She whispered

by Lucas Chesterton

  ‘Good!’

  ‘��� and a subject that’s called ‘Introduction to the Kabbalah’.’

  ‘How about that ���’

  ‘But the Wednesday was very special. All academy students had to gather in a large hall, again sitting in a circle.’

  ‘Doing what?’

  Elena sighed. ‘I guess it’s best described as ��� group therapy. Each of us was asked in turn to get up and introduce themselves. We were invited to explain what magic meant to us, how our education had gone so far. And then ���’, she interrupted herself briefly, shuddering at the memory, ‘��� all the other students were asked to assess the person whose turn it was. Say how that person made them feel. There was a lot of talk about improving one’s charisma, how to project ‘a more magical image of oneself’ ���’

  ‘How was that for you?’

  ‘Ghastly!’ Elena shook her head. ‘They basically all told me that I come over like a weak inconsequential Muggle. They also said that I could be forgiven, considering my ��� career so far. However, there was a consensus that I must change ���’

  ‘That’s outrageous!’ To Elena’s surprise, Narcissa’s appeared quite scandalized. ‘No one can tell you that! It’s like ��� they want to change your personality!’

  Elena, who’d expected Madam Malfoy to agree with the ‘weak inconsequential Muggle’ part, smiled at her. ‘It was harrowing. I mean, I told myself not to take it too personally, not to put too much weight on what was being said, but still ��� imagine standing there with all eyes on you and everybody telling you what they thought was wrong with you ���’

  ‘I quite see that’, Narcissa said sympathetically.

  Daysen, however, immediately saw the practical side. ‘It will probably make you tougher. ��� Also, Draco, you see that there’s work to do. Teach her how to block out such things. It can easily be done by means of Occlumency techniques.’

  ‘I tried that’, Elena stated, ‘honestly, I was so glad that we practiced. It helped me not to let things get to me too much.’ She cast a grateful smile at Draco who winked and was obviously quite pleased with himself.

  ‘Are those Wednesday sessions going to be a regular?’ Narcissa wanted to know.

  ‘I think so. Excessive soul-baring appears to be part of the process.’

  Jack shot her a worried glance. And he was, of course, right. The danger that she might give away her motives, might lay open something that she shouldn’t was obvious. It had been a source of worry to Elena all week.

  ‘Did you make any friends with the other students?’ This from Draco.

  ‘No. Most of them look down on me because I’m a Mudblood ���’

  ‘I told you time and again not to use that word!’

  ‘But that’s what they’re clearly thinking! I’m not stupid, I can see it on their faces! ��� However, I have to say that the teachers are kind about it. Madame Calvet certainly doesn’t like me much personally, but she said that I had ‘potential’.’

  ‘Of course. They’ll eventually want to put you to use.’

  ‘But what use?’

  ‘That’s what you’re there to find out.’

  ‘Speaking about ‘finding out”, this was Draco again, ‘was there anything you found peculiar? Things worth sticking your nose in?’

  ‘Everything was peculiar!’ Elena scoffed. ‘But nothing of the kind you’re probably referring to, no, not so far. I find it peculiar though that they don’t care about giving your magical education a solid basis. I don’t have any Herbology lessons, for example, not to mention Potions ���’

  ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Yes. When I was assessed, it was found that I have no talent for these things, and their philosophy appears to be to only further existing talent, not waste time on fields that will probably never amount to much, anyway.’ Daysen sighed audibly, but Elena ignored him. ‘Speaking of philosophy ��� they teach me Magical Philosophy there. All Thursday morning, in fact. ��� Actually, I think that’s cool, I’ve always been interested in philosophy. However, it’s wizarding philosophy of the more Machiavellian type. From what I can tell so far, it’s all about ‘if you have the power and are capable of using it, you’re at liberty to do anything you want with it’. Go figure.’

  Silence fell. Narcissa and Draco exchanged meaningful looks while Daysen stared into his wine glass. Eventually Elena tried to break up the tension by telling them about the rest of her week. She’d had history lessons, as well, which was great as she hardly knew anything about wizarding history; however, she couldn’t yet tell which direction the syllabus would take. There had also been more Transfiguration and Charms, and more meditation on top of it. On the whole, the week had gone by pretty fast, as always in times filled with new impressions. It had also left her exhausted, and she felt it now that she came to the end of her tale.

