Chapter One Hundred-Twelve: Association

Chapter One Hundred-Twelve: Association

Tuesday, 6 April – Wednesday, 7 April 1999

Severus clicked his watch shut, then fiddled with his watch chain. Gareth's owl had said he would be at the gates at quarter to eight. They would meet the witches at the Three Broomsticks at eight. There was no such thing as a reservation at the Broomsticks, and even though it was a Tuesday night in the middle of the Easter holiday, the pub might still be busy. Severus didn't want them to land an undesirable table. He'd prefer one where he could see but not be easily seen.

The wind was harsh that evening after a damp day, and his ears were beginning to feel like icicles. A few more minutes of it, and he'd cast a warming charm. Minerva had given him a knit cap with ear flaps one Christmas. He couldn't believe that she actually thought he would wear such a thing, even in black, but other than the few seconds he had tried it on for her, he'd never worn it. Perhaps when he was old and grey, he'd pull it out of its drawer and don it, but until then, warming charms would suit him fine.

There was a snick of Apparition, and Gareth was on the other side of the gates, wand drawn. The younger wizard looked around himself, then approached the gate.

"Cooo-eeee!" he cried.

Severus shuddered. "Don't start with all that 'Down Under' nonsense, or I'm not coming."

Gareth laughed. "Just getting your attention, that's all!"

"Next time I'm lost in the Forbidden Forest, you have permission to shout that," Severus said grumpily, opening the gate and stepping through, "but at no other time."

"You could get lost in the Forest?" Gareth asked sceptically.

"Probably not."

"Didn't think so."

The two began walking toward the village, and Gareth pulled the collar of his jacket up against the damp wind.

"I did some work on the house today. It's coming along. We've moved most of your mother's things up into the attic. Tomorrow I'm getting to work on her witch's room. Feels funny taking it over. Unlucky or something."

"I didn't know you were superstitious," Severus replied. "You can always keep your computer in the bedroom instead, if you prefer. But I assure you, I have not seen her ghost, and any suicidal inclinations I may have felt while at Spinner's End had nothing to do with her fate."

"Don't feel like that now, do you, mate?" At Severus's brief shake of his head, Gareth said, "That's good. You had a lot of people working to keep you alive, and you have a lot of future ahead of you, a lot of people who need you. No offing yourself!"

"This is not a topic for discussion," Severus said icily.

"Right. Well, I'm not superstitious because of your mum's death. It just seems funny...peculiar, like...to take over a witch's room. I grew up believing they were sacrosanct."

"My mother has no more use for it, obviously, and I haven't used it since her death. It's just wasted space."

"You're certain you don't want it for a study yourself?"

Severus shook his head. "If I did, I would have taken it years ago. I treat the living room as one large study. Such as it is. Or was."

"You'll like it now, Snape. The rolling bookcases have turned out brilliantly...we were even able to fit some of the books from the dining room in the new ones, and we filled up the two bookcases we put in the dining room itself. The books that wouldn't fit, we put up in your bedroom as you instructed. The windows are clean and have curtains in front of them instead of furniture, and Mum loaned me Dinstin, an elf from the estate who's something of an expert in brickwork, and you have a new chimney and fireplace...completely camouflaged from Muggles on the outside, of course. When we get to the bathroom and the downstairs loo, Dinstin is going to lay the tile."

"Don't connect the fireplace to the Floo Network yet. I need to consider that," Severus said.

"I know; you told me that before. British Telecom are supposed to be out next week to put in the phone line, so I wanted to get the study ready for it, and I'll have them put a phone in the kitchen, too, on the wall where the old one used to be, though I don't know if they can use the existing wiring or not. Speaking of wiring, Carl is coming by this week to work on the electrics. He hopes he'll be finished with it by Saturday. That's going to be the biggest job, since so much is outdated and needs to be replaced. Carl says your bathroom isn't regulation and it's a wonder you haven't been electrifried in the bath." Gareth laughed. "But I thought that as soon as you're back from your holiday with Poppy, you could come by and see it. Enough will be done so that you will be able to get a real feel for the place. Right now, it's a bit of a mess still."

"Sounds like you have everything well orchestrated," Severus said.

"Having the house-elves help has moved things along very quickly. How have you been? You were going to do some more brewing, right?"

