Chapter Nine

Moving Day

Jennifer, Severus, Leu, and Quintin were all sitting at a booth in Kingler's Cafe that Saturday morning when Lunette came in, walking over to them with an impish look on her face.

"I thought you'd be in here," Lunette said.

"Oh?" Severus inquired.

"I told her we were going to have a visit in New York this morning," Jennifer explained.

"We're going to ride the ferry!" Quintin explained excitedly.

"It's always fun the first time," Lunette said with amusement. "Actually, I had one of my partners send me a note this morning, and I thought you'd find it amusing... he handles our cases in Pennsylvania," she explained. "Guess who one of his clients is?"

"The Mason family, I bet," Jennifer replied. Lunette chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, and one of them, Gail Mason, sent him an inquiry as to whether there was any legal way that the school board can have you removed from Whitebridge before you start teaching on Tuesday. To which Jim replied... James Buchard that is... 'Madam, not only is there no legal way to remove Ms. Craw without given cause, but there is also no safe way to remove Ms. Craw, regardless of where she is,'" Lunette said, trying to mimic his low voice.

"That must have been some board meeting," Jennifer said, shaking her head with a smile.

"Oh, don't worry about that! The school boards here don't work in the same way they do at Hogwarts, their main function is to set the budget and the goals for the schools in their area, and they have to worry about the public voting them out of office if they're not happy for some reason. They can hire and fire admin, but they won't get rid of Wind Elk, there'd be too much backlash. All they can really do is tighten his purse strings, especially if the kids don't meet with 'National Wizard Testing Standards'," she explained.

"Yes, but Wind wants to get off the whole testing carousel," Jennifer said with a sigh. "The problem is that the Mason family is also their main contributor when it comes to fundraising and general contributions, and half of the board members are made up of them. They can tighten the budget from both ends if they want to."

"It sounds to me like their school board isn't so different than ours after all," Severus commented. "We've been in those fights before, haven't we, Jennifer? Not to mention that horrible year when they decided our standards slipped and we had that wretched book list." Jennifer thought about it with a chuckle.

"Yes, I suppose you are right. Not exactly the same, but it hits on the same notes, doesn't it?" Jennifer admitted.

"Yes. You have more than enough experience to help Wind with his current crisis," Severus agreed. "And perhaps it's just as well that they're wary of you. It'll keep them from becoming too bold if they decide to push back."

"He's right, of course, on both points," Lunette agreed. "Where do you want to go to lunch tomorrow, Jennifer?"

"Anywhere but Quickbrooms. Oh, and I need to find some sort of market. I have a kitchenette in my room but I haven't stocked it yet, and I'm quite tired of eating out when the Commissary is closed. Not to mention that Severus now has to deal with the staff coming back and getting ready for school, so I can't rely on him to smuggle in snacks on demand, either," Jennifer said. "I don't mind going to Bergen's to shop, but they have a limited selection."

"No problem, I know just the place," Lunette promised. "Meet me here around noonish."

"Okay, thanks Lunette," Jennifer said, and Lunette swept back out again.

"It sounds like everything is coming together," Leu observed.

"Well, at the very least, I can say that I have all of my bases covered," Jennifer agreed. "Although there is one thing I'd like to ask, Severus, and that's if I can borrow Andrew for a few days... next weekend, at least, and maybe as a guest speaker before Christmas."

"Oh?" Severus asked curiously.

"A lot of my book in Advanced Items and Advanced Design has to do with the current trends in the United States towards Wiznet machines, phones, and the like. I'm sure with some help from Mr. Miller from Industry and Mr. Byrd from programming I can easily get up to speed on those, but all of those different parts have to be microtransfigured once they've been built. I'm a bit leery about what effects microtransfiguration has on those different parts, not to mention trying to recall what components can and can't be microtransfigured. In other words, I don't want to blow up that classroom. I don't think Wind would ever forgive me," Jennifer admitted.

"I will allow him to help out as much as he chooses to concerning your Advanced Items course, Jennifer, but please don't include him in your memory research," Severus said.

"No, I doubt that will be necessary, Severus, but I certainly can't start on any research until I have these classes well in hand, can I?" Jennifer pointed out.

"Fair enough. I suppose all of our attentions will be on getting back to classes for now, won't they?" Severus replied.

"I'm going into second year!" Quintin declared.

"Yay, school," Leu said less enthusiastically, and they concentrated on their meal so they could head to the ferry.

Jennifer opted for the Whitebridge crested overalls with the gold shirt, going for practicality on the students' moving day. Just after breakfast, she went to Brenda to get the room assignments for Rose Quarter, glancing over them with a smile. It would feel a lot more real when the students got here, she thought, and couldn't help but look them over. There were only a couple of Masons on her list, both boys, so were on the sixth floor; the fifth floor being all of the girls in her quarter. She took the time to make certain that her class schedules responded to the names of the incoming students. Then she double-checked each room to make sure all of them had two beds, two desks, two lockers, and so on.

After that, she checked over the lobby areas on both of her floors. The lobby area was somewhat like a common room, and was filled with chairs, tables, and even a board game closet, providing a place for the students to hang out if the weather was bad or they had group projects to work on. Large windows allowed for a great view of the garden, and there was even a small balcony with chairs and tables in case students wanted to congregate outside.

Jennifer went up the stairs to meet Brenda on the Peony levels.

"I have everything checked off," Jennifer reported, showing her the list.

