Chapter Nine
The Return of Some Old Friends
It was bustling in the Ministry for that time of night; full of excited people. Jennifer and Severus found themselves in the middle of several groups of witches and wizards chatting in the entrance hall. Jennifer heard her name called and looked up to see Ron Weasley leaning against a wall nearby, walking over when she waved to him. He was wearing the long brown suit he always wore when on official press business, but without a tie and with a turned down collar. A tiny press scroll was sticking out of his jacket pocket, and his hands were in his pockets as if in no rush at all to find out what was going on, content to watch it play out around him. Marriage had been good to him, Jennifer thought, and had calmed him down quite a bit from when he had been in school. He seemed happy with where his life had taken him, quite comfortable with everything that had been presented to him. In fact, he was beginning to remind her more and more of his father.
"So are you both in this too?" he asked.
"Too?" Jennifer repeated.
"Dumbledore got here half an hour ago, along with Judge Vallid," he explained.
"Hello Penelope," Jennifer said with a smile as they approached the reception desk. Penelope Weasley smiled warmly at them as if not at all put out despite all of the people lurking near her desk, hoping to get past her.
"Hello, Professors, go right in, they're expecting you. Second floor, three doors down and the first hall on the left."
"I can show them the way, Penelope," Ron offered.
"Uh huh. You can show your way back to the lobby instead, Ron. Your Dad said he'd give you a statement when he's ready," she said firmly.
"Well, now I know where I stand in this family," Ron snorted. Jennifer stifled a giggle as she and Severus headed down the hall.
"As if he hadn't used every family advantage to become editor in the first place," Severus muttered.
"Now Severus, I know you're tired but try to be civil," Jennifer nudged him. "I think he's done quite well for himself and actually, he blames me for getting into journalism more than anyone else. Besides, you have to admit the paper's gotten much more reliable since he's taken over." Severus only snorted softly in reply.
They had little trouble finding the office, for many wizards and witches were hovering around it. One of them, a good looking younger man with dark unkempt hair, appeared out of the crowd looking quite alert, a slight smile coming across his face as they approached.
"Harry!" Jennifer said, hugging him warmly. "When did you get back? It's so good to see you! How are Jamie and Cedric?"
"Big," Harry chuckled. "And always into trouble. Yours?"
"Oh, the same," Jennifer grinned, "Doing very well."
"All right, that's quite enough. I'll have my wife back now, thank you," Severus grunted, and Jennifer stepped away from the hug, chuckling at her husband. Harry offered his hand, which Severus took firmly. "I take it from the situation at hand your stay is not a social one."
"Yes, well, I'd rather it were," Harry sighed. "I've seen a lot in the last ten years, you know, but it's been a while since I've seen… well, anything like this." Harry and Severus exchanged a long, thoughtful gaze. Jennifer had only to glance between them before she found herself shivering. "We'd better get in there. They're waiting for you," Harry added in a quieter tone, leading the way.
Witches and wizards in their path quickly got out of Harry Potter's way, looking at him with an expectant, almost hopeful look as they passed. One woman stood by the door… a tall, dark haired woman with streaks of grey and a timeless look about her. She smiled and stepped up to them.
"Greetings, dear Sentinels, how well most of you look!" Lunette Vallid said with a smile, glancing at Severus questioningly. Severus only grimaced in return. "It seems we only meet under dark circumstances, doesn't it?"
"I thought that was normally my line," Harry said with a wry grin, leading them in. Dumbledore, Brown, Ederick Thurspire and Arthur Weasley were also present, as well as Audi and Alastor and to Severus' great surprise, his sister Anna Hughes Black.
"What are you doing here?" he asked point blank.
"Boy, aren't you a grouch. Couldn't you have left him at home?" Anna teased. But Jennifer couldn't help but notice that Anna looked nearly as tired as Severus.
"I tried. He wouldn't stay," Jennifer chuckled.
"It is good to have you both here," Arthur said, stepping over and closing the door to keep out curious eyes. "I trust Minerva told you some of what happened?"
"Hardly enough. For instance, I'm just now deducing from the fact that we are all here and the crowd outside that the murder took place here in the Ministry itself?" Severus asked.
"And around every security measure," Ederick muttered.
"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I'm quite sure I recall having a discussion or two about the lax security around here before…"
"Once or twice," Ederick said back to Severus with a thin, unpleasant smile. Everyone knew that the two of them didn't particularly care for each other. A begrudging respect had been the best they could accomplish, and no one dared to press for any better than that. "But I assure you, whoever did this hardly strolled in. Every spell guarding the facility had been quite deftly disabled."
