Chapter Thirty
When Darkness Falls
It wasn't until a few weeks later that Jennifer actually had time to relax, having gotten stuck with organizing OWLS that year. Some payment for what she just had to do, Jennifer thought, but it was hardly Severus' fault that he couldn't do them. As it was, things had gotten so busy with the Ministry's constant requests for Severus to go to London during the goblin negotiations that neither he nor Minerva could get their work done either. Hermione was the one who valiantly volunteered to help Minerva organize the final paperwork for the year, while Jennifer helped Severus keep up with his students' class work.
But one Saturday while they were visiting the kids, Bill and Heather stopped by the Burrow. Molly quickly set out tea in the living room so they had a chance to talk one on one about what happened.
"I feel pretty silly now believing she was a Phrygian princess," Heather said.
"You shouldn't be, considering she actually believed it herself," Jennifer said. "When she found the cup and saw that it had Wine in it, she was curious and took a sip. Surrounded by such items, she was probably imagining what it might be like to have been a princess, and that had molded the delusion brought out by the Wine. She was still under the effects of the Wine when she decided to pick up the comb."
"But the cup was in a case, and wasn't it cursed?" Bill mused.
"I doubt a Fomorian would have had any trouble temporarily dispelling a curse they knew was there," Severus said. "And the Wine, as we learned from Filch's actions, has a way of making one want to protect it. I think she put it back in an attempt to safeguard it while she looked around."
"Only that backfired," Jennifer said. "When the Wine's effects began to wear off, she panicked, because everything she thought was real... the wine's delusions... started to fade. The only way to make them real again was the Wine, then in hands of the Ministry. So when you went to talk to the Ministry about the goblin mess with the princess..."
"She took her 'possession' back," Bill finished.
"Exactly, and held onto it until she lost it in the forest. Her 'relapse' as we saw it was merely the Wine wearing off, and her realization that she was supposed to be doing else, namely bringing the cup to her father. It wasn't until the last effects of that had worn off and she remembered who she was that she was able to leave St. Mungo's on her own to try to find out what happened to her father. She went home, probably to find some clues to where they had gone, then after that snuck in the Ministry for the cup and then went to rescue them. You know, though, it's too bad that Heather hadn't known any spoken Phrygian. We might have figured out sooner that Thera couldn't speak it, only Ancient Greek, which is close to what the Fomorians speak. That's probably why she didn't acknowledge that specialist you sent," Jennifer said.
"But what about that cup? I thought it didn't have any powers of its own?" Arthur asked.
"It doesn't in normal hands," Severus said. "From what the Magus told us from the beginning, it was fairly obvious that there was a deep bond between the Fomorians and the cup, and that it had some sort of control over water. Truly, it was Thera who had the power, not the cup itself. It was only an instrument of that power, much like we would use a wand."
"Well, that lake did take some explaining," Arthur chuckled. "A flash flood would have been easy, had it been fresh water. Salt water is another story. And we had all sorts of odd Muggles running about saying it was a sign that Merlin was coming back."
"Good thing they don't know what we do," Jennifer chuckled. "And I am glad that things are getting back to normal with the goblins."
"Well, Myrkinbrek is now free for everyone to visit and the bank is reopened, but I don't know that things will ever be 'normal' again," Arthur said.
"Good," Bill said. Severus nodded to him. "No offense to the Ministry, Dad, but the goblins did have a lot of valid complaints."
"Yes, I know, but I'm just one man, and not the Council," Arthur said. "Even with everything that has happened, there are still some who would rather see goblins put in their place."
"Someone should be putting them in their place then," Molly said.
"Well, perhaps the goblins will in good time," Jennifer said. "I think they have a lot more support now than they did when this thing began."
"Yes, in the school as well," Severus agreed. "Thanks to our mild mannered sharp-toothed Librarian in part."
"The rescue certainly would never have made it without him. He was able to pose as one of the workers, find my Cauldron and give them the potion before the potion lost its potency," Jennifer said.
