But first things first, which meant Lupin. Before long, the tired werewolf broke up the session, reminding everyone that the reformation of the Order of the Phoenix must remain a secret in the wizarding world. Soon after that, its proud members pushed out of the salon and Elena, who remained standing in the middle of it and looked a little forlorn, was dragged off by Molly Weasley towards the kitchens, despite her protestations that she really was ‘not that much into cooking’.
‘A word’, Daysen accosted Lupin with a snarl.
Remus sighed while he watched as the last person to leave the room ��� Arthur Weasley, with a marked look of pity on his face ��� closed the door behind himself. ‘If you must. ��� Though you can really hold your breath because I know exactly what you’re going to say.’
‘What were you thinking!? Didn’t I tell you that I didn’t want her to have any part in this?’
‘You did. And I told you that I disagree. And that it should be her decision.’
‘Of course she was going to say ‘yes’!’ Jack hissed. ‘That’s the way she is, it’s not like her to brush off a request like this! Which you should have known!’
‘I did’, Remus admitted with a grimace.
‘This is not how it’s going to work, Lupin! If you and I are to head this operation, we should agree on all accounts ���’
‘Unlikely!’
‘��� and not go over each other’s heads!’
‘I’ll remind you of that the first time you do it!’
‘Which I’m going to! You owe me one now!’
‘Let me guess. Draco Malfoy.’
By way of a reply, Daysen grinned maliciously.
‘I doubt the others will agree’, Lupin pointed out.
‘You’ll make them.’
‘I’ll do no such thing! Nobody trusts Draco!’
‘I trust him. Draco is a very capable wizard and he has learnt his lesson. He will be a valuable addition.’
‘The others have a say in the matter, as well. I doubt that you’ll be able to convince them, but you can try.’
‘No. I’m going to pull a Lupin. Present them with an accomplished fact. It’s only right.’
Remus chuckled bitterly. ‘Good luck with that! ��� And honestly, Jack, I don’t understand you! Don’t you see how perfect Elena is for this? Anyone else would have to think up a good motive for getting into the academy. But she ��� she’s cut out for it, no one will question it!’
‘I’m not so sure of that. Everyone knows now that she is my student.’
Lupin’s face changed, became sly. ‘Yeah. Something would have to be done about that.’
Daysen twitched irritably. ‘What d’you mean?’ But before Lupin could reply, he went on. ‘Whatever, I think this is madness! True, she’d probably get into that academy, but have you even wasted a thought on what happens then?’
‘Depends on what she finds. We’ll have to play it by ear.’
‘Play it by ear!? That’s your plan? You might as well take a lamb to slaughter!’
‘Lamb to slaughter, after she’s saved your life, twice!’
‘I don’t want her to get involved!’
‘Get off it, Jack!’ Lupin thundered, now seriously angered. ‘You’re neither her father, nor her husband, and even if you were, that’d give you no right to dictate her actions. ��� Apart from that, I know you! You don’t want a pot plant!’
‘What?’
‘A doormat, then. Someone who’ll shy away from any kind of challenge and keep you at home, cooing ‘no, honey, don’t do that, it’s too dangerous ���’ ��� You’d hate that!’
Daysen’s eyes widened with alarm. ‘You got the wrong end of the stick here, Lupin, she is ���’
‘��� your student, I know.’ It sounded incredibly bored. ‘And because she’s your student you behave like a clucking hen when it comes to her!’ It was one of the rare occasions which left Daysen speechless. A clucking hen, indeed? Lupin took the chance and went on. ‘Would you have been interested in Lily if she’d been quiet and acquiescent? No, you wouldn’t. Her liveliness, her courage ��� that’s what was special about her, and you know it. Elena’s very much like that.’
Daysen swallowed hard. ‘What are you trying to say?’ he croaked.
‘That you can’t have it both. Take an adventurous young woman under your wings and then expect that she’ll steer clear of adventure!’