"That must have taken some time," Jennifer said.
"So one would believe, Jennifer, and yet I saw Damon myself just before six this evening as I was heading home," Arthur sighed. "He was found dead barely a half an hour later."
"By who?" Severus asked.
"Me," Thurspire said. Severus squinted at him. "We were supposed to meet for dinner because he said he had something he wished to speak to me about concerning this case. As I was walking down the hall, I thought I heard a noise like a strong storm wind, but when I arrived I found it basically like this… torn apart, and Damon dead, suffocated it seemed, over there by his desk," Thurspire said. An eerie silhouette was on the floor where the body had been.
"How inconvenient for you. I suppose you have an alibi?" Severus asked.
"He was with me just before he went downstairs," Rhys Brown said firmly. "And his wand and belongings have been thoroughly checked. Or do you think I am a man who'd overlook such details?" the Minister of Law Enforcement asked.
"I was only trying to get the facts straight," Severus said, ignoring the challenge with an even stare.
"Minerva said that you recovered one of the diamonds," Jennifer prompted.
"I have it here, Jennifer," Dumbledore said gently, holding it out in his hand. "It's quite all right, please have a look at it. I think you'll find it to be quite interesting."
"Are you sure this is one of them?" Jennifer asked.
"We're fairly sure," Brown nodded. "Tell them, Thurspire."
"After Damon died, we decided to search the personal vault here to make sure none of the items we have in storage were missing," Ederick said. "But instead of finding anything missing, we found a handkerchief with a single small diamond in it and a note in Damon's handwriting with the words, 'Just in case,' written on it." Harry's eyes wandered to Dumbledore, but the Headmaster's attention was on Jennifer.
It was tiny… rather like a stud off a very dainty earring or the eye of an animal brooch, Jennifer thought, and yet looking closely at it, it didn't seem to be cut for a setting at all. Instead of a flat or teardrop side to clasp, or even the square cut of a marquis, the diamond looked rather like a faceted sphere, exactly the same in every direction. There could be little doubt that it had been inundated with a startling amount of magic. But as Jennifer carefully murmured her spells, she became more and more sure that by itself the tiny diamond had very little true power at all. She looked up to find that everyone else had grown quiet, gazing at her intently.
"There is powerful magic on it, but it's not cursed… well, no that's not right, it is actually a part of a curse, but harmless alone," Jennifer said, getting a nod from Dumbledore, who had reached the same conclusion.
"A mere piece to a puzzle, but to a puzzle we have little idea of what the entire picture may make," Dumbledore said.
"Any speculations on what sort of curse could be on these?" Brown asked. Jennifer shrugged slightly.
"Well first off, only one that can work on a group of items; most curses only work on one item, so I suppose that'd narrow it down a little," Jennifer said with a sigh. "The shape doesn't make sense for it to have come from a cursed necklace or something. I suppose I could attempt to come up with a list of possible curses with a little help," she added, Severus nodding gently from behind her. "But honestly, we're going to need more information than this."
"Damon must have believed that whatever this curse is that it must have a complete set to make it work," Brown said. "If that is true, the murderer undoubtedly will be coming to try and get it."
"I think we should use it to set up a trap. Catch them in the act of trying to steal it," Thurspire suggested.
"It's not wise to gamble when one doesn't know what they're risking," Audi pointed out. "If something went wrong and this got into the wrong hands, we might just dig our own grave."
"But if it keeps people from being murdered…"
"I do believe Auror Belle is right," Dumbledore said, holding his hand out and taking the diamond back from Jennifer. "Until we know exactly what this is for, the wisest course is to protect it in any way we can."
"What if just missing one piece isn't enough? Most cursed items that I've come across with this sort of nature are weakened by not having them all, but the curse still works once you have a majority of the pieces," Lunette pointed out. "One might not make a difference."
"In this, I would trust Howell's judgment," Dumbledore said. "Damon Howell knew the artifacts that came into his possession quite well. He always knew what they did and how they worked and usually why they were made. He didn't attempt to save all the diamonds… the rest that were on the cufflinks were taken. Perhaps he thought if he saved more than one then whoever the murderer is would go looking for it immediately…but I do not think he would have acted as he did unless he believed that one would make a difference."
"I think you're right, Albus," Arthur said. "Damon gave his life to save it. We can't use it as bait and risk it being taken."
"But what if we find another?" Ederick asked.
