Chapter Nine

Family Matters

"I have just received splendid news," Aurelius announced just after dinner, sitting by the other two Snapes in the library. "Camille and Xavier have named me the new Slytherin Keeper."

"But tryouts aren't until Sunday," Andrew said.

"Nevertheless, I am the new Keeper. Of course I'll go to the tryouts, but we're just planning to use it as a practice. Any chance of the two of you helping me practice on Saturday so I can look my best?" he asked.

"Sure, Aurelius," Alex said simply, not even looking up from her book.

"Don't you think it's rather odd he made the team before tryouts?" Andrew asked his sister.

"No, it happens here all the time," Alex said, glancing at Aurelius. Andrew looked between them, knowing something was up but deciding not to pry.

"Sure, I'm game, of course, but I don't have a broom. I don't even have lessons until tomorrow," Andrew said.

"Ask Madame Brittle if you can borrow one. She's sure to let you; she's all right," Aurelius said. "But whatever you do, don't challenge her to a flying contest to try to get out of her class."

"Challenge a World Cup Seeker to a contest of brooms?" Andrew said incredulously. "Who would be stupid enough to do something like that?"

"Oh some people," Alex said, jerking her head a bit towards Aurelius then quickly smoothed her hair with her hand when he looked in her direction.

"Why is it, Alex, that even when you're not saying anything that you're still a big mouth?" Aurelius asked. Alex stuck her tongue out at him.

"I would have thought you would have held out for Seeker, Rel," Andrew said.

"Henry the Ox is the Seeker. He's a seventh year," Aurelius explained.

"And he's completely earned his nickname," Alex put in.

"Anyhow, I figure I can always do Keeper this year and tryout for Seeker next year," Aurelius said. "Of course, that'd mean competing against the team captain for it. I imagine Xavier Platt is going to go for it."

"Oh yes, he's the new Slytherin prefect, right?" Andrew said politely.

"Yes, he took over for Horus Crumb," Aurelius nodded.

"He's actually a pretty decent fellow once you get to know him," Alex said.

"He can be. He can also be real slime," Aurelius said.

"That sounds like every Slytherin I've met. Including you," Alex said. "Everyone has a good side and a bad side, although some hide it better than others," she said, looking at Andrew. Andrew grinned at her. "So how come you weren't at lunch today?"

"Oh, Halbert and I went off to find the kitchen, and by the time we found it, lunch had already been served. So we loaded up and went out to eat by the animal pens," Andrew said.

"Eating around that stench?" Alex wrinkled her nose.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad. Halbert knows all sorts of things about animals. It was rather interesting, really," Andrew said.

"Well you shouldn't hang around with Gryffindors, especially that huge bully. He'll just get you into trouble," Aurelius said.

"You have it all wrong. He's big, but he's no more a bully than I am. And considering I'm a Gryffindor, I'd think you'd have enough sense not to judge us all because of Donovan."

"Well, if Donovan gives you a hard time at all, you tell us," Aurelius said. "I've seen the way he's treated Rose in the past, and I'm not about to stand by and watch him do the same to you."

"Just no more Dark Forest challenges, okay?" Alex said to Aurelius. "But Aurelius is right. Let us know if anyone gives you trouble."

"I think I can handle myself all right," Andrew said calmly. "You don't have any reason to worry about me being in Gryffindor. Besides, as you said, your friend Rose is one too. And even if we can't handle him, I bet you her walking tree could."

"The Elf Willow," Alex chuckled, nodding her head. "Father was positively livid when he found out I'm the one that bought the pot, but then Mum calmed…" she caught herself then, a bit flustered. "She calmed him down, like she always does. I'm sorry, it just… when I'm here in this school, I can't imagine her being anywhere else."

"Is that why Father is so cross in the classroom? Because of Mum?" Andrew asked.

"Actually, he's always like that in the classroom," Alex admitted. "But he does look much greyer and thinner than I recall."

