Chapter Twenty-Four

Lack of Trust

It had been very late that night. Twelve-year old Severus poured over his books on Dark magic until he found what he was looking for, copying it over to another piece of parchment and carefully cut it to size, fitting it in his journal right next to his father and stepmother's obituary; stating quite simply that they were survived by her parents, his brother, and their daughter and son. No mention of what had happened that night had appeared in the paper, nor did Severus expect it to appear. But what bothered him the most were dreams that haunted him at night, playing out the scene in his mind like a morbid play.

He was still pasting the details of the Acidic Eulogy spell… the painful death spell that had killed his parents, and he had begun reading details of the next Dark spell he found when there was a knock at the front door.

Severus frowned, moving the candle in front of the clock slightly so he could see the time. It was much too late for a normal visitor, full of the pathetic sympathetic apologies and gifts that accompanied such tragedies. No, this was something else entirely. Severus couldn't help but wonder if it meant they had found out more about the man who had slain his parents… the man he had killed with his anger. He sighed, still unable to find the right book of Dark magic that might explain exactly how he had done it. Perhaps it hadn't been his fault, perhaps it hadn't been him at all… perhaps then that was why he felt no regret over killing him.

Severus walked quickly to his bedroom door, opening it slightly, peering down the stairs to see the back of his uncle letting in the familiar figure of an older wizard with long white hair, tinged with a hint of red. It was Dumbledore, he knew, and found himself holding his breath, daring not to hope, and yet wanting so badly for him to be here for the reason Severus thought he might be. Quickly Severus crept out to the top of the stairwell as Augustus led him to the parlor, hugging the shadows as he positioned himself to listen.

"So what brings you out this late, Dumbledore?" Augustus asked, "I was about ready to retire for the evening."

"You don't know why I'm here?" Dumbledore asked calmly back.

"It's not about the girl, is it? As I explained before…"

"No, Augustus, Anna is adjusting quite well to her new life, although she misses her brother, of course," Dumbledore said gently. "I am also concerned about Severus, and I was wondering perhaps if you would tell me why he didn't arrive at Hogwarts this week with the other students."

"You don't possibly expect me to send him back there after what has happened? The boy is unstable, Dumbledore," Augustus said, followed by the sound of drinks being poured. "He doesn't talk, doesn't come out of his room. He spends his time obsessed with books on death magic and cutting out articles and obituaries of witches and wizards cut down in their prime. He barely eats and refuses to take care of himself. Doubt he's even taken a bath in the two weeks I've had him."

"You don't know?"

"I've told you before, Dumbledore, I hardly have time to play nursemaid. Some of us do have to earn a living, and hopefully one that's not plagued with the constant threat of losing one's life over it like my brother had been. No, no… I refer to the one behind the Dark Mark, not the boy, although I still think it's only a matter of time before the boy goes off on someone else," Augustus sighed. "He's not safe around others, Dumbledore."

"And I would argue that he is probably a lot less safe being with no one at all," Dumbledore said.

"Yes, which is why it's time we faced the facts. He is better off in a home for troubled wizards where someone can take care of him without him endangering anyone. I am not what's best for him, Professor, and I fully intend to make sure my brother's son receives the best of care."

"I do agree with one thing, Augustus…I do agree that you are not what's best for him," Dumbledore said bluntly, "and I am grateful that you recognize that. But I will not have you condemning one of my students to such a place over an event that he could not control."

"And what would you do, Dumbledore? Have him at Hogwarts as if nothing had happened and risk the lives of the rest of the students and the staff?"

"He is more of a risk to everyone if left alone. The staff has already been informed of the entire situation. I do not believe he is a threat to any of the other students or I would not be here. He needs to return to school."

"You realize of course, that if you're wrong, your career in school administration is over."

"I have always believed that the welfare of the student should be above such personal risks, Augustus. I would say the same about any student," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Fine. Then he is your responsibility. I will sign him over to you as his guardian," Augustus said. Severus sat down slowly, still straining to hear when Dumbledore suddenly lowered his voice.

