Chapter One
A couple of weeks later…
The rain dashed the cobbled streets of London loudly, each individual splash contributing to the melody it was creating. The ladies and gentlemen who had braved the harsh weather were hurriedly making their way to their destinations, wanting to be quickly out of the pelting rain. Among them, a hooded young woman made her way across the wet street, overlooked by grand terraced houses. Checking she was not being followed, she headed down a small alley way. If anyone had followed her, they would have been at a loss as to where she had gone. There were no doors, no other exit and no stairway; only a brick wall at the end of the alley. The young woman had simply disappeared to the untrained eye. However, to those who knew what to look for would think nothing of her vanishing.
The young woman in question appeared moments later in a dimly lit pub and removed her hood, allowing her dark brown hair to lie loose against her cloak. Smiling at a few familiar faces littering the pub, she headed towards the back of the room and carefully slipped inside the near invisible door, hidden by the shade of the room.
"Miss Manville, I am so glad you could make it this evening on such short notice"
Clara smiled at the bespectacled, white haired man and returned his sentiments
"Professor Dixon, it's lovely to see you again," With a nod, Clara took her customary seat at the long table and made herself comfortable.
Glancing down the table, the faces of the usual members of the group were unusually grave and Clara's faint smile faded. She had not realised just how serious the present situation the Wizarding World was in had become until now.
It had started with strange disappearances of wizards and witches all over the country; only one or two at first but then they gradually grew in occurrence until soon it was around fifteen people each week. However the happenings had only escalated of late. There had been deaths and attacks and now the entire nation was scared. No one had come forward to claim responsibility; the unknown element had scared even the Ministry. The Minister for Magic, Faris Spavin was trying his best to calm the frightened population but his words were doing nothing to ease worries and concerns. Everyone was anxious as to what would follow next.
"As you might have heard," Professor Dixon started, his mouth down turned in a frown, "The recent attacks have become more prevalent. In fact, Maggie has informed us that the Muggle society have also noticed these disappearances and are now somewhat alarmed,"
The auburn haired woman nodded, "Rumours are swirling, from the Palace to Westminster. The Prime Minister, William Gladstone is exploring all possible options in case the attacks spiral into the muggle community,"
It was common knowledge that the muggle Prime Minister, William Gladstone knew all about magic and the wizarding world and didn't bat an eyelid. In fact, he was politically involved, campaigning in the last election of the Minister for Magic, backing Faris Spavin for office. It was safe to say he lost many wizards' favour after that but his tolerance for magic has always been admired.
"Well it's like they say, 'Fear is catching'," Dugald spoke, shaking his head, the movement making the red in his hair more prominent as it caught the fire light, "It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that muggles may be catching on, whoever is doing this has no regard for secrecy or tact,"
The table went silent and Clara took that as her cue to speak, "I noticed a pattern in the attacks," Curious eyes rested on her and she felt herself blush under the sudden scrutiny but continued nonetheless, "I've come to realise that all the missing wizards and witches have been muggleborns,"
No one spoke and Clara bit her lip. In all honesty, she had been expecting more of a reaction from her fellow peers. As she watched them all glance at each other, having what looked like a silent conversation she was clearly not privy to, she shook her head, as if to backtrack her statement.
"It was just an observation,"
"And a damn good one at that! Merlin, how did we not see that?" Exclaimed Theodora, in her usual dramatic flair, "Edwin, I thought you had been looking into it?" The accusing tone clear in her voice. She then turned to Clara, a smile on her face and tipped her glass towards her, "Well done my love,"
Edwin almost growled at Theodora's accusing question, "I have been but it gets a bit hard when you have floo powder factories to run and workers to control," He snapped, glaring at his accuser, "And what is it you have been doing exactly?"
Clara couldn't help but roll her eyes at his defensive sniping. Clara had noted that he quite often defended himself, despite no one out right attacking his abilities – the mere suggestion that he had done something wrong was enough to trigger a tongue lashing and his customary scowl to deepen considerably. Yet this time he had every right to defend himself, she supposed, with Theodora openly criticising him in front of them all and she could understand his attitude.
