Chapter Twenty-One
Brotherly Advice
Now that Laura was finally started to feel more like herself again, class was less like a burden that she had to endure through. In fact, she felt a bit guilty that she hadn't taken much interest in any of her students recently, and decided to make up for it by having lunch with Jeremy and Quintin after their class to talk about their special defense assignment and Jeremy's bold follow up of interviewing the Dashing Doppler.
"So after all of that, did you reach any conclusion on whether or not he's dangerous?" Laura asked Jeremy.
"Yes, and no," Jeremy admitted. "I mean, I can see how he can be dangerous since he can get in anywhere and could give that information to anyone, especially since we have no idea what this objective is or why he was challenging Alexandria like that. It's just that he doesn't seem the type. I don't know... it's a gut feeling."
"Gut feelings can be tricky," Laura warned. "They can save your life in the middle of a wizard battle, but they can also get you killed."
"Yeah, I know," Jeremy replied.
"You should have brought my mother as an escort during that interview. She might have found out more about him," Quintin told Jeremy.
"I would have if Anna had thought it was best, but she thought it was better if she did it in case there was any Ministry backlash... and boy, was there," Jeremy said in a lower voice. Quintin grinned.
"Even without a Truth Seeker along, you did a good job," Laura reassured Jeremy. "Besides, as many Truth Seekers as there are these days, I'm certain it's only a matter of time before the Dashing Doppler is caught."
On Thursday, Quintin, Rus, and Truman went to his mother's office for lunch to have their weekly Truth Seeker lesson. Lately, Jennifer had been concentrating more on Rus than Quintin. It was October now, and before they knew it Halloween would be there and the holidays soon after, and Rus would be on his way to Whitebridge with Truman.
"So did you find a date for the Spectral Ball?" Jennifer asked Truman as they waited for the others.
"Yes, I'm going with Penny Morris. She was feeling left out since her best friend had a date so I seized on the opportunity to ask her," Truman explained.
"Well done. You've come a long way since we first met, Truman. You had such a terrible time talking to girls back then," Jennifer recalled with a smile.
"I had a terrible time talking to everybody," Truman admitted, then glanced over as Rus and Quintin came in and shut the door. "I guess you're going with Sissy, Rus?"
"Well, Sissy doesn't like big crowds generally, so she made plans to raid the food table and head to the library if it gets to be too much," he explained. "Jay and I are going to the library straight off to take advantage of the empty table. I challenged him to a game of Trial and Error."
"Oh, how fun! Especially when you have a nice large table to play on," Jennifer said enthusiastically. "It's been some time since I've had a full game, really. It takes so long that it always gets interrupted."
"That's that card game with all the strange personal questions, right?" Truman asked, wondering how that could be any fun compared to a Spectral Ball.
"I like the game too, but I also agree with you," Quintin replied. "Typically, I like to play cards on rainy days best when all my work is done. Of course, last year I hardly had time to play at all, but I'm hoping this year will be different."
"We'll have to set aside time once the weather turns so the two of us can have a match, Quintin," Jennifer suggested. "Or perhaps all four of us, if you'd like."
"Will that game play four hands?" Truman asked.
"Yes, it certainly can," Jennifer confirmed. "But for now, we should eat so I can start on our lesson."
"Are we going to be concentrating on seeing through disguises at all this lesson?" Quintin asked. "Perhaps to get ready for the Spectral Ball this year?"
"Oh, there's no need for that. It's not a ticketed event, so we're going to have a normal ball," Jennifer replied. "Or is that not the real reason you asked?"
"Well, maybe that was just an excuse for me asking," Quintin admitted, knowing the others would pick up his concerns about the Dashing Doppler. "I just want to help, is all. I want to know if someone's going around posing as a family member. He picked Corey last time."
"He probably did that because he knew the town alchemist could walk through the pub without Brogan getting nosy," Rus pointed out.
"I have a thought," Jennifer said, getting their attention. "Perhaps we should come up with a secret way to check, so that family members who don't have rings, watches, or Truth Seeking to help to question another family member if they're feeling uncertain... a password of sorts."
"Everyone's going to think we're being paranoid again if we did that," Rus protested. "I've had housemates tease me about some of the rules I have to follow on a regular basis, including those special signatures we use on post and having to get every package from home checked over."
"I know it seems excessive sometimes, but those extra steps have saved our family more times than I can count, and if nothing else, it serves as a peace of mind."
"Well, maybe we shouldn't depend on them. They're far from foolproof," Rus said.
