Chapter Three

Tests and Protests

The next day was Aurelius' turn to pick the game, and that almost always meant spending the afternoon at Quarry Park, or even better at Aviation Park.

Hands down Aurelius liked Aviation Park the best, for even though the park was actually smaller than their local broom park, it was completely indoors. It was an enchanted old warehouse-like building that according to legend was thought to be a Muggle airplane hanger. The ceilings were charmed to be puncture proof, so the use of Snitches and Bludgers, two very key components to the game of Quidditch, were allowed in the Pitch. Of course, one always had to keep alert while in the park, since you never knew when a stray Bludger would interrupt your lunch or a Snitch would pass by causing inexperienced broom riders to dive towards you. Aurelius believed it was worth the risk of having to duck and cover on occasion, because they were able to play his favorite game without worrying about the neighbors.

The moment they stepped out of the gift shop's fireplace, he signed up for the use of the Pitch, glancing over at an clock on the wall. It had no glass covering it and its glowing clockwork was completely exposed and ticking away unabashedly.

"We're in luck. We only have to wait one game," Aurelius said.

"But that means it could be over at any time, and we're three players short!" Alex said, gazing over at the sheet.

"No need to panic. I'm sure some of my friends are here. They know what days are mine," Aurelius replied, heading out of the shop. Alex's look of disdain betrayed exactly what she thought of his friends. But sure enough, Ranly, Peter, and Heph were there, waiting to join them on the rickety metal stands near the field. It wasn't any surprise when Aurelius decided up front that he wanted to be the Seeker. Alex secretly believed that he'd be better off as a Chaser, not that he'd ever take any of her criticism well. He always owned the Quaffle in Chaserball, and his position as a Seeker was hampered because he spent too much of his attention on the gameplay instead of looking for the Snitch.

Sometimes, annoyingly enough, he also had a tendency to just sit and chat with the opposing team's Seeker, prolonging the game so they could have the Pitch longer. And it wasn't until Alex or someone yelled that the Snitch flying past his nose that he reluctantly flew for it, often attempting daring maneuvers and dives to try and get it.

Thus it was like that today, and Alex was quite sure he nearly did himself in as he flipped to get the Snitch, the top of his head a mere inch from the ground. She herself nearly had a heart attack as she watched, completely oblivious to the Quaffle passing the ring that she was supposed to be guarding. But just before Aurelius clasped his hand around it a shadow dropped from above and a hand dropped down and palmed it with a loud, "Gotcha!"

Aurelius flipped back over and pulled his broom up in irritation, completely forgetting how close he was to the ground as he did so. The broom hit the ground much sooner than he expected causing him to flip backwards off of it while the golden-haired youth who had caught the Snitch laughed at him.

"Nice broom you have there! Too bad you don't know how to ride it!" he said cheerfully, showing his teammates his catch. "Here, then, let me help you up."

"No thanks," Aurelius grunted, slowly getting up, angered by his laughter.

"I'm Conner Donavan, by the way," he smiled. "Might I ask who your Keeper is?" he asked, Aurelius growing even more annoyed. He had always known that his sister was decent looking for a girl, but it had always irritated him how often people only spoke to him just so they could meet her.

"That's my older sister, but she's a loony. I wouldn't trouble yourself if I were you," Aurelius warned. "Aurelius Snape. I've never seen you here before. What school do you go to?"

"Hogwarts. Just finished second year. Did you say Snape?" Conner repeated with interest, staring at him in surprise. "I thought I recognized that sour expression from somewhere!" Aurelius viewed the other Seeker with growing dislike. The others began to land around them.

"Rel! I swear you nearly took your head off with that last stunt!" Alex shouted as she landed, obviously furious as she pushed her way over to her brother's side. "Stop showing off like that, or I'm telling Mum!"

"Don't be angry with him, be angry at me. I'm the one that caught the Snitch, after all," Conner replied. "I'm Conner Donavan. What's your name?"

"Alexandria," she said after making sure Aurelius was all right, offering her hand. "Good game."

"Thanks. I suppose you're going to go to Hogwarts as well?" he asked Alex. Alicia and Andrew shrugged when Conner didn't make a move to shake their hands, shaking the rest of the team's hands instead.

"Yes, this year. I can't wait," Alex smiled at him. "What house are you in?"

