Chapter Seven
Comparisons
Auror Audacious Belle was not an imposing figure. In fact, she had always reminded Jennifer of a comfortable, rather heavy grandmother. She was in many ways like what many Muggles thought of when they imagined a witch; all gnarled with age with wild white hair, out-of-style draping robes and a dusty, weathered hat. The hag, as Severus often denoted her (and which she endured with the grace of a doting granny) was more energetic than many might think possible for a woman of over a hundred. She cackled merrily and greeted the two of them warmly, her neck whipping around in a furtive rush to take in the castle. She was always so amazed by it, for she had by preference lived a sheltered life, influenced by all the years she spent living on a run down farm in America and keeping tabs on Dumbledore's interests there. She was living happily back in Scotland now but often traveled back and forth between there and the States, still running errands for her good friend Vallid, or helping the famous Auror Harry Potter with one case or another that might have called him abroad.
If Audi ever thought of retiring, she showed little sign. But then, of course, neither did Alastor Moody, who, after unsuccessfully trying to retire once, had once reasoned to Jennifer that the only retirement from being an Auror was death. Retirement only encouraged those seeking revenge to try to finish them off, he had told her, and perhaps he had a point. It wasn't as if they were going to be forgiven by those who they had fought against just because they wanted to take it easy for the rest of their days. And apparently Audi and Alastor were of the opinion they were not really too old for anything… except perhaps marriage. The old witch had cackled outright at Jennifer when she had asked about it several years ago, not long after Jennifer had found out exactly whose residence the old witch had taken up living in.
"No, no, there's little point in that at our age. Besides, Alastor has this odd notion about announced attachments are often followed by death announcements," she had told her.
"You don't think it's going to get out that the two of you are living together?" Jennifer had asked, shaking her head.
"Not if you don't tell anyone," she had said with a smile. Of course, there were quite a few close friends that knew, but to the public, they only seemed to be very good companions. Jennifer couldn't help but think that the two of them made quite an interesting match; their eccentricities seemed to almost balance each other out. But although Jennifer thought they should make it official, she never brought it up again.
Today, Audi Belle chatted merrily and asked questions about that painting or the other she hadn't noticed before. Students stopped to stare from time to time, but a well-placed glance from Severus was enough to squelch any lingering curiosity and encouraged them on their way.
The doors to the Headmaster's Study swung open before they reached the top of the spiral stairs, and he smiled and came out from behind his desk to greet his old friend. Audi took his hand, smiling in return.
"Albus, I swear you still don't look a day over a hundred," she said with a wink.
"Audacious as always, Audacious. If only we were brought together for more pleasant reasons," he said in return, gesturing to a chair.
"Yes, well, trouble is my job, after all," she said with a sigh, sitting down and glancing behind her at Jennifer and Severus. "And since these two are personally involved in this mystery of ours, I thought it best I update you myself."
"We're not involved," Severus quickly protested. "Jennifer only went to Durmstrang to assist Archibald in the beginning. The Ministries have taken over from there."
"I heard from Arthur himself that he's been updating you on the matter," Audi said to him with amusement, "and even if I wasn't sure before now that you two hadn't gotten yourselves mixed up in this, what I read from you when I came here… yes, both of you, Severus, was enough to convince me that you are," Audi said bluntly, the smile never leaving her face. "Everyone in this room ought to know better by now than to feign the whole 'school neutrality' position on this old hag."
"Yes, of course we are, Audi," Dumbledore said with a congenial nod, ignoring the grimace on Severus' face. "So perhaps we should get to the subject at hand. I understand you have an update for us."
"Yes, if only it were a good one," the Auror sighed, leaning back in her chair and looking suddenly older. "Vallid's witch secretary, Gabriel Delran, was found murdered in her office a few days ago. She was a younger woman and was going to marry next summer too, from what I understand. Anyhow, she'd been working late helping Lunette research a case involving a domestic dispute over who was going to own this ancient idol that… eh, but I'm getting off track. We're pretty sure that has nothing to do with it. We think it's more likely connected to the only thing missing; an ornate hairpin she wore every day."
