Chapter Five
Keeping Watch
It had been on her mind for some time.
A part of her felt she was ready. A part of her felt she wasn't. It was always like that with her, it seemed. Gloria spent way too long stuck in the middle of a decision without really wanting to make one. Making decisions was scary... and often permanent. Sure, some decisions could be gone back on, but not without embarrassment or admitting a mistake. But the scariest decisions were the ones that you couldn't go back on once you've made it.
It had come up when she had been sitting in Potions before what was sure to be another class review, listening to the other students talk about the upcoming summer without really participating.
"I guess it came down to three choices this year, whether to work in the shop, work as a runner at the Ministry for my grandfather, or try to get a job on my own," Olivia was telling Jay. "I finally decided on being a runner because I wasn't old enough to do it before, and I knew that I'd probably end up working at Dad's shop on the weekends whether I chose it or not."
"I'm going to be a runner too, of a different sort," Rich Weasley chimed in. "I'm going to run the newspaper stand in front of the Daily Prophet in the mornings, and then volunteer at the library."
"I'm going to be working at the gift shop in Aviation Park in London," Ella said. "I really wanted to work in the Coventry Broom Park at the rental counter, but Milo beat me to it."
"I'm going back to officers school," Jay said. "But both Rus and Quintin are going to get their first jobs this summer too. Rus is working at the toy shop in Hogsmeade, and Quintin at Gribitz Emporium."
"A watch shop, I should have known," Olivia said with amusement, then noticed that Gloria was watching them. "What are you going to be doing, Gloria? Working at the bank, I suppose?"
"I haven't really decided yet," Gloria admitted.
"Well, if you want to pick something outside of your family like I did, I suggest you don't wait," Ella advised. "A lot of students have already made inquiries or sent out applications by post, and many jobs are taken."
"There are still plenty of people looking for summer help that have ads in the Daily Prophet though," Rich pointed out.
"Sure, if you want to wash dishes like a common Trade Elf, go for it," Jay said critically, then took his seat as Professor Craw came in to start the class.
Gloria sighed, propping her head up while listening to the review as Jennifer put up the important things to study on the board. She wrote them down without paying much attention. After all, they had learned all of this already, and it was already a refresher anyway. But at the end as they were instructed to keep working on their notes, Professor Craw came over with a smile.
"Gloria, would you mind having lunch with me today?" Jennifer asked. "I have an idea for your summer holiday."
"Uh, sure," Gloria said, more than a little embarrassed that she had been thinking more of that in class during the review itself.
As it turned out, her teacher wasn't at all concerned about it.
As it turned out, her teacher's suggestion ended up so stunningly hard that Gloria needed those last couple of weeks of school to process it. She was still processing it on the way home on the train. Even when she arrived home, she didn't know what to do, shrugging when her father asked her if she wanted to go to work with him the next day.
The next morning after he left, Gloria broke out her Trial and Error set. She was just setting it up on her desk when a Post Owl dropped a note off at the window. Curiously she picked it up, recognizing Culver's handwriting at once.
Gloria,
I am sorry this is going to seem sudden, especially when we haven't spoken since Halloween. But I thought you might worry if I didn't tell you. Now that I've graduated, I've decided to go away for a few years, somewhere remote where my family can't contact me. Please don't be concerned if I don't write while I'm gone, because I don't think that'd be safe for either of us. In fact, I think it's very, very important not to let my family know that I've written at all, so please don't tell them I wrote you about this. That said, I wanted you to know that I am hoping that you'll wait for me. If you don't feel the same, that's okay too. I won't hold it against you if you find someone else. That's just my feeling, and I wanted to let you know. Either way, take care of yourself, because there are a lot of people out there who care about you no matter what you choose to do in life. Everyone who really cares about you would want you to make your own choices, and not be forced to live by their rules. That's what I think, anyway.
Yours,
Culver.
At first, Gloria didn't know what to do. Then it occurred to her that if he was hiding from his family, she was going to have to protect her thoughts about the fact that he had written to her.
Gloria wasted no time after that getting into Aurelius' office at the Ministry. Fortunately he there for a change, attempting to get caught up on Auror paperwork he had let pile up at the end of the school year.
