A/N Author's update: I have six more weeks of my winter job left... if updates are still only weekly at that point, sorry, but things will pick in May. Thanks for the reviews!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Minding the Gap

Severus had only been vaguely aware of when Jennifer got home, attempting to wake him up long enough to tell how her Halloween went. But none of it actually registered and he simply waved her off, falling back to sleep with the exhausted snore that let Jennifer know he had exerted some amount of Ancient Magic that night. Finally Jennifer gave up her attempts, getting Serendipity settled and putting their parcels on the table before getting some homework marked. At six, she bundled up Seren and took her down to the daycare. By the time she got back upstairs, Severus had finally emerged and had his nose above a cup of coffee, staring a small pastry box with an unfocused expression.

"You really ought to eat that... Seren will be disappointed if you don't," Jennifer warned. "She decorated it herself while we were at the Miller's house. It's a cupcake - fairy cake, I mean... sorry, I've been talking American all day."

"I'll wait and eat it in front of her then," Severus decided, pushing it away.

"I got you something too," Jennifer said, then set something in front of him on the desk that looked like a piece of clear plastic in the shape of half a boiled egg. Inside was the New York skyline.

"You bought me bric-a-brac? I thought you were against holding items with no purpose," Severus said, wondering if someone had replaced his wife.

"It does have a purpose. It's a paper weight. It keeps papers from blowing around in the wind. I bought it in a paper weight store," Jennifer explained.

"I could just close the window," Severus said. "And weren't you going to Pittsburgh? Why does this say New York?"

"Oh, I had a quick stop by on the way home to see Sally now that she's home after her holiday, and then a few of us went to look at some gift shops. Well, you know Billy, he didn't like the paperweight store. He told me there was no point because nobody uses paper anymore! So I told him that we certainly did, and I realized that you always have papers on your desk that needed handled, so I bought you one," Jennifer explained.

"You bought it to prove a point," Severus replied evenly.

"I bought it for you birthday because you didn't have one... and to prove a point," Jennifer added for good measure. Severus stared at her. "I also found a sitter for the evening... Rose is taking Seren home with her when she picks up Ryan after school."

"That's a better present," Severus decided. "Armando, it would seem I'm booked for dinner and the evening."

"Already accounted for, Severus. Also, Hermione is on her way up to give her report about last night."

"Oh, yes, she has a conference second bell. Don't you have a class?" Severus inquired.

"I do, but I also want to hear more about last night. Rose said something about a Hag getting in or something?" Jennifer prompted.

"A lot more happened than just that, too much to get into now. I am certain that Janus will be wanting to brief you," Severus said.

"I had better head down, then. Happy Birthday, Severus!" Jennifer said.

"We shall see," Severus said noncommittally, rewarded by a warm smile as she left.

He had barely gotten a sip in before Hermione arrived with a wrapped frame.

"Good morning! Happy birthday! I have that present you wanted," Hermione said cheerfully.

"Since when do I ask for a present?" Severus asked dubiously.

"Open it," Hermione suggested, handing it to him.

Severus unwrapped the framed and pulled it out, immediately recognizing the Great Hall, only it was in complete disarray. A pie flew by as Gilderoy Lockhart, barely touched except for a bit of custard on his shoulder. He bravely carried on with his account of India to Eric Dalance, who to his credit was doing his best to maintain his focus despite having a look of anticipation on his face for the inevitable interruption. Suddenly Eric called out a warning and ducked, while Gilderoy turned and looked past the camera.

"No, please! Not the -" he was stopped mid-sentence as a pie came in, hitting him at an angle but still managing to cover half of his face. "Hair," he continued resignedly, his hand going to his hair conscientiously only to get his glove covered in pumpkin.

"All in good fun, Roy! Nothing that won't wash clean when we get home, eh?" Eric said with an amused grin, while Roy looked more than a little resigned over his predicament. It was then that the image faded and the photo started over.

"Excellent, Hermione. Quite excellent. Your camerawork has improved over the years," Severus said in appreciation.

"I've been helping out at the newspaper in the summer and getting some lessons," Hermione said, pleased with his reaction.

"I will certainly keep this in my desk drawer to give me some amusement given the need," Severus decided, and did just that. "What else did I miss?"

"For the most part, we were able to keep people from asking questions other than the occasional comment about the stormy weather," Hermione said. "But as we were escorting guests out for the evening, Albus arrived with Aurora and I'm sure they told Erik about what happened with that Moor Hag. How is Dawn?"

"Perfectly unharmed. Albus and Aurora were able to get to her in record time and sent the creature out of our boundary. By the time I arrived, Dawn was already comfortably set up in a room and I simply had to seal it with a spell Albus suggested. In fact, he should be up in a few minutes," Severus said. "He said it's always better to wait to go over things in the light of day and when heads are clear.