"I have some interests abroad that I will attend to. I will not stay here as long as the 'disappearances' continue, and I have no intention of following my brother's fate," Augustus swore. As a heavy silence fell over them, Severus stood and crept back to his room.

But that was then, and now Severus couldn't help but feel a certain sense of satisfaction to see Augustus' English home reduced to cinders. The room he had stayed in for those brief weeks after his parents had died was now reduced to a memory. Beside him, Jennifer picked up the pace when she noticed Augustus standing with Arthur, Ederick, and Rhys Brown. Severus took his time walking over, in no hurry whatsoever to get there. Augustus Snape, a tall, pale man with long, black-streaked grey hair, still gripped his wand in his hand, his knuckles white around it and dark eyes full of fire.

"I knew I should have stayed in Germany. Leaving this country had been the best thing I had ever done," he declared. "First that nasty Voldemort business, and now this Ciardoth mess. I want to know exactly who it is that is going to pay for the damages to my house!"

"Perhaps you should pay them yourself, considering that you failed to tell the Ministry about the diamonds when I asked you," Severus said as he walked up.

"You are not the Ministry, Severus, you are nothing but a teacher who doesn't seem to know his own place. And for the record, no one from the Ministry asked," Augustus said.

"And for the record, Professors Snape and Craw have been assisting the Ministry with this case for quite some time," Ederick pointed out.

"Nor do I trust a government in which three Aurors and the entire Law Enforcement Ministry feel they need to ask for assistance from secondary teachers to catch one woman," Augustus said icily.

"Mr. Snape, I do understand that you've had a very trying day, but I would appreciate it if you curb your critical comments of my staff and guests," Mr. Weasley said with a polite but firm smile, "or at least wait until we've completed taking your statement."

"I was having dinner, when there was a flash of light in the next room and I went to investigate. Ciardoth then opened my personal vault as if there were not a single goblin spell on it and removed a cloak pin. Naturally I attempted to stop her, and in the process she made ashes out of my house!" Augustus said furiously. "The fire forced me into the cellar, and when I came out, it looked like this."

"Either she assumed you were dead or decided it wasn't worth the trouble," Rhys mused. "She's becoming more cautious."

"She is also meeting resistance now, which she wasn't in the beginning," Dumbledore said.

"She doesn't have to kill anyone, not when she knows everyone will die anyhow if she succeeds," Severus pointed out. "And so far we've failed miserably at keeping those diamonds away from her which would be a lot easier to do if we knew where they were before she went after them."

"Please, let's not get into that again!" Jennifer said with exasperation.

"Augustus, where did you get the cloak pin to begin with?" Dumbledore asked calmly.

"It was in my brother's possession the night they died," Augustus said quietly, avoiding Severus' eye. "It was one of the few things on him that was not destroyed."

"Another dead end," Ederick sighed. "And time is running out."

"You have an uncanny gift for understatement, Ederick," Rhys said dryly.

"Uncle Augustus, do you have anywhere to stay?" Jennifer asked. Severus stared at her, hoping she wasn't going to say what he thought she was going to. "Because we're not using the house at the moment. We have plenty of room and a great House Elf staff." Augustus hesitated.

"I would not want to impose…"

"No, really! I'm sure you'll be comfortable and it's very private," Jennifer reassured him. Augustus glanced over at Severus who was staring very hard at his wife hoping she would turn around and look at him. "I'll let our Head Elf Mercy know that you're coming. She'll be glad to have someone to wait on," she added.

"Perhaps we had better head on to the Ministry and fill out this paperwork so you can get settled," Rhys suggested, nodding to Augustus.

"I think I shall see how Alastor and Audi are doing," Dumbledore said, walking around the debris to where the two of them were standing.

"What in the world has gotten into you? Why did you invite him to stay at our house?" Severus hissed at her as they walked away from the others.

"Severus, he's family," Jennifer said firmly. "Didn't he take you in when you had nowhere to go?"

"Only while he waited to file paperwork for having me committed!" Severus snapped.