"Ironic, isn't it, that the same Cauldron you acquired from them is the same one that ended up saving them," Arthur said.
"I admit it has me feeling a bit better about the whole thing, even if it hadn't been theirs to begin with," Jennifer said. "And with any luck, our Ambassador to them will have an easier time with our political relationship, considering what we just went through."
"Oh, that reminds me. The new leader of the Fomorians assigned an ambassador to us as well… Ambassador Thera," Arthur said.
"She's the only one of them that knows any English," Bill grinned.
"Thanks to you two," Jennifer smiled at them. "Who's the new leader?"
"Their previous Magus, I hear. Governor Mikolas," Arthur said.
"So that's what the Magus' name is," Jennifer chuckled. "You know, it suits him."
"I will still call him Magus," Severus mused. "Assuming I ever see him again."
"Who knows? Maybe we can go on another boating trip," Jennifer teased. Severus didn't seem to particularly care for that idea.
There was never any question who was going to win the House Cup. Even with Gryffindor winning the Quidditch cup, nothing could compare to the four hundred and eighty points acquired by Slytherin. Green and Silver were the colors of the last day of term, and despite still having bitter feelings towards his mother for her accusations a month before, Aurelius had managed to finish at the top even in Potions, and at the top of his class. Alex, as usual, was in the top ten, and didn't begrudge the Slytherin win. Neither did her brother, after she promised not to do anything like drop out of sparring again.
Jennifer had her office packed in record time, and her paperwork was all neat and ready to be filed before heading to Severus' office to get his. It was strange to see his stuff all still in its place when she had finished packing her own. She sighed softly, taking a moment to scratch Rasputin behind his eye patch before walking out of the room and up to Minerva's office.
She and Hermione were both there, chatting as they filed everyone's paperwork, waving at Jennifer warmly as she came in.
"So here we are, at another year's end," Hermione said, accepting the papers from Jennifer.
"For me, at least," Jennifer agreed. Minerva smiled at her knowingly.
"I'll only be gone two weeks, Jennifer, and if Severus needs me here sooner, you make sure he sends for me," Minerva said. "After that, you can have him for most of the summer for all I care, short of some time off for good behavior now and then."
"You just try to relax, Minerva," Jennifer said.
"And you try to enjoy your time away from Severus," Minerva winked. "Relax and have a cup of tea without having to hear that screeching whale you got him for Christmas."
"It's a violin," Jennifer laughed. "But I will try."
"Yes, and come over!" Hermione scolded. "Come by and see Joanie, it breaks my heart sometimes to see how big she's getting."
"As a long-time member of the Saturday visitation club, I can completely relate," Jennifer said, hugging Hermione. "I'll try to stop by after the kids' birthdays," she promised, heading out the door with a wave.
As Jennifer got to the main stairwell there was a staircase waiting for her. In fact, there was one waiting at every single landing, and Jennifer couldn't help but chuckle and shake her head as she stepped got to the fifteenth floor and up the spiral stairs. The doors were already open for her, and Severus was standing behind the desk as if he were coming to meet her, only to have been distracted by an error he needed to correct in a letter that he had been writing.
"So this is your new solution to keep me from jumping staircases?" Jennifer asked him accusingly.
"I might as well use the power while I have it," Severus said expressionlessly, putting the quill down and stepping in front of the desk. "Off to meet the children, I assume?"
"Yes, after a short trip to the Alley," Jennifer said.
"Which one?" Severus said suspiciously.
"Both of them," Jennifer admitted. "Oh don't worry, Severus, I'm not about to bring home a dangerous trinket that ends up being a secret device tied to the end of the world, am I?" she teased, putting her arms around him.
"It's been known to happen," he pointed out. "Getting something to control the kids while I'm gone?"
"No, but I suppose I should," Jennifer chuckled. "Two weeks… it's going to seem like forever to me."
"Oh nonsense," Severus said, glancing around at his appointment book. "By the end of it, you'll have forgotten all about me. You'll have probably changed the locks on the door before I get back. Of course, I suppose you could always make an appointment if you get lonely."
