Chapter Thirteen
Great Expectations
"Are we going to be in here all day?" Severus asked impatiently. They had arrived well before the bus, and it didn't take long for Jay, Rus, and Quintin to figure out that they should finishing their candy shopping while there wasn't a queue. Quintin had the longest list since none of his friends had been allowed to go, so the other two finished their orders and jumped in to help. Severus waited near the door with his arms folded, looking incredibly bored. "Rus, you promised to meet Kendrick at the bus, did you not? And your grandmother and Serendipity are waiting for us at the tea room, or have you forgotten?"
"We're about done, but I have a question about one of Quintin's orders. This one is for Oscar," Rus explained, handing the large bag to his grandfather. Severus already knew before he even opened it that it was likely going to be extreme.
"He did promise that he was only going to have one piece a day all the way to Halloween," Quintin said solemnly. "And he meant it. I could tell."
"Quintin, your cousin may have been quite sincere at the time he told you that, but we all know that his resolve quite likely to falter the moment that parcel gets into his hands," Severus replied. "Go ahead and fill the order, Rus, but hand the box to me. I'll make certain he sticks to his promise whether he wants to or not."
"How is he ever going to learn any self control if everyone keeps providing it for him?" Jay asked critically.
"I don't know, ask his father the next time you play tennis. It's his parents' decision when he's ready for it or not, not ours," Severus replied calmly, taking the box from Rus.
"And here's your own order, young Mr. Snape! I believe that's the last of them," said the witch behind the counter.
"Thank you, Mrs. Dimple. I'm sorry for the trouble," Quintin said.
"Not at all! That comes later when the others get here," Fiona said with amusement. "Is my Pipaluk behaving at school, Professor?"
"Yes, as I understand it, everyone in the new house has been fairly well behaved thus far," Snape replied.
"I want to be in Quintin's house too when I go to Hogwarts!" Pamina said from behind the counter, filling up the chocolate bars.
"If you get your letter," the Professor reminded her.
"I will get one! I can make things turn colors!" Pamina bragged, and her mother looked slightly embarrassed.
"She can do a bit of mischief in the shop if I let her, and she does enough for two, that's for certain. Be glad you got our Pippa first," Dimple confided. Pamina rolled her eyes at that, apparently not too impressed with being compared to her older sister.
"Thank you for the warning," Severus replied with a slight smirk. "Good morning."
"Good morning!" Mrs. Dimple replied with a smile, and Jay opened the door and led them back out again.
"Isn't it rather strange?" Quintin asked once they got outside. "Pamina is jealous of Pippa because she thinks she's too perfect. But I also know that Pippa is jealous of Pamina because she could do magic on her own so early."
"It isn't that Pamina has any more magic than her sister, Quintin, else Pippa wouldn't be at Hogwarts," Severus replied. "It is simply that some magical abilities are more obvious than others, but that is no true gauge of whether it's more powerful or not. Some of the most powerful types of magic are quite subtle. Having an innate magical ability that is obvious in nature can also cause a great deal of problems when one needs to blend into a non-magical setting, especially when it's something that's not easily controllable."
"True, but you never have to wonder what your talent is if everyone can see it," Jay pointed out.
"That would imply that everyone has one and only talent, would it not?" Severus said in return. "Everyone has multiple talents, strengths, and weaknesses, and all of those can change over time. While school will open up paths for you to take by teaching you different magic disciplines, what talents you choose to develop and how will ultimately be left up to you."
"Not always," Jay replied. "Rus and Quintin were born with Truth Seeking, and they don't have any choice but to train it, because it wouldn't be safe not to. Mickey, Nicky, and Dawn all had to take art classes whether they wanted to or not to control their instincts, and Destiny was forced to use a wand when she didn't want to. And I bet even Pamina's going to need extra instruction to keep her color changing habit under control. All I needed to learn when I was growing up was how to keep my thoughts safe from my brother and how to keep my mouth shut when I overheard something that my mother was up to. I never had to do any special training because of my magical abilities."
