Chapter Nineteen

Bountiful Plans of Mutiny

Jennifer was just straightening her classroom after her last class when she heard her mirror chime. She hurriedly helped the remainder of her students to put their projects back on the shelves and shooed them out of the room, closing the door before finally sitting down in front of the mirror.

"Good afternoon, Severus!" Jennifer greeted him warmly.

"Good evening," Severus replied. "I just sent you a list of students that were Sorted this year, along with some notes. It's in your Chest Cloak."

"Oh lovely, I've been waiting for that. Any surprises?" Jennifer asked.

"Not particularly, although I suppose I should warn you that one of Worley's twins ended up in Ravenclaw," Severus replied.

"I was wondering if that would happen. Is he a Truth Seeker, Severus?" Jennifer inquired.

"I'm not sure if either of them are yet, they just got here after all," Severus replied.

"What about Phil Weasley's boys?" Jennifer asked.

"Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," Severus said.

"Oh, drat! I was rather hoping to have a Weasley for a change," Jennifer admitted with a grin.

"I'm sure there will be more chances for interesting students next year, and then you'll be here to witness it yourself," Severus pointed out.

"Yes, quite true! That will be an exciting year, then again, every year is exciting," Jennifer said.

"I suppose, although there did seem to be something missing this year," Severus admitted.

"Oh, Severus," Jennifer said, seeing how lonely he was. "Do you want me to come home for a bit? I do have to meet the girls for dinner, but after that, I can pop home if you'd like. I could stay and help you get Quintin to the bus in the morning, and I should still be able to get back to Whitebridge to meet the girls for breakfast. Maybe I'll bring some scones, they always like that," she added with amusement.

"And have you exhausted during all of your classes when you know as well as I do that some of the parents probably have daggers aimed at your back for what you did on Friday," Severus said.

"Don't worry about that, Severus, I have plenty of friends and allies here now. I worry about Wind more since he's taking the brunt of it... well, you of all people know how that is," Jennifer said.

"Yes, and knowing you, you've stirred up the hornet's nest as surely as some of the things we've done here over the years to upend the status quo," Severus said. "It's all right, Jennifer, don't worry about me. We'll go with the original plan and get together Sunday for a family day."

"Well, alright, if you're sure," Jennifer said, not quite believing his resolve in the matter. "Have a good evening, Severus."

"Good night," Severus replied, and the mirror returned to normal. Jennifer sighed, looking up at the Rogue Painting.

"He's pretty lonely," Jennifer told him. "The Jennifer painting must not be as good at distracting him as you are for me. Maybe it's because it was painted so much earlier? Maybe she doesn't know him as well yet." The Rogue shook his head, reminding her that the painting knew him well enough. "I guess there's no helping it. I'm lonely too, but for some reason, I think he's the one having the tougher time with all of this. Perhaps it's because I'm so busy. Speaking of which, I had better get to the Commissary before the others wonder where I am," she said, and Rogue nodded as Jennifer finished straightening up and then left.

Lavender and Gretchen had been busy moving a second circular table by Jennifer's table.

"Well, what's all this?" Jennifer asked with surprise.

"We've been recruiting," Lavender winked. "I have a couple more teachers I want you to meet tonight."

"Oh, okay," Jennifer said with a smile, putting her cup at a chair where she could still look out the window before going over to get her tray and coming back to sit down. "But I hope this isn't going to be a normal thing... I rather like my small table at the corner."

"Maybe we should meet in a classroom next time," Gretchen suggested. "More room there."

"Not a bad idea," Lavender agreed, waving as Kay brought over two other witches.

"Here we are! Jennifer, this is Sharon Miller, head of Business and Magical Industry, and Sue Williams, English and Literature," Kay introduced, encouraging them to sit down.

"Hello, nice to meet you, although I did meet Sharon briefly, I think. You're Luke Miller's wife, right?" Jennifer asked.

"Right. I handle the money end, and he handles the manufacturing," Sharon said. "Luke and I met here at Whitebridge. We had to work together so much, it just made sense to get together," she explained with amusement.

"I know what you mean," Jennifer said with a smile.

"Actually, he'd be here too, but daycare's only open til five here, so he took the kids home to feed them," Sharon explained.

"How many do you have?" Jennifer asked with interest.

"Two boys, four, and six," Sharon replied.

"My youngest boy is six too," Jennifer said.

