Thirty-Four
The Hanged Man
Andrew and Halbert could barely see the counter in Honeydukes; not only because of the long line, but also because of the fact their hands were so full with items that they had trouble seeing anything.
"Is the line moving at all?" Halbert asked, juggling his four overstuffed baskets attempting to keep their contents from falling off.
"I think someone's getting ready to move. Maybe," Andrew said hopefully. "I hope it moves fast. I don't want everyone to be waiting on us."
"Hullo! Any of that for us?" Alicia said as she and Morfinn pushed their way in the door, everyone edging away from them as Morfinn violently sneezed and murmured something about spring.
"Thought you two were heading to the sports shop? Already bending the rules?" Andrew said.
"Not really, we checked in with everyone else," Alicia said defensively. "But the new Skyliners are in and the place is packed at the moment. Morfinn couldn't breathe," she said, Morfinn sniffling in response. "And to be perfectly honest neither could I."
"It must really be bad if this is better in comparison," Andrew teased.
"I needed some honey drops for my throat," Morfinn explained.
"Speaking of which, you stay here in line, and I'll grab," Alicia said, Morfinn taking his place three students behind Halbert. Taking a handkerchief from out of his cuff, the others around him scooted farther away pushing back or forward causing the rest of the line in front to adjust.
"You must admit, sometimes it seems very advantageous to have allergies," Halbert murmured privately to Andrew, who grinned at him in response.
"Hey! I wondered where you guys were!" Andrew and Halbert looked back to see Phil Rich come in, cutting through the line so he could get further in. "Did you hear what just happened in the Three Brooms? Your Mum just totally chewed into Delacour and your father! It was so classic!"
"Why does everyone insist on telling us every time our parents get into a fight?" Alicia asked with annoyance, tying up a couple bags of loose candy before walking back over to Morfinn.
"Well, I'd think you'd want to know. I mean, if my parents weren't already divorced, I'd want to know," Phil said.
"Our parents aren't getting divorced," Andrew said firmly, noting his sister's worried expression.
"That's what they all say," Phil said with a sigh. "But divorce isn't necessarily a bad thing, sometimes you get perks! The fighting stops…at least, on the surface, and then you start getting more stuff because one starts to feel guilty about the other giving more than them. And you may get to have Delacour as a stepmother," he added with a nod.
"I do not think I could handle Professor Delacour as a stepmother," Halbert murmured in horror.
"Nah, it's not so bad, trust me. It's perfectly natural about stepsons to sometimes have questionable thoughts about a stepmum that looks like…well…"
"Our parents are not getting divorced!" Andrew reiterated, cutting Phil off. "You're right, Alicia. The entire school seems more interested in our family's business than we are."
"Price you pay for being the children of two professors, I guess," Phil said with a shrug.
"Just ignore him," Morfinn said, taking the bags from Alicia. But in the process, his eyes happened to glance out the window, staring so fixedly outside that Alicia followed them. Leaning against the window looking in stood Eigil Hauk, who met their gazes evenly, an unpleasant smile creeping over his face.
"Andrew…" Alicia said, getting Halbert and Andrew's attention. Halbert growled deep in his throat.
"He's probably just out there waiting for the crowd to clear. I'm sure it has nothing to do with us," Andrew said, the other three looking at him dubiously. "Besides, he wouldn't dare do anything if he knew Rel was around, let alone Father."
"Andrew, that is exactly why he would do it," Halbert said.
"If he comes anywhere near us, I'm going to let him have it," Alicia said.
"But Alicia, Meyers and Heph are both out there too," Morfinn said. "They're both crack duelists."
"Yes, but so am I," Alicia said, Andrew gazing at his sister worriedly.
"I don't want anyone else getting into a fight because of me," Andrew said, but what he was going to say was cut off by the fact they were finally up at the counter.
"Wait for us," Alicia said, and Andrew nodded but hadn't missed her shifting her wand from inside her robe to inside her sleeve.
"You are all overreacting," Andrew said, getting his bags and immediately minimizing them without even the flick of his wand, stuffing them in his pockets.
"I hope you're right," Morfinn admitted. "Conflict is not good for my allergies either."
"Personally, I think he's probably gonna kick your ass again," Phil said behind them, earning glares all around as Alicia and Morfinn stepped up to the counter.
"There's four of us and four of them," Alicia said. "Besides, maybe Andrew's right. Maybe they're just hanging out."