"Don't tell me. There were diamonds in it," Severus said. Audi nodded.
"Right you are. And she died from the same spell as the others, only…" she paused a moment. "We think she might have known it was coming. She'd been rather skittish of late, and even had her fiancée walking her to and from work. Lunette says she kept reading open fear from her, but when she asked, Gabby apparently avoided her gaze and shrugged it off. Lunette was too polite to pry too much, although she probably would have had she any indication exactly how serious things were."
"So the witch might have known who was doing this?" Jennifer said.
"She may have, but if so, nothing in any of her personal effects eluded to it," Audi sighed. "Nor could we find any concrete clues at all, other than the fact that it followed the same pattern as the others. Nobody seemed to know if the hairpin had any magical properties. Even her fiancée didn't know that, only that she was never without it."
"Are you sure he wasn't covering something up?" Severus asked.
"Son, I interviewed him myself. It'd have to be one master Occlumancer to fool me. And before you say anything, I can see right through you, remember," Audi said. Severus glowered at her. "But we do have one thing to go on, and that is the pattern of the murders itself. So, we decided to call in someone trained to read them. Your sister Anna, Severus."
Jennifer nodded in understanding. Before Anna had even learned the reality of her magic background, she had been a criminal profiler, a profession that still rather mystified Jennifer. It was eerie how Anna could come to certain conclusions without any Truth Seeking ability, and in point of fact, without having met the subject at all. Although, Jennifer remembered with a bit more satisfaction, Anna had admitted that meeting them sometimes filled in a lot more blanks, albeit a bit dangerous at times.
Dumbledore looked all the more interested, leaning over his desk intently.
"What did she uncover?" he asked.
"That we should be quite worried over the fact that these people are being murdered at all," Audi said. "This isn't a case of someone having a motive for murder with a theft as an afterthought. There is little doubt that the purpose behind all of these has been to acquire certain items with diamonds in them. But whoever was able to do these crimes - someone capable of stealing the items without leaving a trace - would have been a capable enough witch or wizard to get the items they sought without these deaths, especially in the cases of the young student witch and the Muggle. And if they had been murdered for revenge or some other reason, they should have tried to cover it up, or use different spells every time, or using a different pattern to try and confuse us Aurors into thinking it's different people doing it. Whoever is doing this not only wanted us to know the victims were murdered, but that they and they alone were the person responsible."
"A message," Severus said grimly. Audi nodded slowly and Dumbledore lowered his eyes in thought. Jennifer looked towards her husband curiously. "When Voldemort first began to extend his grasp, there were many Disappearances. Witches and wizards who might have opposed him suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. Although there have been suppositions as to what happened to some of them, I doubt anyone will ever find out what happened to them all.
"But when Voldemort grew in power and his followers increased, the Disappearances were replaced with deaths and the Dark Mark. He believed he had the power then to withstand any resistance thrown at him, and he wanted to let everyone foolish enough to oppose him to see exactly what happened to those that did." Jennifer felt a sudden chill, finding his comparison between these events and those of that dark past quite disturbing indeed.
"These messages," Audi continued, rubbing her head, "we think are intended for a very specific person or group who would probably be able to recognize from the spell being used who it is or why the deaths are happening. Other than the missing diamonds, it is the only other 'intentional' clue."
"Someone other than the murderer must know why these particular people died and what the significance of the diamonds are," Jennifer concluded. "So whoever these messages are for needs to step forward and tell someone."
"If only they would," Audi sighed, shaking her head. "I need not tell you, Jennifer, what sort of fears can build up in a person's mind. Whoever knows what's truly going on is as incapable of coming forward as they are of stopping the crimes from happening."
