Bonds of Water(2/20)
Title: Bonds of Water (2/20)
Author: faynia and stormypup
Pairing: Snape/Harry
Rating: PG-13(for now, will be NC-17 later)
Word Count: 2,613
Genre: Romance, Flangst, Angst, Drama
Summary: Harry has never been entranced by music before now, but he is willing to do anything to learn how to play the same melody.
A/N: Beta'd by windout and topazmusings, cause they're made of speedy and fast.
Previous Chapters: Chapter One
Chapter Two
The dungeons were cool and dank, just like they always were. Harry found himself having to dodge puddles in the middle of pathways. He shifted under his invisibility cloak, making sure his feet were still covered. Shadows bent around him as he crept along against the walls.
He had been coming down here every night since the middle of vacation in an attempt to hear that music again. Hermione had begged him to just leave it, but he couldn't. He couldn't explain what compelled him to break curfew. It was like an itch he couldn't scratch. The melody haunted his every thought with its joyful lifts and falls, and he wanted to learn how to play it as well.
There it was. He stopped in the middle of the passageway, straining to hear which direction the music was coming from. Slowly, he began to move forward, as if hypnotized, with his cloak falling off unknown to him.
He hesitated just outside the door where the music was loudest, not really planning to go inside. He just wanted to listen. But then the doorknob was in his hand, it was turning, and before he knew it, he was inside the room.
Snape had his back to Harry, and the sound from the violin masked any sounds from the door. Mesmerized, Harry moved into the room. Without any thought, he slid down the wall to the floor, crossing his legs beneath him as he stared intently at Snape, not wanting to miss a single note.
His eyes fell closed and he found his head beating in time to the mellow tempo. He could have been sitting there for hours and never would have noticed the passing time. The sweet music washed over him, filling the hollow inside him until he was certain he'd burst, but still he listened. He felt that if it stopped, he would die.
Soon, Harry found himself humming along softly, unaware of what he was doing until the music abruptly cut out with a discordant screech that had him slapping his hands to his ears.
Snape was looking at him, eyes slightly wild. "What are you doing?" he asked, eyes searching the room for Potter's two companions.
Harry gulped and scrambled to his feet. "N-nothing, sir. I was just...the music was so...I'm sorry."
Snape wanted to scream and tear into the boy, but he couldn't. All he could think was, Dumbledore will have my head.
He grabbed the front of Harry's robes, clenching them tightly as he spat, "You must leave at once and speak of this to no one. Do you understand me, Potter?"
Maybe it wasn't too late.
"Who would I tell?" Harry yelled, twisting out of his Professor's grip. "The only one I would is Hermione and guess what? She knows too!"
Snape's hand fell to his side as he looked at Harry in horror. Granger? How could she possibly know? Dumbledore was the only person alive who was aware of what he was.
"What does Granger know?" he asked, feeling the sweat bead on his forehead.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, his eyes narrowing in thought. There was obviously something he was missing and he wasn't about to blurt out that he was clueless. Hermione had holed herself up in the library ever since the first night they had heard Snape playing the violin, and he hadn't actually gotten around to asking what she was looking for. He made a mental note to do so the next morning.
Snape watched the play of emotions across Harry's face, and his scowled deepened. "If you are thinking of lying to me, Potter, I suggest you think again," he said, his voice low and menacing.
"Not thinking of lying, sir," Harry said sarcastically. "Never to you, sir."
"That will cost you a detention, Potter. Would you like to try for two in addition to the 50 points you just lost your house?" Snape hissed through clenched teeth.
Harry scowled. "No, sir."
"Then get out of my sight, and do not let me catch you down here again, or you will be very, very, sorry; are we clear?" he asked, eyes narrowing angrily.
Harry nodded curtly, shrugging his shoulders before turning sharply on his heel and storming out of the abandoned room. He had to find Hermione tonight. This couldn't wait until morning.
Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply. He was going to have to talk to Albus, and the very idea turned his stomach. He gently laid his violin in its case, carefully locking it away, before storming to the front of the room, grabbing an eraser, and throwing it angrily against the far wall.
*****
Harry practically flew up the steps and out of the dungeon, only pausing to scoop up his discarded cloak from earlier. He had to get back to the Gryffindor common room before midnight; he knew Hermione would be awake until then, and he had to know.
