Birds of a Feather
Chapter 17: Southern Academy of Magical Arts
Summary: After Fawkes rescues Severus Snape in the Shrieking Shack, the phoenix decides to stick around.
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1.
"Be seeing you," Lydia called, as she headed down the gangplank with Jack and Stan. She was already looking forward to their next trip. Life in Melbourne's wizarding community was going to seem rather ordinary after their recent adventures, but she was looking forward to seeing their son and telling him all about it. It would be nice to get back to their bookstore, too. In addition to a full range of wizarding books, they stocked muggle literature for wizards, plus muggle CDs and DVDs for those few wizards who could figure out how to use them. It was all magically hidden behind a shop where they sold muggle books to muggles.
The orangs had been released in Borneo without incident. They had enjoyed the trip once they got used to the idea of being at sea, and they were overjoyed to get back to their true home in the trees. They attributed their rescue and safe return to Fawkes,. They believed was a Garuda, and assumed he was in charge of the humans, a notion that the bird did not dispute.
"Next stop, Southern Academy of Magical Arts," Captain Clark announced. He didn't want to leave Kat there alone to face unknown dangers, but Knight Lines was still annoyed about the boat's disappearance during the hijacking. An albatross had brought a Howler from the Manager, Mr Flushwell, who said that he'd personally have the lot of them keel-hauled if they were late for any more pickups. Clark suspected that the mess that the bird had deposited on his deck was no accident.
He called Kat up to the bridge to discuss it. "I want to send Slade along with you," he told his First Mate. "I can probably manage without the two of you for a few days. I'll tell Knight Lines that you two have dragon pox or something, and get a couple of temporaries while you're gone. With Slade to help you, it shouldn't take too long to clear things up."
Kat had to agree. Aside from the fact that he liked Slade, he knew that the caustic grouch was skilled in the dark arts, and he'd feel a lot safer with Slade beside him. He had no idea what might be lurking in the bayous. Normally it was just vampires and zombies. Werewolves avoided the swamps; they didn't like to get their fur wet, or maybe it was just the bugs. But according to his sister, this was something new, something that left its victims apparently unharmed, but in some sort of deep coma. Vampires and zombies don't do that, and neither do werewolves.
Why couldn't his sister be an ordinary Agent, chasing after wizard criminals for misusing their powers? No, she had to join Department X, where they went after the really weird stuff: hauntings, supernatural creatures, eldritch horrors, and that sort of thing. Kat couldn't understand why she did it. And for that matter, he wondered if Slade would do it.
"Do you think he'll go for it?" Kat asked.
"I don't see why not," Clark replied. "A guy like Slade will probably find it interesting. And we wouldn't want him to get bored, now would we?"
~~~~~
Severus doubted that the matter would prove to be anything serious, but he wanted to be prepared, so he packed an assortment of books, vials of potions and potion supplies in a backpack that Kat had given him, along with his seafaring clothes. He also packed some of the magical and muggle-made tools that they used on the ship. He was particularly fond of the enchanted Swiss Army knife, which he put in his pocket. If only he'd had one of those during the hijacking!
Then he went through his old clothing and found some British muggle money, along with his muggle birth certificate and muggle passport (being a half-blood had its advantages). When he stowed them in a magic pocket, his fingers touched the torn picture of Lily and the scrap of her letter to Sirius.
Oh, that again. He'd meant to get rid of them.
He looked at Lily waving happily, and his heart sank. She'd showed him what it felt like to love and be loved, even if it was just childish puppy love that she had later outgrown. After all, he knew full well that it was not him that she was waving at in that photo.
Part of him longed to experience those feelings again, but part of him knew that the price was too high. He could never endure that kind of pain again. It had nearly killed him. He remembered a muggle song from his youth (no matter where you went in the muggle world back then, even at Spinner's End, there was always a radio, and always music). He hummed it:
"And a rock feels no pain,
And an island
Never cries."
A very sensible song, he thought, although unfortunately he still felt pain.
He headed for the porthole to dispose of the fragments, but then he stopped and changed his mind. He conjured an envelope and, disguising his handwriting with a spell, he addressed it to Harry Potter, slipped the fragments inside, and sealed it. They rightfully belonged to the brat, after all. Severus knew he had stolen them, although he couldn't remember exactly when. He didn't realize that was because he'd given that memory to Potter.
~~~~~
Minerva awoke on her favorite cushion on top of her dresser, and she yawned widely. She had always preferred to sleep in her Animagus form. Cats sleep so much better than humans do, although their dreams can be a bit strange. The ones where she was hunting prey were fun, even when she couldn't catch anything, but the ones about being chased by people and dogs were not. And then there were the ones about tomcats. She tried not to think about those too much.
