Disclaimer: I own nothing except Maria Cooper.

Chapter Four: Whimsical

"I don't go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me."

~ J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

It had been roughly one week after she had sent her application and résumé. Flourish & Blotts was making the final preparations for the books release, which did not mean that the most demanding tasks had been fulfilled yet. In fact, Maria had been left in charge of bringing the books from the warehouse when everything was set. That meant that, for the moment, she was to guard the tomes. On top of that, she also had to deal with the archives for the next dozen encyclopedias meant to arrive the next day. This was a bothersome task, but she preferred it over dealing with her colleagues and manager at the present time.

Sighing, Maria bit the end of her quill. For the past few days she had tried to find books to help her translate the piece of parchment. Despite all her efforts and late night attempts, the only thing she got was a migraine and little sleep. As the days passed, she was getting more and more discouraged at the prospect of never discovering what the message might be and, so, she decided to bring it with her at all times. If she was fortunate, then eventually something useful would come up.

Said mysterious piece of parchment was safely kept inside her purse. She had placed it in front of her, on the desk she had been sitting on for the last half hour. Lately, Maria stubbornly carried it everywhere. Even in the safety or her own house she experienced an odd feeling of dread that rendered her unusually possessive. She feared it might get lost, or worse, stolen.

Suddenly, the warehouse door opened, revealing a very anxious manager. As Maria didn't fail to notice, his complexion seemed paler in the dimly lit room and the dark rings under his eyes were heavier than last week. A part of her rejoiced at the sight, but it took her some self-restraint not to smirk.

'Miss Cooper, we must bring the tomes at once,' the manager demanded. He glanced over the desk Maria was sitting. 'Everyone has arrived, come along!'

'Of course.' She muttered, shuffling the scattered papers on the desk in a neat pile.

Maria rose from her seat and coolly grabbed her purse. With a fluid movement of her arm, she pointed her wand towards the box, walked over to the door and past the manager. The man seemed oddly anxious, though Maria figured it was probably due to the weight on his shoulders at the moment.

It seemed these were not ordinary books. At the time of their arrival, Maria mistakenly thought the tomes had some connection with the Hogwarts Founders. Recently, through the rest of the staff, she found that they were more than mere marks of ancient times. As far as she knew, Slughorn had told the manager these tomes were written centuries ago by an unknown author, containing tales of goblins, kings and queens in faraway days of Old. In fact, the authenticity of this theory was such that the store had been harassed by reporters for a glimpse ever since it came out public.

To Maria's knowledge, no one had yet questioned how Slughorn managed to obtain such rarities. In fact, if this was a case of theft or smuggling, it seemed low on people's list of priorities. Of course that Maria wouldn't put it past her old Professor to do something illegal for profit, but the man had so many acquaintances that she could hardly be sure. The origin of these tomes could have easily been suppressed or covered up.

As she neared the center of Flourish & Blotts, Maria's trail of thought was interrupted. She suddenly gasped at the number of people who had appeared for the launching.

It was little after lunch but, somehow, some of Diagon Alley's shop owners and traders had found this important enough to leave someone else in charge of their establishments. It seemed they were eager to see what the fuss was about in detail.

Maria gulped, closing her eyes tight at the sudden flash lights of the Prophet's reporters. From where she was standing, there were at least three envoys she could recognize. It seemed the event had been properly publicized, perhaps a little too much. Her hand flew instinctively to the purse dangling on her side, checking its presence.

The manager went past her and stepped forward into the center of the crowd, next to Horace Slughorn. He impatiently ushered her to place the box in front of him on a small stage, somewhat more composed than before. Crossing his arms, the manager whispered hushed words to his counterpart, a ridiculous smile beneath his mustache. Maria obliged, all the while considering how much those two looked like partners in crime.

'Join the rest of the staff, Miss Cooper.' The manager ordered through gritted teeth, very much anxious. In contrast, Slughorn seemed far too calm, grinning beatifically and waving at the crowd. His eyes were set on the reporters, as Maria noticed. 'Post-haste!'

Repressing the urge to roll her eyes, Maria settled for uttering an inaudible "Gladly". She quickly marched towards the rest of the staff at her left, evading the crowd of witches and wizards alike from knocking her over in excitement.

