She whispered

by Lucas Chesterton

  ‘He’s been complaining about the declining standards in Gillyweed quality’, Elena said haughtily, imitating Jack’ lazy drawl.

  Cassie giggled, then ran off only to come back with a knot of a dried kind of algae which she thrust into Elena’s hands. ‘Tell him it’s a complementary sample. But first and foremost, tell him where it comes from!’

  ‘That’s the idea.’

  ‘You see, if we had someone like Jack Daysen as a regular customer ���’

  ‘Even with his reputation?’

  ‘What d’you mean, his reputation as a class A potioneer? Believe me, that won’t hurt us at all!’ Cassie winked at Elena, then grabbed her hand once more and led her through the shop to the kitchen that lay behind it and where a generous breakfast was being prepared for them. Janie Cleary, Castor’s wife, was working at two fronts simultaneously; at the stove on the one hand preparing scrambled eggs, while on the other labelling trays of flasks and vials of all colours. Her blonde hair was untidily tied up in a knot and her cheeks were flushed. When Cassie and Elena came in, she looked up briefly. ‘Hi girls. Hungry?’

  ‘You bet!’ Cassie made to sit down at the table, but Janie gestured to her hectically, pointing to a little pan on the stove.

  ‘You need to get that down to Castor asap or he’ll freak. He’s close to blowing a fuse, anyway.’

  ‘So I’ve noticed’, murmured Cassie, but took the pan obligingly and left the kitchen.

  ‘Good hunting?’ Janie asked Elena.

  ‘Cassie seems to think so, but what do I know?’

  Janie grinned. ‘You know, I can only imagine how confusing all this must be for you. Discovering that there’s a wizarding world and then taking a six-months crash course!’

  ‘Which is still ongoing’, Elena pointed out.

  ‘Your head must be swimming.’

  Elena watched Janie who had turned away from the stove and taken up labelling again. She had met Cassie’s sister-in-law only about a week ago, but there had been an instant rapport between them, caused by the fact that they were both Muggle-born and hence lived between two worlds. Janie understood Elena’s daily surprises and confusions in the wizarding world much better than the rest of the Cleary family and hence, Elena was never shy to ask her any questions that popped up in her mind.

  ‘What are those?’ she asked, indicating a tray of pink flasks that had already been labelled and were waiting to be taken to the shop.

  ‘Contraceptives’, Janie replied with a look of concentration on her face.

  Elena’s eyes widened. ‘Contra��� I didn’t know you had those.’

  ‘Every potions shop has them’, mumbled Janie.

  ‘No, I mean that there is such a thing as contraceptives in the wizarding world ���’

  ‘Come on!’ Janie said with a good-natured scoff. ‘I’m sure you heard before that ‘feminine issues’ have always been in the capable hands of witches? Midwifery, birth-control, abortions ��� that’s one of the reasons why Muggles so much loved to burn us in the Middle Ages.’

  ‘You’re right’, Elena replied. She stared at the pink flasks, but wasn’t really seeing them. Instead, she was thinking about the last time that she’d got her period, about a week ago. Not that it was such a remarkable event, but it had alerted her to the fact that in the night of the lighthouse the issue of contraception had not for one second crossed her mind. Even after the event, she had been so consumed with recovering from the smoke poisoning and how she had got it that such practical matters hadn’t occurred to her. Only when she’d started to bleed had she calculated the days and realized that it had been a close shave; she could easily have gotten pregnant. Imagining the scenario made her reel. Apart from the fact that she felt far too young to have kids, she wasn’t even sure whether she wanted any. Also, regardless of what she felt for Jack, she doubted that he would be suitable father material; for all she knew, he hated children. ��� So once again, she had been far luckier than smart.

  ‘What is it?’ When Elena looked up, Janie was scrutinizing her with a knowing smile. ‘Want one?’

  Elena hesitated, then nodded. Janie thrust a pink flask into her hand which Elena slipped into the pocket of her jacket.

  ‘Don’t tell Cassie, though’, Janie advised, ‘or you’ll never hear the end of it.’