"That could be just from all the extra hours he's putting in doing Dumbledore's job and his own. Where is Dumbledore, anyhow?" Aurelius complained. "Shouldn't they have called him back by now?"

"If only we could cheer Father up somehow," Andrew said.

"Well there's nothing we could do that would work, short of actually finding Mum. Hey…" Alex began, only to have Aurelius cover her mouth.

"Don't even think about it," he warned her.

Alicia couldn't help but be disappointed when her Father wrote and told her he couldn't make it that Saturday. But as always, Zoë and Zacchius seemed to have ways of cheering up even her Snape-broodiest of moods… this time with her second greatest passion of riding a broom.

Since she'd been old enough to get on one, there was little doubt she had something special; it was if somehow her skill with the brush fed into the broom somehow, and every move she made was quick, graceful, and looked deceptively easy. Zacchius had the misfortune of trying to duplicate her over the summer and ended up with a broken arm, having to swear to his parents not to do anything like that again before they would give him his broom back. But today she was content to let the twins set the pace, closing her eyes from time to time to clear her mind with only the wind and the warmth of the sun upon her. It was like a brief release from her troubles and fears; something that didn't happen often these days. So when they headed back for lunch she definitely felt and even looked a great deal better than when they had left.

"Did you see my dive and last minute pull-up landing, Mom? I think I shaved another inch off it this time!" Zack declared cheerfully.

"Just make sure you don't shave anything else off. I can't stand watching any of you fly anymore. You take too many risks," Anna said.

"If anything went wrong, Mom, you know Zoë and I can Apparate like you can, licenses or not, and Alicia's just too good to crash," Zack protested.

"How someone like Alicia happened to be born to a set of parents with so little talent on brooms is beyond me," Sirius joked. "Are you sure Alicia and Zoë weren't switched before birth? Zoë definitely has her Snape moments. Then again, so do you."

"Dad's cruisin' to sleep in the guest room tonight," Zack grinned.

"Good thing we're not at home or he'd end up in the doghouse," Zoë said.

"All right, that's enough. Go wash your hands if you want anything to eat. Those broomsticks always leave them black as coal," Anna complained.

"Well, we are Blacks, so it's only fitting, right?"

"Wash!" Anna barked, and the three of them reluctantly headed to the bathroom.

"Are you sure two is enough?" Sirius inquired innocently.

"You're a real card today. Are things that bad at school?" Anna said, looking serious despite her smile.

"About as we expected," Sirius said quietly, suddenly looking tired. "He doesn't eat. If he sleeps at all I suspect he sleeps in his robes, and he only comes out of the study for classes or trips to the Ministry so they can tell him they've made no progress."

"Don't you have any good news?" Anna sighed, putting a plate of lettuce, tomatoes, and onion on the table. "And go check the burgers."

"Well, Harry says Lucius Malfoy went to St. Mungo's with Newt Pneumonia yesterday, does that count?" Sirius said cheerfully. "The bad news is he's going to live and will probably be sent home to recoup tomorrow."

"That's great, the joys of watching other people suffer," Anna said dryly.

"Yes, but it's Malfoy," Sirius said as he popped out the kitchen door, opening the grill. "Shouldn't there be some exceptions to the nice rule in that case?"

"You know, in some ways, you're just as bad as the kids," Anna said, handing him a plate through the open kitchen window. Just before he was able to hand her the plate of burgers back, an owl flew down, startling Anna who jumped back in annoyance. The bird hooted at her curiously but seemed unperturbed by her reaction. Sirius chuckled.

"That's what we get for trying to use the kitchen window as a delivery system. Owls have the right of way, you know. Hi, Misty," he added to the owl who hooted back, flying away the moment Anna grabbed the letter.

"Alicia! Post! And food's done!" she shouted.

The three of them thundered in chatting like mad, Alicia hurrying over and immediately ripping into the note in effort to open it.

"It's from Alex!" Alicia said excitedly.

"Who else would it be from?" Zack snorted. "Go on."

"Get out of my way, ladies first," Zoë said, shoving her brother aside to get first pick.