"That sounds like something he'd say. I think I'll go escort him up," Hermione decided.

"Thank you... for the gift as well," he added.

"Of course," Hermione said, and slipped out to escort him up.

By the time Severus had ordered tea and a tray and had it placed on the end of his desk, Hermione was back with Albus, showing him in.

"Thank you for the walk. The castle looks so different in the morning, does it not?" Albus commented.

"It looks different on any day that's not Halloween," Hermione said with amusement. "I'll be back up to drop off the budget for the next board meeting at lunch, Severus!"

"No rush. We have until next Thursday," Severus reminded her.

"I'll bring it up anyway so you can have time to double check the estimates," Hermione said. "Good morning!"

"Good morning," Albus said with a smile, watching her go before closing the door. "She really was the best choice for the Deputy Headmaster position."

"Yes, she really was," Severus agreed. "But I've made certain that she's had time to dust off some other ambitions as well now that we have nearly doubled the staff since I first took over."

"I am very glad to hear that," Albus said. "I am glad that all of your staff seems to be stretching their wings more now that they have more time to spare, and you seem to have adjusted well to juggling so many part time professors."

"Yes, well, Jennifer and Hermione end up doing a lot of the work sorting that out, really. It has actually made things easier in many ways rather than harder than I imagined, although there are times when Hogwarts benefits from the school friends list when there's a crisis. Thank you," Severus replied.

"You're quite welcome, Severus. It's nice to hear you getting more comfortable with saying thank you as well," Albus teased.

"Humility has come with age, I suppose. All of my mistakes and shortcomings battered against my ego like constant waves eroding a cliff, forcing me to come to terms with my humanity whether I wanted to or not," Severus replied with a slight shrug.

"You will be all the stronger for it, Severus. It will aid you greatly in everything that lies ahead," Albus assured him. "Reminding ourselves that we are not perfect, that we are not infallible, and that we are mortal despite our longevity is very, very, important. In fact, I think it's safe to say that what doomed Tom Riddle was the fact that he lost all sight of humanity."

"As did Lucius and Don and many others I can name," Severus said grimly, handing Albus a cup. He took a thoughtful sip.

"You are right. They did lose sight of it. Even so, it is also important to note that it is not all that common, Severus. Most people taking the long, dark road do still have a sense of humanity... even if it's but a sliver. I have found that even a sliver of humanity can be enough to pull someone back from the edge of disaster. And while we must protect ourselves from those who mean us harm because they are the brink, it is very, very important to recognize that open door and do what we can to pull them back through whenever we can. Do you understand?" Albus asked seriously.

"Obviously, considering my own circumstances when I was young. How could I not understand? Have you forgotten how close I was to losing everything?" Severus said, but Albus looked amused.

"The only reason that you feel as if you were close to losing everything was because you were not close at all. Close to losing you life, yes, many times. Close to losing your humanity, no. Your hurt and anger didn't come from hatred itself, but from jealousy and your perceived inability to love who you wished and your perceived inability to receive it. It was love that brought you back, Severus, under the guise of duty and loyalty; the guilt you felt at as a Death Eater was an echo of the fact that you never stopped caring even when you felt the entire world had wronged you. Even if death had taken you during those dark times, I truly believe that it wouldn't have taken your soul," Albus assured him.

"If that's the case, it would appear I don't owe you anything... other than asking Jennifer to work here," Severus decided flippantly, getting himself a cup.

"Oh, yes," Albus agreed with a chuckle. "It always come back to that. A conscious decision to change the path we were on and walk onto a road with a kinder Fate."

"Precisely," Severus agreed, but Albus became serious again.

"Fate is something I have been unfairly taking for granted for lately... and something that truly needs remedied," Albus admitted.

"What do you mean?" Severus asked.

"I was not planning to come this year, you know. I only came by Merlin's request to get the large group safely back to this side of the portal. Despite that, yesterday I found myself an active part in what was happening here. I sensed a student in need and raced to rescue a child being attacked in a dream... only to discover it was the daughter of another child I had once rescued from an even more malicious one," Albus said. "When I rescued Alicia from Ciardoth's vampire nightmare."

"Oh, yes, I recall. I will never forget that day, or everything else that came before Ciardoth and my last battle," Severus said. "I am glad that this incident it had a more positive ending."

"It's true that the Moor Hag was little threat to Aurora or myself, but Dawn Pyther was indeed in peril and would have died had we not been there," Albus informed him. "I was able to wrestle her soul back where it belongs while Aurora was busy banishing the creature from the premises."