"Well, let's try to walk fast to the rendezvous anyhow, maybe we can get more backup," Morfinn suggested.
"I do not like this," Halbert said grumpily. "I do not like this feeling of not even being able to walk down the street without being harassed."
"Come on. More than likely the others are waiting for us," Andrew reassured him as Alicia and Morfinn joined them and they stepped outside.
But just as they had dreaded, they weren't more than a few steps away from the door when a loud whistle sounded behind them, trying to get their attention. The four of them kept walking towards the middle of the street despite the catcalls coming from behind.
"No sign of the others. Where were they going again?" Andrew asked anxiously.
"Alex, Mandria, Gretchen and Zoë went to McGonagall's," Alicia said, glancing down the street. "The others are still stuck in that mess in the sport's shop, I imagine."
"Hey, Snape! Vere do you t'ink you're going? Somevere to do anudder disappearing act?" Eigil said from behind them, the four of them turning around warily. "Or is all dis invisibility 'ting affected your hearing somehow? Oh, I'm sorry, vas dat too loud? Ve vouldn't vant your little secret to get out, vould ve?"
"What are you getting at, Hauk?" Halbert said hotly.
"Vord travels fast in Hogvarts. How long do you t'ink it vould take to uncover dat Andrew has dis talent and has been using it to snoop on utters?" Eigil sneered.
"That's a lie! Well, sort of, but close enough!" Halbert said.
"Eigil, I hope you're not trying to make some sort of grounds to blackmail a Snape," Alicia said dangerously. "Because I guarantee you it won't go over well with the rest of us."
"Aw how cute! You little sister is sticking up for you!" Eigil sneered looking her over with a gaze Andrew most decidedly didn't like. "Or maybe not so little. Is it just me, or has she grown out a bit in the last few mont'? She'll be rivaling her sister soon, ya? Blonde, too."
"Leave my sister out of this, Eigil," Andrew snapped. Even Morfinn had taken a step up, feeling nervously for his wand.
"I can take care of myself," Alicia snapped, glaring at both of them.
"Feisty," Eigil said, leering. "I tell you vut, Snape. You let me play wit' your sister for a few minutes, and I vill not tell anyvun what you can do."
"Take one step near me, Hauk, and you're going to end up losing something important!" Alicia warned.
"I t'ink I vould ratter make you lose somet'ing important," Eigil said with a flashing smile. "Let's show dem the back of Honeydukes, boys, den we can have some fun."
Immediately Alicia snapped her wand out of her sleeve into her hand, the other three following suit as she blasted Eigil backwards and left him sprawling on the street, and the rest of the Slytherin with him immediately grabbing their wands for a counter attack. Within an instant, Andrew found himself in the middle of a magic battle, attempting to cover for Halbert who had his hands full trying to fend off Meyers. Heph got a good shot off at Morfinn that left him standing frozen in the street, his hand and wand stopped halfway through making the motion for a blocking spell. Without Morfinn to watch her back, Alicia found herself facing Laurel and Heph alone, noting that Hauk was even now scrambling to his feet. Seeing his sister's plight, Andrew broke off from Halbert to help her. But when Halbert turned to see what was going on, Meyers hit Halbert with such a strong disarming spell that it left him spinning on his back and groaning in pain. In the meantime, Laurel had come up behind Alicia as she worked to fend Heph off.
Afraid of accidentally hitting Alicia, Andrew cried out to her in warning. With the speed and reflexes that earned her acclaim on the Quidditch Pitch, Alicia was able to duck the oncoming spell and twist out of the way, while Andrew desperately tried to get Heph's attention. He hadn't noticed Meyers moving behind him until it was too late; his wand arm suddenly being twisted painfully around. He instantly recognized the spell being cast, for it was the one he himself had created. He knew there was only one solution and dropped his wand. Immediately, Meyers and Heph grabbed a hold of his arms. A scream alerted him to the fact that Laurel and Eigil had somehow managed to get Alicia's wand away as well, but she was still kicking and screaming despite the fact that Eigil was nearly twice her size. Students began to run out of shops, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Let her go!" Andrew shouted. "Don't touch her!"
"No, no, I don't t'ink so. She owes me now, for dis at least," Eigil said, wiping at his bloody lip. Take her to da back, Laurel."
But Laurel hesitated when Andrew stiffened and a strange look coming across his face. Alicia stopped struggling in surprise, her eyes widening as she stared at her brother. She had seen that look only twice before, but it was something she wouldn't have ever forgotten.
