Chapter Twenty-Two
Christmas Confessions
The next day when all four got up, Jennifer couldn't help but notice they seemed exhausted, not even enthusiastic about picking out the log or even going shopping for holiday treats at Dagda's Market. She was sure they hadn't gotten much sleep, probably thinking about what they had learned the night before. But as the day wore on, none of them mentioned it again, and when Ben Clemmons came to the door to deliver a Christmas basket, the four quickly asked to go with them, so Jennifer loaded them up with their own baskets to pass around as part of the neighborhood tradition.
With them out of the way, Jennifer turned her attention to matters at hand, helping her Head Elf, Mercy, in the kitchen. Mercy quickly made herself busy stirring a big bowl of gingerbread, happy to have people in the house once more. Just before lunch there was a knock on the door, and Jennifer answered to find Moody and Belle waiting there.
"Sorry, Jennifer, I know it's a bit early for company, but we're here on business," Alastor said, stepping in. "Is Severus in?"
"Here," Severus said as he reached the top stair of the basement, leaning on the doorway.
"I think you missed your calling. You two would have made a decent Auror team," Alastor said. "Your suspicions about Blithers seem to be right on the money, at least according to his last commitment trial. According to eyewitnesses, he had indeed constructed a device like you described… a giant hourglass with diamonds in it. Of course, it was never fully tested; I think we would have known by now if it had," he added with a wry smile. "Apparently, however, it was tested to some extent, to prove that time slowed dramatically for those in a certain radius of the hourglass when the diamonds have nearly run their course."
"How would they have been able to stop the thing during the test if it slowed everyone around it?" Jennifer asked.
"Well, everything in the field was slowed at the same rate. So if you were one of the people inside the radius, it would seem like you were moving at the same pace as you always had… until the end, that is. I have a feeling during testing that they probably just kept that last diamond or two out as a precaution just in case anything went wrong," Alastor explained.
"They? There was more than one person involved?" Severus asked.
"He had two assistants. They both fled after the lab was destroyed and neither were seen since," Audi said. "There was an open investigation to find out who they were, but it was filed in the dead files and forgotten when the Second World War broke out. They asked old Blithers about it, but he'd only burst into tears every time, muttering 'rotten Marcus, poor Rigs.' It wasn't known who either of them were during the first investigation, although there was a note tagged onto the dead cases file listing a possible connection between the name Marcus with a wizard named Marcus Hale, who had disappeared around the same time period, leaving an empty flat. Muggleborn, no family to speak of, no friends either," Audi added.
"How exactly did you figure out that this is what we were looking for, anyhow?" Alastor asked.
"Apparently Rose's anklet had eight diamonds instead of seven, and rather than doing the sensible thing of telling an adult, she told my daughter instead," Severus said with obvious irritation. "Alex and Aurelius figured it out after they realized the diamonds were not divided completely even." Alastor and Audi stared at them a moment before Audi finally turned to look at Alastor.
"Now do you believe me?" Audi asked him.
"Remind me to put those kids on the future recruitment list," Alastor said, his magic eye rolling behind him to focus on the door. "Speaking of the little devils, here they come now."
In fact, it was five 'devils' that appeared as the door opened. Following Alex, Ben stopped short when he saw Alastor Moody, not wanting to budge and making the other three push their way past him. Aurelius rolled his eyes, shaking his head at him.
"Muggles," he said, earning a stern, warning frown from his mother.
"Auror Moody! Auror Belle!" Alex said with a smile. "Happy Yule! This is our friend, Benjamin Clemmons."
"Good afternoon young Snapes, and you too, Benjamin. Up for a staring contest?" Alastor teased. Benjamin quickly looked away, apologizing softly.
"You're here about the diamonds, I suppose," Aurelius asked casually. "Any estimates of how many diamonds Ciardoth has acquired thus far?"
"Alex, why don't you five go downstairs and work on getting the Yule Log in the fireplace? I'm sure you've learned spells enough to accomplish that minor detail," Severus suggested.