"Gryffindor. What house you want to be in?" he asked. Aurelius rolled his eyes. Of course someone like that would be a Gryffindor.

"Well, my mother wants me to be in Ravenclaw," Alex said, shaking the other team members' hands as well.

"She would of course, being the head of the house and all," Conner said, amused. "But I hope you don't mind if I say I hope you get into Gryffindor. We have a real fun group in our house."

"Father says that Gryffindors are nothing but a big headache and the house is full of trouble makers," Aurelius said loudly. Alex gave him a rather shocked look for telling them that, but Conner just laughed.

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he said dryly. "I hope you don't mind my saying so, but your father has got to be on the top of my least favorite teacher's list. Of course, your mother is on my favorite list, so I suppose it evens out. But what do they see in each other?" Conner asked. All four of the kids shrugged. "Did he put a charm on her or something?"

"I think it would've worn off by now," said one of his teammates. A few of them chuckled. It was Alex's turn to get angry then. She didn't like the tone in his voice at all.

"I'm sure Father must have seen something special in my mum," Alex said glibly. "Of course, he probably could have done better, but still, he seems fairly happy with her. I'm sure there were a lot of broken hearts when he got married, but everyone was very happy for Mum to have actually found anyone compatible," she said, earning a look of complete bewilderment from Conner and his team. "Well, we'd best make way for the next team. Nice meeting you," she added, nudging for the others to follow her as she headed up the stands.

"Bravo, Alex. Well handled, that," Andrew said when they got out of hearing range.

"If only I had some paper so I could sketch the expression on his face," Alicia said.

"The nerve of him to say something like that. And a Hogwarts student, too! Haven't they ever heard of teacher respect?" Alex said hotly, sitting down on the very top.

"It's just like Father said, Gryffindors are nothing but trouble," Aurelius said.

"Well, if he's any example, I certainly don't want to be one," Alex said with determination, setting down her broom.

"Hey Aurelius, over here!" Ranly called out, and Aurelius went over to huddle with his friends. Alex eyed them suspiciously, but didn't say anything.

"Heph is awful nasty with that Bludger bat, isn't he?" Alicia murmured.

"Of course. You have to be brutal to be a good Beater," Alex said, but she hadn't missed how viciously he aimed either. Every one of them was a well-placed headshot, and some of them quite narrowly missed. "I don't think I'd want to be on an opposing team, though."

"I think we would have won that game if Alicia had been Seeker instead of Rel," Andrew admitted, getting a blush from his little sister. "You're cracking good on that broom, better than any of us, and you have four years yet before you get to Hogwarts. What do you think, Alex? Alicia is going to be the next Potter, eh?"

"Well, we'll see," Alex smiled. "I wouldn't doubt it, though. Too bad Rel never lets her play. Andrew, why don't we play sometime on your day, so she can get some practice in?"

"Oh, no really. It's all right. I'd rather not play at the park two days in a row anyhow," Alicia insisted. Andrew always had them stay home and play cards or chess or other table games so that he could listen to the wireless. As much as Aurelius loved to play Quidditch, Andrew liked to listen to the games, and even to music when there wasn't one going on. It was, in fact, the only day that they actually got to take it easy. But Alicia's days were something else, something rather special… Alex tried not to think too hard about it, knowing what Aurelius would say if she thought too much about any of the Secrets. The last thing she wanted was to get into another argument with him.

Just then she heard a screeching call and looked up in surprise to see a rather large owl had flown in, holding a small parcel wrapped in brown paper. The owl dropped it and she caught it just before it hit her lap then darted off again.

"What is it?" Alicia asked curiously. "Is it from Aunt Anna?"

"No, Aunt Anna usually sends things Muggle Post," Andrew reminded her. Their aunt and uncle spent most of their time in the States. Alicia was always interested in hearing from them and her two best friends; their cousins Zoë and Zack, who were born on the very same day she was. "Is there a note?"

Alex slipped out the card to look at as Aurelius came over, wondering why she was the only one of them getting post. But his question was soon answered when she read the note out loud.

"Alex – your Hogwarts letter arrived today, and is waiting for you to open it when you arrive. I thought it'd be nice to send a few gifts your way to celebrate your acceptance into the school. Much love, hope you like them – Mum," she read. "Goodness, it could have waited until I got home!" Alex said, but still pleased.