"Then maybe part of your magic ability is being lucky enough not to have to train?" Rus suggested. Jay frowned, quite unconvinced as the four of them stepped into the tea room and over to where Jennifer and Serendipity sat. She was chatting with Nevera Hagrid, who stood next to where she was sitting.
"Oh, there they are! That took a bit," Jennifer said with a smile. "Did you buy out the whole shop?"
"Just about. Good morning, Nevera," Severus added with a polite nod.
"Good morning, Professor Snape! Busy day today! Here are your cups already at your places, and I'll just go get the pastry tray," she smiled and wandered off.
"So what were the two of you gossiping about just now?" Severus inquired.
"What makes you think we were gossiping?" Jennifer asked with surprise.
"You were speaking in French," Severus replied, getting comfortable as Jennifer poured out. Jennifer smiled sheepishly.
"Yes, alright, perhaps there was a bit of gossiping involved, although mostly it was about how Andrew and Laura were doing, and a bit about the new house," Jennifer replied. "I suggested that they should come to the Spectral Ball this year, since Andrew and Laura haven't had much time to get away. Really, they should ask their family to help out when they need it."
"They're just learning their way about this parenting thing, Jennifer, it's still quite new," Severus said.
"Yes, that's all well and fine, but they also need to learn that it's okay to take time for themselves as well. As far as they're both concerned, work is their 'time off' from family," Jennifer replied.
"Wasn't it the same for us, Jennifer?" Severus replied.
"Well, yes, but we didn't keep the first four in the castle with us, so it was different circumstances," Jennifer argued. "We didn't have to worry about scheduling our time in the same way until Quintin, and by then we understood the value of saving a bit of time for ourselves."
"Yes, but did we truly accomplish it? Those first two years, we were scrambling about just like they have been, and I recall how often I felt that we were insane for attempting it," Severus reminded her.
"True, but we weren't above asking for family support when we felt outmatched," Jennifer pointed out.
"Jennifer, to be fair, how would you have felt if your father kept nosing in every other day asking if we needed help after Quintin was born?" Severus asked.
"Are you saying that he didn't?" Jennifer chuckled at him. "Surely you remember. He was over at the house every day for the first few weeks after both Quintin and Seren were born, and asking for them every weekend."
"Oh, yes. I suppose he did," Severus mused. "But what if he had started that with Alexandria and Aurelius? Assuming he hadn't been in jail at the time, of course. Wouldn't you have felt differently then?" he asked. Jennifer pondered that for a moment, waiting until after the tray was brought and their egg cups were set out before finally replying.
"I suppose I would have felt different if it had been our first two, especially those first few summers when we were learning how to take care of a baby for the first time," Jennifer admitted at last. Severus nodded to her as he helped Serendipity with her plate. "It was all rather exciting, and I was so eager to be a good mother that I coveted them, really, especially considering how little time we had with them before we had to leave them with Carol... I'm so glad that Andrew and Laura don't have to go through that misery."
"Yes, as am I," Severus agreed.
"What was our mother like when she had us?" Rus asked. Jay gave him a dark look for daring to even ask. "Did she let you help her after we were born?"
"Oh lord, no, not in the slightest," Severus said in such a tone that Jennifer looked very amused by it.
"Alex left the Ministry and wanted to be a full-time mother," Jennifer explained with a sad smile. "She was determined to be a better parent than she thought we had been and stayed home with the two of you while your father went to work at his computer company. Any time we attempted to offer any advice on the subject, she was quite quick to refuse it, even as it became more and more obvious that she was very unintentionally holding back your development, Jay. She was in a deep state of denial, and your father was having trouble convincing her that something wasn't right until he brought you to the doctor. That's when the doctor sat them both down and explained the problem. She was quite devastated, actually."