"I'm going to need to run this letter down to Thomas, since it's more than likely that Worley is probably already looking for Culver. It'll give the LE department a reason not to intervene in this," Aurelius explained. "Don't worry. He won't tell Worley what's in the letter, and Worley doesn't have a chance in hell in getting through my grandfather's mental defenses. But it needs to be done, because this letter will give Thomas the proof he needs to confirm Culver left on his own."
"I see. Yes, okay," Gloria said with a sigh.
"I also think you ought to know that Culver's right about what he wrote at the end," Aurelius added for good measure. "Yes, I know he was thinking of his own situation in that moment, and how he didn't feel like his family was letting him make his own choices. But he is right that anyone who cares about you will want you to make your own choices in life. Your friends and your family love you enough to let you make choices for yourself, including whether or not you want to take my mother's suggestion on what to do this summer."
"Oh, you picked that up," Gloria said with a slight grimace. "You don't think it'd bother my parents that I want to work at Kingler's to spend time with my birth mum?"
"Bother them? They're probably wondering what took you so long to make up your mind about it," Aurelius said. "If you're ready, you're ready. You only have one more year left of Hogwarts, and then you're out on your own. Your parents and your friends will always be there for you when you need advice, but it's time you started learning how to make decisions on your own."
"Yes," Gloria said somberly. "I guess you're right."
"Need an escort there?" he asked evenly.
"Yes! Please!" Gloria said in such a panic that she chuckled nervously after catching herself.
"You've got it then," Aurelius assured her with a smile. He promised her to get in contact with Sally about a room and helped her decide what to bring on her trip to New York.
For well over a week, Quintin arrived home from dinner completely exhausted from work. Finally he began to get used to it, slowly learning how to be more precise with his movements as he cleaned.
"Precision is everything in this business, Mr. Snape," Gribitz would remind him at least once a day. "If you learn to be precise, time will take care of itself."
Quintin tried to follow the goblin's instruction as best he could, but just when he thought he was getting the hand of it, Gribitz would always point out a detail that Quintin hadn't noticed before. After two weeks of being constantly corrected on how well he cleaned the shop, Gribitz paused and inspected Quintin' work before lunch critically.
"Very well, Mr. Snape. After lunch, I will teach you something new," Gribitz decided. "I will show you how to polish our least expensive watch cases. It will take all of your care and attention for the rest of the day," he warned, but Quintin gave him a soft smile anyway. "Very well! Have your lunch and come back promptly."
"Yes, Master Gribitz," Quintin said and hurried to the back.
He pulled his lunch box out from beneath his cloak and went to a small room with a long bench and table. It was crammed in so tight that Quintin decided it must have been miniaturized to get it past the door when the break room as set up.
As Quintin was eating, he heard a customer come in and leaned over curiously to see who it was. It was Worley Maxen, and Cadha was with him.
"Ah, Mr. Maxen. Welcome back," Gribitz greeted cordially.
"I have brought Cadha so that she can be added to the watch you are making. You did say that adult children had to sign something first," Worley reminded him, his expression revealing just how annoyed he was about that fact.
"Yes, quite so," Gribitz agreed, getting out a locator watch hand and some paperwork for her to fill out.
Quintin leaned back over to pay attention to his lunch. So Worley was getting a watch like his parents owned, he mused. Of course, that made perfect sense after Culver left, following in Mari's footsteps. Would Eben agree to getting a watch hand? No, probably not, and his job provided him an easy excuse as to why he could turn his father down, Quintin decided. By the time Quintin came out and was ready for his new task, Worley and Cadha had left.
Quintin wasted no time bringing it up at the dinner table just as Leu and Jennifer brought out the last of the drinks. Diana sat at the end near the high chair, getting her daughter's food ready.
"I'm not surprised that Worley is having a family watch made. In fact, it is a wonder that it took him that long," Severus admitted. "Those watches have given us some peace of mind over the years... and some moments of terror as well."
