Chapter Nineteen

Split Decisions

It wasn't until the next morning while Quintin was eating breakfast when Jeremy got his confirmation, hopping into a seat across from him.

"It's now official! I have quit the Auror Club," he announced.

Quintin looked up from his porridge blearily.

"What?" he said.

"And I don't have to go to Sparring Club. You do though, Quintin, you have to do all of it. Sorry," Jeremy said, not sounding in the least bit sorry. "Your parents want you to take your Defense more seriously, being a Snape and all. But since my parents don't care what I get into as long as I don't make waves, I'm off the hook."

"What about that whole threat thing?" Quintin asked.

"What threat thing?" Pippa asked with interest, but the two boys ignored her.

"From what your Mum said, I think she handled it. She really knows how to put him in his place, don't she?" Jeremy commented, despite the fact that Quintin's face was growing red from anger.

"I'm not even the one who wanted to go to Auror Club in the first place! And I certainly don't want to play Quidditch!" Quintin snapped.

"Oh... well, maybe that part isn't official? She didn't bring it up," Jeremy said.

"It's true," Pippa put in again, and this time they did pay attention. "The Headmaster told Jack while I was standing there, and Jack asked me to step aside for a year. By the way, you owe me. How about the Spectral Ball?"

"Hey!" Oscar said on the other side of Pippa, staring at her in protest.

"I've got a date," Quintin reminded her.

"Study date, then?" she followed up.

"Fine," Quintin said. Pippa looked a lot more pleased than Oscar did with this arrangement. Quintin got up. "I've gotta talk to Mum and see if she'll get me out of that Quidditch thing."

"You're right. It's not official until she says no," Jeremy agreed. "Good luck!"

"Thanks," Quintin said sarcastically, still not happy that Jeremy had escaped.

But when he went upstairs, nobody was in the Headmaster's Study but the Sorting Hat.

"Hi, Sir Hat. Hey, Armando. Is Mum in the Potions Lab?" Quintin asked.

"No, Quintin, she is out of the castle for the day," Armando reported.

"Dad too?" he asked with a frown.

"He is in the Indoor Gym," Armando replied.

"Well, I know better than to go in there, he'd try to get me to stay. Is Aunt Anna here today?"

"No, but your uncle will be in later to help Carnegie with some structural assessments," Armando offered.

"This isn't exactly a family question. I just want to talk to someone about the Quidditch thing," Quintin admitted with frustration.

"Ah! Madame Brittle is in her office," Armando offered.

"I guess that'll have to do. Later, Armando, Sir. Hat," Quintin said.

"I'm available until two if you need me," Godric offered.

"I don't know if I'll be able to visit or not. My schedule is up in the air at the moment," Quintin admitted with frustration as he stepped out again.

"There's a switch," Godric said after the door closed. "Armando, I notice that you didn't bother telling him who she was having breakfast with."

"I was afraid that he might ask me for someone else. I was starting to run out of suggestions," Armando explained.

"Fair enough," Godric replied, closing his eye folds.

Danyelle opened the door curiously, blinking when she saw who it is.

"Oh, it's you. Did you come to get some Quidditch pointers?" Danny asked.

"No, I didn't come from some pointers. You already know why I'm here," Quintin said irritably.

Danny opened the door wider and gestured for him to come in. But as she did so, Quintin saw that Aurelius was there.

"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to do the Auror thing?" Quintin asked flatly.

"I traded with Mum so she could go to Whitebridge early. Trying to get out of Quidditch?" Aurelius taunted. Danny began to intentionally swing the door until Quintin stepped out of the way so that she could close it. "Just so you know, going to Mum about it wouldn't have worked. Dad already convinced her that he's right."

"But it's not fair!"

"Not much is fair in life, Quintin, there are too many things a person can't control, including what family you're born into. You have known since you were three that you were expected to keep up with your defense, and what I saw yesterday in Auror Clubs was the two of you goofing it off and not taking it seriously," Aurelius said.

"I was just there to support Jeremy," Quintin said firmly.

"Who was only there to try and convince his parents that investigative reporting was less dangerous than the alternative," Aurelius snapped back.

"Well, yeah," Quintin agreed. "The point is that I wasn't there because I wanted to be, I was just there because we had a deal. And I'm sorry if my goofing off disrespected you, because that wasn't the intention. So how about giving me a break and letting me out of this?"

"No, and it's not up to me, it's up to our parents. They think you've had it too easy lately, and I totally agree," Aurelius said.

"If I give my full effort in Auror Class, would you help me get out of Quidditch at least?" Quintin suggested.

"Well, how open are you to going to Canada for intense broom training every weekend?" Aurelius said. Quintin stared at him.

"That's just cold," Danny said.

"So's Canada," Aurelius replied evenly. "Well?"

"Fine, I'll play Quidditch," Quintin relented unhappily.

"Good. You'll also be expected to do forms every morning an hour before breakfast," Aurelius said.

"What! Every morning!"

"Yes, until Father says otherwise. Once he feels you've made enough progress, he's likely to reduce it back to your Tuesday sessions and weekends. Expect a full assessment tomorrow morning," Aurelius said.