"Really? We should get together and do something then... maybe they can go trick or treating together? I know all the good neighborhoods around here," Sharon said with a wink.

"Trick or treating! I bet Quintin would love that, he's never done anything like it," Jennifer admitted.

"Oh, then we'll definitely have to do it," Sharon said with a grin.

"How many children do you have, Jennifer?" Sue asked conversationally.

"Eight, actually... some are adopted, and most of them are grown up now," Jennifer explained before the shock could set in. "Leu, the next youngest, is graduating this year."

"Mine are grown up too," Sue said, "and one of them married a Mason," she said with such an expression it was hard for anyone to miss it.

"It's rather hard to avoid them in this part of the country, isn't it? Especially considering how few wizard neighborhoods there are out here," Kay pointed out.

"Not to mention you have to worry about if you're a cousin or not. My sister married a Harper, and since some of them are related to the Masons, they had to look up his family tree before they could get married," Lavender explained. "Her husband works here, Rick Harper; he's the music director."

"I think I remember your sister... Damiana, right?" Jennifer asked.

"Yep, she's the oldest, then Basil, then I'm the baby," Lavender said with amusement. "And in some ways, Mom still treats me like the baby." Jennifer chuckled at that. "But enough about that! Let's talk shop."

"Oh, no. I hear enough about shop class as it is," Sharon moaned, and Lavender chuckled at her.

"Not that kind of shop. Tell Jennifer what brings you here," Lavender suggested.

"Well, I guess it started when I saw Kay out in the garden with her class teaching them about Jennifer's familiar," Sharon explained. "I have an open class that hour, so I stopped to listen because it was very interesting. Afterwards, she invited me to come back if I wanted, because she was planning to teach outside every day the weather was clear. So, of course, I asked her how her students were going to keep up on those performance tests, and she told me she didn't give a flip about those tests, she was going to teach."

"That's not what I really said," Kay snorted softly.

"Kay, she's a Truth Seeker, she can figure it out," Lav said, Jennifer hiding a grin. "Go on."

"Well, that's when she told me you weren't doing the tests, Jennifer, and that you told her you were more interested in teaching your students things they'd actually benefit from, and that Lavender and Gretchen had decided to do the same thing," Sharon said. "I told Luke about it, but apparently he'd already heard rumors that you weren't going to play the testing game. Frank told him you weren't going to bother even giving them the first of the year test and that he could handle it if he thought it was important."

"I most certainly did. I don't even allow those Wizardnet devices in my classroom, be it Tomes or phones," Jennifer replied. "I want them to learn Items by making them and fixing their own mistakes. If they are going to memorize lists of components, it shouldn't be arbitrary; I want them to understand that the whole reason for memorizing a component's magical properties and what negates them is so they don't have to keep looking it up every time they want to use it." Lavender chuckled at that.

"Well, I do have them still memorize basic lists, Jennifer, especially when it comes to herbs, but after what you told me about the year Glen Witolf taught your class, I did my best to loosen it up as much as I could and I am giving them more experimental leeway than I have in the last few years," Lavender replied. "I'm sick of teaching the same formulas time and again... they're thorough but boring as all heck, and not all of them are very challenging."

"Well, I hope you're teaching your seniors Nauscametim still like your mother did," Jennifer said.

"That formula is a total pain in the rear, and as finicky as it gets... they'd never pass it," Lavender protested.

"Then that should tell you something is wrong right there. I know it is hard, but if you know for certain they can't do it, it means that the class is no longer taught at the same precision level as when I went to school," Jennifer pointed out. "My knowing that formula down pat ended up saving a life when I first started teaching... Ginny Potter, our school nurse, would have died as a student if I hadn't."

"You know... you're right... maybe we have slid a bit. But how does that even make sense when the tests are so hard?" Lavender said with exasperation.

"The tests are hard because they don't really know the material. They're simply chasing the grade... whether it's for the reward or to avoid the punishment, I don't know. But school should be about more than learning how to test," Jennifer said.

"I couldn't put it better myself," Sue Williams said. She had been listening to the conversation so quietly that they nearly forgot she was even there. "Do you know that they even have writing composition down to a science? I have to tell the students how many descriptive words to put in before the verb, how many transition words and how many similes, the exact length they need per paragraph and how many 'sophisticated' words to put in... all so that they can pass the wizard computer's idea of what a perfect essay looks like. They're expected to read at a certain speed regardless of the material, and lord help me if I want to teach anything other than their required reading list. How can you nurture creative writing, let alone cultivate a student's interest in literature, if you're too busy teaching them how to beat the system?"

