Chapter Twenty-Four

Last Stand on the Broken Bridge

"Does it hurt much?" Alex asked Aurelius at dinner as they sat in a group together at the Slytherin table near the fireplace. Aurelius shook his head.

"It's nothing, really," Aurelius insisted. "Can't we talk of something else? How are you getting along on the model?"

"We'd be doing a lot better if you'd come down more often to work on the Slytherin House rooms," Andrew said.

"And if Alicia didn't spend so much time in the Trophy Room," Alex teased. "What do you do up there all the time?"

"Just talk to paintings," Alicia admitted. "To be perfectly honest, except for Morfinn and sometimes Phoebe, and of course Mr. Pyther when he's here, I just don't feel close to anyone. You all are often so busy with your friends or extra classes and such that I've been rather lonely. Although I do like working on Andrew's model, the four of us never are working on it or anything else at the same time anymore. I miss all of you… I miss the way things used to be at the Weasley's, and over the summer when we used to have adventures. I want to go home, and there's no home to go to, and… well, I don't want to go back to my dorm room alone tonight. It's Christmas Eve. Why doesn't it feel like Christmas at all?"

"I know what you mean," Andrew sighed. "We ought to be together tonight at least."

"Hey! Why don't we, then? Have a sleepover, I mean?" Alex said.

"But where? We're not allowed in one another's house rooms," Alicia said.

"How about under the willow?" Alex said, automatically getting three protests.

"It'd be freezing down there! And very rocky," Aurelius said.

"We could sleep in our rooms in the painting I did of the Broom Closet," Alicia said softly.

"But it's not a real place anymore. We'd be sleeping on canvas," Alex pointed out. "Besides, you were planning to give that to Mum, I thought."

"Yes, that's true."

"Here in the Great Hall?" Alex suggested.

"Oh, no, that'd be way too spooky with just the four of us," Alicia said.

"Or we could chose the obvious route," Andrew said.

And so it was just as Jennifer was finishing her tea that there was a knock and a caw at the door of her sitting room, and she opened it just wide enough to see the four of them standing there with serious expressions on their faces.

"Can we stay here tonight, please?" Alicia asked solemnly. For a split instant, Jennifer felt she could almost read them, their expressions seemingly clearer to her than they ever had been before.

"One moment," she said at last, shutting the door. "Severus! Quick! We need to get all this stuff down to the office!" Severus, who had been standing in what appeared to be a pile of metal, rubber and chains and looking at a piece of paper as if it were the codex to the meaning of life, gazed at his wife as if she were completely and properly insane. "Come on! The children want to stay here tonight. After all, it is Christmas Eve," Jennifer said, throwing presents haphazardly in a box and receiving a serious scratch on her arm and her hair standing on end for her efforts as one of the boxes' inmates protested the rough handling.

"Can't I just put them in my sitting room?" Severus complained.

"No, no, they may want to snoop around," Jennifer said as she started scooping parts into his cloak, grabbing a small birdcage.

"You are not putting that in my pocket," Severus declared. "All right, all right, I'm going."

"Well, come right back up after. Maybe we can still salvage one holiday after all," Jennifer said.

"And just when do you expect me to get this done, then?" he asked.

"It can wait until they're asleep," Jennifer said, handing him a box.

"And just when will I sleep?" Severus scowled.

"Since when do you want to sleep on Christmas Eve, Severus?" Jennifer asked coyly.

"Spending the night attempting to figure out how to put Alex's present together is hardly what I had in mind," he said grumpily, but slipped into the bedroom, Jennifer looking around one more time before letting them in.

"Come on in, it's all right," Jennifer said, the four of them looking slightly awkward as they entered. "Why don't you help me move this table out of the way, Alex, Aurelius? I'll go get some extra blankets we can throw in front of the fireplace… Andrew, build the fire up a bit? Alicia, why don't you pull the lid off the tray on the breakfast cart and see if Mercy saw you coming."