She stood up and arched her back for a few moments, and then she stretched each back leg before jumping down to the floor. It was time for her to move, which she had been putting off all summer. Gryffindor Tower had been her home for decades and she hated to leave it, but the tower was going to be converted into classrooms and storerooms as part of the new plan. Professor Vector would take her place as one of the heads of the new houses, and she would be moving into the Headmaster's quarters.
She changed to her human form, washed and dressed, and began the process of packing. She shrank her furniture and it flew into her trunk, along with her other belongings. There were pictures of her family, her favorite tea set, her books, her letters, her clothes, and way too many odds and ends that she'd accumulated over the years. There was really way too much of it, but she was a powerful witch, and she managed to make it all fit in her trunk.
She had already redecorated the Headmaster's office and quarters. There had been reminders of Albus and Severus everywhere, which she had found somewhat distressing. She missed them both, despite their flaws. But maybe she would feel a bit more at home there after she moved her things in.
~~~~~
"What are you doing, dear?" Lucius asked.
"Writing to Severus," Narcissa told him. "I want to make sure he knows that they officially pardoned him for everything when they gave him that medal. He's free to come home if he wants."
"I doubt that he wants to. Especially with Rita Skeeter working on a book about him. Who knows what kind of dirt she'll dig up?"
"Why don't you and Mother give her some stories?" Draco said. He was reading in a chair by the window. "If she doesn't get enough stories, she'll invent them."
"I know a few good tales from when he was young," Lucius said. "It was much easier to get him to talk back then. A few glasses of scotch would usually do the trick. As he got older, you couldn't get anything out of him no matter what you did, which was understandable in hindsight."
"I doubt that it will satisfy her," Narcissa said.
"They don't have to be true," Draco pointed out. "She can invent stories, or we can. It might as well be us."
Lucius thought for a moment. "Hmm," he said, "the idea does have some merit. We could repay part of our debt to Severus with hardly any financial outlay at all. And it could be quite entertaining. Yes, let's plan some stories and invite her over for drinks. She won't refuse the chance for a private interview with us. Or the chance for drinks, for that matter. Perhaps I'll tell her about the time that the Dark Lord sent young Severus to steal that cursed amulet."
~~~~~
The Southern Academy of Magical Arts sat on a large patch of dry ground in the midst of the swamps. It looked like a large Greek Revival-style plantation house, with its white colonnade and broad, covered porches.
Fawkes flew ahead as Kat and Severus walked up the oak-lined path from the dock. Sunlight filtered through the thick clumps of Spanish moss that hung above them, and Kat waved his wand lazily to keep the bugs away.
"One thing you've got to have here at Southern is a really good bug-repelling charm," Kat said. "We have charms that attract 'em, too. They help keep the muggles away. This area has the densest population of bugs on the Gulf Coast, and the greatest diversity, too. We get a few lost fishermen coming through here occasionally, and once we had some bird-watchers searching for rare woodpeckers, but usually the muggles stay away."
They needed some cooling and anti-humidity charms, too, Severus thought. He could feel the sweat beading on his forehead already.
"We just tripped an alarm ward," Severus whispered as they approached the ornate wrought-iron gate. "I felt it."
The gate swung open and they continued across the wide courtyard toward the building. Then the front doors opened and a slim, dark-haired woman came out with her wand in her hand. She had on a dark green uniform and Severus thought it made her look like a muggle forest ranger, not that he'd ever actually seen one of those. This must be Angie, he thought. A large, bald-headed man followed her, scowling. There was no telling who he was.
"Kat!" she cried when she recognized him. She ran out and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you came! I see you brought extra help, too," she said, eyeing Severus.
"This is my friend, Solomon Slade," Kat told her. "He's the Security Officer on our boat. Slade, this is my sister, Angie. And this is Fawkes," he said as the phoenix landed on the porch railing.
"Why, he's beautiful!" Angie said, and she could have sworn the bird winked at her. "It was good of you to come, Mr Slade. This is Mr Armstrong," she said, indicating the bald man. "He's the Magical Martial Arts instructor here. Come on inside, all of you, and I'll show you around."
~~~~~
Since it was a magical structure, Severus knew the plantation house would be much larger on the inside than it looked from the outside, and indeed it was. It was much cooler inside, too, fortunately. They entered into a large chamber with white marble floors and walls. Two faculty members were waiting under an elaborate crystal chandelier. Both of them had their wands in their hands and worried looks on their faces. Even the portraits lining the walls looked worried.