"But we're not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts," Alex said dutifully.
"Well, if the world ends before time for you to get back, it won't matter anyhow, will it?" Andrew offered, but after they caught the freezing look from their mother, they decided to quickly make tracks downstairs. Severus closed the door behind them.
"Those kids!" Jennifer sighed.
"Just how do you handle dealing with Aurelius, anyhow?" Audi asked Jennifer out of the blue. Severus looked at Audi curiously, but one look from Jennifer made Audi regret she said anything. "I mean, he seems like he would be a handful," she improvised.
"Not that it's really any of your business, but he happens to be the most well behaved of the four," Severus said defensively, "and the only one of them with a perfect mark record since they entered school."
"Well, that's what I meant, he seems very bright," Audi said with a firm nod. "Here, let me help you get that gingerbread in, Jennifer, they seem to be getting impatient."
"I'd like a look at that book you found if you don't mind, Severus, it might have clues in it we may have overlooked before," Alastor suggested, and then followed him to the front room.
"Didn't tell him you can't read Aurelius, did ya?" Audi asked in a low voice the moment they were out of earshot.
"Pass me the raisins," said Jennifer.
Christmas was always a hectic day for the Snapes. After a full morning that always seemed to start much too early, they always spent the afternoon visiting Grandfather Craw, and then had dinner at either the Blacks or the Weasleys; sometimes even both. This year, the Weasleys had a large dinner party planned, inviting everyone remotely resembling family and their closest friends. The Snape children were supposed to be getting ready for the party after they had gotten back from Azkaban, but instead made use of the time relaxing and attempting to get a few more minutes to play with their presents.
As Jennifer and Severus sorted the last batch of gifts to be delivered, Corey volunteered to go up to the girls' room to check on them. It seemed almost strange to slip in behind the bookcase and climb up those stairs, and he couldn't help but remember when he was growing up in that house, sleeping in the very same room that Andrew slept in (Aurelius had been moved downstairs some years ago after it was evident that the two had trouble living in the same space together). To the right were the old nanny's quarters, now a guest suite (in which he himself crashed in now and again after a late summer's night of making potions with Severus in the lab) and the nursery was now the girls' bedroom. At the moment all four of them were in there. Three of them were laying on the floor in front of the most curious chess set Corey had ever seen, while Alicia was making use of her brand new easel and was trying to paint the three of them sitting on the floor.
"What on earth is that?" Corey asked. Alex looked up from her position near the black pieces' side with a grin.
"It's Tri-Wizard Chess," Alex said happily, admiring the triangular chessboard. "My friend Rose got it for me. Isn't it neat? Now she and Mandria and I can all play at the same time. The rules take a bit getting used to, but it's very fun."
"Or it would be if Aurelius let us win every once in awhile," Andrew said, moving his white knight two spaces forward than at a diagonal. Aurelius was playing grey, studying the chessboard with intensity as he attempted to anticipate the other two's next moves. "Each person starts out with a king, two bishops, three knights and four pawns, and you have to eliminate the other two."
"And they keep ganging up on me," Aurelius muttered, touching a bishop for a moment before drawing it away again.
"No queens or castles?" Corey asked curiously, kneeling down.
"Castles wouldn't do much good on this board, only able to go in a straight line and all. But you can still get a queen," Alex explained. "The pawns are allowed to go in a diagonal without attacking in this version, so if you can actually get a pawn to one of the other corners, it turns into a queen."
"Corey, come see my painting!" Alicia insisted, and Corey indulgently got up to look it over. He couldn't help but be amazed at how good she had gotten, and although the lighting and perspective was a bit off, the figures in the painting were actually moving. Andrew was tapping his feet on the ground as he made his moves and Alex picked up a book to read every time it was Aurelius' turn to move.
"Very well done!" Corey agreed. "And a nice easel, too."
"Father got it for me from a real wizard painter and everything! And Mum made me enough painting supplies to last me… err, well at least a month anyhow!" she said. Corey chuckled at her.
