She whispered

by Lucas Chesterton

  For the fraction of a second, Jack was speechless; his eyes flashed dangerously. ‘What are you trying to say?’

  ‘You are a man who craves power’, Crowley stated coolly, unflinching. ‘Your past choices suggest that. And I don’t buy at all that you are mainly serving your students. I believe you first and foremost serve yourself.’

  ‘We all do, to a point.’ Daysen was trying to stare Crowley down, but the man clearly felt he had the upper hand.

  ‘The question is how high up that point is’, he dealt out smoothly, ‘and I cannot ignore the fact that you have ��� at least twice by now ��� neglected to cooperate with the Ministry on important issues. Your findings on the satyrs could have been valuable to us. But no, you chose not to share and pursue your own investigation instead.’

  What did Crowley know? Had he any idea about the reformation of the Order of the Phoenix? Daysen remembered what a young Ministry official had said to him after the hearing, namely that these days there were sure ways of ascertaining someone’s whereabouts. The fact that he’d been left in peace since the hearing had led him to believe that his troubles were over. Now he saw that there was a good possibility that all of his movements were being closely monitored, and he congratulated himself on the decision to fake a falling-out with Elena. He willed himself to be calm and forced a grim smile on his face. ‘Performing an autopsy on a creature found on Hogwarts grounds is hardly an investigation. Much rather, it falls within my duties as a teacher. Like I said, I have full confidence in the Ministry’s abilities to arrive at the same conclusions as I have.’

  ‘Which are?’

  Daysen hated that Crowley forced him to spill it out in that way, but he didn’t see any alternative. ‘They’re fabricated. Not real satyrs at all, but creatures created and animated by a very complex alchemistic process.’

  ‘A process that is grossly illegal, as I’m sure you know.’

  ‘Of course.’

  Crowley tilted his head. ‘Could you do it?’

  There was no point in denial, everyone knew what an accomplished potioneer he was. So he said ‘Maybe. If I put my mind to it. If I had any interest. ��� But, as you said, it is illegal.’

  ‘And that would bother you?’ It sounded doubtful.

  Daysen’s brows went up once more.

  ‘Illegality didn’t bother you in the past’, Crowley added acidly, and he went on before Jack could say anything, ‘you see, Professor, at the Ministry we are pragmatists. When a thing like this happens, we ask ourselves who could have pulled off such a thing. To be perfectly honest with you, not a great many names come to mind. Yours does, however. And your name ��� like it or not ��� is still a controversial one.’

  ‘I am not going to prove myself to you’, Jack replied and it took a lot to suppress the anger in his voice. ‘I have said what I have to say at the hearing. I am also fully aware that many people would still rather see me as a Death Eater and scapegoat. I can live with that; in fact, I have for many years. So spare me your suspicions and allegations because frankly I don’t believe you have any proof.’

  ‘It is not my job to provide proof, Professor; it is my job to explore possibilities. And there are a few things which I can’t help noticing ���’

  ‘Such as?’

  ‘Mr Theodore Nott was a student of yours, wasn’t he?’

  The sudden change of subject threw Jack off a little and he gave a curt nod.

  ‘I’m sure you heard that he broke out of the Ministry dungeons? And managed to get his hands on the Time Turner in doing so?’

  Daysen’s eyes widened. ‘I didn’t know that’, he admitted with an uncomfortable twitch.

  ‘No? ��� Tell me, Professor, what kind of a student was Mr Nott? Did he strike you as particularly ��� resourceful? Cunning, even?’

  ‘Not at all. He was a mediocre student and a loner. Hearing what he pulled off came as a surprise to me.’

  ‘My impression precisely. So I am asking myself whether he had help.’ Crowley’s eyes twinkled as the searched Daysen’s face.

  The realization hit Jack with a delay. ‘Are you saying ��� that I helped him?’

  ‘Like I said, I’m exploring possibilities here.’

  ‘Why would I do such a thing?’ Daysen couldn’t help the growl in his voice now. He was close to blowing a fuse.

  ‘He was one of your students. And a Slytherin.’

  ‘You should know that people who hate me most right now are erstwhile Slytherins!’