"I said," Andrew said in a deadly calm voice, "let her go!"
"I would do what he says if I were you," Alicia said, gazing at her brother warily.
"Very funny! Und vut could he do? If I vere you, I'd be much more vorried about vut I'm going to do wit' him if you don't cooperate," Eigil threatened in her ear, his hand moving up her waist.
Just then, a dull sound met their ears as the ground under their feet began to tremble in an apparent earthquake, growing stronger and stronger until even the buildings around them began to shake. As glass began to break out of the lamplights and store windows, Aurelius, Zack and Stock came scrambling out of the sports shop. Alex and the others half ran, half tumbled down a side street to see what was happening as well.
"Stay back! It's Andrew!" Aurelius warned her. Alex's eyes went wide and she immediately grabbed Gretchen and turned to run in the opposite direction, the confused Mandria and Zoë chasing after her.
"What the hell is going on?" Stock shouted.
"You're about to find out why Andrew doesn't like to get mad," Aurelius shouted back. "He's the only one of us who inherited both their tempers!"
"Oh shit!" Stock said, deciding taking cover might be a good idea.
Suddenly there was a pair of loud screams that turned into strange wails as Heph and Meyers started to transform, their skin growing darker and coarser and their torsos becoming spindlier until in their places stood a pair of gnarled bushes. Andrew quickly freed himself from the bushes and took a couple of steps forward, calling the wand to his hand and gripping it tightly. Stunned at what they had just witnessed, Laurel and Eigil had let go of Alicia. Alicia knew better than to stick around, running to meet Aurelius just as Laurel grew tall and barky of his own, his feet turning into a trunk that pushed itself into the ground while the rest of him sprang into the sky. The belt that had been around Laurel's waist sprang to life and climbed up a tree branch, transforming into a dangling rope.
Eigil's eyes widened in terror as he met Andrew's, and then turned to run for dear life. Immediately he tripped over his own feet, a jingle of bells sounding as he fell into the street. In a panic, Eigil looked down to see that he was wearing a pair of red and purple-belled shoes with upturned toes, but had no time to realize the significance of them as he was suddenly propelled upward. He pleaded for help in every language he could think of as he found himself flipped upside down with something wrapped around the bottom of his foot. At last, the force that had held him let go, the rope going taut around his ankle and causing his head to dangle just a couple feet above the street, while the sound of jingling bells was persistent in his ears. He shook his head a bit to try and clear them, then realized they were coming from the jester's cap that had appeared on his head.
Standing in front of him, Andrew looked at him thoughtfully a moment. Finally, he raised his wand, ignoring Eigil's pleas for mercy as he pointed it at the bottom of the tree and carved XXII on its base, large enough so everyone could see it.
He was oblivious to the fact that the entire town had come out to see what was going on, many of them armed, expecting another Death Eater attack. Just outside the door of the Three Broomsticks, Rosmerta, Dumbledore, Danny, Pomona and Severus all gazed at the scene in sheer amazement.
"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! I've never seen anything like it!" Rosmerta said with appreciation as she stared at the obvious rendition of a Tarot Card.
"Rosmerta, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't see a thing," Dumbledore said. "Does anyone else?" All of the other Professors shook their heads, answering with a negative, even Snape, whom Dumbledore was gazing at with a private smile.
"It's too bad Jennifer wasn't here to not see this!" Danny said. A flash went off behind her. Dumbledore furrowed his brows at Pomona, who was taking a few shots with her Insta-Moment Capture camera.
"Oh, don't worry, Headmaster. I'll destroy the evidence after the rest of the faculty has a chance to not see this," Pomona assured him, Dumbledore clucking at her disapprovingly. He also didn't try to stop her either as he turned to watch Andrew walking up to the dangling figure.
"Stay away from me!" Eigil barked at Andrew, feebly waving the jester's head cane that had once been a wand at him.
"No, fool, it is time that you listened to me," Andrew said coldly. "I may have tolerated your treatment of me because I know you're not totally to blame for the way you are, but when you start turning on my siblings, you have crossed the line. Your entire future is dangling from a rope just like you are right now, Eigil, although what you do with that is your business, not mine. But I swear, if I ever catch you harassing anyone else in this school no matter who it is, I'll draw another card. And trust me, you won't like which one I'll chose next."