Snape nodded. "I finished that up this afternoon. I plan to owl Professor Birnbaum tomorrow to arrange delivery."

"And did you get in any duelling practice?"

Severus grunted. "Too much."

"Feeling achey again? A couple of pints will ease your pain."

Severus shook his head. "I cast a new spell on Flitwick. It had unexpected effects. I had to Summon that Madam Fuller from St. Giles or Mungo's or wherever she was today. It was not pleasant. Your cousin came and fixed him up, though."

"Flitwick's all right, then?" Gareth asked with concern.

"Melina gave him the appropriate treatments. Fuller ... I suppose she stabilised him, but she didn't do much to treat him, and then she was quite officious, wanting to make reports and so on. Melina, er, Melina convinced her that a simple notation in Flitwick's records was sufficient." Severus twitched a smile as he remembered the Healer's unexpected Obliviate. That certainly had saved him from some awkward questions. "Flitwick was at dinner and he says he feels fine now."

"That must be the accident that Aine saw," Gareth said with a nod. "She was right about it."

"Mm."

"Got that out of the way, then," Gareth went on. "Now there's only that vigilante for you to identify."

"Shh. Don't say anything about that." Severus looked around. They were just entering the village and there was no one near. "It was probably just so much nonsense, anyway. Besides, I've met almost everyone in the wizarding world between the ages of twelve and forty...at least everyone who's attended Hogwarts...and a good portion of those over forty, so it's quite likely that I've at least met the person. Just about anyone who's taught at Hogwarts for a long time has just as good a chance as I do of knowing the person...better, in fact, since they're all older than I am. If the person is British or Irish and attended Hogwarts, Dumbledore certainly knows her."

"Yes, but Aine emphasised you, Snape, that you will discover who she is. Whoever she is, there must be many people who know her, but who have no idea what she's doing. At least, I hope no one knows. It would be terrible if others were involved, or if someone knew what she's doing and isn't stopping her."

"I hope you have other topics of conversation planned for the evening," Severus said. "I don't think that Morgana and Gwen would appreciate this one. Neither do I."

"Right."

The two wizards reached the pub and Severus pulled open the door. Despite his fears, the pub was quiet that evening, half the tables still empty and only one old wizard sitting at the bar.

"There she is," Gareth said, gesturing toward a table in the corner by the front window.

Severus recognised Morgana immediately, although her wavy black hair was now cropped short, framing her face becomingly, rather than long as she had worn it when he had known her. She smiled and raised her hand in greeting as he and Gareth approached.

"Morgana, you remember Severus."

"Of course. It's been a long time," she said, offering Severus her hand.

Severus shook her hand. "Indeed."

Gareth pulled out a chair next to the window and sat down across from his cousin. "Gwen's not here yet?"

Morgana picked up her beer and shook her head. "I haven't seen her, but I doubt I'd recognise her, either."

Gareth looked around the half-empty pub. "She'll be along shortly, I'm sure. What will you have, Severus? I'll buy this round."

"Tonic water with lime."

As Gareth got up and went to get their drinks, Morgana asked, "Teetotaller, Severus?"

"No. I may have a drink later," he said shortly, not wanting to get into questions of Apparition and being a target of the vigilante.

Morgana nodded. "Hogwarts is in the Easter holiday now, isn't it?"

"Yes." Severus hoped that Gareth would be back with their drinks soon. "You are here on business, Gareth tells me."

"Consulting with the Ministry. Shacklebolt is interested in reorganising and modernising the way the Ministry does things. They would like an Australian perspective. Our ministry is organised rather differently. Because of my position with the Department of Information Sorcery and my ties to Britain, I was chosen to come over for a few months."

Gareth returned with a beer for himself and a large glass of tonic water for Severus, who immediately began removing the ice cubes with flicks of his wand, sending them over to a dying potted plant behind Morgana's chair. The witch looked on in amusement.

"Sorry. Forgot you don't like ice," Gareth said, sitting down.

"It can be remedied."

"Is that Gwen?" Morgana asked.

Severus and Gareth both twisted in their chairs and looked towards the pub door. A petite, curly-haired witch had come in by herself and was looking around. Gareth stood, and Gwen saw him and started toward them. She paused for a moment, then continued.

Before Gareth could say anything or introduce her to Morgana, Gwen said, "I thought it was only your cousin we were having drinks with."

