Chapter Thirty-Two
Solstice
Jennifer took a seat by Tonks and waited in the staff room patiently as the rest of the faculty gathered. In the far corner, Hermione and Severus were speaking in low voices, but Jennifer saw from their faces that they were arguing over who should speak. Finally they came to a decision and came over, both wearing their most grim expressions.
"In light of the events of yesterday evening," Severus began, everyone immediately giving him their full attention. "Hermione and I will be temporarily taking on joint headmaster responsibilities, much like what was done when he was on leave. Jennifer will be taking my position as castle security, while Tonks will be in charge of maintaining Dumbledore's sand walls and ground security. Otherwise…" he paused and looked up in surprise as Anna came in, finding a place to stand near the back. "Otherwise," he continued, "it will be business as usual until we learn any more about Dumbledore's condition. We would also appreciate it if you did not answer any panicked parents letters and so on and so forth about this matter, but refer them all to Hermione's desk. Also of note, Alicia Snape shall be staying overnight in the hospital wing for at least the next several evenings so there will be one less during painting bed checks. If anyone notices any unusual behavior among students or unusually tired students, be sure to report it to Hermione and myself. Thank you."
Several people turned then and quietly welcomed Anna back warmly as they exited in small groups, while Jennifer, Hermione and Severus lingered behind.
"A couple of days earlier than I expected," Severus admitted when he finally greeted her.
"Well, Sirius is home now, as is Lindsay, and with everything going on here, I thought I'd better get back."
"Do you suppose they're going to be all right?" Jennifer said.
"Oh, Harry drops by during the day, as do some of Sirius' other friends," Anna said. "To be perfectly honest, in a lot of ways, Lindsay's been a godsend. After we got back from the trip, Severus, I found out that Ginny ended up taking Lindsay to the hospital for a few hours. She insisted she bring Sirius some fries, apparently the two of them have made a very strong connection in the process. He's not brooding anymore. And, it was his idea for me to come back once he heard the news."
"So how are the two of you?" Severus asked in a low voice, but after a moment, Anna nodded.
"Better," she said. "We've a long way to go, but…he seems to be listening to me now. And then, every now and then, usually out of the blue, he'll talk about one thing or another…although never for very long."
"I think it is a good sign," Severus decided.
"Me too," Anna said with a wan smile. "But how is Dumbledore? Honestly?" Severus grew somber, so Anna glanced over at Hermione.
"Honestly, we don't know," Hermione admitted. "Sagittari believes that instead of an actual dream that Albus tried astral projecting to make sure he got to Alicia in time and may have just lost his way back. Either that or…"
"Or he cannot come back," Severus murmured. "And his body will remain nothing but a shell."
"I could try to find him," Anna said slowly.
"No," said Severus immediately. "No, it's much too dangerous, Anna, and we need you here. When the Solstice comes, I need as many people here as possible in case things begin to deteriorate. Dumbledore would have wanted us to put the safety of the school first."
Sighing softly, Anna nodded in agreement, but Jennifer looked unusually somber as they went down the hall. Severus excused himself and slipped into the Great Hall, where many of the students were arriving for breakfast, and over to the Slytherin table. Aurelius' eyes were intent on his father from the moment he came in, a questioning look in his gaze as he hoped to find out the latest on what was going on.
"I need to speak to you in my office as soon as you can get away," Severus told him in a low voice.
"I'll come now," Aurelius said, but Severus made a gesture to stop him.
"Eat first, then come," Severus advised him, immediately walking towards the front doors. Aurelius watched him go thoughtfully, knowing that he made no attempt to contact his brother at all, despite the fact that Andrew was watching the exchange intently from his own table. Andrew looked back at Aurelius did, but Aurelius shrugged unknowingly and the two went back to eating.
Alex came in a few moments later with the same questioning look, but her eyes were fixed on Hufflepuff table for a moment before she glanced back at Andrew. Andrew made a motion as if pulling his beard and mouthed the name, 'Dumbledore.' Sighing, Alex took her seat. But Aurelius had already changed gears and began to eat as quickly as possible, excusing himself quickly from his friends and headed down the hall. Fortunately, this time Severus didn't appear to have an early class. Instead he seemed quite content to relax with a very large mug of coffee and a basket of quickly disappearing anise muffins.
"Come in," he said evenly when he heard the soft knock, gesturing to a seat. Without a word, Aurelius sat down and waited expectantly, while his father simply seemed to be content to gaze at him for a moment while taking a sip of his coffee. Finally, he put it down. "Aurelius, you currently have in your possession a priceless artifact of this school," Severus said evenly. Aurelius frowned warily, but didn't answer. "I would like to borrow it, if you don't mind." Aurelius stared at him.
"Borrow it?" Aurelius repeated suspiciously.
"For one evening, yes," Severus said.
"And then what will happen to it?" Aurelius said cautiously.