Herbology followed History, and Alex, who positively dreaded the subject, was quite glad when they were finally released from a very tedious class on plant identification. She and Mandria walked out of the empty greenhouse, the one set farthest from the castle and used for instruction when hands-on was unnecessary.
It had been a very long day, and she was looking forward to a nice quiet dinner and then to the houserooms to start on the homework for classes that would continue the next day. At least she didn't have to have Defense again, she thought. But she still felt a bit discouraged any time she thought about the enunciation lessons in Charms and the dreadfully long list of herbs that she had just acquired that she was supposed to copy. They'd never given her homework at Stoddard… well… not enough homework that she couldn't finish it before they'd made it back to the Burrow. But with so many heavy classes the first day, Alex found she had much more than she had expected.
"At least we have broom instruction tomorrow. We won't have any homework for that," Mandria said, attempting to cheer her up.
"We also have Potions, and after what happened today, I'm really not looking all that forward to sitting in class with another parent," Alex said dourly, glancing over at the greenhouses as they passed by them. She paused at the last one, recognizing the girl intently inspecting a rather gnarly looking bush in a deep wooden bucket. "Hello Rose!"
"Oh! Hello Alex, Mandria. How did you like Herbology?" Rose asked with a smile.
"It was fascinating," Mandria said enthusiastically.
"It was boring," Alex said tiredly. "But then, you'd probably think so too if your daily summer chores included looking after the family herb garden." Rose laughed.
"Try looking after an alchemist's herb garden all summer!" she said with exasperation. "Not that I suppose it's all that bad… most of my grandfather's shop is supplied from others Herbologists, but I've never met an alchemist yet who hasn't had at least a small garden of things that need to be used just after cutting."
"What is that thing?" Mandria asked curiously. The bush's woody branches had careened strangely to the side as if looking at them.
"I call it an Elf Willow," Rose said, looking at the bush with almost loving pride. "It's a new strain of plant I put together myself for a project last year, and so I had to come and make sure it was doing all right."
"Put together yourself?" Alex said, interested in spite of herself.
"Yes, by using magic to blend together seeds and certain plant stalks," she explained.
"Wow, and you can do that already?" Mandria said impressed. "I thought that was seventh year stuff, and only for those specializing in Herbology."
"I knew I was going to specialize in Herbology my first year," Rose chuckled, getting up. "Of course, I also get teased about it. That's why everyone calls me Thorny."
"They're just envious that you can do something they can't," Alex said.
"Oh, I doubt that," Rose said, waving off her reassurances as she joined them, walking towards the Great Hall. "I think it's more because I get along with plants better than people."
"You seem to be doing all right with us," Mandria pointed out as they went inside.
"Well, I suppose the years at Hogwarts have helped me a bit in that respect," Rose said with a smile. "That and the fact I made the Quidditch team last year. I'm the Gryffindor Keeper."
"Also known as the One Ring Wonder," said a familiar voice. Alex looked around to see Xavier Platt coming up from behind them. "Face it, Bailey, there's no way you're ever going to be able to keep up another season on that home-grown broom of yours. You can't possibly think you'll have a chance out there against me and our other Chasers on that thing you used last year." Rose gave him a dirty look, but before she could come up with an apt reply, he had come up companionably beside Alex. "Now me, I use a Starchaser Elite. Nothing but the best to bring out the best."
"I thought you only got that broom to impress Madame Brittle because of that broom advertisement she did for them when she still played professionally," Rose challenged him. "Besides, a good broom can't buy talent."
"And here I was attempting to give you an out for why you played so poorly last year," Xavier replied in return. "Very well, then, but if I accept that you're right, that means that you don't have a good broom or talent," he said triumphantly. "Alex, why don't you and your friend come to tryouts next week? I know Ravenclaw doesn't need anyone this year, but you can always come sit with Slytherin and watch."
"Thanks, maybe we will," Alex said before Mandria could say anything.