"What did everyone else get?"
"I got a new Snitch and a Puzzlebox," Aurelius said, finally making his next move.
"A Puzzlebox? Really?" Corey said with interest.
"Yes, so people don't keep stealing my Snitch when they lose theirs," Aurelius said. Alex stuck her tongue out at him.
"Don't mind Alex, she's sore because she got a one-Pegasus sleigh for Christmas," Andrew said.
"What? But I thought you wanted a sleigh! That's all you talked about last year," Corey said.
"Exactly, that was last year! They decided I wasn't old enough then," Alex sighed with frustration. "But this year I wanted a bicycle."
"Do you believe that? A bicycle. And how are you going to ride that in the snow? Or come to think of it, ride it at all? Besides, if you had gotten one, I certainly wouldn't go to the park with you anymore. If my friends saw you on that Muggle contraption, I'd simply die of embarrassment!" Aurelius declared.
"Good, then there will be one less person to fight over for the wishbone this year," Alex said, getting a nudge from Corey.
"I got a new wireless and some new model kits," Andrew said.
"Oh? Did you ever finish the town of Hogsmeade?" Corey chuckled.
"He put it where my bed used to be," Aurelius muttered. "And watch out when you enter the room, that Hogwarts Express of his is likely to jump off the track and take a short flight around the room."
"I helped him with all the backgrounds for his models, they even change from day to night," Alicia said brightly. "Want to go see?"
"You can show me when we get back. We need to get going before Dad hangs us all up by our toes," Corey chuckled.
"I concede," Andrew said quickly, tipping his king over and grabbing his coat, Alex following suit. Corey had to coax Alicia up from her painting, helping her with her coat.
"Corey, speaking of Father, there's something I have been wanting to ask you since school started," Alex said.
"Is it a quick question?" Corey asked with a smile, handing her a hat.
"Why on earth do you and Essie insist that Professor Snape was your favorite teacher? What do you mean the best professor besides Dumbledore? Are you both entirely mad?" Alex asked, flailing her arms dramatically.
"That was three questions, and none of them have quick answers," Corey chuckled as he leaned on the door handle, pausing. "Alex, we don't have time to go into the exact reasons, but I think the best answer I can give you in a minute or less is simply this. At some point while you are going to Hogwarts, there will come a time when one of you four will find yourself so deep over your head in something that you won't be able to get out of it and you won't have anywhere to turn; something you won't want to even talk to Dumbledore about. And if at that time you find yourself knocking on the door to Professor Snape's office, I guarantee you that within an hour you'll find the answer to those questions yourself," he smiled, opening the door to let them out.
"I can't imagine ever not being able to talk to Dumbledore," Andrew said, Alicia agreeing as she followed him out, but Alex and Aurelius both left with thoughtful expressions on their faces.
It was a glorious Christmas, and because of that Jennifer tried to push aside her worries for the afternoon, despite the fact she found herself constantly wondering if there wasn't something else she should be doing. But when they arrived at the Burrow, she soon discovered that she and Severus weren't the only ones on edge. Although Arthur and Harry both smiled warmly at them and greeted them as they came in, Jennifer could easily see she wasn't the only one feeling a bit anxious. Red hair floated by in every direction as the entire Weasley clan had shown up this year, from Bill to Percy to Ginny and everyone in between, their wives and children racing around the house. Arthur greeted the four Snape children with a round of hugs all their own and dragged them towards the Christmas tree, while Molly insisted on making sure everyone had a drink.
"This place is a zoo, isn't it?" Jennifer laughed, dodging Jamie as she sped by on the broom followed by Joanie, dragging a broken broom behind her. She walked right up to Harry and held it out to show him.
"It don't work," Joanie said matter-of-factly. "Can I get a new one?"
"I hope your Dad doesn't see your broom like that," Harry said, kneeling down. "Here, let me see if I can fix it."
"I suppose if Joanie's here, Hermione and Ron must be too," Jennifer smiled. "She's starting to look a lot like her mother, isn't she?"
