Chapter Eighteen

Terms and Agreements

No one saw much of Craw or Snape that Saturday until late in the afternoon, when Snape made a brief appearance at the Slytherin table where Aurelius, Stock, Heph and Xavier were playing cards.

"We're going to go visit your grandfather tomorrow afternoon. You're welcome to come if you like," Severus told Aurelius. Aurelius shuffled the cards in his hand thoughtfully.

"Thanks, but I think I'll skip this one. Lots of studying to do, you know," Aurelius said. Severus frowned in confusion and surprise. It was not like Aurelius to turn down a trip to see his grandfather. And he had that look in his face again… the look of his conscience trying to eat away at something he had done.

"Are you quite sure? This will be the last time you'll be able to visit before Christmas," Severus said thoughtfully.

"Let him know I said hullo, then," Aurelius said, returning to his card game.

"Very well, suit yourself. Stockton, Grey, Xavier. Good lead on points, so far," he added before moving off.

"Thank you sir," Xavier said with a smile, glancing over at his cards and then at Aurelius. "You know, even if we come in second in Quidditch this spring, we still may have a good lead over Hufflepuff."

"One thing's for sure, we don't have to worry about Gryffindor this year," Heph smirked. "They haven't even broken a hundred yet."

"One hundred? They've dipped below the red line three times already," Stock chuckled.

"So, Aurelius," Xavier said, shuffling the cards and put them down for him to cut. After Aurelius cut them, the cards proceeded to deal them each even hands. "How would you like to be Seeker during the Gryffindor-Slytherin game in February? Might be pretty cold out there, but I thought you might be interested."

"Interested?" Aurelius repeated, a rare grin coming to his face. "What's the catch?"

"Well, okay, there may be one slight catch," Xavier admitted, glancing at his hand. "The Ministry holds a Christmas ball every year, as I'm sure you know, and Father says we're going. In fact, nearly everyone who's anybody will be, because they're expected to name and flout the candidates for the Minister of Magic there."

"Okay, so?" Aurelius shrugged.

"So, the catch is, to find out if you're going, and if you are, talk Alex into going with me," Xavier grinned.

"What?" Aurelius laughed. "Ask her yourself!"

"Okay," Xavier shrugged. "You know, I thought maybe after all that happened last year you'd want to get toe to toe on the Pitch, but I understand," he said, throwing down a trump and taking the pile.

"Fine, I'll ask her, but if she says no, that's it," Aurelius said.

"Do you always use bribery to get dates, Platt?" Heph asked.

"No, but it doesn't hurt," Xavier said, smiling as he saw another jack in his hand.

It would have been untruthful to say that Jennifer's relationship with her father had been smooth going over the years. In fact, it had been anything but, and many of her visits to Azkaban prison turned into heated arguments that quite often raised a few of the guards' eyebrows. Severus had been a bit more tolerant of Thomas and his mood swings. He privately thought that one of the reasons they didn't get along was that they were a lot alike; definitely a lot more than Jennifer would ever admit to. For Thomas' biggest vice perhaps was speaking his mind… his second was carrying out what he spoke about. Thomas Craw did not get into Azkaban for being an angel.

In many circumstances he might have gotten a death sentence for the countless lives he had taken. Many still debated if he should have, despite the fact that Muggle laws in the country had ended that sort of punishment years ago. But quite a number of wizards had, as time went by, regarded Thomas much like Thomas viewed himself; a victim of a war, the war between mankind and Voldemort's Death Eaters. Each Death Eater had been marked… much like Thomas had been marked himself… to serve with undying loyalty the dark lord that promised them blood, power and revenge. It was they that Thomas had preyed upon whether they had rejoined his service or not, for once sworn, the Mark called to them until their last breath.

He had feigned death to protect his family, and yet his wife still fell victim to the wrath of the Death Eaters. From the rage that followed came the rampage he was now noted for; an act of vigilantism at a time when few dared to fight Voldemort and few even believed that he had even come back. Thomas had planned to kill them all, every single last one; and he might have succeeded if it hadn't been for his daughter and an ex-Death Eater whom he would learn to love as a son.

It was an act of kindness and understanding that prompted a ghostly Warden to petition for Thomas to have a downgraded sentence with a right to parole. The hearing was now long overdue; the sticking point no less sticky than it had ever been… Thomas still wanted Lucius Malfoy's head on a platter.

