Chapter Nine
Rare Vintage
Jennifer rarely ate dinner in the Great Hall, but the first day of school had always been an exception. She picked at her food distractedly while chatting with the other professors about their first day back, never really feeling comfortable about eating in plain view of the students. Danny made it to the table a few minutes later grinning sheepishly, her leg still bandaged and stiff.
"Almost lost today, did you?" Dumbledore asked teasingly.
"Okay, okay, so it was close," Danny chuckled, sitting down beside Jennifer. "Until he tried to cut in front of me and we ended up locking brooms. He might not be the best flyer in the world, but he's got enough determination for ten people. He'll make a good Quidditch player in a few years if his parents ever let him try out."
"If he ever stops taking so many chances," Jennifer muttered.
"Jennifer, he's a Slytherin. If taking a few risks is what is going to get him to the top of the mound, he'll do it. But if you keep worrying about it like you have been, you're not going to get anything out of it but grey hairs. Look! I think I see one now!" Danny teased.
"All right, Danny, that's quite enough. Don't forget we have an audience," Minerva scolded. "They have the right to withdraw permission for tryouts if they don't think their child is ready. To be honest, first years have enough to contend with without adding the stress of playing Quidditch."
"Ironic that you would say so, considering that the only first year to make a team in twenty years happened to be one of yours," Severus pointed out.
"There are exceptions to every rule of course," Minerva said. "We have never held a student back when they've been unusually talented. Didn't you put Corey in Dabbler's his first year, Severus? And what about young Rose and her Herbology? Look how far she's come since she's been in school."
"She's positively a natural with plants, there can be no mistake about that, and we've had some talented students in the past," Pomona agreed. "You should see the Elf Willow now. She can barely carry the thing. I've been trying to convince her to plant it, perhaps in the front courtyard."
"Are you mad? You know what she bred that thing from. A few years among students and it'll turn as hostile as its sire," Severus said.
"Severus, I've been watching that Willow for three years, and I've never seen it exhibit any sort of violence towards anyone, short of protecting Rose when she didn't want to be bothered," Pomona said.
"All the same, I think one sentient Willow on the grounds is more than enough," Severus said.
"Severus does have a point, but I'm sure Rose will find it an appropriate home when its time," Dumbledore said. "Although I do think we've gotten off the subject, which I believe was about exceptions. Of course, I believe that every student is an exception to the rules."
"Rules were meant to be broken, is that it, Professor?" Minerva chuckled. "Well, there is some truth to that."
"Then why have rules?" Jennifer asked.
"Why would you think, Jennifer?" Dumbledore asked.
"To use as a guide, I suppose, as long as they're fair and make sense," Jennifer said.
"Pomona?"
"Well, to be honest, Professor, I'm not sure I like the idea of anyone being above the rules," Pomona said. "Everyone should follow them if we're going to be fair to everyone. Of course they can be changed if need be."
"Even if you believed in not having any exceptions, Pomona, there are those who are 'obeying' the rules that are actually doing so only to manipulate the rules to their own advantage," Severus pointed out. "Never trust anyone who tries to live inside all of the rules."
"How interesting that the heads of the four houses have such different ideas on that subject," Dumbledore said with open amusement, "and yet together you make probably one of the best teams that Hogwarts has ever seen," he said, tipping his glass gently to them.
"Well, we're under one of the best Headmasters that Hogwarts has ever seen," Pomona smiled.
"So far, perhaps," Dumbledore agreed mischievously, taking a drink. Minerva smiled at him and took a drink as well.
Jennifer frowned slightly trying to catch Dumbledore's eye, but before she could do so, the back door opened and Librarian Boulderdash hurried in.
"I'm sorry, Professor, but might I talk to you a moment? There's been another… disagreement," the goblin said.
As Dumbledore got up, Jennifer glanced back over to Severus who nodded to her and the two of them followed Dumbledore into the staff room.
"What has happened, Boulderdash?" Dumbledore asked.
"Someone has broken into the Ministry and stolen an artifact, and now the goblins are being accused of doing it," Boulderdash sighed.
"What was taken?" Jennifer asked.
"The cup with Silenus' wine."
"Why on earth do they insist on keeping such things in the Ministry when it inevitably gets broken into?" Severus muttered.
"Probably because the Ministry no longer trust the goblins well enough to store things in their vaults at Gringotts," Boulderdash said curtly. "In fact, they have been pulling out more in later years than they're storing."
"How would you know?" Severus asked, squinting.
"I have my sources," Boulderdash said evenly.
"But Boulderdash, Arthur's never had anything against Gringotts or goblins in general," Jennifer protested.