"Frizzy hair and all," Severus agreed, earning a gentle elbow from his wife. "Come on, there must be somewhere quieter to sit down."
"I seriously doubt it," Jennifer laughed, waving to Harry as they headed into the next room. "It doesn't look like Anna and Sirius are here yet."
"There is Dumbledore. This way," Severus said, leading her through a short oddly angled passage into a small family room filled with mismatched chairs and couches covered with soft wooly green coverlets and brightly colored pillows. They were situated around a river rock fireplace, while in the corner between the corridor and a passage into a slightly fancier parlor was a Christmas tree filled with handmade decorations. It was here that Arthur was scrounging with the Snape children, while in the chairs, a much quieter group sat. Dumbledore, in a chair close to the fire, was leaning thoughtfully on a branch he had been poking it with, while listening intently to Bill Weasley, who was standing across from him, and Audi, sitting nearby. Ron was also there, kneading his forehead as if hearing the latest news for the first time, and Charlie was leaning back in his chair and looking quite somber.
"I am not really concerned with the ones she has at this point, only the ones that she does not have," Dumbledore said. "If you can help us track down the remaining sets to help prevent any more deaths in this matter, William, it would definitely help matters."
"Having even one at this point would make me feel a whole lot better, Albus. We are sitting on a literal time bomb here," Audi said.
"If we do find some, why not just destroy them? Since she has to have all of them to make this thing work," Ron asked, glancing up as Jennifer and Severus sat down across from him. Dumbledore nodded to Jennifer.
"Part of the problem is that we don't know all of the spells that were put on it. The hour glass more than likely has some curses in place to keep anyone from destroying the diamonds. But without seeing the entire collection, we may not be able to piece together which curses are on them. Trying to destroy one would most likely cause our spells to backfire," Jennifer explained.
"So what you're saying is to destroy this thing, we'd have to find all the pieces ourselves," Ron said.
"And then hope we have better luck than whoever it was that originally split them up," Audi said, "They must not have known a way to get rid of them either, or why else go to such elaborate measures?"
"Yes," Dumbledore agreed, "why indeed?"
A round of giggles from the corner of the room broke the silence, and Jennifer looked over to see Arthur walking over and her four children in brightly knit jumpers with golden 'A's on them and carrying small gifts. Alicia had a new diary, Andrew a soldier nutcracker that marched when was set on the floor, and Aurelius had been given a lesson planner, a new quill, and a large box of highlighter chalk, which he quickly locked in his Puzzlebox to keep his younger sister from getting at it. But Jennifer had to look at Alex's gift for quite some time before she figured out it was some sort of toothbrush, gesturing her to come closer so she could look at it. The bristles and head looked quite ordinary in shape, but the bottom of the toothbrush was a large cylinder over a centimeter in diameter made of plastic, and on it was a hairy cartoon figure with moose antlers.
"What is that supposed to be?" Severus asked before Jennifer could fathom a polite way to ask the same question.
"Isn't it brilliant?" Arthur said cheerfully. "It's called a battery operated electric tooth brush! Push the button right there, Alex," he coaxed. When she did so, the toothbrush began to vibrate, and Jennifer felt her teeth hurting at the thought of it. "Muggles use them to clean their teeth more efficiently."
"And what does the moose do?" Jennifer asked cautiously.
"Oh, that's just for fun," Arthur admitted, "I thought Alex might like it because it looks like the one we saw at the Thanksgiving Day parade this year, doesn't it, Alex?"
"Uh…" Alex stammered, looking at Aurelius who looked horrified, then over at Dumbledore, who seemed to be poking at the fire.
"Don't you remember? It was the great big balloon at the beginning. We had so much fun in New York that I thought you could use another memoir," he said, Alex forcing a smile on her face.
"That was this year?" Severus asked, his frown deepening by the second.
"Yes, of course! I thought she would have mentioned it after she and Dumbledore got back. You really should talk to your parents more, Alex," Arthur suggested.