But then, who didn't, Jennifer brooded, knowing her own husband would be delighted to have the opportunity, and he was hardly the only one. Malfoy feared Thomas, and through his influence the parole hearing kept getting pushed further and further back. But that, Jennifer soon learned, was about to change.

"What, no children? You're a bit late," Thomas said, strangely cheerful as they stepped in. "As punishment, we started without you. Boltin, pour them some wine, will you?"

"What's the occasion?" Jennifer asked taking the glass from Thomas' complacent jailer, who poured himself a glass of tonic water and lemon so not to be left out.

"First, a toast to Dumbledore and Weasley, without whose support I wouldn't be almost not sitting here now," Thomas said cheerfully. "For tomorrow morning, in a very discreet meeting, the parole board will determine my fate."

"What?" Jennifer said in complete surprise, barely believing it as she read over the official paperwork he handed her.

"Well, don't get too enthusiastic about my freedom, Jennifer," Thomas said dryly.

"'Because of changes in current parole laws, your case will be reexamined due to your ten years and continuing work in public service! Please be advised that this only entitles you to a new hearing, where if successful you will still have to meet certain terms and agreements before you may be considered for parole.'" Jennifer read. "Dad, this sounds like they're actually considering it, I mean, seriously this time!"

"That explains why Dumbledore was attempting to get me to take tomorrow off," Severus concluded.

"I got Dumbledore to admit that it had been his idea to have Arthur table that public service motion right before the Haven vote. I have a feeling, after what I read from the paper, that Malfoy's pet Counselor-of-the-month and his friends were so chomping at the bit to destroy the two of you that he didn't think twice about the issue. After all, what public service have I done?" Craw asked with a thin smile, twirling his plastic wine cup.

"Yes, well, don't get too confident yet. I suspect that the restrictions they will want to put on you are going to be pretty harsh, Thomas," Boltin warned him. "That means living within thirty miles of London, having to live with locators and magic sensors, no casting magic above lighting a candle, and no using magic devices more complicated than a Plaque-be-Gone toothbrush."

"And how exactly am I supposed to earn a living without magic? Even with what money I have, I can't possibly live indefinitely near London upon my savings," Thomas complained.

"You could get a Muggle job," Boltin said, instantly regretting it when he saw the look on Thomas' face.

"I am a Craw. No Craw in their right mind would have a Muggle job," he said proudly, his eyes darting over to Jennifer, who glared at him.

"Mother had a Muggle job in America," she pointed out defiantly.

"That was different. Besides, she was merely married to a Craw, not born a Craw. You're the only one of our blood that crossed that line," Thomas replied.

"Have some more wine, here you are," Boltin interjected quickly, Severus jumping in to get Jennifer a glass as well, forcing her to merely stand and fume. "And I'd like to make a toast… to families. For it's all water under the bridge, because no matter what anyone has said or done, they will still wake up in the morning with the same fathers… and the same daughters. Cheers."

"Cheers," Jennifer said dryly, and ruefully drank to it, Severus following suit.

"This is what happens when you end up with a Hufflepuff for a jailer," Thomas grunted after he had taken a drink. Thatcher Boltin smiled at his friend, nodding to him as he took a sip of his tonic water.

Quite a few people had snuck in to sit beside Thomas the next day, and even Severus couldn't help but be a bit surprised at the reception. Audi Belle, eternally loyal, he had expected; but with her came Alastor Moody, Harry Potter, and Sirius Black. Counselor Lunette Vallid and Dumbledore sat side-by-side listening as they questioned Boltin on the possible risks, and more extensively about his work ethics while in charge.

"He ran the place like a general might run an important military operation," Boltin said. "Everything in its place; no exceptions, no leniency. He didn't make a proposal unless it was absolutely warranted and he was certain it would pass the justice board. In fact, I don't think there has been one proposal he submitted that was turned down."

"Thank you, Mr. Boltin, we have the records of all that," the officer said. "And what of this last proposal, the one that pretty much guaranteed him this hearing?"

"Sir, that was a joint proposal by the Tower Warden as well as himself, and since it was a matter brought forth in front of the Council, not one that was taken lightly nor was it ever truly in his hands to decide," Boltin said.

"True enough," the officer agreed, waiting to listen to a colleague beside him. "As you know, Mr. Craw, quite a number of protests have gone up from one Mr. Lucius Malfoy and his counselors about your making open threats about his welfare. Indeed, your jailer, Mr. Boltin, has also admitted in previous parole considerations that these threats have indeed continued to this day. So I must ask, despite your flawless record of duty and ethics, how can we be assured that you will not carry out these threats?"