"They can't ever beat the system, it's not designed to be beaten," Jennifer shrugged. "Even if you ace the test, it's likely you're missing out on something to do it... whether you ace it because it's too easy for you, or you ace it just to get the grade and for no other reason, it's at the expense of learning something a bit more useful."

"You know she's right?" Sue said. "I've said something similar myself from time to time, especially about those horrid composition programs. And you know what? I think I'm done with them. I'm grading them myself from now on... and making my own writing prompts."

"You know what I really want to do," Sharon said, leaning back from her tray without touching it. "I want to skip all the amortization charts, accounting lessons, and flowcharts for a few months and just set them up to learn how to run their own business from the ground up... they can learn as they go by doing it themselves. Jennifer, I could use your help with it, giving them suggestions on what to make as products in your Items classes."

"That's her way of saying eff the tests too," Kay said.

"Yes, I got that," Jennifer chuckled.

"You know, once I explain all of this to Luke, I wouldn't be surprised if he agrees to do it too. But I do wonder what the board is going to do when they find out... not to mention the parents after they see their next test scores," said Sharon.

"And what will Dean Elk and Brenda think of all of this?" Sue asked.

"Well, I can't speak for Brenda," Jennifer admitted with a smile. "But Wind Elk is who hired me, and he knew what he was getting into by doing so. Besides, they're already out for blood over that Dark Magic demonstration, you might as well let this fall on me too if you need a scapegoat."

"No need for a martyr, Jennifer, this isn't a one witch operation anymore," Lavender pointed out. "This is an all out mutiny, and the more the merrier. They can't fire all of us, and in the meantime, maybe the students will learn a thing or two."

"About making a stand if nothing else," Sue said with a smile, raising her coffee cup to them before taking a sip.

Severus woke the next morning to a ringing sound so loud that at first he thought the Hogwart's Bell was ringing an emergency. He looked around the room in confusion, realizing he fell asleep in his sitting room. He blinked to clear his eyes and tried to discern where the sound was coming from. Finally, his eyes landed on the wall to see the Jennifer Painting had somehow gotten her hands on a cowbell. She looked poised to ring it again until she noticed him looking at her.

"What's the emergency?" he asked her. She beamed at him happily and signed at him. "The first day of school? Go away! Have you lost your mind? Quintin isn't even awake yet, you annoying painting!" he snapped at her and lay back down again. Just as he was about to dose off, he heard a loud ringing in a nearby room, followed by Quintin's excited shouting. Severus groaned at that. He was, however, still debating staying on the couch for a while until he began hearing Quintin's voice shouting, "A!" then "B!" and then "C!" Finally, Severus got up to see what he was up to, opening the nursery door to see him standing on his bed with his glasses on, staring at the Jennifer Painting, who, it appeared, was teaching him how to sign the alphabet.

"What in blazes are you doing?" Severus asked Quintin flatly.

"Mummy is teaching me how to sign!" Quintin said enthusiastically. Severus squinted at the painting and back at him.

"Quintin, I want to make something perfectly clear. That painting is not your mother. In fact, that Jennifer was painted before we were married and when she had no idea how to be a mother," Severus said. The Jennifer Painting folded up her arms in irritation. "She didn't even know how to cook, let alone anything else mummies do. You're going to need to call her something else."

"But I've always called her Mummy," Quintin said.

"Yes, but you are old enough to know better. Paintings are paintings, not real people," Severus said firmly, then glanced up at the painting. She was currently glaring at him disapprovingly. "We're going to have to give her a nickname, just like the Rogue has a nickname," he decided.

"I want a name I can sign!" Quintin said.

"Um... then how about we just do initials then? JP for Jennifer Painting perhaps?" Severus suggested. Jennifer pondered that and nodded, immediately trying to show Quintin how to do a J. Severus frowned at Quintin's attempt. "No, that's backwards. Here, Quintin, let me show you," Severus said. The Jennifer Painting beamed encouragingly as Severus took the time to show Quintin how to make the hand movements until he had them down. "All right, Quintin, now we're running late for breakfast. Where's your school uniform? Let's meet in the study in ten minutes."

"Yes, Dad!" Quintin said enthusiastically, making his bed first. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to take his basilisk stuffy out, so it was a little on the lumpy side.

