She whispered

by Lucas Chesterton

  ‘Yeah, I killed you, get over it’, he snarled at it and the ghost disintegrated with a pitiful wail. The moment the spectre was out of the way, Jack saw Elena who had just come out of the salon. ‘What are you doing here?’ he demanded impetuously, but she had expected no less.

  ‘Remus invited me’, she replied evenly, trying to catch his gaze, but it was clear to her that he wouldn’t allow it, not with so many Weasleys around who were curiously eyeing their hushed exchanged. Jack cast his eyes around restlessly, clearly looking for Lupin, but instead Molly walked over to meet him.

  ‘Hi there, Jack, it’s good to see you’, she said sweetly, her smile genuine and maternal.

  Daysen twitched and mumbled something.

  ‘The meeting will start as soon as Harry’s arrived’, Molly informed him, ‘and afterwards I’m going to make you all a late lunch.’

  ‘Not hungry’, Daysen issued, clearly irritated.

  ‘But you have to eat’, was Molly’s slightly indignant reply as she looked him up and down, ‘you’re as thin as a rake. Don’t they feed you at Hogwarts?’ She turned to Elena. ‘Also I’m going to teach you a few cooking spells, dear. I’m sure you don’t have a first idea about that, but in our world there is no way for a witch to get around that. ��� Kreacher?! Come over here, you wrinkly ungrateful elf! I’ve got peas to shell!’ And with that, she sailed off towards where Elena guessed the kitchens were.

  ‘She’s lovely’, Elena whispered to Jack as she edged closer to him without noticing it, as if magnetically attracted, ‘and a little overwhelming.’

  ‘Make no mistake’, he said, still scowling, ‘she can be fierce. Most of us had no idea just how fierce.’

  Elena stared after plump red-haired Molly, eyes wide.

  However, Jack had different things on his mind. ‘I told Lupin specifically not to involve you into Order business!’

  Elena wasn’t surprised. ‘Looks like he didn’t listen. He holds the view that adults should make their own decisions. Don’t you?’

  ‘Depends on the adult’, he replied gloomily.

  The arrival of Harry Potter forestalled any further exchange of opinions. The young wizard looked tired and harassed when he breezed into the hallway, and it made him look at least five years older. Even the faces of this friends who were obviously happy to see him did nothing to improve his mood. ‘Don’t ask!’ was the first thing he said when Hermione looked at him inquisitively.

  ‘Here’s one hot and after a quick glance at Harry. ‘Looks like I’ve made a good decision when I handed in my notice.’

  ‘Only to even it out with a bad one’, Daysen snarled, looking pointedly back and forth between Lupin and Elena.

  Remus lazily waved his words away. ‘We can discuss this later.’

  ‘I’d rather we didn’t discuss it at all ���’

  ‘You won’t believe what happened!’ Harry butted in, no longer able to contain himself. ‘The Time Turner got stolen!’

  ‘What?’ Hermione stared at him with disbelieving eyes. ‘I thought they were all destroyed?’

  ‘Mine wasn’t’, Elena said without thinking that it was really quite an exaggeration to refer to it as hers when it had really been give to Daysen by Dumbledore as an heirloom. ‘The Ministry confiscated it, but that’s all I know.’

  ‘It was kept in the Artefacts department’, Harry explained, ‘scheduled to be destroyed eventually. ��� But someone got to it before that could happen.’

  Elena and Jack exchanged a look, and it was clear to both of them what the respective other one was thinking: better stolen than destroyed. They both appreciated the value of magical artefacts and to destroy something as special as a Time Turner was, in their mind, the greater crime compared to theft. However, it was also very clear that they wouldn’t say this aloud, and certainly not in present company.

  However, Ron Weasley surprised them. ‘Actually, I always thought it a little sad that they were so keen on destroying them. Those Time Turners are quite neat. Somehow.’

  ‘You don’t know what you’re saying!’ Harry said. ‘A Time Turner in the wrong hands? Asks for trouble.’