"I'm sure I'll see you in sparring club in any case? What with your parents and all…"
"I haven't decided yet," Alex said quickly. Xavier paused and nodded with a thin smile.
"All right, then. Well, if you need anything, anything at all, feel free to ask," he said courteously then quickened his pace slightly with a wave. At the same time, Rose and Mandria were slowing. Alex looked back that their frowning faces curiously, slowing to match them.
"What?" Alex sighed.
"You do realize he's only being nice to you because of who you are, don't you?" Rose said.
"Yes, I do believe she's right," Mandria agreed. "I'm not sure I trust him."
"Are you sure it's just not because you have something against Slytherin house in general?" Alex asked.
"Well, Slytherin was where a lot of you-know-who's supporters came from, and you-know-who himself," Mandria pointed out.
"And a lot of fine people have come out of Slytherin too, like Professor Archibald and Madam Brittle and… well, and Grandfather," Alex said. She was going to say her father, but after what had happened that day and knowing student opinion, she decided to quickly amend it.
"Isn't your Grandfather in Azkaban prison?" Mandria asked curiously.
"Let's not get into that," Rose pleaded. "Look, Alex. Platt is in the same year I am, and I've dealt with him for quite awhile. He doesn't speak to anyone that doesn't offer him some sort of advantage. He's sly that one, no doubt about it." Alex snorted.
"I'm not worried about Xavier Platt, and you shouldn't be either, as far as I am concerned," Alex said with certainty. "No one out-manipulates a Snape," she added with a wide smile, walking into the Great Hall. Rose and Mandria paused to look at one another as if trying to discern what the other thought of that statement, before following her in and going to their tables.
Charms the next day wasn't quite as bad as Alex had thought it would be. She quickly saw that students who got the 'enunciations' right the first time were left alone while Madame Weasley worked on those who hadn't gotten it yet, so Alex found she had ample time to finish her Herbology homework (she had been planning to put it off until lunch.) They even got started on some basic levitation and stencil dancing spells, and Alex felt much better about Charms by the end. That didn't mean that she was any less eager for Broom lessons, especially considering who the teacher was.
Danyelle Nelson Brittle was more than just the recreation instructor. She was the recreation instructor who in one year of playing Quidditch professionally not only took her own team to victory but also was Seeker of the English team who won the World Cup. And then, not twenty-four hours later, she announced her retirement. Why play anymore? That wasn't really anything left to be won and it would have seemed quite petty to play just to see if she could do it again. So, she quite promptly left the game and endorsements and eager contracts and walked off the Pitch, looking for a greater challenge. It wasn't more than an hour after the morning Daily Prophet began hitting the Owls with that announcement that she received the only proposal worth considering; a proposal sent by Albus Dumbledore.
She smiled over the student lines before her. Half of them were looking at the brooms beside them warily as if they'd never seen them before, even to sweep the floor. The other half looked at the old standard flyers with fallen, disgruntled faces; their thoughts on the trusted brooms they had to leave at home.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am here to teach you the art of broom flying! But first, I need to teach you how to jump on a stick and stay on it without breaking your neck," Madame Brittle said cheerfully. "Now, I don't know what you've learned, heard, experienced, or been told, but whatever that is, forget it. None of you here know how to ride a broom. You don't know how to ride a broom until I say you know how to ride a broom," she said firmly. "You are going to learn how to do so by my hand at my pace and my way. However, if any of you are of the opinion that you don't need broom lessons, raise your hand and we'll see about testing that opinion." Alex thought about it, and for a moment she was convinced that no one was going to step up. But just as Brittle was about to continue, someone stepped out of line.
"I don't need lessons. I've ridden a broom since I was old enough to stand," Ted Gaffney declared.
"You're a Gryffindor, aren't you? Of course, I should have known," Brittle chuckled good-naturedly. "Very well then, Gaffney, here's the deal. We'll set up a little course…say through the defending side top ring to the lower challenge ring then through middle and back through defending lower and around the Pitch once. Whoever gets back here first, wins. If you win, I give you a pass mark and you don't have to take this course the rest of the year. Otherwise, you fall back in line and acknowledge the fact that you can't ride a broom."