By the time Jennifer got all the blankets out and the children got it all set up, Severus slipped in the door, surveying the situation. A tray of finger sandwiches, petit fours, and marshmallows sat nearby. Frowning, he popped the lids off of individual plates until he found a biscuit tray and a piece of the square springerle hidden within.

"Well, that didn't take you long," Jennifer teased him as she pulled over the cart. "Everything put away?"

"For now," Severus said, slipping into the bedroom again. Alex scanned the bookshelf intently while Alicia got out her pad and started sketching the room. Andrew had the lap of his robe filled with sandwiches and had began to toast marshmallows, handing one of the sticks over to where Aurelius sat staring at the fire.

"Ah, found it! Mum's Dickens collection," Alex said, pulling it out.

"Oh no, don't tell us we have to hear that again," Aurelius complained.

"Well, it's tradition, isn't it?" Alex said.

"Yes, but there's nothing traditional about having a camp out in Mum's sitting room," Aurelius pointed out.

"But it could be," Jennifer put in, finding a dark raspberry petit four and sitting on the couch, immediately getting an audience from Dodger and Ratfly who showed uncommon interest in the little cake. "We could start all new traditions, starting with tonight. We can do this every year if you want," she said, getting up to feed her familiars while her four children gave each other dubious looks. "So what do you want to do?"

"Open presents early!" Andrew suggested, the others chuckling softly.

"I can assure you that is not going to happen," Jennifer said, glancing at Severus who came back in with his violin case in hand. "For logistical reasons if nothing else," she added wryly.

"You're not going to play that, are you?" Aurelius asked suspiciously. Severus scowled at him.

"Oh don't worry, he's gotten better," Jennifer said. "Sort of," she added in a lower tone, but Severus heard it anyhow, squinting at her.

"Is it all right if I give one present now?" Alicia asked.

"I suppose, if you're giving one of your own," Jennifer said thoughtfully.

"I'll go get it then," Alicia said, opening the door, then pausing. "Um, you can go ahead and play, Father, it's all right not to wait for me," she said, before disappearing. Slightly surprised, Jennifer caught the door before it closed to see her stepping out of Dewhurst's frame and jumping into the next.

"You're supposed to ask before you do that," Jennifer said in a loud voice, wondering if she heard her.

"You know, come to think of it, that's a good idea, this present thing. I want to get one too," Alex said.

"Yes, don't mind us, you just go ahead and play," Andrew agreed, getting up.

"Sit," Severus said with annoyance, pointing at the floor. Reluctantly they sat back down again while Jennifer hid her chuckle by clearing her throat.

One could almost tell the violin was in tune now when he played, the melody almost recognizable and some of the slower notes rang true and sweet, provided he didn't try to play at tempo. Alicia slipped back in with what was obviously a wrapped frame, sitting down with the others and quietly began to consult with them, the four of them hurdling a moment before finally sitting up and listening as politely as they could while their Father finished the tune. Slowly they clapped, Severus looking at them suspicious of their lack of enthusiasm.

"Mum's right, you are getting better," Alex said. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman?" Severus stared at her. "Okay, maybe not."

"Sure, anyone could tell that was Good King Wenceslas, right?" Andrew said. Severus frowned at him, furrowing his brows as he moved on.

"Silent Night?" Aurelius said.

"You guessed that last year," Andrew murmured.

"I was right last year," Aurelius pointed out.

"You all really need better hearing," Alicia sighed, rolling her eyes. "It was 'I Saw Three Ships,' of course."

"About time someone got it right," Severus said disgruntled, putting his violin in his case. As he turned he heard the clinking sound of coins changing hands but when he turned back around, the four of them were looking at him as if nothing had happened. Jennifer chuckled softly again and then turned when Severus looked at her.

"How did you know that was 'I Saw Three Ships?'" Andrew whispered to Alicia.

"I peeked at the music in his study before I came back in here, how else?" Alicia admitted, standing up.

