Chapter Fourteen
A Ghost From the Past
Severus Snape was making rounds after lunch that weekend and found Alex, Alicia, and Aurelius at a back library table, huddled deep in discussion. They had been doing that a lot lately, he frowned, wondering if he should go in and see what they were up to. And where was Andrew? Halbert had still been in the Great Hall consuming everything he could get his hands on when Severus left, so he had assumed Andrew would be with his siblings. Flipping open his watch he glanced at it, then turned around and strode to the courtyard.
As he got to the door he stopped dead in his tracks, his jaw dropping momentarily as he took in the scene of a half a dozen girls in a circle; some standing, some sitting on the edge of a fountain while in the center an obnoxiously cute flying squirrel played to the audience by doing a full somersault in mid-air. An enthusiastic applause came from the girls, also laughing a bit and whispering to each other while Severus took a step to the side to get a better look at the squirrel, who seemed to be doing handstands as well, and watched the scene in disbelief. But it was when they stopped to pet him and Juliet even dared to pick him up that Severus rolled his eyes and shook his head, coming over with an intentionally quick pace so they would notice him. Looking up, Juliet quickly dropped the squirrel and backed up, the other girls doing the same. Some of them edged away as unobtrusively as they could as they suddenly remembered homework they needed to get done.
"Mr. Snape," Severus said with unmistakable annoyance in his voice. "Selling tickets? Or are we just looking for street donations? Come forward. Now," he ordered dangerously, and within a few steps Andrew appeared before him, looking around as most of the girls seemed more interested in one another's hair or shoes than what was going on next to them.
"They were just curious, Professor. I didn't see any harm in demonstrating…"
"Don't even attempt to explain, Mr. Snape, you'll only dig yourself in deeper," Severus said with a sigh. "I know there's not any school rules that 'technically' prohibit you from changing form on your own time, however, do me a favor? Don't let me catch you doing it again? Or one way or the other you will find yourself in my office…for being a blatant showoff if not for any other reason," he snarled, then lowered his voice. "Don't think I don't know what you were really doing, Andrew. I'll be keeping an eye on you," he warned before turning back towards the door. Andrew grinned nervously at his father when he turned to give one last disapproving glance back before going inside. Shrugging slightly, Andrew smiled apologetically to his audience who were all gazing back at him sympathetically.
Severus walked down the corridor shaking his head, wearing such a look on his face that students on the way through went out of their way to avoid him. Finally he turned down the stairs towards the dungeons and into Jennifer's office to find her crouched over the Cauldron working on another experiment. She glanced up briefly when he came in, but was too involved at first to give him more than a cursory look.
"What's wrong? Did you find them snooping about again?" Jennifer asked distractedly.
"Worse," Severus said in such a voice that Jennifer attempted to stabilize the brew long enough for her to look up at him. "It appears that Andrew has discovered girls." Jennifer laughed at him, but Severus' expression didn't change.
"Not a surprise, is it, at his age? After all, he's almost sixteen."
"No, no, Jennifer… he hasn't just discovered one girl. He's discovered them all," Severus said irritably. "And enjoying every minute of it! And what is worse is that they seem to be enjoying it back!"
"I'm sure he'll grow out of it, Severus," Jennifer said. "Although I do admit, I've noticed that the girls in his class have always seemed to take to him even before the Animagus thing. He's just never noticed it before. In fact, he's had more admirers than even Alex, and she's a knockout, even if she does talk too much. I think it's his lay-back personality."
"It's definitely not his looks," Severus said grumpily. "He's awkward and gangly, thin and pale, and his face leaves much to be desired."
"On the contrary, I think he's quite handsome. And there's nothing at all gangly about him, even if he is a bit thin right now. I'm sure that'll even out when he's done growing," Jennifer said. "Why does it bother you so much? Did you really think your looks had so much to do with what happened in school?"
"I'd rather not be psychoanalyzed at the moment, thank you," Severus said in such a terse voice that Jennifer smiled apologetically, knowing that had burned more than she had intended it to.
"Well, it'll be interesting to see who he'll be bringing to the dance next week," Jennifer said, stirring the Cauldron. "The only thing I am sure of in that matter is that it will not be Ginger Davidson."
