Chapter Twenty-Two
Perfect Timing
When Severus stepped in from the nursery, he was a little surprised to find Jennifer with her Trial and Error set open, playing the opening of a solitaire game.
"I thought we were going to try to catch up on work after our long weekend," Severus said.
"I was just using it to think, Severus," Jennifer explained.
"It's been a while since you've even brought out that set," Severus noted.
"I promised Quintin that I'd play him a game sometime and brought it out to shake the dust off. Then I decided to play some hands because of what I saw tonight at the meeting... but the cards don't seem to be interested in taking me there," Jennifer said.
"Perhaps you should tell me what you saw at the meeting," Severus suggested. "Who are you concerned about?"
"Alex, of course," Jennifer replied, looking up at him. "Didn't she seem to be acting strange to non-Truth Seekers?"
"She was definitely quieter than normal, but that's the only thing that stood out," Severus replied, pulling a chair over so that he could sit across from her.
"That's because she felt like such an outsider tonight," Jennifer replied.
"Yes, well, that's nothing new, is it? She's been like that since the boys were young and they recommended that she not be their primary caregiver," Severus said.
"I often wonder if that wasn't a mistake," Jennifer admitted, gazing off into the distance. "Even if it was holding Jay back at the time, her leaving home was such a drastic solution that it hurt all four of them, and it damaged her relationship with her children from that moment forward. Maybe she shouldn't have given in... maybe she should have insisted on a different solution... language therapy or the like..."
"Jennifer, while that's easy to say now that we have a clear view of the long term consequences of that decision, I'm certain they had no idea of knowing what it would be at the time," Severus replied. "Besides, those 'what if's' hardly fix anything, since the past can't be changed."
"Yes, I know," Jennifer replied. "But in a lot of ways, it's made life hard for her. Alexandria is feeling quite envious of her siblings and the fact that they've found such happiness when she's always had obstacles in her way of achieving it. That bitterness that has begun to set in isn't without reason."
"Yes, that I understand. It makes her Snape tendencies to brood all the more pronounced, and increases her desire to attack anyone who attempts to make it better. In short, she's gotten a lot more Snapish recently... except for her endless tongue, which she gets from you," Severus mused.
"Yes, alright, thank you," Jennifer said.
"Friendly game?" Severus suggested.
"Might as well, this game isn't going nowhere anyway. None of the questions had anything to do with Alex," Jennifer admitted, picking the cards up.
"Tell me, then. What is your personal opinion of what would put Alexandria on a better life path?" Severus inquired.
"Isn't that obvious? She needs to find her Cosmic Match," Jennifer replied.
"As simple as that," Severus said dubiously, shuffling his cards.
"I didn't say it was simple. I only said it was obvious," Jennifer corrected.
"Very well. Then what do you suppose her chances are of finding what she's looking for?" Severus asked.
"I suppose it's ultimately up to her," Jennifer decided, and Severus grew thoughtful. "Alex isn't one of those people who can sit and wait for things to happen. She needs to be proactive and make up her mind about things, even when it comes to her own personal life. It's when she lets others make decisions in her life when she gets in the most trouble, because she's not very good at being led."
"What about that nonsense with Xavier Platt? That was hardly one of her best choices," Severus said.
"Yes, but it was his idea. He sought her out, not the other way around, she just went along with it because she saw it as an escape from the life she was trapped in when she agreed to step aside from her family in the first place," Jennifer said, shaking her head. "If she'd just take charge of her personal life like she takes charge of her job, I'm quite certain that her life would turn around."
"I'll admit that you have a point," Severus said. "And perhaps that is why the cards aren't showing you her path just yet. First she has to make the conscious decision to find her happiness and begin to pursue it on her own before anyone else can have any influence over it."
"Yes, you're probably right," Jennifer said with a sigh.
"What if she does pursue it? Do you think the odds are of finding what she's looking for?"
"Odds? This is Alexandria we're talking about," Jennifer said with a smile. "Once she's decided to look for something, she won't stop until she finds it, you know that as well as anyone."
"Fair enough," Severus replied, setting down the ace of spades.
Now that Quintin's concerns had eased about the Dashing Doppler, he was more than ready to concentrate on both his schoolwork and clubs. Jeremy was also in good spirits when he discovered that he didn't have to ask half a dozen girls to find a date for the Spectral Ball.
"I asked Virginia first, and this time she agreed right away," Jeremy said happily as they kicked the football back and forth. "I think they've finally figured out that when you say you've already got a date, you mean it."
"I always try to keep my word to my friends, and Bethia was one of my best friends when I was little," Quintin explained.
"I admit she's really nice during the few times she's played games with us, but I know a lot of people who are scared of her... almost as scared as they are of that ghost cat," Jeremy said.
"Oh, Mrs. Norris? That cat only attacks students who are breaking rules in the halls or passageways, she doesn't attack everyone."
"I heard she scratched up Ian and Broc's legs the other day... I think they were running in the secret passages because they were late for Potions class."
"I bet they were even more late after that," Quintin chuckled.