"Officer, if I may, might I ask a question of those present? I realize that it's normally it is not encouraged that others participate in a parole hearing, but it is relevant," Thomas said. The officer nodded curiously. "A show of hands, how many here have openly threatened Mr. Lucius Malfoy at any given time?"

Severus then understood why the support group was there as he raised his hand along with the rest; Sirius, Harry, Dumbledore, Alastor, Audacious, Jennifer, Vallid, and even Boltin raised his hand. Then one of the wizards sitting on the board grimaced sheepishly, raising his hand and receiving a soft chuckle from those sitting next to him.

"Mr. Craw, I understand that Mr. Malfoy isn't a popular man. But the difference, sir, is that you have proven to not merely make threats, but to act on them," the officer said.

"A show of hands, if you please. How many here have killed someone either to protect themselves or what they believe in?" Thomas said. More slowly, every hand behind Thomas was raised again, Jennifer reluctantly doing so as she thought back to that night with Pettigrew, although she couldn't help but be slightly surprised when Vallid, Sirius, and Boltin raised their hands along with the others. The parole board looked at the wizard at the end, who merely shrugged sheepishly and shook his head.

"Sir, had I wanted to leave Azkaban prison at any time, I could have," Thomas said bluntly. "Even before I was Warden, I had ways. Being Warden just made the feat easier to accomplish, besides other methods that became available to me later. Not that I hadn't been close to leaving on several occasions. Boltin always talked me out of it, or when he couldn't, Dumbledore did," he admitted, looking between them. "They convinced me that not being able to watch my grandchildren grow up or putting my daughter in a position to live with my being executed for murder wasn't what I wanted. But I will confess that if Malfoy gave me a legitimate reason for killing him, I would."

Without prompting, Severus raised his hand, and Harry soon followed along with everyone else that had raised their hands twice before.

"You know, I'm not sure what makes more sense at this point, letting him out or putting all of you in," the officer said dryly, standing up. "We are going to go discuss the issue and will be back with our decision," he said, the board getting up with their papers and slipping into a back room.

"Good show, Thomas," Alastor said with an approving nod.

"You know, it just goes to show Anna's been right all of these years," Sirius murmured, Jennifer looking over at him curiously. "In this room I see some of the best witches and wizards in the world, except perhaps for Severus. And yet we've all had cause to harm one another. Our magic has led to a more violent society."

"Oh, nonsense, it's our job to defend," Alastor grumped.

"Well yes, yours, Audi's, Harry's, maybe even Vallid's, but what about the rest of us?" he asked.

"We have lived through very dark times, Sirius," Dumbledore said gently.

"They are hardly over," Severus said.

"No one here did anything but what they thought they had to do," Jennifer said softly.

"And the Muggle world is not without violence."

"Oh, trust me, no one knows that better than me after seeing what work Anna brings home with her," Sirius said. "I merely think it's a pity that so many good people are forced to kill to keep our world's problems from getting worse."

Just then the door burst open, and they all looked over to see Lucius Malfoy standing there looking positively furious, Rummert and Bowyer following behind him.

"Look who decided to join the party," Sirius greeted.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lucius boomed.

"Good afternoon, Lucius. Running late?" Vallid asked.

"Don't give me that, Counselor. You intentionally failed to inform me there was a hearing! That's a violation of…"

"Calm down, Malfoy, I did no such thing," Vallid interrupted. "The law states I must publicly inform victims of the proceeding, and I did so. It was in yesterday's Daily Prophet."

"You knew with everything else going on I wouldn't see it!" Lucius snarled.

"I am not responsible for what you do and do not read in the paper Malfoy," Vallid said holding her ground. "Furthermore, there is little reason for you to panic. The board has compiled all of the protests you and your counselors have put in to date, and I'm quite sure that they fully intend to take that into consideration, as well as Boltin's testimony that he has made open threats against you. Now why don't you and your retainers sit down and stop embarrassing yourself?"

"Don't hold your breath on that one," Thomas said coolly, Audi and Alastor sniggering beside him.

"Please, Thomas, don't blow it now," Boltin murmured. Lucius squinted at him.

"Boltin, surely you're not on his side," Lucius said suspiciously.

"Actually, I'm on the side of justice," Boltin said. "Which means, of course, whatever side I am on, it's not yours." Vallid broke out into a winning smile, nodding to him approvingly.