"Yes," Severus agreed, and they gazed in his direction. "It happened back when I was staying at the Three Broomsticks, but I recall her coming into the Artifacts department and speaking to me about it. She was putting a brave face on things as she has always done, but I could tell how much it had shaken her. In fact, it impacted a great many of her life decisions after that point; sometimes in a positive way... and sometimes not."
"True, but everyone has those sorts of setbacks in their lives, Severus," Jennifer said with a smile. "Times where we have made all sorts of big plans for ourselves and our future, and then something happens that changes everything. No matter how well we adapt to those situations, there's always going to be some negative aspects that we'll have to work through, just as you had to, Severus, in that same time period."
"Yes," Severus agreed solemnly. "As did you."
"Fair enough. That wasn't an easy year for any of us," Jennifer agreed. "And you're right, Severus. I suppose it's only natural for new parents to want to 'do it all' as they say. I just hope there is something left of them by the time they realize that they're not 'failing parenting' if they ask for help."
Suddenly there was a noise outside, and Rus took a large bite of his toast.
"That's the bus. I have to go meet Sissy," Rus said.
"Yes, alright. Are you going to meet us for lunch? We're going to the Grove after," Jennifer asked as Rus got up.
"No thanks, Grandmother. I don't want to rush showing Sissy around, and besides, Mum said she might come by for lunch if she has time," Rus said, grabbing his cloak.
"Oh! Yes, alright," Jennifer replied and Rus hurried off. "Jay, you can stay and finish your breakfast first. I doubt you'll have any trouble finding the Black twins later, and they knew you were eating with us this morning," Jennifer added.
"I was planning on it," Jay said, watching his brother go out the door. "Do you suppose those two are just going to stay best friends, or is it going to turn into something else?" he asked, looking at his grandmother.
"Well, I can tell you that they are just friends now, but I have no idea if it'll stay that way any more than you do," Jennifer admitted.
"It's just as well. Rus can take all of the time he wants. Every one of my friends who suddenly decided that romance is a thing begins acting stupid or starts saying stupid things," Jay said.
"Jeremy gets funny around girls," Quintin informed him solemnly.
"Students develop at very different rates when it comes to that sort of relationship," Jennifer explained.
"The later, the better," Severus added.
"Yes, well, fair enough, I suppose. Typically if it gets to be a problem, your advisors will step in and discuss it, Jay. And considering that Rus has Truth Seeker lessons with me every week, he's not likely to escape me unnoticed," Jennifer added mischievously.
"Good point," Jay decided, turning his attention to breakfast.
"So how is your research coming, Quintin? Have you learned anything else?" Severus inquired.
"I had a meeting with Ambrose on Thursday and told him about what I found out from the O'Laren painting," Quintin said. "He suggested that I look up some history about the giants helping the Vikings," Quintin explained. "But there are big gaps in history that I can't find, even in the research library. I know the giants helped the Vikings just like O'Laren said they did, but I can't prove for sure Gryffindor and O'Laren were involved other than the fact that both his painting and Dusthorn says it happened."
"I wonder if the Sorting Hat would know?" Jennifer pondered.
"You're assuming the Hat wouldn't simply corroborate their story," Severus replied.
"How can it? It's a magic item," Jennifer asked.
"So was the Mirror of Erised, and it lied well enough, so did Sibyl's Crystal Ball and many other items I could name..."
"Yes, but those items were designed to manipulate things. The Sorting Hat was designed to, well... Sort. Is it even capable of lying?"
"Caprica does her fair share of it, as do quite a number of other paintings," Severus pointed out.
"Which puts us in the same speculation that it might have the same level of magically created artificial sentience as a painting," Jennifer argued.
"Doesn't it, though? Hasn't it proven that much?" Severus agreed. "Jennifer, you and I have already spent hours attempting to figure this out and have yet to come to a conclusion. And since we have no definitive answer, I believe it would be much wiser to assume that the Sorting Hat can lie. It is much safer than believing it only tells the truth only to be proven wrong the hard way."
