Chapter Sixteen

More than Symbolic

When Jeremy and Quintin sat down to breakfast the next morning, they heard a loud slap. Jeremy looked over to see one of the first year Hufflepuff girls letting Antonio have it.

"That's weird. I thought Mandy was really into him..." Jeremy began, but suddenly the girl began apologizing profusely. "Oh, never mind... momentary quarrel, it would seem," he decided, sitting back down. Quintin looked over at the Slytherin table suspiciously. Sure enough, Zelda looked rather pleased with herself.

"I'm not convinced that the quarrel was between Mandy and Antonio. Why is there never a professor around when you need them to witness something?" Quintin sighed, inspecting his plate.

"If there was a professor here, she wouldn't have slapped him," Jeremy said with a shrug.

"You're probably right. Zelda is extremely careful," Quintin decided.

"What does she have to do with it?" Jeremy asked. Quintin noticed Zelda's eyes flicking in their direction.

"Never mind. It's none of our business so it's not important," Quintin said.

When Jeremy shrugged it off, Zelda turned her focus back on her classmates. Several of the first year girls walked over together, and the tallest one with the nut brown hair stopped next to Jeremy, looking across the table to where Quintin was sitting.

"Good morning, Quintin! Might I trouble you a moment?" Daphne asked.

"You're never a trouble, Daphne. No need to be formal. What do you want?" Quintin asked the centaur filly.

"I was wondering if you would be interested in going over your star charts from yesterday. I saw something I thought you might like to know about, but I was told it was impolite to talk about it to humans without permission. But I really think you ought to know. I was afraid you might be busy at lunch, considering the order and all," she explained.

"We're still trying to figure out what we're going to contribute this year. Do you have a better time?"

"Open hour before dinner? You're not on the Quidditch team, are you?" she asked.

"No, I'm not. Where do you want to meet at?" Quintin asked her.

"Let's meet in the Chess Room. People will ask a lot less questions if we're just playing a game together," Daphne suggested.

"Fine with me," Quintin said, and Daphne nodded seriously before grabbing a morning bun and walking over the Ravenclaw table for a quick work with her brother before she left.

"Isn't that interesting? I wonder what she saw?" Jeremy said.

"I don't know. I don't have any Divination courses at all this year, so I haven't been keeping up with it," Quintin admitted.

"Bet it's nice to get a full night's sleep now though, isn't it?" Jeremy commented.

"True," Quintin said. "Astrology never was my strongest class..."

"You aced both Astronomy and Astrology!" Jeremy protested.

"Just because I can do the work doesn't mean I'm a natural at it," Quintin protested. "Acing a class is one thing, but talent is another."

"At least you're talented at schoolwork," Duncan said from the other side of Jeremy.

"It's just a matter of being organized and spending the necessary study time required to manage the workload."

"Yes, I suppose, but surely there's something in particular you have a knack at other than time," Duncan replied.

"Well, my father says that my skill with time is a Ancient Magic skill, so I guess I'm best at that," Quintin said. "But to be honest, my favorite subject is Symbology."

"Professor Weasley did say that Symbology is heavily tied to Ancient Magic," Pippa reminded him. "I suppose it's a shame that there's only one year of it in this school."

"She's the one who recommended that I take Runes I this year. And today's the first time that my father's going to teach that class since he came back last week," Quintin said.

"Both parents on the same day? That's brutal," Pete said, getting up.

"Looking forward to it, actually," Quintin said. "See you at lunch, Jeremy. Come on, Pete," he said, and the two of them walked to Items class.

The smell of coffee traveled down the hall and grew stronger inside the Items room itself. Pete went over to the breakfast cart to see what sort of pastries had been put out. Quintin went over to the projects shelves to fetch the wooden box he had been working on, then noticed his was tagged.

"So are these done, then?" he asked, glancing at his perfect marks.

"Yes, technically, unless you want to enhance them further," Professor Craw said from behind her desk, still sipping her coffee. "Most students stain or varnish them and move on."

"We can keep going on them? May I attach hinges to the lid?" Pete asked, walking back over to the table with a plate. "Maybe even a little music box?"