"Why you…" Whatever he was going to say was suddenly cut off by Rummert putting an arm on him, nodding over to the back door which had opened, the two witches and three wizards of the board coming out, each one doing a double take upon seeing Malfoy before breaking into rather enigmatic smiles.

"Mr. Candus," Rummert said as they began to sit down. "I'm sorry, but we didn't have time to question this proceeding, and as a victim of Mr. Craw, we should be allowed to speak."

"If he had been a victim, he wouldn't be alive to speak," Thomas said, getting hit in the arm by Vallid for the remark. The officer shook his head at Thomas disapprovingly before looking back up at Rummert.

"The hearing was publicly announced, Mr. Rummert. I saw it myself, lower back page of the Daily Prophet," the officer said.

"But sir, under the conditions stated by our last hold of this parole, we are allowed to be made aware of any policy changes that may affect whether or not the parole will stay on hold," Rummert said. Candus looked at him in complete surprise before fishing out a sheet of paper.

"Counselor Rummert, am I given to understand that you deny being at the Council Meeting at the end of October?"

"No, sir, of course I was there, speaking on the Haven matter," he said, carefully avoiding Jennifer and Severus' gaze.

"Yes, and according to my records, you were also one of the counselors that voted to allow public service to be allowed as consideration in parole hearings, correct?" Candus asked evenly. Lucius suddenly leapt back to his feet while Rummert began to grow paler and paler. "Thus being the case, I believe you were fully aware then that such a ruling would impact parole decisions."

"But I was not aware it would impact this particular case!" Rummert stammered. "Thomas Craw has been confined to Azkaban for fifteen years, what could he possibly have accomplished?"

"Quite a lot, actually, quite a lot indeed," Candus said. "I cannot deny, from either Boltin's words or the reports of your actions, Mr. Craw, that your work as Warden has been exemplary."

"Warden?" Lucius hissed, his face growing red in anger.

"Quite," Candus said, turning to face forward. "And all actions both past and present, as well as all protests were carefully weighed in consideration. It is our job, after all, to insure public safety, but we must also consider the personal merits of the prisoner and if they are truly ready to join the society, if not in limited capacity. It is the ruling then of this parole board, as of January first, that we are granting the parole of Thomas Craw… provided, of course, that he can meet all terms and conditions of doing so," he said, holding up his hand before anyone had time to react. "But I must warn you as a court official, Thomas, that any magic above lighting a match will revoke your parole and send you back here without hope of getting another. Any use of Dark magic will send you immediately to a tribunal trial, where you will most likely be sentenced to death." Thomas nodded solemnly.

"Understood," he replied.

"Good," Candus nodded back. "You will need to be able to meet all conditions and have a permanent residence to get out of Azkaban by the January first date. Otherwise, you still must remain here until you can meet them."

"Very well," Thomas nodded.

"Thank you, sir," Vallid said as a smile crept over her face. Beside her, Audi and Dumbledore were both beaming outright, while Jennifer grinned incredulously.

"You will regret this!" Malfoy snapped. "You are letting a serial murderer on the loose! Do you really think it will be long before he starts killing again?"

"Mr. Malfoy, let me tell you something," Candus said, gazing at him calmly. "When my fellow officers and I are busy weighing the facts of any parole, one of the questions I ask myself is if I'd feel safe having my family take tea with the person in front of me. And I can tell you truthfully that I would very much rather have Mr. Craw at my table than a lot of people that walk free outside of this prison. Good day, sir," he added, joining the others as they gathered their paperwork and went out the back door.

"Well, I think there's call to open another bottle of bubbly," Thomas said contentedly. "Care to join us, Malfoy?"

"I'd sooner drink poison," Lucius spat, storming out with Bowyer on his heels. Rummert hesitated a moment until he heard his name called, knowing that Lucius was not going to be happy with him.

"If you ever need a counselor against Malfoy, Rummert, feel free to call," Vallid said casually. Rummert stared at her before he finally left, and several of them broke out laughing.

"Poison, now there's an idea," Thomas said with a smile, earning a protest from his daughter and several more chuckles from the rest.

"Please, let's just take him back to his cell, or he'll lose his parole before he gets it," Boltin said, handing a cuff out to him and allowing Thomas to put it on himself before walking him down the hall.

"You know, I'm going to miss having you around, Thatcher," Thomas said thoughtfully as they walked. "I don't suppose you'd invite me to tea sometime?"

"Any time you want, Thomas," Boltin said as the group piled into the visitation room.