‘Two hours of sleep at most’, Daysen responded lazily, and in fact, he appeared too tired even to come up with one of his usual snappy openers.
‘Has the hearing upset you so much you found no rest?’
‘No. Satyrs. Turned up at Hogwarts.’
‘Merlin’s beard! Did anyone get hurt?’
Jack shook his head. ‘Fortunately not. But we had to search the Forbidden Forest after the incident, which took most of the night.’
‘Found anything?’
‘No more than the two creatures that Hagrid is presently guarding. Hopefully guarding, I should say.’
‘Have the students been alerted?’
‘Not just that. All morning, I had to guide all years and houses through an impromptu Defence Against Satyrs class. McGonagall insisted, said it couldn’t be put off any longer. By now, the tykes have probably forgotten every word I told them.’ He sighed, pessimistic as ever where his students’ attention span was concerned.
Remus looked glum, as well, but in an entirely different manner. For a moment, he appeared lost in thought, but shook himself out of it quickly and led the way to the Black family’s sitting room while Daysen followed at a lazy stroll. Inside, the latter positioned himself in front of the large fireplace, allowing his cloak and hair to dry, while Remus sat down on one of the nearest armchairs. He was never quite at ease in this place. It was steeped in the foul smell of old wizarding blood which sometimes became so oppressive it made him sick to the stomach. Jack, however, seemed impervious to it. He inspected a large clock on the mantelpiece ��� it had baby limbs for hands ��� and seemed no more than faintly curious. ‘I have to be back at Hogwarts in an hour’, he curtly informed Lupin, ‘so you better start telling me what this is about.’
Trust the guy to always put a certain pressure on a conversation. Of course, this was his way of taking over control. Remus was quite happy to ignore it.
‘It’s pretty straightforward’, he said, ‘I wanted to inform you that I’ve handed in my notice at the Ministry.’
Daysen cast a look of faint surprise over his shoulder. ‘You have?’
‘Yes. Effective immediately. Kingsley tried to dissuade me, but I told him it was not negotiable.’
‘Fascinating news’, Daysen sneered. ‘Surely reason enough to rip me out of my day ��� and a very busy one, I might add ��� and have me meet you here, of all places.’
‘The choice of location is quite appropriate, as you will see shortly’, Remus ensured him with a languid purr. ‘Won’t you ask about my motives for leaving the Ministry?’
‘Do I have to?’
‘I thought you wanted to get back to Hogwarts as soon as possible ���’
Daysen groaned. ‘Alright! Spare me the suspense and tell me.’
A grin crossed Lupin’s face, but then he became serious and carefully steepled his fingers, elbows on his knees. ‘As you may know, I only accepted the ministerial post because I believed that I might help with the transition. You know, building a new future, helping with reconstruction. ��� However, lately I have been disappointed in that regard.’
‘As frequently happens to idealists’, Daysen commented.
‘You may be right’, Remus admitted. ‘Perhaps I have been too optimistic. The truth is ��� there are mechanisms at work in the wizarding world at the moment that I do not like at all, which in fact I deeply distrust, but I’m doomed to watch on helplessly as things go in an entirely different direction from what I had hoped after the victory.’
‘What do you mean precisely?’
‘Actually, I had hoped that I wouldn’t have to explain, not to you, anyway. After all, you’re at the receiving end. That hearing they threw on you?’
‘Since when have you become so invested in my problems?’
‘Because I believe that they’re not exclusively your problems, but part of something bigger. ��� Have you read the Prophet lately?’
‘I read it every day.’
‘Then you know what’s happening.’ Lupin got up and started to rummage in his coat pockets. Daysen’s eyebrows shot up as the other man produced a staple of newspaper clippings which he presented with an adamant shake. ‘I particularly like the top-most one: The Victor writes History. It’s a commentary on Harry’s version on the events during the Battle of Hogwarts, and an analysis of alleged ‘loop holes’ in the story. In short, the scandalmonger who wrote it claims that the Golden Trio have been lying or at least editing the truth. It also contains a few scathing comments on Dumbledore and his past. Look here: Deconstructing Dumbledore. They don’t even bother to sugar-coat it!’