"Then we'll speak of it again," Arthur promised. "Though we have no way of knowing if this is the last of them or just the top of the barrel, since we don't know what it's for yet."
"For all we know, there could be hundreds of them," Alastor said grimly.
"We will know when the last comes," Anna said quietly. Everyone else looked at her thoughtfully. "The last person to die would be whoever the person is that all of these messages of death were meant for. If the target is somehow finding a way to hide these diamonds, then the murderer wouldn't risk killing him or her until they had every piece recovered. That's when the murderer will seek their revenge, and I'm quite sure that when that happens, it won't be the clean and painless deaths that we've seen so far."
"So you feel it is only one person that has been hiding these diamonds from the murderer?"
"Yes, but I can't explain why. It's just a hunch rather than a pattern so far," Anna admitted. "And if it is one person, it would also indicate that it's more than likely many of these diamonds got where they were quite indirectly. Not that I have any proof of any of that theory yet. But if that's true, I would conjecture that there must be some common link between the victims for the murderer to have been able to track them down, so we need to stop thinking about who had them when they were stolen, and find out where they came from before that. These diamond cufflinks, for instance, where did they come from?"
"Well… actually, according to Damon's personal records, he bought them from an auction the Blacks conducted after Sirius went to prison," Thurspire admitted, feeling a number of eyes on him. "So, we were rather hoping that you could tell us." Anna stared at Ederick in complete shock. Jennifer and Severus stared along with her.
Jennifer was glad to get out of there as Arthur led them to his office. It was strange, for although she was sure there was no ghost of any sort in the Artifacts office, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable knowing what had occurred mere hours before. Arthur's more spacious office and comfortable chairs put her much more at ease as she sat down on the couch next to Severus.
"I know it's getting late, and I promise not to keep you all much longer," Arthur said. "Professor Dumbledore, are you quite sure you don't need any security assistance with this diamond thing?"
"If anyone can get that far into Hogwarts unharmed, then we have a much bigger problem," Dumbledore said solemnly. "I assure you, no harm will come to any student because of it." Harry couldn't resist a slight chuckle thinking back to his first year at Hogwarts, earning a long gaze from Dumbledore in response. "And I'm sure if Harry has the time, he'd be happy to help Severus with the security arrangements." Well, he couldn't work his way out of that one, Harry thought. With a grin and nod, he assured Dumbledore that he would.
"There is one other matter I need to address then tonight," Arthur said slowly, turning to Audi and Alastor. "You see, it's about this case. The public is getting rather…upset about it, and there is a great fear rising as rumors spread."
"So? They should be upset. They should be afraid. Whoever is doing this is sheer evil! They can strike anywhere! Better to keep them on their toes!" Alastor said.
"Yes, well, of course you know I agree with you in principle, but there's a difference between cautious vigilance and panic," Arthur said. "So I thought, that is, if you and Harry don't mind, I thought we might mention to the press that Harry's looking into things as well. Not that this isn't your case, of course, and I know I can count on you, as Aurors…"
"The kid looks better on paper, is that what you're saying?" Alastor said with a thin smile.
"Look, I really really, I mean really don't want to be in the spotlight again. This is their case, and I'm only here because of Lunette. I'm not here to step on toes." Harry protested.
"Well, that is a first," Severus couldn't resist saying, earning a few dirty looks in exchange.
"I'm not proposing anything like that, Harry, and I know why you're here," Arthur said, "But if it would help ease tensions a bit, would you be willing to at least be mentioned in context of the case?"
Harry hesitated, glancing at the two senior Aurors, meeting Alastor Moody's eye. Then Alastor shrugged.
"Better him than me, I break cameras," he said.
"You know, I think I've gained a few pounds. It'd take me a week to brew a potion for that," Audi mused. "Why not? Mention him. After all, we did ask him, and we are grateful, at least as long as he doesn't get in the way, right?"
"Or as long as he keeps his nose clean so I don't have to wipe it for him," Alastor said sounding serious, but Harry chuckled. The other Aurors, especially those two, had been teasing the 'upstart' for years now.
"Good! It's all settled then," Arthur said cheerfully.
"It is going to be mentioned that I'm just helping right?" Harry insisted.
"Don't worry, Harry, I'll take care of it myself," Arthur promised, moving to show them to the door. But as the others got up, Jennifer found herself reluctant to move, for Severus had fallen asleep beside her.
Early the next morning, Jennifer couldn't help but fall into a series of giggles when she read the headlines of the Daily Prophet. She just had this nagging feeling that Famous British Auror Harry Potter to Oversee Diamond Case was not exactly what Harry had in mind when he agreed to let them drop his name. She was still saying, "he's going to kill him" over and over to herself when Hermione came into the staff room.