His heart beat rapidly as he ran through the deserted corridors and up the six flights of stairs. He never realized just how long it took to get to Gryffindor tower until he was trying his damnest to get there in a hurry. He skidded to a halt in front of the Fat Lady panting heavily; bending over, he put his hands on his knees as he attempted to regain his breath. "Sn-snorkle," he panted, looking up at the Fat Lady with a pleading expression. She eyed him shrewdly for a moment before sighing and rolling her eyes and swinging open. Harry, grateful, offered her a quick brilliant smile before disappearing into the common room beyond. He hadn't expected Hermione to be standing in the middle of the room with her arms folded across her chest.
"You went in search of the music again, didn't you?"
Harry tilted his head to the side, his breathing slowing down to normal. "So what if I did?"
"Oh, Harry," she sighed, gripping the side of her head as she turned and sat down on one of the squishy armchairs. "You still don't know, do you?"
Harry fell into the other armchair, still breathing heavily. "What's going on?" he asked, stopping a moment to take a deep breath before continuing. "Snape was really upset and it couldn't have--"
"Snape? Harry, you didn't," Hermione said, covering her mouth with her hand.
Harry was beginning to feel a prickle of nervousness. "It's all right, he just gave me detention. Well, he also took a load of points, but--look, just tell me what is going on? What do you know that I don't?"
She exhaled and bent over the arm of the chair to pick up a dangerously heavy book, in Harry's opinion. He watched, with mounting anxiety, as she thumbed through the worn pages. The gold inlay on the side was wearing off, but what Harry could see appeared to be absolute gibberish.
"Ah!" she breathed triumphantly, turning the book around and handed it across to him. Harry took the book and almost dropped it on his foot. Catching it with his other hand as well, he lowered the book onto his lap and stared at the heading on the top of the page, Water Creatures.
"This is the text from third year!" Harry exclaimed, holding the place in the book with one arm as he turned it back to the title page. He saw Hermione's name in the top corner in tidy scrawl and looked up at her in bemusement. "You still have your copy?"
Hermione swept a curly lock off her face with an annoyed expression. "Of course, don't you?"
Harry didn't answer in favor of going back to the page his arm was resting on. He had no idea what he was looking for, until he saw a woodcut of a man with a fiddle, half-way down the page.
"What?" he asked in surprise. His eyes zeroed in on the caption beneath the picture. In shock, he began to read it out loud, "Although becoming increasingly rare, Nixes have been spotted in some of the marshy areas of the United Kingdom and Scandinavia." He glanced up at Hermione to gauge her reaction, but was unsurprised to see her deep in thought, her legs having been pulled up onto the chair with her feet tucked beneath her. "Nix?" he asked, causing her head to whip up.
"Yes."
"What's a Nix?"
Hermione sighed and held out a hand for the book. He gave it back happily: the thing really was very heavy. There was a short silence when all that could be heard was the soft crinkle of pages being turned and the occasional loud pop from the fireplace. She wrinkled her nose as she flipped furiously through the pages until she found the one she was looking for.
"A Nix," she began, going into lecture mode, "also known as Näcken, is a male water spirit who plays enchanted songs on the violin, usually shown in human form. They once were thought to be malevolent creatures who lured women and children to drown in lakes. However, later studies have indicated that the Nix is a harmless creature and attract not only women and children, but men as well with their sweet songs." Hermione paused and looked up at Harry anxiously. "Should I continue?"
He nodded and waved her off distractedly. If Snape really was a Nix, what did that mean for him? It was obvious that the greasy bat did not want this to be public knowledge and that was why he was playing the bowels of the castle, but where did that leave him? The helplessly ensnared boy who couldn't get the songs out of his head? He wondered if all this thinking would make him sick.
"Stories also exist where a Nix agrees to take on a mate who has fallen in love with him and his songs...Harry, are you sure you want me to--"
"Keep going," he grit out.
"Oh," she sighed and readjusted the book on her lap. "However, a Nix will grow despondent if they cannot have free and regular access to the water, and they have been known to leave their mates for their homes near the ponds or streams.
"Some believe that the Nix plays songs to drive away his loneliness and the longing for salvation that it shall never have."
"Bollocks," Harry spat, then blinked. Where the hell had that come from? He scowled at himself and jerked his head in an indication for Hermione to continue again.
