Chapter Ten
Curious Visitors
Jennifer quickly threw her stuff in her office, shoving the student test phials on an empty shelf. After a cursory last look of making sure everything in the classroom was clean and put away, she slipped out the door. Her gait slowed, casually walking past students hurrying to make their next classes. Then Jennifer ran up the stairs, waiting for the halls to grow quiet once more.
He didn't always leave the door open… definitely not during demonstrations. But she was quite sure he hadn't any demonstrations planned on the second day of school, especially with a class of students he never had before. Keeping near to the wall, she eased closer to the Defense room, conscious of keeping even her shadow out of sight as she peeked in the partially closed door.
"…And I expect your complete attention at all times. Failure to abide by these simple rules will result not only your failure in this class, but probably your failure to survive out in the real world," Severus warned them. "Nor will I feel liability or pity for anyone who meets their end because they felt it unnecessary to study for this class."
Jennifer held back a chuckle, then noticed a slight movement in the back of the class as Stock slipped Peter a note when Severus began pacing in the opposite direction. Sitting next to Stock was Aurelius, who gave his friend a sideways glance before looking obediently towards the front.
"This is a serious subject, and I expect each of you to take it as seriously as your own mortality. You won't find any coffee or tea parties in here," he added bluntly, causing a few of the Slytherins to snigger. Jennifer felt her cheeks grow warm. "Also, I advise anyone with a familiar not to bring them to class when I'm having a demonstration. If you do and they get eaten, you have only yourself to blame…" he paused then as he turned to pace the other way, catching the rustling sound of paper coming from the back of the classroom. Immediately his eyes went on a search and destroy mission to find the one student whose own eyes weren't directly on him.
"I take it that Mr. Donnelly believes there is something in this world more important than his own life," Severus said with a voice like sharp steel, startling Peter and causing him to look directly at Severus. He had not yet gotten the note completely unfolded, still in his hands hidden under his desk, his mind quickly racing to figure out a way to dispose of it as discreetly as possible. But Severus was quickly descending on him like a hawk, and Peter had nowhere to turn, quickly shoving the note under the leg of his robes. "Perhaps he doesn't realize that his life is already in peril," Severus added threateningly. "Do you realize your life is in peril this very moment, Mr. Donnelly?" He asked, leaning over the boy's desk. Peter leaned back a bit in response.
"I'm not sure, sir," Peter said quietly.
"And what if something were to attack this classroom at this very moment?" Severus said in a raised voice. "A horde of redcaps charge up from the dungeons, or a chimera crashes through that wall? Or what if someone in this room inadvertently opens a cursed box that lets out a deadly disease, which kills its victims in a matter of hours. Who is going to save you then, Mr. Donnelly?"
"You, Professor?" Peter suggested meekly.
"This is a big class, Donnelly. I couldn't possibly save you all," Severus said. "You'll find more often than not that when large amounts of people are in peril, they will typically look out for themselves. And since you cannot take care of yourself and don't even bother to pay attention when someone else is attempting to show you how, I expect that you will be the first to die from whatever it is lurking behind that door!" Severus snapped and pointed.
As the class looked nervously at the door, Jennifer was forced to take a quick leap back to keep from being seen, bumping into a standing candelabra that went crashing to the floor. Nearly everyone in the classroom jumped, and even Severus stood straight up in surprise. He quickly took a step back to look out into the corridor, squinting suspiciously. Suddenly his shoulders relaxed and he rolled his eyes, muttering something indiscernible under his breath before turning his attention back to Peter, snatching the note that had fallen under his desk.
"That's five points off Gryffindor for writing notes…" Severus said, pausing a moment to glance at the paper before growling, "and five more points for writing something disrespectful about a Professor!"
"But sir, I didn't –"
"And five more points for talking out of turn!" Severus snapped again. "That makes fifteen, I think. Do you want to double it by opening your mouth again? Now, everyone open your books!"
As Severus turned and stomped back to the front of the class, Jennifer quietly righted the candles and peeked in just in time to catch the triumph look passed between Stock and Aurelius. She sighed then, a very long, resigned sigh, and was so lost in her thoughts that at first she didn't hear Minerva calling her from down the hall. Finally looking up, she quickly stepped away from the door and went over to meet her.