"Yes, I know," Jennifer said gently. "But just because no one can ever truly be a hundred percent safe all of the time doesn't mean we should do what we can to minimize the danger. And while I am confident that I can tell if it's a member of my family or not even if my spectacles were all the way up, I understand why Quintin and perhaps other members of the family have reason to be concerned. I'll speak to Severus about coming up with a verbal code tonight, and Quintin, I'll talk to Aurelius to see if he can set aside a time every week to help your detection and identification skills so that you can try to see through disguises."
"I wouldn't mind going to that as well," Rus admitted.
"Me too," Truman added. "Even if I'm not a family member, I know I'd benefit from getting better at it."
"I'm your guardian when you're at Hogwarts, aren't I? That's as good as family as far as I'm concerned," Jennifer reassured them. "In the meantime, I have a quick way you can check if I'm real," she said, showing them the diamond on her hand. "Dragonheart Diamonds really can't be duplicated, after all. Even if they try to replicate it, it's not likely to move with one's emotions like real ones do. I'm sure you've been around me long enough to know what some of the basic colors mean, but the hues change all of the time. So if you look at the ring and it seems static or strange in color, you'll know to back off and get help... Severus, preferably, or another family member."
"Yes, alright," Quintin said, and the other two nodded, gazing thoughtfully at the ring.
It was in the evening after Seren had been put to bed when Jennifer brought up the subject to Severus, setting up the tea tray as they prepared to spend the evening marking homework in his sitting room.
"I suppose it's long in coming, considering you and I have had a codeword system for years now, and have even added to it over time, especially after that circus thing," Severus replied, Jennifer nodding solemnly at that. "It's been good to have that piece of mind, especially during the times that one of us is away from the castle and need to communicate sensitive events. Yes, well, I doubt it'll need to be quite so complex for the family, and I'd rather not share our private system, but I do agree we should come up with something. Preferably something that can function even beyond this concern over a rogue Metamophmagus. It hardly effects us directly, except for curious staff and students poking in when it really ought to be Ministry business. But then, what else is new? I haven't been able to stop it in all of the years I've been at this school, and it isn't going to stop now."
"I told them in the interim that if they had any doubts if it was you or me to check the diamonds, since I doubt anyone can duplicate their behavior," Jennifer said.
"Yes, I doubt it as well, although to be perfectly honest, I don't believe that anyone attempting to pose as you would fool me for an instant," Severus said, Jennifer smiling warmly at that. "No one could possibly catch all of your idiosyncrasies; they're too chaotic."
"Just what do you mean by that?" Jennifer said, turning on a dime and putting her hands on her hips.
"I was testing to see if you were listening," Severus improvised, and Jennifer made a face at him.
"I didn't come in here to be baited, I came in here so we could mark papers together," Jennifer scolded him, handing him a cup of tea anyway before sitting down.
"I'm simply getting warmed up," Severus replied easily.
"I prefer a much more serious attitude when it comes to marking potions tests, especially grueling ones like these formula tests for my upper year classes," Jennifer informed him. "It may take all evening, as many as I have to mark."
"The runes homework won't take as long," Severus commented. "In case you need some help to free up your evening."
"It's no trouble, I set aside the whole evening to get caught up," Jennifer assured him. "Besides, it's much less tedious than anything else I could be doing."
"I beg your pardon?" Severus inquired.
"Oh, I was testing to see if you were listening," Jennifer replied. Severus squinted at her.
"Rest assured, if you do ever find things tedious and tell me as much, I will find a way to remedy the situation," Severus promised her.
Jennifer attempted to mark her stack of papers, but found herself rather distracted as she pondered what sorts of tricks Severus would come up with if she ever did get bored. It was after accidentally missing that would have blown up the lab and having to stop and fix her mistake that she finally gave up.
"Severus?" Jennifer said, pushing up her spectacles.
"Yes?" Severus said distractedly, frowning at Runes paper in front of him disapprovingly.
"It has been extremely boring lately," Jennifer confessed, trying to make it sound convincing. Severus turned and squinted.
"Find a sitter," Severus said, still squinting at her. "And a sub if you have classes tomorrow."
"And what reason will I give this time?" Jennifer inquired.
"Family emergency," Severus replied testily. Jennifer grinned mischievously as she stepped into the study.
Aurelius wasn't all that surprised to learn that his parents had taken off to Parra for the weekend, leaving him stuck in the Ministry reception to cover his mother's shift as well as his. He was also a bit annoyed when he got the request to head to the Baker Street house for a family meeting on Sunday, wondering what sort of meeting they were having that they didn't want to go to the school for.