"Who's going to kill whom?" she asked.
"Harry's going to kill your husband," Jennifer grinned, showing her the article and filling her in on what had happened last night.
"I'd kill him too if it were me," Hermione agreed, shaking her head at the paper. "What is it about men that makes them want to overdo everything?"
"Tell me about it," Jennifer sighed. "Severus is just as bad if not worse, although it's different sorts of things he wants to overdo. He seems to take his work more seriously than… than well, other things, I guess."
"Other things?" Hermione asked, gazing at her intently. But before Jennifer could think up a suitable reply, Anna Black came strolling in. It was so curious seeing her in there after so many years… why, she hadn't taught at that school since they had been pregnant together. "Anna! When did you get here?" Hermione asked with surprise.
"And what are you doing here?" Jennifer added curiosity. "I thought you were just here working on the Diamond case."
"I am," Anna sighed. "I'm making some use of the library for a few days. I'm at a disadvantage attempting to find patterns for a criminal when I still don't know all the rules to this world."
"I'd think all those years with a Wizard husband and two very magic children would have helped that," Hermione said.
"Yes it has and yet… you may not believe this believe this, but I think in some ways Sirius can be just as unconventional as I am with magic."
"I can believe it," Jennifer grinned.
"So can I," Hermione nodded more seriously.
"Really, Anna, just let me know what you want to know, I can help you…"
"No, no… thanks anyhow, Jennifer, but no. I need to think about what I'm doing with a clear head and an unbiased look at things, and I'm not sure I can do that if you or someone else is teaching me about it," Anna explained.
"Unbiased in what way?" Jennifer asked with a frown.
"Jennifer, you have a specialty in magic, right? Your specialties are the Dark Arts and Physical Magic Arts. And Hermione, well, she's good at everything, but mainly Charms and History. But a series of books from different authors with different backgrounds when conducting comparative research is more subjective, and that's really what I'm looking for. Does that make sense?" Jennifer nodded her head.
"Nope," Jennifer said, still nodding. "But I'll take your word for it."
"So, what did you mean by 'other things', Jennifer? I mean about what we were talking about a moment ago," Hermione persisted. Jennifer glared at her.
"Don't you ever let any conversation fall by the wayside?" Jennifer asked, already knowing the answer.
"Generally, no, not if it's interesting, and well… look. I know something's been bothering you lately, and it's not just worrying over this case. It seems more personal than that. Are you having trouble with Severus or something?" Hermione asked bluntly.
Anna suddenly forgot all about her research, looking between them before her gaze settled on Jennifer questioningly.
"No! At least, not like that. At least I don't think so, but then again…well," Jennifer bit her tongue and glanced around the room, but no one happened to barge in to save her from the conversation. "It's nothing really. Maybe. It's just…well, you see, this June will be the end of Severus' and my Thirteenth year together."
"Aaaah," Hermione said in a tone that indicated that that explained everything. "You have Pumpkin Anniversary jitters then."
"Rather silly, I know," Jennifer said, looking a bit uncomfortable as she stared into her coffee.
"Why do I feel like I'm missing something again," Anna said, staring at them. "What's so important about your thirteenth anniversary, and why does everyone seem to name everything around here after Halloween symbols?"
"Well, the thirteenth year is very symbolic in a traditional wizard and witch marriage," Hermione explained to Anna. "It's a superstition that whether or not a marriage will withstand the tests of time will manifest in that year. It's rather like the Muggle's idea of the 'Seven Year Itch.' I suppose it's a bit later with us since many of us live longer," Hermione said, sounding slightly amused. "But the year has been taken very seriously by many, in fact so serious that the end of the thirteenth year a party is usually thrown, normally with close friends and relatives who attended the wedding."
"So if this is a big deal, Severus is aware of it too then, right?" Anna said.
"He's completely indifferent to the entire thing," Jennifer said with irritation. "It's just another year to him."
"Men," Hermione said, shaking her head.
"Well, he's right, isn't he? After all, as Hermione says it's just a superstition." Anna said.
"There really is no magical proof that this year is any more significant than any other year," Hermione said with a nod. "It's just a bunch of old wives tales…" suddenly she noticed a glare coming from Jennifer and Hermione bit her tongue. "Sorry."
"Besides, I have seen very little sign of either of you growing restless or bored with your relationship," Anna said firmly. "So what is it that makes you bring this up now? I mean, it's halfway through the year already. Is it that he's getting wrapped up in this murder case?"