"Empty threats! You von't do it! I vill tell everyone da truth about you! I vill do it now if you don't let me go, and den dere vill be novhere for you to hide, den!" Eigil challenged him. Andrew snorted at him then and disappeared, a soft gasp running through the crowd as he then appeared again still walking towards Eigil.
"I may be able to turn invisible whenever I chose," Andrew said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "But I am not hiding or running anymore! And a word of warning to you, Hauk. If you do force me to come after you and your friends again, you will not see me coming." A chill went down Hauk's spine then as he stared in Andrew's dark, serious face, a look that he would never forget for the rest of his life.
But as terrible as it was, it suddenly relaxed into a look of exhaustion as Andrew put his wand away. Eigil was abruptly let go, falling face first in the dirt as the tree began to reform back into Laurel, the bushes behind him also beginning to return to the very shaken figures of Hephaestus and Garret, crouched on the ground as if a bit afraid of getting up.
It was then that arms seemed to come up from everywhere around Andrew and he found himself hugging his little sister while Alex and Aurelius had come up on either side of him, Aurelius nodding approvingly to him. Zack and Zoë had been the first to let out a cheer that grew all around them as they released Morfinn from his spell, eager to hear what had happened. In the meantime, Danny Brittle had somehow managed to slip through the crowd and round up the four shaken boys, whisking them back to the school.
"So is anyone hungry yet?" Andrew asked with a wan smile, not enjoying the attention he was getting at all.
"I'm buying," Alicia declared, an arm still around Andrew as they all began to wander up the street together. Immediately everyone else in the group protested, but finally Alicia won out the honor before they got to the doors of the Dragonwing Deli.
Jennifer had every intention of spending several good solid hours in Keki's Grove to calm down after her confrontation with her father. But as her anger dissipated, the pain, suspended by her fury, soon came back to torment her full force, slowing her down as she was forced to walk passed the curious students without a hint of the limp.
It was out of pure necessity to cut down the walk time that brought her to cut down the street where Toby's Trinket Shop sat, and she had every intention of passing it; that was until she saw the crowd of grumbling students, and a sign in the window which read; Closed until after Easter to Practically Everyone…Except You. The two words on the last line seemed handwritten and Jennifer, upon seeing it, was quite sure that none of the disgruntled students passing the shop had. Letting out a long sigh, Jennifer reluctantly approached the shop and tried the handle. Much to the students' amazement, the door opened, but as she stepped in, the door quickly closed behind her, and despite their valiant attempts, none of those hanging nearby could manage to get it to turn.
Many of the front shelves were empty as if being restocked, although Jennifer knew it was probably more just for show for the students peering in than any real need to do so. She glanced around as she walked slowly up to the counter, greeted by the warm, slightly concerned smile of Toby the Tinker.
"Ah, Jennifer! Here to pick out an item at last? I was so hoping to see you today…please, the stool, I insist. You shouldn't be on your feet," Toby said, so insistently offering his hand to help her that Jennifer took it, staring into his blue eyes for a long moment afterwards.
"You know what's going on, don't you?" Jennifer asked, even though she knew for a fact she wouldn't be able to read his expression. But the wiry old man didn't seem inclined to hide it, nodding gently to her.
"In some ways, more than you do," Toby admitted. "Care for some tea before you look around? You've had a stressful day."
"Sure, although I already know what I want," Jennifer said, glancing around. "You wouldn't happen to have any Bently's Invisibility Cream, would you?"
"As a matter of fact…" Toby said, pausing to pour her a cup of tea and sit it in front of her. "No, I don't."
"No?" Jennifer said, blinking with surprise. "None at all? But I need more!"
"No, my dear. You want more," Toby corrected. "There's a difference. I only stock things that people actually need, you understand. Try the tea."
"Ugh! This is the same horrid stuff Severus has been giving me," Jennifer scowled after taking a drink.
"Yes, well, doctor's orders," Toby said cheerfully but then brought out a small honey pot, cordially drizzling some in her tea. "So tell me, just why do you think you need the cream?"
"If you know what's going on then you already know the answer," Jennifer said impatiently, taking another drink of the tea at his insistence. "This is much better," she admitted.
"A little honey helps any sort of bitter pill," Toby said. "I still want to hear it from your own words."
"If I don't use it, then I'll be condemning my family to the same fate I have," Jennifer said softly, stirring her tea.
"Are you so sure of that?" Toby said.
"Of course I'm sure," Jennifer said irritably. "I can't give any hint to…well, you know what, and if I do, they'll be inflicted too."