  ‘So it is true? Witches and wizards are more prudish? About sex?’

  ‘I wouldn’t call it prudish. I’d say they are more aware of the effects sexuality has on their souls.’

  ‘On their souls?’

  Janie shrugged. ‘Mixing auras and such. Alright, a lot of this is old wizarding lore and not to be taken too seriously. However, it cannot be denied that something happens when a witch and a wizard become intimate.’

  ‘What exactly happens?’

  ‘Differs. ��� I, for instance, was never any good at inventing potions. That’s Castor’s talent. Since we’ve been married, however, I’m becoming better at it.’

  ‘Probably because you see it all the time.’

  ‘Maybe. Maybe not.’ Janie smiled mysteriously.

  ‘You think it would upset Cassie if she knew that I had one of these pink thingies?’

  ‘Not upset, exactly. But she’s nosy and she cares about you and she’d probably want to make sure that you’re not ��� mixing ��� with the wrong element and harm your magic in the process.’

  ‘That’s nonsense’, murmured Elena.

  ‘Maybe. Maybe not.’ The same secretive smile.

  Her hand in the pocket of her jacket, Elena stroked the flask tenderly. She wondered whether it could be trusted. Probably, as she had often had the impression that potions were more effective than pharmaceutical products, and less harmful to the body. Elena had witnessed it first hand when Jack had cured her aunt’s Alzheimer’s. So what she had in her pocket would probably work. But would she need it? Right now, she would have given a lot to have an answer to this question. Meanwhile, she resolved, it didn’t hurt to be prepared ���.

  Before long, Cassie came back to the kitchen, followed by a slightly sweaty and harassed-looking Castor. The four of them assembled around the kitchen table, food, tea and coffee were dispensed and for a while, there was a blessed silence since they were all hungry and very focussed on filling their stomachs. Conversation came back only gradually, and when it did it was invariably about the potions shop since this was the Cleary’s existence and hence their main concern. Elena listened to them discussing accounts and which order might come through and which one might not, the behaviour of certain customers and the general state of the business.

  After a while, however, her thoughts went in different directions. Once more, she was back in the woods with Jack, surrounded by masked figures and threatened by dogs. However, she didn’t hold on to this memory for a long time but instead went on to when he’d held her in his arms, his fingers stroking her hair and murmuring to her softly and soothingly. She remembered the tension that had been in his body then, she’d almost felt him tremble with it, and in that moment she had known that he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

  However, wanting was one thing, loving quite another. Whenever Elena confronted herself with this truth, she couldn’t help thinking about another detail that she usually pushed to the back of her mind: his Patronus was still a doe. She had seen it the night of her encounter with the satyrs. Hence, the most obvious conclusion was that Jack might desire her, while his heart still firmly belonged to Lily Potter. When she put it to herself like this, she felt a sharp pain in her chest and right now it was so fierce that she felt tears prickle in her eyes and had to blink a few times to hold them back.

  And then again ��� hadn’t he himself said that Lily was dead, gone? That she wasn’t the reason he held back? However, who knew what went on in his head? Often enough, Elena had the strong feeling that Jack enjoyed her company, that he considered her a friend and that he felt a need to entrust things to her, things about which he
didn’t normally speak. What he had told her about his mother, for instance ���

  Elena wasn’t aware of the deep frown on her forehead when she thought about Eileen Daysen, no, Eileen Prince, the poisoner. Since Jack had told her, Elena had had a hard time not thinking about it. What worried her most was that it hadn’t surprised her at all. In fact, although her encounter with the woman had been very brief, Elena had realized at once that here was a particularly dark horse. The cold black eyes ��� the malicious sneer ��� granted, Jack had all these features as well, in fact the resemblance between mother and son was stunning. It was even more stunning that the characteristics she loved in him scared her when it came to his mother.