‘Parts of Dumbledore’s past were questionable’, Daysen said reasonably.
‘Well, he isn’t alone in that regard, is he?’ Remus shot a dark side glance at Jack. ‘The point I’m making is ��� there is a concentrated effort to distort the truth and to present it in a way that sheds a different light on everything that happened.’
Daysen tilted his head thoughtfully. ‘Not quite unjustified, don’t you think? Where there’s light, there’s also darkness. And truth is a fickle thing, rather a matter of perspective.’
Remus chuckled derisively. ‘You’re camouflaging the personal with the philosophical, Jack. But remember, I am very well aware that you always resented Harry and will probably call this ‘come-uppance’ or something like that. Still projecting your petty jealousies onto him, are you?’
‘That’s nonsense!’ growled Jack. ‘I may not be the boy’s greatest fan, but I certainly do not doubt his story. After all, I more or less gave it to him ���’
Lupin interrupted him with an impatient shake of his newspaper clippings. ‘Be that as it may. The articles are not the only example. There are other things going on, as well. What’s happening to you right now is part of it, and I don’t only mean the hearing. Hermione told me about the intrusion in your office and your house. There can be absolutely no doubt that some people are trying very hard right now to push you from your hero pedestal.’
Daysen considered him, his face stony. He only spoke after a few seconds. ‘You appear to be harbouring the illusion that my current problems are a general phenomenon. However, I have been informed that this is not so. What’s happening to me is personal. A conspiracy to punish me for my betrayal and to ruin my reputation.’
‘Who told you that?’ Remus asked with narrowed eyes.
‘Just ��� someone’, Daysen replied with a shrug which made it clear that he was not prepared to say more.
‘Well, you may be wrong there’, Remus said. ‘I think that your difficulties are part of a bigger picture.’
‘And what’s happening in that bigger picture?’
Remus took a deep breath. ‘I believe that the Ministry is being undercut ��� as we speak ��� by an elite that is both elusive and determined to seize power in the wizarding world.’ Daysen digested this with a look of ill-disguised doubt, but said nothing, so Remus went on. ‘In recent weeks, I have done some research. To be honest, I started shortly after I met this Crowley guy. ��� Aeneas Crowley, that’s the one who took the minutes at your hearing. ��� The thing I kept asking myself was how a man who was an absolute nobody in the wizarding world until a short while ago could make it into the Ministry and into the Wizengamot within such a short time?’
‘Brought in and championed by powerful friends’, Daysen replied, revealing that he, too, had done his homework on the man. ‘Isn’t that the usual way of getting in? Especially right now with such a blatant lack of wizarding power I bet they took him gladly.’
‘That’s only partly true’, Remus explained. ‘You may be right that getting into the Ministry in the first place is not that difficult. But making a career there, and within as short a time as Crowley did, is certainly unusual.’
‘I hear he has money.’
‘Yeah. Shitloads of it. ��� The funny thing is that I can’t figure out how he got it.’
A gleam of interest appeared in Daysen’s eyes. ‘Is that important?’
‘It is, considering the fact that he comes from a very humble background and had hardly any dosh to finance his studies of Magical Law with ��� which, by the way, he broke off to go into some half-assed business with his uncle.’
‘Successful business?’
‘Not particularly. Importing magical artefacts from the Continent and America ��� I doubt there’s a lot in it. ��� No, things started to look up for Aeneas Crowley only after he got married ���’
‘There you have it. He married money. Isn’t his wife the daughter of some wealthy man?’
‘Barnabas Cuffe, to be precise, the owner and editor-in-chief of the Daily Prophet. ��� It’s true, Cuffe is wealthy. But not so rich to justify the Crowley’s lifestyle which is nothing short of splendid. They have property in Diagon Alley, a huge manor in Devon, a hunting lodge somewhere in Scotland, a palazzo in Venice ���’
‘The estate of pureblood families is often considerable’, Daysen broke in, ‘you know that as well as I do.’