"Want to sit next to me?" Gareth asked. "I'm sure Snape will be glad to move chairs..."

Gwen was stony faced. "Is this the kind of company you're keeping these days, Gareth?"

Gareth's eyebrows rose, and Severus felt himself go cold. He turned back to his tonic water and stared at the wedge of lime floating in it.

"Severus is a friend."

"Is he." Her voice was hard. "Well, I've had enough of his sort. I got rid of Polyphemus and one of the best things about that was I got rid of his friends, too. Your cousin's one thing, but I'm not about to sit down at a table with another Slytherin..."

"Look, Gwen, Severus is a friend and a good man. If you don't want his company, then you are free to leave."

"I just may." She turned and walked away.

"Wait, Gwen. You must misunderstand." Gareth followed her over to the door.

"Well, that was awkward," Morgana said, watching Gareth and Gwen's heated whispers by the door. Gwen was gesticulating and stabbing a finger toward their table.

"I should leave."

"I have no objections to your company, Severus. Gareth would be unhappy if you left, I'm sure. Besides, the witch is going now."

A blast of cold air came in through the open door as Gwen disappeared through it.

Gareth took his seat next to Severus again. "Sorry about that, Severus. I guess she's embittered or something."

"I could have left."

Gareth snorted. "I would have left with you, then."

"So you won't be seeing that witch again, I presume," Morgana said, a smirk on her face.

"Hardly. I understand that she hates her ex-husband and his friends, but she's as bigoted as the people she professes to dislike. Wouldn't even give Severus a chance. That's not the sort of woman I want to have a relationship with."

"Good on ya," Morgana said with an approving nod.

"Sorry," Severus said. He felt acutely uncomfortable.

"Better I find out now," Gareth said, "than after spending more time with her. And it's not your fault, Snape."

Severus's pulse was racing, but he felt frozen in his chair. It had been a mistake for Gareth to invite him out with friends. He hadn't even wanted to come. Not that he cared what a bitch like Gwen Burns thought of him. His cheeks still burned.

"You used to date her, didn't you?" Morgana asked.

"Sure. Back during my apprenticeship, before I spent that year with you. When I returned, she had married Melliflua." Gareth shrugged. "We'd broken up a few months before I left, anyway."

"I wonder why she married Polyphemus," Morgana said. "Unless he improved as he grew up, he was an ugly little kid from an ugly family, and I don't mean just their looks."

Gareth shrugged. "I don't know. She must have seen something in him. You had trouble with the Mellifluas, didn't you, back at the Ministry?"

Morgana made a face. "Not happy times to remember."

"So have you met with the Ministry yet?" Gareth asked.

"No." Morgana shook her head. "Everyone's still on holiday, or just getting back. I timed it so I'd have a few days just to catch up with family. My first official meeting isn't until Friday morning."

"Meeting with anyone unofficially before then?"

Morgana gave a crooked grin, her dark blue eyes sparkling. "You know me, Gare...gotta get the lay of the land before I walk into something. I'm having lunch with an old friend tomorrow; she'll give me the good oil. I won't be going in blind. I was going to talk with Uncle Albus, too, but Mum said he doesn't do much with the Ministry these days."

"He'll still know what's going on behind the scenes, I'm sure," Gareth said. "He's got a lot of old friends at the Ministry and all."

"What about you, Severus?" Morgana asked. "Do you have any insight into the players at the Ministry and who wants what out of this reorg?"

Severus shook his head. "I know some of the people there, but I don't know anything about what's being considered. You could talk to Arthur Weasley, though. He's on holiday with his family this week, but I think they'll be returning this weekend." Severus hesitated, then said, "The name McGonagall will get you a long way with Arthur, but if you like, you may mention my name." He shook his head slightly. "I doubt he'll react the way Burns did," he muttered.

"Good idea, Snape!" Gareth said, ignoring Snape's final remark. "Arthur's moving up in the Ministry now, but he's been there for ages and knows everyone. He's cleverer than a lot of people give him credit for, but he always put principle above ambition, so he didn't get very far in the Ministry until recently."

Morgana nodded. "I remember him. Redhead. Smiles a lot. Ready to like everyone he meets. He was one of the leaders in the Riddle War, wasn't he? Lost his wife."

"His wife and one son," Gareth said. "The whole family was there at the end. The Weasleys are a good bunch. Principled and loyal."