"Yes, alright, you have a point," Jennifer agreed, then noticed that all three children were looking at her curiously. "Quintin, why don't you write down what time gaps you're interested in and have Ambrose and Boulderdash double-check to make sure you haven't missed anything? If you get the dates to me, I'll go to the Ministry for you and see if I can find anything in the old Wizard Council archives, those dates are old enough that they should be open to the public."
"Thanks, Mum," Quintin said with a smile. Across from him, Jay shook his head in disbelief. Quintin frowned at him, watching as Jay finished his tea.
"May I go find Joey and Jack now, please?" Jay asked.
"Yes, stay safe," Jennifer said.
"Don't forget your cloak," Severus replied, and Jay grabbed it and hurried out. Quintin then glanced at his mother, who smiled at him sympathetically.
"Yes, I caught that as well," Jennifer replied.
"What?" Severus asked, looking between them before focusing on Quintin.
"Jay thinks I shouldn't be doing research. He thinks I should just pick a name and be done with it since all of my housemates will go along with it anyway," Quintin said. "He thinks you're expecting too much out of me and that it's bad for me."
"I see. Well, feel free to stop your research project any time you like. It's true that your house needs a name by the end of term, but no one is twisting your arm," Severus replied unconcernedly.
"Quintin, this is just another occasion where a person's opinion about something that you're doing has much more to do with their own life than yours," Jennifer explained sympathetically. "The one thing you can take away from it is that he's concerned because he cares about you."
"But what if he's right? What if I fail because I'm just a kid who doesn't know what I'm doing? What if I can't do this research, or write a formal paper, or any of it? I don't want to disappoint anybody!" Quintin suddenly blurted out. "Maybe he's right... maybe everyone's expecting too much of me."
"And the pendulum swings once again," Severus observed, even as Jennifer reached over to give her son a comforting hand. "What is that like, swinging from one extreme to another? To be so confident that you can command the room one day, and the next day to be so unsure of yourself that you're prone to anxiety? From the outside looking in, it seems quite exhausting."
"You mustn't let other people's thoughts influence your own belief in yourself, Quintin," Jennifer paraphrased with an understanding smile. "I know that's a hard lesson to learn; it took me years to learn that lesson myself."
"And years. And years..."
"That'll do, thank you," Jennifer warned her husband. "And your father was teasing just now, both me and you. That's because he's been around Truth Seekers enough to know that all Truth Seekers feel like that sometimes, but Quintin, you have got to learn to manage it. You need to learn not to lose yourself in other people's thoughts like that. If it gets to be too much... try taking your glasses off to give yourself a break from it for a few minutes, and feel free to talk to someone afterwards so that you can feel like yourself again."
"Fine, I know I need to work on it," Quintin said with a sigh. "But that didn't really answer any of my questions, though, did it?"
"Just do your best," Jennifer told him with a smile.
"And remember your priorities," Severus added. "You should take care of your schoolwork, family, and your own well being first. Then and only then should you concentrate on this 'little side project' of yours. As your advisor, Librarian Boulderdash will quite readily tell you that no research is a waste, even if you run into obstacles or find an unfavorable answer. Even a failed attempt will teach you something that you take you further in life. It may even change your entire outlook about a subject; it may challenge your beliefs and make you realize that some of what you believed to be true in the past was wrong all along. Learning how to accept when you are wrong and learning from those mistakes will take you much farther in life than any other lesson. There is no greater dishonesty than attempting to cover up a mistake just to keep from having to admit a mistake was made; and yet, you will find that a great many people will do just that, out of fear or embarrassment," Severus explained. "Your mother is right. Whether you succeed in your goal or not, as long as you put in the effort, you will benefit from it."
"I understand. I'll just do my best," Quintin replied, feeling much more reassured.