"But he didn't, did he?" Jennifer pointed out, turning to look at him. "And it's not like you even have to live in the same house. I'm sure Sirius can help get him settled somewhere before the end of school."

"He'd better," Severus muttered as the two of them went back to Hogwarts.

It was nearly the end of January before Hogwarts saw Harry Potter again, hurrying in with such purpose that everyone in the halls stopped to stare curiously at him as he passed by. Lunchtime had just begun, and most of the students were still wandering about the halls. Alex, sitting in the Great Hall with Mandria and her unfinished afternoon homework, leaned back in her seat to watch him, but before they could get up, Xavier popped over to talk to them about the sparring tournament.

Harry, oblivious to the exchange, continued back to the staff room and poked his head in the door. Severus, Jennifer, Danny, and Hermione sat on one end, sorting out the list of students to spar that night, while Minerva sat on the other end, looking up curiously from the tests she was marking.

"Any chance I can borrow Hermione this afternoon?" Harry asked, glancing at her and then Minerva.

"What is it?" Hermione asked, turning around.

"Bill and I were able to find Marcus Hale's belongings while we were searching for diamonds at Gringotts. He's got tons of Blithers journals, but they're practically unreadable… at least, Alastor, Bill, and I can't make heads or tails out of it," Harry explained.

"And who's covering your classes?" Minerva asked sternly as Hermione got up.

"Not to mention judging sparring tonight," Jennifer added.

"I am, of course," Hermione said. "Come on, we'll need to take the back stairs to Dumbledore's office to borrow something."

"Did Bill Weasley have any luck finding any of the diamonds through his record search?" Severus asked before they could run out.

"Yes. Twenty-five sets," Harry said with a grin. "She won't be destroying anything anytime soon. He's moved them all to one of the lowest vaults in Gringotts."

"Together?" Severus asked sharply.

"Don't worry," Harry assured him as they paused by the door. "Gringotts has every protection in the world, including against sensing and smelling different sorts of treasure."

"If they didn't, it'd have attracted every dragon within a thousand miles ages ago," Hermione agreed, waving to them. "I'll see everyone after my next class."

"Honestly, ever since Dumbledore brought that Time-Turner back into Hogwarts, she's been using it almost as much as he has," Minerva said, shaking her head with open concern. Jennifer glanced over at Severus, who also had a look of deep concern, but not just about the Time-Turner. As they gathered their charts up to walk to their first afternoon class, Jennifer watched him carefully for a long time.

"You're not sure Gringotts is safe enough, are you?" Jennifer asked quietly.

"I don't think anywhere is safe enough," Severus answered back. "Time is something no one should be messing with. Some manipulate it at will for little reason other than to save an afternoon, despite possible consequences if handled improperly, and others to save students a bit of grief which they would perhaps be better off having. It's attitudes like that which have lead to this thing Blithers had built. Just because we have the knowledge to build something or change something doesn't make it right to do so."

"Well, if we're going to destroy that thing, it's all going to need to be together in the end, despite whoever split these up in the first place. Personally, I think it only complicates matters to have them all separate," Jennifer said.

"It might not have been their first choice," Severus replied. Jennifer looked over to him to try to discern what he was thinking, but as they neared the classrooms, his thoughts suddenly turned to his next class. "I will see you in the staff room before dinner. Hopefully Hermione will have some news by then."

"I hope she got back on time," Jennifer said thoughtfully.

Severus only grimaced in response, stepping into the classroom. It was as Jennifer walked to class that she found herself wondering about his reaction, thinking back to her first year of teaching, remembering how he had considered using a Time-Turner to save her but then chose to use potions instead. In fact, the only time she remembered either one of them using one was to celebrate Alex's first Christmas at home… a convenience, perhaps, but an event they would have missed otherwise with Anna's wedding.

Still, why was it that he seemed to trust such devices so little? It might have saved him a lot of risk the night the Death Eaters had taken her, instead of having to cast a spell under the very nose of Voldemort himself to put Jennifer in a deep sleep. Of course, she never liked the devices either, although she had never been quite sure why. Perhaps it was merely the one question that had always bugged her; what would happen if someone went back in time and then got killed? Would they cease to exist? Or would they just disappear at the point that they left? And if someone else found out that someone had died that shouldn't have, could they go back again and change it?