"Dad, would you please tell Zoë that we don't honor displays of gender inequality in this house and tell her that she has to wait her turn?" Zacchius said. Sirius choked on his soda and quickly stepped outside for a moment.

"Zoë, I think 'excuse me' is probably more effective then 'get out of my way,'" Anna said.

"No, it isn't," Zoë said.

"Now you see what I mean by them having been in the States for too long?" Sirius commented.

"Either that or in their father's care for too long," Anna retorted.

"Here we go again," Zack said. Zoë merely rolled her eyes.

"Oh, listen! Aurelius made the Quidditch team, as Keeper! And then Alex says she went to help him practice before tryouts, and Kirk Havershaw and a couple of the other seventh year players from Ravenclaw stopped to watch, and now Alex made her team too! Chaser!"

"What about Andrew?" Zoë asked.

"Andrew's only a first year, they would never let them play," Zack said.

"They let Harry play," Zoë pointed out.

"Andrew's spending most of his time with a boy named Halbert Hagrid who Alex says is even taller than he is, and even eats as much as he does," Alicia explained.

"A Hagrid in the school too, eh? I'd hate to see Hogwarts' food bill this year," Sirius said, leaning on the door and watching as Alicia's face turned more solemn.

"Mr. Witolf is teaching Potions, and Andrew likes him, but Alex says it's obvious something's missing in the school, and that what's missing is Mum. And they say they miss me too, and to take care, and that's it."

"Come eat, Alicia, your food is getting cold," Anna suggested gently.

"That's sure something, Alex and Rel both making the teams and only third and second year," Zoë said.

"Yeah, I wonder who Aurelius had to bribe for that," Zacchius grinned.

"All right, that's enough, Zack. Why don't you all go outside on the deck and eat? It's too hot in here."

"You want me to start up the ice crystals in the fireplace?" Sirius said. "No electricity bill to worry about here."

"Is that another hint?" Anna challenged him.

"Just a little one," Sirius said, heading to the front room. "Look, I know you want to be close to your grandparents, but they're only a few port jumps away. It's not like you can't get there in ten minutes if you have to."

"And what about my job?"

"You already know what I think about your job," Sirius sighed.

"You hate my job," Anna said accusingly.

"Well, yes, but it's more than just that," Sirius said dryly. "You get yourself obsessed with chasing down these psychotic killers, so much so that the kids sense it and wake up with nightmares."

"Oh, this isn't about yours?" she challenged him.

"Mine are a bit different," Sirius said dryly. "Ever since Lorcan, they've been about you getting over your head and ending up in those graphic photos of yours. And most of the time I find myself wondering why you're going out of your way to find these horrific people that have nothing to do with us instead of trying to cope with matters closer to home."

"Sirius, people are dying here."

"People are dying everywhere, Anna! You can't fix that!" Sirius snapped, glancing outside and lowering his voice. "And I'm sure if you let it go, someone else will pick up that cause. Your sister-n-law is missing, Zoë is having reality issues, Zack is doing anything he can think up to get attention, your brother is falling apart, and even I can't seem to get through to you to notice. It's time you took a look at your priorities and stop running away from your real problems in favor of someone else's." Sirius said, then snorted in sudden realization. "I guess you're more like your brother than I used to think you were."

"I know where my priorities are," Anna said, her voice low but obviously angry. "I came as soon as I heard to help deal with the children."

"This body came," Sirius said, putting his hand on her shoulders. "Tell me where your mind has been."

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream came from Alicia outside. Sirius bolted out the door wand immediately in hand, with Anna following right behind him. He stopped short as he followed her eyes over to a fence post where a great horned owl sat, whooping loudly the moment they came out.

"It's Revere," Sirius hissed, Zoë putting an arm around Alicia as Sirius and Anna went over to the Postmaster's owl.