‘I don’t have to drive her into it, either!’
Remus’ narrowed eyes went from dangerous to tired. ‘This conversation is futile. The decision has been made ��� or do you have any illusions that you’re going to talk her out of it?’
‘That ship has sailed’, Daysen acknowledged gloomily, ‘thanks to you.’
‘So I suggest that you help her as best you can. George was right, you know. There’s no one more suitable to prepare her for her task than you. ��� Also ��� I don’t know if it has occurred to you ��� you and Elena will have to fake some kind of discord.’
Maybe he had expected Jack to flare once more, but instead he only got a very cold glance. ‘That much is obvious.’
‘Since Elena has brushed off the Crowley woman and her academy, she needs a credible motive to go back on it.’
‘And I detest you even more for putting her into that position!’
‘Detest me all you like, Jack. But knowing you and her, you’ll come up with some charade. You might even enjoy it.’
‘Some nerve you have!’
‘No, I don’t. In fact, my nerves are wearing thin ���’ As if to illustrate this, Remus pressed down on the bridge of his nose.
Jack duly noted his worn and tired look, but he was too angry to show any kind of concern. However, he cancelled the cutting remark that was on the tip of his tongue. ‘You owe me one’, he repeated instead, ‘keep that in mind. Draco. I won’t be deterred.’
Remus rolled his eyes and shrugged. ‘You can try. I can’t say I care too much. However, I would like to eat now. Molly’s cooking.’
Jack shuddered, not because of Molly’s cooking ��� which he knew to be excellent, though as a rule he never praised food ��� but because irritation blocked his stomach. He’d had it with impetuous Gryffindor schemes and wanted to get out of here, the sooner the better. With a last haughty look at the harassed werewolf, he left the salon to find himself in an empty hallway. He heard lively chatter from the kitchens, and that elicited another shudder. Swiftly and quietly he made for the front door.
‘Jack ���’
He wheeled around and looked into Elena’s wide eyes. She looked a little flushed and had obviously just snuck out from under Molly’s supervision. ‘Are you leaving without saying goodbye?’
He rolled his eyes. ‘Gosh, Elena, we’re neighbours ���’
‘Still ���’ She smiled uncertainly.
‘They won’t expect me to say goodbye’, he explained, ‘they won’t even care.’
‘But I do.’
‘Well ���’ He didn’t know what to say.
‘Because there’s something I wanted to show you!’ Her eyes were suddenly bright with excitement.
‘Can’t it wait? I have to be back at Hogwarts in ��� well, soon.’
‘But I’ve been waiting to show you for days!’
There was something about her, the flushed cheeks, the girlish eagerness ��� Jack felt himself go soft inside, and although he was usually good at ignoring such feelings, he had recently noticed that he couldn’t always be bothered to do it anymore. ‘I guess there’s still time’, he sighed, ‘but doesn’t Molly want you in the kitchen?’
‘Yeah, she wants to show me how to cook with a wand’, Elena replied with a marked lack of enthusiasm. ‘She won’t accept that I’m not the house-wifey type ���’
This made him smile a little ��� a result of the softness he had allowed. ‘Let’s go then’, he suggested.
‘Today I am going to Apparate us!’ she explained with a secretive smile.
‘Good Lord. Will I survive this?’
‘Shut up already’, she said with a chuckle, firmly took his hand and dragged him out of the front door onto the street. He allowed it with a bemused look. She found them an inconspicuous spot, and a moment later they Disapparated with the usual sharp crack.
As soon as his feet touched solid ground, Jack looked about. It took him a while to realize where he was; a narrow alley not far from Elena’s dancing school. The last time he’d been here had been Halloween when he’d looked for her everywhere without realizing that she’d been kidnapped. The memory made him scowl. ‘You’re not trying to make me sign up for one of your dancing classes again, are you?’ he grumped in an attempt to hide his discomfort.