"I don't understand. How could she have gone to Thanksgiving this year? She had classes all day that day," Jennifer asked.
"Oh, I have some idea of exactly how she did it," Severus snapped, looking accusingly over at Dumbledore. "Might I talk to you for a moment, Professor? Alone?"
"Of course, Severus, I suppose I have a bit of explaining to do," Dumbledore said calmly, following him outside with Jennifer not far behind.
"They did know Dumbledore was taking you, didn't they?" Arthur said, his own gaze looking unusually stern.
"Well, perhaps not exactly," Alex said, looking over at the others. Bill let out a low whistle.
"I'm not sure even Christmas is going to save you from this one. Leaving the country without telling your parents at your age! I didn't get caught doing anything like that until I was fifteen!" Bill said, earning a dirty look from his father. "I wonder how Heather's doing in the kitchen?" he said quickly, excusing himself to find his wife. Aurelius grabbed the others and slipped through the kitchen door, working their way to the front.
"Do you think he's going to tell?" Alicia asked nervously.
"Not likely, we have his secret too, remember?" Andrew pointed out. "He'll probably take the fall for us."
"But it's not his fault we went and got Alex!" Alicia protested.
"It's my fault, I never should have gone," Alex sighed.
"You're right, it is your fault, but there's nothing we can do now," Aurelius said, coming around the side of the house. Their father's voice was getting much louder now. "Unless you want to take a vote." The other three looked across at each other and nodded one by one.
Jennifer couldn't remember the last time Severus had been so furious, especially at Dumbledore, who calmly listened to every word, agreeing on some points while not commenting on others.
"You're quite right, Severus, I'm not her parent, and I do agree that you should have been informed. I am merely saying that I was not in a position to do so," Dumbledore said.
"You were in a position to do so. You could have told me the truth when I asked you in the hallway!" Severus said.
"Severus, I did tell you the truth. She was in my office at the time I mentioned," Dumbledore said.
"Yes, and I'm quite certain that was something you made sure of after the fact, since you happened to have the exact time after looking at my watch. Goblin watches are extremely accurate, something that you knew well. Are you going to deny the fact that you have been doing a bit of playing around with time on your own?"
"Severus, I assure you that everything I did was only what I thought had your family's best interests at heart, although you may not believe that at the moment," Dumbledore said quietly.
"And since when did you elect yourself head of this family? You're not even their godfather. Harry is!"
"Passed over again," Dumbledore sighed, in obvious mock disappointment before looking at Severus over the edge of his glasses. "Of course, I've always thought of myself as your godfather."
"That is entirely besides the point!" Severus snapped. He paused then; glancing at his wife and attempting to hide his hurt expression. "And just why was it that you didn't tell me about this little trip of hers?" Beside him, Jennifer suddenly blinked at him in surprise.
"Me?"
"You, Truth Seeker, who I know as part of routine meets the eye of every single student before class! You had to have known! There's no way even as blind as you can be at times that you could possibly have missed something this big!" Severus demanded.
"Severus, honestly, if I'd have known, I would have told you," Jennifer assured him, looking pleadingly at Dumbledore who was busy polishing his glasses and his ring with his cloth.
"How could you have not known, Jennifer? Why are you both trying to keep this from me?" he snapped.
"Please, Father, don't yell at Mum like that, it wasn't her fault!" Andrew barked as the four kids ran up. Hearing the shouting, Corey appeared in the front doorway, quickly closing it and with his hand also shutting the windows around them.
"Mum had nothing to do with this, Father," Aurelius said, stepping to the front. "We didn't want her to know any more than we wanted you to. I kept her from seeing anything we were doing." Severus turned, staring at his son with a puzzled look on his face. "Nobody can see through me or anyone else I protect if I don't want them to," he said with such certainty that Jennifer felt a strange chill down her back. "Even telepathy potions don't work, we tried it."
"So that's where that other potion went," Jennifer murmured.
But that only attracted Severus' attention back on her, his stare so intense that she finally sighed.