"Good! Mr. Campbell, the maintenance wizard, will unlock the gates at ten, and there will be a mad dash of parents and students who signed up for dormitories. Don't be surprised if some students never show up today; just make a list of who's missing and get the list and their schedules back to me. Sometimes parents will decide at the last minute to let a student commute or change their mind for other reasons. If that happens, I pull another student off the wait list that's waiting for a vacancy. We give them the first two weeks of school to get settled, and until that point, students aren't allowed to change rooms. Of course, if they're getting into physical or magic conflicts with their roomie, let me know," Brenda said.

"Of course," Jennifer said.

"Then let's let the chaos begin," Brenda grinned.

Eager to see the first of the students arrive, Jennifer decided to run down and take the path around the Quidditch Arena to the gates, waiting for the maintenance man to come to unlock the gate. Apparently, she wasn't the only one; quite a number of other curious teachers and professors, both ones she recognized and ones she didn't, had gathered out front to watch as several vehicles crowded into the driveway on the other side of the gate with both the students and their things.

Wind Elk was among them, and he smiled at Jennifer when she popped up around the corner and joined him on the steps.

"Good morning, Jennifer. I thought you'd be waiting on the Rose floors," Wind said.

"They're all checked off and ready to go. I just wanted to see the start of it all," Jennifer admitted with a smile. "After all, it's my one opportunity to see it from this end, isn't it?"

"So it is," Wind chuckled knowingly, checking the time. "Just remember to be polite to the parents, Jennifer, no matter what they might say or may be thinking."

"What's with that warning?" Jennifer protested with a laugh. "I'm hardly a child any more, Wind, far from it."

"True, but I believe it's quite possible that your experiences as a student will all come back to you full force on this day. Especially when you meet our dear Mrs. Cole," he said, gazing out at a grey-haired woman in a business suit who was helping a pair of boys out of her Mercedes. Jennifer followed his gaze, but she didn't recognize the witch. She seemed to be scolding the two boys, who were scrambling to get their things out of the trunk.

"I think I have two Coles on my list for Rose Quarter, actually," Jennifer recalled.

"In that case, do yourself a favor and keep your spectacles well on your nose today. Don't give the Masons a reason to say, 'I told you so,'" Wind advised.

"Goodness, I thought you knew me better than that," Jennifer said, a bit disappointed that he didn't seem to trust her for some reason. But his attention had turned to Mr. Campbell, who was in the process of unlocking both the door to the Gatehouse and the large ironwork gates that separated the front of the school from the road and driveway leading up to it. Then he opened the gates wide, and several of the children and parents, including the woman with the car right in front, stepped inside the gates.

"Well, it's about time!" the witch huffed, a couple of trunks with legs following behind her.

For a moment, the witch reminded Jennifer of Regina Coventry, especially considering the two boys beside her who, although not looking at all like one another, could have easily been twins. But this witch was taller and admittedly prettier than Regina had been, despite looking to be of the same age. The two boys beside her were more curious of Jennifer than critical; the criticism, it seemed, came only from the witch escorting them in. But as Wind and Jennifer stepped down to the pavement and came a bit closer, Jennifer began getting a very strong feeling that she had seen those eyes before... suddenly, Jennifer pushed up her spectacles hard against her nose. Wind glanced sideways at Jennifer knowingly before smiling warmly at them.

"Welcome back, Mrs. Cole. Welcome back, Jason and Ajay."

"Oh. Yes, they're definitely on my list," Jennifer confirmed with a smile. The two boys looked at the new teacher curiously, while Mrs. Cole was staring at her as if she was seeing a ghost.

"Boys, this is Ms. Jennifer Craw, Items teacher and host of the Rose Quarter this year," Wind introduced, the two boys waving at her. "I believe you already know their grandmother."

"No, I can't say that I do," Jennifer said with an enigmatic smile.

"Ms. Craw, this is Stacey Newman Cole," Wind introduced.

"Nice to meet you. Did you want me to help you get to the dormitories since I'm going that way anyway?" Jennifer inquired.

"I'm sorry, but did your mother go to school here?" Stacey asked, squinting at her.

"No, my mother went to Hogwarts. I'm the only person in my family who went to school here," Jennifer said, Stacey's face darkening. "Why, did we go to school together? It's just been so long ago that I may have forgotten."

"Stacey was one of the girls who was always helping you out of the Swan Pond, Jennifer," Wind informed her. "She graduated one year ahead of you."

"Oh, I see! Then it's good to meet you again. I'm afraid I spent so much time in that pond, I don't remember the details of who helped me out or who pushed me in, you see. Anyway, do you want me to help you back to the dorms?" Jennifer asked politely.

"No, thank you. We can manage," Stacey said curtly. "Come along, boys," she said, taking the garden path. Jennifer watched her for only a moment before turning to go inside.

"Wretched witch, she hasn't changed one bit," Jennifer muttered under her breath, cutting through the Assembly Hall. Wind simply pursed his lips, turning his attention to the other parents coming in.

As Jennifer helped students get to their rooms and handed them their schedules, she couldn't help but notice that Ajay and Jason had yet to make it to their assigned room. In fact, it was just about time to grab a quick sandwich for lunch when Brenda came down the stairs with a look of exasperation.

"May I have Jason and Ajay's schedules, please? Mrs. Cole insisted they be moved to another quarter," Brenda said.

"I see," Jennifer said, getting them out of her stack. "You know, I used to scold my husband any time he argued with his sister's husband about fights they had at school, despite how long ago it was. I think I'm beginning to understand a bit better now."

"Sometimes those old feuds can run deep, as can the scars from them," Brenda agreed.

"Then I have a new goal in life! I want to try and prevent those sorts of feuds from developing in my students as often as I can," Jennifer decided.

"Good luck with that," Brenda said with an amused smirk on her face as she went to check on the other floors.