"Fine," Jennifer said. "We'll do lunch then."
"Good," Severus said, his eyes steady on his wife. "What day?"
"What day? All of them, of course," Jennifer said. As she leaned up and kissed them, Severus heard the familiar scratching from the appointment book followed by the flurry of page turns as it wrote down: 12:00 pm. Quality time with spouse. "I suppose I ought to get going," Jennifer said reluctantly when she pulled away from the kiss.
"Yes, you should. You may get caught in Knockturn at night if you don't," Severus murmured.
"Really, Severus! You let me travel to the center of the earth to rescue Fomorians and you worry about me going to Knockturn at night?" Jennifer teased, stepping towards the door.
"I hardly sent you alone, either," Severus said defensively.
"I should suggest to Harry that he should start an Auror escort service now that he's out of the bank business," Jennifer chuckled.
"Oh? The bank is closed now?" Severus asked.
"No, he sold his shares to Taylor Brittle," Jennifer replied. "I think the bank is here to stay."
"You had better be off. I do have work to do," Severus said. "But don't be late to your appointment tomorrow."
"Certainly not," Jennifer smiled at him, heading down the stairs.
The Leaky Cauldron was bustling as always, its patrons greeting Jennifer warmly as she passed through with a quick stop to Flourish and Blotts for art paper and to Gringotts for a bit more spending money.
Despite the hour, it was still bustling in the bank, but as she stepped in the door to search for her key, she heard a loud shuffling as if several people had moved their chairs at once. It was then that she looked up and saw that all of the tellers had stopped what they were doing and got up, from the Exchange all the way down to Officer's table, where Griphook grinned ever so slightly and nodded to her. All of the customers had turned to stare, many of whom she knew. Even Lucius Malfoy at the accountants table was there, his face cold and expressionless as she walked by him. As the tellers took their seats, the accountant had to invite Malfoy to the back several times before he finally acknowledged him, and left for a long financial discussion with his brokers.
"I am not sure what I did to deserve that," Jennifer said to Griphook with a smile.
"Be sure that we did the same to Potter, Professor Craw," Griphook said. "But not until after he sold his shares of the Hogsmeade bank, of course. You freed quite a number of goblins that day. That will not be forgotten."
Perhaps things were finally getting better for the goblins, Jennifer mused as she slipped out and towards Knockturn Alley. At least they seem to be happier than they were, and the Ministry did seem to be listening now. In some ways, it almost seemed to be hard to believe that the whole thing with the boycott and how close they came to war. But now, everything seemed close to normal again. But hopefully, Jennifer thought to herself, not too close to normal.
The adjacent Alley was mostly free of shoppers, for night had just fallen and it was still early for the sort of Dark wizards that usually frequented there. Many of those walking by wore heavy cloaks, probably to hide from each other just who was buying what poison for whom. Jennifer had never felt the need to take such a precaution, for no one ever doubted a Craw's right to be there. But it was getting late, and the train would be arriving soon, and there were two stops she still had to make. That was when she made the fateful decision to cut behind the pawnshop, hoping to save time.
Suddenly she noticed movement from one of the dark corners behind the building and slowed, checking her wand but not drawing it. She knew better than to take it out prematurely after the last time she had bumped into someone in the Alley, but she was definitely going to keep her hand close.
"Who is it?" Jennifer asked cautiously, not daring to come any closer as she waited for the other figure to step into the light. As she recognized the face she took a step forward, but then read something in those eyes that completely alarmed her. "No, wait!"
"Obliviate!"
End Book 2 Series 3
End Book 2 Series 3
Gosh is that really the ending? Yikes! Well, never fear, the next book, Jennifer Craw and the Maze of Dreams tells of Severus' struggles with what happens next, trying to juggle his school responsibilities with family...there's a lot on the line, so I hope you'll stay tuned for this next book. In any case, please review and thanks for reading!