Diana let him in, and Aurelius stepped into the living room to find that all of the others were there as well, including Jay, Rus, and Quintin, and even Jeremy and Truman for good measure.
"There's the straggler," Alicia teased.
"Sorry, I was busy working my mother's shift at the Ministry," Aurelius said in a loud voice, hoping that she'd hear it.
"It's a lost cause," Lucky snorted. "The woman has no shame."
"You can say that again," Alex agreed from where she stood in the doorway.
"Come get something to eat and we'll have a chat," Jennifer called from the kitchen as Andrew pulled the table out to make room and Laura helped put the drinks out.
"Perhaps you should take the end seat, Jennifer," Severus suggested.
"What? Don't be silly, that's your seat, it always has been," Jennifer said.
"True, but this is a family meeting, and you have a paper stating that you are head of the family," Severus pointed out.
"Yes, but you're in charge of family security and this is a security meeting," Jennifer replied.
"Fair enough," Severus decided. The two of them took their places, ignoring the fact that most of their children were giving them dirty looks for even debating it.
"So what's going on, Dad?" Corey asked impatiently. "When Mom told me I was subbing on Friday due to a family a emergency, I just thought it was an excuse for you two to get away from the castle for a few days."
"It was," Aurelius confirmed tersely, and Andrew raised his hand.
"Does that mean all I need to do to get a weekend off is claim it's a family emergency? If so, I'm in, because I have those sorts of emergencies all the time," Andrew said.
"Yeah, that's why Laura's expecting again," Alicia taunted him.
"Just let them talk? I do have work piling up," Alex complained.
"Who doesn't?" Aurelius agreed. Severus glanced at Jennifer.
"Was it all that long ago that we called a family meeting and everyone at the table took it seriously?" Severus asked her with exasperation.
"That's before we grew up and learned what your idea of a family emergency is," Aurelius retorted.
"Yes, alright, that'll do, thank you!" Jennifer said firmly. "We're here because your brother has some valid concerns over the current situation with this Dashing Doppler business."
Alexandria blinked.
"What does that have to do any of you? The Dashing Doppler's my concern, and the Ministry's, not the rest of the family," Alex argued.
"As far as apprehending him goes, that's quite true. What we want to discuss is what to do in the interim. Isn't that right, Quintin?" Jennifer said, glancing beside her.
"When the Dashing Doppler arrived at the meeting, he disguised himself as Corey," Quintin explained. "What's to stop him from impersonating anyone else? I'm not trained well enough to tell the difference, and even though Rus and Truman here are farther along than I am, they have their doubts about it too. On top of that, most of you aren't Truth Seekers at all, and I don't want anyone in the family to be taken in by it."
"Obviously no one does, that's why he needs to be caught as quickly as possible," Alex replied.
"High time, considering how long this has been going on," Lucky agreed.
"I am certain I can tell the difference if I am close to him," Diana offered. "I doubt he would think about covering his smell."
"True, but we're not around all of the time," Leu pointed out. "We've been working on a wreck near Cypress."
"We do have some ways of identifying each other on sight; namely by some of the magic devices we wear," Severus replied. "For example, Aurelius has both the Aegis and his Unicorn wand, which have properties impossible to duplicate, and Alex has her Questing Beast wand. The rest of us wear Dragonheart Diamonds, which are also impossible to duplicate, and they are worn in plain sight. Anyone wearing one will have an easy time identifying when something is wrong with a glance. Even so, not everyone has a diamond, or are even old enough yet to be in that sort of relationship," he said, squinting at Jay, who looked disgusted, and Rus and Quintin, who looked amused. "We are here to offer a solution to check one another if something seems off by devising a code system that will have two use cases; to alert one another that something is wrong when we don't feel safe to speak, and to check on each other if something doesn't seem right. They'll be words and phrases that don't appear to be out of place to anyone listening, but to us, it'll have a secondary meaning that will allow us to communicate in secret."
"You should have told me that's what this was about," Alex said with exasperation. "We use codes like that all of the time at work."
"Yes, so do we," Aurelius replied.
"Jennifer and I have a private code system also, but if you haven't noticed, we have a very diverse family," Severus replied. "What might sound natural coming from Andrew might not sound as natural coming from Lucky, let alone Diana. Therefore, what we want to accomplish this evening are some genuine input and solutions. Obviously, we cannot devise an entire system in one go, but if we can come up with acceptable codes for; 'is everything well', yes, no, and 'I am in danger', the rest can be worked out later. And I'm sure this goes without saying that while you may inform family members not present of these code phrases, do not share any of them outside of the family or youth guardianships. You can always make a different code system to share with others if need be," he suggested.