"Not exactly. Well sort of," Jennifer said with hesitation.
It had been a long time since she'd confided to anyone besides Minerva about anything like this. Minerva had a differing point of view on Severus that often helped Jennifer work things out when something came up. But Anna and Hermione were sitting there looking at her intently, both of their faces showing open interest and concern. Jennifer fiddled with her cup a moment then sighed resignedly.
"You see, the day before yesterday, we had this rather big evening planned. In fact, we'd been planning it for three whole days… I suppose you know how that is," she said, the other two grinning and nodding. "It was wonderful, of course. It always is when we manage to actually find a time when we're not interrupted. But then see, afterwards he just got up and went down stairs to work on this blasted case," Jennifer said, propping her head in one hand. "I was rather short with him the next day."
"Well, maybe he'd taken a potion or something," Hermione reasoned helpfully. Jennifer nodded.
"He had, but now I'm trying to fathom why he thought he needed to." Jennifer admitted grumpily.
"I think you're making a big deal out of nothing, Jennifer," Anna said sincerely. "You know as well as I do that my brother likes to over-plan everything to death."
"Yes, that is very much like Severus, he does seem to be paranoid about anything having to do with his personal life. He probably even put a hex on the door so anyone thinking of knocking on it would forget it was there," Hermione chuckled. Anna looked at her thoughtfully.
"Can you teach me how to do that?" Anna asked.
"The point is that I don't see any sign that either of you seem unhappy with your marriage or even slightly disinterested with each other," Hermione continued, nodding quickly to Anna. "In fact, I hardly see either of you apart these days at all. You do everything together! Work, visit the children, work on Ministry concerns you probably shouldn't be mixed up in…"
"Maybe there is a problem after all," Anna said suddenly. The two of them looked over at her curiously. "I think you need to get away, Jennifer. When was the last time you took a night off just to spend some time alone, or had a girls' night out?"
"Um… well I do go shopping with Molly from time to time," Jennifer said.
"That doesn't count," Anna said.
"Anna means more like a sort of Coven Night," Hermione said.
"Oh, that! Goodness, not since I got married, I suppose," Jennifer said, surprising herself as she said it.
"That's too long. Jennifer, you really need some time to be Jennifer, and I really don't think you're getting it. We need to plan a night out together." Anna said with a nod.
"I think that's a positively splendid idea. Are you sure you're going to have time?" Hermione asked Anna.
"We can make the time if we really want to do it, and Jennifer, I honestly think whether you know it or not you really want to do it," Anna said insistently.
Jennifer looked between them thoughtfully. It was so tempting, and Dumbledore had been after her to try and find ways to center herself outside of the realm of wifedom and motherhood. She certainly didn't have time to explore some new avenues of her profession or find a new interest as he suggested, but this sounded like the next best thing.
"We'll need two others, you know, to do it right," Jennifer said, growing more interested in spite of herself.
"I bet we could get Danny to come," Hermione suggested with a grin. "Anyone else?"
"Let's invite Minerva," Jennifer insisted.
"We can, but do you think she'd really be interested?" Hermione asked.
"And who says I wouldn't?" said an almost indignant voice from the doorway. The other three looked up to see Minerva standing there with her arms crossed and a thin smile on her face. "But it will have to be on Friday evenings because I won't have any of us neglecting our work."
"No problem, I'll change journalism meetings to Thursdays," Hermione said.
"Well, it will cut back a bit on the time to go home on the weekends," Anna said thoughtfully, then quickly shook her head. "Screw it, Friday nights it is." The other women cheered, and Jennifer got up.
"I'm going to go invite Danny and make sure Severus is awake," Jennifer said, glancing at her watch. "Besides, I ought to ask…"
"Tell," Anna said sternly. "You're telling him you're going out Friday."
"Right," Jennifer said with a grin, looking a lot more cheerful as she headed out the door. Anna shook her head.
"He sure has her wrapped around his finger, doesn't he?" Hermione said.
"He always has," Anna said disapprovingly.
"Oh, I'd say it's hardly been one-sided," Minerva said with a widening smile, sitting down beside them. "They've consulted one another on every move they've made since as long as I can remember. And I do believe, Anna, that this is a wonderful thing you've done, suggesting a Coven Night. It will do Jennifer a world of good, and it certainly won't harm the rest of us, either."
"Thanks, Minerva, glad to help. I only have one question," Anna said, looking between them. "What's a Coven Night?"