  Had she really poisoned her husband? Certainly, from what she knew about Tobias Daysen it was hard to feel pity for him. Since Elena had learnt a little more about Jack’ family, she had sometimes found herself harbouring feelings of hatred towards the man because of the way he’d treated his wife and son. Also, she was quite prepared to acknowledge that Eileen might have had good reason to off him. However, the manner ��� an agonizing death by poison ���

  Suddenly, Elena saw Magrathea Crowley in front of her inner eye, warning her about the Prince family. From Magrathea, it was only a short mental distance to arrive at McVey. Elena shifted uncomfortably on her chair. He would probably contact her soon, ask her about her findings. She was still determined to tell him off, explain to him that she wouldn’t snoop into Jack’ family, no matter what the consequences might be. At the same time, the things that McVey had asked her to find out were a constant itch in her mind. She wanted to find out. However, not to give the information away, but to keep it to herself.

  She had an idea then.

  ‘Listen, guys, is there a public library somewhere around here?’ she asked spontaneously.

  Cassie, Janie and Castor looked up in surprise because she had somewhat interrupted the flow of conversation.

  ‘Not interested in book-keeping, are you?’ Castor said with a friendly wink. Breakfast with wife and sister had visibly relaxed him.

  ‘Sure there is’, Janie said, ‘just opposite from Gringott’s. What are you looking for?’

  ‘Just ���’, Elena quickly thought up an excuse, ‘it’s for an essay Professor Daysen has me do.’

  ‘He has you write essays?’ Cassie made a face. ‘Well, you can’t say that guy in’t thorough ���’

  ‘Are you surprised?’ Elena asked, grinning.

  ‘Go easy on the man’, Castor murmured, ‘I wouldn’t be here without him and what he taught me. You know, at Hogwarts Daysen was usually so horrible that I never realized what an effective teacher he truly was. I got that only much much later ���’

  Elena smiled at Castor and she couldn’t help that smile coming over a little too gratefully. Castor noticed it; surprise registered on his face, but then he winked once more. The Clearys weren’t merely handsome, but sensitive, as well.

  Her stomach stuffed with an excellent breakfast, Elena was a little hesitant at first to go through with her plans. The temptation to Apparate home and get back to her warm bed was almost overwhelming, but after she had said goodbye to the Clearys she made herself go to the library, anyway. It was a grand place, all mahogany panels and bannisters, and it exuded the air of learning and sophistication that you can only find in really renowned libraries.

  When she asked the librarian ��� an elderly witch with blackish teeth and kind eyes ��� for a book on magical artefacts, the woman smiled and led her to a whole section lined with ancient-looking volumes. Elena sighed at first, but a linguist is not usually daunted by books. She went to work right away, using a magically extending ladder to get from one shelf to another. Yet, it took more than an hour before she had found the right book that listed and explained all kinds of objects with magical properties that were known to the wizarding world. Jinxed pieces of jewellery and items of clothing were described that conveyed all kinds of characteristics to the person wearing them, and of course, wands took up a large portion, one of them the legendary Elder Wand. Elena leaved through the book, conscientiously scanning the pages lest she miss something.

  Eventually, she found it. The Game of Gobstones, or, to be precise, The Game of Gobstones. There was an image that left no doubt for Elena that it was the same set that she had seen at Abrasax Manor. However, the depicted set was complete, with five stones of different colours on top of it, blue, yellow, purple, black and ��� red. Elena read the description rendered below the illustration:

  Dating back to the 17 th century, this special Game of Gobstones is frequently referred to as ‘Rolling Luck’. Dissent exists with regard to its manufacturer, being sometimes ascribed to Willard Walkytter (*1587, +1691), a prolific producer of magical artefacts, but probably manufactured by Zygmunt Budge (*1601, +1673), the inventor of the Felix Felicis potion. The latter theory has more credence as the ‘Rolling Luck’ has approximately the same effect for its proprietor as Felix Felicis, although the effect is permanent, provided that the crowning set of five gobstones is complete.

  Elena had never heard of Felix Felicis, but enough Latin to guess what it was. This was getting interesting. She read on.

  Each of the five crowning stones stands for a concept considered indispensible for achieving human happiness; hence, the blue stone is referred to as the Stone of Friendship, red as the Stone of Love, yellow the Stone of Wealth, purple the Stone of Youth and Beauty, and black the Stone of Fame and Influence. Each stone works for itself, but only a complete set empowers the proprietor with everlasting luck and happiness.

