Chapter Twenty-Six
Contemplations and Meditations
Jennifer couldn't help but still feel a bit nervous standing with so many well-known wizards that had gathered for the full council. She was completely oblivious to their own respectful gazes in her own direction, assuming rather it was for Dumbledore standing beside her. A lot of the topics brought forth such as appointments and internal politics she really had no interest in, and it was just as well; she certainly had enough to worry about without trying to dabble into government politics. There was really only one discussion that was important, and that one, it seemed, had been tainted by a recent change events.
The proposal was to allow their world to become exposed if the protections failed any worse than they already had. Could there be a more important discussion of the council ever? It had been proposed and seconded under desperate conditions… conditions, it seemed, that no longer plagued them, for Ancient Magic had seemed to stabilize over the last few weeks and no odd sightings or other mishaps had been reported since just before the Christmas holiday.
But still, the proposal was on the board and had to be voted on, and Jennifer was not surprised when the Council overwhelmingly voted against it, with only a few abstaining, including herself, and even fewer (actually only one, Carlotta Pinkstone, who raised up her hand and defiantly gazed around the room as if looking down on everyone who hadn't voted with her) voted for it. But she was slightly surprised when Dumbledore had voted against it. And it was an impatient wait for her to finally get out of the meeting hall and then through the after-council chatter and discussion before they finally Portkeyed right to his office.
"You have a question on your mind, I take it, Professor Craw?" he asked calmly the moment they entered, gesturing for her to sit in her favorite high backed chair on the opposite side of the desk, sitting in his own chair with a sigh and turning over a couple of tea cups. "You want to know why I voted the way I did."
"If anyone besides Pinkstone would have, I would have thought you would, or even Arthur, with all the work you've been doing to encourage interaction and all of that," Jennifer said. "I know that some of those that abstained and perhaps even who voted against it might have put up their hand a few months ago when they believed it would fall apart on its own. It wasn't like we had any choice in the matter at that point. But I thought you of all people wouldn't have voted against it."
"The very fact that some wizards might be willing to change their mind because the situation has improved was reason enough for me to vote against it," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "No, I could not possibly vote for this right now. To do so would have been voting for further isolating many of our kind who are not yet ready to accept it. They would be forced to go deeper into hiding; not only hiding from the Muggles but from the wizards who sided against them. True, in some ways, we have made progress in understanding each other in small and very controlled areas around the world, not the least of which being your own town," he said with a slight smile. "But we are a long way from truly accepting them as equals, both as individuals and as a society. I believe, if I'm not mistaken, that as why you decided to abstain?" Jennifer nodded quietly.
"I'd be lying to both of us if I told you I was ready. Despite where I live, I know I'm not," Jennifer said quietly. "But at the same time, I didn't want to vote against them…I'd have felt, well, guilty somehow," Jennifer admitted.
"You come from a very long and distinguished line of purists, Professor, it's not surprising that you feel the way you do," Dumbledore said gently. "But learning tolerance and learning the true value of those unlike yourself are two entirely different things; you've come a long way on the first path, but I dare think you're only beginning on the other. Still, don't be so hard on yourself. I'm sure if you look in the mirror long enough," Dumbledore smiled knowingly, "I believe that someday you'll learn that lesson as well."
The next morning Jennifer woke up early, slipping out of bed and down to the Potion's office, going over her class notes for Defense as she grabbed herself a bowl of porridge and some coffee. But she found herself distracted, gazing at the Cauldron for a long time before finally getting up and searching through the neatly arranged bottles of ingredients, pulling a few off the shelves. It wasn't more than half an hour before the door quietly opened and Severus stepped in, looking slightly puzzled.
"What on earth are you brewing? I thought you had homework to catch up on? And why don't you have your gloves and mask on?"
"I'm experimenting, and yes I do but I got distracted, and I hate wearing that getup. It makes me feel like a criminal or something," Jennifer said, stirring the Cauldron as she sprinkled in a dark powder that caused a bitter smell to erupt in the room. "I was having trouble in previous experiments keeping any potions I made with the Cauldron stable, so I'm attempting to see if Gnomeknuckle will help. Pomona had her students growing several batches this year."
