Chapter Twenty-Five

Adversaries

Jennifer and Severus were in the Defense office when Corey had found them, and by the time they had gotten down to the lower dungeons, Dumbledore, Francis, and Minerva had already gathered in the Memoriatorium. Corey had never been there before but had always known it was there; a large complex under the main school that housed the remains of the ghosts living within. Dumbledore had gone straight to a particular crypt and opened it, a strange red glow emanating within it and softly fading.

"It is as I feared… it was not a simple banishment. Someone had his remains scattered. We cannot possibly bring him back until what was taken is recovered," Dumbledore said.

"Janus as well?" Jennifer asked softly. Dumbledore carefully opened another crypt, looking thoughtful.

"Everything is intact here; my guess would be that whoever did this thing only wanted Janus out of the way so not to stop them from harming Icarus. In fact," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "I don't believe Janus was exorcised at all."

"He may be in a ghost box somewhere," Francis said. "Or a specially prepared phial."

"Like the traps we put Peeves in?" Minerva askedwith a nod. "He can't be far, then, those don't work outside of the place ghosts are bound to. That means he's still in the castle."

"Pyther, why don't you search the towers and upper levels?" Severus suggested. "Jennifer can take the middle floors, and Corey and I will search down here. If we find Janus, perhaps he'll know who put him in there."

"Shouldn't Corey be in his rooms by now?" Minerva said, suddenly realizing the boy was there.

"It's quite alright, take him with you, Severus," Dumbledore said, turning back to the work at hand. Minerva gazed curiously at the headmaster as the others left, wondering his reasoning for that. "You realize, I'm sure, that whoever did this must have a great deal of access to the school to have gotten in this crypt."

"But that would mean it would have to be someone currently on staff," Minerva said. Dumbledore nodded. "What are we going to do, Albus?"

"I suppose we need to ask ourselves who we trust," Dumbledore said quietly, "and in the meantime, I believe I am about to spend an extraordinary amount of time with a certain Map and Mirror in the school's possession."

Corey wasn't exactly sure what to look for as they began to scour through the rooms, and although he knew that wasn't why he was invited along, he made a valiant attempt at helping look for anything suspicious.

"You don't think Aunt Viviane had anything to do with this, do you?" Corey asked after the third room, earning a look of complete surprise from Severus. "Caprica had told me Icarus was wanting to speak to her and that's why he hadn't come to visit after dinner."

"Are you still talking to that painting? I thought you finally grew out of that," Severus scowled at him.

"Viviane was always talking to Icarus, but like some kind of rival or something," Corey continued. "Maybe she wanted him out of the way. She seems to come and go here as much as she likes."

"If Viviane wanted to get rid of Icarus, she would have already done it by now," Severus said. "Nor would she have needed to enter the Memoriatorium to do it."

"But who does that leave then? I mean, I don't think an Imp could pull off a spell that complicated. Students don't have access down there. The only people who could have done it then are regular staff, huh?" Corey said. Severus paused and gazed at him for a moment, then turned towards the door. Corey hurriedly caught up, wondering where they were going.


It hadn't taken Francis Pyther long to gather up the ghosts and speak to the paintings.

"It didn't happen in any rooms there are paintings currently in, or we would have told someone by now," the Fat Lady insisted.

"Well, that at least narrows down the rooms it could have been in," Pyther said, glancing at the ghosts that had gathered. "Spread out and see if you can find Janus."

"But what about Icarus?" Bedivere asked.

"There's really not much we can do at the moment until Dumbledore finds out more," Pyther admitted softly.

"I should have never encouraged them to bring him back here," Caprica said, aggrieved. Bedivere patted her shoulder gently.

"There, there, he's not gone for good. There's only so much one can do to a self-condemned spirit such as Icarus. He'll be back," he told her.

"Artisan Pyther! I believe Peeves found something," the Baron said as he appeared through the ceiling. "Follow me," he added and disappeared above. Pyther quickly took to the stairs as the host of ghosts followed the Baron's lead and Pyther soon found himself climbing up into the belfry. It was there that Pyther saw the tiniest potion bottle he had ever seen dangling on a chain from the clapper of the Hogwarts bell. There could be no mistaken what it had been used for. Peeves was mercilessly teasing the bottle, taunting it with his constant humming, delighted to no end that someone else besides him had been stowed away for a change.