"I thought you might be in this direction once I saw you weren't in your office," Minerva said mischievously. "Dumbledore had to go to the Ministry with Boulderdash. I have a guest in my office, but I need to take care of a student matter. Would you go keep him company for a moment? I'm sure he'll be very glad to see you," she said mysteriously.
"Who?" Jennifer said, staring at her face and reading the answer. "Oh, but what is he doing here? Goodness, I don't think I've seen him in ages!"
"You really are hard to surprise, Jennifer!" Minerva sighed. "Do run on up. I'll join you both as soon as I can," she assured her, cutting down a side corridor towards the Arithmantics room.
Taking one last glance at the Defense Room door (which had silently closed tight while they were talking,) Jennifer hurried up the front stairs, excitedly taking them by twos to greet her old friend. Hurrying down the hall, she found herself popping open the office door so quickly that it startled the large figure, who nearly knocked the school register off the pedestal as he turned to look at her in surprise.
"Hagrid!" Jennifer beamed, going over and gave him a hug. "How are you? What are you doing here? How's the family?"
"Fine! Fine, yes fine. Halbert's just startin' his last year o' primary and all. Spittin' image of his mother. Not like me at all, really," he chuckled a bit, his eyes wandering across the book again. "And how are you doin'? Aurelius got Sorted an' all tha', I suppose?"
"Yes," Jennifer sighed. "He seems to be fitting right in with Slytherin."
"Oh dear, sorry ta hear tha'… er, I mean, that is to say, I'm sure his father is uh, really proud, yessir…really…" he paused as he gazed at her unenthusiastic demeanor. "Sorry, really sorry."
"It's all right, Hagrid. I'm sure it'll be fine. At least there's no question that he'll do well as quick as he is. So anyhow, I'm very surprised to see you, especially the first week of the school year, things must be busy at Beauxbatons as well."
"Actually, I've been busy doin' a favor for Dumbledore, talkin' to the giants. He was thinkin' that maybe since they have developed better ties wif'em over the last ten years perhaps they might have some guesses to where they went."
"Really? Did you find out anything?" Jennifer asked, gazing at him intently.
"Wull, first off they don't believe the Fomorians left willingly any more'n we do," Hagrid sighed, pulling out a stool. The two of them sat down, Jennifer nodding for him to continue. "They also don't think wherever they are that they're on the surface. Giants… well, some of 'em might not be the brightest people ya've met, but one thing they do know about is territory. They know what areas are others and what are theirs, and they defend theirs against… well, more often then not each other as well as every'un else."
"Funny, for some reason that doesn't sound all that different from the Fomorians, and how protective they are of their home too," Jennifer said thoughtfully.
"Right, wull, doesn't everyone, tho'? Maybe not to tha' extreme," Hagrid said with a nod. "Anyhow, I am inclined to believe 'em when they say they'd have noticed."
"Then you're saying they're probably still somewhere underwater?" Jennifer asked.
"I reckon it's possible, but honestly I don't think that'd make sense none either. The Fomorians know the ocean and its magic better'n anyone. You don't keep a goldfish caged in the ocean, 'cuz sooner or later they're goin' ta get out, and then there will be no catching 'em again. You wanna keep summat locked up and safe, take it out of its own element."
"Yes, I suppose you have a point," Jennifer said, getting up. She turned her attention to the painting of a rather cross-looking elderly woman with pale white skin and hair and a black robe that covered every inch of skin except her face and hands. "Demura, would you please ask Janus Craw if I can have a word with him? And is Professor Ravenclaw in class?"
"Yes, Professor Craw, for another half an hour," the woman nodded. "His last class of the day, consisting of students from all houses, are studying from the book Visions and Portents. Being the first day, I'm afraid I cannot supply you with a average marks in the classroom at the moment."
"That'll do, thank you," Jennifer said quickly. "Just Janus, if you don't mind."
"Clever painting. Never noticed her before," Hagrid said, somewhat distracted.
"That's the beauty of paintings, they blend into the background," Jennifer grinned. "Demura is Minerva's Secretary. I only know about her thanks to Corey and having to work administration for a while. How I hated it!"
"It's true, not many can handle the intricacies of running this school," Demura agreed, "No matter how good a teacher they are. You definitely fit into the 'can't handle it' category."
"Weren't you going to go do something more productive, like finding Janus?" Jennifer asked irritably.
"He's already on the way, Professor," Demura said, smiling thinly with amusement.