"Then I have a question for you, Jennifer," Toby said, folding his hands together. "If you hadn't come across that cream in the bookstore just after this thing happened to you and discovered what it could do, what would you have done instead?"
"I have no idea," Jennifer admitted, thinking about it. "I suppose I'd still have tried to cover it up somehow…"
"Ah, yes, but do you know something else on the market that could effectively cover up all the wounds you've acquired, not only from sight, but from touch? Like the ridges across your back, or the wound in your leg?" Toby said, Jennifer shaking her head slightly.
"Honestly, Toby, I don't know much about cosmetics in general," Jennifer admitted.
"Perhaps that's why it never occurred to you then that the appearance of this miracle cover-up just when you 'needed' it most might have been a little too convenient," Toby said. Jennifer stared at him in disbelief, her face paling.
"If I hadn't found it," Jennifer murmured, "This all might have come out…months ago."
"Yes, and it wouldn't have been your fault, would it have, if you had done everything in your power to stop it?" Toby said. "I don't suppose you ever thought of doing any research upon the Bently company itself to see who owned it?"
"No, but now I see all too clearly that I should have," Jennifer said, pushing her hair out of her face with both hands and shaking her head. "I've been a total idiot, haven't I?"
"Well, the good news is, it's not too late to fix things," Toby said cheerfully, putting a jar on the table. It was the jar she had seen before labeled 'Invisibility Cream Remover.' "Care to make a purchase? You really do need to come clean."
"Toby," Jennifer sighed, shaking her head. "I can't do that, and you know it! Everything would just come out!"
"And it's not going to come out with you limping about and collapsing from pain every night, assuming that something else doesn't happen that pushes you over your personal threshold?" Toby said quietly.
"Wait a minute…you know!" Jennifer said. "Toby, why can't you just tell Severus the truth?"
"Why can't you?" Toby challenged her.
"You know why," Jennifer said impatiently. "If I have anything to do with them finding out about me, they get it too!"
"You realize, of course, that you asking me to tell Severus is you indirectly helping them find out the truth and they'd still be subject to the curse," Toby pointed out. Jennifer stared at him.
"Damn it! You're right!" Jennifer said, beating her head against the counter until Toby gently pushed her shoulders back.
"Now, now, none of that, you're in enough of a mess as it is," Toby scolded her. "Jennifer, even if you hadn't asked me, you know I'm not really supposed to be interfering in any events that enfold here. I'm not even of this world anymore. My interfering would mean having to keep people from being able to make decisions about their own lives, and that's something I really would prefer not to do. I may not agree with every decision that everyone makes…well…no one agrees with every decision that everyone makes. Of course, I must admit it is natural to try to influence someone to decide a certain way, especially if you really care about them," he added, gazing at her sincerely. "And it's also natural for a person to be angry about decisions someone they care about made in the past. Futile, perhaps, since you can't change the past any more than you can change who they are now, but natural."
"And just how did we get from talking about my mess to talking about my father?" Jennifer scowled at him. Toby smiled.
"Jennifer, the point is that as your friend, I want you to make good decisions about your life, but I think it is more important that you make your own decisions and not let anyone else make them for you."
"And what's your idea of a good decision?" Jennifer asked. Toby smiled and tapped the container.
"My advice would be for you to use this liberally and go to your husband and tell him the truth," Toby said.
"But how could I do that? How could I condemn my family to that?"
"And I wonder how you can condemn yourself to this," Toby said. "Have you no faith or trust in your family at all?"
"It's not about faith and trust," Jennifer said firmly, Toby sighing and shaking his head in response. "I'm not going to let my family suffer because of me!"
"They already are, Jennifer," Toby said quietly. "I for one would think Severus would be pretty relieved to hear what is really going on compared to all the possible scenarios his vivid imagination has probably come up with."
"You don't understand, Toby," Jennifer said softly, staring into her tea to avoid looking at him. "You have no idea what it's like to be inflicted with this…this thing. I can't allow anyone else to go through it. I just can't. No, I've got to somehow finish this myself, alone. Don't you see? I don't want anyone else's life in my hands. Right now, it's just mine or his. I plan to keep it that way." Toby gazed at her for a long time, nodding somberly.