  ‘Altogether, it was certainly interesting’, she concluded, ‘but after a week ��� what can you say?’

  ‘Do you think there’s any chance I could get in through you?’ Draco asked, concentration on his face.

  Elena’s face lightened up. ‘Well, I’m happy to tell you that our efforts didn’t go unnoticed. In fact, Waldemar Periwinkle asked me about it. He was following me around all week, like a shadow, asking me how I was doing, if I was settling in. And he asked me at least twice why you won’t teach me anymore.’ She looked pointedly at Jack. ‘I acted as if I didn’t want to talk about it, like I was embarrassed. But on Thursday, Waldemar came up to me, all grins, claiming that now he knew and whether Professor Daysen liked my new boyfriend.’

  Narcissa chuckled happily, Draco grinned broadly. ‘What did you tell him?’

  ‘I played hard-to-nail-down, of course. If you don’t give people too much, they’ll make assumptions. I could see that to Waldemar it was obvious that you, Draco, were the reason I’d come to the academy. He spoke very highly of your family, by the way.’

  ‘Which is surprising’, growled Daysen, ‘considering how much his father hates Death Eaters.’

  The remark made Elena frown. ‘Or maybe he just tried to mollycoddle me. I haven’t found out yet what’s behind it. It appears to me that there are ties between the Periwinkles and the Crowleys, but I cannot possibly say what they are. ��� However, after Waldemar sang the Malfoy praise, I’m pretty sure that eventually he’ll ask me to bring you along.’

  ‘We’ll have to prepare ourselves’, Narcissa said with a side-glance at her son.

  ‘We?’ Elena looked back and forth between the Malfoys.

  Narcissa smiled mysteriously. ‘I thought it wouldn’t hurt if I took an interest. Make a generous donation, for instance. It might open doors.’

  ‘That is a fine idea, Narcissa.’ Suddenly, Daysen was all silky and charming again, even smiling a little. ‘It might help us a great deal. And quite obviously they like purebloods at that academy.’

  ‘One thing I do know is that they offer furthering classes for wizards who already have a formal education’, Elena supplied, looking at Draco. ‘So they might know what to do with you if you showed that you’re willing ��� Oh!’ She hit her forehead with her palm. ‘I almost forgot ��� you asked me before if there was anything peculiar. Well, there was an incident, though I don’t know if it’s worth mentioning ���’

  Again, three curious pairs of eyes turned to her.

  ‘There was an explosion in one of the classrooms. It was on the Thursday, during Magical Philosophy. A very loud bang, windows shattering, screaming ��� Our teacher locked us in, we weren’t allowed to leave the room, and a few minutes later we heard something ��� A shuffling of feet outside, and somebody moaning, like an animal.’

  ‘Could you find out what it was?’

  ‘I tried. Asked Waldemar. He became a little ��� nervous, and said it was just a regular Potions accident. Someone had obviously thrown the wrong ingredient into the mix ����
��

  ‘A situation that should be very familiar to you ���’

  ‘Oh, come on, not again! ��� Anyway, I got the feeling that he didn’t quite tell me the truth. I tried to Legilimens it out of him, but I’m not good enough and couldn’t do it. Something was going on there, but I don’t know what it is. Yet.’

  ‘Work on Legilimency, as well’, Daysen remarked tersely to Draco.

  ‘Well, this is all very fascinating’, Narcissa said who had obviously enjoyed herself immensely during Elena’s tale. ‘I’m curious to find out more about this place, and to go there myself, eventually. ��� Now, anyone up for dessert?’

  The house-elves had already come in with overloaded trays bearing all kinds of sweets, puddings, tarts, ��clairs. Daysen issued a frustrated sigh and turned to his wine glass, but Elena had a sweet tooth and accepted a generous serving of chocolate tart.

  ‘We’ll need some port to go with that’, Narcissa commanded haughtily to the house-elves, then the refined smile returned to her lips. ‘And after that, we shall walk a little. Surely Elena wants a tour of the manor?’

