Chapter Thirty-Nine

Conditions of the Unconditional

"I can't believe it, I just can't believe it!" Alex said the next morning as she paced around the outside of a circle of friends that had gathered at the Elf Willow. A huge basket of scones sat in the middle although no one seemed sure of who had brought them, but there were more important things to think of now. Everyone had come that morning; Mandria, Rose, Halbert, Morfinn, Zoë, Zacchius, and her remaining siblings were all in attendance, watching her pace around as each one dealt with what had happened overnight.

"Okay, maybe I can believe that he's siding with Malfoy. I can even believe he let Malfoy into Corey's shop… we all know he's wanted to get back at Corey for years. But cast a spell like that at one of us? That just doesn't make any sense!" Alex exclaimed.

"I can believe it," Zacchius said.

"Then you don't know him like we do," Alex snapped. "We may be Snapes, but we're Craws as well, and no matter what sort of messes we get into, we don't attack each other... well, not physically."

"Not to mention the fact that if he were in trouble and needed that Sword, all he'd have to have done was ask," Alicia said. "Isn't that right, Andrew?"

"Well, yes," Andrew said reluctantly. "But I would have told Dumbledore."

"A true hero," Zacchius said. "Another thing Snapes are famous for is not being able to keep their mouths shut."

"Aurelius sure did a good job of it this time," Alicia sighed.

"Well maybe, but maybe not," Rose said. "Has anyone talked to his friends about this?"

"I'm not sure it's even public knowledge yet," Alex admitted, grabbing a scone. "But you're right, lord knows he's been closer to them than us lately. Let me talk to Xavier and see what I can find out. Stock and Heph may not be keen on us, but they'll answer to Xavier."

But when Alex and Mandria went in after the meeting to find him, she was quite surprised to find the Slytherin table completely deserted, even though the other tables were still filled with sleepy students trying to shovel down breakfast before class.

"It could just be me, but I get the feeling they know," Mandria said.

"I've never seen anything like that," Alex murmured. "Where do you suppose they are?"

"They're having a meeting," someone said behind them, and Alex looked over her shoulder to see Danny standing there, gazing at the table distantly. "Slytherin tends to look after their own."

"So do Snapes," Alex said firmly, and Danny looked over at her with a solemn smile.

"Are you going to be all right?" Danny asked.

"No," Alex admitted, but Danny merely nodded.

"Well, feel free to come talk to me if you need to," she said, heading back towards the staff room.

Fortunately for Danny, a flurry of loud voices alerted her to exactly what she was walking into, giving herself the time to take in a deep breath before entering.

"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?" Severus boomed. He was standing over Hermione who somehow was managing to stay firm, looking him straight in the eye despite the fury in his eyes.

"She left early this morning, Severus, on an emergency family leave of absence. I merely rescheduled the classes. Dumbledore's the one who actually signed the release," Hermione said.

"Well, she isn't at home. In the state she is in, she could be anywhere, including trying to storm the Malfoy Mansion single handed!" Severus snapped.

"Calm down, Severus. I don't think she'd try anything like that," Danny said, Severus' attention immediately turning towards her.

"You. You were the last one she talked to last night, what did you say to her?" Severus demanded.

"Only that I didn't think Aurelius was in any immediate physical danger," Danny reassured him. "My uncle may try to use Aurelius against you, but he wouldn't harm him. If Malfoy thinks of Aurelius as his protégé, he'll protect him like he would family, Snape or not. Amadeus was proof of that, considering Lucius nearly died trying to cover for him. And I warned Jennifer that there's no way she could possibly approach the mansion without setting off alarms of every kind. Personally, I think she probably went to speak to my cousin, although I'm not sure how she'd be able to get by that media circus out in front of his house without getting noticed. Somehow, Rummert got a hold of a memo from Draco stating just how many people in high Ministry positions that he wanted replaced, and a lot of regular Council members are not happy."

"I am not worried about Aurelius' welfare, although I find just how ruthless Malfoy and his puppet can be to his own son more disturbing by the day," Severus said, his eyes moving quickly as he tried to think.

"You're hardly the only one," Danny admitted with a sigh. "In fact, he's starting to remind me of Byron." Severus paused and gazed at her in a silent exchange. She never spoke of her father by that term anymore.

"I need to get a quick letter through to your cousin," Severus said.

"We'll send my owl Redwing then," Danny offered. Hermione relaxed slightly, privately relieved that Danny was able to talk him down. Sometimes, it seemed, it took another Slytherin.

"Still sure you want to do this?" Draco asked as they approached the gate, glancing at the scarlet-cloaked figure beside him. "It is not too late to back away. It might save us both a boot to the rear."