"There is another rumor that says," Hermione read lightly, as if trying to ignore Harry's sudden outburst, "if you bring a Nix three droplets of blood, a black animal-oh...they don't say which animal though." Harry watched as her eyebrows knit together in thought and then shook her head as if to mentally stop herself. She smiled at him, and then, with a sheepish shrug, continued on, "And a bottle of vodka or snus (that's wet snuff) and then all that's left to do is drop the gifts into water. If he accepts, he will teach you how to play the music as well."
Harry looked up sharply at that. "It really says that?"
Hermione nodded with a careful expression. "Yes."
"Bloody hell," he muttered, closing his eyes so he could think. "Is that all?"
"Yes," she said, closing the book with a soft thump. "Although, there are some vague mentions to shape-shifting and bits of muggle folklore that are really quite fascinating."
"Maybe later," Harry said, feeling exhausted. He stretched in the chair and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. "It's getting late. We should probably go to bed."
Hermione stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "You won't go out again tonight then?"
"No, too tired."
She smiled and crossed the small space dividing them, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Goodnight then, Harry."
"G'night, Hermione."
*****
After a night of fitful sleep, Snape was sitting in Dumbledore's office, an untouched cup of tea sitting on the desk in front of him.
"I had no idea they were wandering the dungeons, Albus. There were no Slytherins here for the hols and I thought it would be...safe," Snape said, his hands clenched tightly in his lap.
Dumbledore was watching him over his half-moon spectacles. "An understandable mistake, Severus," he said calmly.
Snape was staring straight ahead, unable to look his mentor in the eye. "Potter returned last night," he said quietly. "He sought me out, or rather, the music."
There was a brief pause in the raising of the cup to Dumbledore's lip, but that was the only indication that he had been taken off guard.
"I'm afraid that I...that--" Snape couldn't finish the sentence.
"That he's become enthralled?" Dumbledore asked quietly. Snape nodded, finally meeting the old man's gaze.
Dumbledore set his tea on his desk and steepled his fingers together. This was not at all an ideal situation.
"And Miss Granger? Did she return as well?" he asked.
"No; at least, not to my knowledge," Snape said, wishing Dumbledore would curse him for his carelessness. Yell at him for his stupidity. But the man looked as calm as ever, and it set Snape's teeth on edge. "Potter implied that she knew something, but I don't know what exactly he was referring to, and he didn't seem inclined to tell me without...persuasion."
Dumbledore nodded, his brows furrowed in thought. "Well, this is an unforeseen development."
"You're rather understating things, aren't you, Albus?" Snape questioned irritably.
"Well, we must consider the fact that Harry was not exactly the must studious of students," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
Snape snorted, but said nothing.
"The odds that he could figure out your exact nature are very slim," Dumbledore said reassuringly.
"As always, Headmaster, I believe you are underestimating the boy, or at the very least, Granger. She is more than capable of putting the pieces together; in fact, she probably has done so already," Snape said, angry that Dumbledore wasn't taking this more seriously.
"If Harry seeks you out again, then I will talk with him." Snape began to speak, but Dumbledore held up his hand. "Severus, were I to forbid him to do so now, it would all but guarantee that the boy will do the exact opposite."
"Then toss him out of school," Snape said, slamming his hand down on the desk. "I don't think you understand what this could mean!"
Dumbledore frowned. "Calm yourself, Severus," he warned and waited until Snape had sat back in his chair. "If it becomes apparent that I need to intervene, I shall do so. For now, we shall wait and see what happens."
Snape's lip curled in disgust as he rose to his feet. "You're making a mistake, Albus," he warned, struck by how fallible the old man could be. "I will not be held responsible for the consequences."
"I'll keep an eye on the situation, and on Harry," Albus said, smiling gently. "I'm sure you'll find that things are not as bad as you might think. In the meantime, I would ask that you not play your instrument in the near the future. There is no reason to tempt fate."
Snape shook his head. "You seem to insist on doing just that, Albus," he said, storming from the office, slamming the door behind him.
Dumbledore watched him go, his heart going out to the lonely man. He would be more diligent in watching Harry; but in the mean time, he had the Board of Governors to deal with.
