Chapter Forty-Nine

The Holiday Concert

Severus arrived at Whitebridge in his best robes with Quintin and Leu to either side of him, stepping out of the Gatehouse.

"Look at all the snow!" Quintin said, impressed with the piles on either side of the shoveled paths.

"Don't even think about it, I want you to stay turned out. We're going to have more than our fair share of curious eyes on us this evening," Severus warned. "Leu, I may need your help keeping track of him tonight."

"I will," Leu replied, glancing thoughtfully at the garden paths wrapping around the main building. "I wouldn't mind seeing what this place looks like in the spring sometime."

"You'll likely get the opportunity, but right now, I think it would be best if we went straight in," Severus said, leading them up the steps. A pair of seniors in formal Whitebridge robes held the doors open for them, directing them over to a large reception room that was between the entryway and the Assembly Hall. Wind, who had been waiting expectantly for him, was standing next to a witch who despite her age looked enough like Lavender that Severus knew straight away that who she was.

"Ah, Severus!" Wind greeted warmly. As they walked over to him, Leu couldn't help but notice that the chatter among the guests waiting in the area had died down significantly as nearly everyone in the room paused and turned to gaze with at Severus with open interest and awe. "How good of you to come to our holiday program."

"Thank you for scheduling it a bit earlier this evening so that it would be easier for us to attend," Severus replied in turn.

"This is Jennifer's and my dear friend, Rosemary Carmody," Wind introduced.

"I thought as much. Jennifer has spoken of you a great deal over the years, and my school has benefited greatly from the foundations you gave her, as our Potions Master," Severus said sincerely.

"It is such an honor to meet you at last! She's told me a great deal about you," Rosemary said with a smile. "And this must be Leu and Quintin! I've heard quite a bit about the two of you as well!"

"Nice to meet you," Leu said, but Quintin was distracted by someone who came in the door after them.

"Look! It's Jeremy and Timmy!" Quintin said, and ran over before Severus could stop him.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Leu promised, and went over to where Quintin was greeting the two boys.

"So, um... Severus," Rosemary said, glancing at Wind apologetically. "I did promise Wind to try to steer conversations away from politics and back to the upcoming holiday, but I have to ask. You do know what you're walking into tonight, right?" she asked seriously, while Wind frowned at her disapprovingly.

"I am being kept well informed of the situation here by various sources," Severus assured her calmly. "I will gladly keep things to pleasantries unless pressed... or if certain individuals are foolish enough to speak with me."

"In that case, they probably deserve what they get," Rosemary reasoned. "Looking forward to the holidays?"

"Quite definitely," Severus said. "In fact, these last few days will probably seem interminable." Rosemary smiled at that, and they all looked up as Quintin returned, dragging a boy over who was about the same age. The boy was gawking openly and seemed almost terrified to be there.

"Jeremy, this is my Dad," Quintin told him.

"Mr. Miller," Severus said.

Jeremy stared at him even more before Quintin finally held his friend's arm up to show the Chocolate Frog card in his hand. Rolling his eyes at that, Severus took a quill out and signed it for the boy, handing it back. Jeremy took it and ran for his life, trying to get back to his father and brother as quickly as possible. Quintin sighed with exasperation.

"He's scared of you," Quintin explained.

"Really, I wouldn't have guessed," Severus said evenly, and Rosemary couldn't help but laugh at that. Leu, who had been talking to their father, walked back over to them. "Perhaps we should go ahead and find some seats. It'll be less disruptive that way," Severus suggested.

"In that case, I will see you later on," Wind said with a smile.

Severus nodded to them both before leading Quintin and Leu into the Assembly Room, which proved to be a very nice theatre large enough to accommodate middle, high school, and college students all at the same time. It was therefore quite easy to find seats in a good position to see the stage properly, but as they settled in, Quintin stood up and stared at a large group of witches and wizards lingering in front of the stage. He even attempted to get up on the chair itself until Severus stopped him.