"Just like she stepped in and saved Dawn's father from that Leanan Sidhe all those years ago," Severus agreed. "It would be hard to believe such a thing could have been a coincidence."

"It wasn't coincidence. It was Fate," Albus acknowledged with a nod. "And it was Fate that brought be here, despite the fact it was the Guardian of Free Will himself requested that I come with him."

"Yes, well... I don't think Toby's had time to realize just how heavily the scales have been tipped in Fate's favor since he's been gone," Severus admitted.

"No, I don't think he has, or he would have said something by now," Albus said. "He won't be happy, you know. He will confront you about why you've let your Aunt Viviane have so much control."

"More than likely he will, but in the interest of Equilibrium, it was important for her to have the upper hand for a while," Severus explained unconcernedly.

"I see. Well, considering Fate was what brought me here in time to save Dawn, I won't argue the point. I trust your judgement, and I'm sure you know what you're doing as far as that's concerned. But this incident has also alerted me to a problem that I would like to rectify," Albus said.

"Oh?" Severus prompted, gazing at him curiously.

"I think it's high time... overdue in fact... that you fine tune your mental capabilities so that I need not worry about whether or not there's anyone here to handle a crisis of this manner again, and so that Fate doesn't keep pulling me over here at inopportune moments. I have too much I need to attend to at home... a lot more than you know," Albus explained.

"I had nothing to do with your choice to come along," Severus said firmly.

"Oh, I know, I know, Severus, I chose to come. But let's choose to work on what is an obvious weakness in your security, namely, situations involving manipulation of a person's soul rather than their life. With the proper training, you would have been able to sense that Dawn was in trouble just as I did and you could have pulled her out as quickly – probably even quicker than I could have- your skill with time magic would see to that. You even could have helped me unravel those tangled lines faster so there wouldn't have been a backlash in the first place," Albus pointed out. "You have the ability within you to handle such matters yourself, you know."

"It's true that I have learned something about manipulating Soul Strands over the years, Albus. Some of which Merlin taught me so that I had a guide on how to save Pyther. Some of it I learned as an extension of my Occlumens training to protect myself from Ciardoth. And some of it I learned by watching you," Severus acknowledged with a nod. "But that sort of magic ability has always been handled by those with a greater skill with Light Magic than I have."

"Oh, nonsense, Severus. Even if I were to buy your claim that your Light Magic isn't the best, the type of magic you favor has little to do with it. It has more to do with whether or not one has the mental strength to do it or not. Time and time again, you have done so out of necessity. The only reason that sort of telepathic magic is typically only done by specialists in Light Magic is that it can be very dangerous if you lose your sense of hope or your sense of self. It is an existential crisis like no other, since you are working beyond the concept of life and death," Albus explained.

"Yes, I went through something like that when I was attempting to save Francis," Severus admitted.

"Learning how to deal with that sort of crisis is a very good skill to have as a Headmaster, especially when you have highly creative students thinking up new ways to get into trouble. It is time that we filled in your knowledge gaps and honed your mental abilities so that you can protect yourself and your school if I'm not around the next time something happens, and the sooner you learn, the better," Albus said.

"You seem convinced that things are going to get worse," Severus noted.

"Severus, how long do things tend to stay peaceful at this school, in your experience?" Albus inquired.

"A fair point," Severus replied evenly. "You know, Icarus has been after me to work on this sort of thing, but I found it quite off-putting that he treated that sort of ability like type of Divination. I know now that my telepathic ability goes beyond guarding my thoughts, but I also know that I am no Truth Seeker. My ability is much more subtle than that."

"Subtle, yes, but that doesn't make it any less strong or less real. If anything, your innate abilities complement a Truth Seeker's abilities... just as Thomas Craw's mental abilities complemented Alice... and as they probably do now with Fleur, who has some very heightened awareness because of her heritage. He uses his talents to defend himself and to protect his family; his talents have molded to those needs, just as yours have... just as Aurelius' has as well... your abilities all meet the needs of your family," Albus pointed out.

"In the process of balancing those needs, that ability also attempts to reach an Equilibrium with those we care about," Severus concluded.

"You've been using that term a lot lately, Severus," Albus noted. "I understand the desire to reach Equilibrium, but I should warn you that what you desire may be much further down the road than you think... it will become even further away if Toby finds out about it," he added in a lower voice. "He wants this universe to favor Free Will in the same way that Tir Na Nog favors Fate."

"Then he shouldn't keep going over there to meddle so much... not to mention letting human wizards travel back and forth from there with their disruptive ideas about Fate," Severus pointed out. Albus chuckled and nodded in agreement. "He is intentionally adding components of Free Will into Tir Na Nog. You can't tell me he isn't doing it on purpose."