"I'm not going to leave him with no way out," Jennifer said firmly. "He may have given up on family, but we're sure not going to give up on him. Most of us, anyhow," she said, Draco giving her a sideways glance before he stepped to the gate and gave the bell a tug.

The crass looking guard at the gate looked openly surprised to see them, first looking wide-eyed at Draco and becoming even more wide-eyed when he realized who the woman in the cloak was.

"Now, Mister Draco, you know you're not supposed to be here," the guard frowned at him, taking out his wand nervously.

"I'm not asking to go in," Draco assured him with a voice of steel. "Tell my father that my guest and I want a parlay with him and his guest. Out here would be preferable, thank you, I'm well aware of what security devices he has on the other side of the gate and I've no desire to experience them." The guard looked at him for a moment before putting his wand in his belt again.

"All right. Wait here then," the guard said, slipping in the guardhouse. Neither one of them spoke as they waited, merely stared fixedly upon the grounds beyond the gate until at last four hooded figures appeared followed by Lucius himself.

"Who are they?" Jennifer whispered softly.

"Bodyguards, some of his followers," Draco murmured. "Ever since mother died, Father's gotten more and more paranoid and been gathering more of his most loyal employees to his side."

"So now he has his own Death Eaters," Jennifer whispered, but Draco did not reply as the group approached the gate.

"Draco," Lucius said. "I assume you have a very good reason for daring to bring this woman here?"

"She's here to make sure her son is all right," Draco said. Lucius raised his eyebrows slightly.

"I am alive, am I not?" he said in an even but cold voice.

"All the same, I would like to see him too. You know, legally, you can not keep him here…"

"Aurelius came here of his own free will, Draco, seeking refuge against his negligent parents. In fact, after what I've been told, I'm even debating helping him seek legal counsel of his own."

"I see. Ruining Stock's family was just a practice run for attempting to ruin ours, was it?" Jennifer began, but Draco lifted a hand.

"Don't worry, Jennifer, he can't possibly do what he's saying," Draco assured her with a thin knowing smile towards his father. "If he did, it would get quite awkward when it came out just how he manipulated Aurelius to do 'favors' for him, including stealing the Sword…"

"Baseless allegations!" Lucius replied.

"Really? All it'd take is one post from Dumbledore to the Ministry to get a search warrant. And I'd be happy to fill them in to which warehouses I've known you to keep questionable artifacts in," Draco said calmly, his father's face paling to stone grey as he stared at his son in shock and fury. "Fortunately for you, I'm not here for a legal fight, provided that you let this woman see her son long enough to determine he's all right and not being held against his will. If you don't, I guarantee you that I'll advise her to have the entire Ministry show up here to bring him out kicking and screaming if necessary… and they will have cause to linger. On top of that, I myself, seeing your reluctance to allow a child's rightful parents to see him, would have reservations of my own on whether or not it is safe to allow my child to spend any length of time with you alone," Draco added seriously. The flash in Lucius' eye was so apparent that even Draco had little trouble reading what was on his mind as he gestured, one of his men falling out of his place.

"Get the boy," he said clearly, the guard hurrying towards the house. After standing there silently a moment, Lucius also turned, walking over to meet them as the guard escorted him out.

Jennifer pulled her hood away to get a closer look as Malfoy had a quick word with him. No longer in his Slytherin robes, he came out in black from head to toe…and although neither his stature nor his features matched his father, in that moment his expression was one that Jennifer recognized at once as being undeniably Snape as he gazed at her, nodding to Lucius before reluctantly following him back over to the gate.

"What are you doing here?" Aurelius demanded when they got closer. "You're not supposed to be here!"

"I took a leave of absence," Jennifer said. "Are you all right?"

"Why would someone who couldn't even bring herself to look at me yesterday care how I'm doing?" Aurelius snapped. Jennifer felt her throat tighten a bit.

"Look, Aurelius, I'm not here to argue with you about what happened yesterday. I'm not even here to force you to leave if what you want to do is stay. I just want to hear it from you that that's what you want."

"Since when do you care what I want?" Aurelius asked critically.

"Since the day you were born, but not everything you want is what you need, Aurelius," Jennifer snapped, then calmed herself. "Is there anything you need?"

"No, thank you. I have more here than you've ever given me," Aurelius said.

"Oh really, I never knew life accounted for so little," Jennifer said dryly, ignoring the faint sneer on Lucius' face. "Then again, considering your present company, it's hardly unexpected, I suppose."

"I think we can do without the insults, Craw. You've seen the boy, now I think it's time you got off my doorstep," Lucius said. "I'll not have you upsetting him with another shouting match."

