she didn't really want to hurt them.
Essie heard Snape yelling at one of her housemates about not paying attention and Essie became alert, noticing most of the others had shut their books and she did so quickly as well.
"Next week, we're going to have a guest speaker. Auror Harry Potter will be here to give a lecture on Dementors," Snape said, glaring at the class when they started to talk excitedly, immediately barking at them to be quiet. "The week after that, on Halloween, you will all be given a test over the last couple of months of material. You will not be allowed to leave the classroom after the test until it is marked. Ghosts may be allowed to go to the dance, but I assure you, corpses will not," he said, looking around at them closely. "If anyone dies on the test, they will not be allowed to go to the dance. So, to those of you prone to multiple deaths," he said, stopping his pacing in front of Essie's table looking at the two girls, "you had better make an extra point of studying until then, although I doubt in some cases that it will help," he added. Essie glared at him and then at Greisley, who was snickering softly. "Dismissed."
"Come on, Essie, we can't afford to be late to Trelawney's class today. Don't forget what she predicted was going to happen to the last student that came in," Angela said, hurriedly gathering up her books.
"Oh my gosh, I almost forgot! We had surely better dash," Essie agreed, the two girls rushing out of the classroom. But as they went around the corner, they were immediately stopped by Greisley and several of his classmates.
"Hang on a moment, Willowby, I'd like to speak to you. Not you, Ames, you can run along," Victor said, shooing her away.
"I'm not going anywhere without Essie," she said, daring him to make her move.
"It's alright, Angela," Essie said, trying to keep her voice steady. After all, if she really had to, she could run back to the Defense class from there, or even better into the nearby bathroom. There was no way they were going to find her in mouse form. Nobody even knew she could do it yet. "I can handle it."
"Alright, Essie. But don't forget what Trelawney said," Angela said. Victor laughed as he watched to go in disbelief.
"Don't tell me you're actually starting to believe that old charlatan?" he said.
"Divination is an imprecise art," Essie said defensively.
"Never mind that rubbish, Willowby. I want to talk to you about Defense class. I've noticed you've been making a real go at trying to keep your nose above water," he said with an approving nod. "You've even taken up sparring, haven't you? I didn't think you had it in you, but I suppose maybe I've been wrong about you," he said. His friends were grinning at her, but not in a very nice sort of way. "But I know you've still been struggling on those last questions. Of course, we all have, but you more than anyone in class... Snape points that out often enough. Anyhow, I was thinking perhaps we could help each other out. You know, you help me, I help you, and make sure we all get to go to the dance?"
"What are you talking about, Greisley?"
"Tell me, Essie, if we distracted Snape for a few hours this weekend, do you think you might be able to get a copy of the test?" Greisley asked. Essie's eyes went wide.
"Me? Why me?"
"Well, first off, I know your brother always takes care of Snape's familiar in the evenings. That means he knows the password and I bet it wouldn't be too hard for you to get it. Not to mention the fact that if you do get caught, I'm sure you can easily make something up he'd believe. But if one of us did it, it wouldn't work out at all," Greisley said. "If you succeed, you and me can be friends from now on. You'll have proved you're not a coward after all. And I can be a good friend. I'll make sure none of the other Slytherin pick on you anymore. And best of all, you won't have to worry about not being able to go to the dance because none of us will die, you see?"
Essie looked at them for a long moment. She knew they were just trying to use her. But she also knew that she had an ability they didn't know about to help get her out of things if she got into any real trouble. What would one little test hurt? And they were right that it'd be pretty easy to get the password to get in. All she would have to do is volunteer to help him clean up after the basilisk one night to get that.
"All right, but only if you promise you won't tease me anymore," Essie said. Greisley smiled greasily at her.
"Oh, I promise," he said, letting her pass.
She was in too much of a hurry after that to notice all of them chuckling at her before heading to their next class. Dashing down the hall she climbed up to the North Tower, taking the stairs by twos as she ran into the classroom. Just then Trelawney let out a blood-curdling scream from where she stood in the doorway behind them, pointing at Essie who had jumped sky-high from having the scream right in her ear.