"Yes, yes it could have," Aurelius said with a frown. "Don't open it, Alex."

"Don't open it?" Alex said, looking at him puzzledly.

"It could be a trap, you idiot! You know how many enemies Mum and Father have," he snapped. "It could be cursed or something."

"Oh, honestly! Don't be so suspicious."

"But why would she send it here instead of wait until you got home?" Andrew asked.

"That's not like her," Aurelius agreed. "You know how paranoid Father is about the post and having everything checked and all that. Besides, she knows we play Quidditch while we're here. Carrying a package around like that might get ruined."

"It does look like her handwriting," Alicia said.

"That doesn't mean anything. There are quills and things you can buy that can mimic someone's handwriting, you know," Aurelius said.

"All right, all right, you win," Alex said, putting the note back. "I won't touch it. Say, how about a game of football?"

"Football? I'm not going to get myself laughed out of Stoddard playing something like that," Aurelius said horrified, walking back over to his friends. "She's loony, positively loony. Maybe she is adopted," he said in a loud voice. Alex glared at him.

"I want to be the goalie this time," Andrew said, going to the open area beside the Quidditch Pitch. Alex brought the package with her and set it on a chair, afraid to really carry it, but afraid of it leaving her side either. She and Alicia then took turns trying to kick the ball past Andrew, and they were still there when their father arrived an hour later to get them.

It didn't take long for them to notice he was there. Other children tended to get out of his way when he was anywhere around, and the wake of them moving attracted Alex's attention. Scooping up the package, she dutifully handed it to him and he frowned at it when she explained what had happened. As he read the card his expression changed noticeably, almost calculating. Taking out his wand, he used it to unwrap it and open in his hand. He peered inside, using his wand to look around then relaxed, shaking his head and letting out a very long sigh.

"Yes, it's from your mother," he said handing her the box distractedly.

"See? I told Aurelius there was nothing to worry about," Alex said triumphantly, taking the box. Her father gave her a sharp look. "He kept going on and on about how it seemed suspicious and how it could have been someone else."

"You know, you could take a lesson or two from your brother," Severus frowned at her disapprovingly. "If that tone of your voice is any indication that you were actually going to open that box, he very well might have saved your life."

"But if it really was from mother…"

"That's not the point," Severus snapped, catching himself as his temper started to rise. "Never mind, we'll talk about it when we get home. Andrew, go find Aurelius so we can leave."

Alex wasn't quite sure why he seemed so upset about the box. She was fairly sure it wasn't just the fact that she had considered opening it. But nevertheless as he looked away she couldn't help but peer in to see what she had been given. There were four boxes of chocolate frogs…probably four of them to encourage her to share them…a very ornate Never-dry eagle feather quill, and in a small open box lay a gold chain upon which lay a tiny white potion bottle with a gold stopper engraved with A.S. She put it on at once with a smile, and Alicia stopped to look at it and admire it, not turning down the chocolate frog that had been offered her. Before long the boys had joined them and each had a frog in hand as well, all deciding not to open them until they got home for fear of losing them.

Their mother was in the kitchen when they got home setting seed pots for the garden. She smiled when she saw them each holding a frog, waving at them as Andrew, Alicia and Aurelius headed up to Andrew's room behind the bookcase. Alex stopped to grab her Hogwarts' letter and hugged her mum, but neither she nor Jennifer missed the look on Severus' face when he appeared behind them, so Alex made the quick excuse of wanting to try out her new pen and headed upstairs with the rest.

Severus sat across from Jennifer, looking at her expectantly while she appeared to become completely engrossed in her planting.

"Nurturing the seedlings again, are we?" Severus said in a tone that indicated to Jennifer he wasn't talking about the plants.

"Did she open it?" Jennifer asked, looking up at him steadily.

"No, she handed it to me," Severus said. "Just as I told you she would. I am rather surprised you actually attempted to test that, however."

"Well, I had to be sure," Jennifer said quickly. "After all, she's starting Hogwarts this year, and who knows what trouble she'll be into."

"She had better not be into any," Severus frowned.

"I would almost think that you had forgotten exactly how much trouble Corey had gotten into when he was in school," Jennifer reminded him.

"Yes well, he was also a Gryffindor," Severus retorted.

