Chapter Twenty-Eight

Connections

When Aurelius entered the passages the next morning, he was more than a little surprised to see his three other siblings waiting just inside, giving him an almost appraising look.

"Go on ahead," Aurelius said to Stock and Heph, who looked curiously at the three as they passed by on their way to breakfast. Aurelius waited for the passage to clear again before turning to them. "All right, what's up?"

"Well, we were just wondering how Pali and the herd were doing," Alex said. Aurelius stared at each one for a moment.

"And how would I know?" he said expressionlessly.

"Because we think you went out there last night," Andrew said. Aurelius suddenly turned his attention to his brother.

"Have you been spying on me again?" Aurelius challenged him.

"It's not his fault, Rel," Alex interrupted as Andrew took a step behind Alicia, who rolled her eyes. "We had a run-in with Ciardoth last night."

"What?" Aurelius said, blinking. "Why didn't anyone tell me before?"

"We haven't told anyone," Alex said. "We didn't want to get you into trouble…"

"Alexandria, that's the second time this year you've said that to me and I swear if you ever say that again, I'll spell you silly," Aurelius snapped. "Are you all completely insane?"

"We are on our way to Father's office now," Andrew said quickly. "But we wanted to talk to you first."

"Fine, start talking, but start walking to the office at the same time," Aurelius said firmly, pointing them down the passage.

Severus had put aside the file that morning and had hurriedly begun to look over his lesson plans for the day when their knock came. Distractedly he waved the door open, but became more interested when he saw all four of them there.

"Father, these three have something to tell you," Aurelius said, closing the door behind them.

"Yes?" Severus said. Andrew and Alicia glanced at Alex.

"We had a dream last night. All three of us. And Ciardoth was in it," Alex explained. Severus squinted.

"What do you mean, all three of you?" he asked.

"Well, we were all in the same dream together," Alex went on. "We all found ourselves walking through Hogwarts, only there was no one else in it…well, except you, but everyone else was completely gone."

"Actually, we weren't even sure it was a dream at first," Andrew put in. "We tried to look for Aurelius, but he wasn't a part of the dream in the same way we were…all conscious, I mean."

"But you said I was in the dream?" Severus frowned.

"Yes," Alex said. "We thought that maybe if Rel was there too he might have gone to your office, so we went there…and you were there, but you didn't see us. You were looking at Thurspire's folder and reading off a bunch of town names or something." Severus stared at her expressionlessly, but the color was draining out of his face. "You even looked around and asked Rasputin if he smelled anything."

"How long were you there?" Severus asked sharply.

"Not long," Andrew said. "By then I was insisting we work on forcing ourselves awake…but when we went out in the hall to talk about how to do that, we saw a shadow outside and decided to investigate."

"Yes, that's when we ran into Ciardoth," Alex put in quickly. "She started taunting us and claimed that one of us was going to help her destroy the school. And then she began to try and pull us into this vortex of stars that looked like a dragon, saying something about that's what's going to happen at the end of everything."

"Vortex of stars?" Severus frowned.

"That's when Andrew woke us up using a spell," Alicia said.

"Why didn't you come to me then?" Severus asked. Alicia looked at the others.

"We fell back to sleep," Andrew said quickly.

"After you had a dream that obviously involved Ciardoth and obviously invaded three of your minds, you simply went back to sleep? Without a concern over your other siblings or Aurelius? And what do you mean he wasn't there in the same way you were?" Severus asked Andrew.

"Well, I mean, he didn't seem to be in the dream like us, that's all," Andrew said.

"Why didn't you come to me right away?" Severus demanded.

"We didn't want to wake you," Alicia said quickly.

"Yes, we didn't know if that part of the dream was real or not," Alex added. "Was it?"

Severus leaned back in his chair and folded his fingers together, looking at them skeptically a moment before answering.

"Yes," he said at last. "It appears that at least in part of the dream you were astral traveling in the real world."

"I wonder why we didn't see anyone else, though? I mean, our dorms were vacant," Andrew said.

"Family connection, perhaps," Severus mused. "That might also explain how more than one of you went…either the person whose dream this began with pulled the other two in as a defense, or two of you subconsciously sensed the other in need and by use of the mind training were able to come to the rescue. Are there any indications, from what she did, or said, or what you experienced, that leaned towards one of you having the dream over another?" But after a moment, all three of them shook their heads.

"Well, at least we know it's not Rel," Alex said, looking over at Aurelius. But Aurelius looked quite thoughtful.

"Yes, that is the one fortunate thing about the event, considering that were he with you we would not know if her memory was of future or past events," Severus said quietly.

"What happened to me at Audi's had nothing at all to do about any sort of sky vortexes," Aurelius pointed out.

"Not everything in one's dreams can be taken as literal, Aurelius. They can be very metaphoric, as you will learn when you take Divination this semester," Severus said. Aurelius grimaced at the reminder.