"You are the last one here! It is you who is going to perform… a dastardly deed!" Madam Trelawney declared, sounding ominous. Everyone stared at Essie, who chuckled nervously and shuffled to her seat. Angela shook her head at her friend.
"Now! Today we shall be starting to work with Tarot Cards," she said in a low voice. "It contains symbols of the great forces that move us all! We will be working with just the Major Arcana today. So get out your cards, come, come now."
As Essie went through her bag to get out her cards, she noticed a figure float up through the floor, looking over the room thoughtfully. Trelawney, who was busy trying to make sure everyone was ready, turned to see the ghost and jumped in surprise.
"What are you doing in here? Don't you know you could disturb the natural vibrations in the room?" Trelawney told the ghost.
"I came to watch," Icarus said somberly. "I want to see what horribly gloomy things are in our immediate future. Gloomy portents do so much to cheer me up."
"Well if you must stay, go hover over there somewhere," she said in annoyance, waving behind her dismissively. Icarus came up right behind her, hovering nonchalantly over her shoulder. Essie and Angela couldn't help at grin each other, for the Madame was not yet aware of how literally he had taken her. "Now, as you can see, each of these have a picture representing several different meanings, depending on direction, time, and how they face each other," she said.
"In other words, they can mean anything at all," Ick ventured, getting a chuckle out of the students.
"Do you mind? I'm trying to teach a class," Trelawney said in annoyance.
"Sorry, I'll be quiet," Icarus said, taking an empty seat in the class.
"Now, the first thing you want to do is align the cards with your personal vibrations, so you can do a reading for yourself. The more readings you do with your cards, the better your cards will get to know you, and the better you will get them to perform," she explained.
"Oh? Does that mean you can do card tricks?" Ick asked innocently, getting another round of laughter out of the class.
"That is it. Leave now or I shall be forced to exorcise you!" Trelawney threatened him.
"Quite all right, I did my laps around the castle already today," Ick said dully, getting another chuckle. "What I really came up here for is to see you do a real reading. Tell me what you see of the immediate future," Icarus requested.
"Very well," Trelawney said, giving the ghost a very wary look indeed. "I suppose it would do the class a bit of good for a true demonstration of the True Art," she said, stepping to the circular table that she had claimed for her desk. Waving her hands, the silk cloth covering her crystal ball floated away and she sat down. Everyone in the class grew silent then, most of them focused in on Trelawney as she hummed to try to put herself in a trance. But Essie found herself much more fascinated in Icarus, who was watching Trelawney with a most peculiar gaze, as if trying to see inside the silken scarf she had wrapped around her head.
"I see within the ball a deck of cards," Trelawney intoned.
"Only one?" Angela couldn't help but mutter, glancing at the decks on every table. Even Icarus stopped to make sure there wasn't a deck lying in front of the crystal ball before continuing to watch her again.
"But they are not stacked like a normal deck of cards, but leaning on each other, forming… different levels…yes, like a house! A house of cards! This one has four separate parts, like towers on a castle, but all of them are leaning towards each other against a central tower. The backs of the cards have jack-o'-lanterns on them…but wait. Someone seems to be trying to add another card, but something is wrong…everything looks fine, but there is something unexpected…the foundation in covered in something…black…" Suddenly she stood up and screamed, the entire class jumping back in surprise, knocking several of the decks onto the floor. "The cards fell! The cards fell! Oh dear, this is bad, very bad," she said, fretting as she came out of the trance. "This is terrible!"
"What's terrible, Madame Trelawney?" Essie asked nervously.
"On Halloween, something terrible is going to happen! Lives will be at stake! And someone is in great danger of losing everything they've worked so hard to build! It's a professor in this school, I'm sure of it! Beware, my class, for when the dance comes, for your actions may determine if this horrible vision will come to pass!" Trelawney warned, getting herself some tea to calm her nerves.
Essie turned to Icarus again, hoping he would break the strange omen with more of his levity. But this time, the somber ghost was more serious; his expression more than a little concerned as he floated through the floor, pondering the image he himself had seen in the crystal after the cards had fallen.