It took a lot of concentration for Jennifer to teach her classes that afternoon.

Hermione dropped a large journal on the staff room table, passing some of the folders on top of it to Boulderdash, who adjusted his glasses and opened the first one. The journal itself was warped from age and water, its cover blackened, almost singed, and loose pages were sticking out of it at nearly every angle.

"You couldn't imagine what I had to go through to get this thing together!" Hermione said with open exasperation to Jennifer and Severus, who had just walked into the room. "There were pages all over the place, a lot of it utter nonsense. It's like Marcus must have kept every note of Blithers he could get his hands on, but couldn't handle trying to organize it. I really do believe Blithers was quite mad," she said, sitting down.

"I could have told you that, as any goblin could have years ago," Boulderdash said, a spark flashing in his eyes as he cleaned his spectacles. "Not that anyone had listened to our pleas at the time. Ironic, isn't it, that here I find myself helping iron out this mess."

"Boulderdash has been helping me find patterns to all of the loose pages that didn't fit into the journal," Hermione explained. "But we've already found out quite a lot."

"Like?" Jennifer prompted, sitting on the other side to try and get a look at the journal.

"Well, I suppose the main thing is how it works, because it isn't exactly like Time-Turners," Hermione said. "Time-Turners work by manipulating one person and their internal clock to go back to a earlier time. Meaning, when you use a Time-Turner, it's tapping into you, the wearer, assuming that you existed at the time, of course."

"So a Time-Turner can go to any time after you were born," Jennifer said.

"Theoretically, although it's actually illegal to go any farther back than forty-eight hours for safety reasons. Anyhow, this hourglass is different. When it's activated, it slows time, growing slower and slower as every diamond passes until it runs out. If you run it all the way through except for the last diamond, it can slow things down to the point that twenty years have passed outside by the time it's done."

"How on Earth did they test it then? I mean, I would think that that many Muggles being cut off from the outside world would be pretty exposing," Jennifer said.

"Oh, well, the Hourglass is on a pendulum arm," Hermione said, turning around the book so they could see it. "It stands about ten feet tall, and is made of some sort of crystal that is resistant to fire, explosions, and even bullets. When there are diamonds in the top of the Hourglass, the arm is locked in place and can't be moved, to prevent enemies from trying, I'd imagine. But if you can turn it over, the sands move the time back much like a Time-Turner, returning everything inside to half a second before it was first turned around… making it seem as if nothing had happened. Actually, that's not entirely true… a note here from Blithers says that there were a lot of reports of momentary disorientation by anyone, including Muggles, not in the room at the time the event occurred. But that was the only known side effect of it at the time of the experimentation."

"How exactly is the arm locked in place?" Severus frowned.

"It doesn't say in the notes," Hermione shook her head, "Although it may have something to do with what makes the diamonds work to begin with."

"Which is?" Severus asked impatiently. Hermione closed the book a moment, and looked between them.

"Apparently Blithers was as much a genius as he was insane. He had found a way to tap into the Universal Time Stream," she said.

"Universal Time Stream?" Jennifer asked, glancing at Severus, who had become even paler than usual.

"Every universe… every world… every plane that exists has its own unique Time Stream," Severus said in an almost haunted tone. "It regulates everything within that universe, creation, destruction… it is the foundation for all existence, not to mention that it plays a great part in our sense of reality. The fourth dimension without which all other dimensions would have no value."

"So each diamond has been made to harness this time stream… real time, and that's how he was able to make a device so encompassing," Jennifer said

"That must have been what attracted Ciardoth," Severus said, growing more alarmed. "That was how she came to know of the device. She senses all times, so she must have sensed the Time Stream getting manipulated, and if that is so… she's finding the diamonds by sensing that stream, not by sensing the diamonds themselves." He stood up suddenly. "We need to get to Gringotts. She knows the diamonds are there."

"What?" Hermione said.

