Chapter Sixteen
In a Poke
Despite her discomfort underground, Jennifer wasn't bothered by being in a locked room so long as there was a window to look out of. Severus, however, was pacing the length of the cell like a panther, growling at everyone that passed outside of the door.
"Calm down, you're starting to remind me of one of the beasts downstairs in the menagerie," Jennifer admitted, leaning against the enchanted glass that divided the cell from the hallway. "You know they can't really hold us. It'll all be sorted out in no time, I'm sure."
"Trespassing? Destruction of public property? And not one attempt at actually looking into why we were there," he snarled.
"I'm not sure that's so much the Ministry's fault, Severus," Jennifer said. "You heard the goblins. As far as they're concerned, it is their land and therefore their problem."
"And just what can they do about it?" Severus scowled.
"I don't know, but they probably have some idea how to navigate that maze, which is more than we can do," Jennifer pointed out.
"Yes, and then what? Would you have them go down there to be enslaved? She has enough Dementors down there to subdue what's left of the Fomorian race. Even an army of wizards would find the odds stacked against so many in such an enclosed space…not to mention that the magic of the Fomorians is not like our own."
"Yes, but it's not like they want to be down there," Jennifer said, sighing thoughtfully. "If only we could find that cup."
"Why?" Severus asked sharply, not sure he trusted the glimmer in his wife's eyes. "What does the cup have to do with anything?"
But before she could reply, Jennifer noticed someone approaching down the hall, her face darkening when she realized who it was.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Lucius asked with a thin smile. "In trouble again, are we? And they thought I was the criminal."
"Now why is it that I somehow suspect that you had something to do with our welcoming committee?" Severus scowled at him.
"I knew it was only a matter of time before the two of you would be overstepping your bounds again. Someone has to look out for the best interests of the school," Lucius said calmly.
"It is a good thing for you I cannot get to you right now," Severus growled. Jennifer put a hand on his shoulder as she noticed someone else approach. A flash went off, making them both blink.
"Morly Stringbalm, from The Oracle. Care to make a statement?" asked the thin-haired, greasy-robed reporter cheerfully.
"What is that doing here? Does the Ministry know he's here?" Jennifer demanded.
"My dear Craw Snape, I think the public deserves to know exactly what sort of teachers are employed in Dumbledore's circus, and there is little hope of them hearing the truth out of the Daily Prophet these days. So it is my most heartfelt duty to make certain that the truth be told," Lucius said, apparently enjoying himself.
"Someone call a guard, I believe I am going to be ill," Severus said wearily.
"Jennifer! Good lord, Thurspire, what are you thinking putting them in there?" Arthur Weasley asked as he came into view. Ron Weasley and Colin Creevy were two steps behind, as well as a guard, Minister Brown, and Thurspire himself.
"Ministry policy does say to detain any offenders in holding until processing can be obtained…"
"Considering that two of their children are staying with Dad, I don't think either of them would be considered a flight risk," Ron said curtly, frowning at the other reporter. "Creevy, stay on him and make sure you photograph everything he does."
"Right," Creevy said, immediately turning the camera back on Jennifer and Severus who found themselves looking at spots again.
"We heard you purchased The Oracle and are trying to make it coastal. No one's going to buy it, you know," Ron said to Lucius.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Weasley," Lucius said coolly. "Afraid that a little competition will force you to report the truth?"
"And what sort of truth would that be?" Ron challenged him.
"The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that the Minister of Magic is about to let out two criminals free without a second thought because they pay his wife a good deal of money to keep those urchins of theirs under some sort of control," Lucius said viciously.
"Someone get him out of here, or by God I will kill him," Severus swore.
"I'll distract the others, you go for the throat," Jennifer agreed.
"Gladly." A flashbulb from Morly indicated that he thought that two Snapes glaring murderously at Malfoy would be a good picture, followed by a quick second flash from the Prophet camera.
"Should I escort Malfoy out so we can move the defendants, Minister?" Brown asked in an almost lazy voice, as if completely disinterested in doing so. But Arthur Weasley was actually smiling quite broadly, his full attention on Lucius.
"As it so happens, Brown and Thurspire are merely here to escort Jennifer and Severus to a meeting with Dumbledore and their new school solicitor in the Tower office. You can walk with us if you like," he added, nodding at the guard who opened the door to let them out.