It was only a few days before Halloween, and Halbert still hadn't worked up enough nerve to ask Ginger out. After coaxing him all day, Andrew finally began to lose his patience at dinner and nudged his friend hard.
"Come on, Halbert, it really is now or never. People are starting to get up," Andrew told him, elbowing him hard.
"You sure she doesn't have a date yet?" Halbert murmured.
"I was sure this morning. Alicia checked, but that's been hours," Andrew said. "You should have asked in Herbology."
"But we were mulching! I didn't have the time!" Halbert protested.
"Well, you have the time now, so you'd best get it over with," Andrew said, pulling him to his feet.
"What if she says no?" Halbert asked in a low voice.
"Then you ask someone else," Andrew said simply.
"And then what if she says no?"
"Halbert, just do it," Andrew said with unusual firmness, glaring at him until finally Halbert shuffled over to the Hufflepuff table. Alicia looked up first, smiling encouragingly at Halbert as he came over, waving to her when she greeting him.
"Ginger, can I talk to you for a moment?" Halbert said.
"Sure," Ginger said with a shrug. Halbert waited a moment, but she didn't make any move to get up from the table. Beside her, June looked at him curiously.
"Well, I was just wondering if you had an escort yet for the Halloween dance, because if not, I would be honored to go with you," Halbert said stiffly, all too aware that everyone else still at that end of the table was watching him too. Someone snickered, but when Halbert glanced down the table everyone seemed to be eating. Even Ginger, who never seemed rattled by anything, looked a bit off balance as she cleared her throat, noticing Alicia's and Morfinn's eyes directly on her as well as Andrew watching from the other table.
"Oh, ah…well…" Ginger began, glancing at June desperately but her friend didn't seem to be paying attention. "Halbert," she said then, deciding for the honest approach. "I'm not exactly the tallest girl in our class." Halbert blinked at her.
"So? Does it matter?"
"I think…I think it'd be a bit awkward, Halbert, for both of us," she said, her cheeks growing pink but her face was serious. "I'd rather have a partner I could look in the eye. Really, I think we'd both be better off not doing putting ourselves through that. But…you're a nice guy, Halbert and you're good at…you're a good Beater," she said, nodding to him despite his crestfallen face. "Maybe we can get together and study sometime. Herbology. We're still friends, right?"
"Right," Halbert said, but still stood there a moment trying to think of something to say. Finally he gave up. "All right," he said, going back to his seat. Alicia's eyes followed him sympathetically until she met her brother's, slowly shaking her head before getting up and walking to the Ravenclaw table. But Andrew could have guessed the answer from the look on his face as Halbert sat back down.
"So?" Andrew asked softly.
"She uh… well, she said maybe we could study sometime," he said with a shrug.
"But no dance?" Andrew asked. Halbert shook his head.
"She was nice about it though," he went on when he saw the dark look on Andrew's face. "She was just concerned about…well…I'm part giant, after all…"
"What? Did she say…"
"No, no…she just wants a date that can she can look at in the eye, well, you know. Maybe it would have been awkward at that, come to think of it. I wonder if there are any ghosts still free. It wouldn't matter to them…"
"It wouldn't matter to someone who was your friend, Halbert," Andrew said firmly.
"Hey guys!" They both looked up to see Alex standing there, Alicia close behind. "Halbert, can I talk to you a moment? Outside, preferably," Alex went on with a smile.
"It isn't about Davidson, is it?" Halbert said guardedly.
"No, I just have a problem I was hoping you could help me with," Alex said. Suspiciously, Halbert got up and walked her out, while Alicia took his spot across from Andrew.
"And just what are you both up to?" Andrew asked.
"Alex is going to ask him to go to the dance with her," Alicia said in a low voice. "I knew she wasn't planning to go with anyone, so when I explained what happened, she volunteered."
"I still can't believe Ginger would treat him like that…"
"She really did try to let him down as easy as she could," Alicia assured him. "She just didn't think…"
"Well, that much is certain," Andrew interrupted, getting up. "I only hope Halbert wises up about her…but probably not. Come on, I suppose it's lesson time," he sighed. But as they met up with Aurelius and walked out the door to meet Alex, she had a very enigmatic smile on her face. "Where's Halbert?"
