Chapter Forty-Two

An Examination of Lessons Learned

As the adventuring students got to the other end of the corridor, Jay lifted up his lantern to get a look at the door blocking their way.

Quintin blinked in surprise.

"I recognize this door. It's the door to my sister's nursery... the one next to Ravenclaw. See the pieces of tape? Sometimes she puts artwork on here," Quintin said, pointing out the tape still stuck on the wood.

"You're right, it is her door," Jay agreed. "Do you know the password, Quintin?"

"I think so," Quintin said. "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, why does your garden glow?"

"Glow?" Elmira asked.

"Yeah, the Hat likes to put his own spin on nursery rhymes sometimes," Quintin explained, pushing open the door.

He wasn't surprised that it lead into the Headmaster's Study.

He was a lot more surprised to see that Albus Dumbledore and Hermione were sitting with his mother and father.

Quintin stepped across the threshold and stumbled.

"Careful! You might drop it!" Professor Weasley warned. Jay stepped over to steady both Quintin and the box.

"I believe that stumble is partially my fault," Snape admitted. "Everyone make your way inside... Professor Craw, do you mind setting up a table for them?"

"Yes, of course! Is everyone alright? Are you hungry?" Craw asked as she got up and used a wand to call up a long table and a bunch of chairs.

"Ravenous!" Dawn declared.

"What are we doing here?" Zelda asked.

"And how is it still 4:26 in the afternoon?" Quintin asked, rubbing his head.

"As to that, I exerted a time field beginning from when you finished the first trial area to this doorway. Sorry about the headache, but I put it in as insurance so that this adventure of yours went past curfew," Snape confessed.

"Wait. You put it there? But that would imply that you must have known about trial before we went in there," Olivia said flatly.

"A reasonable deduction," Snape agreed.

"Are you saying this whole thing was a setup?" Bonnibel stammered, completely stunned. "Does that mean you knew where the Silver Box was all along?"

"Not the entire time," Craw said. "But I assure you that we will explain."

"First, let's see the contents of the Chancellor's Box together, shall we?" Snape suggested. "Does anyone among you know how to open it?"

"I think know how to open it," Stephen offered.

"Very well, bring the box over to my desk so everyone can see," Snape said.

Quintin set the Silver Box on the desk, watching with the others as Stephen walked up to it and took it in his hands, studying the etched pictures. He pushed the engraving of the kneeling Bedivere and several silver rods pushed out of the sides, behaving more like a wooden puzzle than metal. But Stephen had been expecting that and calmly kept working, starting over when he felt he had made a mistake and recreating the parts he was sure he had gotten right. Everyone watched in silence, a little confused as to what he was doing since it was hard to understand each step without having the box in hand.

Finally, all of the silver rods slid back in place and Stephen heard a click. He had been expecting it to open on its own, so he stared at it a moment with a frown until realization set in.

"I made five mistakes while completing the puzzle," Stephen announced. He felt a tingle through his hands and the lid popped open.

"Well done, Stephen!" Craw said with a warm smile.

"What is in it?" Zelda asked impatiently.

"It's a quill set," Stephen replied, taking off the lid and putting the box down so everyone could see.

Inside were a pair of long featured quills with silver nibs, as well as a piece of leather with ribbon attached were a series of brushes and small metal tools, some with pointed ends and some with blunt ends.

"What are these?" Stephen asked, pointing at the small metal tools curiously.

"Those are tools for painting and gilding letters," Severus replied. "The charms seem to have held up well despite the age. Ancient Magic at its best."

"Ah, those were the days," Albus said in a teasing manner.

"What sort of charms are on the quills? What makes them so powerful?" Moira asked.

"O'Lauren was what made them powerful," Severus replied, gazing up at her. "It's true that this quill kit has many charms to aid in their preservation. Those charms prevent them from breaking and keep the feathers in tact, prevent tarnish, bristle wear, and maintain the gilding knife's sharp edge. But the reason that Bedivere O'Lauren considered these to be his most powerful magic was not because of the tools themselves so much as what he used them for. As a Symbologist and because of his role as supervisor over the creation of instructional books for the school, he felt that his writing and his art were the most powerful magic he possessed. After all, their power is only limited by one's power to create."

Dawn smacked herself in the forehead.

"I should have guessed that a long time ago," Dawn groaned.

"I think it's brilliant," Quintin decided with a smile.

"Are you saying that we just risked our lives for a box that had nothing but a bunch of basic writing tools in it?" Moira exclaimed in frustration.

