Chapter Twenty-Four

Future Choices

Aurelius felt his arm thoughtfully, a tingling sensation traveling up and down because of the recent spell put on it to mend his arm. He then took a moment to feel inside the pocket of the cloak resting on the chair behind him to make double sure the Coin was still there. It had been a very strange experience, and nothing like what he thought he had seen. Was that what Ciardoth and Icarus went through, he wondered, remembering images but not quite seeing the whole picture?

The door popped open with such force that Aurelius wasn't surprised to see his parents standing on the other side when he looked up, a sigh of relief and exasperation coming from both of them as they stepped in, Ginny not far behind.

"Now, don't start in quite yet. I need to check his nerves and reflexes before the doctor will release him," Ginny said, and promptly began bending his arm in different directions. "Let me know when it hurts."

"And don't bother being too gentle," Severus added. "A certain honor Defense student ought to know better than to jump in front of an angry giant."

"Half-giant," Aurelius corrected.

"More giant than not," Jennifer frowned at him disapprovingly.

"It's not like we had much choice! If we hadn't acted, Hauk and his Mum might not have come out of that alive," Aurelius argued.

"From what I understand, Mr. Hauk acted with the appropriate spell under great duress and it was his business, not either of yours," Severus said evenly. "It seems that all the two of you succeeded in doing was breaking an arm and a wand."

"I don't know, Professor. I think they probably did make a difference, jumping in for Ms. Arild when they did…" Ginny put in, earning a dirty look from both Severus and Jennifer. "You have to admit, it took a lot of nerve."

"Sometimes I think our children have way too much nerve, actually," Jennifer said. Trying not to look even more amused, Ginny finished what she was doing and grabbed a clipboard, making a note.

"I'll be back in a moment," she said with an almost warning smile before leaving.

"Is Hauk and Ms. Arild going to be all right?" Aurelius asked.

"Ms. Arild is going to have to be in the hospital for a few days, but Eigil should be all right. Danny came the moment she heard what happened and is going to let him stay with them for awhile," Jennifer explained.

"Yes, and as for Hauk senior, I believe he is going to spend some time in Azkaban before he's deported. For some reason I believe he'll think twice about attempting to come back," Severus said.

"Yeah, definitely," Aurelius said thoughtfully. "I can't help the fact that it reminds me of that day in Hogsmeade when Andrew finally stood up to Eigil. He and his father are a lot alike in some ways. They don't seem to respond to anything but being pummeled into the ground." There was a quick rap on the door and it opened, Ginny smiling at them.

"You're free to go! Just take it easy on that arm for a few days."

"Oh, there won't be any danger of overextending it, because no one is going to be leaving the house at all until it is time to go back to school," Severus assured her. Aurelius didn't miss the threatening tone in his voice either as Severus pointed him towards the lobby. Sitting at a table with Alicia and Andrew, Harry was entertaining them by bringing out the baby Phoenix, who sat in the center of the table completely basking in the attention. "Don't you think having that creature in here is a bit unhygienic for a hospital?"

"He doesn't want to go anywhere without me. Dumbledore says it's a normal part of the bonding and for me to get used to him being attached for a few weeks," Harry explained. "I've named him Farynor."

Severus rolled his eyes.

"Rather odd name, isn't it?" Jennifer asked curiously.

"Potter, the next time you comment about my dry sense of humor, I have full intentions of reminding you of your new familiar's name," Severus said. Harry merely grinned at him. "I don't suppose you've heard from Thurspire at all today?"

"I hear he made it home and that he mailed the Minister, that's about it," Harry said. "I'm sure he's still there though, if you need to find him."

"No, I'm sure if he hasn't already contacted me, it can wait until tomorrow," Severus decided. "Jennifer, I'm going to go have a few words with Anna and Sirius if you want to run along ahead."

"Of course, Severus. We'll head home and try to track down Alex if she is not there."

"For her sake, I hope she is," Severus said as he turned back to the desk, the other three exchanging glances. Apparently, they weren't the only ones that were going to get grilled for not being where they were supposed to be.

Zoë and Zack had set up a Quidditch Trivia game they had gotten for Christmas in the back of Sirius' room, glumly attempting to play despite the fact that Sirius, who was supposedly playing as well, had turned around to look out the window instead.

Zack sighed softly. Zoë wasn't any sort of competition at this game, but he had brought it hoping that his father would respond at least to some of the questions. He and Zack had often talked about Quidditch Teams during the summer months, but any attempt to get him interested in anything other than complaining about the hospital and bureaucracy in general didn't get very far. Even Harry was staying away from him now, the visits lasting only a moment or two before he was off again.