Before Theodora, who turned her narrowed gaze on Edwin, could reply, Professor Dixon cleared his throat, ever the peace-keeper,
"Now, now, there is no need for such sniping and tones. We should be rejoicing in the fact that we have a new lead to go on," Professor Dixon rested his eyes on Clara, who was sat still, silent and watching, "Well done dear, I knew fresh eyes were what we needed,"
Clara blushed once more, a common occurrence of late,
"Thank you," was her reply, her voice now considerably quieter than it had been, not wanting to be seen as being smug in her investigations, which she was not, "But it was nothing, honestly. I was aware one of the victims was muggleborns, I remember seeing his name somewhere and I just went from there," She shrugged and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "But I have a gut feeling that the fact they were all muggleborns has something to do with what is going on,"
"A gut feeling?" Edwin scoffed loudly, an incredulous look on his handsome face, "I think we need more than a gut feeling, Miss Manville," His voice was mocking and Clara frowned at his attitude, which was more uncivil than usual. She instantly took back every understanding thought she had had about the man as she looked at him, eyes locking.
"Is there really any need for the attitude Clayton," Dugald's Scottish drawl reverberated through the room, "Miss Manville doing the work means you can get back to your woeful floo factories and save us from your misery," He smirked, his eyes glinting in the light.
Theodora hid her own smirk in her champagne glass whilst Maggie didn't even bother to conceal the unladylike snigger coming from her lips,
Edwin said nothing in retaliation to Dugald. Instead, he stood abruptly and stalked over to the fire, where he disappeared almost immediately, not before glowering at everyone in the room before he went.
"Good riddance, he always knows how to spoil the day," Dugald sipped on his drink, which looked suspiciously like muggle ale, "Ignore Clayton, Miss Manville, he wasn't brought up with manners I'm afraid," His gaze was intense as he brought his eyes to look upon Clara and she felt herself fidgeting in her seat, unsure whether she was uncomfortable with being stared at or because the owner of the eyes was extremely attractive.
"Edwin has been under an immense lot of pressure, Dugald. I am not making excuses for the sometimes impossible man but he has a lot on his plate. There have been murmurings of an uprising in his factories," Professor Dixon explained, taking off his glasses to clean them, a habit Clara had noticed.
Dugald said nothing more and merely nodded in acknowledgement. He more likely than not understood the pressure of uprisings, having been Minister for Magic himself. It was Maggie who spoke instead,
"There are also rumours of uprising in the muggle Mills in the North. It's being labelled as the 'Industrial Revolution' or something along those lines," She explained, "It's not exactly a topic us ladies discuss over tea and cakes,"
"The muggle and wizarding worlds are slowly merging," Theodora stated, "Who would have thought it?"
"Times are changing Theodora, times are changing," Professor Dixon mused, "Anyway, back to what our dear Clara has excellently discovered. We need to look into whether these victims being muggleborn is somehow an motivation to whoever is carrying out these attacks and kidnappings,"
Everyone at the table nodded in agreement.
"I can ask my contact in the Ministry whether there have been any leads or names being discussed?" Offered Dugald, "I'm sure Henry will have something for us, even if it's only small. Clara could perhaps come with me, seeing as she made the connection?"
Clara's eyes widened at the suggestion. She had never stepped foot inside the Ministry and had no idea what when on in there – except for the rumoured whisperings of corruption within. It was particularly a place she wanted to go but she would not refuse Dugald's offer.
"Yes, that's a good idea Dugald. You two should go to the Ministry, I'm sure it will be quite the experience for Clara," The Professor smiled kindly before turning to Maggie and Theodora, no doubt discussing what they could do to help the investigation
Clara smiled and nodded politely. Standing up from her seat, she bid farewell to Theodora and Maggie, as well as the Professor before she headed to the fireplace, where Dugald stood patiently, a kind smile on his lips.
"Ready Miss Manville?"
He did not wait for a response and she had no reply to give. As he disappeared in tongues of green, Clara followed suit, not quite sure what she expected to find on the other side of the flames.