"Oh, Moira! There's no need to be dramatic. None of you were in any real danger," Professor Weasley informed her. "There was only enough danger involved to make it a challenge, and considering all of you got out of it without even cuts and bruises, you have nothing to complain about. When we went after the Stone, we came out with cuts and bruises, especially Ron," Weasley pointedly reminded Albus.

"He could have ducked," Albus said simply.

"In other words, Moira is right. You did set this up," Jay said flatly.

"How long have you known where the Silver Box was without telling us?" Olivia asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Yes, I suppose we should back up and explain now. Care to sit down first?" Snape suggested. The students grumpily moved over to the table. "Professors Craw and Weasley, I believe you may want to start us off."

"It started just a couple of weeks ago, really, when Jay and the others asked me to supervise an item recovery mission," Craw began, making sure that the Trade Elves were busy filling the students' table before going back over to her chair. "Up until then , I had been helping Stephen while he was in the Research Library. He had already figured out some particulars about the box and was well on his way of figuring out the trick to opening it by then. In some ways, Bonnibel's team was further along at that point."

"We knew they were. That's why we were starting to get a bit desperate," Olivia admitted.

"Well, as it so happens, I have lunch with Hermione once a week where we typically chat about administration things... coordinating houses and security an the like," she explained to the students. "That week, we spent the entire lunch talking about your research projects and how you were doing. You see, at that point, we still hadn't figured out where the box was just yet. We already knew what we were looking for, because Severus told us from the very start. We also had the advantage of knowing where your research was going. Since you were both tackling it from different directions, it gave us plenty of information, so once we put our heads together, it didn't take the two of us very long to figure out that the box had been moved from the Scribe's Quarter to the Chancellor's Room, after we knew that, it was easy to conclude that the room must have been hidden on one of the upper floors and we were able to track it down.

"Of course, that put us in a rather awkward position," Craw continued apologetically. "We looked inside the Chancellor's Room long enough to confirm that it was there, but we really didn't want to get in the way of either of your student projects. So, we decided the best thing to do was to consult the Headmaster on the matter. He was having tea with Albus Dumbledore, who, as a former Headmaster himself, had some ideas of his own on how to approach the problem. In fact, it was Albus that suggested that we might be able to turn the event into a teaching opportunity."

"I might have suggested it, but Professor Snape was who truly took the idea and ran with it," Albus protested with amusement.

"As it so happens, I was already struggling with a different problem, which involved a student who needed to engage more with his defense lessons. I saw this as a way to help me solve that problem," Severus said. Quintin frowned and glanced sideways at his father but didn't say anything. "A set of skill challenges seemed to be the perfect solution. We based it on O'Lauren's principals of learning, and several different teachers contributed. The tile room to encourage thoughtfulness was designed by Albus, Laura, and Aurelius, for example."

"We were turned into stone!" Bonnibel exclaimed.

"It was never going to be permanent," Snape replied unconcernedly. "Professor Aurelius added that contribution to the puzzle. He thought there should be more risk involved. I believe it was Laura who decided to go with the first four houses as the test, since representing all five houses would make it too obvious that these trials weren't original."

"I suppose the next room was yours, Mother?" Quintin asked briskly. Jennifer gazed at him, reading his irritated expression thoughtfully.

"Actually, the Mirror Room was my contribution," Snape replied calmly. "I got the idea that night while I was doing forms and working with my training mirror. I realized it would only take a couple of tweaks to turn the mirror from something designed to challenge us physically into a mental challenge, and since it was obvious that the group taking on the challenge would contain one or possibly several Truth Seekers, I knew it would prove to be a difficult enough challenge for anyone entering that room. I chose the trial of challenging one's inner flaws to fit with the theme of learning to be humble. Hopefully one or more of you got some benefit from that lesson."

Quintin turned away and focused at the table, refusing to look at his father any longer.

"It was quite challenging," Dawn admitted. "To be honest, I had already been fighting myself over one of my biggest flaws about jumping to conclusions. But since I was already working on it, the trial wasn't as bad as all of that."

"Yes, it was the same for me. I'm afraid the challenge was harder for some others... or in one case, impossible," Elmira said with a teasing grin towards Antonio.

"What? It is not my fault that I had no flaws to see when I looked in the mirror. Perhaps it is a flaw to have no flaws?" Antonio pondered. Several of the students rolled their eyes, while Craw looked at Professor Snape, hoping for an out.