Fawkes swooped in and perched on a suit of armor on the far side of the room. Nice place, he thought, looking around. I wonder why we're here? Are these new friends? And where's the kitchen? Maybe they have some goodies.
Angie introduced Mr Cohen, the principal, and Ms Applewood, the Herbology teacher. "Welcome, and thank you for coming," Mr Cohen said. He shook hands with each of them. His palm was wet with nervous sweat, but his handshake was firm and his voice was steady. "We really are at a loss as to how to handle this, and we're glad for your help. We've never seen anything like this here before."
Ms Applewood smiled nervously at them. She was a tall, graceful woman with long brown hair. Mr Armstrong kept glancing toward the door as if he expected an attack at any moment.
"What can you tell us about this thing?" Kat asked.
"Not much," Angie said. "Aside from the victims, no one has actually seen it, and the victims were comatose and couldn't tell us anything. I think my partner and I got close to it one night, but then, well, I'm not sure what happened. I think I passed out." She looked embarrassed. "When I woke up my partner was scared out of his wits. He jumped on his broom and fled. He didn't even return to the school for his things. Headquarters said he sent an owl with his resignation."
"Where are the victims now?" Severus asked.
"They were in the hospital in New Orleans. The Mediwizards there tried everything they could think of, but after a few days, they died."
"Not good," said Kat. "Were they people we knew?"
"I'm afraid so," Angie said sadly. "Mr Greenly, the Charms teacher, was the first. He also taught Magical Painting, and he went out to paint by the lake at sunset, as he often did. When he didn't come back after dark, they searched and found him lying beside his easel. At first they thought he was dead; he was so still and cold, just like a corpse. Then they realized that he was still breathing slowly, but they couldn't revive him, and neither could the Mediwizards in New Orleans.
"Everyone thought it was some sort of freak accident, but when the same thing happened to Mr French, the Magical Languages teacher, they realized there must be something evil lurking out there, and they called us. Mr French liked to go for early morning walks and watch the sun rise. They found him by the river."
"Mr Greenly and Mr French?" Kat said. "I took classes from both of them. I liked them."
"Me, too," said Angie.
"Angie, why don't you show our guests to their rooms," Mr Cohen said. "They can get settled and then join us for dinner. We can discuss this later."
"Sure," Angie said sadly. "Two nice rooms are empty now." Severus and Kat didn't have to ask why.
Summary: After Fawkes rescues Severus Snape in the Shrieking Shack, the phoenix decides to stick around.
The usual disclaimer applies. See Chapter 1.
"Be seeing you," Lydia called, as she headed down the gangplank with Jack and Stan. She was already looking forward to their next trip. Life in Melbourne's wizarding community was going to seem rather ordinary after their recent adventures, but she was looking forward to seeing their son and telling him all about it. It would be nice to get back to their bookstore, too. In addition to a full range of wizarding books, they stocked muggle literature for wizards, plus muggle CDs and DVDs for those few wizards who could figure out how to use them. It was all magically hidden behind a shop where they sold muggle books to muggles.
The orangs had been released in Borneo without incident. They had enjoyed the trip once they got used to the idea of being at sea, and they were overjoyed to get back to their true home in the trees. They attributed their rescue and safe return to Fawkes,. They believed was a Garuda, and assumed he was in charge of the humans, a notion that the bird did not dispute.
"Next stop, Southern Academy of Magical Arts," Captain Clark announced. He didn't want to leave Kat there alone to face unknown dangers, but Knight Lines was still annoyed about the boat's disappearance during the hijacking. An albatross had brought a Howler from the Manager, Mr Flushwell, who said that he'd personally have the lot of them keel-hauled if they were late for any more pickups. Clark suspected that the mess that the bird had deposited on his deck was no accident.
He called Kat up to the bridge to discuss it. "I want to send Slade along with you," he told his First Mate. "I can probably manage without the two of you for a few days. I'll tell Knight Lines that you two have dragon pox or something, and get a couple of temporaries while you're gone. With Slade to help you, it shouldn't take too long to clear things up."
Kat had to agree. Aside from the fact that he liked Slade, he knew that the caustic grouch was skilled in the dark arts, and he'd feel a lot safer with Slade beside him. He had no idea what might be lurking in the bayous. Normally it was just vampires and zombies. Werewolves avoided the swamps; they didn't like to get their fur wet, or maybe it was just the bugs. But according to his sister, this was something new, something that left its victims apparently unharmed, but in some sort of deep coma. Vampires and zombies don't do that, and neither do werewolves.