"Severus, I'm sorry, I should have told you a long time ago. I can't read any of them, especially Aurelius. I haven't been able to for years. I've been using Ben and Mandria to find out what they're up to, and apparently they don't know everything," Jennifer admitted.
"We will talk about this later," Severus told Jennifer, and then turned to look between the children and Dumbledore, who seemed to be admiring the closest flowerbed. "Because I am still waiting to hear why it was that we were never told about this parade trip, especially since I seem to recall that you were supposed to be restricted in your activities at that point, Alexandria."
"Father, Dumbledore didn't take me to New York. We… well… I went on my own," Alex spoke up. "Dumbledore was only there to come fetch me when he found out I was missing and to bring me back to Hogwarts. And while we're making confessions anyhow, I'd like to clear something up. I'm not a Parselmouth at all. I'm an Omnivox," Alex said. Jennifer and Severus stared at her for a long time before exchanging a long look of their own.
"That's why she was always so talkative growing up, Severus. She wasn't just talking to us, but the creatures around her as well," Jennifer realized.
"So that is why Janus Craw kept going on about you speaking old English… the book. You're the one that took the tome! You were sitting in the stands where I left it!" Severus accused her, Alex shrinking back slightly.
"I only borrowed it," Alex said. "I did put it back."
"Never trust anyone under the age of eighteen," Corey chuckled.
"Aurelius? You?" Severus asked.
"Just a Parselmouth," Aurelius assured him. "She's the only big mouth in the family." Alex glared at him. "I merely shield their thoughts so we could keep it a secret."
"It's a marvelous gift, Alex, but why on earth would you want to keep it a secret?" Jennifer asked.
"And if Dumbledore didn't take you to New York, how exactly did you get there?" Severus asked.
"I came and got her," Andrew said, stepping up proudly. "I walked into Hogwarts and found her in the Great Hall and asked her if she wanted to come. She told me no, but I talked her into it. We've spent every American Thanksgiving with Aunt Anna! It just didn't seem right not having her there."
"You're trying to tell us that you somehow managed to get into the castle and walked all the way to the Great Hall without anyone seeing you?" Jennifer asked in disbelief. Andrew smiled at his Mum then glanced back at all of his siblings before suddenly disappearing.
Jumping slightly in surprise, Severus and Jennifer both blinked and then looked over at Dumbledore, who had adjusted his glasses and was looking over at where Andrew had disappeared with a thin smile.
"I think he just got sick of being 'it' all the time in hide and go seek," Aurelius said. "Never could hide that big n… ow!" Aurelius rubbed his arm and glared at the spot where Andrew reappeared at, shrugging at his parents.
"There you are, then. I'm sure you can think of lots of reasons to keep that one a secret," Andrew said.
"But that still doesn't answer how you got there!" Severus snapped. But his eyes and Jennifer's slowly came to settle on their youngest daughter, Dumbledore's own eyes following as well, giving her a gentle, encouraging nod.
"Can we just say she got me there and be done with it?" Alex said quickly. "Does it really matter how?"
"Yes, I agree. Perhaps if we promise not to do it again?" Andrew said.
"I will not let anyone be forced to tell a secret if they don't want to!" Aurelius said defiantly, folding his arms.
"We can't keep them in the dark forever, especially now that they know it's me," Alicia said, sliding to the front and hugging her papers close to her. "Please, if I tell you what I'm doing, will you promise that you won't try to make me stop?"
Neither Severus nor Jennifer knew what to say, glancing at Dumbledore who was gazing at her with open compassion, and then at their youngest girl, who had tears welling in her eyes.
"Best tell them and get it over with, Alicia," Dumbledore said quietly.
"I can walk through paintings," she said, a bit nervous at how her parents' stares didn't seem to change at hearing that. "If they're real places, I can go there, and if it's imaginary places, I can just sit in the painting, or move to the next one by jumping over into the next frame. I can take others through paintings too, if they hold my hand. Even pictures… even ones I draw myself," she said hugging her papers closer.