"Oh, he went up to the common room to study. I happened to remind him about how Snape always makes us pass that last Defense test before he'll let us go to the ball," Alex winked.
"Don't tell me you're going to that thing with that big oaf," Aurelius said, ignoring the vicious glares coming from Alicia and Andrew behind them.
"I prefer taller men," Alex agreed, and Aurelius rolled his eyes as they continued down the corridor.
Severus stared at the window at the pouring rain as a rumble of thunder rippled in the distance. He hadn't realized how long he had been standing there until Jennifer entered in her new dress ready for the evening ahead, but she paused when he saw his worried expression.
"It's only rain," she said gently, walking over to him and taking his arm. "Probably the end of this warm weather we've been having. I hope it's not too chilly for the game this weekend."
"And what makes you so certain this rain is natural?" Severus asked.
"Severus, it's always rainy this time of year," Jennifer pointed out.
"And is it always so warm?"
"It's been this warm before," Jennifer said. "It's been much colder before, too, but it's hardly anything to be concerned about."
"I'm not so sure," Severus said distantly.
"Well, you can stay here and guard us against the rain if you like, but I am going to the Halloween Ball and hope there's something I can nibble on this year," Jennifer said in annoyance, turning for the door.
"Wait," Severus said with a sigh, then turned as well holding an arm out. Taking it, Jennifer smiled at him despite his grumpy face. "Well, I can't have you showing up alone, can I? People will talk."
"You worry so much about that," Jennifer teased them as they went downstairs.
There were quite a few disappointed girls when Andrew decided not to ask anyone at all, despite a number of well-placed hints. He was especially put off about the dance after Zack's own bad luck with Juliet. She refused to spend an entire evening having to deal with Zack's best friend, a poltergeist named Peeves, who was sure to be right by his side. It was not long after Juliet began hinting quite openly to Andrew she was available that he finally decided it wasn't worth the trouble. He had, of course, considered hanging around with one of the castle ghosts, but most of the good ones had already been taken. Jamie Potter, of all people, had been the first to ask Nearly Headless Nick, while Joanie and Johnny Martin decided to team up, smuggling in a chess game which they set up in a back corner. Juliet had decided after losing her other options to take the Bloody Baron, being one of the few students not intimidated by him. Alicia again took Janus Craw, and Aurelius dutifully made his presence known beside Stella, although it was obvious from his stiffness he had no true interest in her…Slytherin politics at work. Eigil had had no trouble getting a date despite his height, Andrew saw with annoyance, picking one of the prettiest of the Slytherin seventh years, a girl named Mona Metternich. But Andrew also didn't miss the dark look on Eigil's face when Alex came in on Halbert's arm after having been told by her that she had already had a date.
"Hullo, you two. Nice dress, Alex, I don't think I've seen that one before. Rather Mugglish," Andrew said.
"Thanks," Alex beamed brightly at the compliment.
"Haven't seen that necklace before either, where did you get it?" Andrew returned.
Alex's hand suddenly went to her neck, playing with the golden heart pendant there with a strange expression on her face.
"Oh, um, I got it over the summer," Alex explained. "Doesn't Halbert look splendid in his new dress robes?"
"Splendid, splendid," Andrew said with amusement at the somewhat uncomfortable look on his face. "Well, I'll let the two of you go and have fun. I'm going to see what sort of wall flowers there are to pick," Andrew winked and began to mingle, Halbert and Alex staring at each other with surprise.
"Alex!" The two of them glanced over to see Alicia coming towards them, Janus following close behind and nodding at them with a smile. "Just what did you get me into? That's the last time I ask you advice on a research paper. Now I've got my work cut out for me and then some!" she said irritably.
"Whatever do you mean?" Alex asked innocently. "You asked me for a famous Muggle painter and I gave you one."
"Well, apparently this DaVinci guy did a lot more stuff than paint, and Aunt Anna wants me to talk about that too!"
"He did? Imagine that," Alex said. Alicia folded her arms, not buying it. "We're going to go dance. Have fun, Alicia!" Alex said, dragging Halbert with her.
"Shall we join them, Miss Snape?" Janus asked with a smile, and Alicia sighed in resignation, putting academics aside to join her adopted ghost.