Deciding that Quintin was more than capable of figuring out the problem on his own, Severus went and got himself ready for the day. After choosing a set of basic headmaster's robes, he took the time to note that he had a Runes I class just after lunch, leaving him a bit of time after class before he had to pick Quintin up from the bus. He set up the breakfast tray and put Quintin's breakfast down on the small table by his chair just before Quintin marched in. Severus stared at his uniform with a frown.

"Are you afraid the school is going to flood?" Severus asked. Quintin gazed at his father in confusion. After reading his father's expression, he looked down at his trouser legs, his socks plainly visible along with part of his leg.

"My trousers shrank," Quintin decided.

"I suppose that's my fault, really. I should have thought to check before now... come on. Grab a scone and let's go to the nursery. Maybe Ashley will have a quick fix," Severus said, doing the same and grabbing Quintin's bag in case they didn't have time to come back upstairs.

Ashley had been talking with Ginny when Severus came in with a forlorn expression, pulling Quintin in behind him.

"We seem to have a bit of a problem with his uniform," Severus explained evenly. Ginny made a sound as if she was going to snigger and quickly turned to put Margaret in the cot.

"Don't worry, Severus. I do remember putting an extra hem in those, so it'll only take a second to let it out," Ashley promised. "Come here, Quintin," she said, and Quintin came over so she could get out her wand to pull out the hem. "His shirts look tight as well, Severus, he'll need new ones. What about his jumpers and other things from last year?"

"Other things?" Severus pondered.

"I'm sure you recall from last year that they only have to wear uniforms on school uniform days at Hogsmeade Primary. They don't wear them every day, so his other clothes are going to need to be checked as well," Ashley said. "I'll measure him today after school, then if you'd like, I can come up to the study after Danny and Ginny have picked up their children and I'll help you go through it."

"Thank you. Perhaps you'd care to eat with us this evening if you're free," Severus offered.

"Thanks, I'd like that. Ambrose typically stays late at the museum on Mondays to go over the weekend totals with Ike," Ashley said, then sat up after looking over her stitching. "There you are, Severus! It's not perfect, but it'll do for the day!"

"Thank you," Severus said. "Let's go down to the gate, Quintin."

"See you after school, Quintin," Ashley said with a smile.

"See you after school, Ashley!" Quintin said cheerfully, happy to be going back to school so that he could see his friends again.

As they neared the gate, Severus frowned and let out an exasperated sigh when he saw that Rasputin was there, peeking his nose around the corner.

"This again?" Severus hissed.

"You left without me. I want to see Fifth Boy," Rasputin hissed.

"Hello, Rasputin!" Quintin said. "I'm going to school!"

"Apparently he's already figured that part out," Severus said, then hissed again. "You're not going to stay out here all day again, are you?"

"I'll wait for Fifth Boy," Rasputin agreed with a hiss, settling in the grass. Severus sighed and glanced at the clouds.

"Fine, but have enough sense to come in if it rains," Severus replied. Then he turned to Quintin. "Here is your book bag. Don't forget that some of the children may be from the other classroom this year so you may not know all of them. Don't let any of their thoughts trouble you."

"They won't! I'll make new friends out of all of them!" Quintin said confidently.

"Yes, all right," Severus said, and then listened for the bus. Finally he heard the horn and made sure they were well in the gate as it suddenly rolled into existence in front of them with a loud pop and a braking noise. Once again, the windows quickly became filled with children, plastered up against it to get a peek at Hogwarts.

"Goodbye, Dad!" Quintin said unceremoniously and ran to the bus as the door opened. "Hello, Mr. Jack!"

"Good morning, Master Quintin, welcome back," said Mr. Jack with a kind smile, the burly bus driver waiting for him to find a place before the doors closed and the bus rolled forward and out of sight.

Severus dutifully stared at his watch until Quintin's hand was firmly on Hogsmeade Primary, then decided now would be a good time to peek into some classroom doors to see how things were going, starting with classes on the second floor and then making his way down to the basement.