"Quintin, sit down on the chair properly, please," Severus said sternly.

"That's the man who doesn't like my Mum," Quintin told him with a strangely dark expression. Severus glanced briefly at the group that he quickly deduced were Masons, then coaxed Quintin to sit down correctly.

"Which one is he?" Severus asked quietly.

"The tall big guy," Quintin said.

"That could easily describe a lot of them," Severus pointed out. But as more people went to find seats and the group began to break up, Quintin's eyes never left the man, so it wasn't long for Severus to figure out which one Steve Mason was.

It also didn't take him long to figure out who Stacey Newman Cole was, either. From the moment she walked in, she was complaining about one thing or another, from not having assigned seats to not finding the program she had been given up to her standards. The wizard next to her, who could only have been her husband, had the look of someone who had learned to tune her out years ago and didn't seem to be paying much attention to it, finding seats just behind their son and his wife. Severus didn't miss the fact that neither her son or his wife (especially his wife) seemed very happy that his parents had decided to sit so close. Luke Miller, who had originally been planning to sit next to Harry Cole, decided to play it safe and came down to Quintin's row so that the boys could sit together.

"Hi, I hope you don't mind, Professor Snape," Luke said as he got them settled.

"Not at all," Severus replied.

"I'm Luke Miller, by the way," Luke said.

"Yes, I guessed that from how Quintin responded to your children. This is one of my son's, Llewellyn Murphy," Severus replied.

"Oh, yes, Jennifer has mentioned you. Graduating this year, right?" Luke asked with a smile, sitting down.

"Right," Leu agreed.

"Exciting times!" Luke said warmly. Leu smiled painfully in an attempt to be polite. Then Luke turned his attention to Jeremy, who was sitting on his knees and dangling an arm over the chair. Apparently he was as unsuccessful at keeping his six year old to sit still as Severus was.

"Do you really have a basilisk who can stone people?" Jeremy asked him nervously.

"Yes," Severus said simply, while Luke told him to sit down again.

"Does he ever turn the students into stone?" Jeremy asked, sitting down but leaning very far forward so he could look at Severus with a serious expression.

"Very rarely. Typically, he prefers to turn the school board members into stone," Severus said, earning a chuckle from Luke.

"Boy, we could use him around here then," Luke joked.

"Yes, so I've heard," Severus replied.

"Quintin stayed at my house on Halloween," Jeremy informed Severus.

"Yes, I know," Severus said, already guessing what was coming next.

"Can we stay at Quintin's house sometime?" Jeremy asked.

"Jeremy," Luke warned.

"If I said no, would you ask Quintin's Mum?" Severus asked in return.

"Mum would say yes!" Quintin declared.

"Then why ask me when there's a chance I might say no?" Severus inquired.

"Because you're Severus Snape! My Dad says people can learn a lot from you, because you know stuff. And what I want to know is if my family can come visit your family sometime," Jeremy said. Severus didn't miss the fact that Luke was hiding behind his hand at the moment.

"I suppose, but you'll have to wait for summertime when everyone is out of school," Severus replied.

"Can we stay in the castle?" Jeremy asked.

"No, we'll be in London, but perhaps if you all sit properly in your chairs and be good listeners to the concert, I might consider showing you the castle during your visit," Severus suggested. Jeremy slid down into his chair. "Mr. Miller, it's no use, you know. You may as well get used to your children embarrassing you. In my experience, they will find ways to do it no matter how old they are."

Luke chuckled awkwardly at that, rather glad when he noticed Wind working his way up front and onto the stage, the rest of the lingering guests finding their seats as he introduced the music teacher, Mr. Harper.