  ‘Ah, but you might have seen an opportunity there. Specifically the opportunity of getting your hands on the Time Turner again.’

  Daysen issued a harsh laugh. ‘Why do you think I want the Time Turner?’

  ‘I can think of a number of reasons. ��� First, because you consider it yours’, Crowley said evenly, ‘since Albus Dumbledore gave it to you as an heirloom. Which he shouldn’t have done. Those Time Turners are dangerous and should be destroyed. But I have a feeling that you don’t agree on that.’

  ‘Agree or not, heirloom or not, I have no interest in that Time Turner!’ He couldn’t contain himself any longer now, got up from his chair and swiftly went over to one of his shelves, fingering a jar or two. It was, of course, a mistake, for when Crowley spoke again, his voice sounded even more confident than before.

  ‘No? Not even to ��� win back the affections of a certain young lady?’

  Daysen froze, fingers on the edge of the shelf.

  ‘She was quite fond of that Time Turner, wasn’t she? I also hear that she has since ��� rejected your services as a teacher?’

  Jack digested all this. As much as he hated what Crowley was suggesting, he couldn’t fail to see that his and Elena’s little charade had taken root, and with surprising ease. He saw what he had to do next and turned his head over his shoulder. ‘Was that a question? I believe you know perfectly well that she has sought the assistance of your establishment.’

  Crowley gave a small smile. ‘It’s my wife’s project’, he explained, ‘but you’re right, I know.’

  Jack turned his eyes back on the jars. ‘So if the Time Turner were mine to give her, ‘to win back her affections’, as you say, how come she’s still there?’ He made it sound grave and a little dispirited. He hated it, having to play the man that had been rejected and cuckolded. At the same time, it was a role he knew well and it was easy to fake. He brought in the memory of holding Elena in his arms; her attentive eyes on him; her radiant smile; her sweet attempt at seduction … ��� Let Crowley think what he wants! Let him think he, Daysen, was an imbecile for whom no woman could ever hold serious affections! He knew better, and it gave him an advantage that Crowley wasn’t aware of. Jack turned around. ‘I do not have the Time Turner’, he said with melancholic finality.

  Crowley watched him attentively. Then he gave a sigh. ‘Those little women, huh? The things they do to us ���’

  Jack noted this with interest, but kept an impassive face. ‘Are you talking about yourself?’ he asked coolly.

  ‘I’ve been a happily married man for more than twenty years’, Crowley replied with a jovial laugh, but to Daysen’s taste the reply came a little too fast; he noted that, as well, and stored it away, ‘I know all about female capriciousness, I can tell you.’

  Jack was almost certain that the man had just lied to him. The remark on ‘little women’ had been a slip of the tongue, because although Jack didn’t know Magrathea Crowley personally, from what he’d heard she didn’t qualify as a ‘little woman’ at all. He had to take a closer look at the man. If Crowley had him followed, surely there would be a way for him to snoop out Crowley?

  Jack came back to the desk and gave a dejected sigh. ‘Well, it beats me, I can tell you’, he said, ‘I’m probably too old.’

  Crowley looked ironically sympathetic. Daysen would have liked to blast him into the wall with his wand or at least jinx the understanding grin off his face; his fingers were itch
ing. At the same time, he had the distinct feeling that the man believed him, at least where the Time Turner and, most importantly, Elena were concerned. He sat down, took a deep breath ��� as if to jolt himself out of a depressive mood ��� then steepled his fingers and looked Crowley in the face. ‘So, what’s more, Mr Crowley? Apart from suspecting me of stealing a Time Turner to win back a woman’s heart ��� very much like a teenager would do ��� and at the same time creating satyrs to attack unwitting children, all in order to become Headmaster again by some obscure design that I don’t really get ��� is there anything else you would like to put down at my doorstep?’

  Aeneas Crowley seemed unperturbed by the biting sarcasm of the words. ‘I told you, Professor, it is my job as an inquisitor to ask questions, and asking nicely doesn’t usually get me any results.’

  ‘Have you gotten any today?’

  ‘If you’re asking whether I’ve convinced myself that you are an intelligent and resourceful man that is very hard to see through ��� yes, I have. Also, I am prepared to tell you quite frankly that I find your supposed ‘reform’ a little hard to swallow. I’m not as easily mollified as some of my colleagues at the Wizengamot, you see, because in my experience, a leopard won’t change its spots.’