"I'll be sure to look him up, then."

Severus set his glass aside and pushed back from the table. "I think I'll be going. You two have a lot to talk about." He began to stand.

"You just got here, Snape," Gareth said. "Stay. We'll get something to eat. Get you a beer, or a glass of wine, whatever you like."

"Gareth was looking forward to having me spend time with his friends, you in particular," Morgana said. "I would like it if you would stay."

Severus shook his head. He was not at all in the mood now, not that he'd been enthusiastic about the idea of going out with Gareth and his cousin in the first place, but Gwen Burns' hasty departure had left a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Then we could go back to the house," Gareth suggested.

"I brought some nice cab sav with me," Morgana said. "We could open a bottle of that. Good cushioning charms protected it from the Portkey effects."

"No, that's all right. I'll stay a while longer," Severus said, pulling back up to the table.

"Good man," Morgana said with a nod. "But I'd like another beer...you still buying, Gareth?"

"Sure." Gareth quickly drained his glass then stood. "Anything else for you, Snape?"

Severus shook his head. His tonic water was still fizzing in front of him.

When Gareth had left, promising to bring back a plate of chips for them all, Morgana said, "Were you friends with Polyphemus or any of the Mellifluas?"

"No. I knew some. Associated with them. Necessary under the previous circumstances."

"I can't understand Gwen's attitude," Morgana said with a frown. "Back home, you've become quite a heroic figure of the war. Your picture is even on the cover of Derrick Kingston's book on the rise and fall of the Death Eaters and why Britain's pureblood culture provided a fertile ground for someone like Riddle to thrive. You're painted as one of the key figures in Riddle's defeat. The book is a few months old and it's still in every bookshop window. You're an icon."

"Kingston ... I got a letter last summer from a Kingston. Wanted to send me interview questions by post. I thought he was some kind of crackpot. I got some strange post back then...still do...and I thought he was just another nutter."

Morgana shook her head. "He's a well-respected journalist with the WRA...Wizarding Radio Australia...and he's written a few books on various subjects. Up till now, I think they've all been about Australian wizarding history, though. Biographies of important leaders, that sort of thing."

"I'd never heard of him. Hmph."

"I thought he was selling the book here, too, but I may be wrong about that."

"There've been a lot of books out since the war, some of them coming out so fast, you'd think they had to have been written before the war was even over. But I haven't heard of this one. What was the title?"

"Purity, Wizardry, Isolationism, and the Rise and Fall of Evil Genius in Britain. Quite a mouthful."

Severus shook his head. "Haven't noticed it. But I tend to avoid those books." It would be hard not to notice a book with a picture of yourself on the cover, though. He would have to look for it the next time he was in a bookshop.

Gareth came back with three drinks and a platter of chips floating in front of him. "I know you said you didn't want anything, Snape, but I brought you a cognac. Thought you might enjoy that."

"Thanks."

"I could demolish that plate of chips," Morgana said. "I wasn't hungry at dinnertime, and now I'm ravenous."

"Well, dig in. We can get more if we want them."

Morgana poured brown sauce over half the chips and "dug in" as suggested. Severus took a sip of his cognac. It was warm and smooth. He took another sip and relaxed. Morgana seemed okay. He'd stay a little longer. Besides, he wasn't supposed to be roaming about on his own. He had promised Poppy he would be careful. Two more days before she returned. He could scarcely wait.

~*~*~*~

Severus had just got out of the shower and was drying himself off when his door charm amplified someone's knock. He pulled on his dressing gown...the one that Poppy had given him of silvery grey silk. He was crossing the living room when the knocking began again, persistently this time.

Severus waved his hand and opened the door. Flitwick was there, dressed in his nightshirt, dressing gown, slippers, and sleeping cap. The little wizard waved a newspaper almost as big as himself, his hands trembling.

"It's happened again, Severus! It's happened again!"

"What ... an attack?"

"A terrible attack. Last night. Here, here, read it for yourself." Filius shoved the newspaper toward Severus.

Severus took the Daily Prophet and looked at the front page headlines:

MANIACS ATTACK AGAIN!

Ministry Asks Witnesses to Come Forward

"Come in and sit down, Filius." Severus waved his hand and removed several books from the sofa and sent them flying back to his desk. "Twiskett! Twiskett!"