‘There was no inheritance’, Remus insisted. ‘Like I said, Crowley’s background is quite humble and the Cuffes got their wealth exclusively through the proceeds from the Prophet. As far as I was able to find out, the Crowleys acquired all this stuff only after they married. Plus, in the months since the war they put huge sums into charitable projects. Had orphanages built for children who lost their parents. Made huge donations to St. Mungo’s and other healing institutions. Took care of stranded house-elves. They’re constantly in the papers with one good deed or another, and courtesy to Cuffe and the Prophet they’re making themselves into the prime sponsors of the wizarding world!’
‘Which is not a crime’, Daysen said reasonably, but the fascinated gleam in his eyes had deepened, ‘in fact, I daresay that a lot of people are bound to be grateful.’
‘Which is exactly the point! They are buying popularity and support. One might think that this cannot ordinarily be done. But in times as these, with reconstruction going on, the Crowleys’ generosity is like water on dried-out ground. There’s not a small number of people who already see them as our most significant benefactors and, in fact, as something close to saints.’
‘That’s the way people are. Easily manipulated, especially when money’s involved.’
‘Yes, that’s the way people are. And right now, they are weak and looking for guidance. Dumbledore’s gone. So is Voldemort. The wizarding world has lost two father figures, which leaves a void that, in my mind, the Crowleys are set on filling. They are after power.’
‘In our world, power is not only about money’, Daysen remarked, ‘magic weighs in the balance, as well.’
‘But surely you agree that money can buy magic up to a point?’
‘Up to a point’, Daysen admitted. ‘Where are you going with all this, anyway? Are you suggesting that the Crowleys are behind my ��� current problems?’
‘Not unlikely. Did I mention that they are thick as thieves with the Periwinkles?’
‘Meaning that they might somehow fuel old Periwinkle’s zeal? ��� Honestly, I believe that exists quite by itself.’
‘Maybe, but don’t forget that the Crowleys have the resources and the connections to rake up as much muck as they please. Personally, I believe that they might be behind a lot of funny things that are happening in our world right now. You already mentioned the satyrs, for instance.’
‘The satyrs?!’ Daysen had followed Lupin’s words with an expression of increasing doubt, but now he glared at him. ‘What do the Crowleys have to do with a random satyr infestation?’
‘But was it random?’ When Remus looked hard at Jack, there was a feverish gleam in his eyes. He felt it himself, and he also felt Daysen’s distrust. ‘He thinks I’m getting obsessed’, he realized and forced himself to breathe evenly, not to get caught up in his embarrassment. ‘Just let me say this’, he went on and in spite of himself, his voice sounded bitter, ‘I predict that the satyr problem is going to become worse. There will be attacks, probably all over Britain. Painful for everyone, because these creatures go after our young. As a result, there will be a lot of discussion, wailing and complicated strategies put forward on how to deal with it. ��� But mark my words: there will come a point ��� probably at the height of despair ��� when a solution will magically appear. And I’m betting you that this solution will be presented by none other than the Crowleys!’
He had expected Jack to sneer or make a scathing remark, but he only glared at Lupin, his heavy brows knit. With a start, Remus realized that he didn’t quite know what to say.
‘Look, I may be wrong’, he admitted, ‘maybe I’ve fallen in love with my theory too much. As you may know, loneliness can give you funny ideas.’ He smiled sadly, looked down at his scratched shoes. ‘Also, I’m not quite sure how your situation fits into it. But you heard it now, and maybe you will find that I’m right.’
Daysen considered him for a long time. He had recovered his composure and was back to amused arrogance. ‘So you called me here to tell me that you quit your job with the Ministry to play at private eye from now on? Needed some tips from a tried and tested spy, didn’t you?’
‘You can be quite an asshole sometimes’, Remus said calmly.
But Daysen shrugged it off.
‘What I really wanted was to make a suggestion’, Remus went on. ‘One that might interest you.’
‘I’m holding my breath’, Jack said and sounded very bored.
‘I am proposing to re-open the Order of the Phoenix.’