‘Would if I could’, she replied curtly, ‘but this is more important than dancing.’
She still held on to his hand and appeared to have no intention of letting go as she dragged him towards the busy main road. Thinking that he was a little bit too old to be led around like a child, he gently freed himself of her grip as she took on a swift pace, almost bursting with intention.
The walk was longer than he had expected, but eventually Elena stopped in front of a pub. Jack eyed it suspiciously. ‘A little early in the day, don’t you think?’
She giggled. ‘I don’t mean the pub! I mean this.’ She pointed at a large black Mercedes parked on the curb. There was a nasty scratch across its side and someone had smeared ‘WANKER’ across the bonnet with a handful of dirt. ‘D’you recognize it?’
As soon as she’d asked he did and inadvertently his eyes became wide. ‘That’s Leshnikov’s car!’
‘Yeah.’ She was grinning happily. ‘I don’t know why I didn’t think about it earlier, but it suddenly occurred to me that he drove us to this pub on Halloween night. But he Disapparated with me when he kidnapped me, so I figured the car must still be here, unless of course someone from the Ministry had taken care of it, which somehow seemed ���’
‘��� unlikely’, he finished her sentence. He started walking around the car. ‘When did you find it?’
‘A couple of days ago. Unfortunately, I don’t have the key ���’
Jack cast her a very patronizing look. ‘Alohomora, perhaps?’
‘Does it work on cars?’
‘Works on anything with a door.’
As if to illustrate, Daysen took out his wand and waved it discreetly. The door to the driver’s seat came open and he peered inside carefully. From the look on his face, Elena could tell that he was just as pleased as she was.
‘We’re going to take it with us!’ he said to her over the dirty black roof of the Mercedes. ‘Let me just have to figure out how ���’
Now it was Elena’s turn to cast him a funny look. ‘Drive, perhaps?’
‘I can’t’, he admitted.
‘But I can.’
‘You do?’
She laughed. The ability to drive a car never ceased to amaze witches and wizards. Cassie had explained to her that only a small number of them could do it. After all, who wanted to go through the lengthy process of acquiring a driver’s licence if they could Apparate? ‘Get in’, she said with a wink, ‘passenger seat, preferably.’
‘I’m not dumb’, he growled, but did as she had asked him.
The car was comfortable, spacious and the leather seats gave off an agreeable smell. As soon as they had settled in, Elena inspected the dashboard, the gearshift and various levers. Actually, she wasn’t as comfortable with this as she had made Jack believe. So far, she had only driven small cars, and never on the left side, either. However, she resolved not to let Daysen in on this and to fake self-assurance instead. ‘Seat belt!’ she commanded brightly.
‘Come again?’
She rolled her eyes, reached across him and dragged the belt out of its socket. ‘Have you never even been in a car?’
‘My father had one when I was little’, he said. ‘Nothing like this, though. Later on, he couldn’t afford it anymore.’
The mention of his father made Elena look glum. It also made her realize that she had pushed what Jack had told her about the way he’d died and his mother’s probable part in it completely out of her mind. The mere fact, however, that he had volunteered this small detail from his family life ��� about which he hardly ever spoke otherwise ��� showed that it was on the forefront of his thoughts all the time. He caught her look and returned an irritated twitch.
To hide her thoughts, Elena started to rummage below the dashboard and yanked out two wires. ‘Can you short-circuit these?’
He was glad about the change of subject and raised his wand.
‘Wait! Let me get the pedals first. ��� Now!’
The spell was precise and well-measured. The Mercedes’ engine shuddered into life and its sound was a satisfying fat purr. It made a small smile come to Jack’ face. Elena grinned. Guys and cars ���
Getting out of the parking gap with this huge battleship of a Mercedes proved a little complicated and made Jack’ smile turn into an expression of worry (she heard him mutter a spell under his breath, probably for protection). Luckily, driving on the left side was less of a problem than she had expected as everybody did it. The way she knew from countless bus journeys and so, after a few minutes, they were well on their way to Cokeworth. Slowly, Daysen relaxed and took to watching what she was doing, how she operated the pedals and manipulated the gearshift. Elena detected a reluctantly respectful glimmer in his eyes.