Each choir or performing group featured a different grade, and they all highlighted different winter holidays; from Hanukkah to Christmas, Yule to Kwanzaa, with some New Year's traditions as well as more universal winter songs thrown in for good measure. The three boys tried their best to be good, but when the tables with the bells were rolled out and the bell choir started walking on the stage in their gold embroidered Whitebridge robes, the three of them called out excitedly to their mothers and had to be reminded to get back to their seats. Ray Eldridge was in the back row, handling one of the larger bell sets. Jennifer stood near the middle of the front row next to Sharon Miller and Frank Bird, while Gretchen Becker stood on the other side of him, attempting to smile despite the lights in her eyes.

Jennifer didn't even try to look at the audience. Her eyes were intently focused on the instructor. Severus knew that look well; and considering how centered Jennifer was in the choir, Rick Harper must have realized at some point how much she depended on having a good view of the instructor when she was learning something new. He smiled thinly at that, realizing that she would be too focused on her teacher to worry about the crowd or get nervous at all.

In fact, between timing her movements and damping the bell, she had no time to think about it, glad they had started with the easier piece of White Christmas to get warmed up, deftly switching before the four bells in front of her with out too much hesitation, getting a warm applause.

The second piece she was still a bit unsure about, her expression steeled with determination as they turned their music over to the Carol of the Bells, putting her first two bells against her chest just like those on her left. But Sharon, Frank, and those to the right of her had four bells for each hand to manage, while those in the second row had larger bells to juggle. Behind them, the Whitebridge Healer's Choir stepped up onto a third row. Once the choir was in place, Rick nodded to them with a smile and then looked down at the Bell Choir, waiting until Jennifer's eyes were on him instead of the music before signaling them into the rapid movement that started the beginning of the song. Her eyes didn't leave his until the very end, and then she smiled and looks around at the other teachers around her, more aware of the applause as she followed the line of them off the stage to make way for the Healer's Choir to finish the concert with two pieces on their own.

"Did I do alright?" she finally asked Sharon when they got backstage.

"Of course you did alright. You've been doing a splendid job keeping up ever since the day Damiana suggested that you stop looking at the music," Sharon said with amusement.

"As silly as that is, I suppose," Jennifer admitted with a chuckle.

"Nonsense. You march to your own tune... quite literally in some respects," Sharon said. "And considering the benefit that's brought to the school this year, I think it's just as well that you do. Anyway, I know you don't have the benefit of glancing away like some of us do, so I thought I'd tell you that our boys and husbands seem to be sitting together out there."

"Are they?" Jennifer said brightly, wishing she had the nerve to risk a peek through the curtain. But dutifully, she helped the others put the bells in their cases and impatiently waited until Rick stepped up to give a few final words and get a last round of applause. That's when the two of them snuck out the side entrance so they could try to get to their families before everyone had a chance to move. As it turned out, they still got plastered to the wall a moment or two, but they were still close enough to grab Quintin and Timmy when they went running over after seeing them. Leu and Jeremy caught up next, followed by Luke and Severus.

"How about moving out into the garden so we can get some air?" Severus suggested. They made a line against the wall with Sharon and Jennifer leading the way out.

It appeared that everyone else had the exact same idea, but it was much easier to get away from the crowd out in the open garden. Night had fallen, but dim garden lights illuminated small patches of the garden path and entryway, providing plenty of places for groups to gather and talk.

"Did you like the concert, Severus?" Jennifer asked.

"Most of it, except for all of those annoying bells," Severus replied, Luke chuckling at that.

"That's very funny," Jennifer said chidingly.

"I liked it," Quintin said firmly.

"Your father did too, he's just teasing," Jennifer explained.

"Do you want to get some warm drinks at Quickbrooms before you head out, or is it too late for Quintin?" Luke suggested.

"It is, but he doesn't have school tomorrow. However, we probably shouldn't stay long," Severus said.

"Then we'd probably better hoof our way across the street before everyone else gets the same idea," Luke suggested, walking over to the gate and letting them all out.

"If only we were done with school too. I really don't see much of a point going two and a half more days," Jennifer complained.