"You know that smell seems oddly familiar," Severus mused. "Now where else have I smelled that before?"
"Oh, come now, Severus, I'm sure you've smelled it dozens of times," Jennifer chuckled at him, pouring a dose of freshly made Itchy Balm into a bottle and labeling it.
"No, I meant recently," Severus said distantly. "The Imp… he had a similar smell to him."
"Yes, I remember that now," Jennifer said thoughtfully. "Well, it can't have been from a potion. I mean, it wouldn't have lasted so long," she said, pulling out her Encyclopedia of Herbology.
"Didn't Pomona take over our security shift on Halloween?" Severus said suddenly.
"Now, Severus," Jennifer chuckled at him. "Surely you don't suspect Pomona, she's one of the most dedicated teachers I've ever met!"
"Whoever is doing this may not be completely aware of what they're doing. No one in the castle is above suspicion," Severus said firmly.
"Shall we storm Dumbledore's office and demand a full account of his activities as well?" Jennifer asked.
"Now you know quite well I wasn't speaking of him," Severus scowled at her. "And might I remind you that whoever attempted to kill you the first time is likely to try it again if we don't catch them soon?"
"All right, Severus, all right," Jennifer said resignedly. "I was going to get with Pomona later about a new strain of Griffonlilies she's been helping me develop anyhow. I will poke about a bit and see if I notice anything suspicious at lunch today."
"Good, expect me to be in hearing range in case anything goes wrong," Severus said evenly.
"It's amazing that anyone can get away with anything at all in this school," Jennifer said tauntingly, earning an annoyed frown from her husband as she left.
It had felt quite strange to teach Defense again after so long… the memories of her first tumultuous week at Hogwarts were playing distantly inside her head every now and again when she entered the room, especially when teaching the seventh year class that was comprised of many of the same students that had been in the classroom when it had broken out into a fight on her first day. They were, of course, much more civil now, at least on the surface. But Jennifer didn't miss the constant rivalry between Perry and Amadeus, in and out of the sparring ring. The momentum had changed to a more healthy competition on who was going to finish first rather than who was going to destroy whose life, so Jennifer had little trouble now keeping the classes attention.
The next class, however, seemed to be a never-ending trial. She was constantly catching Victor Greisley causing trouble whenever her back was turned, aiming quite a bit of it at the front table where Angela and Essie sat. It hadn't helped that he was second in the class, so that any time she called on him to answer a question when he was in the middle of tormenting another student, he stood and answered quite glibly.
Angela, however, could best him at any practical test one on one; she had a special flare for Defense that Jennifer couldn't help but notice. And then there was Essie, who seemed to do poorly because she didn't like the subject, rather than an inability to do the work. But Jennifer knew that even the meekest student needed some defensive background, perhaps even more than most, so Essie found herself constantly being drilled for answers and spent a lot of time wondering how she managed to turn Jennifer against her.
"Tomorrow we're going to have a test on your knowledge of Sidhe, Alfar, and other Faerie species and the proper defenses against them. I'm going to warn you now, there will be five essay questions, so if you don't study, you are going to rack up quite a number of deaths," Jennifer said sternly. "Then next week, we're going to be meeting at 8 o'clock at night rather than our normal time for a lecture on vampires, and after that we're going to take a break from creatures for awhile," Jennifer said with a slight smile. "Yes, well, I know you're not supposed to study any Dark spells until sixth year, but since I don't often get to teach this class, we're going to go off the books in all my classes. I'm going to work with you on identifying cursed items, dark curses and counterspells. So be ready to embark on some serious material," she added solemnly. "I hope to show you that used properly, Dark Magic can also be a great defender against other sources of Dark Magic."
Essie left the class with a worried look on her face as she and Angela hurried down the hall.
"Wow, I can't believe we actually get to learn some dark spells! Too bad we're not allowed to use them in sparring," Angela chuckled. "I'd teach that old Greisley a lesson or two."
"Just the thought of learning such things makes me queasy," Essie said. "Do you realize that means everyone in the class, including Greisley, will be learning how to use spells that can, well, harm other people?"
"We already know spells that harm other people," Angela pointed out. "Cast the Petrification spell on someone swimming in a lake or the fumble spell on someone on a broom and see what happens."