"I'm sorry, first one back here? Who am I racing?" Gaffney asked.
"Me, of course," Brittle said cheerfully, several people gasped and began whispering in line. "Of course, nobody's really ever beaten me yet, but I know it'll come sooner or later. If you think it's you, then step up. I'll even use a school broom to make it fair," she said, picking one up off the ground. Gaffney knew full well her riding capabilities, but he also knew backing out now would make him have to admit he was wrong in front of everyone. Straightening his shoulders he agreed but then paled, wide-eyed when she brought out the Quidditch box. Kicking it lightly with the toe of her boot, the lid popped open and the Bludgers flew out. "I'm sure these won't be too much trouble if you can fly as well as you boast. At least it should make for a more interesting ride," Brittle smiled. For a moment, Alex thought he was finally going to back out, but he nodded and mounted his broom, and Alex couldn't help but be a tad impressed at his stubbornness.
"This is awful! He's going to get himself killed!" Mandria said just as Brittle gave the signal and the two of them took off.
"Now I know why Doctor Sagittari's been watching us," Lydia Dale from Gryffindor said, pointing out the centaur where he stood casually to one side near the center section of the Pitch.
"Bet she gets an idiot doing this every year," Ralph said.
"Oh, look!" another student cried out. One of the Bludgers nearly sideswiped Gaffney, and the boy somehow managed to get out of the way, already painfully obvious that he didn't have a chance of winning. He couldn't make any tight turns without slowing, losing either time or space with every ring, and Alex couldn't help but notice he didn't seem to be holding the broom right as he attempted to dive or gain speed.
As he approached the last set of rings, Alex saw he had dove too low to pull up enough to make it through. She thought sure he was going to collide with the bottom of the ring when suddenly Brittle made a startling loop back beside him and forced his broom to the side with a nasty Cobbing move. She narrowly kept herself from hitting the ring by letting go of her broom and leaping through, barely managing to grab her broom on the other side and regain her seat as the class watched in awe. Gaffney, already halfway around the Pitch, looked behind him nervously having missed the move entirely, wondering where she was. It was then he noticed a shadow near the ground and looked down to see her zooming past straight below him, his jaw dropping in surprise as she lighted down into the cheering students.
All of the students were still talking about it after class, shaking their heads and giving play by plays to any and all that would listen.
"It was brutal, absolutely brutal," Alex was telling Rose from where she and Mandria caught her near the back stairs. "It's amazing no one got hurt, especially Madame Brittle after that stunt through the ring."
"And she was so supportive of Ted afterwards too, the picture of good sportsmanship," Mandria added. "But Dr. Sagittari didn't look too pleased at all."
"I bet that close call at the last ring made Sagittari think he was going to have some work to do," Alex agreed.
"Oh, it wasn't just that. I heard last year Brittle nearly got knocked off her broom and ended up spraining her wrist to keep from losing it," Rose explained. "She spends so much time while she's up there trying to keep the cockier students from killing themselves that she ends up taking chances herself."
"Are you sure she was a Slytherin?" Mandria asked, and the two of them grinned at her and assured her that she was. But they didn't have much more time to talk as it came closer to time for class, so Rose excused herself to head for her Transfiguration class while Mandria and Alex went down to the Potions Lab.
The lab was brightly lit, and tiny open windows let in sunlight and fresh air from the far side of the room. It was very clean but very utilitarian with large lab tables set with phial stands and burners and a large empty desk at the head of the class. To either side, rows of categorized ingredients filled low, heavy shelves, while cauldrons and other equipment were piled on top. There was nothing else in the room except for a single wooden stand with two familiars; an old fruit bat that hung on one side and a large tawny owl that was perched companionably on the other.
