She whispered

by Lucas Chesterton

  So she had needed something ��� or someone ��� to take her mind off. She had considered a training session at the dancing school, but hadn’t been able to reach Micah. Apart from that, physical exertion and another guy constantly telling her what to do were not what she needed right now. What she needed was a person to feel good with. ��� After battling with herself for the most part of the morning, she had eventually sent Cassie an owl. The reply had come within an hour.

  Before Disapparating from her home to meet Cassie, however, Elena had had second thoughts. Restless or not, she could hardly tell her new acquaintance about Jack and their ��� what? affair? friendship? or ��� she dared hardly think it ��� relationship? She knew that Cassie had been a Hogwarts student, so she’d very probably had him as a teacher. That alone made it impossible for Elena to pour out her heart.

  As it turned out, however, she needn’t have worried. The things she and Cassie talked about were completely innocent. They told each other about their lives, how they had grown up, about their education, and since they came from completely different worlds there was quite a lot of explaining involved. Cassie who came from an all-wizarding family appeared particularly interested in the Muggle school system and wanted to know how higher education worked. She also asked a lot about books Elena had read and movies she had seen. In return, Elena learnt about the other witch’s family who was living in Ireland, and about her brother who, since the end of the war, was trying to establish a shop on Diagon Alley.

  ‘It’s a potions shop’, Cassie Cleary explained. ‘My family has one in Dublin ��� had it for generations, actually ��� and its always been Castor’s dream to give us a base in London, as well. But its hard. The shopkeepers here are a closed guild, particularly the potioneers, they hate to let newbies in. It will take time. Anyway, we have the better products.’

  ‘And what is it that you do exactly?’ Elena asked, stirring her cappuccino.

  ‘I’m a herbologist’, Cassie explained, ‘what I do basically is go out with my sister-in-law, find new spots to pick plants and herbs, harvest them when the time’s right and prepare them for sale. It’s mostly an outdoor job, which I really love. My brother does the indoors stuff, cooking the potions, precursors and all that.’

  Elena smiled crookedly. ‘I was told that you must never call it ‘cooking’.’

  Cassie laughed. ‘Yeah, I know, my nana doesn’t like that, either …’

  ‘And is it your thing? Doing what you do?’

  ‘Absolutely! It sounds nerdy, but I totally love my job. Alright, sometimes I have to work odd hours because some plants can only be harvested at midnight, others must be cut at the crack of dawn, and similar rules apply to preparing. I’m used to it, though. Also, Herbology and Potions have always been my favourite subjects at Hogwarts, so I’m doing what I really like doing ��� how many people can say that about their jobs? ��� I only wish things were a little easier for Castor. It’s quite a struggle.’

  ‘I can imagine’, Elena said, ‘from where I’m standing, most wizards appear quite conservative. They probably use the same shops that their grandparents used to go to.’

  ‘That’s exactly the problem!’ Cassie Cleary had lively dark-brown eyes that always went with what she said - widened, creased, danced and glittered. ‘Even if they can’t but acknowledge that another’s product is better, they will still stick with their old shops!’

  Elena mused that Jack Daysen, for once, almost certainly fell into that category. And since he had so conveniently popped up in her mind, she couldn’t resist asking, ‘So I take it that Professor Daysen taught you Potions at Hogwarts?’

  ‘Sure. Seven years, right up to my N.E.W.T.s.’

  Elena frowned. ‘Did he bully you, too?’

  Cassie Cleary’s laugh was infectious. ‘I’m sure he would have, if I’d given him any reason.’

  ‘Which you didn’t?’

  ‘Like I said, I come from a family of potioneers. I’ve skinned shrivel figs ever since I was five. In other words, I’m really good at it.’

  ‘So he couldn’t find fault?’

  Cassie shook her head mirthfully. ‘Not much, anyway. Also, I was in Ravenclaw. Daysen hates Gryffindors and he looks down on Hufflepuffs. Ravenclaws he grudgingly accepts because they’re supposed to be bright.’ Again, she laughed. ‘Though I can tell you ��� there are quite a lot of dumbasses in Ravenclaw, as well.’

  Elena grinned with her. She was relieved. Another anecdote on Daysen The Bully would have been the last thing she needed right now. ‘I rather suck at potions’, she intimated. ‘The Professor gave up teaching me after I made one of his cauldrons explode.’