"But if that's true, then what does it mean?" Alex asked with exasperation. Severus looked thoughtful for a moment.

"You need to get to your classes. I want to see you all right after dinner to start up the lessons again," Severus said. "And if anything like this happens again or you even suspect a dream may be tampered with, you are to immediately wake yourselves up and immediately contact me. Is that quite clear?" he said in such an unbending done that each one answered in turn. "Good. Aurelius, stay here a moment, please." The others looked at one another before filing out, Aurelius not moving from the spot he had taken up when they had first came in the room. "So, how was Pali?" Severus asked after they left, pulling his paperwork back over.

"How would I know how he is, Father?" Aurelius asked.

"Aurelius, even had your brother not slipped and indicated that you were in the dream in some form, I find it completely out of character for your siblings not to have thoroughly checked on each other and your whereabouts after such a disturbing occurrence, nor do I believe they would have delayed coming to me without a reason. Furthermore, I happened to consult my watch last evening before turning in to find your needle pointing at the Dark Forest. Do you care to further deny it?" Severus said starkly.

"No, sir," Aurelius said quietly. "I had to make sure they were all right, that's all. It won't happen again."

"No, it will not," Severus said sternly. "Just because you are a Slytherin Prefect does not mean you are above the rules, Aurelius…and before you speak, attempting to use your bond with Pali as an excuse would be an insult to it. You have already been instructed to come to Sagittari or myself if ever Pali's urgings become too powerful, and I expect you will do so. The Headmaster has plans to suspend and perhaps even expel any student he finds out of bounds this year because of the intense danger anyone would be in by crossing the walls, and that doesn't even count the fact that some denizens of this school have had their lives personally threatened by Ciardoth for some time. Now, since technically speaking I have no proof in the matter, I won't lodge a formal complaint on your activities. But son or not, former housemaster or not, I will not cover for you again, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Aurelius said evenly.

"Fine. I expect you to report to my office during the weekend as well, but I wouldn't make a big deal of it if I were you, considering after all that your chosen profession particularly demands a rather clean record. Now, get out, I have work to do," Severus said, waving him off. Aurelius slumped his shoulders slightly but nodded, exiting without a word. For a moment Severus merely sat and shook his head, but then he leaned back again, thinking over what he just heard. "A vortex of stars," Severus murmured again. He shook his head, wondering how such a thing could fit into what was going on.

Sighing, Severus gathered up his papers and books and picked them up to make his way to the classroom to finish the rest of it while the students filed in. But in so doing, it uncovered the atlas he had been looking at before, opening to the Great Britain page. Suddenly he paused, staring at it as if seeing it for the first time. Squinting at it a moment, he sat his books down again and grabbed his quill and filled it with ink, deeply marking each place that Thurspire had written down with a large black blot. It was at that point that he knew without a shadow of a doubt that Thurspire was onto something after all.

At midday, Jennifer looked up with surprise when he strode in with such speed and such a look of determination she knew immediately something was going on.

"I'm afraid I can't eat with you right now, Jennifer. I need to go see Sinistra during lunch today to ask her about something I've found out, so go ahead to the staff room, if you'd like."

"It's all right, I can just grab a bite. Are you sure Aurora will even be awake yet? You know how she sleeps late…"

"My appointment book didn't argue, so I imagine it's good enough," Severus said.

"Aren't you at least going to tell me what's going on?" Jennifer said as he turned back towards the door.

"I would, but I don't have the time right now. I'll fill you in tonight," Severus promised, sweeping out the door. Puzzled about the look on his face and wondering what the children had to do with it, Jennifer distractedly made herself a bowl of porridge and went back to her class work.

Severus was so intent with confirming his findings and speculating what they might mean that he hadn't even noticed that he had passed the Headmaster, who called his name from a side corridor as Severus continued towards the Astrology Tower. A moment later, Severus passed by him again, but this time he cleared his throat so loudly that Severus looked around. Immediately he stopped in his tracks and came back over, nodding respectfully to Albus.

"Good afternoon, Severus. Do you happen to have lunch free?"

"Actually no, I have an appointment with Aurora Sinistra…"

"So early?" Albus said with surprise. "Well, perhaps dinner, then? I'd like to go over that article of yours to suggest some changes and an addition or two before you submit it…"

"Actually, I have business at dinner as well. I plan to inform you about it, of course, when I have something more solid to report…"

"School business then?" Albus asked casually. Severus thought about it.

"Indirectly, yes…"

"Well, I suppose that's good enough. See you at breakfast, Severus. I'll make sure it gets into your appointment book so that you don't forget this time," he said evenly.

"Yes, Professor…"

"Albus, Severus," Albus said quietly.