"Doctor Arcadia didn't let them go to the hospital wing, she just handed them a balm, told the its uses and main components, and then made them write the formula down 'in case it happened again'," Jeremy said.
"Hey, you two! Stop yapping and get off the field! It's our teams' turn to practice!" shouted Douglas from the sidelines.
"No it isn't! We have two minutes and thirty seven seconds left!" Quintin shouted back.
"Says you, you clock freak! That just proves that you're a bit on the slow side," Douglas said.
Most of the Dusthorns stopped what they were doing and stared at Douglas. Pete even ignored the ball that hit him on side of his head out of sheer surprise.
"I'm never wrong when it comes to time," Quintin informed him evenly. "Not ever. You'll have the pitch when we're done." The rest of the team went back to what they were doing.
"That time thing of his really isn't anything but show, you know," Douglas explained to Ian in a voice loud enough that Quintin could hear. "He just says any amount of seconds he thinks will sound impressive just to make us think he's superior. But it's impossible to truly calculate time that way, because by the time he says what time it is, it's well past it."
"You simply synchronize your speech so it hits at the same time," Quintin explained with exasperation.
"Ignore him, Quintin, he's just trying to pull your chain to try to get us off the field faster," Jeremy told him.
"No, I'm just exposing you for the shams you really are. It's as fake as that article of yours was," Douglas accused. "Honesty? That's a laugh. Your entire house has done nothing but lie from the start, from the moment you rigged that Hat to that ridiculous account of Slytherin."
"I guess it always comes back to that, doesn't it?" Quintin said to Jeremy with a sigh. "They really make friendship a challenge."
"Are you sure it's worth the trouble?" Jeremy asked.
"It's always worth the trouble," Quintin assured him. "Okay, everyone! The clock tower is going to chime in ten seconds, start grabbing your balls and equipment!" he called out, and the rest began to hustle as Jeremy simply picked up his ball.
As Quintin gestured for the rest of Dusthorn to step across the line, Pete glanced questioningly as Quintin and Jeremy paced themselves so that they both stepped out of bounds at the precise moment the tower bells chimed the hour.
"There you are. Have a good practice," Quintin said cordially, and the rest of the Dusthorns broke up for lunch. Jack waited for Quintin and Jeremy to join him, while Duncan ran up to them when he realized they were heading for the Owl Room.
"That was so cool," Duncan said. "But when did you fix the clock? I thought you said it was five seconds late, Quintin."
"It still is," Quintin admitted. "But I decided being five seconds late was an acceptable sacrifice so that I could get my point across."
"They've really turned nasty this year. I don't look forward to our Quidditch game with them."
"When is that?" Duncan asked.
"It's a Wednesday game... November the first, my father's birthday," Quintin said. "But even if they do try something, Jeremy, don't compromise our values for it."
"Don't worry, I won't," Jeremy said. "And I'm sure Pete won't sacrifice the football team's values either, he's too serious."
"Slytherin have very strong teams this year in both sports," Duncan warned. "I think we have a lot better chance in Sparring, where we can take them one on one."
"The only problem with that is the tournament is by year, so there's only first years, second years, and myself in sixth. It's going to take a while for you to catch up there too," Jack said.
"It's too bad tennis is just an instructional sport," Jeremy said. "Quintin dominates in tennis, because his eye for the ball is perfect and his timing is too damn good."
"That gives me an idea," Jack said, taking the secret passages to save a few minutes of walking. "I know that Uncle Severus is against adding another competitive sport on an annual basis, but perhaps he'd permit a one-time tournament for fundraising purposes. We could hold it in the spring after the winter breaks when nothing else is going on."
"The reason nothing's going on then is because of testing, you know..."
"We could do it after it's done to give everyone a break for it... to unwind and all of that, other than sleep in their rooms for two days," Jack suggested.
"Fine, let's suggest it to the rest of the Owls, and if they're in favor, I'll ask my father about it."
"I hope he's okay with it, because I have a feeling that by the end of the year we're going to be more than motivated to put those loudmouth Slytherins in their place," Jack said.
"Which you were one of just last year," Quintin pointed out.
"Yeah, and I still don't regret moving. In fact, I regret it less than ever," Jack admitted as they turned back into the corridor and into the library.
Quintin had quickly forgotten about the altercation on the field, having a cordial lunch with his friends and their enthusiastic approval of the tennis tournament idea. Then he had afternoon classes, and as always made the best use of his time, the head student in every class. After dinner with his father and Seren, he eagerly went back to the research table so he could work on his homework with the rest of his classmates. Then he went to his room and took care of Ebony before slipping into bed precisely on time, knowing after the exercise of football practice he would have little trouble getting to sleep. But as he settled in, he frowned, realizing something was wrong. He didn't really know what at first, he simply couldn't get to sleep. Something was missing... something was...
The ten o'clock bell chimed, and it was twelve minutes and nine seconds late.
"Oh no," Quintin said, pulling his blankets over his head. It was going to be a long, long night.