"Well, that's entirely up to you, but I hope you will have the sense to eventually return it to the school when you no longer have any use for it," Severus said expressionlessly. Aurelius looked down a moment and reached in his pocket, flipping it around in his hands and feeling the tingle travel through his arm as he thought of all the times he had used it over the last two weeks. Finally he took it out of his pocket.
"Keep it," Aurelius said resolutely. "To be perfectly honest, I've regretted every time I've used it. It's very dangerous, in a way," he said.
"In what way?" Severus asked as he took the Obol and gave it a cursory examination.
"Well, in the fact that once you see a future prediction it's hard to choose any other path," Aurelius said, Severus gazing at him with renewed interest. "It seemed to me at first a very simple idea to just walk away from something you've seen, but then you spend a lot of time wondering, 'what if I do walk away? What if someone gets hurt? What if the future is worse another way?' It doesn't make it easy to walk away from."
"Fortunately, it's not precisely my own future I want to see, but I appreciate the warning. However, you do bring up one valid point. Besides your own conscience, there truly was no reason you couldn't have walked away if you would have allowed yourself to," he pointed out.
"Yes, I did have a choice," Aurelius agreed with a nod. "But once you know for sure what one path is going to lead to, it's hard not to try and follow it. By the way, how did you know I had it?"
"I had suspicions, as did an old Tinker I know, it seems," Severus said, Aurelius looking quite surprised at that.
"He sure gets around doesn't he?"
"Annoying, isn't it?"
"Very," Aurelius agreed, and then grew thoughtful. "You know…I almost used it last night…to see if Dumbledore was going to be all right. But I was afraid it was going to say no."
"Yes," Severus said thoughtfully. "Some things are best not knowing."
"Like how one's going to die?" Aurelius asked slowly. Severus gazed at him for a long time, putting the coin away.
"You had better get ready for class. Thank you for turning it over," he said quietly. Aurelius nodded.
"Good riddance," Aurelius said as he got up. "I think I understand more than ever why Ciardoth, Icarus, and even the old man himself are more than a little balmy."
"Good, I'm glad you at least got something out of all of this," Severus said expressionlessly. "Do me a favor and make sure Alicia gets to her class. I rather think she would care to see me anywhere about," he said, glancing at his watch.
"Don't worry. I don't think Alicia's down on anybody but herself since last night," Aurelius said, but went to find her anyhow.
The moment he left, Severus got up and stepped over Rasputin to reach the center of the room, double-checking to make sure that Aurelius closed the door properly. Then he took out the coin, studying the marks upon it carefully before tossing it in the air.
"I want to know if Icarus' memory about my meeting Pyther again will come true," Severus said, gazing thoughtfully at the face of a Pythia, an oracle priestess, was reflected in the spinning coin. At last it came down again and he let it lay flat in his hand, watching a scene play out in front of him with a critical frown.
"Very well, then I want to know if Ciardoth's memory of my death will come true," Severus said, tossing the coin up again. The Pythia had her eyes closed, and it spun and spun for a very long time before finally coming down again, literally spinning on its side for a moment before resting in his hand. He stared at the answer in alarm and disbelief, thinking over both of them before shaking his head and slamming the coin down on his desk, taking his chair and staring at it. "The only truth is in the present," Severus murmured to himself. "The only thing that matters is the present," he said again, as if attempting to convince himself of the fact. "The only thing that matters…"
Severus suddenly stopped cold and sat straight up, an idea piercing through his mind that stunned him to think of… could something like that work? Could it possibly happen? He stood up then and began to pace, feeling his adrenaline rush with what he was thinking. After a few moments he turned, folded his hands together and pulled them over his forehead, finding himself gazing at the picture of his wife on the wall…realizing without a doubt exactly what was at stake. He would have to try… but if he were wrong…putting it out of his mind, Severus thrust the coin in his pocket and decided to hurry up to the Headmaster's Study before class.
It was late on the evening on February first, and the days were quite decidedly much shorter now, but that was not the only change. Rain and sometimes sleet now pelted the school continuously through both the day and night, making it extremely difficult to tell exactly when the sun was setting. Yet it was obvious that Professor Sinistra knew. For often the usually morning groggy Professor would be hovering in the Great Hall before breakfast to try and catch Severus Snape before going up to her Tower to crash, and every day they both became graver and graver. The lake was swelling more and more by the day, and students sick of the weather, and devastated by the announcement that the Quidditch season was to be canceled until the further notice, spent a lot of their time looking out windows and wondering just how exactly any of them were going to get home with the tracks covered in water.
Even Magical Creatures class was brought into the tower to keep the students off the grounds and away from the disturbing creaking of the floodwalls against the pressure of the water. And even though, as Sagittari said, it gave them an opportune time to study some of the more minute creatures of the magic world, everyone was getting cabin fever.