Zoë quietly read another trivia question to Zack. Even last year's Christmas was better than this. It was one thing to defiantly stand up and tell your parents just how messed up they were and quite another to be proven right. Even when their mother came in and tried to cheer them up with Eggnog and offers to take them to the movies before the end of the holiday wasn't enough to cut through the mood, and it became more and more obvious that Sirius would rather brood than participate in anything.

So it was that Severus Snape ended up being a distraction that caused a strange sense of relief to sweep through the room from the moment he walked in, just by providing a chance to interact with someone rather than have to interact with one another. Only Sirius seemed unhappy about his presence, passing him a freezing glare before conceding from the game and using the bathroom as an excuse to get away.

"I see you are getting some use out of the game Andrew picked out for you," Severus said casually, ignoring Sirius' reaction.

"Attempting to would be more accurate," Zack said, Anna frowning at his tone.

"Well, perhaps you can bring it along. I'm sure you would find willing players at our house if you care to spend Christmas dinner with us," Severus said.

"I certainly wouldn't mind," Zack said, looking at his mother.

"Me either," Zoë said, looking up as well.

"Sure, of course, perhaps the two of you can salvage something out of this Christmas," Anna sighed.

"Good. Why don't the two of you pick up then, while I have a word outside with your mother," Severus suggested, the twins immediately beginning to put the game away. Anna took only a moment to briefly glance between them and the closed door before following him out into the hall. "I see he is still doing about the same. Any nightmares?"

"No, no, the potions the doctor has been giving him to curb them seem to be working very well," Anna said.

"Then most likely Ciardoth has either moved on to a different victim or is involved in something else. I doubt she'll directly threaten him in that way again."

"Perhaps not, but the damage is done," Anna said, a tinge of anger in her voice. "He's always had bouts of brooding, but now it's constant. It was bad enough before, but now he also has the guilt of the deaths of those two men on his mind as well."

"Everyone agrees that that incident was not his fault…of course, that doesn't help, does it?" Severus mused.

"Can't you talk to him again? He's been like this for days, now…"

"Anna, I interfered in this matter once merely because a firm hand was needed in getting him here. Anything I could do at this point would most likely worsen the problem instead of fix it. I did my part, and now it's time you did yours. He needs someone now he can trust enough to actually open up to, and he can't trust me, nor do I want him to. Therapists can only do so much, Anna, they're outsiders, and I need not tell you that Sirius sees any sort of institution as a personal assault."

"He won't talk to me, Severus. He barely even acknowledges me…"

"Then talk to him, Anna," Severus interrupted. "And I don't mean about the current weather, as dire as that may be. If you want him to open up to you, then you are the one that has to make the first move. It's time you took out all that baggage you've been holding back and lay it on the line…"

"I never kept anything from him because of him, Severus," Anna said.

"No, I know, it's because you've never wanted to deal with it. And you don't think that's his problem?" Severus pointed out. "Anna, I can no more force you to deal with your own inner turmoils any more than I can him, and perhaps you think now is not the time to bring up painful subjects, but I am telling you this is your last chance at a relationship and even more dire than that, it is his last chance at leading any sort of normal life. Talk to him… even if he doesn't acknowledge it. Even if he seems to ignore it, you keep talking until your nerves are raw and you've turned over every memory and thought and fear that has ever plagued you. It'll be then and only then that he will see you as a viable person to turn to. And since you really are the only one he should be turning to at this point, I hope for both your sakes as well as the children's that you swallow that Snape pride of yours and get it over with." Anna sighed softly but didn't say a word as Severus went in to get Zoë and Zack, coming back out a moment later to find her still standing in the hall. "Just send word if you need me to keep them overnight, Anna, they're more than welcome. Happy Christmas," he put as an afterthought. Zack and Zoë both glanced at their mother but didn't say a word as they followed their uncle down the hall.

It was not long after Zoë and Zack arrived that Aurelius called a meeting, using the game as an excuse to disappear into the attic. Distractedly, they set up the game as they waited for Alex, who had been called into the study shortly after Jennifer and the others had arrived, but no one questioned her about the incident when she appeared on the ladder with a rather glum look on her face.

"Hurry up, Alex, there's something important we need to talk about," Aurelius said, lifting the trapdoor up and hooking it behind her. He then went into a full account of what had happened both with the coin and at the park, Alex's eyes growing wide when she heard the entire sequence of events.

"I can't believe you tried to take on Kruger Hauk like that," Alex said. "Didn't I warn you before that Percy Weasley said he was extremely dangerous?"