  ‘And you have come here to tell me that?’

  ‘No. I have come here because of the satyr.’

  ‘Splendid!’ Daysen got up. ‘I’ll take you right to it. By now it’s probably stinking to high heaven, but I’m sure as an inquisitor you’ve had much worse.’

  Crowley wrinkled his nose a little. ‘Thank you, Professor, I’m sure I can find my way to the gamekeeper’s hut.’

  ‘If you insist ���’

  Crowley got up, taking his sweet time. He stared thoughtfully at some point on Daysen’s desk. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and menacing. ‘I have to warn you, Professor. Your independent investigations are a thorn in the eye of the Ministry of Magic. You might lose what little support you still have within its walls by too independent actions. We will keep an eye on you; I most certainly will.’

  ‘I expected no less’, Daysen drawled.

  ‘Also, I suggest that you leave the search for Abelard Ainsworth to us. We are aware of him and his capabilities; in fact, we’ve been looking for him for quite a while now. If you meddle with that, it might have serious repercussions.’

  ‘Are you threatening me?’

  The bright-blue eyes flashed. ‘You understand very well what I mean. You may have found yourself in a position in the past where you considered yourself a kind of protector of the wizarding world, and no doubt Albus Dumbledore put that bee into your bonnet. However, Professor, those days are over. You are no longer the ace up Dumbledore’s sleeve. You are a Hogwarts teacher, no less, but certainly no more. Remember this. Stay put. It is the only way in which you can live in peace.’

  He nodded curtly, turned and walked out of Daysen’s office.

  Jack remained standing for quite a while longer, staring at the door that Crowley had banged shut. He felt excited, irritated and anxious at equal measures, and he knew that the feeling would stay with him for the rest of the day, which was a dire prospect. However, there was a remedy. It wouldn’t help the situation, but it would help him. Daysen decided that he would avail himself of it at the first opportunity he got, once the day was done and he free to go where he pleased.

  The mere thought of it calmed him down already.

  ‘Do you think he knows?’ Elena’s forehead was clouded with worry as she stared ahead onto the dashboard.

  It was pitch-dark outside, though nowhere near midnight; winter solstice was coming closer and with it the shortest day of the year. The only light in the car came form an orangey-flickering streetlamp by the playground where ‘little gnat’ was parked. He’d had to wait almost fifteen minutes for her, had been on the verge of becoming irritated when she’d finally clambered into the car, bringing with her a whiff of cold winter air and of something sweet, cinnamon maybe. It was something Jack had only recently become aware of, how acutely he reacted to her scent, and when she’d gotten into the car he’d caught himself breathing her in, welcoming her. It had created a momentary blank in his mind, so when she’d asked him with curious eyes what was going on, why he’d sent her a cryptic message asking for this rendezvous, he’d had to pull himself together in order to remember the details of Aeneas Crowley’s visit.

  ‘Depends on what you mean’, he said now, pulling his cloak tighter around his shoulders as the Mercedes’ leather seats felt stiff and cold. ‘If you’re referring to your cover ��� no, I don’t think he knows. In fact, he appears to have swallowed that we don’t ��� speak anymore.’

  Her eyes narrowed. In the dim light, they had a peculiar glitter and appeared brown. ‘Are you sure?’

  Jack chuckled dryly. ‘In fact, he seems certain that being rejected by you has made me so desperate I incited Theodore Nott to steal the Time Turner.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You heard me.’

  ‘But I don’t understand, why the Time T���’

  ‘To win back your affections.’

  She stared, incredulous, then threw back her head and laughed. ‘He thinks you ��� that you would ��� oh, that’s HILARIOUS!’ An explosion of giggles.

  ‘Yes’, growled Daysen, ‘very funny.’

  ‘Come on! You must admit it’s quite original what people come up with ���’

  ‘Yeah, specifically if they paint me as someone instigating a break-out and a theft just to get into a woman’s ���’, he broke off, cast a twitchy side glance at her, ‘��� well, to please her.’