But none of them more so than Aurelius. It was that evening as Stock lit candles in the window that the ache began to worsen. Aurelius, maddened with confinement and the call pulsing in his heart, ignored Stock and Heph's protests and ran out of the room, barely able to keep himself from running out the nearest door. Instead he managed to get down the hall and beat desperately on his father's office door. Severus opened it a moment later, Jennifer appearing next to him and peering out questioningly.
"I can't. I can't do this," Aurelius gasped. "I've got to see Pali." Severus glanced at Jennifer, who had a pained expression on her face.
"I'm sorry, Aurelius, you know as well as we do that it's absolutely impossible," Severus said. "There is several feet of water in nearly every direction…"
"Then let me take a broom out!"
"No, not in this weather."
"I've played Quidditch in worse than this!"
"It is much too dangerous, Aurelius! You are going to have to ignore it! Jennifer, get him a strong sleeping draught," Severus said.
"But what if Pali needs me?" Aurelius pleaded. Severus shook his head. Distraught, Aurelius ran out. Severus sighed, turning to Jennifer who looked a bit glassy eyed.
"Hand me the potion, Jennifer, I'll make sure he doesn't try it," Severus said quietly.
"He can't help it…"
"I know. But this is not the time."
"I know," Jennifer said, handing out the bottle. "There seems to be a lot of that lately, isn't there? About now not being the time?" Severus took the bottle gently and paused to kiss her hand before going out to look for his son.
He found him just outside the courtyard doors, sitting on the steps barely protected by the awning and staring out into the darkness. Sighing softly, Severus sat down beside him without saying a word.
"Things are so wrong… so terribly wrong…" Aurelius murmured. "Is there nothing bright in the world left? Even the stars are threatening now. Are we ever going to see the end of this?"
"If Sinistra is right, perhaps as soon as the end of the week," Severus said quietly.
"Thank God," Aurelius said. "Then one way or the other, it'll be over soon. And frankly, right now, I couldn't care how it ends as long as it ends."
Severus knew quite well that his son was speaking more out emotion than reason in that moment, and yet in such a dark moment, he could understand it well. But just when things couldn't seem to get any darker for either of them, a neigh rang out as bright as polished gold bells, immediately lifting the haze that was descending upon both of them.
"Pali?" Aurelius said with surprise as the two of them stood up. A moment later, walking carefully on the stones of the courtyard and gingerly attempting to avoid some of the bigger puddles stood the crooked-horned stallion, raising his head regally up as he gazed at up at his rider.
"It would seem that you were not the only one compelled to meet tonight, although damned if I know how he got past the water, let alone the walls," Severus mused, wondering when the last time was that a Unicorn willingly stepped onto the grounds.
"He probably walked right through it," Aurelius said, a strange, almost golden sound in his voice. "I should go to him."
"Stay in the courtyard," Severus warned. "I'll watch from here."
Grateful that his anguish was over, Aurelius hurried down the stairs and over to Pali, the two of them standing head against head for a moment as if conferring privately with each other, both apparently completely oblivious to the cold, beating rain. Severus looked up at the sky before drawing out his pipe, and for the first time in weeks allowed himself a private moment to indulge himself by puffing on it, the feeling of the pipe in his hand as warm as the memory that inspired it.
It was as the pipe's embers began to cool that Pali turned away and Aurelius stepped back to watch the stallion pick his way back over the stones and disappear out the gate. Aurelius turned around then, dazedly fixing his eyes in on his father, having forgotten he had even been standing there. But a moment later recognition took hold and he climbed up to where he was, looking once back over his shoulder.
"Rather surreal, isn't it, with everything going on," Aurelius said, his voice sounding hollow in his own ears.
"One must take comfort when one can," Severus decided, dumping out his pipe.
"Why do I feel like I may never find it again?" Aurelius asked, but Severus didn't answer, following him back inside.
"I will walk you back to your rooms," Severus decided, holding the Sleeping Potion for him to take. Thanking him softly, Aurelius reluctantly took it and soon was safe back to his rooms. Then, after detouring past the medical wing to check in on Alicia and nodding to Poppy who was keeping the night watch, Severus finally went to his own rooms, glad to have the opportunity to finally spend some time alone with Jennifer.
Morale, it seemed, would be the first thing to fall. Without Dumbledore's lighthearted attitude to pick everyone up and confined as they were, things began to get glummer and quicker tempered. In fact, it was only several days later that Severus heard a frightful row outside the classroom door, compounded by Descartes' cries of alarm, to find Halbert and Andrew in a rather vicious fistfight. Hermione, who had ran in from down the hall just as Severus had rounded the corner had immediately knocked Halbert back with a spell, momentarily stunning him while Severus reached underneath him and grabbed Andrew out, one of his eyes getting more off color by the minute.
"What is going on here?" Severus demanded, glaring at his son who merely stood in silence. Halbert, shaking himself out of the stun, began to insult and cuss Andrew out in French.