"Yes, but we'll have to order the music player from a catalog so you'll have to start with the hinges, and perhaps a clasp for the front if you're turning it into a trinket box," Craw suggested. "I suggest starting with an insert for the box casing and staining all the pieces for today."

"Alright," Pete agreed.

"I'd like to turn mine into a security box," Quintin said as he brought his over to his side of the table.

"Well, there's only so much you can do with that balsam to make it truly secure, Quintin. It has to be thought of from the start," Craw warned. "But you can at least put a lock and some basic protection charms on it."

"And wards as well, perhaps?" Quintin suggested. "I heard that Professor O'Lauren had a locked box covered with symbols, and I was thinking that some of them might be rune-based wards."

"And where is this box exactly?" Craw asked with a stern, knowing glance.

"Nobody knows... but likely somewhere in the castle. Actually, I'd like to do some research to find out more about it..."

"I very much doubt that the Headmaster is likely to let you traipse about the castle to look for it," Jennifer warned him. "But you'll have to take the matter up with him. He'll want to know exactly where you heard about that box, by the way, and that will likely play into his decision."

"I understand," Quintin said. "But there's no harm in researching security boxes in general and what sorts of wards typically go on them, is there?"

"No, I suppose not, but I thought you might be more interested in attempting to progress to more delicate work so that it'll help you with your summer job," Craw replied.

"I am interested in that as well, but wards are based on Symbology, so..."

"Yes, alright! I suppose I'll get you a spare piece of wood to practice carving with gouges and chisels and some guide frames. But if you want a list of wards, you should ask your Runes professor for a worksheet on protective runes for us to discuss... and while you are in there, ask the Headmaster permission for this new project of yours, because as far as I'm concerned, this isn't apart of regular curriculum and therefore must be approved by him alone," Craw told him firmly.

"Yes, Professor," Quintin replied.

Professor Craw then got him some supplies and set them down in front of them with a pair of class goggles before greeting some of the other students getting pastries at the table.

Just after lunch, Jeremy and Quintin gathered up their Runes books and went up the backstairs, knowing they would likely be the first ones in the classroom since they came up from the library. Professor Snape was already in there setting up class, putting the finishing touches on the blackboard while going over the notes that Professor Tangent left for him. Quintin stepped over to the blackboard.

"Might I talk to you for a moment before class?" Quintin asked.

"Related to your homework, Mr. Snape?" the Professor asked distractedly.

"Well, no, unrelated. It's more a headmaster question really..."

"Then you will have to wait until after class. Until then, I'm certain that Tangent probably warned you that I prefer a very disciplined class, so I would prefer that you find your seat for now," the Professor said.

"Yes, sir," Quintin said, then took his seat next to Jeremy.

"Wait, where are you going? You should be in the back row, Mr. Snape. Didn't Professor Tangent assign you alphabetical seats?" Severus asked with a frown.

"Yes, Professor, but he decided to make an exception in our case," Quintin attempted to explain.

"No exceptions! Such exception lend only to ideas of favoritism and partiality that I really do not want in my classroom. Go to the seat you were assigned to originally, thank you," Snape said briskly, taking a moment to hand them both a worksheet before standing near the door to hand them to students coming in. "Please sit alphabetically, please, no exceptions," he reiterated as other students arrived. "Everyone will pass their homework from the right to the left placing theirs on top, so I might gather them in order, thank you," he said.

Bonnibel gave him a look of utter disapproval as she took her worksheet, but said nothing. Moira had a similar expression, sighing as she did as he was told.

Finally Professor Snape gave out the last of his worksheets, satisfied that they did, at least, all manage to get to class on time. He closed the door and strode to the front of the classroom to collect the homework. Then and only then did he realize that there was a problem with his seating; Moira Maxen was sitting next to Jeremy Miller in the middle row, while Bonnibel Villin was already eyeing Quintin sitting next to her. Quintin, however, was valiantly refusing to look in her direction, knowing what sort of thoughts he would pick up if he did so. It was only then that Severus realized just how having them sit next to one another was an invitation to disaster.

"Then again," Professor Snape said in slow, strangely even tone, "perhaps I should respect Professor Tangent's original seating arrangements to prevent disruptions and to preserve class equilibrium. You may return to the seats you had last week."