"That's right," Jennifer said approvingly, getting up. "I'm going to go take Seren to the back to get her washed up so that we can do some shopping in Pitch Plus. We have a special surprise for you," she added with a smile, helping Seren out of her chair. "Madame Brittle requested to make an allowance for everyone on your Quidditch Team to have their own brooms, so we decided to get you a new one!"
"A new broom? For the Quidditch Team?" Quintin repeated, the color draining out of his face.
"And the pendulum swings back again, just as predictable as one of his clocks," Severus noted. "Shall we get him an automatic broom? Or perhaps one of those tri-handle training brooms?"
"Now, don't be silly, Severus," Jennifer said, taking Seren to the back.
Worley Maxen stood by the Daily Prophet's newsstand with a rolled-up paper in hand, watching as the bus pulled up. He also watched as Rus Clemmons came out of the tea room and ran across the street to get to the other side of the bus. A moment later, he walked back out again with a Ravenclaw student holding onto a large dog, chatting to her enthusiastically as they walked down the street. It was not long after that when other students began to emerge, including Eben, who went straight over to meet him.
"Good morning, father," Eben said. "Are we still going to the property today?"
"We are," Worley confirmed, but then turned his attention to Cadha, Culver, Moira, and Douglas as they came up to greet him and get some coin. "Douglas, stay with Moira today."
"But I was hoping to test my luck getting in the Tinker shop. None of them can get in," Douglas said, taking his pouch. "And weren't we getting together for lunch?"
"Yes, at the deli or the tea room, whichever one isn't crawling with Snapes during that hour. We can meet here in front of the newspaper office," he decided. "Also, I am looking for a storefront in town for the new brewery. Please keep your eyes out for empty storefronts on either side of the high street."
"We will," Cadha said. The children dispersed, with the twins going one way while Moira and Douglas went the other.
"I can't wait until I've seen the sort of progress you've made on the place, Father," Eben said sincerely.
"Do you have your permission slip to go off property?" Worley asked.
"Yes, but I doubt anyone would ask to see it, Father. Madame Brittle, Professor Aurelius, and Professor Snape all knew about it beforehand, and Professor Snape and Craw are the main chaperones today," Eben assured him. "They even brought Quintin and Serendipity with them."
"Good, then that should keep their noses out of business that doesn't concern them for a change," Worley said, leading him towards the road.
It wasn't long after the Ministry investigations and legal holds on the property were cleared that Malfoy and Brittle decided to liquidate the winery above Hogsmeade. No improvements had been made when they bought it; if anything, it had been further gutted, including filling in some underground caverns and a secret underground room of indeterminate use, and completely destroying the front terrace to make certain that all of the bodies had been exhumed after the circus fiasco.
The deep ditches below the mountain caused by the battle between Snape and Mirage had begun to fill up with mountain runoff, so the Malfoys sent a wizard engineer in to reinforce the road and turn the retaining area into a long, narrow, lake that now rested between the town, the property, and a dense wood that continued further down the mountain. Despite the emergency repairs, the property was in such a state that Worley was able to secure it at a very reasonable price at auction, and with his father's financial assistance, he was able to convert the winery into a scotch distillery. Completing the conversions well before starting on the renovations to the house, they had already managed to store two years worth of malt in the aging room.
As they walked towards the property, Eben admired the resurfaced, cobbled road, cured and enchanted so that it would never ice over during the winter months. Stone walls now reinforced different levels of the landscape to protect the soil from erosion, and the area that had once been covered with hardy vines had been tilled over and filled with sheep's fescue and wildflowers, attracting red deer to step out of the woods and graze upon it.
"The grounds look so much healthier now than the last time I was up here," Eben commented, breaking up the silence.
"Yes, and it took a great deal of work and care to get it to this point, not to mention several potion sprays. It was a fool place to put a winery, even if gave us the opportunity to buy it," Worley said.