"Gringotts may be protected against those who can sense or smell valuables, but I seriously doubt it has any protections against someone who can sense the Time Stream. Ciardoth probably already knows where the diamonds are."

"Oh come now, Severus, relax! Even if she knows where they are, there's no way even someone with her powers can get that far into Gringotts," Boulderdash said.

"Don't underestimate Ciardoth. That creature will stop at nothing to see our destruction, and is not above putting herself in danger to do so." Severus said.

"I don't think she even sees us as a threat, only a nuisance," Jennifer said. "What have we done really, except delay her? We haven't had much luck stopping her directly. Even when we cast the Shrieking Death spell on her, she seemed surprised, angry, but not hurt."

"Even immortals can die," Boulderdash said calmly, flipping over another page.

"Well, there's no reason for anyone to get worked up about now. Harry is with Bill looking over things, and anyhow, even though Gringotts agreed to move the diamonds for their protection, you know they won't release the jewelry to anyone who isn't their original owners."

"Definitely not," Boulderdash said so emphatically that everyone looked over at him. "Well, I do have a brother who works there, you know."

"Besides, we have a sparring tournament to judge," Hermione pointed out, standing up. "But first, dinner! Anyone coming?"

"All of the sudden I'm not hungry," Jennifer said, waving her on then using her hand to prop her head up. "Can I look at the book? Maybe I can figure out a way to get that arm to move even if there are diamonds moving."

"Sure," Hermione said, pushing it over to her. "Guess I'll see you in an hour, then. Let me know if you find anything."

"Perhaps some drinks," Severus suggested, getting up to grab some cups from the side table. It wasn't long after Jennifer found herself taking a moment to sip her spiced tea that Boulderdash grunted and adjusted his glasses, a rather toothy smile appearing on the goblin's face.

"Well, what is this?" he said, unrolling a piece of parchment. "A receipt from Tassels and Panning, for the purchase of 'seven pre-cut diamonds'… and it appears they paid nearly twenty five galleons for them. Top price in the nineteen twenties…"

"What?" Jennifer said, dropping the book in front of her in surprise.

"To someone named Marcus Antonius. Really, you humans don't have much imagination when it comes to aliases, do you?" Boulderdash smirked. Jennifer grabbed the parchment out of hands.

"He sold them like that?" Jennifer said.

"Ah look, here's another. Seven pre-cut diamonds again... Tassels and Panning, marked for one week later," Boulderdash pointed out. Soon Severus was beside him, helping him sort out more of the receipts, gathering quite a pile of them. Jennifer glanced at them as they came out, shaking her head as she read them one by one.

"Nearly every single one of these is selling diamonds to Tassels and Panning Jeweler's… except this one… for Gribitz Watch Emporium," Jennifer said. "Rotten Marcus is right. He wasn't selling these to distribute them; he was doing it to make a profit! I bet he stole all of the diamonds after Blithers was put away and lived on them for ages. I can't believe it! Were all those jewels in those families' hands merely a coincidence?"

"Well, he did at least split them up into groups… of course, if I were Tassels or Panning, I would have been a bit suspicious of anyone selling over six hundred at once," Boulderdash said.

"There is still the matter of Rigs, and what might have happened to him," Severus mused. "I seriously doubt that Ciardoth was leaving a message of death to a dead man."

"Perhaps Marcus is still alive somewhere," Jennifer said. Severus couldn't help but smirk at her.

"Jennifer, ever since your father turned up alive, you've questioned every single death that you haven't witnessed. I suspect Marcus is probably dead, perhaps was even murdered. The answer lies with the one we don't know about… with Rigs. This weekend while we're with the children, I think I'll run down to Myrkinbrek to see if I can talk Tassels and Panning into letting me see some of their old sales records." Boulderdash snorted dubiously at that. Severus drew himself up, folding his arms. "I happen to be a very good customer of theirs. And while we're on the subject, perhaps to be on the safe side, we should go through your jewelry box again, Jennifer," Severus said, ignoring the exasperated look on her face. "The last thing I want to find is a member of my family with one of these."