Quintin and Moira immediately got up and switched seats, both looking much happier in the exchange. Fortunately that was the only seating discrepancy, so the Professor only had to take one moment to note it on his chart before drawing their attention to the board.

"I will be using the chalkboard for this class to write out homework including some runes for identification. Since the purpose of this class is not only learning the meanings of Magical Runes but learning how to investigate meanings of unknown Runes and decipher them, I will have my back turned for part of the class. If any of you with inborn Legilimens feel as if you need further clarification due to lack of eye contact, feel free to raise your hand or see me after class so that I may resolve it directly," Severus said in a practiced tone. "You may begin copying the Runes on the board before we go through them. Yes, Miss Maxen?"

"What do you mean by directly? It doesn't matter if we have eye contact with you or not, because we don't pick up anything," Moira asked.

"You will find that you can do so while we are in this classroom, as you will notice when I give my lecture. Please curb your desire to rush while copying these Runes. Neatness will count, since a single stroke or change in the length of a line can change the meaning," he continued. Bonnibel and Moira glanced at each other than got to work.

So he's willing to let his guard down in the name of education? I suppose we shouldn't be surprised, Zelda's voice sounded inside their heads. I'll have to sign up for one of his classes next year myself.

Let's see how it works in practice first, Moira thought back. But since they were still on the simplest stages of learning about which Runes dealt with sun and lunar cycles, there was very little opportunity for either of them to come up with some sort of question that didn't sound like a test.

Professor Snape had been expecting them to do just that, and was even slightly disappointed to find them waiting for a legitimate opportunity. Still, it was the first day they had been in a classroom with him, he mused, turning to get the board ready for his next class. He had almost forgotten that Quintin had asked to see him afterwards.

"Yes? You said this was headmaster related, I believe," Snape said, erasing the board.

"Jeremy and I would like to start a new research project this year. We would like to research a school artifact, but Mum said that she couldn't give permission for that and that I had to ask you," Quintin explained. Snape glanced from the board long enough to see Jeremy standing on the other side of the door, peeking around the corner. Snape picked up his notes for the next class and began transcribing them on the board.

"And what, might I ask, is it that Professor Craw was uncomfortable with you researching?" Professor Snape asked.

"It's about a carved silver box that belonged to Bedivere O'Lauren. I heard from a reliable source that he left it with the school but nobody knows where it is," Quintin replied.

"That is why you wanted to speak to the Sorting Hat to see if he knew anything about it," Snape concluded.

"He didn't know anything about it, and he didn't think it was in the Headmaster's collection in the Study."

"You are correct, it is not. And since he doesn't know anything about it, I can only assume this is something that Caprica brought up," Snape decided as he put notes up on the board.

"Maybe," Quintin said noncommittally, wishing his Father would look at him so he could read past his deadpan tone.

"As it so happens, I have heard of the box you're referring to. It was mentioned in some of his old letters kept in the school's archives. But I can't help but wonder what Caprica might have told you about it that made you so intrigued," Snape replied.

"She said it contained his most prized possession, the most powerful magic item he had ever known, capable of anything..."

"What is the item?" Snape interrupted.

"She doesn't know. She never saw him open it," Quintin said.

"Really. I find that part hard to believe," Snape said dubiously.

"You think she is lying?" Quintin frowned.

"I think she is withholding information, which isn't precisely the same thing," Snape replied.

"But it is powerful," Quintin fished.

"It can be. Let's just say that I understand why Bedivere believed it was the most powerful magic item he ever owned. As it happens, I would love to see that box found myself... since I suspect that your research also included attempting to figure out where it was stored in the castle," Snape said. "Even so, you have yet to give me an academic reason as to why I should allow you to go nosing around my castle for it, even in a supervised manner."

"Well, his main subject was Symbology. We learned that a great many of the symbolic patterns worked into the castle's Ancient Magic foundations had a lot to do with him, not to mention all the clues he left to get the Sentinels back on track and all of that," Quintin rambled.

"Yes, I'm aware," Snape said impatiently.

"Well, I happen to be very interested in Symbology too... I see patterns everywhere and I always have. And I have no doubt that Professor O'Lauren must have engraved a lot of symbolic patterns in that box that would be very interesting for an aspiring Symbologist to learn about."