As they took to the floor, Anna, who had just come in with her husband a moment before, fixed her eyes on Janus thoughtfully, wondering if there would be any opportune moments to try to speak to the ghost. Icarus, too, had also been scarce of late, and as she scanned the rest of the ghosts she saw no sign of him.
"How I've missed these Hogwarts Balls," Sirius said in a half-joking, half-wistful tone. "All the uncomfortable looking students stepping on each other's feet, vying for attention from other partners than the one that they're with, and wearing dress clothes in such an odd, stiff sort of way I can't help but imagine what labors it must have taken to force themselves into such things. I don't see Zoë and Zack yet, do you?"
Anna, who hadn't been looking, shook her head, distracted then by the sight of Andrew standing in front of several girls sitting together next to the unlit fireplaces, apparently making some sort of impression on one of them, leading her to the dance floor. Ginger, dancing with Garret Meyers, did a double-take and glared when she saw her best friend June on the dance floor with Andrew, who despite his height came off with impeccable grace.
"If it wasn't for his nose, I'd swear he had another father," Sirius said, then glanced around with a smirk before leaning over slightly towards his wife. "Now there's a girl I wouldn't expect to see dating Aurelius. She looks like death warmed over, doesn't she?" Anna turned and gave him a dirty look, but as she looked at the dance floor, she privately thought that Stella definitely didn't seem to be Aurelius' type.
Aurelius excused himself for a moment to go over the refreshment table, catching a glimpse of activity in the far corner. Glancing back at Stella who had stopped to talk to Eigil and Mona, Aurelius went to investigate. It only took one look at the names and tallies on Zoë's notebook and at the crowd around the chess table to know what was going on as Joanie waited with apparent boredom for Ted Gaffney to make the next move. Off to the side, Shelly, Ted's date, looked very irate at the whole thing.
"Why don't you just bring the cards out while you're at it?" Aurelius said sarcastically, frowning at his cousin.
"Well, if you think we could get away with it," Zoë said smoothly. "Care to get in? I can't take bets on how many moves now, but there's good odds on Ted to win."
"Because he hasn't got a prayer," Aurelius said.
"Hey!" Ted said, glaring at him. But in that moment, Joanie made her move and hit the counter. "Hey, what did you do?"
"That's what you get for not keeping your eyes on the board," Joanie said.
"I can't believe you're involved in this, Gaffney, being Head Boy…"
"Oh, dry up, Snape. I'm playing, not betting."
"You're not doing anything about it, either," Aurelius snapped.
"Rel, I swear if you do anything, I am soooo going to…" whatever Zoë was going to say was cut off when she saw her father approaching. She bit her tongue and glared warningly at him.
"Hi, Zoë. Making any money?" Sirius said so casually that Aurelius stared at him.
"Sure, but I won't know how much until three more moves," Zoë said, looking at Joanie questioningly, but Joanie shrugged.
"He's doing okay for an amateur," she said.
"I swear, you are the cheekiest first year I have ever met," Ted told her in annoyance as he made his move. "And behind Zoë and her brother, that's saying a lot."
"No sweat, Ted, you'll beat her," Phil Rich said encouragingly. "Just ignore the taunting and play." But when the attention went back to the game, Aurelius didn't miss Sirius slipping a coin in Zoë's palm. Zoë murmured something to Sirius who nodded to her before turning to his wary nephew and taking him by the shoulder to lead him back towards the refreshment table.
"So Aurelius, who's the girl?" Sirius asked in a low voice.
"Stella Bulstrode, she's just the other Prefect. In fact, I'd better be getting our drinks," Aurelius said.
"Ah, I knew her face seemed familiar. They all look a lot alike," Sirius chuckled and Aurelius frowned at him. "So it's nothing serious, then?"
"No girl is worth losing Pali for," Aurelius said simply. But Sirius smiled skeptically at him.
"I know you say that now, but I'm sure down the line…"
"Uncle Sirius, Unicorn or not, Pali is still my best friend. Would you let a girl get between you and your best friend at school?" Aurelius challenged him. Sirius looked completely taken aback at the question. In fact, he looked as if he had been smacked. After staring at him appraisingly for a moment he slowly shook his head.
"No, of course I wouldn't. Let one get between me and my worst enemy, maybe," Sirius chuckled weakly. "Excuse me." Aurelius watched him walk off before grabbing the drinks and joining Stella, Stock and Mary who were watching the piñata being set up.