"Fine, but there's something Aurelius must know first, something that you yourself just pointed out. I am a Craw still, just as much as Snape, and Craw means accepting family first and foremost above all else, even the law. You may feel abandoned because of what happened, but your family still stands behind you and will be here when you need us," Jennifer said. Aurelius laughed in disbelief.

"Oh really? Where's Father then?" Aurelius challenged her nd Jennifer immediately grew quiet, looking away a moment to try to keep the emotion from showing in her face. "Yeah, that's what I thought. It's just as you said, sir. He did abandon me in the end."

"Anyone who switches sides as often as the recreant is hardly honorable enough to back up someone who doesn't agree with his views, not even his own son," Lucius said, Draco grabbing Jennifer's sleeve to keep her from reacting.

"I'm sorry, are we talking about Snape, or are we talking about you, Father?" Draco said evenly, watching Lucius lock his jaw. Jennifer relaxed a bit, realizing just how hard that had hit home.

"What's important right now is that I'm here, Aurelius," Jennifer said firmly. "I'm not going back to work, not with things like this. And as I said before, I'm not here to force you to come home. I am here to let you know you can come home without fear of punishment or judgment, but open ears if you need them. You have other options, still, Aurelius, and will have one as long as I'm alive," she added, her eyes darting defiantly at Lucius who didn't seem the slightest bit threatened. "I'll be at the new house when you need me."

"You don't really expect me to believe you're not angry at me," Aurelius said. "As much as you've lashed out at me over the years when I've done something that's ruined your idealistic image of 'family unity'?"

"It's not you that I'm angry at," Jennifer sighed. "I'm angry because I can't comprehend the reasons why things got so out of hand. It's true, I've gotten overly dependent on my abilities over the years, and there's always been a wall between us because of it. I'm not good about not knowing things… it makes me angry when I don't. So if you ever have wondered what side of the family that came from, mystery solved," she said wryly, and then realized this was hardly the audience she wanted to be doing this with. "If you need to come home, come home, Aurelius."

"I am home now," Aurelius said firmly, Lucius nodding encouragingly to him before turning an icy smile back at her.

"There, you have your answer, Craw. This is home now, and I will be more of a father to him than he's ever had."

"And I'll be more of a son to him than he's ever had," Aurelius put in daringly. Draco merely shook his head and chuckled to himself.

"If you actually accomplish it, you deserve a metal," Draco told Aurelius sincerely before he turned, Jennifer taking one last glance before following him.

"Constellations, Draco, what an anchor you are! I don't think I'd have gotten through that if you hadn't been there," Jennifer murmured to him, grateful she had spoken to him first.

"An anchor? Rather it's just not possible for me to talk to Father without sinking," Draco said grimly. "I just learned how to breathe underwater is all."

When the knock on his office door came, Severus had no intention of answering it. But Dumbledore came in anyway, unsurprised to find Severus sitting with his feet on his desk and a brooding expression on his face, looking as if he hadn't moved from that position in hours.

"Good evening, Severus. I've some good news," Dumbledore said lightly, closing the door behind him. "Minerva has volunteered to take care of organizing this year's OWLS and NEWTs… I suppose it's part of her way of letting go and all that. So, you need not deal with that this year…well, except for any more revisions the board sends our way over the next few years. How is the research article coming along?"

"To be perfectly honest, Dumbledore, I haven't felt like working. Now if you don't mind?" Severus said grumpily.

"Severus Snape doesn't feel like working? Goodness, this is serious."

"I'm hardly in the mood to jest either. Please, if you have something to say, would you get it over with? I need some time to think!" Severus snapped.

"Yes, I suppose it was a rather inconvenient time for Jennifer to fly off the handle, as it were, wasn't it?" Dumbledore ventured.

"That is an absolute understatement! She has been completely unmanageable lately! Not a word I said has reached her ears for months, and not one attempt was ever made by her to trust me even for an instant!" Severus said, getting up to pace, his brooding demeanor coming back full force.

"Yes, that is true," Dumbledore said with a nod. "Perhaps if you had trusted her from the beginning, it might have helped?"

Severus whirled around, giving him a freezing look.

"I don't have time for this! If you have something to say to me Dumbledore, then say it!" He snapped.

"I believe I just did," Dumbledore said gently, going back over to the door. "Good night, Severus."

Severus watched him go, meeting Dumbledore's almost sympathetic smile with one of pure seething as the door slowly closed. Dejected, Severus sat down, coming to the realization that once again his true worst enemy was himself.

In the classroom, Descartes raised its head, the soft call almost worrisome in tone as it stretched its iron wings.

"No, no, he's all right, I assure you," Dumbledore told the bird, very carefully patting its neck. "It'll all work out somehow. But love is never painless, you know. Not even the best kind," he told him, giving the bird a live mackerel from underneath his cap before heading back out on his rounds.