"I'm going to ring the bell, I am I am I am," Peeves sung as the clapper waved erratically, coming dangerously close to the sides of the bell.

"You do and you'll wish you were still alive," the Baron growled at him, floating towards him menacingly.

"Bottle, bottle, throw it in the lake so someone can get a surprise message," Peeves laughed. The Baron launched himself towards the annoying spook and Peeves disappeared, the Baron following after him. But Pyther was more concerned with getting the bottle down than Peeve's antics, carefully casting a spell to untie the knot in the necklace and float it over to him.

"Now, perhaps we'll find out who did this," Pyther said, inspecting the bottle.

"I think the answer to that is becoming more obvious by the minute," a voice said from behind him. Pyther turned to see Severus standing there pointing his wand at him threateningly. Corey stood right behind him, looking at the vampire curiously.

"You don't mean to imply that I had something to do with this?" Pyther said in complete surprise.

"You did find the bottle with unusual haste, and the bottle did come from a divination shop that is right across the street from your own," Severus pointed out. "Whoever did this also had to have been someone who had access to the Memoriatorium, which is a place you frequent more than most."

"Only when I get caught working too late," Pyther protested. "You know as well as I that I needed a place to go in emergencies."

"And you also have a very extensive knowledge of working with ghosts. Tell me, Pyther, what exactly was it that Icarus knew that you found to be such a threat?" Severus asked evenly.

"I would never harm any ghost, no matter what they knew!" Pyther said, trying hard not to stutter. "I trust them, and they trust me, which is more than I can say about any of you living folk. I'll prove it to you. I'm sure Janus will tell you I had nothing to do with it!"

"Give me that bottle," Severus snapped, afraid that perhaps it wasn't Janus in the bottle after all.

As he reached for the necklace, Pyther took a step back to try to keep it from him and the two of them began to struggle over it, Pyther holding the bottle end and Severus grabbing firm hold of the other end of the chain. Suddenly it snapped, launching Pyther backward into the hole beneath the bell. He quickly turned into bat form, the bottle flying off the chain and tumbling down after him. But Corey had been expecting something like this and thrust out his hand, casting the Levitation spell at the bottle and holding it suspended in mid air. He leaned cautiously over the edge as the bottle slowly came back up and was able to grab it.

Just then, Peeves, who had managed to somehow slip the Baron, began ringing the bell loudly and Corey and Severus were forced to cover their ears, Pyther flying out the window just to get away from the painful sound.

A bright light flashed around the bell and the resonating stopped even though Corey could still see the clapper trying to make it ring. He looked up to see Dumbledore and took his offered hand to get back on his feet. Severus stood, shaking his head vigorously to try and clear the ringing from his ears. Peeves laughed all the more and began to sing:

"Ding dong dell! Janus in the well!

Who pulled him out? Corey did no doubt!

Who put him in? Little Sevvykins!"

What a naughty boy was that to try to hurt poor Janus and the bat!"

"Pyther's up here?" Dumbledore asked.

"Out the window when the bell started ringing," Corey said, rubbing this ears still, holding out the bottle to the Professor.

"We should go after him. It was Pyther who did this, I should have guessed it all along," Severus said.

"Oh, come now, Severus, I hardly think it was Pyther," Dumbledore said, looking over the bottle.

"It was! It was! It was!" Peeve began to chant helpfully. "Pyther did it! You should jump out the window after him!"

"That'll do, Peeves," Minerva said sternly, getting out her wand.

"Headmaster, we know now whoever is doing this must be someone in the school, and therefore someone in our trust is an enemy. It would be unwise to trust anyone at this point," Severus said.

"In which case, I couldn't very well trust your advice, could I?" Dumbledore pointed out with a twinkle in his eyes. Severus grimaced. Dumbledore turned his attention back to the bottle again, and after fiddling with it a moment, it popped open and then shattered. A gale of phantom wind filled the air, announcing the presence of Janus Craw who materialized in front of him.

"Death! Death to the fool witch or wizard who dared imprison me!" Janus boomed menacingly. "I demand an explanation at once!"