"Twenty points off Gryffindor for fighting! And ten more off for your language!" Hermione shouted out, pulling Halbert back. "I'm taking him to my office so he'll cool off, Professor Snape. Perhaps Andrew should get some medical attention."
"Fine, but not until he has a few words with me first," Severus growled, turning Andrew around towards his office and giving him a gentle shove. Reluctantly, Andrew went in, attempting to straighten his disheveled robes. "Just what has gotten into you? You, supposedly the cool tempered member of the family getting into a knock-down drag out in the middle of the hall like that!"
"Well, it wasn't like it was my idea," Andrew said glumly. "Halbert hit me."
"I hardly need you to tell me about what I can plainly see. Why did he hit you?" Severus asked.
"It was just an unfortunate misunderstanding, that's all," Andrew said. But Severus stared starkly at him with his arms folded. It was evident he wasn't going to let it go. "Look…Halbert has this thing for Davidson, he has for years, only he was having no luck at all with her. So awhile ago I decided to send a letter on his behalf to her to get them hooked up, and…well, I don't know how I got myself into it exactly, but I've been doing it for him ever since." Severus stared at him with a look of utter disbelief.
"Go on," he managed to say evenly.
"Oh, well, somehow, through June I think, who I had been writing to as myself for myself, she found out about it. Ginger thought it was sweet, really, at least that's what she said, and kissed me on the cheek…and that's when Halbert came around the corner. The moment she was gone, he belted me," Andrew confessed. Severus stared at him for a long time before finally rolling his eyes and going over to the bookshelf, he grabbed Cyrano de Bergerac off of it and tossed it at him.
"Here, read that," Severus sighed. "But don't neglect your homework to do it."
"Does homework really even matter any more?" Andrew wondered out loud, glancing at the title.
"I don't care if you think you only have an hour to live, while you're in this school, you will keep up with your studies. Feel free to let Halbert borrow that as well," Severus said, and then made a shooing motion with his hand.
"Yes, sir," Andrew sighed, turning towards the door.
"Oh, and Andrew one other thing?" Severus said, his face even more serious than it was before when Andrew stopped to look at him again. "Don't try to use current events to try and take advantage of any situations involving any of the young witches here, because if you do, I swear I will throttle you."
"I would never even think of it, Father!" Andrew said indignantly. Severus stared at him again. "Ok maybe I did think of it," Andrew muttered. "Briefly. Yes, Father," he added before leaving.
Severus looked up the ceiling and shook his head a moment before stepping towards the door and immediately got flattened by the woman coming in. Andrew sniggered from where he stood just beyond, and then wisely decided to get out of sight.
"I'm so sorry, Severus!" Tonks said, blushing furiously as she scrambled to her feet.
"Perhaps it'd just be safer if I stayed down here while you were in the room," Severus mused out loud, but after another round of apologies came back to his feet. "You needed something, Tonks?"
"It's Dumbledore's retaining walls, Severus," Tonks sighed. "I have done all I can to strengthen them, but I'm afraid they're not going to hold much longer. We need to find some way to either drain the water or reinforce them with more walls."
"More walls aren't the answer, Tonks, if the force of the water is able to break even one, it would have a domino effect on the others," Severus said.
"Perhaps then this would be a good time to consider evacuating the school," Tonks suggested. "The students aren't safe here…"
"The students aren't safe anywhere, Tonks, many of their own homes have flooded as well. If the last stand is near here as I believe it will be, then this will be the last place to be destroyed. We may be looking at the remainder of the human race, and I'd prefer to keep them around people I can trust."
"I just hope everything holds in the meantime," Tonks said darkly.
It was early the next morning during the first period classes that the first wall broke.
Jennifer froze in the middle of her lecture as she noticed all of the glass phials and beakers began to shake, turning to stare in terror at the windows behind her as the glass began to crack in a spider-vein pattern.
"Everyone upstairs! Quickly!" Jennifer shouted, running into her office as the students began to hurry out. With Ratfly nestled in one arm and the Cauldron on the other, Jennifer ran out to the staircase just shy of the windows breaking, shouting up and down the halls in case anyone was lingering. Then she raced up the shaking stairs as the water began to pour in. "Over here, away from the stairs!" Jennifer ordered the students and frantically counted heads. Severus and a couple of other professors came running out of their classes to see what the noise was, screeching to a halt when they saw the water lapping the top of the dungeon stairs.
"Did everyone get out?" Severus asked.
"Of my classroom, yes," Jennifer said, "I didn't have time to check any other areas."
"Sally, send some ghosts down there quickly just to be safe…and someone check on Argus," Severus ordered.
Just then, there was a loud scream.
"That sounded like Tonks!" Jennifer said.
"Jennifer, get your students and mine to the Great Hall!" Severus barked as he took off in a run towards Transfiguration. Immediately Jennifer began to organize them, while Severus slid into view of the classroom, his wand out and ready.