"The goblins also have nothing against Arthur, except perhaps that the man is too honest to hold his position as Minister of Magic," Boulderdash said. "But as much as things have improved between wizards and their non-magic brethren over the years, and so many of those that caused death and destruction among your own kind have been brought to justice, nothing has really changed between humans and goblins. We are still expected to abide by your laws with but one meager secretary in a broom closet of the Ministry as a representative for our interests. We are still bullied by several different branches of the Ministry, forced to bribe in order to even have our most meager of requests considered. They 'allow' us to gather resources to use as trade… laughable considering they've always used goblins for mining and minting operations… only now it's covered up with colorful trade agreements and nice, neat restrictions on exactly what we can do with it and who we can sell it to. The majority of goblin society believes that rights written on paper aren't truly rights at all; they are merely words and empty promises used to placate the masses. As time goes by and the ink begins to fade with no words to replace them, more and more goblins are realizing that those agreements held no value to begin with."
"Bill Weasley turned in that goblet himself. I hardly think it would be in character for a goblin to turn around and steal it back, especially after what occurred at the bank," Severus said.
"Not all goblins represent Gringotts, Severus, and considering the tension at hand, I can think of another reason that some goblins may want that goblet," Dumbledore said.
"And for the same reason, several wizards would want to steal it as well," Boulderdash said, a spark in his black eyes.
"Yes," Severus acknowledged, nodding to Boulderdash.
It was Alexandria Snape who asked the question that was on all of the students' minds the next day after the Daily Prophet's report on the break-in, and Jennifer, as the Potions Master, should have guessed it was going to come up. As the second years began their annual ingredients testing, Jennifer sat on her desk, looking thoughtful.
"There are actually quite a lot of legends about that wine, especially Greek legends," Jennifer said. "One of the claims popular among wizards was that the wine was so powerful that it would instill a sense of heroism in any mortal who drank it. And in those days, being a hero was a big deal. You were set above the masses, superior in strength, intellect, bravery… completely set apart from the 'common man.' Because of that claim, some wizards even believe that the wine actually had the power to turn a Muggle magical," she added, earning a gasp and murmur from some of the students.
"But I have a less dramatic theory, and that seems the most likely explanation from what I've seen of the Ministry's preliminary tests of the substance. I think what the wine really does is give the drinker the feeling that they are more than they were before, but truly they haven't changed at all," Jennifer explained, nodding to Mandria who had her hand up.
"So rather like a Delusions of Grandeur potion?"
"Yes, very similar."
"Then why is it considered so dangerous?" Mandria asked curiously.
"Because any time you give someone a sense of power, whether or not they really have that power or not, it can inspire that person to do more than you might have thought capable of," Jennifer explained. "Having a 'sense' of power is actually a power in its own right. They feel they can make decisions that perhaps before they didn't think they could make or had the right to make, not to mention they grant themselves a sort of courage to do things that they wouldn't normally do without that sense of power. And, believe it or not, sometimes giving people this sense of power, especially without giving them 'true' power, can also make them much easier to manipulate. That's because they are less likely to say they 'can't' do something when posed with a challenge that they normally would never accept… like swimming a river to fetch something when they are afraid of drowning, or perhaps standing up to someone whom they'd never have dared to before. Yes, Alexandria?"
"Do you think that Silenus was using the wine to manipulate Midas?" Alex asked.
"Well, we don't know for sure, of course, but according to legends, Midas was manipulated by Silenus during the time he was there. It would have been quite likely then he would have been offered a drink or two if that's truly the case," Jennifer agreed.
"Why do you suppose they would have left such a cup in his tomb?" Alex asked.
"It wasn't uncommon for food and drink to be buried with the dead, Alex. And being that it was something given to the King by someone the people at that time revered as a god, it is also quite likely that they were a bit afraid of it."
"Then do you suppose that's why the princess was there too? Perhaps it wasn't because they couldn't cure her. Perhaps they were afraid of her," Alex said. Jennifer gazed at her daughter for a long time.
"I think we're getting off the subject. The discussion was about the potion stolen and the reasons why someone would steal it. You might be better off asking Professor Scribe in your history class about Midas legends if you're curious," Jennifer said at last. "It's time to get back onto today's schedule. Who here can tell me the composition of Flesh-Eating Slug Repellant?"
Mandria didn't particularly like the look in Alex's eyes when they left the classroom. Alex kept taking out the Daily Prophet and reading it over again as they walked. Sighing softly, Mandria took her preoccupied friend by the elbow and out towards the back courtyard where Aurelius waited with his arms folded, looking impatient.
"Well, here I am. Where is it that we're going?" he asked.
"First you need to meet a friend of Rose's," Alex explained, folding her paper in half. "And pray that he likes you."
"Why would I care if one of Rose's friends likes me or not?" Aurelius asked.
"Because this one could possibly kill you," Mandria said, walking him over to a large, gnarled willow tree.