Why couldn't his sister be an ordinary Agent, chasing after wizard criminals for misusing their powers? No, she had to join Department X, where they went after the really weird stuff: hauntings, supernatural creatures, eldritch horrors, and that sort of thing. Kat couldn't understand why she did it. And for that matter, he wondered if Slade would do it.
"Do you think he'll go for it?" Kat asked.
"I don't see why not," Clark replied. "A guy like Slade will probably find it interesting. And we wouldn't want him to get bored, now would we?"
~~~~~
Severus doubted that the matter would prove to be anything serious, but he wanted to be prepared, so he packed an assortment of books, vials of potions and potion supplies in a backpack that Kat had given him, along with his seafaring clothes. He also packed some of the magical and muggle-made tools that they used on the ship. He was particularly fond of the enchanted Swiss Army knife, which he put in his pocket. If only he'd had one of those during the hijacking!
Then he went through his old clothing and found some British muggle money, along with his muggle birth certificate and muggle passport (being a half-blood had its advantages). When he stowed them in a magic pocket, his fingers touched the torn picture of Lily and the scrap of her letter to Sirius.
Oh, that again. He'd meant to get rid of them.
He looked at Lily waving happily, and his heart sank. She'd showed him what it felt like to love and be loved, even if it was just childish puppy love that she had later outgrown. After all, he knew full well that it was not him that she was waving at in that photo.
Part of him longed to experience those feelings again, but part of him knew that the price was too high. He could never endure that kind of pain again. It had nearly killed him. He remembered a muggle song from his youth (no matter where you went in the muggle world back then, even at Spinner's End, there was always a radio, and always music). He hummed it:
"And a rock feels no pain,
And an island
Never cries."
A very sensible song, he thought, although unfortunately he still felt pain.
He headed for the porthole to dispose of the fragments, but then he stopped and changed his mind. He conjured an envelope and, disguising his handwriting with a spell, he addressed it to Harry Potter, slipped the fragments inside, and sealed it. They rightfully belonged to the brat, after all. Severus knew he had stolen them, although he couldn't remember exactly when. He didn't realize that was because he'd given that memory to Potter.
~~~~~
Minerva awoke on her favorite cushion on top of her dresser, and she yawned widely. She had always preferred to sleep in her Animagus form. Cats sleep so much better than humans do, although their dreams can be a bit strange. The ones where she was hunting prey were fun, even when she couldn't catch anything, but the ones about being chased by people and dogs were not. And then there were the ones about tomcats. She tried not to think about those too much.
She stood up and arched her back for a few moments, and then she stretched each back leg before jumping down to the floor. It was time for her to move, which she had been putting off all summer. Gryffindor Tower had been her home for decades and she hated to leave it, but the tower was going to be converted into classrooms and storerooms as part of the new plan. Professor Vector would take her place as one of the heads of the new houses, and she would be moving into the Headmaster's quarters.
She changed to her human form, washed and dressed, and began the process of packing. She shrank her furniture and it flew into her trunk, along with her other belongings. There were pictures of her family, her favorite tea set, her books, her letters, her clothes, and way too many odds and ends that she'd accumulated over the years. There was really way too much of it, but she was a powerful witch, and she managed to make it all fit in her trunk.
She had already redecorated the Headmaster's office and quarters. There had been reminders of Albus and Severus everywhere, which she had found somewhat distressing. She missed them both, despite their flaws. But maybe she would feel a bit more at home there after she moved her things in.
~~~~~
"What are you doing, dear?" Lucius asked.
"Writing to Severus," Narcissa told him. "I want to make sure he knows that they officially pardoned him for everything when they gave him that medal. He's free to come home if he wants."
"I doubt that he wants to. Especially with Rita Skeeter working on a book about him. Who knows what kind of dirt she'll dig up?"
"Why don't you and Mother give her some stories?" Draco said. He was reading in a chair by the window. "If she doesn't get enough stories, she'll invent them."
"I know a few good tales from when he was young," Lucius said. "It was much easier to get him to talk back then. A few glasses of scotch would usually do the trick. As he got older, you couldn't get anything out of him no matter what you did, which was understandable in hindsight."
"I doubt that it will satisfy her," Narcissa said.
"They don't have to be true," Draco pointed out. "She can invent stories, or we can. It might as well be us."
Lucius thought for a moment. "Hmm," he said, "the idea does have some merit. We could repay part of our debt to Severus with hardly any financial outlay at all. And it could be quite entertaining. Yes, let's plan some stories and invite her over for drinks. She won't refuse the chance for a private interview with us. Or the chance for drinks, for that matter. Perhaps I'll tell her about the time that the Dark Lord sent young Severus to steal that cursed amulet."