‘Not so bad, this Muggle invention, is it?’ she remarked mirthfully.
‘Considering the means at their disposal, yes, it’s quite something’, he admitted.
He then started to ask her a range of questions about cars. When she had learnt, who had taught her, and had she ever driven a sports car? (When she said ‘No’, he appeared disappointed.) She told him then that her father earned a living by constructing the darn things, and this led to new questions about technical details that she wasn’t even remotely able to answer. However, it was obvious that he was indeed familiar with the physical principles that governed motor vehicles. This corroborated Elena’s long-standing suspicion that he was more interested in the Muggle world than he usually let on. When he’d run out of questions, he settled back in his seat, watched the road ahead and her movements as they neared Cokeworth.
‘Jack?’ she started after a while.
‘Yeah?’
‘Are you mad at me?’
No answer for a few moments. ‘A little’, he murmured eventually. Fact was that he had to remind himself of the anger he had felt at Grimmauld Place in order to recover an echo of it. ‘But I can see that Lupin put you in a position where you couldn’t possibly say no.’
‘I wouldn’t have said no’, she declared, ‘regardless of the position.’
He commented this with a scowl.
‘Don’t look at me like that, Jack. We have talked about this. You have to let me make my own decisions and you can’t forever try to protect me.’
‘I can certainly try to talk you out of utter nonsense!’
‘But this is not utter nonsense! Remus was right! I’m perfect for this job. Crappy witch sorely in need of education, could you ask for more?’
‘Crappy witch venturing into what might be a lion’s den’, he growled. ‘I call it a recipe for disaster!’
‘I’ll be careful’, Elena murmured, but she looked a little hurt.
Daysen said nothing for a while, but shot her a couple of irritated side glances. ‘What I’m worried about’, he started eventually, ‘is that you might not know when to let off. T
oo much eagerness can be dangerous, and like Molly said today, I can’t shake the feeling either that you’re desperately trying to prove yourself.’
‘I’m not proving myself!’ she flared with a plaintive note in her voice. ‘I’m trying to help! Do you really think I’m that hungry for recognition?’
‘I think you are a little hungry for recognition’, he replied evenly.
‘It’s not about that!’ she claimed. ‘Everything that has happened to you in the past months has also happened to me! I know that you’d rather not have me involved, but I am, have been for quite a while! And I don’t like any of the things that have happened, so please stop giving me heat for wanting to do something about it! Do you know, anyway, how often we’ve had this conversation? Frankly, it’s getting boring, aside from the fact that it won’t change anything!’
Her voice had become fiercer with every word, and by the end of her speech her eyes sparkled angrily. Jack watched this with interest. He remembered Lupin’s words, ‘You don’t want a pot plant!’ No, he didn’t. Plus, she looked most like a witch when she was at her angriest. He let a few minutes pass without comment and watched her drive instead. The anger translated to her movements and she yanked at the gearshift viciously. He had to come up with something that would take her mind off.
‘We have to work on your Occlumency. If you go in there, you will need it.’
‘But I’m horrible at it’, she pressed forth between clenched teeth.
‘You’re not’, he sighed. ‘Also, you have to bear in mind that not a lot of witches and wizards know a first thing about Occlumency. The best of us can’t do it. What’s more, in that academy hardly anyone is going to expect that you can. That will be some advantage.’
She saw his point, but also the difficulty. ‘Remus said that in order for me to get accepted at the academy, you and me might have to fake some kind of discord. You see, I more or less told that Crowley woman to shove her academy you-know-where, that I had no need for it because I had you. For that reason, I need a solid explanation for crawling back to her doorstep.’
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