  With interest, Elena noted how Ron and Hermione shared a short moment with their eyes, one that wasn’t very different from the one she’d just exchanged with Jack. It made a funny idea come to her head: ‘We are having a relationship!’ A stunted one, granted, but they were sharing something ��� an understanding, a common ground honed by shared experiences and mutual ��� well, something between respect and affection ��� that they shared with no one else. Plus, they watched out for each other. Couldn’t wait to share news and thoughts with each other. The realization made her head reel. Once more, she looked at Jack and when he responded to her gaze she gave him her most radiant smile. He tried to keep an impassive face ��� if anything, his eyes became darker ��� but there was a tiny twitch around his mouth. Very clearly, the idea she’d just had had never occurred to him and Elena guessed that if she had alerted him to the circumstance, he would have denied it. ‘Better keep it a secret then’, she told herself, ‘it might shock him.’ However, something in her stomach suddenly felt very warm, and knowing that the doubt would resurface eventually, she resolved to savour it in silence.

  ‘Any idea who got to it?’ Remus asked. Elena had to remind herself that they were still talking about the Time Turner.

  ‘If a knew, I wouldn’t be here’, Harry grumbled. ‘Could be anyone from within the Ministry, to be honest. Did you realize ��� ‘cause Kingsley told me today ��� that in the last six months, about a quarter of all the ministerial posts have been replaced by different people?’

  ‘I’ve been thinking that there are an awful lot of new faces about’, Arthur Weasley said thoughtfully.

  ‘Doesn’t Kingsley have a say in all this?’ Hermione inquired. ‘He’s the Minister of Magic, after all!’

  ‘And what exactly does that mean?’ Harry sounded challenging. ‘He can’t do as he likes, he has to consider all kinds of interests. And if somebody is recommended and vouched for by a Ministry official, what is he to do if the majority of votes is against him?’

  ‘Fact is’, Remus came to his support, ‘that we can be glad Kingsley is still in the driver’s seat, so we have a base at the Ministry that we can trust completely, no matter what happens.’

  ‘What do you think is going to happen?’ This came from Ron.

  ‘That is exactly why we are here’, Remus replied solemnly, ‘and why I would like to ask all of you to join me in the salon. Needless to say ��� everything that’s going to be discussed here today is strictly confidential and will be kept so by a Fidelius Charm that I’m going to put on all of you. Anyone who’s got a problem with that need not step over this threshold.’

  However, no one had a problem and five minutes later, the first meeting of the reformed Order of the Phoenix was in session with its members-to-be crowding sofas and armchairs while Remus took up his position by the fireplace and claimed their attention.

  On the outset, he briefly explained the present situation, detailing his belief that the wizarding world was presently being undermined by clandestine forces. He was ready to admit that a certain portion of his suspicions was based on intuition rather than provable facts, but he reminded the assembled witches and wizards of recent occurrences: the critical articles that had recently appeared in the wizarding world’s most important papers that equalled a smear campaign destined to cast the victors of the recent war ��� specifically The Golden Trio ��� into doubt, as well as anyone who had assisted in the downfall of the Dark Lord; he reminded everyone of Daysen’s hearing that had had all the characteristics of a trial; he mentioned the ‘satyr crisis’ which was still ripe without anyone knowing where it came from. Also, he reminded those present that the Death Eater hunt had a while ago reached an deadlock, and that to him this looked as if an organization were in place that helped them hide or leave the country.

/>   ‘On the whole’, he closed his speech, ‘a lot of things are happening right now which, per se, might not appear remarkable, but the sheer number of individual occurrences has had me wonder for a while now whether there is a connection.’

  He then went on to present his theory that whatever might be going on, he was very certain that Aeneas and Magrathea Crowley were at the centre of it, and that the so-called ‘Crowley Academy’ might be much more than an educational institution. Remus explained why he thought this, much in the same way that he had to Elena only thirty minutes earlier. From there, he presented his plan to place a spy into the academy. ‘I hope I need not tell you who I have in mind’, he finished with a sly expression, ‘there is only one person among us who could do it without causing suspicion.’