"He only wants a watch to control them, not to protect them, Severus," Jennifer pointed out as she showed Seren how to hold her fork again. "Even my Father commented on how Worley refused to cancel Cadha's debutante ball when Culver went missing, despite having no idea what had happened to him at the time. Not to mention how those children behaved when their mother died... they're being raised to be just as cold and self-serving as he is."
"Not all of them are like that," Quintin protested.
"Yes, that's why two of them fled and the other married into the family," Severus agreed.
"Cadha isn't all that bad, really. She was nice enough in the owl room. She just seemed really focused on marrying into a powerful family like her father wanted," Quintin replied. "She wants to be like her Aunt Blair."
"Oh, yes. I can see how that would be appealing, considering how manipulative Blair is," Jennifer said. "Blair may be nice on the surface, but it's all a game to her. You do realize that, I hope, Quintin."
"Yes, Mum," Quintin replied.
"This is a very strange conversation," Leu admitted. "Mum, I'm really not used to hearing you be so critical. I'm used to you giving everyone the benefit of the doubt."
"I am giving them the benefit of the doubt by not speaking poorly about their children," Jennifer said. "Especially since most of them have been making good decisions for themselves thus far. But I am more than a bit worried about the others, and what might to happen if any of those still at Hogwarts decide to leave. He is tightening his grip. Did he get a compass on the watch as well?"
"I think so," Quintin said. Jennifer gazed at Severus worriedly.
"It isn't as if we weren't already aware of the problem, Jennifer. We will do whatever we can to keep as many doors as we can open for them. If any of them come looking for help, we will provide it, watch or not watch. You know as well as I do that the most important thing is keep the dialogue open so that they know that turning to us or other members of the faculty is an option."
"All the same, I plan to speak to Danyelle about it if I see her, and converse with her at length during our start of term chat," Jennifer decided. "Do you know if we have any more of his children coming this year?"
"There is a bit of a gap. The only one coming this year is Blair's youngest son," Severus replied.
"I didn't even know she had a third child," Jennifer admitted.
"He has been off to school in Italy up until now to be near his grandparents. Blair told Danyelle that he had always been a bit hard to handle, but his parents decided to move him because they wanted to keep him closer with everything going on," Severus explained.
"A bit hard to handle? I have no idea whether that's a good thing or a bad thing considering the source," Jennifer said.
"No, neither do I," Severus admitted.
"But surely whatever the problem is, he can't be worse than Griselda, can he?" Jennifer pointed out. Severus stared at her blankly.
"I'd have preferred if you hadn't said that," Severus said flatly.
"May I go play, please?" Serendipity asked, quite bored of the conversation.
"Yes, there are only for a few minutes before your bath," Jennifer said. Serendipity hurried off, prompting Caitlyn to start kicking her high chair insistently.
"No, you will have a bath first," Diana said firmly, holding her daughter out at arm's length so not to get any of the residuals of dinner on her.
"So how long are you staying in town this time?" Jennifer asked Leu.
"Just for week or two while we wait for our permits to get renewed," Leu said. "That reminds me... while I was in the Artifacts department, Harry told us that Roy Lockhart has gone missing again."
"Yes, Harry has been keeping us apprised on the situation already," Severus replied. "This time he's gotten Rhett Heron involved as well, so who knows what sort of trouble they are in."
"I think they're probably dead."
"Oh, Llewellyn, really!" Jennifer protested.
"Mum, I know you're an optimist, but we need to be realistic here. The two of them wandered off looking for trouble, and they're well outside of the little bubble you two have got going," Leu said.
"Little bubble? And what's with that patronizing tone in your voice?" Jennifer demanded dangerously.
"The rest of the world doesn't have you, Harry, and Grandfather around to look after things," Leu explained, making Jennifer look even more annoyed. "Yes, I know things tend to sneak in the bubble from time to time, but no matter how bad things get, it always gets sorted out. A lot of people survive that wouldn't have had you not intervened."
"Not everyone has made it, as you know perfectly well," Jennifer said quietly.
"No, of course not. But the track record here is better than everywhere else outside this bubble. Nobody's around to come to the rescue," Leu said.
"I don't believe that. I'm sure there are good people everywhere, doing their best to make things right," Jennifer said sincerely. "The Archibalds, the Hagrids, Wind Elk -"
"Flyer Wright," Severus added.