But Sirius' mood had turned dark as his thoughts went back in time, unable to shake memories he had so much wanted to forget. Until the house burning the year before, he had boxed them deeply away in his mind. Strange how it had been Severus Snape that had given him the torch that had ripped that wound open again.
"Hi, Dad!" Sirius pulled himself out of it long enough to acknowledge his son, who seemed to be covered from head to toe in cake and chocolate syrup. "Have you met Peeves?" Fading in with a pumpkin pie, Peeves suddenly turned the plate over and dropped it on Zack's head.
"We've met, thanks," Sirius said dryly.
"Zacchius Black! What in the world have you been doing?" Anna asked as she, Jennifer and Severus came up beside them.
"It's all right Mom…Madame…whatever. We do this every year. It's my job to keep Peeves occupied on Halloween so he doesn't cause too much trouble," Zack explained as he tried to clear some of the pie off his neck and shoulders, leaving a crusty mess on his head.
"Yes, and the brilliance of it is that it also works in reverse," Severus said snidely.
"You want some pie, Professor?" Zack challenged him.
"Do you want to spend the rest of the year in detention?" Severus warned him back.
"Lay off, Severus," Sirius snapped with such bite that everyone stopped to look at him.
"He was just joking, Dad," Zack said.
"Partially," Severus admitted. But Jennifer was still eyeing Sirius, and she knew something was really wrong.
"I don't care, I want you to leave him alone! Just stay away, Severus!" Sirius snarled, a very frightening look on his face.
Just then, a strong wind blew one of the large windows open and it was followed by a flash of lightning, the thunder cracking deafeningly just outside. Even though the lights inside weren't flickering, Severus and the rest of the staff were immediately alert for trouble, while the student band fell silent and all the students looked at each other nervously.
"Oh no, it's her," Jennifer murmured. Severus whipped around, having expected the 'her' to be Ciardoth. But in many ways, the image before him was much worse.
Standing before them was the image of a girl in Gryffindor robes who looked to be in one of her final years. Her hair was straight and dark, and her angry eyes were unmistakably green. Although she seemed to have substance, Jennifer knew it was the image of a girl who had died years ago. She took a few steps towards them, walking straight through several students who didn't seem to see her at all. But Jennifer also noticed as she came forward that the expressions on Severus and Sirius changed dramatically as years were painfully ripped away from them, their full attention on her. Anna pulled Zacchius back, but he simply stared at her, completely confused by her actions and wondering what she was looking at.
"Not again! What is with you? Don't you two ever stop fighting?" the girl said angrily.
"Amanda…" Severus stammered. "We weren't fighting…"
"You've never stopped!" she said. "His fault, your fault, James' fault, never my fault! I've had it with the whole thing! You are so wrapped up in your own little egos that you can't see what you're doing to yourselves, let alone to me! And what about Lily? You promised her after the Quidditch thing, and here you are at it again! Well, you had better have this settled by the holidays, or so help me I'm going to tell her the truth! About everything!" she shouted, tears in her eyes as she turned and walked towards the doors.
"No. No-no, you've got to stay at Hogwarts, you can't go home! YOU CAN'T GO HOME! Damn it Amanda, you won't come back!" Sirius shouted and broke down in tears, falling to his feet after a hesitant step forward.
Severus stood still and pale as the image faded, only vaguely aware of all the confused students standing around them now. Jennifer's face was streaked with tears, while Anna felt quite helpless to do anything until Hermione and Albus made their way through the crowd.
"What has happened? Sirius, are you all right?" Albus said.
"There was a strange girl here, Professor," said a student from the crowd. With surprise, Anna looked up to see Jamie Potter standing there. "But hardly anyone seemed to be able to see her."
"It was the image of Amanda Elwood," Severus said, his voice sounding distant.
"Amanda…here…after all of these years…strange…" Albus murmured, looking around. "Did anyone else see her?"
"I did," Aurelius said, stepping up. "No one else that I spoke to about it has."
"Come, Sirius, let's go to my office and have a talk…Anna, if you'd help me get him to his feet…Severus?" Albus said.