"He does like to throw a spanner in the works when things are running too smoothly," Albus agreed. "I, on the other hand, would like to mix up some mortar when I notice there are cracks in the dam. Are you interested in fixing this problem as much as I am, Severus? I suppose I could try to find someone else to teach, but I do think you're the best candidate to learn at the moment."

"Then it would seem I am under your tutelage again," Severus replied.

"Good. Let's work out a schedule and fetch a couple of books from the library to get you started. Perhaps I could borrow the Teledim? I'd like to let someone know that I won't be straight back after all."

"Of course, go right ahead. I'm terribly sorry about the inconvenience," Severus added sincerely.

"Quite alright, Severus," Albus assured him with a smile. "It is worth the peace of mind that will come from knowing you have things well in hand in the future."

"It'll give me better peace of mind as well, knowing that I won't have to blunder through again when I don't know what I'm doing," Severus agreed, and the two of them soon got to work arranging a schedule and a lesson plan.

Dawn had been excused from morning classes to get some extra rest, then was released from the Hospital Wing after lunch with a homework list in hand. She would normally be at Quidditch practice right now, she thought as she got to the library, bringing several books with her to study. But when she was heading towards the Owl Room, she happened to see Douglas, Ian, and Broc studying at a table near the periodicals, apparently working on their Defense assignment.

She exhaled sharply and put her books down next to the Owl Room door, deciding that the sooner she got it over with, the better she'd feel about it. She marched over to the table, causing both of the boys to look up with stunned looks on their faces.

"Are you going to fight?" Ian immediately wanted to know.

"You're not going to accuse me of something having to do with you missing classes this morning, are you? I was at the ball last night. I had witnesses," Douglas informed her defensively.

"I know, but I want to talk to you outside anyway," Dawn said. Sighing at that, Stephen resignedly got up, attempting to ignore how many students were leaning over tables and whispering as the two of them went outside.

"Alright, Matilda. I hope you know the line bet is two to one in my favor," Douglas warned her.

"I'm not here to get into another fight," Dawn said in a low voice, noticing how many students were peering around the corner. She pulled him further away from the door despite the fact that he kept his other arm next to his wand belt. "Actually, I came to apologize for how I've been hounding you lately." Douglas stared at her for a moment.

"Look, if this is some sort of trick..."

"It's no trick, honest. I just... well, that stupid Hag got me stuck in a dream last night and I realized in the middle of it just how out of line I was getting. I shouldn't accuse you being up to stuff just because you're a Maxen... even if all of your siblings got into trouble for being somewhere they shouldn't and I heard in the corridors that they even tried to exorcise a teacher or something -"

"At the ball," Douglas reminded her.

"Are you sure you aren't just the front man?" Dawn asked suspiciously.

"Some apology!" he exclaimed.

"Wait, sorry. No really, sorry. I have no evidence of that," Dawn replied sincerely, but then raised a finger in warning. "If I ever do find evidence of it, there really will be an anarchy around here! Until then... well, I'd just rather call the war off, if it's all the same with you."

Douglas gazed at her a moment and then shrugged off his book bag, rummaging in it for a moment before pulling out a book and holding it out.

"Here. I bought this for you. I found it in the Tinker Shop, it's all about Stephen and Matilda," he explained.

"You got inside the Tinker Shop?" Dawn gawked, and Douglas nodded with a smile. Slowly she took it. "Thanks Stephen - I meant Douglas, sorry again -"

"That's alright. If you want to know the truth, I was actually thinking using Stephen as my main name from now on. I kind of like it better anyway," Stephen decided.

"Oh. Well, won't your Father mind?" Dawn asked.

"I'll ask grandfather first. I'm sure he won't mind, because Stephen was his father's name, you see," he explained. "It's a family name, just like Matilda is a family name in your case too, right?"

"My grandmother... but she died six or seven centuries ago," Dawn said.

"Wow," Stephen said with a slight grin.

"But I'm keeping Dawn as my main name," she said firmly.

"Good for you. I'm still going to call you Matilda," Stephen informed her, heading back to the library.

Dawn glanced down at the book thoughtfully then shrugged with a smile, going back over to the stand by the Owl Room to get her books before going in.

How sweet, she totally bought that, Zelda thought at her brother.

Bought what? Stephen asked.

That you had nothing to do with any of it, of course. She seems to believe you because you got into that Tinker Shop. How did you manage it, anyway?

I was with Eben. He got me in, Stephen thought back.

How very interesting, Zelda replied, then became focused on something else.

Stephen walked back over to the library table with a frown. It's not as if he had lied, exactly. Not really.

"Where's your black eye?" Ian wanted to know.

"Stow it," Stephen said, sitting back down beside them and going back to his work.