"Fine, but can you please explain why he's doing this?" Quintin demanded.

"Probably because as kids we never had to ask why, Quintin, but you do," Aurelius said bluntly. "I should go on ground patrol."

"Have fun," Danny said with a smile

"Have fun with your conference," Aurelius retorted then left the room, closing the door. Quintin glared at the door fiercely, then realized that Danny was patiently watching him.

"Sorry, I guess you've got a conference or something..."

"Yeah, with you," Danny told him with exasperation. "Have a seat... you might as well have something to eat too, since you interrupted our lunch."

"I really don't have anything left to say, thanks," Quintin said.

"Too bad, I have plenty to say. Sit down," Danny told him. "Also, I decided to take a page from Anna's book, and while we're in this room you can call me Danny, or even Brittle if you drop the professor thing. Honestly I prefer Danny, but I have some students who like to be more formal than others. Considering we know each other outside of school too, I assume Danny is fine with you, right?"

"Yes, Danny," Quintin said, reluctantly sitting in the seat she had pulled out for him.

"Good," Danny said, then sat down across from him, gesturing to the sandwich plate.

"You know... Aurelius has been through a lot. Your whole family has been," Danny began as Quintin got a plate.

"Yes, I know that. I've heard all the old stories of how it used to be," Quintin said with a sigh.

"And I'm sure you've heard Corey tell stories of the old Musketeer days," Danny said. Quintin nodded at that. "But do you truly understand them on the level that your father wants you to stand them? He doesn't want you to see the brushes of death, the suffering, and the scars we've gotten as something that was heroic. Those stories aren't brought up to entertain you, but to educate you in hopes that you'll learn from what we went through and to prepare you for hardships to come. The last time there was a major assault on this castle, you were whisked out of harm's way. I know you were old enough to be aware of it, but did you truly understand what was going on? What do you remember about Mirage's circus?"

"I remember being angry about not being allowed to go," Quintin admitted. "Other than that, I just remember going to Jeremy and Timmy's elementary school that year."

"Do you remember Ben's Wake?" Danny asked.

"Not all that well," Quintin admitted. "Just impressions, really. It was all a bit much, you see."

"I understand," Danny said. "But you would have understood a lot more of it if had happened this year. Knowing you, you would have been one of the students charging off to the rescue. But would you have been prepared for it? I highly doubt it, especially considering your current Defense level."

"I'm at the top of my Defense class and at the top of my Sparring year," Quintin protested tiredly. "How is that not good enough?"

"Because in a spar, no one is in danger of getting killed," Danny replied. "I know you've always hated fighting and want everyone to get along, and I don't blame you. But until everyone in this world feels the same way, you need to protect yourself against those who still think violence is the answer. Just like your brother Corey had to," she added with a soft smile. "Alright?"

"Not really," Quintin replied evenly. "But I won't protest again."

"Good," Danny said, tweaking a sandwich before turning the conversation to Quidditch.

Jeremy was at the research table when Quintin came upstairs, going straight over to Jack instead of coming over. Jeremy shrugged at that, determined to get his homework done so that he could get back to researching O'Lauren. But he couldn't help but be distracted when the two of them went over to Pippa's table and Pippa jumped up excitedly. The three of them then turned and walked up to the research table, Jack and Quintin with serious expressions while Pippa lifted her chin.

"Jeremy, is it true that you're not staying in Auror Club because grandfather was putting pressure on you?" Jack asked.

"It's just not my thing, okay? I have better things to do with my time, and I don't see why I have to be dragged into whatever's going on between Quintin and his dad," Jeremy explained.

"It's not your thing? Quintin's been against any sort of fighting all of his life, ever since he was old enough to express it. Maybe if he hadn't followed you in there, his father never would have included it in this current defense push he's on," Jack said sternly. "Well, you've gotten off, but it's unfair for anyone else to get penalized when you're stepping away from your obligations to your mate altogether. Since Pipaluk is an innocent bystander in all of this, I'm letting her have her spot back on the Quidditch team, and you're the one sitting out this year. Got that?"

Jeremy stared at him a moment, letting it sink in.

"Fine," Jeremy said irritably.

"Good," Jack said. "Quintin, we should meet on the Pitch after dinner and work out a strategy for the team changes."

"Alright, Jack," Quintin said. "Until then, I'm going to go visit a friend," he decided.

Jeremy put his head in his hand, watching as Quintin walked towards his room and Jack and Pippa went back to their own tables.

"I guess I deserved that," Jeremy mumbled softly to himself, sighing as he got back to work.

Arnold Jeffers waited by the doors until he was let into the visitors rooms of the Tower where Emil Nimbus Trench was sitting. Trench was an old man with thin, nearly absent hair and a wizened face, wrinkled and leathery from weather and age. He was slightly under average height, but still strong in build despite his advanced years, and his blue eyes had faded into an icy grey that were still sharp and calculating.