Next Chapter: Chapter Three
Author: faynia and stormypup
Pairing: Snape/Harry
Rating: PG-13(for now, will be NC-17 later)
Word Count: 2,613
Genre: Romance, Flangst, Angst, Drama
Summary: Harry has never been entranced by music before now, but he is willing to do anything to learn how to play the same melody.
A/N: Beta'd by windout and topazmusings, cause they're made of speedy and fast.
Previous Chapters: Chapter One
Chapter Two
The dungeons were cool and dank, just like they always were. Harry found himself having to dodge puddles in the middle of pathways. He shifted under his invisibility cloak, making sure his feet were still covered. Shadows bent around him as he crept along against the walls.
He had been coming down here every night since the middle of vacation in an attempt to hear that music again. Hermione had begged him to just leave it, but he couldn't. He couldn't explain what compelled him to break curfew. It was like an itch he couldn't scratch. The melody haunted his every thought with its joyful lifts and falls, and he wanted to learn how to play it as well.
There it was. He stopped in the middle of the passageway, straining to hear which direction the music was coming from. Slowly, he began to move forward, as if hypnotized, with his cloak falling off unknown to him.
He hesitated just outside the door where the music was loudest, not really planning to go inside. He just wanted to listen. But then the doorknob was in his hand, it was turning, and before he knew it, he was inside the room.
Snape had his back to Harry, and the sound from the violin masked any sounds from the door. Mesmerized, Harry moved into the room. Without any thought, he slid down the wall to the floor, crossing his legs beneath him as he stared intently at Snape, not wanting to miss a single note.
His eyes fell closed and he found his head beating in time to the mellow tempo. He could have been sitting there for hours and never would have noticed the passing time. The sweet music washed over him, filling the hollow inside him until he was certain he'd burst, but still he listened. He felt that if it stopped, he would die.
Soon, Harry found himself humming along softly, unaware of what he was doing until the music abruptly cut out with a discordant screech that had him slapping his hands to his ears.
Snape was looking at him, eyes slightly wild. "What are you doing?" he asked, eyes searching the room for Potter's two companions.
Harry gulped and scrambled to his feet. "N-nothing, sir. I was just...the music was so...I'm sorry."
Snape wanted to scream and tear into the boy, but he couldn't. All he could think was, Dumbledore will have my head.
He grabbed the front of Harry's robes, clenching them tightly as he spat, "You must leave at once and speak of this to no one. Do you understand me, Potter?"
Maybe it wasn't too late.
"Who would I tell?" Harry yelled, twisting out of his Professor's grip. "The only one I would is Hermione and guess what? She knows too!"
Snape's hand fell to his side as he looked at Harry in horror. Granger? How could she possibly know? Dumbledore was the only person alive who was aware of what he was.
"What does Granger know?" he asked, feeling the sweat bead on his forehead.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again, his eyes narrowing in thought. There was obviously something he was missing and he wasn't about to blurt out that he was clueless. Hermione had holed herself up in the library ever since the first night they had heard Snape playing the violin, and he hadn't actually gotten around to asking what she was looking for. He made a mental note to do so the next morning.
Snape watched the play of emotions across Harry's face, and his scowled deepened. "If you are thinking of lying to me, Potter, I suggest you think again," he said, his voice low and menacing.
"Not thinking of lying, sir," Harry said sarcastically. "Never to you, sir."
"That will cost you a detention, Potter. Would you like to try for two in addition to the 50 points you just lost your house?" Snape hissed through clenched teeth.
Harry scowled. "No, sir."
"Then get out of my sight, and do not let me catch you down here again, or you will be very, very, sorry; are we clear?" he asked, eyes narrowing angrily.
Harry nodded curtly, shrugging his shoulders before turning sharply on his heel and storming out of the abandoned room. He had to find Hermione tonight. This couldn't wait until morning.
Snape pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing deeply. He was going to have to talk to Albus, and the very idea turned his stomach. He gently laid his violin in its case, carefully locking it away, before storming to the front of the room, grabbing an eraser, and throwing it angrily against the far wall.
*****
Harry practically flew up the steps and out of the dungeon, only pausing to scoop up his discarded cloak from earlier. He had to get back to the Gryffindor common room before midnight; he knew Hermione would be awake until then, and he had to know.