"Fine, sir," Severus said, but it was obvious from the look Albus gave him over the rim of his glasses he wasn't convinced. "I would like to stay and make sure there was no outside cause to what occurred and run some security checks."
"I'll keep an eye on him, Professor," Jennifer volunteered, taking Severus' arm. Severus gazed at her searchingly, but didn't make any verbal protest.
"Would anyone mind telling us what just happened?" Aurelius asked. Jamie nodded in agreement.
"I'll see you both in my office tomorrow," Severus said in a low voice, the two of them glancing at each other unsurely.
"Everyone else is unnerved as well. Should I tell them to start heading back to their rooms?" Hermione asked Severus in a low voice.
"No, they're probably safer here," Severus murmured. "Try to play it off."
"Oh right, that'll work," Hermione said with a sigh, closing the window with a tap of her wand as she tried to think up some way to get them all to relax again.
Jennifer stepped into Severus' sitting room later that night after the security checks to find him brooding at the window. She sighed silently, slipping over to the tray and taking out a canister of Severus' favorite tea. He seemed oblivious to her actions at first until she stepped up beside him with a cup and such a gentle look in her eyes when she held the cup out to him that he paused stare at her.
"Come sit down, Severus, you look tired," Jennifer said coaxingly.
"How did you know?" he asked quietly, still gazing at her. "When she appeared, you seemed to recognize her and yet I know we've never spoke of it."
"Not directly," Jennifer said softly back. "But you really never needed to. I knew something had happened since the very year we met at the Christmas Ball, to be honest. The way you and Sirius looked at each other that night when you cut in… and I noticed that every now and then when the two of you are talking, one of you would remember something and almost say it… but couldn't bring yourselves to talk about it. I knew it was a girl at school. I even knew you both blamed each other for her death for years. But I didn't know her name until you set aside that torch for Sirius this summer."
"Well, perhaps if you've guessed this much then this next fact will come as no surprise to you," Severus said in a low voice. "Amanda Elwood was Lily's best friend."
"Of course, it makes perfect sense," Jennifer said. "She was the next best thing to her, since you both realized that Lily was unreachable and you both were in love with her just as much as James was." Severus gazed in his tea a moment before setting it down, and then shrugged knowing there was no way of denying it.
"Everyone was, really…every boy in her year and many outside of it, despite the fact Lily Evans was Muggleborn. She was vibrant, full of life, and she was kind to everyone…even me, although God knows what I did to deserve it…that's as much of a mystery as who it was she ended up with. There seemed to be no one she couldn't tolerate to some degree. What she hated was hatred; and in that we were all at odds at her at some time or another, and that was never a pleasant experience.
"Amanda was a lot like her in many ways, Muggleborn as well, though she had a worse temper…and despite the difference in hair color and face, they had very similar green eyes, more emerald than cat-like. I would be lying if I told you that your eyes weren't the first thing I noticed when I met you," Severus murmured, but Jennifer merely smiled. "But you are right in your guess that we saw Amanda as an alternative, so soon she found herself caught in the middle of the whole war. And of course we were too full of ourselves…too full of our…'competition' to truly be paying attention to her feelings on the matter. Nor did we truly hear her when she tried to come to us with her concerns over her family, who had begun to receive threatening letters from Halloween until we broke for the holidays. We were both enraged when they came up missing…and instead of ending the argument between Sirius and I it fueled it, adding to the already fierce hatred between us, a quest for revenge against whatever the other one did last. It wasn't until after Dumbledore pulled me out of that mess that I realized just how idiotic the whole situation had been and who the real murderer was. I carried the guilt of my part in it until after I met you. It was only then I began promising myself that I wasn't going to let anything block my vision so far as not to see when you needed me. Of course, I failed miserably…"
"Nonsense, Severus. You've always been there when I needed you in the end. Sure, we've had more than our number of arguments over the years…and even knockdowns," Jennifer admitted wryly. "But then we're both extremely opinionated people. No one ever said happily ever after was going to be easy."
"You are the best thing that ever happened to me," Severus told her firmly.
"I'd hate to imagine how either one of us could have managed this far alone," Jennifer said with a smile, but then became thoughtful. "Do you think Sirius is going to be all right?" Severus turned thoughtful, turning to his tea once more.