"But that's impossible, isn't it?" Jennifer stammered after a moment, looking over a Dumbledore. "Paintings move around to each other's frames, but that's just a part of the magic on enchanted paint, right? It's not a real place you can move in and out of, it's just… paint… isn't it?"
"Well, it may be just paint other times, but it isn't when Alicia's in them," Alex said with a sigh. "That's why I took photos of the school for Alicia to draw, so she could use them in an emergency to talk to me. I meant for them to be just in case they got in trouble and needed me. I didn't think they'd use it for this."
"And nobody told me they were using it at all," Aurelius said in annoyance. "I didn't find out about any of this until after Alex had already gotten there."
"Wait a moment. I assume this isn't the first time you have done this? Exactly how long and how often have you four been doing this?" Severus demanded.
"And where to?" Jennifer added.
"You know, I do believe it's getting close to dinner," Dumbledore interrupted. "Perhaps you four ought to run along and see if your cousins have arrived yet while I have a little chat with your parents."
"I think I'll stay, if you don't mind, Professor," Corey added, receiving a nod and a smile from Dumbledore. Alex put an arm around Alicia, who was still clutching her latest work. The four turned and walked back towards the Burrow, talking quietly to themselves. Dumbledore waited until they were inside and the door shut before he looked back over to the three who were gazing intently at him.
"There was a painting above the cot," Dumbledore said.
"What?" Jennifer asked.
"The day that Alicia's name appeared in the enrollment book, in your family room, there was a painting above the cot," he said again. "Carol, of course, didn't know anything, except the fact that one minute the child was there and the next she wasn't. But even in those tender first weeks, there was an instinct that woke in her, and her great desire to be with the two children she had bonded with in the womb had caused that instinct to act, transporting her instantly through to her cousins. After that, as I'm sure you'll recall, she seemed to 'Apparate' at a whim, and almost always to her cousins, until she finally seemed to grow out of it. In actuality, I believe the sudden 'Apparating' stopped when she first discovered crayons and chalk and pencils and paper. Before she even knew her letters, she spent most of her days drawing."
"So you've known about this the entire time?" Severus asked angrily.
"No, Severus, I only began putting the pieces together a few years ago. By then your four children had already made their pact not to tell you of their abilities to protect Alicia's from being discovered, so I decided perhaps it wasn't any of my business what they chose to keep a secret and just to keep an eye on them instead."
"I don't know what's worse, your timing for keeping out of things, or your timing for butting in," Severus muttered.
"I still don't see how an ability like Alicia's could possibly exist," Jennifer said. "I mean, Omnivoxes are rare but not completely unheard of, and I had a professor at Whitebridge who could turn invisible at will. Aurelius…"
"Aurelius is more like both of you than any of the other children, as I've told you before, Jennifer," Dumbledore smiled slightly. "He can control how much of his thoughts are seen or not, even to the point of blocking out the best Truth Seekers in the world, including Audi and Lunette. And through the very close bond with his siblings and an inborn necessity for protecting them, he developed a way to shield their own private thoughts and secrets as well. In fact, I gave one of my own secrets to Andrew to test to see if his ability would protect it, and since that secret became Andrew's, it extended to mine."
"So that's why you've been protecting them?" Corey asked.
"Partially," Dumbledore said. "Also, I discovered that Aurelius has a keen instinct for anticipating when someone he's protecting will be faced with something that may jeopardize those secrets which he is shielding… rather like your father, Jennifer, who can anticipate his enemy's actions to a large degree before they act. That's how he was able to survive so long on his own, and how he saved your lives by running when he did. I see quite a bit of Severus in Andrew, and a lot of Jennifer in Alex, but as far as talents are concerned, and personality as well, Aurelius appears to have inherited strong traits in both of your lines."
"Well, I know Alicia doesn't get any artistic instinct from my side of the family," Jennifer said.
"Nor mine," Severus added in agreement.