It took a while for them to work out all of the details, and then afterwards they practiced with each other while Corey (who had it down the first time) helped Jennifer teach Quintin and Jeremy. Alexandria, after being rebuffed by Jay, decided to head to the kitchen to help the Trade Elf staff clean up for the evening.
"Mind if I walk you back?" Aurelius asked.
"If you want," Alex shrugged. He got their cloaks, stepping out into the rainy night.
"Do you want to take a side trip to Boccor's Donuts before we key to the Ministry?" he suggested.
"What, are you crazy? You know what that place is like at night. Loud music, dancing dolls, people casting Dark Magic at random to settle verbal arguments, trading or cheating people out of their soul contracts..."
"The trick is to sell your soul before you go in there," Aurelius explained. "Ginger is holding on to my soul contract. Do you want me to hold onto yours?"
"I think I'll just head home," Alexandria protested.
"Can we take the key to reception instead of your office then? I want to check in with the Auror on duty," Aurelius suggested.
"Fine," Alex sighed, holding it out her key.
As they landed in the Ministry reception area, they saw Eben behind the reception desk with his head in his hand and dozing off.
"Hey!" Aurelius yelled loudly and slammed his hand on the desk, making Eben jump to his feet and blink to clear his eyes. Realizing who it was, Eben giggled nervously. "I know this isn't the most interesting post, but find a way to stay awake! Have some coffee or tea or something!"
"But if I do that, I'll have to go to the loo, and there's no one here to relieve me at night. Speaking of which..."
"Go! And bring back a cup of coffee!" Aurelius ordered. Eben scrambled down the hallway, while Aurelius shook his head. "Sorry, Alex."
"It's okay. I feel sorry for them," Alex admitted. "I heard more than one of them say they'd much rather be watching the flag board than watching this room after hours. But I think one of my Agents takes over at one, so he won't have to be here all night."
"That won't save him from the raking I'm going to give him when he gets to the office tomorrow morning," Aurelius said.
After Eben scampered back with a paper cup in hand, Aurelius and Alex walked down to the Mysteries corridor and through the fog, landing in Alex's apartment. Aurelius began turning lights on while Alex sighed and opened the window. Wilder, who had been waiting in a nearby tree, flew down and shook off the rain, coming inside.
"Do you want me to make some tea?" Aurelius asked.
"Shouldn't you be heading home? Wife, four kids and all of that?" Alex hinted.
"Actually, Viorica is probably at the donut shop with Apollo... I have her contract and Apollo's is with his agent," Aurelius added for good measure. Alex rolled her eyes at that and put Wilder on the owl stand, closing the window.
"Either way, I'd rather you just say what you're going to say and get it over with. Just why have you been bothering me so much lately, anyway?" Alex asked suspiciously.
"Because you won't talk to Mum about it," Aurelius said bluntly. "Even though she must have seen what was going through your head just now when Dad was talking about those Diamonds. She must have known it shook you... she's probably talking to father about it right now, knowing her..."
"Oh, Craters, no. The last thing I need is my mother snooping around in my personal life at my age! Can't she just stay out of everyone's business, especially her family's?" Alex fumed, stomping over and sitting at the kitchen bar.
"No, I really don't think she can," Aurelius admitted. "But I can say she's trying her hardest not to interfere in yours unless you ask, as much as she wants to. But me, I'm your younger brother, and it's my job to pester you, even if you don't ask. And as much Snape bullheadedness as you've been displaying over the last few years, I know you well enough that you don't thrive unless you constantly have someone to talk to."
"I do have someone to talk to. I talk to Wilder," Alex said, Wilder hooting happily in confirmation. "And Austere, and all of the other familiar Agents..."
"You know that's not what I meant," Aurelius said.
"No, I know what you meant. You're talking about me getting involved with someone again," Alex snapped. "But I need someone better than some wizard trying to pick me up at the Social Club bar."
"Someone tried to pick you up at the club?" Aurelius asked with interest.