Hermione had given herself a first year double to get some of the basic wand training over with; and no doubt had another first year session later that afternoon to start the rest of them off on the right foot. Andrew, it seemed, had fifth years... mostly Slytherin-Ravenclaw, from the looks of it, with a smattering of others as there always were now that their electives branched out more. Down the hall, Sally was lecturing a sleepy-looking group of second years on how many papers they were going to have to write that year; only TJ and Destiny looked awake on the Gryffindor side, while most of the Slytherin seemed to be wondering about the bad luck of having to start the week with History. He slipped back down the hallway again and over to the Defense Room doorway, where the third years were already enthusiastically digging into the newspapers to look for interesting things to do their summaries on. Laura looked a great deal more comfortable this year, Severus noted, and she seemed to be quite eager to get back to work as she wandered through and commented on some of the articles they were reading. Then Severus worked his way down to the dungeon, wondering which form that Arcadia would decide to teach in for her first day.

Leu had been wondering the same thing as he walked with Keir through the passageways and stepped into the Potion Lab. Everything looked as it always did, with one exception; Keir strode over to the corner and let out a sigh when he saw the empty cart.

"I was afraid of that. No breakfast cart!" Keir complained.

"Aren't you glad you took my advice and went to breakfast this morning now?" Leu said.

"True, but I was hoping she'd pick up the habit so Monday mornings wouldn't be so rough," Keir said. Just then, Arcadia peered out of her office, apparently in her human form.

"What are you two talking about?" Arcadia asked curiously.

"Professor Craw always kept a breakfast cart out for her first class to help students wake up and to make sure they didn't skip breakfast," Keir explained before Leu could reply.

"I remember that, now that you mention it," Arcadia admitted. "But I thought it was against the rules to have food in class."

"My mother had all sorts of rules to go along with it," Leu explained. "We're to finish up during the lecture and never to have it on the table during labs... unless it's Dabblers or Items, then she's a bit more lenient since her classes know what they're doing."

"I see. Well, I don't mind the idea, but I'll need to check with Headmaster Snape first to see if its allowed," Arcadia decided. Keir grimaced at Leu, already sensing how that conversation would go. Just then, Arcadia heard the clanging of the bell and looked above the mantle, where there was a painting of Minerva McGonagall sitting in the workroom of her dress shop. Next to her was Jennifer in a beautiful blue dress that Minerva paused to check the stitching on, deciding it was clearly one of her earlier designs. "Did you want something?" Arcadia asked.

"Jennifer suggests that you talk to Deputy Headmaster Weasley about the breakfast cart, Doctor Arcadia," Minerva replied. "You'll find that Professor Weasley has the authority to approve that. I can ask her myself, if you'd like."

"Yes, alright," Arcadia said, then looked over at the other side of the door where Leu and Keir were standing. "I'm not used to this whole painting thing yet. We don't really use anything like it in Whitebridge, but it seems to be pretty handy for getting quick messages around, doesn't it?"

"They can do a lot more than that. They're tied to security," Leu explained.

"Yes, I've been informed... but that's pretty interesting too," Arcadia admitted. "At Whitebridge, the security isn't anywhere near as obvious, but then I bet it's a great deterrent to have a painting in the room looking at you if you're up to no good."

"That's for sure," Keir agreed.

"Doctor Arcadia," Minerva called out. Arcadia looked back in the office. "Professor Weasley states that the only objection that Professor Snape has had in the past is when Professor Craw had the cart out during her first and second year classes, who 'don't need the distraction.' So, Professor Weasley decided to make sure that all of your first and second year classes are later in the afternoon, 'just in case' the older students talk you into having one," she relayed with amusement.

"Oh! So there's no problem, then," Arcadia said, and Minerva nodded. "Very well, we'll keep to Professor Snape and Professor Craw's rules," she decided, stepping outside. It didn't take long for an industrious Trade Elf to fill it. But Arcadia immediately frowned. "Wait! That won't do at all!"

"What won't?" Leu asked curiously, thinking the breakfast cart looked splendid; it was filled with pastries, coffee, and juice.

"This isn't breakfast, it's a sugar crash waiting to happen. One can hardly expect to make it through lunch on that. Not to mention you shouldn't be drinking caffeine until you're at least eighteen."

"I'll be eighteen in a month," Leu offered.

"Two months here," Keir replied.

"I don't mind the idea of having a cart for those who skipped breakfast for one reason or another, but as a doctor, I can't in good conscience fill you up with carbs like that. If we must have caffeine in here, let's switch it to green tea... and no sugar bowl, honey at least is prebiotic. Let's go with some whole fruits, vegetables, yogurt, and a small selection of pasture-fed goat cheese, and some unadulterated dried meats. There, that's more like it," she decided.