"Angela, you're horrible! How can you think up such things?" Essie protested.
"What's your hurry, girls?" A voice called from behind them as Greisley moved to catch up.
"Does that answer your question?" Angela said. "Go away, Greisley, we're not going to be late again because of you."
"You know it's really not surprising that the one class you do well in is a total sham class, Willowby," Greisley said with a grin. "Are you going to sit in a tent and tell Muggle futures when you grow up?"
"If you don't leave us alone, Victor, I will foretell your future, and it won't be pretty," Angela warned him.
"Anyone can see that old bat is full of it. She only predicts things she either knows is going to happen or makes it happen herself," Greisley continued. "Take my advice, if this class is the best you can do, you might as well give it up while you still have some dignity left." Losing her patience and her temper, Angela suddenly around, taking out her wand.
"Carrotcomplexion!" she intoned at him.
Greisley was following much too close to even attempt to block. He suddenly screamed out in pain as he held his nose, his skin turning a yellowish orange as green sprouts suddenly sprang up from the end of it. Before he could recover, Angela grabbed Essie's arm and dragged her up the stairs to the North Tower, leaving him wailing in the corridor.
"Oh, you've done it now, you're going to be in all sorts of trouble when he tells Madame Pomfrey how that happened!" Essie said between breaths as they took the stairs two at a time finally bursting into the Divination room with but a minute to spare.
"Nah, he won't tell on me," Angela said with certainty, sliding into her seat next to Essie. "If he does, I'm going to tell them about how he turned me into a whale last week."
"Silence class! Please don't disturb the spiritual resonance of the room," came the voice of Madame Trelawney as she stepped in from behind one of the curtains. "Put away your books, you won't need them today. We are going to begin learning the meditation practices needed for true visions. To look beyond…" she said, gesturing upwards with her hands, "one must first explore within," she finished drawing her hand dramatically to her chest.
Essie realized at that moment just how much she had been missing Icarus' presence in the classroom, missing the joking remarks and clever comebacks in the silence that followed. It just wasn't as fun anymore, Essie sighed as she lit her incense, and in a lot of ways she felt as if she had learned a lot more of the subject from him than from Trelawney herself.
"Now, it is very important to breathe deeply and evenly… come, come, everyone try," Trelawney insisted as she demonstrated. But Essie had trouble trying to breathe so deep when the acrid scent of the incense was tickling her nose and kept wishing she could open a window. She gazed thoughtfully at the red ring encircling the stick as it burned down and became focused on it, completely missing Trelawney's suggestion of concentrating on the ocean.
Essie felt as if she was floating above the classroom and watching from above, eerily noticing her own body sitting below her and gazing transfixed on the incense. Is this what it is like to be a ghost, she wondered? It was a very odd feeling indeed. Oh, but she was supposed to be concentrating on something, she remembered belatedly, and the image of Icarus Ravenclaw popped into her head. He was holding something, she realized… something round, perhaps a crystal ball? But then she was aware that someone had come to stand before her body below and was abruptly pulled back into herself, waking up with a start.
"And you, Miss Willowby? What inner thoughts disturb your meditations?" Trelawney asked casually, gazing at her.
Essie gazed around the class, realizing that she had been going around the room for some time, and had the curious feeling that no one else in the class had experienced what she had. In fact, several of them even now were still trying to breathe, scrunching their eyes closed, while others were sneezing from the smoke in the room.
"I… I was thinking of Mad Ick," Essie admitted quietly. "I rather miss him." her serious eyes gentled a moment, a troubled look in her eyes as she nodded.
"Yes, it is a sad thing to happen to a spirit," Trelawney said quietly. "When a ghost travels the earth, there are reasons they cannot let go. For some, it is a deep anguish that must be appeased for them to ascend. For others, it is a punishment for their deeds, and they are condemned for all eternity so that they can try to atone for them. Ravenclaw, unfortunately, was the kind of spirit that cannot be banished completely; his tasks in death left undone. I have looked long and far to see if he is ever to be brought forth to resume his task, but I cannot see it, nor have I been successful at finding enough resonance to bring him back," she said sadly. "I shall miss him too," she added, patting Essie's shoulder and heading over to the next student.