"Would that we had one, we would give one to you," Dumbledore said gently. "Do you have any idea at all the identity of your attacker?"

"I was in the library and was on my way to meet Icarus, who had been hoping to get in on your meeting with the Lady, Professor. As I left, I felt a sudden pull and found myself here, looking through that damned bottle and hanging by the clapper. The next thing I know, I was inside it and Peeves…" he said, glancing up at the grinning spirit. "Peeves and I are going to have a little talk," he finished with a very unpleasant smile. It was then that Peeves decided he was bored of the entire situation and faded away to torment someone else. "Where's Icarus?"

"I'm afraid, Janus, that Icarus has been temporarily dispersed by someone…"

"Dispersed? What do you mean dispersed?" Janus demanded, fear appearing in his angered expression.

"Some fragments of bone were taken from his remains. I'm sorry, Janus, but until we find out who has done this, we are as helpless as you are," Dumbledore said.

"A Craw is never helpless," Janus said indignantly, ignoring the look that Dumbledore gave him over his glasses. "I would have gotten out in time," he added gruffly. "We're not helpless as long as we're willing to do something, and I'll be damned if I let anyone get away with dispersing one of the wisest men I've ever met."

"Perhaps we should start by rounding up the others then, including Pyther," Dumbledore said.

"Professor…"

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," Dumbledore reminded him, and not for the first time. "Surely you of all people understand the value of that. I seriously doubt Pyther would have any reason to harm Icarus, or Jennifer for that matter."

"I rather doubt he'd have the nerve," Minerva couldn't help but add.

"Neither did Quirrell," Severus pointed out, nudging Corey ahead of him before following them down the stairs.


It had been Jennifer who had glanced outside and noticed Viviane standing impatiently at the gate. Viviane quickly waved away Jennifer's attempts at telling her what was going on as she strode through the castle, going straight to the Trophy Room without so much as a glance in any other direction. Wondering how Viviane knew the castle so well, Jennifer quickly followed behind. Viviane entered the room and immediately turned to look up at Caprica Dusthorn's painting. It had been empty when they had entered, but it wasn't long before a very solemn looking headmaster appeared in the frame.

"It seems you have a problem," Viviane said curtly to Caprica. "And I do not think whoever did this acted on their own accord. It would take more power than anyone alone in this castle to relieve Icarus from his appointed task and punishment."

"Dumbledore could have," Caprica said evenly.

"And would not have," Viviane said, waving it away. "For whatever reason, he's decided to trust the insane fool over me. Well, he'll have no choice but to listen to me now, and you would do well to do the same, Caprica."

"This all has something to do with the gate, doesn't it? And differing prophesies linked to it," Jennifer said, watching Caprica carefully. Viviane turned to Jennifer with a frown, suddenly remembering she was there.

"You aren't supposed to be able to read any truth from paintings. They're only interpretations," Viviane squinted at her accusingly.

"I know. I'm not supposed to be able to read ghosts either, but I have always been able to," Jennifer said, "and some paintings are linked closer to their subject matter than others. If I'm following this right and from what Severus has told me, Icarus saw a vision of something… something about the opening of the gate that doesn't correspond with the prophesies that you were handed down by Merlin, and the two of you have been working on trying to bring about your own interpretations of the prophecy all these years. So everything the two of you have been doing, including Icarus' attempt to stop Voldemort from even being born, is directly connected to what's going on now?"

"Before Merlin left, he had set certain things in motion to…'aid' in developments towards the future," Viviane said, nodding expressionlessly. "I," she continued, sounding none too pleased, "was left behind to make sure nothing went amiss, looking after not only his descendants but my own; those descended from Queen Morrigan of the Faerie and Queen Maeve of the witchkind, as well as the lines of Dagda and Mac Lir, forever linked with my own. It is they, not the Sentinels as Icarus has seen, who will be present to open the gate," Viviane said with a nod. "Merlin himself foresaw it, and no prophet after him is going to convince me that the Sentinels, who aren't even all descended from Merlin," she added, looking down at Jennifer with a thin, confident smile, "could possibly handle what might happen when that gate is opened. And considering all of the sabotage attempts inside and outside of this castle, I'd say it's quite obvious that I am not the only one who believes it."