Inside, several dozen wet rats had apparently invaded the classroom, scurrying across the floors, disoriented while first years had taken to standing on their seats and Tonks herself was standing on her desk looking quite out of sorts indeed. Severus sighed at the scene and shook his head, gentle tapping his wand and turning them all to doorknobs with a first year Transfiguration Spell.
"Joanie, go fetch a cage out of the Magical Creatures room please. The rest of you began gathering those doorknobs," Severus said, walking up to Tonks questioningly as she climbed off her desk.
"We all have our weaknesses, Severus."
"And you, apparently, have two," Severus said expressionlessly. Tonks grimaced sheepishly. "They were hardly attacking. They simply had nowhere to go. The lower castle has been flooded."
"I knew it! I warned you it wouldn't be long before it began to go…"
"They're staying here, Tonks," Severus said evenly.
"But Severus, if some of the other ones go, it won't be just the dungeons that will be flooding…"
"Professor!"
Severus and Tonks looked up to see Aurora Sinistra standing in the doorway with a paper in hand, looking as if she hadn't slept in days. She skirted warily around the students putting doorknobs in a large cage, resisting the urge to ask.
"Rats," Tonks explained with a shudder. "The dungeon is flooded."
"Mars must be in the house of Aquarius," Aurora decided, handing Severus the paper. "Note the time of this morning's sunrise, Severus."
"Then it's here," Severus said quietly, and Aurora nodded.
"Tonight would be the official winter solstice… a couple months late, of course," Aurora added. Severus looked thoughtfully between them a moment. "So, now what?" she prompted when he didn't say anything.
"Ask Hermione to evacuate all of the students to the Great Hall," Severus said. "Have staff secure their areas and meet there or in the staff room as quickly as possible, except for any with duties in the medical wing. Aurora, were you able to get me any coordinates to where you think the maul of Draco would be?"
"I'm not much on land features, Severus, but if my scale is right, it's not far from here…just northwest of one of the oldest parts of the Dark Forest," she said, handing him a rolled map, which he looked at.
"At least it's on a bit higher ground," Severus sighed, watching as Tonks led her class out of the room. "Thank you."
"I only wonder what you're going to do when you get there?" Aurora asked in a low voice.
"Whatever I must," Severus said. "But not until everything is where I want it here. Come on."
"No sleep for me today," Aurora said ruefully, then found herself being handed a dose.
It took a bit of time to get everyone into the Hall and into place. Games and other distractions were set out on the tables, but none of the students seemed to take even a remote interest in them, especially the Snapes, who privately realized they had probably a better idea of what was going on than most of them. They also knew better than to mention it. Tension was already high enough as it was. It was Alex, tired of the prattle at the table, who finally made a move, ignoring the curious looks of Professor Tonks and Professor Sprout who were currently watching over them while the rest of the staff seemed absent; probably in some sort of meeting.
"Come on," she said, nudging Andrew, Zoë, and Zack before going to tug on Alicia's sleeve. "I'm not sitting here waiting for doom to fall with all of us sitting at different tables."
Not quite sure what she had in mind, they still rose and watched as she found an empty spot in front of the tables to sit on the floor. Aurelius quickly went to join them along with his friends, and Halbert, and Morfinn all followed, gathering into a small circle together, half expecting the two teachers to say something. But a moment later, after watching them, Shelly and Ted began their own group in another corner, signaling a couple of their Ravenclaw friends over.
"They all just want to be with their friends right now," Pomona said quietly to Tonks. "Can we really blame them?"
"All right! All right! We get the hint!" Tonks shouted as other groups began forming. "Everyone stand up please!" The moment the last student stood, the tables seemed to melt into dust and then reform into extra rugs upon the floor for all of them to sit upon. "Go ahead, seek your own company, but reach out to any not in a group, please! Let's have no stragglers or wall flowers this day!" Alex smiled gratefully at her as everyone readjusted themselves upon the carpet while other groups formed, many of them dragging in some of the more lost looking students. There was not a one group formed that was made of any one house. Even in Eigil's group, Mary Meyers and several of her friends from Hufflepuff and Ralph from Ravenclaw came over to sit with them, for her brother Garret was among them.
A few minutes later, Severus and Jennifer came in, gazing over the chatting students thoughtfully.
"I see you've managed to keep everyone calm," Severus said.
"Your daughter Alex's idea, actually," Pomona admitted with a twinkle in her eye. "Do you suppose it'd be all right if we arranged some sort of bag lunch for them so we need not break them up again?"
"Just as long as the kitchens don't mind. The main goal right now is to keep them relaxed or preoccupied…" Severus said, pausing when there was a roll of thunder outside. The students had quieted down a moment as well, before timidly starting to talk again. "Which will probably become increasingly difficult as time goes on," he admitted. "However, once the rest of the staff finishes securing their areas, most of them will be in here to assist you. Jennifer will be back in a little while to help as well."
"Not you?" Tonks asked with a frown.