"I heard that the main house was once part of a proper estate, built when Hogsmeade was nothing more than a few cottages," Eben informed him. "It was abandoned for years until a vampire moved up here to claim his territory... he's the one that put the winery up here. Then, after a second vampire tried to claim it and had to be chased off, Longbottom bought it and kept it because there were lots of wine barrels stored here already. From what I found out from Madame Brittle, Longbottom sold more out of the aging room than he ever produced himself. He had Imps running the place."
"That does explain a lot of the mess," Worley replied with distaste. "And considering how much work needed to be done to the foundations of the house, I expect that neither the vampires or Longbottom bothered doing much to it except spackle the cracks on the walls," he said irately. "But it is safe enough to enter now. Come."
"I see the outbuildings and grain storage are all finished," Eben said with obvious interest before following him inside.
Eben could see with appreciation that all of the mountain stone walls had been restored throughout the main floor. The rickety, rotten wood staircases had been removed in favor of stone and iron, and there was a new fireplace system with a flue that continued up through the other floors. All of the furniture had been removed, so other than the obvious bathrooms and bedrooms on the upper floor, it was hard for Eben to imagine the layout. Then he noticed a deep closet and a door to a cellar between the kitchen and the large room next to it.
"I suppose this one must have been a convenient tasting room," Eben conjectured.
"Yes, I understand it was at one point, when Wingard owned it. Longbottom never entertained up here, and as you can see, neither of them did much to the kitchen. That is my next project," Wingard said, frowning at the broken pump in the sink.
"And once it's all done? Are you turning it into an inn?" Eben asked.
"Something a bit more exclusive; a private social club, although I will probably keep some of the guest rooms. I am in the middle of licensing already," he explained.
"So like the Quibble Club or the Python Club in London?" Eben asked.
"Precisely, only under our control and filled with our sort of people, not overrun with the Ministry and their views like those other two clubs. It will be a place to mingle with those of the same political minds as us, to relax away from the Reformist stronghold... and to find ways to break through it. With any luck, I can finish my licensing for the place by Halloween and have this place outfitted before the Ministry Ball on Christmas Eve," Worley said.
"You're not going try to run against Minister Malfoy, are you? He always wins by a landslide," Eben pointed out.
"One doesn't climb a mountain by blindly reaching for the top. We will climb it one switchback at a time," Worley replied. "But first we must spread our influence through strategic family alliances. Once your sister is married this summer, we will concentrate on finding you an appropriate bride as well."
"Mari is getting married this summer? She hasn't mentioned it," Eben said.
"Likely because she hasn't decided on which of the wizards your aunt has picked out is going to be her target yet. But she will, just as the rest of you will as well," Worley said in a tone that breached no argument.
"Yes, Father," Eben replied, keeping his expression as unreadable as possible.
It wasn't as if he hadn't known from the beginning that was their role; to serve their father and family in every way, including marrying into families that would increase their family's reach. He was, in many ways, quite resigned to it, just as all of them were; they were all born for the purpose of serving their family. Of course, Mari knew that better than anyone, he reminded himself. But he couldn't help but be a bit worried that she had never brought it up in their consistent posts to each other, not even so much as dropping any names. Perhaps he would invite her to the Spectral Ball this year, he mused, he could try cornering her then.
After lunch at the Deli, Eben was finally released. He wasted little time slipping away from his siblings so he could check Toby's Trinkets for himself, quite unsurprised when Douglas couldn't get in any more than any of his other siblings could. He went behind the shop, coming around the corner to see that the shop did indeed appeared to be open, and slipped in with surprise to see that the shop was empty and Ambrose was having lunch at the counter.
"Oh, sorry. Did I miss a sign?" Eben wondered, glancing about and still not seeing any sign at all.
"It's okay. If you can get in during my lunch hour, there's probably a reason. Go ahead and have a look around," Ambrose told him unconcernedly.