"We didn't have a choice! He would have killed Eigil's Mum if we hadn't!" Andrew said.

"Maybe we didn't have much of a choice once we were involved in it," Aurelius agreed. "But the real question is, did we have the choice not to go?"

"Well, it sounds to me like if you hadn't gone, things would have been much worse for Eigil…not that I ever liked him," Zack admitted. "Still, I'm not sure I would be able to forgive myself if I was in that situation and something bad happened because I didn't go."

"Do Father and Mum know about the coin yet?" Alex asked.

"No, I wanted to talk to all of you about your thoughts on that first," Aurelius said, pacing a bit. "Now, I definitely believe this coin can be dangerous. It could possibly lead us into something…or away from something even…just by showing us a part of our future. Which, might I add, is more than what our own prophets and astrologers have been able to do lately."

"I wonder why?" Andrew mused.

"Actually, I have an idea about that," Aurelius said. "You know how Essie doesn't just see her future…she gets flashes of other people's futures too…astrologers again read the stars which reflect much more than their own futures as well…the coin, though…it seems more personal. In fact," he said taking a breath, "what we saw in the coin was exactly what I saw from my point of view. I think it very literally shows the near future of whoever throws it. Now, we know for the most part that this thing hasn't really seemed to affect Icarus' memory either, or Ciardoth's, considering she still seemed to be remembering stuff too."

"I don't get it, why would it affect one without the other?" Alicia frowned.

"I'm not quite sure yet," Aurelius admitted, sitting down. "But what if the reason is that there's something coming that Ciardoth doesn't want us to see until it's too late? If that is the case, this coin may give us a slight advantage."

"I don't know, Rel," Zack said. "You said the questions are 'yes' or 'no' oriented. That means it really would be like playing twenty questions to try and narrow down the right question to ask, and every one with a vision that might compel us to investigate it… maybe you'd be better off just handing it over to Uncle Severus."

"What is with you lately?" Alicia said with annoyance at Zack. Zack shrugged at her.

"It's not like I haven't been considering it," Aurelius admitted. "After all, you know what his view is on any sort of Divination anything. In fact, I'm surprised he stomached that movement making us all take a course of it."

"I already explained that," Alicia sighed. "It's those silly dream journals. He's trying to get as many students as he can into it to protect against Ciardoth."

"Exactly. He wouldn't have done it on its own merits, he's too much an advocate of free will. I'm not so sure that if he did get his hands on it, he wouldn't just throw it in a vault somewhere. Not saying that he might have a point; as we found out in this case, it's rather hard to walk away from something the coin has shown," Aurelius concluded.

"I don't see how we can possibly judge that from one coin toss," Alicia argued. "It's true that this trip wasn't what we expected, but what's to say that most of the tosses would be stuff that's normal? Or things we could walk away from? Who knows, we might see something terrible and be able to change things for the better just by not being there?"

"That sounds an awful lot like what Icarus Ravenclaw was trying to do," Alex said worriedly.

"I'm not saying we commit mass murder here, simply that we don't always do what it says," Alicia said impatiently. "Besides, I don't think we should do anything with it until we check with Professor Dusthorn again. After all, she asked me to get it, not Father, and I'm sure there's a reason. Now that we have it, perhaps we should go and ask her about it."

"I don't like the idea of you guys keeping it. It seems much too powerful for me," Zack said.

"I think Alicia is right about one thing," Andrew put in. "It's not fair to judge how dangerous it is from one coin toss. That whole thing might have been a fluke."

"It also might have turned out a lot worse," Alex said.

"Zoë? Any comments?" Aurelius asked. Zoë shrugged.

"As far as I'm concerned, it's in your possession and it's for you to decide."

"Well, what would you do with it, if it were you?" Alicia asked.

"I think I would probably confront Dusthorn about it, but unless there's an awful good reason why I shouldn't, I would probably turn it over to Uncle Severus or Dumbledore," Zoë mused.

"I think that sounds like a reasonable compromise to me," Andrew agreed.

"As long as it's done right when we get back," Alex said. Zack nodded in agreement.

"Oh, very well," Alicia said, folding her arms. "I don't suppose I mind it as a backup plan."

"At least we don't have to worry about it falling into the wrong hands in the interim," Aurelius said, glancing at it, "since we know that Ciardoth already has the power this thing does and more."

"Well, we still don't know exactly what it's capable of. We've only used it once," Andrew said. "Personally, I still think we should run a few more cautious tests before making any rash judgments one way or the other. I'm still not completely convinced this thing can accurately predict the future all the time, or that we can't act against it."