"I should have known better than to ask. She's snide with everyone except Minerva and Albus," Jennifer sighed. "But I really do want to know what Janus thinks about the gate."
"Which gate would that be?" A voice asked before Hagrid had a chance to ask. Janus floated in with a curious smile.
"The one on the island, the one that once lead to Tir Na Nog. Do you suppose Ciardoth could have actually gotten it open?"
"Impossible," Janus said, shaking his head. "I told Dumbledore there was no possibility of that before he left to check out the island himself. That gate was sealed by Merlin himself, and from both sides, not just ours. I discovered that myself trying to find a way to open it without the Seal… and if I couldn't open it at that point, no one could have."
"Ciardoth is hardly human, tho', everyone has said it," Hagrid said.
"Not to mention that she seems to have a power over magic that none of us have," Jennifer sighed.
"Perhaps, but nothing is as strong as the will to survive, and that was something I had until the end. Ciardoth only wishes the destruction of others and herself. Not to mention the fact that to move so many Fomorian Mages into another plane of existence would cause such a rift in the balance of magic in this world that I seriously doubt that you four Sentinels would have missed it. It wouldn't have felt like a mere earthquake… rather more like a tidal wave of power."
"Well, we're running out of possibilities then, aren't we? If the giants are right and they're not on land, and Hagrid's right that they're not in the sea, and if you're right that we'd know if that had left this world, then where does that leave, the moon?"
"Come now, Jennifer, I think you know enough to recognize the other possibility," Janus said chidingly. "As reluctant as you may be to admit it."
"She's got 'em underground somm'eres," Hagrid said, Janus nodding in response. "It'd need to be some awfully big… wait a minute. Ya don't think she somehow found part of the Lower Kingdom, do you?"
"What? You mean that old goblin legend about them having an underground empire before the Celts came? Oh, do be serious, Hagrid, no one has found anything resembling anything that size anywhere in this country or on the entire continent. That legend was made by the goblins supporting the revolution to convince each other they could overcome the obstacles and achieve great things. And it served its purpose beautifully, granted, but that's all it ever was…" she paused then as she caught a glimpse of Janus, shaking his head at her with a strange flashing look in his otherwise dull ghostly gaze.
"You know, you really have gotten better since I've known you, but there's one lesson that seems to still evade you, Jennifer. Whether you label something as truth or fact, it should never be taken as an absolute. What you know as facts you learned from other human beings, which is hardly infallible. Truth can vary from person to person depending on your point of view. If you want the real truth, don't take my word for it or anyone else's word for it either. Find your own. If I were you, I'd start by looking up Morgan Le Fey," Janus added, turning back towards the wall. "Now if you'll excuse me, Ick will be done with class soon and I have an appointment for chess. I think you can take it from here."
"Lovely," Jennifer muttered.
"Can't tell he was Slytherin's apprentice, can you?" Hagrid joked, dusting off the Register casually. There was a quick knock and Jennifer opened the door for Minerva.
"Sorry it took me so long, Jennifer, but Dumbledore returned while I was downstairs," Minerva said with a smile. "Severus was asking about you when we passed him as well, by the way."
"Yes, I promised to have a quiet dinner before the weekend started," Jennifer replied.
"Don't forget next week is our first Coven Night," Minerva said in a low voice.
"Already?"
"Well, in two weeks you have an Order of Merlin meeting, so it was the only one free."
"Goodness, I forgot about that," Jennifer blinked. "Well! I suppose I'd better go enjoy what free time I have then. It was nice seeing you, Hagrid," she added in a louder tone, turning back around in time to see Hagrid snatching his hand away from the Registry like a child caught in the candy dish, brushing off the top again.
"Sorrae, thought I saw somethin' crawlin' on it… bookworm maybe, can't be too careful," Hagrid said.
"Hagrid, you could try asking me if your son is in there or not," Minerva said with a thin, knowing smile.
"Oh, no, I'm not curious, not one bit, really, we'll find out in the summer in any case, won't we?" Hagrid said quickly, taking a step away from the book.
"Good! Dumbledore's waiting in his office, we'd best be off then! I'm sure you know the way," Minerva added, allowing Hagrid to head out in front of her.
"Aren't you ever going to tell him?" Jennifer whispered softly as they went out the door.