  Cassie Cleary’s eyes became very wide, her mouth opened and she gasped. In the next moment, another avalanche of laughter erupted from somewhere deep down in her chest and made heads turn at the other tables. Again, Elena couldn’t help grinning. She thought about how she usually hated people who giggled and laughed at every turn, but with Cassie it came so naturally you just had to like it. Plus, her laughter sounded like music or like the enchanting chatter of a brook. ‘If I was a man’, Elena thought, ‘I’d probably fall head over heels in love with her.’

  ‘What’s your thing, then?’ Cassie asked after she had calmed down.

  ‘I don’t really know yet’, Elena admitted, ‘after all, I only started about five or six months ago, so in a way I still get excited every time a spell really works. ��� I’m quite good at Transfiguration, though. Comes natural, somehow. One day, I’m going to do the Animagus exam.’

  ‘Good for you! That’s one subject I’m absolutely no good at. ��� But hey, listen, there is one thing I was going to ask you ���’

  ‘Yeah?’ When Elena looked up, there was a peculiar dreamy expression on Cassie’s face.

  ‘When a Muggle guy asks you ‘beetles or stones?’ ��� what the hell does he mean?’

  Now it was Elena’s turn to laugh.

  ‘Is that a very stupid question?’ Cassie gazed at her opposite adamantly.

  ‘From a Muggle point of view ��� yeah, a little.’

  Cassie sighed. ‘Thought so. ��� What does it mean?’

  ‘It means whether you are a fan of The Beatles rather than of the Rolling Stones.’

  ‘I like beetles as long as they don’t chew up a herb I want, and I couldn’t care less for stones rolling down a hill ���’

  Elena laughed so hard her midriff started to hurt. ‘They’re ��� bands’, she hiccupped, ‘music ��� pop ��� rock ���’

  Cassie’s mouth formed a charming little O. ‘So he was talking about music?!’

  ‘Who?’

  Cassie’s face changed. She suddenly looked a little coy and the colour rose to her fleshy cheeks. ‘Kieran.’

  ‘Who’s Kieran?’

  Cassie let out a deep sigh, but the smile had returned to her mouth. ‘You see ��� Janie, my sister in law, is a Muggle-born. She has some Muggle friends from when she grew up. Not all of them know what she is, but some do. And through these people, I met ��� someone.’

  Cassie’s blush deepened and Elena scrutinized her curiously. ‘A Muggle guy?’

  Cassie nodded. By now, she was definitely glowing.

  ‘You fell in love with a Muggle guy?’

  ‘I like him very, very much’, Cassie admitted.

  Elena was intrigued and also thrilled that they were on to Cassie’s love life now and not to hers. ‘Does he know what you are?’ she asked.

  ‘I think he guesses, though I didn’t tell him in so many words. As you know, we’re not supposed to ���’

  ‘Yeah, I get it, Statute of Secrecy and all that. Yet, it happens all the time that some Muggle or other finds out. My aunt knows, too, though she doesn’t really want to know too much about it.’

  ‘It’s a touchy area’, Cassie said. ‘But this guy ��� Kieran’, she pronounced the name like an enchante
d word, ‘he’s really bright ��� he knows something’s up with me ���’

  ‘Does it often happen?’ Elena asked. ‘Witches or wizards getting together with Muggles? I mean, complete Muggles, not just Muggle-borns ���’

  ‘It happens. However, it’s difficult. Difficult for the Muggles, mostly, because at some point in a relationship they are bound to feel at a disadvantage. It’s understandable, isn’t it? At first you’re in love and everything’s hunky-dory. Then you have your first serious row and suddenly realize that your partner has a natural advantage, that they could turn you into a cockroach if they so pleased ��� must be scary, I totally get that.’ A sad shadow crossed her otherwise so mirthful pretty face. A few seconds passed. ‘You see, my parents, my family, they have nothing against Muggles. They always taught us respect and to tread lightly. However, we were also told that a relationship or marriage with a Muggle would be very difficult and that we’d better stay away from it. All my life, I’ve been thinking that it was reasonable advice ��� but now ���’

  ‘Now you’re in love.’