  Elena wanted to say ‘not really’, because wizarding houses still disconcerted her, and this one specifically. However, she saw that she wouldn’t get out of it and opted for a polite nod instead before she made short work of her dessert.

  After dinner, Draco whisked Elena away for the promised tour of Malfoy Manor while Narcissa and Jack made to follow at a more moderate pace, at first at least. Eventually, however, they lingered quite far behind the two younger people and then found themselves somehow stuck in the salon, unconsciously seeking each other’s company. It had been a long time since they had spoken, much longer even since they had conversed openly without the constant urge to look over their shoulders. Hence, Narcissa’s first question was unusually direct.

  ‘Why so glum, Jack? Aren’t you enjoying yourself?’

  His eyebrow quirked. ‘Am I glum?’

  ‘It appears so. Something’s bothering you. I’m guessing it’s Lucius?’ She smiled ruefully.

  ‘Lucius’s not here’, Daysen said reasonably, ‘so how could he upset me?’

  ‘Well, you might see his non-attendance as an insult ���’

  Daysen shook his head. ‘It’s not that.’

  ‘What is it, then?’

  A sarcastic sneer appeared on his pale face. ‘The last time I sat at your dinner table, I witnessed a woman being eaten by a snake.’

  Narcissa’s eyes widened. ‘Gosh, Jack, I didn’t realize ���! What was her name again? Chastity Something?’

  ‘Charity Burbage. She was a colleague of mine.’

  Narcissa stared at the ground. ‘Of course. I am so sorry ���’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. We were at war. Such things ���’ His voice trailed off.

  However, Narcissa seemed distraught. ‘I’m only just realizing how it must have been for you. Witnessing all these things and all the time you had ���’

  ‘��� a different agenda’, he finished the sentence in a quiet, somewhat constricted voice. ‘I betrayed you. I’m very much aware of that. At the same time, I can’t say I regret it.’

  ‘You should have said something.’

  ‘That would have been stupid. Burden you and Lucius with such a confession?’

  ‘There was a point when ‘such a confession’ would have been a godsend to us! In actual fact, you were doing what we wanted to do, but didn’t dare to!’

  ‘And yet, how could I know where that point was? And had I told you, I would have had to worry that he might somehow get it out of you. It would only have added to my troubles.’

  ‘Of course’, Narcissa whispered. ‘I’m not reproaching you. You did the right thing.’

  He didn’t reply, but his black eyes rested on her face. Narcissa appeared to be lost in thought, faintly smiling to herself. When she looked up at him, her eyes were a little moist. ‘I never thanked you’, she said.

  ‘There’s no need’, he responded quietly.

  ‘Oh yes, there is. The way you protected Draco. The Unbreakable Vow ���’

  He waved it away, but Narcissa went on.

  ‘��� and for being such a gentleman.’

  Daysen looked at her, realized by her intense look what she meant and looked down onto the floor, as well. ‘Don’t mention it.’

  ‘But I have to! I was ��� desperate, you see ���’

  ‘I realized that. Yet, it was never necessary ���’

  ‘It wasn’t just that! Lucius was in jail ���’

  ‘I realized that, too.’

  A faint smile crossed Narcissa’s face. ‘You don’t understand. I wanted to. It wasn’t just to ��� compensate you for what you’d done for me and Draco.’

  ‘Oh.’ Again, he didn’t meet her gaze, but the colour of his white hollow cheeks had changed a little.

  ‘Now, however, I’m glad you brushed me off. It would stand between me and Lucius, if he knew about it or not ���’

  ‘My reasoning precisely.’

  She studied his face, smiling a little. ‘Weren’t you even ��� tempted?’

  His black eyes swept over her and he scoffed. ‘Of course I was. You’re a beautiful woman, Narcissa.’

  Silence ensued, and the smile on her face was a little satisfied. ‘Anyway. I wanted to tell you that.’

  ‘And now you did.’

  For at least a minute, they stood facing each other in silence, a silence that was slightly embarrassed on Jack’ part, but definitely amused on Narcissa’s who was very much aware on the effect she had on men. She let him stew a little, then changed the subject.

  ‘Abelard Ainsworth.’