"I understand, Jennifer. I don't agree with you, but I really do understand," Toby said gently, glancing at the shelf above the counter where a line of glass bottles with different colored liquids sat. He chose one that was a deep royal blue in color. "This bottle is filled with Liquid Mercy. It's very rare and very difficult to distill by itself, let me assure you. I sell it by the spoonful; it cannot be used more than once," he explained setting it beside the cream. "One dose of this, and whoever drinks it will have sensation, but will feel no pain… none whatsoever, for forty-eight hours," he said, watching as Jennifer's eyes looked at it hopefully. "Now, listen to me, Jennifer, this is very important. For even though this liquid has no known side effects, it is an extremely dangerous potion. If you acquire any new wounds at all, you will not feel them, and potentially you will not realize how severe they are until those forty-eight hours are up. At that time, you will be fully aware of all of them," he said darkly. "And if you are in any way in a precarious position at that point and have not taken any precautions to tend those injuries, your life would be put in very, very, grave peril indeed."
"But if I could manage to find Lucius before that time is up, perhaps I could end this…and even at the worst, it'd end one way or the other," Jennifer murmured to herself, Toby gazing at her somberly.
"Jennifer, it's still not too late to take the cream instead," Toby said, setting them both directly in front of her. "But it is your decision, and whatever you chose, I will fully support it."
"The potion," Jennifer said immediately, and Toby nodded in acceptance, smiling softly before putting the cream back upon the shelf.
"Very well, Jennifer, I'll just grab a clean spoon then," Toby said. Jennifer glanced at the jar and put several galleons within. "I expect you should take note of the time."
"Good idea," Jennifer agreed, glancing at her watch to see it was just approaching noon. She frowned slightly.
"Here you are," Toby said with a smile, holding out the spoon for her to take. It was almost completely tasteless, with just a hint of something sweet, and barely a moment after she had taken it, she felt as if warm sunlight had suddenly washed over her, the pain disappearing so quickly that she cried out in surprise. "Better?"
"Toby, it's positively wonderful!" Jennifer said in amazement, feeling her side experimentally, taking a deep breath. But although she felt the warmth of her hand and the pressure of her chest against the corset, not one twinge of pain went through her. "Thank you! I so owe you!"
"Nonsense, you already paid me," Toby said with a smile, putting up a finger and shaking it at her before putting the stopper back on. "Just don't forget my warning."
"What warning?"
Jennifer jumped up so quickly that it was a very good thing the potion had worked so fast as she whirled around to face Severus as he moved away from the doorway and strode over to him. Suddenly remembering the spoon in her hand, she quickly put it down, but not fast enough to Severus miss the action or the bottle that Toby had stuck under the counter.
"What did you just give her?"
"A little advice and a little mercy, Severus, nothing more than that," Toby protested.
"I meant the bottle," Severus snapped. "Jennifer, I thought we had an understanding…"
"Understanding! What an excellent idea!" Toby said, taking a bottle of red liquid off the shelf. "Care to share one with me, Severus?"
"What are you talking about, old man?"
"Liquid Understanding, of course. Only takes a drop, you know," Toby said, putting his finger along the rim before licking it. "A little understanding can go a long way."
"Jennifer is not allowed to have anything not approved by her doctor!" Severus snapped.
"Yes, I know. That's why I made her this tea. Nasty stuff, though…"
"Don't try to get around me!"
"Severus, I'm not getting around anyone. If you must know, I merely gave her something to help make her feel like she didn't need to take any sort of potion at all for a few days. Short of a Sleeping Potion, perhaps," Toby added. "Isn't that right, Jennifer?"
"That is true, Severus," Jennifer said, smiling knowingly at how the crafty tinker worded it. "I do feel much better than I have been. Please don't get angry at him. Look, no shakes!"
Severus stared at his wife for a moment, staring at the hand she put up then cautiously put a hand on her shoulder. Not only had she not flinched, but she felt much more relaxed than she had in quite some time.
"Hm," Severus said, still suspicious. "I want to know exactly what is in it."
"Actually, it's a bit complex and might take me a while to write down, but I will send it to you," Toby said calmly. "Is there anything else you need, Severus?"
"Simply to speak to my wife," Severus said curtly.
"I couldn't agree more," Toby said in a tone that made Jennifer give him a dirty look.
"Shall we go for a walk?" Severus asked. "Dumbledore is going to be about for awhile to watch things here."
"I'd like that," Jennifer agreed, taking his arm. "A long one."
"Just what I had in mind," Severus nodded.
Toby watched them leave, lost in his thoughts.