  ‘Yes. And you know what? I don’t know a first thing about Muggles! They talk about beetles and stones, and I don’t know what they mean! I wish I had chosen Muggle Studies at Hogwarts ���’

  ‘There’s a subject called Muggle Studies?’

  ‘Yeah, and they had a really good teacher! She’s dead now, unfortunately; You-Know-Who killed her. ��� Anyway, at the time I thought that Arithmancy would serve me better, but in fact I never needed that ���’

  ‘You know’, Elena remarked casually, ‘how ever good that Muggle Studies teacher may have been ��� I’m pretty sure I’m better.’

  A broad Cheshire cat smile spread on Cassie’s face. ‘I was kinda hoping you’d say that ���’

  ‘Oh, so it’s all about my Muggle-ness, isn’t it?’

  ‘Get outta here!’

  Another round of laughter followed before they calmed down.

  ‘So what about a crash course in Muggles?’ Elena suggested. ‘With an emphasis on the contemporary, I’d say, music, movies, lifestyle and all that.’

  ‘Sounds great. ��� And in exchange, I could prep you on Herbology and Potions. Maybe you need a woman’s touch in that regard?’

  ‘Any touch that doesn’t involve yelling and scathing comments will do nicely’, Elena murmured darkly.

  ‘I’m more of an eye-scratcher myself’, Cassie said, dead-pan, ‘so don’t worry. ��� Are we having a deal?’

  ‘Let’s set up a contract and sign it in blood!’

  ‘Now you’re exaggerating ���’

  They went on pretty much in the same vein, talked, giggled and laughed. Elena felt relaxed, and although thoughts of Jack popped up every now and then, she was largely kept from entering the mad carrousel of her mind. In fact, in Cassie Cleary’s presence she didn’t feel at all embarrassed about her confession of love ��� which, in fact, had pained her very much after waking up this morning ��� maybe because she sensed that her new friend would have done the same thing in her place. And it wasn’t so bad what she had done, was it? At least, now he knew and although he had been evasive, hiding behind his ‘difficult position’, he had also promised not to play with her. What was more important, he hadn’t outright rejected her, either. In fact, now that she thought back to the previous evening, it seemed to her that his good mood after talking in the Hog’s Head and while practicing fighting spell might have had something to do with said confession. Also, she remembered those moments when their eyes had locked and locked so hard that it had been difficult to break the contact. Was she completely wrong, assuming that he cared for her, maybe even more than he would admit? ��� In any case, Elena was glad that Cassie didn’t steer the conversation in the direction of Daysen. In fact, it was Elena’s impression that she avoided the subject, or rather let Elena take the lead with regard to that. Of course, she knew that Daysen was her teacher. She might even know a little more, given that she was part of the gang that Eddie Hincks hung out with. The fact that she didn’t bother Elena with any questions in that regard showed that Cassie Cleary was not only easy-going, but also quite sensitive.

  They were still chatting when suddenly Elena realized that Cassie was staring over her shoulder. There was a wary look on her face and Elena turned around.

  Standing behind her was a small stringy figure. A man with black, elegantly combed hair and a groomed black moustache. He wore very well cut Victorian-style clothes and a wide cloak. The face was familiar.

  ‘Miss Horwath’, he said in a low voice that had a peculiar pitch, ‘do you remember me? We have met recently.’

  Elena got up hastily. ‘Yes, I remember. Mr McVey.’

  Finn McVey gave a wan little smile. Although Elena wasn’t tall, he had to squint upwards to meet her gaze. As before, she noticed long fingers that were a little gnarled. ‘I’m glad I found you here’, he said smoothly, ‘I called at your house, but you were out.’

  ‘Is this about the interview? Do you have more questions?’ For some reason, Elena felt suddenly nervous. ‘Oh, and by the way, this is my friend, Cassie Cleary.’

  McVey did a formal bow in Cassie’s direction. ‘It’s a pleasure, Miss Cleary. I know your grandmother Medea. Formidable woman.’

  ‘Yeah’, breathed Cassie with a good-natured scoff, but the way she scrutinized McVey was suspicious. Elena understood why. The man behaved very formally and smoothly, but maybe a little too much of it so that there was a constant undertone of irony. He turned his attention back on Elena.