"I am not certain," Severus admitted distantly. "While the rest of us were going through a living hell, Sirius was going through a hell without living…surrounded by the Dementors of Azkaban, his only choice was to hide…to disconnect from his own horrors, to refuse to acknowledge his pain. And he's been doing it ever since; annoyingly sarcastic and joking on the surface, while the very techniques he used to keep his sanity is jeopardizing it by driving his darker thoughts further in. Still, the fact that he is being forced to face this may be a good thing, as long as he doesn't try to bury it again."
"Your sister tends to do the same with her problems," Jennifer said.
"Yes, which is why things have gotten so shaky between them the last few years," Severus agreed. "Zoë and Zack are aware of it, of course, in fact they've both recently spoken to me on the subject. But I think the only thing that will truly make things better for them is to unload the baggage from both sides and sort it all out together, assuming they learn to trust each other."
"A subject neither of us have much room to criticize them on," Jennifer said, but nodded. "Maybe that's why the ghost showed up, Severus, to force Sirius to deal with it." Severus frowned, gazing at her.
"Jennifer, Amanda didn't leave a ghost," Severus said. "And even if she had, she didn't die anywhere near the castle, or even close by. They lived in Dover."
"But then how do you explain what happened?" Jennifer said. "And why did some of us see it, when no one else did?"
"That is what I want to know as well," Severus said, leaning back. "And why did it happen tonight?"
Severus was not the only one with questions. The next morning, Aurelius and Jamie passed silent looks as they came out of his office before heading to their own classes. By lunch Aurelius was more than ready to see his siblings, and none of them had been surprised when their Slytherin classmates passed on the word for them to meet at the Elf Willow for an impromptu meeting.
"So this girl that you saw was someone Uncle Sirius and Father fought over in school, and she was killed by Voldemort?" Alex paraphrased after Aurelius filled them in.
"Right, although I got the feeling from the look on his face that he was holding back more than he was actually saying," Aurelius said.
"What I want to know is what exactly was she, and why couldn't everyone see her?" Alicia asked.
"Well, it's not completely uncommon for a spirit to only be visible to who they want," Andrew said.
"Yes, but why pick Rel? I mean, I suppose I can understand Jamie if it had something to do with her grandfather…do you suppose it has something to do with the Truth Seeking? Mum could see her too…"
"I don't know, Alicia," Aurelius said, holding his head a moment. "To be perfectly honest, ever since… ever since Ciardoth made herself known again, I haven't been getting much more than impressions from people. And don't forget Aunt Anna saw something too."
"Could be because she's an Aethermage," Alex put in.
"Zoë and Zack didn't see anything, and they have similar powers," Alicia said.
"They're still not Aethermages, they just have a lot of wild magic," Alex said.
"It may just be because of their connections to Sirius and Father," Aurelius said. "I don't know. I don't even know what she was, she looked so real compared to ghosts…solid unless she was actually walking through someone. Father doesn't even think she was a ghost, exactly, although I'm not sure what else it could be."
"Mass hallucination?" Andrew suggested.
"Too personal for that, too exact…and it wouldn't have pulled in people that had no idea who the girl was," Aurelius said. "What was it like on your end?"
"Well, one moment we were all out having a good time, cheering Andrew on for the cold shoulder he gave Ginger when he told him he preferred to dance people he could look in the eye…"
"I wasn't asking for a play by play," Aurelius said testily to Alex.
"We were talking," Andrew butted in. "Then that's when Mum and Father jumped, and a moment later, Uncle Sirius…he just started screaming and crying…and he had such a terrible look on his face."
"Yes," Alex agreed, folding her arms as if suddenly cold. "It was quite scary to see him to go wild like that for no apparent reason, and his eyes were very strange, as if he were reliving a nightmare." Aurelius turned to her then, his face growing pale.
"That's the most terrifying idea I've heard yet," Aurelius said. Alex frowned at him puzzledly. "What if it was a nightmare… a nightmare so real that he could see it… so real that he unwittingly pulled others into it as well?"
"You mean like what Ciardoth's been doing, but in reverse?" Alicia said hollowly.
"I hope you're wrong, Aurelius, because now I'm getting frightened as well," Alex admitted.
"If I am right," Aurelius said darkly, "you have reason to be."