"I have other duties," Severus said evenly. "We will be in the Defense room to secure it, and then I need to go secure the Headmaster's Study." Tonks nodded and watched as they walked away, her thoughts momentarily turning to Albus, still unconscious in the medical wing.
In his office, Jennifer kept unusually quiet as Severus went through his trunk, while she, with the aid of a large bucket she had configured, began to salvage through hers; lifting her Puzzlebox out of her cloak pocket and letting the lake water drip off of it glumly, knowing that the majority of the contents in the chest still in her office was probably destroyed. At least she had been able to save her ancient fruit bat…he hung upon a borrowed owl stand with Dodger, completely exhausted by the ordeal...and she had, of course, saved the Cauldron, although she hardly had the appetite for porridge just now.
Severus took down an astrological clock off the mantle and meticulously reset his pocket watch, studying it quite carefully for several minutes after the fact before finally putting it away.
"I need to head to the study now. I don't suppose you would be willing to finish up for me here?" Severus asked.
"All right, Severus," Jennifer murmured as he finished putting everything on his desk away, leaving only the open appointment book left on it before he began walking for the door. "Wait, Severus!" she said then in a panic, standing up. "Don't just leave me like this! I am going to see you before you go after her, aren't I?" Severus paused to gaze at her thoughtfully.
"It would probably just make it worse, Jennifer…"
"I couldn't bear it otherwise, Severus," Jennifer said firmly.
"Meet me on the Perch, at just before four," Severus said quietly. "I'll be leaving shortly after." Gently touching her cheek one more time, Severus left the room. As Jennifer turned around, she heard some light scratching followed by a sudden flurry, so went over to the appointment book. Written upon the open page now was the entry; 4:00 'Meeting with wife', while at 4:15, 4:30, 4:45, 5:00, 5:15, written three times on each line, was the simple phrase, 'Deal with Ciardoth.'"
Jennifer paced a bit upon the dais of the Great Hall, very restless of the time. Tonks had lit the fireplaces and was passing out marshmallows, while Hermione, Pomona and Sally were all meticulously setting up a buffet along the back wall for later on that night. She glanced at her watch once more as Tonks came up to her, watching her thoughtfully.
"Happy Solstice," Tonks said dryly. "It isn't often one gets two Yules in one year, is it?"
"I suppose in a way it is at that," Jennifer said distantly. Hermione walked up to them then, smiling almost sympathetically.
"Where's Sinistra and Vector? I've not seen either one of them," Tonks asked.
"In the Observatory," Hermione said carefully. "If whatever Severus has in mind works, they want to get word to us as quickly as possible."
"It'll work," Jennifer murmured softly. "Because it has to." Glancing at her watch once more, Jennifer hurried towards the Owlery.
But Severus had already found his way to the Perch, looking out in the distance, lost in his own thoughts.
"Obrumbrata et velata michi quoque niteris; nunc per ludum dorsum nudem fero tui scheleris," he murmured to himself softly, the words of a song ringing true in his ears.
"Severus?" Jennifer said, and he moved his head just enough to see her coming up beside him.
"I don't have long, Jennifer, but I am here," Severus said, accepting her arm and holding on fast to her hand before he glanced up at the castle. "It's a mess, isn't it, Hogwarts."
"Still standing proud despite everything that has been thrown at it," Jennifer protested.
"You know, it wasn't until after I met you that I truly saw this castle as my real home," Severus said quietly. "But somehow in the course of our years together, I'm not sure exactly when, it has turned into so much more than that, although I don't know that I can turn it into words. An extension of our family, perhaps…inclusive of everyone in it, no matter how annoying some of them might be at times," Severus said, Jennifer smiling slightly at that. "I can't allow it to end, Jennifer, no matter the cost, and it is something I must do alone. Even though Hermione is technically in charge, to me I feel much more hope for its survival with you here, watching over things, knowing as I do what truly is at stake. Promise me you'll stay this time, Jennifer, stay and look after our children."
"All a thousand of them," Jennifer murmured softly. Severus nodded, putting an arm around her.
"Yes, all a thousand of them," he agreed. "And no matter what happens, I want you to understand that nothing, not even death can truly breach my love for you, this school, and everyone in it." Jennifer felt her throat tighten but managed to nod again, having choking back tears as he kissed her. "You'd best return to the Great Hall now. And stay there until it's over. Promise."
"I promise," Jennifer said quietly. With one last nod, Severus pulled her chin up so she could study his face one last time and then turned swiftly around, dashing down the stairs before either of their emotions could further betray them.
Feeling as if someone had a fist around her heart, Jennifer stood there numb for a moment, attempting to push back the fear inside her. Suddenly her expression grew alert and she herself dashed down the stairs, running so hard she felt like her heart would burst to the Great Hall. She flung the back door open with such force that everyone looked up at her in surprise.
"Get up," she ordered them, ignoring Hermione's query. "Come, on! Everyone on your feet! We're going to sing Hogwarts Forever, as loud as we can! Fortissimo!" she cast, swirling the spell around the room before using her wand to keep the time and spit out the words.