"Cheater," Aurelius muttered.

"Here, Mum, it's for you," Alicia said. Jennifer looked at her surprise, sitting down. "I thought it might cheer you up." Jennifer smiled slightly at her and then opened it Severus stepping behind her to look at it. "It's the painting I started over the summer of the Broom Closet. I had to finish the lower basement by memory, and I doubt I got Rel's room or the lab quite right."

"I'm sure it's fine," Jennifer said, exhaling softly then smiling. "Are you sure you don't want to keep it?"

"Oh, no, not anymore," Alicia said thoughtfully. "Actually, for the first couple of weeks, I spent quite a lot of time sitting in the painting, pretending that… that it was still there," she admitted. "But the castle paintings wouldn't leave me be alone in there, especially… well, especially one of them who kept pestering me to show her around and talk to her all the time. But in the end she helped me realize that sitting in the picture wasn't going to change the fact it was gone…and yet at the same time, the painting itself wasn't going to change either. They took away the Broom Closet, but they didn't take away the fact that it was there or that Haven's Bluff was there, and for a time it worked, it really did. It's something they can't ever take away because we were there, and we're different people than we might have been had it not existed." Jennifer put the painting down and hugged her, tears threatening to erupt again.

"Perhaps you're right," Jennifer admitted softly. "Although it's also true that some of us might have been better if it hadn't happened."

"Come, now, Jennifer. You don't truly believe that, do you?" Severus said. "If it hadn't been for you and that house, Corey may have never been discovered at all."

"And he and Essie would have still have a real family," Jennifer pointed out.

"They have a real family now," Severus said firmly.

"When Corey was hurt," Aurelius said still gazing at the fire, everyone turning to him in surprise, "Dumbledore said that if it was someone's time, nothing anyone could do could save them. And if it was his parents' time, something else would have probably happened to them instead, and who's to say if it would have been better or worse?"

"Well, this family wouldn't have been the same without him," Andrew said. "Not to mention the school would have needed a new apothecary. Poor old Witolf I don't think would have been able to keep up."

"Maybe one of us would have turned into an alchemist," Alex said with dread. The other three quickly protested, making gestures to ward off evil.

"Not everyone in the family has to be an alchemist," Jennifer said, putting the painting on the wall. "We'll support you no matter what you want to do."

"What if Alex wants to join the Peace Corps and become a witch doctor for some rare native Amazon tribe who have a complex dialect that no one but she understands?" Andrew asked.

"Would you please stay out of my diary?" Alex snapped, hitting him in the arm. Alicia laughed and Aurelius sneered a bit.

"All right, that's enough," Severus scowled, tapping his wand in direction of the fireplace to put the grill back into place. "Perhaps it's time you settled down, since if this is like any other year you'll be waking up much earlier than you should so you can fight over everyone else having the better present like you always do."

"This is not really like any other year," Alicia said, as she picked a spot on the blankets between Alex and Andrew while Aurelius simply leaned back where he was near the fire. "I'm not sure I can sleep in here."

"Don't worry. I'll read for a while until you go to sleep," Alex said, tapping the book and opening it as the others settled in, Andrew pulling his tray over so he could reach his tidbits while Alex blew up her pillow with a simple spell so that she could use it as a back rest. " 'I have endeavoured in this Ghostly little book, to raise the Ghost of an Idea, which shall not put my readers out of humour with themselves, with each other, with the season, or with me. May it haunt their houses pleasantly, and no one w- to lay it,'" Alex began.

It had been the story Corey had recited to them every year when they were small and not old enough to read themselves, and every year after on one day of the holiday season. It brought back many memories of other times…many of them happier ones, and it haunted their minds like the ghost of Marley haunted Ebenezer's.