"I would like to try it again as well," Alicia said.

"No, I don't think it's a good idea," Alex said, shaking her head.

"How would you know, you haven't even seen it?" Alicia said. "We could at least try it one more time so the others can see what it does."

"I admit, I am a bit curious," Zoë agreed.

"Perhaps we had better vote," Aurelius said.

Half an hour later, all of them were nervously sitting around the trivia game, while Aurelius calmly attempted to play.

"It's only a game," Aurelius said calmly. "Your turn, Andrew."

"How can you be so calm?" Alex said with irritation, watching as Andrew's piece moved to the Names and Dates category.

"Who won the GBI League Cup in 2003?" Alex said.

"Kestrels of course, although a technicality nearly cost them the game when one of their Beaters accidentally smacked the Snitch instead of a Bludger…."

"A name was enough, honestly Andrew," Alex sighed.

"But it was a bogus call! They can't possibly believe it was an accident," Andrew protested. "Your turn, I believe, Zack."

"We should have made Andrew sit out. He always wins," Zack grumbled as he rolled the dice and moved to an empty space.

"But it was the four of us who were playing in the coin," Alex pointed out.

"Yes, but by trying to duplicate it exactly, aren't we just setting up for what it wants to come about to come about?" Zack asked.

"We're checking to see if it's consistently right," Aurelius said. "I asked it if I would win this game, so that's the game we have to play."

"Shouldn't we have been interrupted by now?" Alex asked anxiously, making her move. "Quidditch Terms, Aurelius."

"Hard to say. It's not like it showed a clock," Aurelius said, picking up a card and staring at it for a moment. "Here it is. The question about cobbing that we saw," he said. "This is when we all looked around."

There was a loud knock on the door and they all immediately reacted, gazing at one another in surprise.

"Very creepy," Zack said, taking a breath.

"Come on, we need to go see if that's who we think it is," Aurelius said, getting up.

The others following more cautiously behind until they stood at the top of the stairway. There was little doubt about it… as predicted, it was Ederick Thurspire who had interrupted the game. Gazing at each other thoughtfully, the six of them retreated back upstairs.

"I hope I'm not interrupting, Severus, Jennifer," Thurspire said as they walked out of the entryway into the living room.

"We were about ready to sit down to dinner, Ederick, if you'd like to stay," Jennifer said.

"Thanks, but no. I haven't the time, but something's happened that you should know about," Ederick said, lowering his voice. "The Fomorians, who, as you know, have lived at the Westernmost Isle for well over a thousand years have been forced to leave it. All the magic they have can't stop the fish they depend on from seeking warmer waters, many of the species they depend on have a wider range of habitat than the area they control. They moved to find another location out of the problem area, although exactly where, those still there on the island would not tell me. Apparently, their Magus is planning on a massive storm in their wake that will keep the Muggles from discovering just how recently the underwater ruins have been occupied, since they will most likely be able to find the island once their power has left."

"Wait a minute, Ederick. What about the island itself?" Jennifer said with alarm, glancing at her husband. "There are dozens of Otherworld trees there left behind after Merlin closed that gate, it would be very dangerous for Muggles to find that island!"

"I know, which is why I need to go back," Thurspire explained. "To attempt to hide it if we can, or burn it if not. Severus, I'm not certain that this problem is natural…I'd go so far as to say that forcing them out of that area is intentional and is only partially caused by what is happening with the weather. The weather is only the symptom of a bigger problem."

"Yes, I had already come to the same conclusion," Severus admitted. "The true cause, it seems, is that time itself has lost its consistency. The entire solar system, if not the entire universe, is moving at a slower rate."

"Impossible," Jennifer said immediately, shaking her head. Severus and Thurspire glanced at each other grimly. "Oh, come now! You can't honestly believe Ciardoth could be capable of anything on that scale. It's positively ridiculous! There must be another explanation."

"Jennifer, no offense, but you have no idea how many times I have heard people say that in the last twenty-four hours, including the Minister and my own wife. If you know anything at all about astronomy, you'll know that something is terribly wrong. In fact, even the Muggles have begun to discuss it at great length. Every almanac in the entire world is wrong, and the only thing that is keeping the entire planet from a panic is the fact that most people are in complete denial that there is any problem and it's all going to blow over on its own," Thurspire said, glancing back at Severus. "This is no longer just a panicked prediction for a gullible audience just because it's a certain number in a calendar year or an attempt to line up modern events with Revelations. This is real, and if we don't find out how she's doing it soon, it is only going to get steadily worse, perhaps to the point where nothing at all can be done to stop it."