"Good morning, Mr. Trench. I have your parole paperwork here," Arnold informed him. "You'll find it a pretty standard scroll considering the charges... your main address needs to be within the parole officer's radius and you are restricted from all magic items that require permits for three years. Since you have a secondary residence outside the country, be aware that all requests to leave the country need to be approved by the parole board, with an extensive form filled out by a law representative stating legitimate reasons for returning to your other residence. Not sticking to the return date set by the parole board is a sure way to get on the Auror's wanted list. You also cannot commit any crimes or aid anyone else who commit crimes, especially related to smuggling or items handling. If you do, you will have to serve out your original sentence plus any added charges accrued," he explained, putting it in front of him.

"Thank you," Emil said, immediately rolling it to the top to go over it.

"I hear you have a friend helping you find a residence inside your radius, correct?" Arnold asked.

"An acquaintance," Emil corrected icily without looking up from the scroll, "who is attempting to get back in my good graces after certain transgressions upon my person."

"Oh, so Roy's looking for it," Arnold replied, and Emil's eyes flicked up. "He's a client too."

"I would have thought that an esteemed writer wouldn't have to rely on the services of a public defendant," Emil commented.

"It's complicated, and since I'm his counselor, that's all I can say," Arnold said with a shrug. "So do you have a address I can file for your release forms?"

"I am getting an update of my residence in an hour," Emil replied.

"Then I'll be back just before visiting hours are over to check in again. That'll give you more time to read that in case you have questions," Arnold added, noticing how meticulously was going through it.

"I suppose since I am going to be forced to live here in the near future I should put down my research long enough to get caught up with local politics," Emil mused. "Tell me, what is the most reliable source of information in the area?"

"The Daily Prophet, I'd say, along with the Wizard Weekly if you prefer something slightly more conservative," Arnold suggested.

"I prefer facts," Emil said.

"Then I would stick with the Daily Prophet," Arnold advised. "It may be a Reformist leaning newspaper, but Editor Weasley makes certain all views are represented, including running a Solidarity and Traditionalist column and having an open policy on his editorial page. There are also further leaning wireless and telly channels, but sometimes it's a bit harder to tell the truth from the fabrications on those channels these days."

"I have access to neither in here," Emil said grumpily.

"It's probably just as well. Don't worry, you only have to worry about the parole board for a few months. You have a very light sentence," Arnold reminded him, leaving him with the parole document.

Emil poured over it, debating certain legal terms as he went, until it came time to head back to the visitor's room to meet Gilderoy.

"Ah! There's my dear friend!" Roy gushed, barely getting a reaction at all from Emil. "So good to see you again. I have news for you," he announced as he sat down.

"It's about a house, I hope," Emil prompted.

"A flat, actually," Roy replied. Emil squinted. "In the heart of London, the best I could afford. It's right above one of the esteemed wizard businesses in Diagon Alley, which means you'll have access to practically anything you need just down the stairs, and a grocer only three blocks over. Two if you don't mind bumping into a Muggle or two on the way. Regardless, it does spare you a bit of walking and popping about."

"The best you could afford? I thought you were a famous writer?" Emil asked, squinting at him.

"One of the most famous, yes, of course I am," Roy said with certainly. "Unfortunately, I have lost the rights to a lot of my earlier works due to a court case or two. It's only fair, after all... I wrote about others' adventures without crediting them. But! I have done my time and they've completely forgiven me, of course. You are one of the very few I had yet to track down, and I regret how long it took. But here we are now! I do get all of the royalties from the two books I wrote after my memories were restored, of course, and the first one did fairly well. The last one not so much, but I'm sure that will be remedied! My next one will include that cave adventure, and I'm sure we have more adventures to come."

"I see," Emil said simply. "Can you send the address to Mr. Jeffers, please? Also, I would like to start learning more about the area. I am told that Wizard Weekly and the Daily Prophet are fairly reputable."

"Of course! Straight away! But anything you want to know just ask, I will give you the full tour when you get out. I suppose it's been many years since you've been in the country, hasn't it? A lot has changed... I will do everything in my power to help you get caught up. I'll even make sure there's a wizard telly in your flat!"

"Right now, I'll settle for subscriptions to those periodicals," Emil said.

"Consider it done! Anything you need that's within my power and budget to accomplish, I'll do," Roy said, flashing him a smile.

"Speaking of which, I assume you're taking good care of my medallion?" Emil asked.

"Rhett Heron has it but I'm sure he is... the man who went with me to fetch it, as you'll recall, and licensed to handle any number of relics and antiquities," Roy explained. "I wanted to be sure it was well protected, after all, and his residence is more secure than mine. Once you are settled, we shall have to arrange a meeting of the minds so that we can plan our next step to finding that box for you."

"Are you going to be there as well?" Emil asked.

"But of course I will b... ah... I see what you did there, you're teasing me! Such a sense of humor," Roy said, flashing another smile.

"Don't forget to get that address to my counselor," Emil reminded him.

"I shall do it first to insure that I don't," Roy decided. "Take care, dear friend! Not much longer now!"

"No, not much longer," Emil agreed, watching as Roy turned and gracefully swept out the door, taking the time to thank the guards cordially.

The moment he was gone, Emil let out the long groan he had been holding in for the entire conversation.