"You're missing the point!" Alex snapped. "Why is it that everyone in this family seems to get a happy ending but me? I can't even get a second chance at one, despite the fact that you got one, Grandfather got one... even my worst enemy in the world has someone! Even if none of you are with your Fated, it seems like you were Fated with the Fate you have now; which is to be with the person you're with. That makes no sense whatsoever to me, and yet to hear all of you talk of it, it's so... wrong. I mean, it seems that I was Fated to have Jay and Rus with someone I was Fated to marry but still wasn't my Fated partner. But now they're nearly grown and not living with me and Jay doesn't even want to talk to me when I haven't done anything wrong to deserve this! I'm a public servant... I'm not evil, even if I admit I've made my mistakes... like that Xavier thing... and damnit all if even he didn't manage to find his happy ending too! What the hell! Why have I been singled out to be alone, when I'm the first born, the one that's always led and protected the lot of you! I'm an essential part of the Ministry, constantly keeping this nation safe from threats that I can't even tell anyone about! And yet at the end of a long night, typically past midnight, the other ministers go home to their families and I go home to an empty room. Of course I'm more than a little jealous, going to family meetings and watching everyone flash those Diamonds at me. My siblings all found their one and only Cosmic Match... and yes, I know it's exceedingly rare in other families, I understand that, but I'm a member of this family... the one where it's common to find them. It's bad enough to know that my line is destined to die out, thanks to knowing that the Ravenclaw line passes through my sister and onto Dawn and all of that, but I don't see why that would mean that I'm destined to be miserable, especially now that my life has been extended by one of those horrible, accursed Elixirs! If anything, it's given me some true perspective as to why Ludo did what he did, going off the rails when he realized just how much of a prison that Elixir can be... and yet by doing that, he found his happy ending. Not that I'm planning to go off the rails, of course, but I can see why Bagman knew I'd be tempted to... probably because he knew misery was accumulating as each day trudged by without changing. So yes, fine, I admit that I hate going to family meetings no matter how important they are. I can't stand the sight of any of you, because you all have something basic that I've been denied. I want my second chance at a happy ending too!" Alex shouted in Aurelius' face.
Aurelius gazed at her calmly while Alex stood their panting with her fists still clenched.
"Feeling any better?" Aurelius asked.
"No!" Alex snapped, but then deflated. "Well, maybe a little... but not really!" she added with as much energy as she could muster, unwilling to give up the fight.
"Have some tea," Aurelius suggested.
"Did you put something in it?" Alex squinted suspiciously.
"Of course I did. Dad's Subtle Slumber. Don't worry, the tea will dilute it enough it won't knock you out," Aurelius assured her. "But I have to take care of my big sister in her hour of need, or at the very least, give her someone to rant at."
"Thanks," Alex said sheepishly, finally starting to calm down. "Any other advice? Other than talking to Mum, which I won't do?"
"Talk to Father?" Aurelius suggested.
"Considering the topic, he'd probably tell me to talk to Mum," Alex brooded.
"Yeah, good point. It's probably because she's good at this sort of thing..."
"Not going to happen."
"Then barring that, maybe you should bring it up the next time you have to check in with Conner," Aurelius suggested.
"Yeah, maybe," Alex muttered, sipping her tea.
"I also suggest maybe taking a day off from that Dashing Doppler case. You seem to be a bit obsessed about it," Aurelius pointed out.
"Maybe I am a little," Alex admitted. "Especially after what happened with that guy who tried to picked me up in the club."
"Oh? Oh no," Aurelius said, getting a glimpse of her thoughts.
"Yeah. I accused him of behind the Doppler and forced him to drink a Veritiserum to prove it," Alex admitted. "Oh go ahead and snigger, I've so embarrassed by it that I've been avoiding the Quibble Club entirely for fear of bumping into him again."
"I take it he was good looking," Aurelius said.
"Not bad... could have been a bit taller and a bit more broad in the shoulder, but approaching my idea of perfection if he wasn't so damned forward. I prefer some a bit more... subtle... and a lot more intellectual," Alex admitted.
"So you mean like Dad..."
"Oh hell no, nothing like Dad, craters no... Dad's as ugly as sin."
"Don't ever let Mum hear you say something like that," Aurelius warned with a laugh.
"Besides, Dad accommodates her every whim. The last thing I need is someone who's eager to please. I have an entire department of Agents for that," Alex added.
"Dad's only started doing that recently, though. Don't you remember just how much they used to fight when we were in school?" Aurelius reminded her.
"But I don't want someone whose going to fight with me either! I want someone I could mutually respect," Alex said, then sighed. "Maybe I made a mistake not sticking with Xavier when I had a chance."
"He was an unapologetic cheat, and so were you when you were with him," Aurelius pointed out.