Aurelius heard the door shut as their parents slipped out, and although his back was turned, he knew when Andrew pushed his tray away and laid down beside him. He fell asleep before Alex had finally gotten tired enough to put the book down herself, dutifully waiting until the others were asleep before she did. But Aurelius' dreams were fitful; a strange mix of his fears and the book he was hearing with Dementors chasing him into graves and visions of Corey alone in his bare upstairs apartment, with only his lazy cat to protect him from the ghosts of dragons which circled outside, growing more numerous with every crack of lightning. But most frightening of all was when he turned to see the ghost of James Marley, heavily chained and horrible… then he realized it was not Marley at all but Malfoy, calling his name in a whisper, so terribly real that he woke up with a start to see a face staring at him from the fireplace.

He sat up, too terrified to cry out. He tried to clear his eyes and tell himself it was just a dream, but the visage in the fire didn't go away.

"Aurelius, come. Come back to Conspiracies and speak with me," the phantom of Malfoy said, fading. How could he do that? How could he invade his own mother's sitting room like that? How had he even known he was there, Aurelius wondered, shaken. Moving slowly so not to wake up his siblings, Aurelius got up, slipped on his shoes and cloak, grabbed a lantern, and tiptoed out the door.

Shivering, he looked around a moment. Making sure there was no one in the halls, he headed towards the back stairs, still wishing he would wake up and it all would turn out to be a nightmare. But as he slipped into the common room, the dying embers of the fireplace burst to life again and the image returned, looking more horrible than ever.

"Explain your injury," Malfoy said.

"The shop was very busy. Someone came behind me unexpectedly when I was attempting to put it in the bin and ended up getting some on myself in the process, but it was done, sir," Aurelius said.

"Foolish boy! Why weren't your gloves on?" he asked.

"It would have looked suspicious to my siblings to have gloves on for no apparent reason. They would have guessed I had done it," Aurelius said calmly.

"Yes. Perhaps that is true," Lucius said. "But you should have had your shield on."

"I did have it on. It doesn't appear to protect against such things, sir," Aurelius said expressionlessly. "The Ministry came and shut down the shop just after it happened. Willowby doesn't know if his business will survive the bad publicity it's going to cause knowing that someone is poisoning his ingredients."

"Yes, it does seem your mission was not a complete failure," Lucius admitted slowly. "But you are not to put yourself in a position again where there is any risk of you even breaking a thumbnail, is that clear? I do not want you hurt again."

"What will happen to you if I am?" Aurelius asked.

"My dear boy, this is not about me. It is your own safety I am concerned with, as well as making sure you get everything you ever desired."

"Really?" Aurelius said. "What if all I desire now is to be left alone?"

"Do you want to be away from your family?" Lucius asked, nodding thoughtfully. "I can arrange that, you know. I can arrange it so that you would never have to see any of them," he said, a chill creeping through Aurelius again. "Perhaps even this very night, were you to accomplish some trivial tasks for me."

"What sort of tasks?" Aurelius asked warily.

"I will arrange a storm with blinding snow and tempestuous winds. All you have to do is knock over a lantern in the barn."

"What?"

"It'd be easy enough to do from a distance and easily explained by the weather. Then, when everyone comes out to aid the animals, you will find a way into Dumbledore's Study and take the Sorting Hat. When you are done, I promise to help make you disappear, if that is what you want."

"Actually… actually, I think I would rather stay here for now," Aurelius said. "I'll… I'll hide the Hat in a package and send it off in the morning. No one will think of seeing another package in the air on Christmas." Lucius gazed at him thoughtfully for a moment then smiled thinly.

"Very well, Aurelius. It is just as well. I was looking so forward to coming to your big game in a few months. I will send my owl at dawn. I trust you will have accomplished your task by then. And once you send the Hat, I'm sure I'll have a gift to return as well, so you may want to find a reason to linger. Happy Christmas," Lucius said, his face suddenly disappearing in the flames.