The reply was a few moments’ silence and then a harsh laugh. ‘Re-open the Order of the Phoenix? Certainly not!’
‘You’re the last person I would have expected that kind of answer from.’
‘Really?’ Jack sneered. ‘Then you appear to harbour illusions about me, because I have no wish to return to old ��� structures.’
‘Not even now? When there are obviously people out to get you for your past sins?’
‘What would reopening the Order do to change that?’
‘It would give us more range to investigate who’s behind it.’
‘I know who’s behind it. Periwinkle. A bunch of pissed-off Death Eaters. ��� No, Lupin, this is obviously all about you! You’re having this idea about the Crowleys and the Order would provide you with more means to look into your ���’ Daysen broke off and quite uncharacteristically shut his mouth.
‘Why suddenly so polite, Jack? Why don’t you say it out loud? My ‘obsession’!’
‘If you insist’, Daysen replied coolly.
‘And even if it is!’ Remus argued fiercely. ‘Someone has to look into all this! There is obviously something fishy about the Crowleys and the Ministry is turning a blind eye to it. That’s not the kind of institution that I would like to work for. However, if I go alone, I’d rather have the Order of the Phoenix watching my back.’
‘May I point out that there is hardly any money in it? You have to keep yourself somehow, don’t you? The Order of the Phoenix never kept a payroll ���’
Remus sighed. ‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that, too. Maybe I could go back to tutoring.’ His face brightened suddenly. ‘I could give Elena lessons. You can’t do that all on your own when you’re at Hogwarts, can you?’
Daysen chuckled sarcastically. ‘Elena is as poor as a church mouse in the Muggle world, but even more so in the wizarding world. She’ll hardly keep you in food and clothes.’ He turned once more to the window and peered through the curtains. ‘The idea is not entirely bad, though.’ He cleared his throat and mumbled, ‘I’d pay you for it.’
Remus shot an amused side glance at him. ‘Duly noted’, he purred.
Jack twitched. ‘What does Kingsley Shacklebolt think about your scheme?’
‘I didn’t tell him. And he mustn’t know.’ When Daysen once more turned a surprised face to him, Remu
s went on hurriedly. ‘I’m serious. Kingsley is too involved with the Ministry, he has to keep his priorities straight. And of course, if we do this, we have to do it secretly.’
‘The existence of the Order of the Phoenix has long ago ceased to be a secret.’
‘Ah, but officially it’s defunct. There was an agreement after the war that it had served its purpose and was no longer necessary. The Ministry was never too pleased with it, anyway. Our government doesn’t support quasi-law-enforcing arrangements, especially in so-called peace times. They’d consider it vigilantism.’
‘Vig��� What?’
‘Muggle term for people who take it upon themselves to judge and punish. ��� This is why we cannot officially reinstall the Order. This is also why you are the first person I’m talking to about it.’
Another ironic eyebrow went up. ‘What, am I supposed to feel honoured?’
‘Of course not, you’re far too fastidious for that.’ Remus voice, too, was laden with sarcasm. ‘The reason why I’m asking you first is because you and I are the last ones of our Order peers still standing. The remnants of the Lost Generation.’
Daysen digested this, but didn’t comment.
‘I would also like to remind you’, Remus went on, ‘that the Order will provide its members ��� and hence you, as well, should you make up your mind to join ��� with certain privileges. Protection, for instance. A place to hide. Not quite irrelevant, given your latest ��� problems.’
Their eyes locked. There was a hippogriff in the room, one by the name of Lawrence McKinnon. Remus knew it, and he sensed that Daysen thought about it, too. In fact, the werewolf would have very much liked to comment on Daysen’s admission of murder during the hearing, which had upset him. He had fancied Marlene McKinnon as a student and forged a friendship with her brother. The fact that Larry’s murderer was now standing in front of him was hard to ignore. However, Remus saw how sharing his feelings on that would not help his present purpose.
‘Like I’ve said numerous times, I’d prefer to look after myself and so far this has always worked very well’, Daysen said haughtily, probably sensing the hippogriff, as well, and retreating behind arrogance for self-protection.
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