"I, for one, am not among them," said a voice from behind them. Viviane didn't even bother to turn around, shaking her head slightly.

"Considering you yourself are a Sentinel, Albus, I hardly find that surprising," Viviane said.

"If Merlin did in fact have a plan in mind for opening the gate and perhaps his own return, it would have included the protections that he himself put in place to insure the balance of the four magics," Dumbledore continued as he stepped into the room, followed closely behind by Severus. "Be that as it may, since we are speaking of something that happened when the world was quite a different place indeed, I do not believe that any vision from such a long time ago can be viewed without some consideration to the progress that mankind has made since then, not to mention mankind's right to free will."

"Free will? There is no such thing," Viviane laughed lightly. "It's merely a concept that mortals have given to themselves to make them feel less powerless. We are all destined for certain things. I merely work to make sure everyone moves in the right direction."

"In what way?" Jennifer asked.

"A 'chance' meeting here, an accident there, whatever it takes to encourage those who stray from their paths back onto them," Viviane said calmly.

"In other words, you manipulate the situation and take their free will completely away from them," Jennifer said, viewing her with sudden dislike. "Serving your own needs at the expense of others."

"My dear Jennifer, we all stub other people's toes as we walk through this world, your mere existence here probably affects many more people that you realize. One cannot exist without making a footprint, albeit small in some cases," Viviane said with a nod. "If our mere existence happens to trample other existences in the process, you can hardly place the blame on the living. Morality is nothing but a social convention; the game is always the same… those left standing at the end are the victors, regardless of how they got there."

"Some of us would be inclined to disagree with that, Viviane," Dumbledore said. "The victor, after all, still must live with the conditions of his victory. But if you don't mind, I'm more concerned about Icarus. I don't suppose you have anything helpful to add to who might have done this?"

"Only this," Viviane said, looking at him steadily. "Icarus didn't see this coming." Keeping her gaze on him as she walked to the door, Viviane solemnly walked down the hall towards the stairs.

"Yes, that was very helpful," Jennifer sighed, glancing at Dumbledore. But Dumbledore only looked thoughtful.

It was quite late, so after Viviane's departure, Dumbledore suggested they all retire to their rooms. A sobbing could be heard from the lower floors as Jennifer and Severus walked up the stairs. Jennifer got a glimpse of Dame Rachel floating towards the library, weeping miserably.

"Poor Rachel," Jennifer sighed softly. "She really did see him as her own son."

"At least now we have some idea why this is happening," Severus mused as they got to the top of the stairs, walking ahead a bit to open the door for her.

"We do?" Jennifer asked curiously.

"Yes, in the fact that Icarus didn't see it coming," Severus explained. "I believe what she was trying to tell us was that whoever is doing this is attempting to stop these ancient prophesies from happening, and is succeeding to some extent."

"Honestly, I'm not sure I believe in such things as prophesies anymore. It seems to me that all they are just some sort of elaborate setup to get everyone to do what you want them to do. What right does she think she has to continually mess with other people's lives like that?" Jennifer asked, sliding onto the couch with a sigh and frowning at the stack of unopened letters piling up on the table in front of her.

"What right did you have to interfere in Anna's?" Severus asked, and Jennifer grimaced. "What right did I have to do half the things I have done, or Dumbledore, to make sure things turned out right? And how many times have we 'interfered' in students lives to do what is best for them?"

"That's different," Jennifer protested. "We're their teachers, after all. We're supposed to interfere."

"Perhaps that is how Viviane feels about us," Severus said, taking off his cloak and sitting down beside her. "After all, she has a few thousand years on us, we probably seem like disobedient students to her."

"I don't care who she thinks she is. The only person I want influencing my decisions is you. And, well, the children of course," Jennifer said, folding her arms stubbornly, then shrugging. "And Dumbledore, occasionally, and of course there's Vallid…"

"Well, as long as I am in that growing list somewhere, perhaps you wouldn't be too adverse to my helping influence your decision on what you want to be doing in the next few hours," Severus said with a sinister smile.

"Sleeping?" Jennifer said innocently.

"Only if you insist," Severus replied as he kissed her, knowing from her response that she wouldn't.