Corey, their adopted son, had been twelve when he lost his parents from a Dark wizard attack. He was a very active boy with an uncanny memory who often got into all sorts of mishaps at school…so much so that the deputy Headmaster, Minerva McGonagall, had often referred to him as the Terror of Gryffindor. Now he was a very successful alchemist and wandmaker, and Jennifer could help but be proud at how well he had turned out under their guidance. "And considering the quill, I believe you have her pegged for Ravenclaw," Severus mused, sounding almost accusing.

"One can hope," Jennifer smiled. "Although she can be a little, well, flighty at times."

"I wonder who she gets that from," Severus said, earning a dirty look from his wife as she got up to set the plants out on the patio.

Severus looked after her thoughtfully. It wasn't like her to get quite so overprotective about something like this. Of course, they still had very little information to go on back at Durmstrang. No one could think of anyone who had any reason to hurt the girl or her family and it looked more and more like a random attack. And yet…why would anyone have given it to her in the first place if they were only going to take it apart later? Was it just one person, or was there more going on here than they realized? Severus frowned, berating himself lightly. Now who was getting personally involved? Forcing it out of his mind, he went down to the lab.

The town of Haven's Bluff was barely more than one paved street with a few small shops right next to each other and close to the local church. The shops included a general store, a feed store, Pilby's Pub and Eaterie, a post office, and last but not least the alchemy; Willowby's Wands and Weeds. It had grown in fame all around Britain since it had opened, for there had been very few dependable alchemists around, except perhaps for Witolf down in Carmarthen, but the venerable old alchemist could hardly keep up anymore and was nearly blind; his granddaughters struggled to stay ahead of the demand. So it was almost a relief for them as well to actually have some viable competition; even though it was a well-known fact that most of the pure blood community still preferred Witolf's. Some of them refused to step foot in Haven's Bluff altogether, let alone Corey Willowby's shop. For the Muggles in that town knew, and that, of course, was enough to convince a small portion of the community to wish that someone would blow the entire town away rather than let it exist.

Even some of the more tolerant of wizards felt a bit uncomfortable in the shop, because of the local Muggles could frequently be found sitting at one of the tables in the front corner of the room where Corey kept free samples of herbal teas, gossiping about current events with the other shoppers. Corey took the criticism all in stride, for he couldn't care less about what anyone else thought. He liked being in a place where he could be with his Muggle friends without worrying about what he said or did, and he was quite prepared to be sent to the Tower for it if they wanted to arrest him. But they never came, and despite some well-placed complaints by the likes of Lucius Malfoy, Corey's alchemy became a well-established business in the wizard community.

The shop looked a great deal larger from the inside than out, housing not only the small tea area but a wide merchandise floor filled with bins filled with powders, barrels of live ingredients, and shelves of bottled herbs and pickled animal parts. Along one side of the room was a long, tall oak counter with comfortable stools and large hand-printed catalogs marked the custom wand portion of the shop; the shelves behind them each labeled with all sorts of magical ingredients to be used according to what those ordering them desired. Adjacent to it in an 'L' shape was a long cherrywood counter where a pair of young clerks did brisk business sorting and preparing orders for the wizardry clientele.

Business was picking up now that the time for students to go back to school was approaching, and the shop was filled with people buying or filling potion kits and other sorts of supplies for the upcoming year.

Several warm greetings from customers had alerted Corey's attention from the stockroom, and he came out grinning when he saw Jennifer walking in with his four siblings in tow. Inside, Jennifer met even more greetings as many stopped to ask her how she was and fawn over the four children (who looked quite nonplussed over all the attention). She then turned to Corey, beaming at him proudly when he appeared at the counter.

He was strikingly good-looking with his golden brown hair and tall stature, and Jennifer had rather hoped he'd have settled down by now. But no girl seemed to hold his attention nor even did he seem to want to try, and countless heart-to-heart talks had not persuaded him to try any harder. In his youth, Corey had seen there was a certain spark to Jennifer and Severus' marriage that he'd never seen in others, not even his own parents, although he knew they loved each other very much. They were a Cosmic Match, destined to be together, and Corey had made it perfectly clear that he preferred to stay alone rather than settle for anything less.

It had always saddened Jennifer, knowing what the chances were and that more than fate had a hand in such a thing; chance could be a cruel mistress. But Corey never seemed less than happy with his life, so his doting mother had to be content with that.

"Good morning, Corey!" Jennifer said brightly. "I have a ton of lists for you today. And Alex has one too!"