  Eyes turned towards Elena. She, however, watched Jack out of the corner of her eyes. During Lupin’s speech, he had remained standing at the back of the room, near the exit, leaning with his back against the wall. It was hard to read his expression. Elena sensed that he must be mad, but of course he wouldn’t show too much emotion in this circle.

  ‘Do you really think this is a good idea?’ Hermione piped up eventually. ‘I mean ��� no offense, Elena, but you haven’t been a witch for long. You have no idea into what kinds of situations you might get!’

  ‘I have already explained to Elena that ‘situations’ are to be avoided at all costs. The only thing I want her to do is check out that academy, play the role of hapless student. Actually, the fact that she is new to our world is the best starting position we can hope for! It will enable her to ask questions, even seemingly na��ve ones, without raising suspicions. ��� Also, may I remind you all that she’s been in difficult situations before and managed to get out of them?’

  At the back of the room, Jack groaned.

  ‘I don’t know, Remus’, Molly ��� who had come back from the kitchens for the meeting but was still in her apron ��� murmured, ‘it seems awfully cruel to me; we have no idea what she might come up against! Just imagine if something happened?’

  ‘Something’s always happening’, Harry interjected. ‘To me, it’s been that way since I turned eleven. It’s the reality of our world. I’m sure Elena can deal with it. She already has, remember?’

  ‘I don’t like this at all!’ Hermione cried passionately. ‘Why don’t you let me go? Everybody knows I’m keen on learning!’

  ‘That’d be stupid!’ Ron said fiercely. ‘Who’d believe that nerdy Hermione Granger’d interrupt her studies at Hogwarts to join some half-assed wizarding academy? ��� No, no, it makes much more sense if she does it.’

  ‘But she might get hurt!’ Ginny joined the discussion. ‘And she won’t be as capable as we are when it comes to getting out of a tight spot.’

  ‘She’s manoeuvred herself out of tight spots before!’

  ‘Yeah, that was mostly lucky; but she’d need more than just dumb luck ���’

  At this point, Elena had enough. ‘May I say something?’ she asked, her voice carrying over the chatter. As soon as she was sure that she had everyone’s attention, she went on. ‘There’s no need to discuss this any further. I already promised Remus that I would do it. And I will. I don’t see the problem, either: all I’m going to do is join that academy ��� if they let me ��� and have a look around. Maybe I’m not even going to find out anything. But if I do, we’ll take it from there.’

  Silence fell, everybody looked at her, some approvingly, others sceptically. From the back of the room came a pronounced sigh, but Elena avoided looking at Jack.

  Eventually, Molly spoke up. ‘I realize that you’re old enough to make your own decisions, dear. And we’re probably wrong in treating you like a little fool ���’

  ‘Thank you!’ Elena said, inclining her head.

  ‘��� but let me say this: maybe you’re thinking that you have to prove something to us. But you don’t.’

  ‘I don’t want to prove myself. I want to help.’

  ‘Needless to say’, Remus took over, ‘that we’re going to help you as good as we can. We won’t leave you alone in this.’

  A bitter scoff from the back of the room.

  ‘You want to say something, Jack?’

  ‘She is going to be alone in this’, Daysen’s silky voice was dripping with sarcasm. ‘Once the gates of that blasted academy close behind her, the rest of us will be able to do ��� exactly nothing!’

  ‘Why don’t you let her get in first?’ Ron said with an irritated look over his shoulder.

  But Daysen was unimpressed. ‘It is quite obvious, Mr Weasley, that you don’t have a first idea what spy work entails. It’s best to go into it prepared, to always have a plan, and a back-up, too, should the first plan fail.’

  ‘Well then, why don’t you coach her?’ This came from George and he looked Daysen straight in the eyes. ‘After all, you’re the master of spying, aren’t you?’

  The look George got in return could have withered hothouse plants ��� which didn’t impress George at all who’d had plenty of run-ins with Daysen, one of which had left considerable scarring on the side of his face ��� but instead of retaliating Jack jerked his head irritably and said nothing.