"Thanks, Mr. Tinker," Eben said, browsing without any intention of buying anything for a moment before finally coming to the counter. "If you don't mind my asking, how is your father doing?" Eben asked.
"I haven't heard from my parents since they went on sabbatical, but I'm sure they're fine," Ambrose said.
"Oh," Eben said thoughtfully. "I suppose I should have expected that. I mean... when are they expected back?"
"In a year or two," Ambrose said. "But don't worry, I'll have the shop open every Hogsmeade trip," he promised. "Or was that not why you were asking?"
"It's nothing," Eben said with a frown. "It's just... no, it's nothing."
"I see," Ambrose replied, picking up a pumpkin crisp. "You do know that Truth Seekers are the worst liars in the world, right?"
"Oh, I'm not a Truth Seeker," Eben informed him.
"If you say so," Ambrose said, apparently not believing him.
"It's true, really. I'm not. At least... I think I'm not, but I didn't come here to talk about me anyway, so let's just drop it," Eben said desperately.
"So you came here to talk?" Ambrose asked curiously, then glanced up. He noticed the sign was back in the window, more than likely asking everyone to come back later. "Well, pull up a stool, it looks like I'm closed at the moment. Have you eaten?"
"Yes, I ate with my family," Eben replied.
"Have a drink then," Ambrose suggested, pulling out a teapot and pouring another cup. Eben frowned at him uncertainly. "You don't want to talk to me because I teach at the school, is that it? I wouldn't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about. And my thoughts are blocked already, if you haven't already noticed. I have secrets of my own to keep."
"Like who your father really is?" Eben asked bluntly.
"It's one of many secrets," Ambrose admitted with a thin smile. "So I guess that means you know already."
"Mari and I both know," Eben confirmed with a sigh, finally sitting down. "I'm protecting our thoughts to keep my family from finding out, and Professor Aurelius has been helping. What is it like, being his son?"
"Well, it's a whole lot of things at once, really," Ambrose replied. "It's exciting and it makes me proud and sometimes I wish I could shout it to the world because I'm so happy, but at the same time, it comes with a lot of responsibility, and it can be really tough when things go wrong... or when he's gone for a long time, that part is hard too. Especially this time when my Mum went along, but I'm sure they're having a great time over there. So how long have you known?"
"Since just after the circus. My sister Mari got one of his carved creatures and it gave it away," Eben admitted. "I never saw him after that, and I've been avoiding this shop for the most part because I didn't want to draw attention to my father or siblings that I could still get in here, especially when they've never seen anything but a wall."
"My father's pretty particular who he lets in his shop," Ambrose said.
"Yes, I know," Eben said, leaning on the counter. "Ever since she got her wooden companion, I've wondered if he hadn't given her certain hints on purpose, and that he wanted us to find out. And I have also wondered if he did that because he knew the two of us would need his advice at some point. So I guess I was checking to see if he came back yet, since I do need his advice. But since he's not here yet, perhaps I was wrong."
"Maybe... maybe not. It wouldn't be the first time he's done something like that... intentionally giving hints to help someone later, I mean," Ambrose admitted. "Whether he did it in your case or not, I can't say, only he can answer that. But I can give you a suggestion on an alternative if you do need to talk to him. There's a painting of him in the castle... well, more than one, really, but only one you can readily get into. He's in the Sentinel painting in the Trophy Room."
"Really? But I've seen that painting, and I've never noticed him in it before," Eben said.
"He doesn't ever stay in it for long, but if you ask the others in the painting, they'll be willing to either fetch him or pass on a message," Ambrose suggested. "Granted, it's still just a painting, but if it's something he thinks he can't do, he'll probably be willing to point you in the direction of someone who can."
"Thanks, Mr. Tinker. I'll try it," Eben decided, sounding much more hopeful than when he came in. "See you back at school."
"See you," Ambrose said with a smile, walking him to the door so he could make sure the sign had reset before cleaning up and preparing for the busy afternoon ahead.