"Since when has the school had its own counselor?" Jennifer whispered to Severus. "Perhaps Vallid couldn't make it?"
"I'm sure Dumbledore has his reasons," Severus answered quickly. Of course, Dumbledore's track record as far as he was concerned was questionable at the moment. Jennifer caught the look in his face but said nothing, trying her best to keep herself from grabbing cameras every time the two of them flashed at them.
Outside of the office, three figures waited for their arrival. It was Dumbledore and the current board chairman, Sebastian Shea, talking to one of the last people Jennifer had expected to see… Draco Malfoy. Apparently she was not the only one with her mouth open. Lucius looked anything but happy.
"Sorry about the delay, Professor, Chairman, Counselor," Arthur said. "They had a visitor when we arrived."
"And just what is this?" Lucius asked. His words were slow from being spoken in a forced calm, but heat was quickly rising to his cheeks as he looked over at his son. "What are you doing here?"
"Working to make sure your granddaughter has all the comforts that I had," Draco said simply. "Do you mind? I'm sure it can wait until after work."
"I didn't pay for all of those law exams and Magistrate fees for you to be freelancing!" Lucius snapped. "I pay you to be my Counselor!"
"You're the one who's always saying you want to look after the school's best interests, Father," Draco said with a faint smile. "I don't see how my taking the school as a client is a of a conflict of interest. Besides, Dumbledore pays better."
"So this is how I am treated, after all of those years making sure you had not only the best but a step better than everyone else, not to mention paying for that stupid alchemy shop and Quidditch team after you got out of school… both of which you ran into the ground before you started begging me to study law. You owe me everything, and this is how you repay me! You care about nothing and no one but yourself!" Lucius spat.
"Like father, like son, I suppose," Draco said. "Pavarti's making Leek'n'Eels casserole tonight. Stop by if you like. Now, shall we go in and chat a bit before out meeting with the Minister, Professors?"
Ron, Morly, Colin, and Lucius watched intently as the guard shut the door and stood against it with his wand, looking slightly bored. Lucius' knuckles were white as he stared at the door, his fury and frustration evident in his thinned lips. Ron shook his head in total disbelief.
"I've had the most frightening realization just now," Ron admitted.
"Something the matter, Chief?" Colin asked curiously.
"Yes, definitely," Ron mused. "I think I'm actually starting to like that stuck up little flake."
A glare of piercing icicles shot through him from Lucius before the wizard turned around and left with Morly close behind, leaving Colin to merely chuckle softly, thinking back to their days at Hogwarts.
Draco Malfoy didn't care much for the incompetence of the current Ministry. In fact he was quite outspoken about it, which often kept him at odds with not only the Ministry but also the Magistrate in nearly every case he ever poked his nose into.
But Rhys Brown, current Minister of Law Enforcement, had always seen that behind the brashness and ego of one of the newest wizard attorneys at large was an aggressive, ruthless negotiator… someone who would, with time and experience, make a very worthy opponent on the battlefield in front of the Magistrate.
Rhys had begun to feel a headache coming on the moment he read off the charges, drumming his fingers on the table until at last a Ministry secretary came in, handing him the report he had been waiting on.
"All right, Counselor Malfoy," Rhys said, flipping over the report. "The last spells that your clients cast were a light spell and a mapping spell like you stated; nothing that could have caused an earthquake or the damage to the Tor. But that hardly refutes the fact they were where they weren't supposed to be."
"Really?" Draco asked. "If the first charge was destroying public property, then you must admit they were on public property, and therefore couldn't be trespassing."
"They were there at odd hours, Malfoy."
"The Tor often has visitors at odd hours, considering there are several popular campsites set up to view the site," Draco pointed out.
"They were hardly camping, Malfoy," Rhys said dryly. "And as much as I personally may believe their story, there isn't any evidence as of yet to prove that what they told us was the real reason they were down there. And if Ciardoth was the reason," Rhys said, looking directly at Jennifer and Severus. "They should have come to us before trying to take action."
"Rhys, I assure you that I am prepared to take full responsibility in this matter. I was the person who requested that they look into this," Dumbledore said.
"A request which could have been refused, Professor, although I am also surprised that you did not contact us sooner than you had," Rhys said. Severus turned to gaze at Dumbledore. "The bottom line is that they chose to go down there, and they admit they went down there. Whether or not they followed a Fomorian in is inconsequential to the charges."