"Got your letter then, did you?" Corey said, taking Alex's list. "Boy, did I sweat over getting mine," he chuckled, thinking back.

"Don't remind me," Jennifer grinned. "You had both of us worried, and then it ended up being a problem with the protections on the house!" They followed Corey as he pulled a deluxe potion kit off the top of the shelf.

"So what house do you want to be in, Alex? Gryffindor? Hufflepuff? I know, you want to be a Slytherin," he said, grinning evilly.

"I don't care what house I'm going in. I'm just glad I get to go this year," Alex said excitedly.

"I bet she'll be a Gryffindor," Corey said to Jennifer with a nod. "After all, who else would tell everyone she wanted to be a Muggle when she grew up when she was five?" He teased. Jennifer hushed him loudly, slightly embarrassed, and even Alex blushed. Aurelius snickered. "Oh, relax, Mom, Minister Weasley told me he said the same thing at that age, and he's the Minister of Magic now."

"Yes, but must you keep bringing it up? Nothing wrong with a bit of childhood fantasy, is there?" Jennifer said, brushing the hair out of Alex's eyes, who became even more flustered at being treated like a little girl in front of a whole store of customers.

"I think you'll like this kit, Alex, it's actually the same kind that Dad picked out for me when I started school. It's got everything you'll need in it… in and out of the classroom," he winked.

"Well, I'd better not catch her bubbling any restricted potions outside the classroom," Jennifer said, looking at Corey knowingly. "Not like someone else I know used to do. But anyhow, here's the school list, and here's ours. Oh, and your Dad said to remind you…"

"No more malnourished earwigs and make sure the dried caterpillar hair powder is fine not gritty," Corey repeated along with her. "You know, you'd think after all these years he'd have remembered that I have perfect memory."

"And do you have any premium grade manticore talons?"

"I may, I haven't gone through my last shipment yet. Let me check the stock room," Corey sighed, looking over the long list that trailed the floor. "Why don't you help yourselves to the tea and biscuits over there? This is bound to take awhile," he said, heading back to the stock room.

"I suppose he expects to draw in business by serving cheap samples?" Aurelius commented, earning a very dangerous look from his mother.

"If you can't keep a civil tongue I suggest you hold it, Aurelius," Jennifer said. "You could learn a great deal from your brother. At the very least you could take a lesson in his manners."

Aurelius looked defiant but didn't dare speak any more on the subject, sulking down in one of the chairs after grimacing at the selection. Catmint? Anise? Rosehip? The choices sounded fit for a fairy garden rather than for actual consumption. But of course they would be the least magical propertied substances Corey could think of… they were offered with Muggles in mind. Aurelius pushed away the tea altogether, folding his arms as he nibbled on the biscuit and totally ignoring his three siblings who were chatting and comparing flavors beside him, each getting a different one. Their mum had become distracted by another customer who had stopped to talk about how wonderful it was to have such a good alchemist close by.

Aurelius, however, felt like gagging. It was always the same… every birthday, every holiday, any time they came anywhere near this horrid place… their mother seemed much more interested in anything having to do with Corey than any of the others. She often went out of her way to see him, and not just to fill potion orders. So what if he graduated near the top of his class? So what if he had turned into an alchemist, what they apparently had always hoped him to become? It wasn't like Corey was their real son at all… he wasn't even born in a wizard family. And yet he was the eldest son, not Aurelius as it should have been, and constantly being compared to Corey drove Aurelius positively mad. Corey didn't even call their parents the same names as they did; it was if he was always above the rules somehow. But Aurelius never mentioned how he felt to his other siblings anymore, not after Alex's opinion the last time he tried.

"Well, of course Mum treats him different, she treats us all different because we are different. And really, I don't see what the problem is. So what if Mum wants to keep in touch with him now that he's on his own? I daresay she'll do the same when we grow up and move on," Alex had told him, shaking her head at his apparent jealousy.

But would she? It always seemed to him that she saw much more of Corey than them over the school year, too. They only got to see them on weekends and holidays; otherwise they were condemned to the Weasleys. If she had really been interested in seeing more of them, Aurelius had often thought, she'd have quit her job a long time ago. No, there was little doubt in his mind that his mum, and even his father to a lesser extent, had always favored Corey over them.