"You mean there's no pastries at all?" Keir gawked, staring at the selection. Arcadia sighed at that.

"Fine, tomorrow I'll see if Sagittari can't make you some spanakopita, how's that?" Arcadia compromised.

"Okay," Keir said. "Thanks."

"Thank you," Leu added.

"You're welcome!" Arcadia replied. She went over to the professor's desk while the two of them looked tentatively over at the selection. "Good morning, everyone," she said to students coming in.

"Spanakopita is a pastry, right?" Keir murmured. Leu shrugged, getting some tea as some of the other students peered curiously at the breakfast cart.

"Where did you want us to sit at, anyway?" Keir asked.

"I'm going to arrange everyone according to their desired specialty fields," Arcadia explained. Diana sighed with exasperation at that. "So if you're going into alchemy or a healing profession, sit up front, then law enforcement, items and industry, then everyone else can fill out the back rows," Arcadia explained.

Diana sat down in the back in the same seat that she had sat in Items last year, not saying anything when Leu sat down beside her. A number of the students looked curiously at the breakfast card with mixed expressions, but even so, everyone who went over there walked away with something in their hand as they sat down for their first day.

"Good morning, everyone! I am Doctor Arcadia, from the Whitebridge College of the Healing Arts, on the campus of Whitebridge Academy. If you're interested in medicine or veterinary science you've probably heard of it mentioned in some form, since we're in the top five, and the most affordable," Arcadia added with amusement. "I have several degrees in both medicine and veterinary medicine, the majority of which I received in Greece, not far from where I grew up in the Peloponnese Major Constellation. Since you were all here last year, I'm guessing you knew I was a centaur already," Arcadia said with a grin. "But since this lab is set up better for a human teacher, I'll probably be teaching in this form for as long as I can.

"Now! I was given an incredible amount of leeway on the labs in this class, provided that I teach all of the skills required for you to pass the NEWT at the end of the year. So while I will lecture you on the different skills you'll need to master in formula writing, accurate temperature, consistency, advanced potency testing and so on, I've decided to tailor the labs based on what professions you are going into, to give you all a head start on potions that will be handy in your chosen jobs. Each one will let you practice the exact same skills that we talk about in the book; so while your neighbor may be making a complex healing potion that has a tricky temperature element, the industry folks may have a sealant with the same tricky temperature, or poison tester if you're going into law enforcement, and so on. It may mean more work for me, but I think it'll be handier down the line for you... and you're also less likely to try and copy each others lab results too," she added with amusement. "Any questions so far?" she asked, but no one responded.

"Great, then let's start with the review lecture and reading, that'll give you time to finish up before we start on a lab so I can gauge your skill levels," Arcadia said, then began writing a formula in Alchemist Notation on the blackboard.

Severus peeked in with interest to see she was giving a review, then frowned when he saw that several of the students had fruit and tea on their tables. Oh well, at least it was a little healthier, he thought with annoyance, unsurprised to see different majors grouped together after already hearing from Hermione about what Arcadia had in mind. It was nice to have another teacher coming in with a great deal of experience, he mused. He wandered back to his study to get some paperwork done before lunch, and then to go over his own notes before going down to teach class.

Everything was going so smoothly during that first day of school, he wasn't anticipating any unexpected problems. Perhaps that was why he was a more than a little surprised when Quintin stepped off the bus with a glum expression and a note pinned to his jacket.

"What is this?" Severus wondered, the pin disintegrating when he took a hold of the note card.

"My new teacher doesn't like me," Quintin explained seriously.

"You said that about your teacher last year as well," Severus pointed out.

"We became friends later!" Quintin replied. "But my new teacher really, really doesn't like me."

"I'm sure you'll make friends with her as well," Severus said as he unsealed the note, but Quintin shook his head.

"I don't think so," Quintin said solemnly. Then he reached down to pet Rasputin on the head to comfort himself.

"'Dear Professors, Quintin seems to have forgotten many basic school rules over the summer. I have enclosed a list in his backpack for you to go over with him and included a couple of special rules at the end just for Quintin. I also put a star around the particular rules he seems to have trouble with. Thank you for your time! Looking forward to having Quintin in my class this year,'" Severus read out loud.

"No, she's not," Quintin replied.

"Never mind, we'll speak of this later," Severus said, walking him to the daycare room.