"Dear, dear!" Filius said, wringing his hands. "What is this world coming to? I thought we had fought...and lost so many good witches and wizards...to stop this kind of thing!"

Twiskett popped into the room. He was wearing a green-and-white checked tea towel like a poncho, a grey curtain cord as a belt. Severus thought the house-elf had been asleep.

"Bring me coffee, please, Twiskett, and a pot of strong tea for Professor Flitwick. Milk, sugar, cream...and some toast."

Twiskett nodded and Disapparated.

"Who was it this time?" Severus asked, sitting down and looking at the paper again.

"Simon Melliflua and his family," Filius said. "He married Charlotte Demornay; you may remember them."

Severus nodded. "I taught them both my first years here."

"Their poor little children! They are only two and four years old! Their uncle found them clinging to their parents late last night." Filius sniffed and blinked back tears.

"What an odd coincidence," Severus muttered, scanning the article.

Filius sniffed again. "Coincidence?"

Severus shook his head slightly. "Just that the name Melliflua came up in conversation last night, and they are not persons whom I generally discuss. And the uncle who found them ... was Polyphemus."

"Yes, you were in school with him, weren't you? He was a bit behind you. Never stood out much for anything. Except his unfortunate squint."

"Let me read this."

Last night, another shocking horror came to light when the Melliflua family, Simon, Charlotte and their children Race and Kimberly, were found cruelly attacked and abandoned just outside their home in Devises. The crime was discovered by Polyphemus Melliflua, Simon's older brother, just after eleven o'clock, although it is believed that the attack occurred a few hours earlier.

The rest of the article went on to describe the crying children and Polyphemus's efforts to revive his brother and sister-in-law, speculated about the couple's prognosis, and finally gave a brief interview with the Mellifluas' neighbours, an elderly wizarding couple who lived across the street from them.

"He knocked us up, oh, must have been coming up on eleven-thirty," Lucy Cantwell said. "We answered the door with our wands drawn, didn't we, Howard, we were that worried about the mad vigilantes. Never know when they'll strike, do you? Or who!"

If the Ministry doesn't make an arrest soon, more and more respectable wizards and witches will be voicing the same sentiment. No one at the Ministry was available for comment, but Gawain Robards released a statement offering his sympathy to the victims and their family and promising that the Ministry was exhausting all avenues of inquiry. He urges any witch or wizard with any information related to these attacks to please contact the Aurors' Office in the Magical Law Enforcement Department. All information will be treated confidentially. Former Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge has offered a reward of five hundred Galleons from his own money for information leading to the capture of the person or persons responsible for these attacks, and he urges others to contribute to the reward fund he has established, which is being held in a Gringotts vault.

"I have a new suspect," Severus said with a short laugh.

"You do? Who?"

"Fudge. That reward of his is very suspicious."

"Don't joke, Severus. This is terrible. It could be the beginning of terrible times again."

"I know. I just found his concern...and that he's putting his money where his mouth is...atypical, that's all."

"The last few years were quite a shock to him. He wasn't really a bad man, you know."

"Hmph."

Twiskett had delivered the coffee tray while Severus was reading the newspaper, and Severus poured Filius a cup of tea, putting in a spoonful of sugar and a good deal of milk.

"Thanks, Severus. I hadn't had a bite before I saw the headlines and I had to come down and see you."

Severus poured himself a cup of coffee, adding a dollop of cream, then he sat down and read the article again. "Very uninformative, isn't it? They did give the victims' names this time, though, which is out of step with the Prophet's previous practices. And if I were that old couple, I'd take a long holiday somewhere far from Devises for a while, though I doubt the vigilante will be foolish enough to return to the same scene. You never know, though."

"You were out in Hogsmeade last night, Severus! What if she had followed you? Attacked you on your way home? Oh, dear! I don't think you should go anywhere for a while."

"I will be delivering Professor Birnbaum's potion sometime in the next day or two. I will be careful. I am certain I will be quite safe there, and I can Disapparate from the Forbidden Forest. The vigilante won't be looking for me there."

"You should bring someone with you. I'll go. Laura and David are back, and other staff are returning, too. I can leave the castle in their hands."

"We'll see."

"What if the vigilante had been lurking in Hogsmeade and followed you back to the castle? You could be lying somewhere now, dead." Filius sniffed.