"Symbologist? That field is archaic and died out in the middle ages, replaced by more advanced fields of magic, including Runes. There is little market for anyone specializing in it, especially in this day and age," Snape informed him in obvious disapproval. "I suppose Symbology has further applications in formal Divination, but I know that you are not interested in pursuing that as a career. Symbology is a hobby rather than a profession... it may have some very specific applications in Items Excavation and Magic Anthropology, but going into Runes is a great deal more lucrative and less speculative than attempting to discern ancient patterns. If you want to pursue excavation as a career, I suggest keeping your electives focused so that you can declare a History major with Ancient Magic emphasis," Snape advised.

"No thanks. I may be only a third year, but my mind is already made up. I have every intention of specializing in Symbology, even if does mean doing it through self study," Quintin replied.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Snape asked sternly with a hand on his hip in exasperation.

"By making full use of the library, and perhaps private tutoring with Professor Weasley," Quintin suggested.

"Those two suggestions are one and the same. Professor Weasley has already used the full use of the castle library to create the class you aced last year. You will not find anything here other than speculation about why Symbology is no longer studied," Severus informed his son.

"Then I'll travel outside of the castle to study other wizard communities and schools around the world to see how Symbology is used in their cultures," Quintin declared.

"Fascinating. And just how, may I ask, do you intend to pay for it? Certainly you don't expect us to have an open purse to such exploits forever," Severus asked him bluntly.

"I was thinking that I could write about my adventures and sell them like Lockhart does. I'm sure they'll be best sellers-"

"Out! Out of my classroom!" Severus snapped, pointing him towards the door while his son tucked his head under at the loud tone of his voice. "You most certainly may not do any special projects this year, other than going to the career corner and looking up something more practical! And while we're at it, expect a parental request that you take budgeting course next year so that you can appreciate real world expenses to better prepare yourself for the outside world. We have just gotten Rus sorted after two years of constant headaches, and I have no intentions of going rounds with you! On that end, don't expect any handouts from now on either since you seem to take money for granted. I suggest you budget your Hogsmeade allowance carefully."

Quintin scurried out of the room as quickly as he dared, only to meet Jeremy's disapproving gaze. As they walked down the corridor towards their houserooms, Jeremy hit him on the back of the head.

"What an idiotic thing for you to do, mr. smart wizard! You had him interested until you had to go and blurt out all that Symbology stuff, you dumbass!" Jeremy scolded him.

"It all just kind of spilled out... you know how I am once I start talking about Symbology," Quintin said sheepishly.

"Sure. The problem is now you're Father knows about it, and you saw how impressed he was. And what was that traveling around the world bit?"

"Just an idea I had," Quintin protested. "Professor Weasley and I have had conversations on what I want to do, and she's the one that suggested that I should strike out on my own and get away from the castle for a few years to get a different perspective. She thinks that growing up in the castle all my life may have colored my views and made it so I take things for granted, and she thinks the best way for me to see things for how they really are is to get out in the world."

"So your Father thinks you take your life for granted, and your Symbology teacher thinks you take your life for granted. I guess that makes it official," Jeremy declared in a teasing tone.

"Fine, but how come they came to the opposite conclusions on how they think I ought to deal with it?" Quintin complained, then sighed. "Sorry I botched that, though... especially considering it did sound like he was going to let us do it."

"Did you notice that he seemed to know more about it than we do? Maybe it really is important, especially if he's looking into it too," Jeremy suggested.

"I don't know, he wasn't looking at me until he was scolding me. He really thinks pursuing Symbology is a stupid idea," Quintin said.

"Welcome to my world. You know how my parents feel about my profession choices," Jeremy said dryly. "I can't wait until I'm an adult and it doesn't matter what they think anymore, don't you?"

"I am not going to short-change my time by thinking about how things are going to be when I am an adult," Quintin said firmly. "Who cares what I'm going to be like when I'm an adult? The problem is now, and how we're going to convince my father to let us research that box when he's currently angry at me."

"Parent cool down now in progress. Set the timer," Jeremy joked.

"I hope this one doesn't last as long as the last time I set it," Quintin said dryly, then went to get ready for their last class.