Corey, for his part, had always taken the boy's dislike in stride, understanding it and yet really not feeling like he could do all that much about it. Of course, his mother had often spoken to him about it and about the children in general when she was troubled. Corey knew from her expressions that she was troubled even now; though evidently she wasn't prepared to talk about yet. If only he had the same talent as she did to read people's minds similar to the way she could. Perhaps he would be able to get past the front she had begun putting up over the years. Of course, Corey knew his Dad would always be able to get through to her, even if he wasn't a Truth Seeker.

Corey decided not to worry about it and quickly filled the order, smiling at his mother when she came to check on things a few minutes later, helping him out and asking him for a favor which he wholeheartedly agreed to. Then he got called away by a wand order and had to excuse himself, so Jennifer returned to the others with her packages.

"Are we going to get my wand here, too?" Alex asked eagerly.

"No, we're going to get that in Diagon Alley tomorrow," Jennifer told her. "Corey's not been in business long enough to have much stock, and really, no one knows how to pair first-year wands like Ollivander, even Corey knows that," Jennifer said.

"Nice to know there's actually something he can't do well," Aurelius muttered under his breath as they headed down the street.

It wasn't until the next day as they were getting ready to head to the Alley that Aurelius finally pushed his luck over the edge. The four of them had been taking much longer than Jennifer would have liked to get ready and she was beginning to get impatient, waiting to hand them their rain coats as they gathered by the hearth.

"Can we stop by the Quidditch Shoppe while we're there? I still have my birthday money," Aurelius asked.

"No, we really need to concentrate on getting Alex's things today. I'm sure we'll find time to go again later," Jennifer said, ignoring Aurelius' dubious look. "You may bring your coins along just in case you see anything in the shops we do go in."

"We're going to Flourish and Blotts aren't we, Mum? I can get some more art paper?" Alicia said excitedly.

"You've gone through all of that already?" Jennifer said with surprise, turning to look at her curiously. Andrew quickly intercepted.

"Can we stop to visit the Weasley's on our way home? I'd like to hear about their vacation in Egypt."

"Well, you'll have to wait because they're not home yet. They won't be back until September," Jennifer said, pulling on her own cloak.

"September? But who's going to watch us? Are we going to Aunt Anna's?" Alicia asked excitedly.

"I'll not have you missing your first week of school being abroad. Your brother is coming to stay with you at night, and you can spend the days either helping him in his shop or helping Essie and Doug on the Slumber Sheep farm."

"What?" Aurelius said in surprise. "I'm not staying with that freak of nature and doing his work for him! You have to be joking! I'm going to call my friends and see if I can stay with one of them."

"You will do as your told, and I expect you to be polite and respect your brother while he's staying here," Jennifer said sternly.

"He's not my brother! He's not even remotely related to us! He's nothing but a mudblood that the two of you felt sorry for!" Aurelius shouted.

Before the others even had time to gasp, Jennifer's arm swiftly seized the collar of his jacket and dragged him off as he wailed in protest, pulling him out the back door into the garden. Before Aurelius had time to really comprehend what she was going to do, Jennifer grabbed a fistful of freshly watered dirt from the flowerbeds and stuffed it into his mouth, dropping him to the ground and leaving him to deal with getting it out on his own.

"Don't you EVER use that term in front of me again, and most ESPECIALLY about a member of this family!" Jennifer said in complete fury. "It's time you started thinking about this path you're on, Aurelius Snape, and you'd better be making changes to it, because if I don't see an improvement in your attitude, I swear I'm sending you to Whitebridge next year!"

Severus, who had come to the top of the basement stairs to find out what on earth the racket was all about, paused to see his wife in very rare form storming through the garden doorway, her face still red with anger.

"Aurelius is staying here with you," Jennifer said as she passed by him, "and if he's smart, he'll stay out of my sight for the rest of the evening."

She hurried the other three to the fireplace, but not before they got a good look at Aurelius standing in the back doorway with mud all over his face, trying to say something to their father.

"You're on your own on this one, Aurelius. You've stepped a bit too far over the line this time for me to interfere," Severus told him calmly when Aurelius pointed a finger at his Mum as she and his siblings disappeared into flames. "In fact, you probably should be counting your blessings right now that it wasn't me," he added crisply. He then turned back down the stairs, the door falling closed behind him, leaving Aurelius to reflect over what had just happened.