"Gareth and his cousin Morgana both accompanied me to the gates last night. They're both quite skilled. We would not have been taken by surprise."

Filius pulled the paper toward him. "It doesn't say here; was Simon a Death Eater?"

Severus shook his head. "I don't think so. He had relatives who were, of course. The Melliflua family were very big supporters of the Dark Lord...Riddle...in the old days, and those who were still around from then joined up when he returned. I don't know whether Simon wasn't recruited or how he managed to stay out of it...possibly gave lip service and maybe some money...but he wasn't a Death Eater. He may have been a sympathiser, but he didn't get directly involved in anything."

"At least the children were unhurt," Filius said.

"I wonder how long that will last," Severus said.

"What?"

"If this person really does believe in guilt by association, and that the association contaminates her victims with this ... this evil that she sees, then I don't know if the children will remain safe. Of course, she might be squeamish about killing such young children even if she does think they're contaminated by evil."

"How dreadful!"

Severus nodded sombrely. "I may sound as though I make light of these attacks, and I certainly don't care for the Mellifluas, but you're right: this could be the beginning of terrible times. After surviving what I did, I don't want to see that, either. And no matter what their parents may have done, or what the vigilante may think they are guilty of, those children are innocent. Too many innocents were killed by Death Eaters; more innocents dying or suffering will not erase that. I've seen too much of it. Did too much of it, myself," he ended softly, setting down his coffee cup and not looking at Filius.

"It must bring back dreadful memories for you. You must suffer in ways the rest of us don't."

Severus shook his head. "I am sure that the reverse is true, as well. And my own suffering, as you put it, that was of my own doing. Most of it, anyway. But yes, these attacks are constant painful reminders to me, of things I witnessed, and of things I did, whether willingly or not. A reminder of who I was, and of who I almost became. Sometimes I feel I will never escape that past. Perhaps I shouldn't."

"You need to live in the present and look forward to the future, Severus. Didn't Aine say something to you the other night about not stepping back into the past? Don't do that. We need you in the here-and-now. I'm sorry I brought this down to you."

"I would have learned of it soon, anyway. And I may be contacted by the Ministry about it again, or by Moody. I need to at least know what everyone else does, in that case."

The two wizards ate their toast and drank their tea and coffee, and Filius asked about Morgana and about Severus's evening out with the two McGonagalls. Severus thought of mentioning Gwen Burns to Filius and seeing what his reaction was...Burns had been in Ravenclaw, and Flitwick must have known her fairly well...but then decided against it. Filius was a tender-hearted soul and Severus didn't want to cause him any more distress. Besides, the incident was embarrassing to him, and another indication that there were people who still viewed him with distrust, ordinary people, not just a crazed vigilante.

Filius left to dress and attend breakfast in the Great Hall with the staff and students who were still at the castle, and Severus finished dressing. He wound his pocket watch and put it in his waistcoat pocket, then he opened the drawer to his night stand and took out his ring. It was ostentatious, but its weight might serve as a reminder. He slipped it on and looked at it, then shook his head and took it off. It wasn't time yet to begin wearing it, if there ever would be such a time. He pulled out the end of his watch chain and held the ring beside it in his palm, then he drew his wand and cast a spell joining the chain and ring. He'd carry it with him, feel its weight hidden in his waistcoat pocket if he needed grounding.

There was a rapid knocking on his door. Another visitor...maybe someone from the Ministry come already to question him or to ask his help. The knocking paused, then resumed again without stopping.

Severus pulled open the door, ready to berate the person for their impatience.

"Poppy?"

"Oh, Severus, I returned after reading the paper this morning. Did you hear?" She took his hands in hers.

Severus nodded. "But you had another two days of holiday remaining," he said, puzzled.

"I know, but I missed you, and when I saw the paper, I was worried about you. I used a Sofortport...Instaport...to get to the only approved Instaport arrival point in Britain, and then I Apparated straight here from Diagon Alley. I don't know what I would have done if the hotel didn't have one of those new Instaport booths. Bribed someone to make me a Portkey, I expect, or tried to Apparate across the water to England."

"Don't ever do that, Poppy. Don't try to Apparate farther than you're comfortable. I'm fine. But I'm very glad you're here." He smiled and put his arms around her. "Very, very glad."

End of Part Ten