  ‘Don’t worry, Miss Horwath, this has nothing to do with Ministry investigations’, Finn McVey assured her amiably, ‘in fact I hate to break up your get-together with your friend. ��� However, I’ve been sent to deliver a message to you.’

  ‘A message?’

  ‘A message and an invitation.’

  Elena looked back and forth between McVey and Cassie uncertainly. ‘By who?’

  ‘Madam Magrathea Crowley requests your presence at her country house’, McVey explained, ‘there’s a carriage waiting outside to bring you there.’

  Elena stared. ‘A carriage? I’m to get into a carriage to see a woman with a name right out of the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy?’ Two confused pairs of eyes glared at her. ‘Oh, never mind’, she mumbled, ‘it’s just ��� I don’t know this Madam Crowley. Why should I go and visit someone I have never met?’

  Finn McVey assessed her from head to toe. ‘I can assure you, Miss Horwath, that Madam Crowley is very honourable.’

  ‘So were Cassius and Brutus’, Elena murmured darkly. One of her first lessons on entering the magical world had been to always be careful and not to trust anyone too soon. After all, anything could happen in this sphere.

  To her surprise, Cassie piped up. ‘Actually, Magrathea Crowley is quite well known. She’s in the papers all the time, doing a lot of charity.’ Her dark-brown eyes pointedly surveyed McVey. ‘If she is really inviting you, I think it’s quite safe to go.’

  Again, McVey bowed formally to her. ‘Thank you for the vote of confidence, Miss Cleary. ��� And of course, if it makes Miss Horwath feel better you can come, as well. I’m sure Madam Crowley would be delighted.’

  Elena gazed at Cassie and her look said ‘Please!’ Cassie nodded quickly and got up from the table. McVey smiled in a satisfied manner, gallantly insisted on paying for the two witches’ tea and then took the lead out of ‘Persephone’s Den’.

  Strolling after him, Cassie touched Elena’s elbow. ‘What do you think Magrathea Crowley wants from you?’ she whispered.

  ‘I have absolutely no clue’, Elena replied honestly, her face mystified. ‘I’ve never met her, though the name rings a bell ���’

  ‘You probably read about her in the Prophet. She’s quite a celebrity, what we call a witch lady. And of course, you know her husband.’

  ‘Do I?’

  ‘Yeah
, sure, Aeneas Crowley was the guy who took the minutes during Daysen’s hearing.’

  ‘Of course!’ Elena slapped her forehead, ‘Mr Whitebeard ��� He’s a businessman-turned-politician, right?’

  ‘Most of all, he’s loaded.’ Cassie grinned and took Elena’s arm. ‘Hey, I’m sure it’s going to be interesting. Somehow I knew when I met you that it wasn’t going to be dull.’

  With linked arms, the two young witches came out onto the street following in McVey’s tracks, only to stop and stare as soon as they had cobbled stones under their feet. Standing in front of the entrance to ‘Persephone’s Den’ was a magnificent carriage made of highly polished mahogany wood, with huge gilded wheels and an emblem showing the letters A, M and C. Already, a number of spectators had gathered to admire the vehicle. The actual sensation, however, were the two creatures harnessed to it, half bird, half horse, scraping their hoofs and obviously bothered by the fact that the narrow street didn’t leave them enough space to spread their impressive wings.

  ‘Are those hippogriffs?’ Elena asked breathlessly.

  Cassie nodded. ‘Never seen one?’

  ‘No, but Sev��� the Professor told me about them. They’re awesome!’

  ‘Be careful, though, they can be nasty’, McVey had opened the carriage doors to a luxuriously furnished interior. There were beautiful brocade curtains and squashy cushions on upholstered benches as well as a small table at the centre, on which very slender glasses stood beside a bottle of what was very probably champagne. ‘Please enter, Ladies, and make yourselves at home. We have a thirty-minute ride ahead of us, so you might as well get comfortable.’

  Cassie and Elena exchanged glances; there was a brief hesitation, but also rapt anticipation. They were quite ready for a little adventure, so they climbed into the carriage, fell back on the luxurious upholstery and Cassie lost no time opening the champagne. McVey, however, didn’t join them and took his seat in the coach box. The doors were banged shut and only a moment later a jitter went through this grand and strange vehicle as the hippogriffs started to trot, gather speed and finally, with a jolt that lifted Elena’s stomach, took off into the air.