But not long after he had gotten settled in the study to go through some paperwork, Severus made the mistake of pulling out the rules he had taken out of Quintin's bookbag so that it wasn't mixed in with his homework. The teacher's basic class rules were quite standard, but the special rules she had added at the bottom made him stare. "Don't touch the clocks in class" was one he had expected; "don't correct the teacher" he could have perhaps guessed, but what were the last two about, he wondered, when he read, "don't gang up on the teacher" and "don't take over the class"? Severus glanced at the clock, realizing that Jennifer was still in her last class before lunch.

"Severus card, could you please ask the Rogue to have a word with Jennifer when she's free, and ask him if there's any danger that Quintin may be using his talents for manipulation at his age?" Severus said, then realized how that sounded. "No wait, don't tell her that! I don't want her worrying about it. Armando, get Aurelius in here."

"Yes, Severus," Armando said. A moment later, the quill added Aurelius' name next to Ashley's in the dinner time slot.

"Oh well, that may save me some time," Severus decided, getting back to work.

When Aurelius arrived ahead of Ashley, he handed Aurelius the rules list and pointed him to the bottom ones.

"I take it his first day didn't go so well," Aurelius said after reading the list.

"He said that his teacher doesn't like him. It would appear from this that the feeling is mutual," Severus said. "I need to make sure that he's not... coercing them in any way."

"I seriously doubt he is, Dad, he doesn't like fighting in any form. He likes it when everyone gets along. He's always been quite adamant about it," Aurelius said.

"Apparently, he has made an exception," Severus replied. "Although part of me doesn't wonder if all of this wouldn't clear up if they simply moved him to Pyther's class."

"You're right, I think it would as well," Aurelius agreed. "Sometimes I get the feeling that family loyalty is more than how we're taught. It's almost as if it's in our blood," he added with a chuckle, Severus nodding thoughtfully at that. But before he could respond, he noticed movement on the landing and looked up to see Ashley and Quintin stepping in.

"Rel! Rel! Hey, it's not lesson day!" Quintin said, hugging him anyway.

"I know, but I want to talk to you for a minute before dinner. Come on," Aurelius said.

"Here, take his bag," Ashley said, handing it to Aurelius and they went into the other room. "I take it Aurelius is here to talk to him about his teacher?"

"Partially. I suppose Quintin must have said something," Severus said.

"A little, Severus. He said he was in trouble because the teacher doesn't like him," Ashley explained.

"Yes, that is what he told me as well," Severus agreed.

"I was wondering if something like this might happen when I heard he was going to be in Mrs. Thorn's class, to be perfectly honest," Ashley admitted. Severus gazed at her thoughtfully.

"Why?"

"Well, Mrs. Thorn is a fair teacher, she's been there forever from what I understand, nearly fifty years from what the Headteacher has said," Ashley explained. "But she doesn't really like outliers... children who stand out of the crowd or make waves. Generally, that usually equates to those who are particularly clever for the age group. If they cause too much trouble, she typically makes a case for them either moving to the other classroom or she gets them advanced a year by giving them an approved test that proves that they have mastered the curriculum and need to be moved up."

"Oh, so this is the teacher that advanced Destiny a year," Severus realized.

"Yes, the same one," Ashley agreed. "To be fair, Destiny really was too advanced for that class, and she's been much happier ever since that adjustment. As I'm sure you could tell from last year, it didn't hurt her marks here either since she's at the top of most of his classes. And to be honest, I could say the same thing about Quintin. He's quite advanced for his age, so I can see them not getting on very well."

"Maybe so, but I refuse to rush this one through, Ashley. I'll simply have to keep him challenged at home if the teacher isn't capable of doing it," Severus said. Ashley smiled.

"I see. It's not about Destiny or Quintin at all. It's about Ambrose rushing through school, isn't it?" Ashley asked.

"Not exactly. Actually, it's more complicated than that," Severus said reluctantly.

"What could possibly be more complicated than that?" Ashley asked with a chuckle. "Well, in any case, I hope he cooperates, Severus. It isn't as if I wanted Ambrose to jump ahead like he did, you know. I wanted to savor every moment of it myself. But as we both know, Ambrose had other plans for himself," Ashley reminded him with a knowing smile. "You won't be able to hold him back if he really doesn't want to be held back, Severus, he'll take matters into his own hands just as certainly as Ambrose did, and honestly, just as certainly as Destiny did as well." Severus sighed at that.