"It happens at Hogwarts often enough, although of course the last day is simply posting marks and getting the students to the train," Severus said.

"I would like going to school on a train," Jeremy decided, giving his mother his hand so they could cross the street.

"It seems to me that you would like a lot of things," Severus pointed out.

"It would be cool to go to school in a castle," Jeremy said.

"It is also very cool to go to school in a magic garden," Luke said, opening the door of the restaurant so that the rest could step in and worked to find a spot that accommodated them all.

Then there was a discussion about who would buy the drinks that immediately had Jennifer and Sharon rolling their eyes, deciding it'd be safer to concentrate on getting the boys settled rather than get in the middle of it. Finally, Jennifer gave up and went over to the counter, pointing out the drinks in her hand and effectively disrupting their battle of wits over who it was that was going to win the right to pay for them.

"Wizards," Sharon said derisively.

"Oh, yes, I know. How can they get so hung up over something so trivial?" Jennifer said so flippantly that she managed to get Severus' attention again.

"Is that so?" Severus asked squinting. "Shall I name off some of the trivialities that you have gotten hung up on?"

"That sounds really dangerous," Luke commented, sitting down next to Leu.

"You're right, it is. Typically, once my parents get started on a conversation like that, it's very difficult for anyone to get them to stop," Leu explained.

"Thank you, Mr. Expert. Why don't you help those boys with their straws?" Severus suggested to Leu.

"Professor Snape said that next summer we can visit Quintin in London and see the castle and everything," Jeremy informed Jennifer.

"Did he really?" Jennifer asked, mildly surprised.

"As I recall, I said I wouldn't show you the castle unless you were good during the concert. I haven't confirmed that yet," Severus reminded him. Jennifer smiled at Severus, while Severus glanced at their father for confirmation.

"Considering how they normally act, I thought they were being pretty good," Luke confirmed. "Although I'm hardly biased, considering I wouldn't mind seeing the castle myself."

"Are you certain you have room for us all?" Sharon asked.

"Yes, of course we do! More than enough, actually, it's quite a big house, and you're more than welcome," Jennifer said sincerely. "Besides, it will be fun to be able to show you some of how we live after spending so much time here this year."

"And I get to show Jeremy everything and prove that everything I've said is true!" Quintin explained.

"I see," Severus said, while Jennifer had trouble stifling a chuckle. But whatever he intended to say in response was lost when a wizard he didn't recognize ran over to the table, a bit out of breath.

"Hey, Harry," Luke said to Harry Cole. "Escaped your mother, did you?"

"For the moment. I snuck off when she started threatening to speak to Dean Elk about some of the stories she's been reading on the Wizardnet lately," Harry warned.

"And you left her wife with them? You really are brave," Luke said.

"Some context, perhaps?" Severus inquired.

"Severus, this is Harry Cole, Stacey Cole's son," Jennifer explained.

"Yes alright, I understand now," Severus replied.

"Nice to meet you Professor, thanks for saving the universe," Harry said. "But I should tell you both that there are a bunch of negative articles being dumped on the Wizardnet right now about Jennifer. I think I've seen everything from Jennifer blasting you senseless to reports that Quintin having a demon father."

"Oh, no! Not that again!" Jennifer exclaimed in annoyance. "Severus, Ben told me that someone's been going out of their way to put up a lot of old stories about me on the Wizardnet lately, mostly Oracle articles with a few really old Daily Prophet articles scanned in from before Ron took over," Jennifer explained.

"I didn't even know either of those papers had anything to do with the Wizardnet," Severus admitted.

"The Oracle does, actually, apparently it's been on the Wizardnet for a few years now," Jennifer replied.

"Sure, it's where most of us get our news from about your country," Harry shrugged.

"That is horrifying," Severus admitted. "Mr. Cole, the Oracle is nothing but a political mouthpiece that is well known for manipulating facts even on the rare occasion that it bothers to report facts at all."

"Yes, some of us have already switched to Wiz3 after hearing from Jennifer about it," Luke said.