Surprised by the command but jumping to their feet, all the students sang out where they stood, a myriad of song clashing together in perfect disharmony as they bellowed out the words. When it ended, she made them sing it again, and even a third time, until all of them were hoarse and weary, but somehow feeling much better and more united with every note.
In the distance, Severus listened to the voices as he walked away from the grounds towards the mountains, and the strange beautiful melody rang true in his ears.
While in the medical wing, Poppy, who had been reaching for a pair of earmuffs, suddenly stopped short when she realized with a start that Albus Dumbledore was humming in his sleep.
Lightning crackled in every direction, but Severus Snape paid it no more mind than the rain that was pelting him, a dryness charm keeping him from becoming soaked to the bone as he climbed slippery rocks above the waterlogged forest. It was just beyond the midnight trees where once a colony of spiders once lived; where once an army of Harpies nearly took his wife and unborn son. Unicorns now lingered within that dreary place, seeking sanctuary from the flooded glens. It was after he got back upon regular ground that he saw a strange bluish light in the distance. Now, it seemed, it was time… time to set up his plan. Time to risk it all. Time to challenge Time itself.
Pulling out a chain from under his collar, Severus sat it down upon a rock. Then, Severus Snape went to face his fate… by choice.
On the hilltop that once might have overlooked the lands of the Bansidhe, a large portal stood, so bright that it was quite visible in the poorest of light. As he grew nearer, he saw the tall vision of Ciardoth standing before it with her hands raised, gazing into what looked like a swirling vortex within the portal itself. The clouds in the sky just above the portal parted showing the purpling sky of late sunset, and as the first of the stars and the enormous red moon began to show. Severus knew they looked much closer than they should be… much closer than possible; Time was truly beginning to fail. Boldly Severus stepped out of the thick brush around the base of the hill and up onto the mound, wand in hand and resolution in his eyes.
"Ciardoth!" Severus shouted.
Ciardoth turned around, her red lips immediately brightening and her hands clapping like a child.
"At last! At last! The end is near!" she said, not hiding the pure thrill and elation and her voice. "Have you come to try to stop me? It will cost you your life, you know."
"As it will cost you yours," Severus said evenly.
"Death has always been the goal, Severus! Death and destruction of everyone who has opposed me, in my own universe and in this one!" Ciardoth said. "But watching you die, you who seem to truly put value on it, will be something I very much relish."
"So be it," Severus said evenly, taking a defensive stance. "But I shall take you with me, and your ultimate goal of destruction will fail."
"What? And you plan to do it with that thing?" Ciardoth said with amusement, pointing at his wand.
"I plan to do it in whatever way is necessary," Severus said.
"So be it," Ciardoth said mockingly back and raised her hands as a barrage of ball lightning suddenly appeared.
Immediately, Severus found himself in a position to have to take cover, dodging left and right as they came in with Ciardoth's laughter in his ears. But the heat and electricity spread out over him, and even with the protection of his cloak, Severus felt a sensation of burning and numbness on his face and hands.
"You fool, you cannot escape!" she laughed again. "Accept your fate! Even the elements are against you!"
But Severus finally rolled back to his feet with the grace of the cat, and the Shrieking Death was launched out of his wand, resonating with all the power he could muster. At first she seemed to hold her ears in pain, but then her figure began to change, growing more and more massive as her dragon form came into view. Quickly Severus pulled up his hood and hit the deck as the blast came, dropping his wand in the process as he pulled his legs and feet under himself to keep his entire body under the cloak.
The moment the flames passed, Ciardoth reached out with one claw and grabbed hold of his wand, tossing it in her mouth and snapping it between her teeth as Severus finally pulled himself back to one knee.
"So much for your pathetic little stick," Ciardoth roared. "And so much for your pathetic little life. Night is now imminent, Severus. Within a few short minutes all you have ever cared about will be gone."
"It's not over yet, Ciardoth!" Severus shouted, getting to his feet. "I don't need a wand to defeat you."
"Well, isn't that quaint! Then try to get out of this!" she roared, standing on her haunches with her wings spread.
Just as she was changing back into her Fae form, a sheet of ice and snow colder than Severus had ever known pushed on him, intent on freezing him solid. So this… he thought, his mind racing so fast that time seemed to slow as she tried to encompass him. So this is what Fawkes went through… immediately Severus put his hands out and concentrated as hard as he could to melt it before it reached him, knowing any other defense would come too late to save himself. Just when he thought he was done for, a wave of power surged through him and pushed outwards from his body, the ice turning into cold steam just inches away from his frostbit hands.
"So, you can defend yourself after all, but it is of no use now!" she laughed at him. Severus' eyes immediately darted to the pulsating portal, realizing quite suddenly that the area around it was very literally beginning to warp. Darkness was beginning to fall at an incredible rate, while everything seemed to be standing still as Time came a few slow seconds away from running its course.