The owl was without a doubt the most well known owl in the country; known not only for his impeccable reliability, but his unwavering determination to deliver post that absolutely had to get through under any circumstances. It was little wonder that the owl had also gotten the reputation of being the bearer of bad news. Seldom were urgent messages ever good. Sirius took the letter, thanking the owl solemnly, but it waited for Sirius as he glanced at the envelope.

"It's for you, Anna, from Audi," he said quietly, handing it over. Anna took it and slowly opened it, then exhaled as if she had been holding her breath and had just realized it.

"Audi's in New York. She thinks she has a lead and needs me to come as soon as possible," Anna said, folding it up and looking at him.

"Go. I can tell Severus I'll be late tonight. I guarantee you he won't miss me," Sirius said.

"Don't say anything about this until I know for sure what's going on," Anna said. Sirius merely raised a hand.

"I wasn't planning on it. If it gets too late, I'll send them to Ginny's. They can catch a way to school from there," Sirius said. "And Anna," he said as she went in to get her purse. "Will you at least think about what I said?"

Anna sighed and nodded, kissing him goodbye.

"I'll think about it," she agreed. A moment later, she was gone.

Doctor Jeff Miller stepped into his office, startled as he recognized one of the three women waiting in his office, a smile playing on her lips when he gazed at her.

"Judge Vallid?"

"Guilty as charged," Lunette said, shaking his hand.

"That's quite some tagline you got," Audi said dryly.

"Thank you, I use it quite a bit," Lunette said almost flippantly. "This is Detective Audi Belle, my faithful partner in crime, and this is Anna Hughes Black, my less faithful partner in crime," she said wickedly.

"Thank you for seeing us," Anna offered, shaking his hand.

"You're welcome, although I'm not sure how much I can actually tell you…" Lunette suddenly excused herself and handed him a crisply folded paper. "Never mind," Miller said when he saw the court order. He sat down, grinning wryly a moment before becoming more serious as he pulled out a folder at the top of the desk.

"The report says you treated a woman matching Jennifer's description?" Anna asked.

"Her name was Jacqueline Cassius. I do not believe there was a middle initial given," he added, glancing at the file. "Her boyfriend brought her in saying that she collapsed in their apartment and that she seemed to be suffering from memory loss. Perhaps I should say alleged boyfriend?"

"And this was when?" Vallid asked.

"June first, around four-thirty in the afternoon. She was unconscious when she was brought in from no discernible cause, although her breathing was a bit erratic. By morning, she had awoken and was completely responsive, just no memory. Once it was determined she was in perfect health and a psychiatrist signed that she had functional memory, she was released."

"You did a follow up exam, correct?" Vallid said.

"Yes, a month later, to talk to her and make sure there were no physical signs that I might have missed."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Well, no," Miller admitted. "There were a few strange inconsistencies when I originally spoke to Mr. Ghent that made me a bit leery, and I wanted to make sure there were no signs that her environment was unhealthy."

"Wouldn't that be better for the psychiatrist to decide?"

"To be perfectly frank, Judge, I didn't know this psychiatrist. It was someone Mr. Ghent had brought in, and something about him, well, pardon the unprofessional opinion, but he gave me the creeps," Miller said. Anna and Audi glanced at each other.

"What were the inconsistencies that made you leery?" Lunette asked.

"Things about her that seemed inconsistent with her age, mostly. We were told twenty-five, and admittedly she looks twenty-five and may have the health of a twenty-five year old. But bone density, internal scarring, and various other small discrepancies seemed to be that of an older woman. Not to mention that Ghent seemed rather startled when I asked him about her children."

"How old do you think she really is?" Vallid asked.

"I don't know," Miller said with a thin smile. "How old are you?" Audi broke into a coughing fit violent enough to get everyone's attention, professing she was okay after it had gone on for a moment.

"Well, we thank you for your help. I think this is probably the person we're looking for," Vallid said. "Can my Detective get their names, addresses, billing information, please?"

"Sure, I'll walk down to the billing office with you," he said, taking the folder and warrant in hand. "Won't you even let me guess?" Miller inquired.

"A lady never reveals her secrets," Vallid said with a smile as they headed down the hall.