  She grinned, knowing full well what he’d wanted to say. ‘You know that this man isn’t exactly your fan’, she reminded him gently.

  ‘Well, I could surely live with that, but I hope you realize what he is doing? He takes all those things that happened recently ��� the satyr attacks, the illfated Death Eater hunt, and now Theodore Nott, as well ��� and puts them on my doorstep! He more or less told me that he holds me responsible for all the events destabilizing the magical world lately, that he thinks I’m a power-driven man who’d stop short of nothing!’

  ‘That’s an age-old strategy, dumping one’s own shit on the person you fear might cause you the most trouble’, Elena said, ‘you can probably find it in Sun Tzu. It only means that Crowley considers you a force to be reckoned with. That he’s afraid of you.’

  He saw that she was right, but yet he wasn’t happy. ‘Problem is, the Ministry’s having his back. And I know for sure now what I always knew, that he’s having me followed.’

  The frown was back. ‘You’re sure?’

  ‘I’ve felt it all along. It’s like a constant itch at the back of my neck.’

  Elena looked anxious. ‘Do you think that they can ���’

  ‘No’, he interrupted her, sensing where she was going, ‘I put all kinds of protective spells on this car. No one is going to find us here.’

  ‘Good’, she breathed.

  He watched her for a while, scrutinized her profile while she stared through the windshield. ‘Does Crowley ever turn up at the academy?’ he asked carefully.

  ‘I saw him this week’, Elena volunteered eagerly, ‘just ��� quickly, you know, on the go, but ���’

  ‘I’m afraid I’ll need you to find out what you can about him.’

  Her eyelids fluttered, she seemed insecure.

  ‘I cannot do it’, Daysen went on; the look he gave her was intense, ‘I have to be far more careful about my movements from now on, that much became clear to me today. There’s also the Order to think of. ��� However, Crowley believes your reasons for coming to the academy, I am very certain of that, so it’s going to be you who must find out.’

  ‘I see. I have no idea where to start, though. Like I said, I only saw him once ���’

  ‘Be resourceful’, Daysen said, ‘I kno
w you can.’

  ‘Wow! Was that a compliment?’

  ‘Be careful, too.’

  ‘Sure I will.’

  ‘Anything new, by the way?’

  ‘Plenty of things. But nothing that’s really important. You know, to us, to the Order.’

  Daysen’s face darkened. ‘Are they ��� decent to you?’ He made it come out like a growl in order to mask his apprehension. In fact, he was worried about this. From what Elena had recounted at the Malfoy dinner, the Crowley Academy was a pureblood thing, or that at least had been the impression that had formed in his mind.

  She made light of it, waved her hand. ‘They’re alright.’

  He knew it was a lie, that she was putting on a brave face. Jack touched her hand with the tips of his fingers. It was meant as a very light gesture of encouragement, but Elena was a little like the devil, taking a hand when she was offered a little finger, but literally in this case. With a look of surprise, he watched her hand sneaking unabashedly into his, her fingers intertwining with his, but he had neither heart nor will to break the contact. When he looked up at her face, she smiled; it was a warm and intimate smile, and in the dim light her eyes appeared so deep it was difficult not to drown in them. She blinked; then let her forehead sink onto his shoulder. A noise came from her throat, like a purr, as she snuggled against him. With a feeling of helplessness, Jack felt his pulse quicken and an unmistakable tension took hold over his body. He smelt her scalp, her hair, the way they tickled his cheek.

  An inner voice warned him, told him that this was the worst possible point in time to allow this closeness, especially now that he knew for certain that Crowley was on to him. What was happening, anyway? So far he’d been quite successful in keeping her at arm’s length, cite caution to make her back off. The night at the Malfoys had changed something, though; he couldn’t put his finger to it, but he found that it was becoming more and more difficult to stay reserved and distant. He found it impossible to escape her eyes, the way she looked at him which was both confidential, private and ��� yes, adoring. No one had ever looked at him in this way, and this made it incredibly hard for Jack to keep his cool. Plus, it was exhilarating to have someone to talk to, someone who’d come when he beckoned, someone who’d listen to his worries. In fact, this state of having a confidante, someone who’d inevitably be on his side, was an experience so intense it made him lightheaded.