"I haven't decided yet," Minerva said. "So don't you dare say a word." Jennifer grinned at her before heading down the other hall, chuckling softly to herself as she checked her watch then headed towards Severus' classroom.
She found him sitting his desk in the Defense room, one hand impatiently drumming his fingers while making notes with the other, nodding for her to shut the door the moment she entered.
"Weren't we going to meet in your sitting room?" Jennifer asked.
"Yes, but first I would like to have a professional discussion, if you don't mind," he said, putting down his quill.
"I thought we agreed we weren't going to have those anymore," Jennifer said warily.
"Well, hopefully this will be short. I merely want to ask you why you were spying on my class today," Severus said, gazing steadily at her.
"Oh, really, Severus. I had a conference period and I merely paused a moment to look in. You used to do the same to me all the time," Jennifer said.
"You were lingering by the door a good ten minutes," Severus said looking at her knowingly.
"All right, I admit I might have been a touch curious to how Aurelius was doing," she muttered, slightly embarrassed. "And after Alex's reaction last year…"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I just… well, Severus, you're not exactly known for being the most hospitable teacher in the school," Jennifer said.
"I'm not here to be hospitable. I'm here to teach students how to stay alive," Severus said curtly. "And I've no intention of treating Aurelius any different than any other Slytherin. I had no trouble with him in the classroom, nor did I expect to have, although but you may want to keep an eye on that Mr. Donnelly of Gryffindor, he seemed to have some attention span problems to say the least."
"I think you'd better be more concerned about the students who gave him that note instead," Jennifer said. "He didn't write the note. Stock did with the soul intention for causing exactly what happened to happen… getting a Gryffindor into trouble."
"If he didn't write the note, then perhaps he should have had enough sense not to accept it," Severus snapped. "Now he'll think twice about doing so. Not that it's really any of your affair. I don't criticize your teaching, and you have no call to criticize mine."
"Oh, you don't? Then whom exactly was that remark about coffee and tea parties meant to be directed at?" Jennifer demanded. Severus hesitated, but his eyes never left hers.
"That was merely a generalized statement."
"Like hell it was! The class knew exactly who you were referring to, and this is not the first time I've heard you doing that in your classroom, either! At least when I have some criticism about your teaching, I take it to you and not them!"
"I rather suspect that in most cases you take it to your friends rather than come to me at all," Severus snapped. "You don't talk to me about anything unless I corner you."
"Well, why should I, when most of the time you tell me that my concerns are nothing important or that it's professional so butt out?" Jennifer challenged him.
Just then there was a crisp knock at the door and a moment later it opened, Minerva gazing at them with a very disapproving look on her face.
"This is your idea of a quiet dinner?" Minerva asked when it grew obvious that neither one of them planned to speak.
"A mere professional discussion," Severus said.
"So I heard. From all the way down the hall," Minerva said dryly. "Since it is only the second day of term, I'd like to remind you both that there are students in the building now. If you find it fit to have any more 'professional discussions,' I suggest you take it to an office or some other sound-proof room. Or you can lock yourselves in the sparring gym, provided that the survivor inform me the moment it's over so that I can replace whoever ended up on the floor. And if I hear of this again… short of both of you coming to me directly about any 'professional differences'… you will find yourselves having a 'professional discussion' with Dumbledore as well. Have a nice evening," she added, leaving the door wide open as she walked away. Severus and Jennifer grimaced at each other.
"Well, at least she merely gave us another warning," Jennifer said quietly after an awkward pause. "Although I do think she's serious about going to Dumbledore this time."
"Yes, I should have known better than to think that asking you a simple question wouldn't get out of hand," Severus said. Jennifer gave him a dirty look. "Professionally speaking, of course."
"I hate how you banter that word about when it suits you. I think you only do it because you think I won't make you sleep on the couch if it's a disagreement about work," Jennifer said accusingly. "But there are times when you make it very difficult for me to even begin to separate the Severus from the Snape. And there are other times when I wish I didn't have to."
"I'd rather not take our quarrels upstairs, if you don't mind," Severus said.
"Yes, I know," Jennifer said. "How convenient to just be able to put aside our problems until the next school day. But nothing will ever be solved that way."
"As far as I'm concerned, there's nothing to solve. Stay out of my classroom, and I'll stay out of yours," Severus said.
"I'll remember that the next time you decide to reorganize my office," Jennifer said, shaking her head with an exasperated smile as she followed him out of the room.