"Yes, but look at him now! He's completely turned his life around!" Alex flailed.
"On the merits of his friendship with the Dash brothers, and by facing his past mistakes," Aurelius said. "But if you two had ended up together, you would keep on living inside those mistakes. Neither one of you would have progressed," Aurelius informed her bluntly. Alex frowned.
"Fine, you have a point. Besides, I loved Ben. You do believe me, don't you?" Alex asked.
"Of course I believe you. No one ever doubted that," Aurelius said.
"That's just the thing, though," Alex said. "Maybe others haven't doubted it, but I've often found myself wondering if I did. I mean... it hadn't ever been a romantic sort of love... he was my best friend since I was a child, and I came to depend on him to be my anchor. The stupid thing about it all is I never thought that anchors could sink. I treated him terribly, Rel. I really did. I was ever so thoughtless the entire time we were married... so thoughtless that I can't help but question myself. Did I love him? I thought I did. But if I did, how could I have possibly been so bad to him? Typically you don't treat people you love that badly, do you?"
"I don't know. Do you love Mum?" he inquired, and Alex's expression changed.
"That's different, and you know it," Alex told him flatly.
"Yes, but I think you're right that you need to work on that selfish side if you want to get into another relationship. Still, if Andrew can get over that side of his personality, anyone can," Aurelius said with a snort.
"True," Alex agreed with a soft chuckle. "I hate to admit it, but I think Bagman's right. I do need someone, and I need it to be someone who can stand up to me and put me in my place if needed... but at the same time... it has to be someone who is okay with what I do for a living and my crazy lifestyle."
"That is what I went through," Aurelius replied with a knowing smile. "I knew I needed someone, but I needed someone who could accept my job as an Auror and its risks at the same time. I wasn't sure I'd ever find it, until I realized that Ginger was in the same exact position herself, and being in forensics, she already understood the value and the risks. In fact, the only reason I never gave her a thought before was that on-again off-again thing she had with Andrew."
"I guess that's another one of those relationships that was holding them in their mistakes instead of letting them work past it," Alex ventured.
"Exactly," Aurelius said. "You're at a new crossroads... knowing you need to move forward, but not knowing how to go about it. Still, you have a lot of resources going for you the rest of us don't have."
"What, do you think I'm going to use Agents to sniff out a possible life partner for me?" Alex suggested dryly.
"I don't mean that," Aurelius said with exasperation. "I mean your nature. You were born with the Questing Instinct... the thrill of the goal and the chase and the instinct to search high and low to complete your goals," he reminded her. "Well, maybe it's time for you to go on a new quest... a quest to find your Cosmic Match." Alex lifted her head. "I suggest you start by tracking down a Dragonheart Diamond worry stone and interviewing some of the witches and wizards who've found their Cosmic Match... including our parents."
"I'll talk to Father," Alex said begrudgingly, and Aurelius smiled. "Now will you go home?"
"One more sip of tea," Aurelius suggested, and Alex took the smallest sip she thought she could get away with, knowing that Aurelius was watching her dead on and would have caught her if she had tried to fake it. "Goodnight sis," he said at last, getting up.
"Goodnight already," Alex said with a scowl, watching as he went over to the Portkey pad and disappear. Alex picked up the tray, setting everything in the sink with no intention of doing anything about them until morning. Wilder flapped his wings, getting her attention.
"Are you out of water?" she asked, bringing a glass back over to fill his water dish.
"Can I suggest something?" the owl hooted.
"About what?" Alex asked, filling the dish.
"About finding a mate," the owl hooted.
"You haven't even found a mate yet," Alex told him.
"Well, no, but your brother said you had the Questing Instinct," the owl hooted.
"Yes, confirmed by the Enchanter himself," Alex replied.
"You need someone to hunt. Someone that is very hard to catch that's worth your while," Wilder hooted. "Maybe it's someone you are already hunting... the Dashing Doppler."
"THE DASHING DOPPLER? THAT'S THE MOST RIDICULOUS IDEA I'VE EVER HEARD OF!" Alexandria shouted at the top of her lungs. It caused Wilder to fall off his perch, barely catching himself with his wings before he reached the ground. "If you insist on being silly, I'm going to put you back on postal duty! Catching spies is a serious business and has absolutely nothing to do with my personal life!" she snapped at him. The owl let out a meek hoot. "I'm going to bed... Dashing Doppler indeed," Alex muttered, storming towards the bedroom.
Feeling quite dejected, the owl clumsily pulled the window back down and went out to find someone more sympathetic to talk to.