"No, no, Alicia got her talent completely by accident… although I wouldn't entirely rule out Fate as a possible participant. You see, it happened when Jennifer was still quite sick from being poisoned, and Anna was carrying her. She had worked late that night, and felt something that turned out to be stalking Francis Pyther."
"The Leanan Sidhe," Severus said. "The dark muse that was feeding off his creativity."
"She had gathered up quite a bit of Francis' talent and was full of energy… his and of all the other artists that had failed to resist her call. And as Anna fought to hold her off, the Leanan leashed her magic on Anna, and it passed through her and her unborn children were unharmed because of what Anna is. But Alicia was not entirely protected, not truly being one of her children, and when the magic passed through her something must have changed, and some of that energy became a part of her. And I think it is because of that event that Alicia is the way she is."
"That must have been why all the sudden Anna started rejecting her," Jennifer said softly. "Her body sensed a foreign magic and wanted to get rid of it. But it didn't seem to effect me any."
"No, because Alicia was, after all, your child. Even though the strong connection between Alicia and the twins didn't seem affected directly, considering the timing of her birth," Dumbledore added with amusement. "So now that you know, I suppose all that's left is to decide is how you want to approach it."
"Well, we can't possibly let them go gallivanting all over the planet on a whim," Jennifer said, looking at Severus. "Remember that day they came back with those horrible sunburns when it was raining?"
"Blue nearly frostbit hands in the middle of summer," Severus said darkly.
"What if they have been going to foreign countries? They went to New York," Jennifer asked.
"Well, wherever they are at least Alex can speak the language," Corey pointed out, earning a dirty look from Jennifer.
"And what if they get in trouble? What if they were kidnapped or something?" Jennifer said.
"Then I bet Andrew would go invisible and head out to find some drawing utensils so that Alicia could get them out," Corey said.
"Corey, don't tell me you knew about all this too," Severus said, squinting at him.
"No," Corey said, folding his arms, "But I'm not surprised, either about them having wild abilities or the fact they didn't want to tell you."
"We should probably remove the paintings in the house,and the Weasley's too," Jennifer went on. "And we need to restrict Alicia's drawing unless one of us or the Weasley's are around."
"What about school? She has to have her quill and paper then," Dumbledore pointed out.
"Mom, this is exactly why it doesn't surprise me that they didn't tell you. I remember all too well what it was like growing up as a Focus Caster in that house and how many times you threatened to tie my hands up," Corey said, turning to Severus. "Well, let's forget about home for a moment and talk school. Dad, do you remember the time Sagittari caught Danny, Doug, Taylor, and I sparring in the Dark Forest because I got kicked out of sparring club for using my hands?"
"All too well," Severus said expressionlessly.
"And did you stop me from sparring after that?" Corey asked. "No, instead you took over and trained me yourself."
"You needed to learn to defend yourself."
"And these kids don't need that?" Corey asked, looking between the two of them. "You know, it may surprise you to learn this, but the Weasleys haven't exactly been keeping them shackled to the dungeon these past few years while you've been at school. They've been going out bumping knees and noses and prides and breaking bones and all the other things that happen to kids, and yes, probably going out for adventures using this ability of Alicia's. Who wouldn't? I'd have jumped for something like that when I was a kid. But you always told me that with every ability we are given that a person had to employ certain considerations, and to use those strengths to overcome our weaknesses. Good lord, you're teachers, for heaven's sake. How exactly are you both going to teach them that if when you keep them on a tight leash all the while stuffing pillows around them so they don't hurt themselves? They're growing up! Alex is in Hogwarts already! You made me take my own knocks. I expect you to have the same courtesy for the ones you raised from scratch."
Everything grew quiet as Severus and Jennifer regarded their son and then each other, Dumbledore smiling so warmly at Corey it might have melted the snow beneath their feet.
"Even if we did work on, well, training the others," Jennifer said slowly, "I'm not sure I would know quite how to train Alicia."
"Nor would I," Severus admitted quietly, glancing over to Dumbledore.
"Might I suggest, then, someone who can?" Dumbledore smiled. Severus already knew he wouldn't like the suggestion.