"Moving on," Snape replied, deciding to simply ignore it. "Now that you know that the faculty was behind those trials, I'm sure you can guess who designed the next room."

"Professor Weasley," nearly all of the students said at once.

"Really, Aunt Hermione, it does have your fingerprints all over it, from having to search through all of those books to all of the charms that were used," Olivia told her with a laugh.

"Except that we had to do the opposite of what she usually tells us by judging the book by its cover," Moira said.

"That was at our insistence, actually. We didn't want you students stuck in the trials all night," Craw said with amusement.

"To be fair, it was the most fun trial we had, and it was the first one that really forced us to all work together," Dawn commented. Professor Weasley smiled proudly at that. "The last trial made us work together too, but it was way, way more intense."

"Oh, yes! That one was mine," Craw announced cheerfully. Most of them leaned over and stared at her.

"You're the one that nearly got us killed?" Moira asked flatly.

"Now, don't be silly! That lift never would have reached an unsafe level. Were you attempting to keep it up when it fell? If so, it probably didn't have any real effect, because it was charmed to stop just above the lake," Craw informed them.

"So it was a lift?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, I got the idea from Whitebridge's Gazebo elevators. I asked for particulars from Dean Elk and was able to put together a temporary platform based on their design. Then I charmed it to be transparent so that you wouldn't know it was a lift because Severus specifically told us that each trial had to have an illusion of risk," Craw said, pleased with herself. "I knew it'd be hard for all of you to stay positive under such worrisome circumstances, but I also knew that if you all cooperated... which was the entire theme behind my design... you'd be able to overcome the obstacle. Sometimes having others cheer you on can be extremely mood bolstering. Don't you think?"

Quintin sighed in resignation, shaking his head with a smile.

"I completely agree," Antonio said emphatically.

"You would think so," Broc told Antonio flatly.

"It must have worked it the end. You were all positive enough to fix the problem and get to your end goal, after all," Craw pointed out.

"And for what? It's nothing but a stupid quill set," Zelda said grumpily.

"I know why you may think that way, Zelda," Weasley interrupted in a more serious tone. "But the truth is that it really didn't matter what was in the box. It's only natural for our imaginations to go wild when faced with an unknown quantity, but our expectations get too high. Even if it was close to your idea of what a powerful item is, it still wouldn't have been as powerful as what you might have imagined. In fact, I think keeping what was in the box a secret was a very wise idea."

"I simply withheld that information so that they would stay motivated enough to find it," Snape explained. "I had already been looking for it so that it could be put on display once the renovations are completely in the Scribe's Quarter, and I know how good students are at finding things in the castle that get lost over time. Realizing that it wouldn't be that dangerous for you to look was another deciding factor, of course, and I also knew how much you would learn from the experience."

"Speaking of which, might I speak about their rewards now, Professor? They really ought to know that they're get something for it," Craw requested. Snape nodded to her. "First, house points! Ten points to each one of you for finding the box!"

"Aw man! That means Slytherin gets more than anybody," Dawn complained.

"Yes, sorry! That's why we're only giving ten, since we didn't want it to be a daunting number that the rest of your houses couldn't make up for it if you worked at it. Just remember, there are still your research projects to consider, so it's more than like likely you'll be earning more points after your teams turning those in," Jennifer reminded them. "As for passing our trials, we have some extra special awards to give out... in fact, we are going to let this count for some of your midterm exams, which will mean you'll have less exams to take next week." There was a murmur of appreciation and several tentative smiles. "Mr. Craw, if you don't mind? Since you were with them every step of the way."

"Of course," Janus Craw said, manifesting behind Jennifer's chair.

"You were spying on us?" Zelda asked darkly.

"Yes, so that someone in the faculty knew all of your accomplishments while you were in the trial area. I was in charge of noting specific skills each of you used so that I could judge whether or not you were worthy of passing out of a midterm exam," Mr. Craw explained. "For example, Moira correctly determined that the patterns on the box weren't flawed and even pointed out the time discrepancies. She also deduced that one of the constellations as presented on the box was actually half of two modern asterims. After consulting with her teacher, we have decided to mark her as passing her Astronomy exam." Moira gave them a rare smile. "Professor Craw, you'll be happy to know that all of your current Items students have passed your class, which includes Elmira, Quintin, Bonnibel, and most especially Stephen."

"Oh yes, and ten extra points to Stephen for going above and beyond on figuring out the box," Craw offered proudly.

"He's due more, but we'll get to that in a moment," Mr. Craw informed her. "Quintin Snape, for providing Rune translations throughout the trials, gets a pass on his Runes exam."