But something in Trelawney's speech nagged at her, and it didn't take her long to figure out what it was; he was of a kind of spirit that could not be banished completely. If that was so, had Icarus Ravenclaw been trying to tell her something?
Essie could hardly wait until after class to tell Angela what she had experienced, earning an incredulous look from her.
"No, I didn't go through anything like that, and I'm not sure Trelawney even bought the fact that I was thinking of pumpkin cheesecake and raspberry jam," Angela said, hurrying even faster towards the Great Hall for dinner. "It sounds like what you experienced was the real thing. Gosh, Essie, you really have the Gift, don't you?"
"Oh, I don't know about that. I just… I'm not sure it was all me," Essie said. "What if it was Icarus trying to tell us something? Maybe we can find a way to bring him back!"
"Wait a minute, remember that bit at the first of the year when she told you you'd get in trouble for using a crystal ball before you were ready? You should probably play it safe and wait," Angela advised.
"I'm not sure we can afford to wait," Essie said thoughtfully as the two of them worked to find a spot at the Hufflepuff table.
After dinner the two of them went to the library to study for the Defense test, hoping to pull out some books on Fae they hadn't covered just in case Craw decided to throw them out in the essay questions. As they grabbed some books off the shelves and went to find a table, Angela nudged Essie to look over to the main desk where Craw had just arrived, speaking to Hermione.
"At least now she'll believe we studied," Angela said, sitting at the table.
"It doesn't really do that much good to study for the essay part," Essie sighed. "I'll die ten times before it's over."
"Does she know about, well, you know," Angela said, wiggling her nose slightly.
"I'm not sure. Probably, since I did have to tell Snape," Essie said. "And you know how she is about identifying people in Animagus form."
"Well, then, there's your answer. So long as you don't show anyone else your tests," Angela grinned. Essie looked at her blankly. "Just tell her what you'd really do if something came after you."
"I doubt she'll buy it," Essie said dubiously.
"All she has to judge is whether or not you survive, it doesn't matter how you get there," Angela said. "And she is a tad more lenient on those answers than Snape. Just be honest and think of what you'd really do, and not what you think what someone else would do. I bet you'll do better."
"Maybe you're right," Essie said. "It's not like I can do any worse on those than I already do."
"That's for sure," Angela agreed, earning a gentle push from her friend.
"Hello, girls, studying hard?" Jennifer smiled as she walked past them, peering to see what books they'd pulled out. "Or just here to give Victor a run for his money tomorrow?"
"It's not like he's ever come close to beating my scores," Angela said proudly, "but I think it'd be nice if Essie passed him up for once and put him in his place."
"I'd love to see that myself," Jennifer winked with a grin. Jennifer heard her name called and wished them good luck, heading over to Hermione.
"Yes, here it is, just as I said before," Hermione said, tapping a magazine called Wizard Publishing Today. "'Excitement has been building lately over a new powder made from a mixture of talc, gypsum and Sleeping Willowroot that is claimed to have the same use as the more costly Gnomeknuckle in newspaper and magazine publishing. The powders, both produced by the Copy-Rite Company, aid in keeping written text from trying to arrange itself in magical volumes. Although some publishers, including this particular periodical have embraced the new version, which is not only less expensive but helps protect the continuing disappearance of Gnomeknuckle from the wild, there are other less environmentally conservative periodicals that have been less inclined to change, stating that they 'won't stake their reputations' on the new powder until further tests have been done.'" Hermione looked up with a nod. "The Daily Prophet still uses Gnomeknuckle, so do several other of the companies around here. Ron always comes home smelling like that because they put it directly in the ink."
"So, these Imps might have been around somewhere that makes newspapers?"
"Or they picked it up somewhere in the wild, but really the article is right about that, it's getting rarer and rarer all the time, and there is so little room for Magical Species reserves in this part of Europe," Hermione sighed. Jennifer suddenly looked thoughtful.
"Thanks, Hermione," Jennifer said. "I think I'm going to go try and catch Anna before she leaves. The Ministry might find this interesting," she added with a wave.
"Good luck," Hermione said with a smile, and then hurried over to her desks where several students had gathered to sign books out.