But Severus knew he now had an avenue open to him like none other, an avenue that once it ripped through him would certainly drain his body completely, perhaps his very soul. But within him still was a tiny point…a flicker…a light of dim calm…and into that he focused … and into that point he fed within it the last twenty years of his life…everything he fought for… everything he lived for… everything that he had to sacrifice himself for. From it, he formed an Ultimate Wish… a Wish to turn all the power she now commanded against her.
"You are right, Ciardoth! It is time! But time is not on your side!" Severus shouted. "It is on mine!" he declared, feeling the power of the Wish unleash from his body and move towards her, a cloud of darkness beginning to form around her. It was as dense as Time had become in Otherworld, as black as the night, and as dark as the despair that she had forced upon them. Even when she retaliated with lightning that he wasn't prepared to dodge and couldn't dodge if he were to maintain what he had started, Severus Snape called on every reserve he had to push the Wish deep within her. His mental eye saw with satisfaction that the portal behind her and everything trapped within it was beginning to magnate towards her, and even the stars above seemed to be releasing their own power as Time began to tense up like a tightening rubber band with her in the middle.
But then, Severus felt himself waning, his spirit ebbing, his power spent, and he knew that the end was near. Another round of lightning hit him and his life force gave completely out. Just as Ciardoth dared to let out one final sound of elation, a scream immediately took its place. The two streams of Time which Severus had so carefully wrapped around her came ripping apart with his demise, and Ciardoth, caught in between the streams, was instantly severed in half.
Suddenly, the rain stopped.
In the Great Hall, Jennifer stood with her arms folded in stony silence as the other teachers organized lines of students to the buffet to get food and started some reading activities and games to try to settle them. The thunder was non-stop. It grew louder and louder with every passing moment until nothing else could be heard, while the staff tried desperately to get the students to put it out of their minds. Hermione Weasley stood next to Jennifer, missing her husband so badly she ached…but she knew that as bad as what she was going through, what Jennifer was going through was much worse. But as the children returned to their small groups with their food and got resettled, the thunder began to wane, and Hermione found herself straining to hear as it softened even more.
Suddenly Hermione heard something quite different…almost like the sound of shattered glass.
"What was that?" Hermione asked, not really meaning to say it out loud.
"It was the sound of my heart breaking," Jennifer said slowly, gazing down at her Dragonheart diamond with such a meaningful look that Hermione felt her own skip a beat and stunned grief pass over her.
It was then that Hermione noticed how quiet it was. Apparently so had everyone else, for every student and teacher in the room was listening carefully to hear any sounds coming from outside.
"Half a moment!" Morfinn said, everyone jumping a bit as he got to his feet and went over to the window. "It's not raining! I swear, it's not raining!"
"It's not raining!" Everyone repeated, and began running to the nearest window. Ted Gaffney then ran to the back to one of the windows that opened, and then began to laugh in sheer elation.
"Not only is it not raining, it's snowing!" Ted shouted over the crowd.
"It's snowing!" Everyone repeated, and then suddenly started cheering loudly until Sinistra and Vector ran in.
"Jennifer!" Aurora shouted. "Hermione! It's over! The clouds broke! I think she's gone!"
"Yes. That's great," Hermione said hollowly, giving her a wan smile.
"Well don't get all excited about it!" Aurora said to the two of them with surprise, but Jennifer still stood with her arms crossed, looking quite lost.
"Jennifer, for a moment there, I must admit this whole situation had me quite worried," Professor Vector said. "That husband of yours is destined for the history books this time, no doubt about it."
"The greatest wizard alive, I'd say," Aurora agreed wholeheartedly.
"Yes, yes he was," Jennifer said quietly. "Excuse me, since the crisis is over, I think I need a moment alone." Aurora and Vector stared at her puzzled, while Hermione had a hard time keeping her eyes dry. But they were not the only ones in the room that had noticed. While the rest of his siblings celebrated, Aurelius watched his mother leave the room with a very serious expression on his face.
"Goodness! Are you all having a party without me?" said a familiar voice. All the students turned from the windows with their eyes wide as Albus Dumbledore stood under the main doors, smiling at their gaping faces. "Your singing earlier woke me! I was so very glad to hear all of you! I would have been down sooner, but Madame Pomfrey was making such a fuss!" he said, smiling behind him at Poppy, still hovering close behind him.
"Professor…" Alicia said, pushing her way through the crowd with tears in her eyes. "Professor I…"
"No, no," he said quickly, putting a finger to her lips. "Not another word, Alicia. My reward is that you're here and safe. Think nothing of it," he smiled, putting an arm around her shoulder as he walked further into the room.
"It's a miracle, that's what it is," Pomona said, tears in her eyes. "A true and honest miracle, no mistake about that!"
"Yes it is," Hermione sighed. "And yet here I am wishing for one more."