"Pardon me, Minister, but I honestly don't see how it legally applies," Draco said, making Rhys look squint at him thoughtfully. "The charge for damages is unfounded, and so is damage on the surface of the hill itself. But as the goblins have pointed out to the Ministry, under the Tor is their jurisdiction, not yours."
"You are right in that," Rhys sighed, folding his hands together on top of his desk. "Although personally I think you would have been a lot better off if it were my jurisdiction. The fact of the matter is, this has caused quite a furor. Things have gotten rather complicated between goblins and the Ministry over the last few years, and this little excursion of yours is going to make that a lot more complicated." Rhys glanced at Draco and then over to Jennifer and Snape.
"Professors, I am not your solicitor, nor would I ever want to be. I am merely a man who knows how to get to the facts to make sure criminals are put to justice. But I am warning you now that you are sitting on a bomb," Rhys said seriously. "If you try to fight this charge, that bomb is going to go off. And it's not only going to affect the two of you, but everyone in this building, your school, and the Ministry as a whole, not to mention snapping the tight-wire negotiations we've been having with the goblins that have been keeping us at peace. Now, if you need to chat with your counselor about what a slap on the hand trespassing charge will do to your positions in society, you go right ahead, but I am not about to let you walk out of that door without that admission."
Jennifer and Severus glanced at each other silently for a long moment before glancing over at Draco, who was unusually indecisive. Dumbledore gazed into the distance, thoughtful and somber. Biting back her anger, Jennifer nodded, Severus following her lead none the happier. This time, it seemed, they would have to face this charge alone.
The coming of the first snow was completely lost under the flurry of newspapers that arrived at Hogwarts the next afternoon as copies of the Daily Prophet and Oracle were opened around the Great Hall. The students talked excitedly about their contents, and even began discussing publishing their own special edition of the Veritable Wizard about the arrest of their most favorite and least favorite of teachers.
But nowhere else in the room was as busy as at the end of the Ravenclaw table. Students of every house had gathered near where Alex and Aurelius sat, somehow trying to absorb everything that had gotten thrown at them that day.
"This is absolutely outrageous, I can't believe this is happening at all!" Alex snapped as she scanned the Daily Prophet. "All of this fuss just because they tried to help that Fomorian Magus! What could Mr. Weasley be thinking doing this to them?"
"This one says that the underground area in that vicinity is under goblin jurisdiction and that goblins will be dealing with any reports of other trespassers on their property. I bet they'll just get themselves imprisoned by Ciardoth too," Aurelius said, then shook his head.
"Don't be too sure of that. Goblins were well known for being fierce and bloodthirsty warriors during the revolts," Rose said. "Although I've never heard of them taking on Dementors, if the Prophet is right about them being down there."
"Never mind the Fomorians! What's going to happen to Craw and Snape? Are they going to get fired?" Ted asked. Rel and Alex both gave him icy stares that made him back away a bit.
"Well according to the Oracle, Chairman Shea… that's your father, isn't it, Mandria… isn't too happy with the situation at all. They're even reconsidering allowing Snape to help McGonagall head up the school in the winter," Rose said.
"Odd, all the Prophet says is that the board asked the Snapes not to do any more rescue missions without consulting them," Alex said.
"Both are probably true and more, but I highly doubt anyone's getting fired," Mandria said firmly.
"Who cares? No offense meant, but it's not about jobs or how much trouble they're in, is it really?" Rose said. "It's about the fact that no one seems to be doing anything about the Fomorians, and only the goblins feel they have the right to do so. Meanwhile, who knows what trouble Ciardoth's going to cause?"
"But Rose, let's be realistic, here. The goblins aren't about to do anything. Perhaps they'll try to seal the entrances, but what will that do, really? If the Fomorians are elemental wizards, they can get out of any goblin trap if they are under their own power," Stewart Gaffney said. "Until the Ministry and the goblins sort out their political problems, I don't see the Ministry lending a hand even if they wanted to. Their hands in this matter are tied."
"And so are Dumbledore's and our parents' hands, it seems," Aurelius grumbled.
"I wonder if there's anything we can do," Alex murmured. Rose, Mandria, and Aurelius gave her a dirty look.
"Boy does this bring back memories!"