  He looked up with instant relief. ‘Yes?’

  ‘I did as you asked.’

  ‘Any word?’

  ‘A lead. No more. ��� What do you want with him?’

  ‘I’m sure you’ve heard about the satyr infestation?’

  ‘Sure. It was all over the Prophet. Only last weekend they reported on another attack. ��� You think old Ainsworth has something to do with it?’

  ‘I don’t know yet and this is why I don’t want to say any more. But I definitely need to find him and talk to him.’

  Narcissa made a face. ‘You know, I’ve heard rumours that Ainsworth has gone off his rocker. Azkaban.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be surprised. However, he is obviously sane enough to hide himself away quite successfully.’

  ‘I know of his reputation. He used to like to play God, didn’t he?’

  Daysen nodded and let Narcissa put two and two together.

  ‘You don’t think he made them? The satyrs?’

  ‘It crossed my mind’, he replied with a secretive smile that told her that he didn’t wish to divulge any more.

  Another silence ensued, then her face changed again to become radiant, a little mischievous even. ‘Some pretty student you have there. How very clever of you to have found her.’

  He shot her a stern look. ‘I don’t know what you’re thinking or what Draco has told you ���’

  Narcissa waved an impatient hand, her eyes sparkling. ‘I have eyes in my head, so there’s no need for excuses.’

  ‘It’s not an excuse, it’s just ���’

  ‘I know!’ She laughed her enchanting laugh, tilting back her head. ‘No need to explain. I only wanted to say that I’m glad for you, that’s all.’

  For a few seconds, Jack looked as if he wanted to say something, his mouth slightly open, his brows knit. Eventually, however, he merely exhaled, let his shoulders sink and shut his mouth. It was his way of saying ‘Think what you want’. And that was precisely what Narcissa Malfoy did.

  In the meantime, Draco Malfoy was playing the role of tour guide with endearing enthusiasm. It was obvious that he was proud of his home, maybe even more so since he didn’t live here anymore. He didn’t spare Elena any details, showed her the gallery with it
s suits of armour, the lavishly furnished bedrooms and salons, explained the portraits of pale-blond ancestors hanging on the walls and threw in bits of Malfoy history. Elena couldn’t help smiling, although she was not quite as thrilled as she pretended to be. However, she also realized that her opinion mattered to Draco somehow and considering their uneasy start, this was a marked improvement. So she nodded and commented politely, sometimes even with warmth, which made Draco come up with ever more details to present her with.

  At the beginning of the tour, Elena had several times looked over her shoulder, waiting for Jack and Narcissa to follow them. Of course, they had never come. Instead, Draco had picked up on her apprehension.

  ‘Let them be’, he had said to her, ‘they haven’t spoken in a long time and have things to catch up on.’

  She had accepted the explanation, however, something had continued to irk her. ‘So you’ve told your mother everything? About what we’re doing? Order business?’

  A look of uncertainty had briefly crossed Draco’s face. ‘I told you not worry about that. My mother can be trusted.’

  She had raised a stern eyebrow at that.

  ‘Believe me’, Draco had gone on to put her at ease, ‘she has learned a lesson or two, as have I. In addition to that, she’d never cross Daysen. To her, he’s a saint.’

  ‘If you say so ���’

  ‘Come on. There’s something I wanted to show you ���’

  To her surprise, he had grabbed her hand and dragged her along a sinister hallway on the second floor. Playing girlfriend and boyfriend had the effect of an increased familiarity. Elena wasn’t quite sure whether she liked it or not.

  ‘You see, I’ve been remembering that you asked for a ��� what did you call it? ��� a ‘Who Is Who’ of the wizarding world? ��� Well, I might have just the thing ���’

  Suddenly intrigued, Elena had followed him to a mahogany double door. Draco had it fly open with a determined Alohomora to reveal a substantial library with bookcases lining all four walls and reaching up to the high ceiling. To Elena, any library was an enchanted place and so she entered reverently, taking in the shelves stuffed with books. However, it was a glass display in the middle of the room that Draco pointed at. It contained a very large and voluminous book that lay there, face open. The left page was half covered in elegant handwriting, the right one was completely blank.