"Probably the easiest pass he'll ever get from one of my classes," Severus said expressionlessly. Albus chuckled silently beside him.

"For Charms I have larger list, specifically Jay, Olivia, Bonnibel, Dawn, Moira, Zelda, and Stephen. For Defense, everyone at the table passed except Antonio. Sorry, you'll have to take that one," Janus informed him.

"What? Why are you singling me out?" Antonio protested.

"For failing to recognize the Mirror Trial was even a trial, even after the fact," Janus said bluntly.

"But all of my siblings and cousins got stoned! Shouldn't they get failed as well?" he asked.

"Hey!" Broc scowled at him for bringing it up.

"They were stoned for failing to read the Runes above the door. I consider that a failure of their Runes class," Janus explained. "After that first incident, the rest of your group did relatively well. Besides, I was given final judgment on this whole pass-fail thing since I was the only staff member observing in person, so you'll have to live with it."

"That's true, he was," Professor Snape confirmed.

"Can I at least get a pass on History?" Antonio suggested.

"While Professor Scribe and Mr. Tinker were consulted on the matter, they decided... and rightly so... that they withhold their judgment on History until your reports are sent out for publication. If you want a free pass on your final History exam, I suggest you take those research papers seriously. Of course, that doesn't get you out of studying for your NEWT or your OWLS for those who need to take them."

"Understood," Bonnibel said with a sigh.

"Was that all of the exam passes that I needed to write down, Janus?" Professor Weasley asked. They all glanced over to see that she was indeed writing them all down.

"Yes, but I have some personal points to give out now," Janus said.

"Oh, that's much more fun," Albus commented. Craw nodded to him with smile.

"For overcoming personal obstacles after being placed in a compromising situation, I am rewarding Quintin twenty points," Janus said. Quintin made a pained expression rather than a smile, but Jay gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder anyway. "For exhibiting leadership qualities and keeping the students focused, I give Janus and Olivia ten points each," he added. Jay nodded and Olivia gave Jay a smile. "For integrity, good form, and choosing to cross the lines when it meant getting the job done, I give Stephen ten more points," he said.

"Rackin' them up, aren't you?" Dawn murmured at him tauntingly.

"As for Dawn," Janus continued and she froze, wondering if she had done something wrong. "Ten points for not reminding the rest of the students that she had the means to get them out of the trial at any time."

There was a sudden eruption from the other students at the point, turning on Dawn with their complaints while she giggled sheepishly.

"I just wanted to see what was going to happen next! I wasn't about to leave just because some of you might have been feeling a bit of pressure! I was having too much fun!" she explained with a grin.

"She's right, you know. It was a lot of fun, and it was so exciting! I can't wait to get home and tell my family all about it, especially my Granddad!" Olivia said happily.

"Sometimes the apple really doesn't fall that far from the tree, does it? At least not when it comes to those two," Professor Weasley said with amusement.

"How very true," Albus said. "I am so glad you went along with this teaching challenge, Severus."

"I am glad you suggested it. I believe it was exactly what was needed, in fact," Severus said, noting Quintin's dour behavior. He glanced up and Janus, who nodded in confirmation. "Well done. Let's eat, shall we?"

Realizing that Janus had no intention of bringing up the stand off at the end, even Zelda relaxed. At least it got her out of her Defense and Charms exams, she decided. Stephen, it seemed, was rewarded for his bad behavior, but she knew she could make his life miserable over the holidays.

"Professor Snape, since we found the Silver Box, does that mean that Professor Aurelius will release that mental block between me and my siblings now?" Zelda asked. She was aware that the rest of them was not keen on the idea. Albus, Craw, and Weasley noted their reactions thoughtfully.

"That block was not put there to keep you from finding the box, Miss Maxen. Rather, it was to keep you from interfering with Bonnibel and her team's research," Snape reminded her. "It is unlikely that mental block will go away until it is turned in and complete."

"I see," Zelda said evenly. "Well, then. Now that the Silver Box is found, I really don't have the motivation to pursue it any further. I shall voluntarily stay out of it from now on."

"Thank you, Zelda," Bonnibel said.

To keep the silence that followed from getting awkward, Olivia praised everyone who got extra points and asked the others how they were going to spend the extra time they earned. It was soon obvious, however, that most of the students were now focused on the holidays.

Jennifer smiled and let them chat, grateful that the students, at least, were looking forward to the break. But for Jennifer, things were about to get quite busy, quite busy indeed.