"Yes, Professor," Severus repeated, turning to continue towards the tower. What in the world had gotten into the old Headmaster? Going about school business as if nothing else mattered? As if the universe wasn't on the verge of a crisis like none they had ever experienced before? Pushing aside a fleeting thought that perhaps the Headmaster's age or the death of his familiar was to blame for his sudden preoccupation, Severus made a mental note to find a moment to tell Hermione about his concerns before his thoughts turned back to more pressing matters. He never turned around, nor did he see the shake of Albus Dumbledore's head, or the curious smile of mixed concern, sadness, and strange relief that crossed the old wizard's expression.

Aurora Sinistra was not a morning person… or even an early afternoon person. She had often joked dryly that that was why she fell into studying both Astrology as well as Astronomy; a firm believer that conflicts between the two sciences were nothing but misconceptions. Lately, however, the movements had been anything but typical in the rare occasions the clouds were thin enough to see them…instead she used her time to take sun and moon sightings, while reluctantly teaching all of her classes within the small planetarium in the tower since it always rained that time at night.

She had heard many, even Dumbledore himself, speculate that the rain was not only acting as an effective preoccupation for Ciardoth's enemies, but also to hide her own tracks. So Aurora was only mildly surprised to get a note from Severus Snape, despite the fact that they had very different philosophies on her specialized topic; to him, Astrology was merely something to study to appease the centaurs of the Dark Forest, and Astronomy, though holding more of an interest, really had very little to do with what was happening on the planet. But the current events of the day were very distinctly changing Severus' mind…especially when it came to the latter subject.

Fortunately for Severus, she had somehow managed to get several cups of espresso down before he had gotten up to her office, so was able to quickly focus in and welcome him in with her usual thin, serious smile.

"Severus. I suppose you're here to see my sunset and sunrise observations?" she asked.

"Yes, among other things, but there's something else I need to consult you about first," Severus said, opening the atlas to where he had it marked on the desk in front of her. "I want to know if this looks like what I believe it does."

"It's the Large Ladle asterim," she said without hesitation. "The Plow, or the Big Dipper, as some call it, part of Ursa Major constellation. The handle is spread out a bit, though. Might I ask why it's blotted upon a terrestrial map?"

"These were all places that Thurspire was researching before his death…some of them very notable ancient cites often associated with the Danaan or the Druids…except for these last three…I have no idea how they connect other than being the pointers of the Ladle," he said, pointing to the southwestern towns.

"Well, all three are notable medieval sights, obviously, going back at least a thousand years… of course some of these are far older. Perhaps Sally Scribe would know more," she shrugged.

"I have a feeling this connection to the stars is something that has existed for quite some time…something ancient that Thurspire stumbled upon," Severus murmured.

"Possibly, or perhaps it is some sort of strange coincidence. Or perhaps he was off track, as he always tended to be?" Aurora said bluntly. "He's not known for his precision, after all, and although I can believe that each of these sights held some sort of ancient significance whether we know it or not…it's not even a true constellation, merely a part of one."

"True enough, however I can't help but think there is something to this. There are other interesting points, such as the fact that the lead stars seem to point to the North Sea…North…Polaris…" Aurora couldn't help but look slightly amused at his observation.

"Well, it may represent Polaris in some vague way, Severus, but if this is as old as you believe it is, it certainly doesn't represent north," Aurora said. "Not all stars are exactly in line, as you well know, not to mention the planet has a bit of a wobble and so the patterns change over hundreds of years, which, admittedly, could explain some of the variations in the handle of the Ladle. But a few thousand years ago, Polaris wasn't the North Star at all; it was actually Thuban, the star at the base of the tail of Draco." Severus stared at her, his face strangely draining of color.

"A dragon made of stars…" he murmured. "Where does that constellation fall now?"

"Well, hang on a moment," Aurora sighed, grabbing a tiny cup off a tray real quick, offering Severus one. After he waved it away with a grimace she drank hers down, then took the atlas and brought it over to a huge slanted table, Severus following closely behind. "Here we are, Draco. The tail sits in between the two ladles, as you can see, and jags up from there…actually, this time of year he's on his back if you look north…"

"But if you were to look at it when Thuban was the pole direction?"

"He'd look like he was spinning on his own tail, I suppose," she said, tilting her head slightly as she watched him line the atlas up with her star charts. "What are you doing?"

"Look at the land mass as opposed to the constellation of Draco once it's aligned in position with the markings for the Ladle…assuming, of course, I'm right and the small Ladle would be over the ocean and line Cepheus up with Norway…"

"Yes and Cassiopeia with Sweden," Aurora mused ruefully.

"I am sure that like the sky, the topography below has changed slightly over the years, but do you see how they jut to the left and right rather resembles the pattern in Draco as if it were crossing the two coastlines?" Severus said.

"Not that I know where you are actually going with this, Severus, but yes. And I suppose that would put the head of the dragon in our backyard, so to speak," she said. But Severus had already noticed that, and he also knew a few moments later after looking at Sinistra's sunset observations that time was without running out…perhaps in more ways than one.