"The different Wizard Councils," Jennifer added, ignoring Severus' inclusion. "When I was at the Healer's Conference, I met people from all over the world who have dedicated their lives to service, not to mention some brilliant Aurors."
"And Flyers."
"Do you want a fight?" Jennifer warned Severus, squinting at him. Severus ate his dinner unconcernedly.
"I know there are people willing to help everywhere, but it's not the same. No matter how bleak things get, things seem to work out here," Leu said. "Especially when it's you, Mum. Even Lucky's commented on just how often you beat the worst odds."
"Perhaps we should call Jennifer 'Lucky' instead of Fortuna," Severus mused.
"I'll deal with you in a minute," Jennifer threatened Severus, then looked over at Leu. "I do have a secret method of beating the odds, Leu, and it's something that's within your power to learn. It's called optimism."
"What? That makes no sense," Leu said, while Severus expression softened. "Optimism makes you more vulnerable. You need to prepare for the worst case scenario."
"Prepare for it, yes, but not at the expense of hope," Jennifer said.
"Oh, so you mean like that saying, 'prepare for the worst and hope for the best', is that it, Mum?" Quintin asked.
"Yes, but that phrase makes it sound more like wishful thinking when it's much more than that," Jennifer told them. "Optimism is a strength that comes from the inside, and that belief that things will alright in the end is what keeps you going no matter how hard things get. It can be more powerful than you know. It is something you might consider working on, Leu."
"I think I'd rather just see things as they are," Leu decided.
"You can be realistic and optimistic at the same time, they're not mutually exclusive, you know," Jennifer told him.
"Maybe not, but I still have my doubts that it's a good combination," Leu admitted. "I hope you're right that they're alive, Mum. Do you know anything about the wizard they were tracking down? Maybe if we knew who he was, reading Roy's old books might give a clue."
"What a terrifying thought," Severus said.
"It's not the first time I've read a set of books to find clues to a mystery," Leu pointed out. "On that note, I wonder if Maurice and Ambrose would be interested in helping? I think I'll pop off to the Craw Mansion after I'm done clearing the table."
With that Leu got up, leaving Severus and Jennifer alone at the table with their coffee.
Severus glanced at Jennifer's frowning face.
"You have that look again," he noted.
"What look?" she asked.
"The look you get when you're tempted to get involved," Severus replied.
"Actually, I am wondering whether it's wise for Leu to get involved... and Ambrose too, since I'm quite sure that he will be willing to help Leu comb over those books."
"And your brother?" Severus asked.
"I'm not sure if he'd even been interested. In fact, I think he would only get involved if Leu and Ambrose have gotten in over their heads," Jennifer decided. "Honestly, shouldn't they be letting a professional handle it?"
Severus' expression turned to one of open amusement.
"I find it quite ironic that you suddenly believe that it's better to leave things to the professionals now that you have all of the proper licensing," Severus informed her.
"Well, it isn't exactly in Leu's area of expertise, is it?" Jennifer retorted.
"What does that have to do with this sudden turnaround that you are doing, hm? I'm sorry, but for some reason I have trouble swallowing any explanation for it, especially since we both know that Leu and Ambrose know how to take care of themselves. You are only worried because you know you'll soon be off to Hogwarts and you won't have the opportunity to get further involved yourself," Severus challenged her.
"Care for a little backyard spar, Severus?" Jennifer asked dangerously.
"I wouldn't mind one, if only to get you to acknowledge that I have a point," Severus replied calmly.
Jennifer frowned, having trouble coming up with a suitable comeback. After all, she really did want to get more involved, and she did feel as if her obligations at the school were getting in the way. But the idea of acknowledging that gave her an uncomfortable feeling inside. It was probably because she was going back as Headmaster again, Jennifer decided. That must have been the reason that she would have chosen to do anything other than head back to Hogwarts.
"Shall we?" Severus inquired when Jennifer grew quiet. Jennifer glanced back over at him speculatively.
"Fine, but don't think for a moment I'm going to be easy on you," she warned him.
"Perish the thought," Severus said, getting up and following her to the back garden.