There was something about it that Aurelius didn't particularly like, although he wasn't quite sure what it was. Perhaps it was the fact that it seemed so out of place, and the students veered so widely clear of it. Perhaps it was the fact that it didn't seem to move in the chill autumn wind. In fact, Aurelius almost felt as if it were watching them. Underneath it, Rose was setting out a blanket, looking up when Alex called out to her. She stood then and said something, but Aurelius wasn't sure to whom until she walked over to them with a smile on her face.
"You're in luck. He's in a good mood today," Rose said cheerfully. "Come along, Aurelius, best get this over with before he changes his mind."
"Who?"
"The tree, of course," Rose said, walking him underneath it, the other two girls a few steps behind. The moment that they stepped into the range of the tree it moved dramatically; its branches suddenly stretching over and shadowing them almost as if they were looking at them… or perhaps smelling them… but whatever exactly they were doing, Aurelius couldn't help but feel that under differing circumstances he wouldn't want to be caught anywhere near the thing. "Willow, this is Alex's brother, Aurelius. Rel, this is the Willow. He is very particular about who is allowed to approach, so promise you won't do anything to instigate him, stay away from him at night, and never try to write on it, burn things around it, dig around it, or poke at it, and he'll let you sit with us."
"You want me to make a promise to a tree?" Rel said in disbelief, his sister quickly jumping to his side as the tree began to hover more menacingly.
"Do it, Rel, trust me," Alex hissed in his ear.
"All right, fine, I promise," Rel said, saying it fairly loudly since he was not exactly sure how well a tree with no oratory system could hear him. But it seemed to hear well enough, for it immediately backed off, returning once more to its sedate, if not a tad eerie-looking, self. "All of this just to have a picnic?"
"We can have a relatively private chat here," Alex explained as she sat down and the girls began emptying their pockets of food and cups that filled with pumpkin juice. "None of the other students will get anywhere near us."
"What about the professors?" Rel asked thoughtfully.
"Oh, I'm sure they could if they had to, but we've never been bothered before," Mandria said.
"This is the same tree that tried to defend me from Ciardoth last year," Alex said affectionately patting the tree. "It's a good thing you were able to cure him, Rose. It wouldn't be Hogwarts without him, or our picnics."
"I definitely agree," Rose said, picking up an apple. "So how are your classes going?"
"Mine are all right so far, I suppose, except for Potions," Aurelius admitted. "How can so many people think Mum is such a great teacher? That class is a nightmare!"
"What are you talking about? Professor Craw is probably one of the nicest teachers in the school," Rose said with a frown.
"Except to me," Rel muttered.
"I know exactly what you mean, Rel, I felt the exact same way when I came to school last year," Alex said emphatically. "Don't worry, you'll get used to her style after a while."
"Get used to it? What a scary idea," Aurelius said flatly.
"I know," Alex agreed with a nod, while the other two girls looked at each other with confusion. "But you will. And at least she's willing to answer questions. Did you hear the Wine of Satyrs was stolen?" Aurelius looked at her blankly. "Right out of the Ministry of Artifacts office. We were talking about it in Potions today. Mum thinks it might be used to make people believe they are capable of things they really can't do, so they can manipulate them," Alex added.
"A simple charm spell can manipulate somebody," Aurelius said with a shrug. "But then again, if this potion make people feel they can do things they couldn't, they probably don't fear the same things, either. A normal charm spell can't change that. Fearless men can be very dangerous, you know."
"What are you getting at, Rel?" Alex frowned.
"Meaning you might be able to convince someone to do something really risky, like rob a bank, or take on an army," Aurelius said. "Pawns, of course. Nobody someone would care about. They'd all die in the attempt, most likely. But there are some accounts in history where a small group of people took on unbelievable odds and won, too. If that's what someone's after, then I'm sure we'll hear more about it soon enough."
"You don't suppose this has anything to do with the Fomorians being gone?" Mandria asked.
"Well it's not like there would be enough to give to even one Fomorian, it's just a cupful," Alex said. "I don't know, maybe we're not on the right track at all. Maybe someone just stole it as a collector's piece or something."
"That one thing out of the entire artifacts office?" Aurelius asked dubiously, glancing over Alex's newspaper. "There must be something more to it than they're saying. They might even have a suspect."
"They didn't mention one," Alex shrugged.
"Of course not. You think the media reports everything they know in the same day? I bet they withhold information back to make sure they have follow up copy for the next day," Aurelius said, getting up. "I better get ready for class. I have History and Defense this afternoon," he said, waving to them as he headed in.
"Not a very trusting sort, is he?" Rose said, taking a bite of her sandwich.
"Who, Rel?" Alex said with a grin. "Rel doesn't trust anyone who keeps secrets from him. He likes to be in the know about things even more than I do."
"Wonderful," Mandria said, shaking her head. "Now I know we're in for it this year." Rose grinned at her knowingly.