  ‘Look’, Remus started again, ‘you’re right, of course, all of you. There is a certain degree of danger. Also, there’s no doubt I’d feel much better if Elena didn’t have to go into this alone. However, I see no other way right now. Plus, the ugly truth is that work for the Order is sometimes dangerous. You all know this, but you’re in it, anyway. And I’ve convinced myself that Elena knows it, too.’

  ‘So it’s official? We’re going to reopen the Order of the Phoenix?’

  ‘Yes, we are, as of today. However, it’s going to have to be a clandestine operation. The rest of the wizarding world thinks that the Order has become defunct, and that’s fine, they should keep on thinking it. In the present climate, it is best if no one knows of our continued existence.’

  ‘And we’re going to meet here?’ Hermione asked uncertainly. ‘I mean, the place has been compromised ���’

  ‘Yeah. Yaxley.’ Ron gave Remus a meaningful look. ‘He’s one of the Death Eaters that haven’t been found yet, so he might ���’

  ‘He might’, Remus acknowledged, ‘but it isn’t very likely. Yaxley and the likes of him have quite different problems right now. Also anyone who’d suspect that the Order was reinstalled would probably not think that we were so stupid to use the old headquarters again ��� which is actually the best camouflage we can hope for.’

  ‘I don’t know, Remus ���’

  ‘Plus, we’re going to put up new protective spells, ones that can only be broken by members of the Order. I also have a new access in mind to get in and out of the house without anyone noticing.’

  ‘How about disposing of that ghost? I have to admit that it’s getting on my nerves.’

  ‘You’re right, Jack. It has quite outlived its purpose.’

  ‘Has it ever lived up to it?’

  Remus bit down on a grin and cleared his throat. ‘So you’re all in? ��� If not, now’s the time to say so.’

  However, no one said so. Instead, tentative nods were seen all around, and after a few moments of intense frowning and scowling, even Daysen contributed an assenting sigh.

  Jack Daysen suffered through the rest of the meeting in silence. From under his curtain of black hair ��� not as greasy as it used to be, as he had taken a little better care as of late ��� he watched the people in the room chatting and arguing. Far too many Gryffindors to feel at ease, but he had long ago resigned himself to the fact of being outnumbered within the framework of the Order. So he listened warily to them discussing potential new members, each one at considerable length. Nell Nolan was once more suggested by Lupin and the proposal met with no opposition. The Potter boy mentioned Eddard Hincks, but Lupin’s reaction was vague, he murmured something about ‘giving it a
thought’ and his eyes briefly swept over Daysen who grinned bitterly. The werewolf was in for a bad scolding and he knew it. However, Jack had to wait a little longer for an opportunity to vent his anger since once Gryffindors got chatty, there was no end to it.

  Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Elena. She, too, appeared to have no interest in joining into the general conversation. In fact, she seemed thoughtful, was probably thinking about the mission that Jack knew full well he could do nothing to talk her out of. The anger he felt was only partially directed at her, although of course she had once more taken a decision without counselling him. The brunt of his anger, however, was reserved for Lupin. Clever move, to approach her alone ��� of course she wouldn’t say no when asked to contribute something for the famed Order of the Phoenix! And so in Jack’ mind, Lupin had taken full advantage of her and this he intended to avenge, if not in deeds then certainly by the most cutting words he could come up with.

  He saw Elena twitch a little, then turn her head over her shoulder to meet his gaze, as if she had felt his eyes on her. Right away she presented him with that smile, the one he found difficult to look away from, but which was still too radiant for comfort in present company. Not the least restraint there, he noted sourly. But then he gravitated towards her, as well, against his will almost, as if his body refused to accept the iron control his mind tried to exert. He wouldn’t have minded in other circumstances, but here, in this house ��� the master of which had once been his arch enemy Sirius Black and which was now swarming with Gryffindors ��� it irked him. Plus, he didn’t want her to think that he approved of her decision, so Jack returned her gaze with a cold stare. Her eyebrows shot up and she pushed her lower lip forward in a rebellious pout. She, too, knew what was coming.