Aurelius found his heart beating in his chest, wondering at what he just agreed to. It was wrong, so terribly wrong. Animals could get hurt, and for what? For him to pilfer a stupid Hat? No, it was more than that. Malfoy wanted Sagittari busy, that's the only reason he would have chosen the barn, which was as far from Dumbledore's Study as anything on the school grounds could get. And there was only one reason that Aurelius could think of that Malfoy might want Sagittari occupied; he wanted the Spear of Lugh, which was said to insure the victory of anyone who wielded it. But did he truly want it for himself?

A lump went to his throat, standing in the shadow of a tree near the barn as he thought of something like that in Malfoy's hands. The snow was beating down on him like shards of glass, his wand held out and ready, but his arm was trembling from more than just the snow.

What would happen, he wondered, if he didn't do as he was told? The promise to make him disappear rang in his ears more as a threat than a reward. And if his parents knew… he choked a bit at the thought of everything he had happened, fear consuming him as surely as the storm. He suddenly turned to run away, tripping over something and into the snow. He scrambled to his feet again, tossing his wand as he hurried inside. With a single purpose in mind, he strode through the dark corridors, his fear so strong that he became completely fearless. Feeling strangely calm and determined, he took off his cloak as he entered the Astronomy Tower, unwrapping Achilles from his arm.

"Stay with Alex," he hissed, putting Achilles in the pocket of his cloak and then tossing the hood of the cloak over the bottom of the banister.

He counted the stairs as he went up them, concentrating on nothing else until he got to the top and pushed his way out onto the roof. It was so dangerously windy there, and very dark, but Aurelius didn't care. Almost casually he dusted off the snow from the wall and stepped up onto it.

He had paused merely an instant. He had planned only to stand long enough to get one last look at the castle, such as it was in such intolerable weather, knowing that he wouldn't have to feel it much longer. But something grabbed him from behind and pulled him backwards, and Aurelius found himself rolling around kicking and hitting something he couldn't see until he felt an arm near his face and bit it, hard.

He knew the scream instantly even in the roar of the wind, and he sat up with surprise to see Andrew beside him, holding his arm in pain.

"What are you doing here?" Aurelius shouted.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Andrew demanded.

"Getting out of this world, and taking Malfoy with me! Now get away from me, or I swear I'll knock you out with one blast!"

"You can't, you fool! You chucked your wand," Andrew said, showing him the extra wand in his belt. "Please, let's get out of this wind!"

"No! You're not talking me out of this, Andrew!" Aurelius snapped.

"Fine, I promise I won't talk you out of it! But at least come inside long enough to tell me why so I can explain to Mum and Father why you did this," Andrew said, dragging him back in and shutting the door. "Look at you! Red as a beat and in your pajamas! You could have at least had the decency to get dressed before you turned yourself into bug splatter."

"How did you know I chucked my wand?" Aurelius demanded. "Were you following me?"

"Of course I was," Andrew said, brushing the snow off of him. "I've been following you for days now. And I know you put the powder in the Sleep Sand bin, although I don't know why. And what do you mean, you're going to be taking Malfoy with you?"

"Because it's his fault I'm here, that's why," Aurelius snapped. "It's his fault I'm doing what I'm doing! So when I die, he will too, don't you see? Just like he almost died when I hurt myself before! So what does it matter if the world loses one traitor when it means getting rid of someone like him?"

"A person can only betray themselves, Aurelius, you know that," Andrew said quietly.

"I know. And I have," Aurelius said, rubbing his eyes futilely. "Andrew, I'm the one that turned off the alarms the night Corey's shop was broken into. I turned it off so someone Malfoy hired could break in and make it look like it was a Muggle. I just thought it would get Corey in a bit of trouble, I didn't think it'd go as far as it did! I never thought Mum would lose the house, or go to jail or anything! I was furious when it backfired… angry at Corey for driving me to it, although I guess deep down I was really angry at myself. But I still wanted to get back at him even then, so much so that Malfoy convinced me to mess with the potion ingredients at school to make it look like those had been contaminated too. And the egg… the egg was just to stir things up… I never imagined that Alicia could've nearly gotten killed and Rasputin... now Rasputin is gone… and the Cauldron… and then Ciardoth dropped me in the Grove, and I didn't know why at the time. I didn't know I was going to corrupt it, and now Pali is frightened of me… please, Andrew, forget you ever saw me. Just let me go and do this. Let me take Malfoy in the only way I can so I can at least do something right!" Aurelius shouted.