"Well, anyway, I just thought you ought to know that was going on, and although it started right after Jennifer began teaching, it really ramped up last week," Harry said.

"Oh, let me guess. It happened to coincide with the First Fall Festival," Severus conjectured. Jennifer sighed with exasperation at that.

"Thank you for the warning, Harry, but I've already been told about it. And to be perfectly blunt, I have had people questioning my reputation since the day I started teaching at Hogwarts. This sort of publicity tactic is nothing new, regardless of how it's being spread. I really don't care what nonsense is being said, because honestly, I've learned not to pay attention to it. And I am also quite sure that Wind isn't likely to listen to your mother's complaints about it either. It's her own fault to be gullible enough to believe those stories in the first place," Jennifer said.

"Yes, well, unfortunately, my mother will believe any story that confirms her personal opinions are right, regardless if it's factual or not," Harry admitted. "And considering there are more Wizardnet articles backing up the lies than there are articles backing up facts, it's pretty easy to do."

"How I hate those blasted devices," Jennifer scowled irritably.

"You'd better get back before Sienna loses her patience and goes off on your mother again," Luke advised Harry.

"Yeah okay. But if she does, you'll babysit the boys over the holiday break, right?" Harry asked Luke.

"Yes, but don't use it as an excuse to go off on her yourself," Luke warned. Harry grinned at that.

"Nice meeting you again," Harry said, and hurried back out.

"He seemed quite stable, considering," Severus ventured.

"His father's influence, actually, he's an extremely nice person. Sort of like an opposites attract thing," Luke said. "His mother's always been a bit on the uptight side."

"She certainly has been," Jennifer agreed. But the moment things had quieted down and they returned to their drinks, Quintin finally had an opportunity to speak what was on his mind.

"What's a demon?" Quintin asked. Jennifer and Severus grimaced at each other, since they had both hoped he had missed that part of the conversation.

"A bad creature, Quintin, which has nothing to do with you," Severus replied.

"So you're my father, right?" Quintin said.

"Most definitely," Severus reassured him.

"How come?" Quintin asked. Severus paused, not really liking where this was going and knowing better than to look at him directly.

"Because I married your mother," Severus said simply.

"Then how could the bad creature be my father if it didn't marry Mum?" Quintin asked.

"I know! I know!" Jeremy jumped up excitedly.

"JEREMY!" his parents exclaimed loud enough that everyone in the cafe stared at them.

"Well, it's been fun, but I think we'll be going now," Luke said quickly, grabbing Jeremy's hand.

"Yes, see you tomorrow, Jennifer," Sharon said, grabbing Timmy. "Come, let's get to the car, everyone, it's getting cold."

"Thanks for the drinks," Luke said, and then herded the boys towards the door.

"You know, Severus, I know he has no school tomorrow, but you really ought to be putting him to bed, and I should get ready for my last few days of classes..." Jennifer explained quickly, making a half-hearted attempt to put all of the cups onto the tray.

"Perhaps I should wait until you come home and let you handle this discussion for a change?" Severus threatened. "And just why is it that I always seem to be the parent who gets stuck with it every single time?"

"Oh, you're much better at explaining this sort of this at the appropriate age level than I am, Severus, after all, you're the child psychologist and all of that..." Jennifer said.

"I just got that license this summer. What was your excuse all of the other times?" he complained.

"Um... sorry, I just remembered I still have some projects to grade... or something," Jennifer said. "See you Wednesday!"

"Yes, so you will," Severus said dangerously, already making plans to get even as they went their separate ways. Then he glanced down at Quintin, who was still looking at him steadily, then over at Leu, who had an amused expression on his face. "Alright, Llewellyn, finish cleaning up the table and let's get back to the castle. Here, Quintin, put on your coat. We'll discuss it after we get home," he said with exasperation, wondering if he could manage to stall long enough that Quintin forgot the question.