His heart beat rapidly as he ran through the deserted corridors and up the six flights of stairs. He never realized just how long it took to get to Gryffindor tower until he was trying his damnest to get there in a hurry. He skidded to a halt in front of the Fat Lady panting heavily; bending over, he put his hands on his knees as he attempted to regain his breath. "Sn-snorkle," he panted, looking up at the Fat Lady with a pleading expression. She eyed him shrewdly for a moment before sighing and rolling her eyes and swinging open. Harry, grateful, offered her a quick brilliant smile before disappearing into the common room beyond. He hadn't expected Hermione to be standing in the middle of the room with her arms folded across her chest.
"You went in search of the music again, didn't you?"
Harry tilted his head to the side, his breathing slowing down to normal. "So what if I did?"
"Oh, Harry," she sighed, gripping the side of her head as she turned and sat down on one of the squishy armchairs. "You still don't know, do you?"
Harry fell into the other armchair, still breathing heavily. "What's going on?" he asked, stopping a moment to take a deep breath before continuing. "Snape was really upset and it couldn't have--"
"Snape? Harry, you didn't," Hermione said, covering her mouth with her hand.
Harry was beginning to feel a prickle of nervousness. "It's all right, he just gave me detention. Well, he also took a load of points, but--look, just tell me what is going on? What do you know that I don't?"
She exhaled and bent over the arm of the chair to pick up a dangerously heavy book, in Harry's opinion. He watched, with mounting anxiety, as she thumbed through the worn pages. The gold inlay on the side was wearing off, but what Harry could see appeared to be absolute gibberish.
"Ah!" she breathed triumphantly, turning the book around and handed it across to him. Harry took the book and almost dropped it on his foot. Catching it with his other hand as well, he lowered the book onto his lap and stared at the heading on the top of the page, Water Creatures.
"This is the text from third year!" Harry exclaimed, holding the place in the book with one arm as he turned it back to the title page. He saw Hermione's name in the top corner in tidy scrawl and looked up at her in bemusement. "You still have your copy?"
Hermione swept a curly lock off her face with an annoyed expression. "Of course, don't you?"
Harry didn't answer in favor of going back to the page his arm was resting on. He had no idea what he was looking for, until he saw a woodcut of a man with a fiddle, half-way down the page.
"What?" he asked in surprise. His eyes zeroed in on the caption beneath the picture. In shock, he began to read it out loud, "Although becoming increasingly rare, Nixes have been spotted in some of the marshy areas of the United Kingdom and Scandinavia." He glanced up at Hermione to gauge her reaction, but was unsurprised to see her deep in thought, her legs having been pulled up onto the chair with her feet tucked beneath her. "Nix?" he asked, causing her head to whip up.
"Yes."
"What's a Nix?"
Hermione sighed and held out a hand for the book. He gave it back happily: the thing really was very heavy. There was a short silence when all that could be heard was the soft crinkle of pages being turned and the occasional loud pop from the fireplace. She wrinkled her nose as she flipped furiously through the pages until she found the one she was looking for.
"A Nix," she began, going into lecture mode, "also known as Näcken, is a male water spirit who plays enchanted songs on the violin, usually shown in human form. They once were thought to be malevolent creatures who lured women and children to drown in lakes. However, later studies have indicated that the Nix is a harmless creature and attract not only women and children, but men as well with their sweet songs." Hermione paused and looked up at Harry anxiously. "Should I continue?"
He nodded and waved her off distractedly. If Snape really was a Nix, what did that mean for him? It was obvious that the greasy bat did not want this to be public knowledge and that was why he was playing the bowels of the castle, but where did that leave him? The helplessly ensnared boy who couldn't get the songs out of his head? He wondered if all this thinking would make him sick.
"Stories also exist where a Nix agrees to take on a mate who has fallen in love with him and his songs...Harry, are you sure you want me to--"
"Keep going," he grit out.
"Oh," she sighed and readjusted the book on her lap. "However, a Nix will grow despondent if they cannot have free and regular access to the water, and they have been known to leave their mates for their homes near the ponds or streams.
"Some believe that the Nix plays songs to drive away his loneliness and the longing for salvation that it shall never have."
"Bollocks," Harry spat, then blinked. Where the hell had that come from? He scowled at himself and jerked his head in an indication for Hermione to continue again.