"I promised I wouldn't talk you out of it, didn't I?" Andrew said, looking thoughtful. "Although there is something I think you really should know first. I don't think you doing this is going to kill Lucius Malfoy."

Aurelius stopped crying long enough to stare at him.

"What?"

"Well, all I mean is, from what you just said, you're not doing this because of anything he did," Andrew explained. For a moment nothing could be heard but the howl of the wind outside.

"I'm doing it to prevent myself from following him anymore," Aurelius said at last.

"That's not the only option you have, you know. That is, if you're finally willing to admit that you're responsible for your own decisions instead of blaming someone else for it," Andrew said.

"Wait a minute! Okay, I decided to help Malfoy break into Corey's, I admit that, but that other stuff... it was like I wasn't even in control… oh, you wouldn't understand…"

"Maybe not completely," Andrew admitted, "but perhaps it's time you thought about talking to someone who does."

"Andrew, I can't go to Dumbledore about this, so don't ask me," Aurelius said.

"I agree with you," Andrew said seriously. "And parents are definitely out on this one. Which leaves only one other option. Professor Snape."

"Explain to me exactly how I can go to Snape about this considering he is a parent?" Aurelius said.

"Well, you could just go ahead and chuck yourself off the edge, I suppose, if you're that afraid of Snape. Who cares if it means that Malfoy will succeed in destroying our family without harming us and it'll break Mum's heart waking up Christmas to find you dead and Christmas will never be the same again? Not to mention Grandfather will probably break out of jail to kill Malfoy after this, and then get the death penalty for himself. Knowing Grandfather, he'd be willing to die just so he could kick you around Hell a few times for all the trouble you caused," Andrew said before he stood and started down the stairs. "But it's your decision of course. Don't let me stand in your way."

"Gee, thanks for not talking me out of it," Aurelius grumbled sarcastically, reluctantly following him down the stairs. He took out the Map and glanced at it. "He's still in his office."

"Good, then I won't have to call him down there," Andrew said. "This is definitely not a matter to take to Father."

"You make him sound like he has split personalities," Aurelius said, grabbing his cloak on the way past.

"Maybe in a way he does, but then how many people do you know act the same way working as they do at home?" Andrew asked.

Aurelius shrugged, his feet feeling heavier by the minute as they walked, and his heart raced as they got to classroom door, staring at the office.

"I don't think I can do this," Aurelius murmured.

"You want me to walk you back up to the Astronomy Tower?" Andrew offered.

Throwing one last dirty look over at his brother, Aurelius slowly walked across the floor, wishing he were anywhere else but where he was at that very moment. He stopped and stared at the door, letting out a long sigh, until he finally brought his knuckles to the wood in a very soft but repeated knock.

For a moment he wondered if it hadn't been heard, momentarily paralyzed by the thought of trying to muster enough courage to knock again, when at last the door opened and Severus stared at him with an expression of mixed surprise and alarm.

"Aurelius, what are you…"

"I need to speak with Professor Snape, please," Aurelius interrupted, his voice shaky but firm. "Just Professor Snape. It's an emergency."

"Very well, Mr. Snape, come in," Snape said in a low voice, moving out of the way so that he could walk in, merely nodding a dismissal to Andrew before closing the door.

Andrew found himself taking a deep breath then, wiping off tears that formed in his eyes before taking a smashed sandwich out of his pocket. He looked at it forlornly before shrugging and taking a bite, tiredly heading back to his comfortable spot near the fire.