Half the students jumped at the loud, cheerful voice of Madame Brittle who had walked up to listen, a look of complete amusement on her face as the students began asking several questions at once. Rather than get accosted, Danny sat down at the table, surprising the students and quieting them down immediately.
"It's been a long time since I've sat at this table," Danny said with a smile. "Of course, back in my day, all the real action was at the Gryffindor table, but the subject matter was pretty similar. The Snapes have a regular habit of getting into sticky situations."
"Madame Brittle, surely a lot of this stuff in the papers is just hype, isn't it? I mean, they're not just going to let this business with Ciardoth go like that?" Alex asked.
"Where are Snape and Craw at now, anyhow?" Ted asked.
"Professors Snape and Craw," Danny corrected automatically, "have gone to visit their other two children as they do every Saturday morning and no, Mr. Gaffney, no one's getting fired over this. As for Ciardoth, I'm sure the Ministry plans to keep looking for her on the surface, and the goblins assure us they are looking for her below."
"And the school is being bullied into staying out of it," Aurelius muttered.
"Don't believe everything you read in the papers, Mr. Snape. I never do," Danny said, getting up. "If you really want to know what's going on, I expect you should be doing your homework. Who knows, maybe you'll find something we overlooked. It wouldn't be the first time students had a jump on things," she winked, walking away.
"Just like a professor to recommend us to do homework at a time like this," Ted said glumly.
"Perhaps, but I don't think that's what Brittle meant. She meant research what's going on and find out what's missing, and that's exactly what we're going to do," Alex said, glancing over the table. "Rose, you've been studying goblins lately, right? You can look into politics to find out why this is going on and how we might be able to get them to work with the Ministry."
"I'll talk with Librarian Boulderdash," Rose offered.
"Fine. Just don't let him know why," Alex said.
"Why not?" Rose asked, puzzled.
"Because knowing our parents, if they found out we've been asking questions, they'd be the first to try and stop us from finding anything out," Aurelius said grimly. Alex nodded curtly to him. "Especially after being put in the pen."
"Rel, I want you to find out whatever you can about that missing cup in case there's a connection. Mandria and I will scour the papers and I'm going to see if I can learn more about the cup next time the princess visits. I'll also get word to our Ministry informant that he has work to do."
"You have informants?" Ted wanted to know. Alex simply nodded to him.
"And what about our other source?" Rel asked casually.
"What else? See if she can't locate that cup, of course," Alex said.
Alex stopped short of what she was going to say next when she noticed that most of the people standing around her had quickly begun to disperse at a lightning pace. It was then that Alex and the others at the table saw the rather frightening image of Severus Snape bearing down on them with a rolled letter in hand and a flash in his eyes that told them without question that he was not happy. He stopped right behind Aurelius, who turned white as a sheet when he realized why his father was there.
"Mr. Snape. Office. Now," he said in a chilling tone. Mandria, sitting beside Aurelius, began to scoot farther away to prove she had nothing to do with him.
Not saying a word, Aurelius got up with as much dignity as he could muster, and walked out of the room knowing full well that his father's eyes were on his back.
As Aurelius went out the door, Severus turned again. The piles of newspapers on the table had "mysteriously" vanished; replaced by whatever books they could get their hands on. Severus' eyes fell on Mandria first, squinting as he glanced over her shoulder.
"Interesting reading, Miss Shea?" he asked.
"Just studying ahead, Professor," Mandria said meekly.
"Quite admirable, especially considering that is a fourth year book and you are reading it upside down," Severus pointed out. Mandria slowly put the book down, but Severus' eyes had already wandered over to Alex's who looked steadily back at him. "I suggest you speak to your advisor sometime today before whatever it is that you and your accomplices are up to cause you to share the same fate as your brother, and I assure you, it is not something that you want to share," he said in a threatening, low tone, making eye contact with each student before turning to follow Aurelius. It was several seconds before anyone dared to breathe again.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he won't murder his own son, right?" Ted giggled nervously.
"I don't have to go to Mum to figure out what she's going to say. Don't talk about family matters, keep my nose clean, and try to set a good example for my siblings," Alex said glumly.
"So now what do we do?" Rose sighed.
"What else? We do it anyhow," Alex said, pulling the papers back out from under the table.
"Somehow I knew you were going to say that," Mandria said dourly.