"There is another rumor that says," Hermione read lightly, as if trying to ignore Harry's sudden outburst, "if you bring a Nix three droplets of blood, a black animal-oh...they don't say which animal though." Harry watched as her eyebrows knit together in thought and then shook her head as if to mentally stop herself. She smiled at him, and then, with a sheepish shrug, continued on, "And a bottle of vodka or snus (that's wet snuff) and then all that's left to do is drop the gifts into water. If he accepts, he will teach you how to play the music as well."
Harry looked up sharply at that. "It really says that?"
Hermione nodded with a careful expression. "Yes."
"Bloody hell," he muttered, closing his eyes so he could think. "Is that all?"
"Yes," she said, closing the book with a soft thump. "Although, there are some vague mentions to shape-shifting and bits of muggle folklore that are really quite fascinating."
"Maybe later," Harry said, feeling exhausted. He stretched in the chair and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. "It's getting late. We should probably go to bed."
Hermione stood up, stretching her arms above her head. "You won't go out again tonight then?"
"No, too tired."
She smiled and crossed the small space dividing them, planting a kiss on his forehead. "Goodnight then, Harry."
"G'night, Hermione."
*****
After a night of fitful sleep, Snape was sitting in Dumbledore's office, an untouched cup of tea sitting on the desk in front of him.
"I had no idea they were wandering the dungeons, Albus. There were no Slytherins here for the hols and I thought it would be...safe," Snape said, his hands clenched tightly in his lap.
Dumbledore was watching him over his half-moon spectacles. "An understandable mistake, Severus," he said calmly.
Snape was staring straight ahead, unable to look his mentor in the eye. "Potter returned last night," he said quietly. "He sought me out, or rather, the music."
There was a brief pause in the raising of the cup to Dumbledore's lip, but that was the only indication that he had been taken off guard.
"I'm afraid that I...that--" Snape couldn't finish the sentence.
"That he's become enthralled?" Dumbledore asked quietly. Snape nodded, finally meeting the old man's gaze.
Dumbledore set his tea on his desk and steepled his fingers together. This was not at all an ideal situation.
"And Miss Granger? Did she return as well?" he asked.
"No; at least, not to my knowledge," Snape said, wishing Dumbledore would curse him for his carelessness. Yell at him for his stupidity. But the man looked as calm as ever, and it set Snape's teeth on edge. "Potter implied that she knew something, but I don't know what exactly he was referring to, and he didn't seem inclined to tell me without...persuasion."
Dumbledore nodded, his brows furrowed in thought. "Well, this is an unforeseen development."
"You're rather understating things, aren't you, Albus?" Snape questioned irritably.
"Well, we must consider the fact that Harry was not exactly the must studious of students," Dumbledore said thoughtfully.
Snape snorted, but said nothing.
"The odds that he could figure out your exact nature are very slim," Dumbledore said reassuringly.
"As always, Headmaster, I believe you are underestimating the boy, or at the very least, Granger. She is more than capable of putting the pieces together; in fact, she probably has done so already," Snape said, angry that Dumbledore wasn't taking this more seriously.
"If Harry seeks you out again, then I will talk with him." Snape began to speak, but Dumbledore held up his hand. "Severus, were I to forbid him to do so now, it would all but guarantee that the boy will do the exact opposite."
"Then toss him out of school," Snape said, slamming his hand down on the desk. "I don't think you understand what this could mean!"
Dumbledore frowned. "Calm yourself, Severus," he warned and waited until Snape had sat back in his chair. "If it becomes apparent that I need to intervene, I shall do so. For now, we shall wait and see what happens."
Snape's lip curled in disgust as he rose to his feet. "You're making a mistake, Albus," he warned, struck by how fallible the old man could be. "I will not be held responsible for the consequences."
"I'll keep an eye on the situation, and on Harry," Albus said, smiling gently. "I'm sure you'll find that things are not as bad as you might think. In the meantime, I would ask that you not play your instrument in the near the future. There is no reason to tempt fate."
Snape shook his head. "You seem to insist on doing just that, Albus," he said, storming from the office, slamming the door behind him.
Dumbledore watched him go, his heart going out to the lonely man. He would be more diligent in watching Harry; but in the mean time, he had the Board of Governors to deal with.
Next Chapter: Chapter Three