  In 1888, the set was purchased by Ebenezer Cuffe, the founder of The Daily Prophet. The overwhelming success of this paper in advancing to the most frequently read newspaper in the wizarding sphere is generally attributed to the Cuffe family’s possession of the Gobstones. Notable previous owners were ���

  Elena let the book sink onto her lap. She thought hard, then leaved to the book’s inlay to ascertain when it had been published: 1935. In the meantime, the red stone had been lost, leaving behind an incomplete set the effect of which was probably feeble compared to what it could do when whole. Suddenly, it became abundantly clear to Elena just how much the woman must desire to get back to the red stone, just like Finn McVey had told her. At the same time, it was obvious how the other stones had done their best for Madam Crowley; she was certainly famous and influential, rich, looked young and beautiful and had powerful friends. But what about love? Was it missing from her life? She was a married woman, but that didn’t mean that she was also able to give and receive love. However, wasn’t that the most important thing in life for which fame, wealth, beauty and friendship could never compensate?

  According to McVey, Magrathea believed that Eileen had the missing gobstone, the Stone of Love. However, Elena was doubtful with regard to this. After all, she had seen the woman and she had appeared in no way loving to her, but rather bitter and exhausted. If it was true that the stones, even individually, left a trace in its owner’s life, there was no way Jack’ mother had it. Also, she could not figure out the connection between Eileen and Magrathea. They were very different in age, temperament and background. Yet, the must be a reason why Magrathea Crowley believed that Eileen Daysen had the red stone. But how was she going to figure that one out?

  After a while, Elena closed the book with a sigh. What she had learnt was certainly interesting, but what did it tell her? Nothing, apart from the reason why the gobstones set was so valuable. Unless ���

  She got up from the rickety chair in the reading section and made her way back to the librarian.

  ‘Do you have some kind of Who-is-Who?’ she asked.

  The witch looked at her confused. ‘What do you mean, luv?’

  ‘A book on witches and wizards alive today. Their dates and main achievements, something like that.’

  The librarian’s face became sad. ‘Sorry, luv, but I don’t know of any such thin
g. You’d have to go to the Ministry of Magic’s Registry Office, and I’m not sure whether they’d help you, not without a good reason, at least. Most witches and wizards are very touchy about their privacy, see. They wouldn’t want details of their lives to go on public record. That’s the kind of thing Muggles do.’

  Elena was disappointed, but she thanked the librarian kindly. So if she wanted to find out more about Magrathea Crowley, she’d have to find other sources of information. But how?

  Musing, she wandered along the shelves, letting her fingers trail over the backs of long lines of books. She didn’t really look what was ahead of her, being deep in thought, and she would almost have bumped into someone.

  ‘I’m so sorry’, she breathed, flustered.

  ‘It’s alright.’

  The voice was familiar. She looked up and stared directly into the pointed rat-face of Draco Malfoy.

  ‘You again?’ she cried without thinking.

  Draco raised his eyebrows. It made him look horribly arrogant. ‘Again?’

  ‘I saw you this morning! Very early in the morning, near one of the shops in Diagon Alley.’

  ‘Yeah, visiting a friend’, Draco explained smoothly. ‘His parents have a charms shop.’

  ‘Hmm.’ Elena looked at the book in Draco’s hands. Something on Arithmancy, even the cover looked complicated. In her view, it was an unlikely choice for this type of guy.

  ‘Just looking something up’, Draco explained unnecessarily and appeared suddenly flustered.

  Elena narrowed her eyes. She had a funny feeling in her guts. ‘Listen’, she said, ‘since you’re here ��� if you wanted to find out something about anyone in the wizarding world, what would you do?’

  ‘Find out what exactly?’

  ‘Birth dates, education, achievements ��� There appears to be no such thing as a ‘Who-is-Who’ in your world!’

  By Draco’s look of confusion, it was obvious that he had never heard of any such thing, either. ‘You could turn to the Daily Prophet’s archives’, he ventured hesitantly.