"I suppose I'll take that as an advisory, since you are probably right in that. But I'm also not going to encourage it, either. They don't stay little for long, do they?" Severus asked with exasperation.

"No, they really don't," Ashley said understandingly, and Severus got them both a cup of tea.

Not long after they had gotten settled, Aurelius returned with Quintin out of his school clothes and dressed for dinner.

"So?" Severus asked Aurelius. Aurelius decided not to answer right away. Instead he and Quintin sat down and Ashley helpfully got Quintin his drink. A moment later, their plates had arrived.

"You might want to eat first, Father. I can tell you after," Aurelius suggested. Severus squinted.

"No, I think I'll hear whatever you have to say now," Severus said. Aurelius glanced at Ashley. "You may as well say it in front of her too, since she has to watch him."

"Well, I don't think he's using his Truth Seeker talents for anything other than getting information, so you don't have to worry about that part," Aurelius said. "Unfortunately, though, that does play a part in this, because he understands just what his fellow classmates think of him, and what his teacher thinks of him."

"Yes, that goes without saying. But how does it play into things, as you call it?" Severus asked.

"Well, because he's the most popular kid in school," Aurelius explained. "He lives at Hogwarts and he has you as a father, and every time he comes to school, he has another interesting story to awe his classmates with, not to mention every kid who sits on the bus with him, regardless of year."

"Oh, no. Another Harry Potter," Severus moaned.

"No, not at all, actually," Aurelius said, making Severus blink in confusion. "His personality doesn't match any of the stories I've ever heard of Harry. Despite his fame, Harry tried to downplay it in school, although he did obviously take advantage of it somewhat because it allowed him to get away with a lot of stuff that I don't think most of his classmates could have gotten away with," he explained.

"That much I can firmly attest to," Severus said.

"Actually, he reminds me of someone that you and Uncle Sirius have told us stories about," he admitted, sounding a bit more reluctant to go on for some reason.

"Just how do you mean that?" Severus asked.

"Well, because Quintin seems to be using his fame in other ways," Aurelius explained. "All of the other kids pretty much fall over him to make sure he's happy, and what he says goes. So, if someone is doing something that he doesn't like, they'll rally around him and stop it for him, whether it's a kid or a teacher. And if he says that a teacher is wrong about something, there's no doubt in any of their minds that the teacher must be wrong, because Quintin is always right." Severus jumped out of his seat in terror, staring at Quintin as if he had never seen his own child before.

"He's acting like James Potter!" Severus exclaimed, losing all color.

"It does fit the two of your description of him," Aurelius admitted. "Remus Lupin's description too, come to think of it..."

"Oh no! Oh, hell no! Quintin Augustus Snape, somehow or another, you are going to get a course correction before this gets out of hand," Severus said firmly. Quintin looked at his father glumly. Apparently, that was closer to what he had been expecting his father's reaction would be when he read the note earlier.

"Now, Severus, don't overreact! It isn't as if it's really his fault that the other students do that, is it?" Ashley pointed out.

"No, but he certainly shouldn't be encouraging it, and if those last two rules are any indication, he very much is," Severus said, showing Ashley the paper. "Somehow, we need to teach him some humility."

"He's a Snape..." Aurelius began.

"Exactly, he's no Potter," Severus snapped.

"I like being a Snape," Quintin said proudly.

"There's nothing wrong with being a Snape, Quintin, but you can't hold it over people's heads that you are," Severus said. Quintin stared at him, trying to understand what his father was trying to say from his mind since his words didn't make any sense.

"I didn't do anything. My friends just like me," Quintin explained. Severus looked at Ashley and Aurelius. Then he looked at Quintin. Then he looked at Ashley and Aurelius once more.

"I have no idea how to fix this," Severus admitted flatly.

"I do know at least one humble soul in this family that's experienced with dealing with children that age, Severus," Ashley replied.

"Yes, Francis Pyther, the very one they don't want to put Quintin with because he's his brother-in-law," Severus said with frustration.

"I want Pyther to be my teacher too," Quintin agreed.

"Then we're in agreement," Severus said. "Then I think I know what my next move is," Severus decided at last, sitting back down again with his plate. Aurelius smiled thinly at that, turning his attention to his dinner as well.

"What's that, Severus?" Ashley finally prompted.

"Absolutely nothing," Severus said. "I will let Quintin show his teacher where he needs to be."