~~~~~
The Southern Academy of Magical Arts sat on a large patch of dry ground in the midst of the swamps. It looked like a large Greek Revival-style plantation house, with its white colonnade and broad, covered porches.
Fawkes flew ahead as Kat and Severus walked up the oak-lined path from the dock. Sunlight filtered through the thick clumps of Spanish moss that hung above them, and Kat waved his wand lazily to keep the bugs away.
"One thing you've got to have here at Southern is a really good bug-repelling charm," Kat said. "We have charms that attract 'em, too. They help keep the muggles away. This area has the densest population of bugs on the Gulf Coast, and the greatest diversity, too. We get a few lost fishermen coming through here occasionally, and once we had some bird-watchers searching for rare woodpeckers, but usually the muggles stay away."
They needed some cooling and anti-humidity charms, too, Severus thought. He could feel the sweat beading on his forehead already.
"We just tripped an alarm ward," Severus whispered as they approached the ornate wrought-iron gate. "I felt it."
The gate swung open and they continued across the wide courtyard toward the building. Then the front doors opened and a slim, dark-haired woman came out with her wand in her hand. She had on a dark green uniform and Severus thought it made her look like a muggle forest ranger, not that he'd ever actually seen one of those. This must be Angie, he thought. A large, bald-headed man followed her, scowling. There was no telling who he was.
"Kat!" she cried when she recognized him. She ran out and threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you came! I see you brought extra help, too," she said, eyeing Severus.
"This is my friend, Solomon Slade," Kat told her. "He's the Security Officer on our boat. Slade, this is my sister, Angie. And this is Fawkes," he said as the phoenix landed on the porch railing.
"Why, he's beautiful!" Angie said, and she could have sworn the bird winked at her. "It was good of you to come, Mr Slade. This is Mr Armstrong," she said, indicating the bald man. "He's the Magical Martial Arts instructor here. Come on inside, all of you, and I'll show you around."
~~~~~
Since it was a magical structure, Severus knew the plantation house would be much larger on the inside than it looked from the outside, and indeed it was. It was much cooler inside, too, fortunately. They entered into a large chamber with white marble floors and walls. Two faculty members were waiting under an elaborate crystal chandelier. Both of them had their wands in their hands and worried looks on their faces. Even the portraits lining the walls looked worried.
Fawkes swooped in and perched on a suit of armor on the far side of the room. Nice place, he thought, looking around. I wonder why we're here? Are these new friends? And where's the kitchen? Maybe they have some goodies.
Angie introduced Mr Cohen, the principal, and Ms Applewood, the Herbology teacher. "Welcome, and thank you for coming," Mr Cohen said. He shook hands with each of them. His palm was wet with nervous sweat, but his handshake was firm and his voice was steady. "We really are at a loss as to how to handle this, and we're glad for your help. We've never seen anything like this here before."
Ms Applewood smiled nervously at them. She was a tall, graceful woman with long brown hair. Mr Armstrong kept glancing toward the door as if he expected an attack at any moment.
"What can you tell us about this thing?" Kat asked.
"Not much," Angie said. "Aside from the victims, no one has actually seen it, and the victims were comatose and couldn't tell us anything. I think my partner and I got close to it one night, but then, well, I'm not sure what happened. I think I passed out." She looked embarrassed. "When I woke up my partner was scared out of his wits. He jumped on his broom and fled. He didn't even return to the school for his things. Headquarters said he sent an owl with his resignation."
"Where are the victims now?" Severus asked.
"They were in the hospital in New Orleans. The Mediwizards there tried everything they could think of, but after a few days, they died."
"Not good," said Kat. "Were they people we knew?"
"I'm afraid so," Angie said sadly. "Mr Greenly, the Charms teacher, was the first. He also taught Magical Painting, and he went out to paint by the lake at sunset, as he often did. When he didn't come back after dark, they searched and found him lying beside his easel. At first they thought he was dead; he was so still and cold, just like a corpse. Then they realized that he was still breathing slowly, but they couldn't revive him, and neither could the Mediwizards in New Orleans.
"Everyone thought it was some sort of freak accident, but when the same thing happened to Mr French, the Magical Languages teacher, they realized there must be something evil lurking out there, and they called us. Mr French liked to go for early morning walks and watch the sun rise. They found him by the river."
"Mr Greenly and Mr French?" Kat said. "I took classes from both of them. I liked them."
"Me, too," said Angie.
"Angie, why don't you show our guests to their rooms," Mr Cohen said. "They can get settled and then join us for dinner. We can discuss this later."
"Sure," Angie said sadly. "Two nice rooms are empty now." Severus and Kat didn't have to ask why.