Ratfly, Jennifer Craw's personal familiar, looked nearly dead as it slept, but Alex knew better. He was getting on in years, and was hardly useful for doing much more than eating and sleeping, but he was extremely loyal to her mother and she knew that if needed to he would do anything to help her. Jennifer was too fond of the bat to let him overdo it, so it had been decided long ago that a family owl was needed to carry notes around every day since Ratfly couldn't possibly keep up. The owl named Dodger had become attached to Jennifer from the very first day, and although still called the family owl and treated as such, it was rather obvious that as far as Dodger was concerned that he considered himself her owl. Ratfly didn't seem to mind the company. Dodger didn't like rose apples or persimmons and as long as the bat didn't have to share those, he was quite content to share his space.
Right now the two seemed to be watching the class, and Alex had very little doubt that Dodger, at least, was doing just that. She knew very well not to cross her mum and quickly found her seat, biting her nails a bit. Mandria was the relaxed one this time. She had opened up her kit and was checking everything inside, glancing over the first chapter to make sure she had everything needed in the first lab tests. Finally Professor Craw stepped in, smiling warmly at all of them as she came in.
"No, it's quite all right. You're fine wherever you want to sit, just remember whoever is sitting at the table with you is bound to be your lab partner, so chose wisely," Jennifer said. "Welcome to Potions, everyone. I see that many of you are rather reluctant to be here," she added, nodding at a couple of the students she had made eye contact with and who blushed in return. "Well, I'm hoping to change that view, or at the very least help you learn to respect potions as much as any other branch of magic.
"For potions is one of the more dependable forms of magic, and something that anyone who knows how to follow directions properly written can do. With a bit of patience and careful precision, each one of you will successfully create all of the potions that you'll need to learn by the end of the year. Of course, it is unwise to create any potion without understanding the ingredients and their quality, balance, and at have some idea as to what sort of poison that might be concocted if something goes wrong. But don't worry; we're only getting into topical solutions this year. You won't have to imbibe them or anything," she assured a girl who hadn't even had time to get her hand up. Jennifer had little bones about displaying her Truth Seeking talent to the class right from the start. It was so much easier to keep a handle on things that way.
"Even if we were doing those, there are testing kits for that, and you'll learn more about those next year. This year we're going to concentrate on the properties of ingredients, quality, and some basic formulas. You won't need any sort of talent to pass this class if you pay attention and learn to read directions," Jennifer added, this time sounding more firm. "Of course, a little talent never hurts."
It didn't take long for Alex to become astounded with her mother's style of teaching. She was unbelievably patient, gentle but firm, and even called each student by their first name as if they were her closest of friends. There was little question in Alex's mind now. It wasn't just her father that had been replaced. It was both of her parents. Even when several of the Slytherin students began testing the waters by speaking out in class, passing notes, and even teasing other classmates, Jennifer was swift to react but not a single sign of temper showed in anything she did to correct it. Where was the frustration Alex was so used to seeing whenever she or her other siblings stepped out of line? Where was that burst of temper that went along with any discipline that always melted as quickly as it came? There was none of that here; only genuine interest and open concern, making sure that every student understood exactly what Jennifer was instructing.
As they came out for lunch Alex was unusually quiet again, and Mandria peered at her from over her Potions book as the walked for a long time before finally snapping it shut.
"Well! I wasn't looking forward to Potions before, but I certainly am now! Professor Craw is a splendid teacher, isn't she? Why, I'd never have spotted the problem with my foxglove if she hadn't pointed it out. It wasn't as bad as you thought at all, was it?" Mandria said cheerfully.
"I hate it," Alex said curtly. "And I'd rather not talk about it, if you don't mind."
"All right Alex," Mandria said cautiously, puzzled by Alex's behavior.
"One thing is definitely certain though," she added after a moment, her grim expression unchanging. "I don't think I'll have any trouble with mentally separating the 'professors' from the 'parents' this year."