A few moments after she had settled between Mrs Wimple and one of the bookcases, Maria leaned against the wooden surface and listened as the room silenced substantially. Slughorn and the manager alike straightened, the former clearing his throat no doubt to voice a well-rehearsed speech. Feeling devious, Maria reflected on the comical manner in which the two men at the front of the event could be visually represented: while one was tall and lean, the other was short and stocky with a large belly. In case someone took notice of that, perhaps they would soon take part of a humorous show.

'My friends, today we announce a most glorious of findings…'

Maria wasn't listening. She was staring straight ahead, fixing a point above Slughorn's bald head. Her thoughts trailed to the mysterious parchment she had found and just what its connection with the books was. Judging by Slughorn's wondrous story, he was definitely leaving out something very important about those books. An unknown author writing the tales of goblins and kings couldn't be worth all the frenzy. Perhaps her own piece of parchment was some sort of ripped off inscription from the book and held no meaning whatsoever –

'Miss Cooper?'

Maria was abruptly distracted from her thoughts. She turned her head to face one of her older colleagues at Flourish & Blotts eyeing her with a frown. He extended his hand, holding a letter whose seal and address she couldn't quite identify from the distance.

'This came for you.' He said, marginally wary for some reason. 'Is everything alright?'

Maria stared at her colleague, narrowing her eyes for a second before turning her gaze to the letter. 'Yes, thank you for the concern.' In a swift movement she snatched the letter from his hand and quickly inspected it. Judging from how creased and wrinkled the letter was, it seemed that it had been delivered for some time now. Maria prepared herself to throw a tongue-lashing remark about holding other people's property hostage, but a closer look at the address made her eyes widen slightly. Hastily dismissing the reproach from the top place in her list of priorities, Maria anxiously opened the letter: it bore the Ministry's seal. There was no denying it. This had to be a reply to her application; why else would the Department of Magical Law Enforcement send her a letter in the middle of the afternoon?

Dear Miss Cooper, it read.

You have been selected for an interview for the Department of Magical Law Enforcement's post of Secretary at the Ministry of Magic. The Head of the Department requires your presence today at six o'clock, in his office. Please arrive on time or you will be automatically declared ineligible for further consideration.

Best regards,

Mafalda Hopkirk, Improper Use of Magic Office

Much too apprehensive to express her feelings, Maria wanted nothing more than to bang her head on the bookcase next to her. This was beyond ill timing! The Department must have been in great need of a proper secretary if they chose to ask for the services of another Office for their feedback. According to her pocket watch, six o'clock was less than two hours away and Maria couldn't just leave the store without giving some explanation. Whether she was chosen or not, she refused to create a situation in which someone could invoke any wrong doing on her behalf.

Maria wanted nothing more than to leave the event and head straight to the Ministry, if only to cease hearing Slughorn's boisterous remarks and the unruly audience's excitement. Despite not having listened what anyone said for the past fifteen minutes or so, that didn't mean the choir of voices hadn't affected Maria's patience. However, she needed to think fast and seize the first opportunity to speak with the manager. The only lacking part was the brilliant excuse to leave much early than anticipated.

Perhaps, she thought, with a good enough excuse she would be able to leave quickly and make a small visit to Borgin & Burkes. With some luck she might just find exactly what she was looking for and be done with this mysterious parchment once and for all.

For the remaining speeches, Maria grew restless. She now had one hour until the interview and still no plausible opportunity that would allow her to interrupt the manager, nor any chance to get close to him. The best moment she could afford was the distraction between the end of the speeches and the questions from the audience, though she couldn't wait that long –

Just when Maria thought she would have to interrupt or ask a colleague to deliver a message, she heard a faint commotion in the background. From where she was standing, Maria saw the short figures of at least three goblins that huddled at the back of the crowd, whispering to each other. The act seemed suspicious to Maria. The hateful gazes the three goblins directed at everyone within their sight were worrying, apart from their pointing around the store. Somehow, it seemed to her as if they were plotting.

Maria caught the eye of the colleague who gave her the letter, and gazed at the spot where the three goblins stood. Her colleague's eyes widened and the man quickly elbowed Mrs Wimple who, for some reason, seemed to consider the ceiling a sight of great interest. Moments later, the staff was stiff and tense, torn between glancing at the goblins and gaining the manager's attention. Maria remembered the conversation she had with her father a few nights before and wondered why the goblins seemed so displeased. Surely Bagman's story had upset their lot, but what was it about this event that put them in such a foul mood?

'We must warn the manager.' said one member of the staff, borderline edgy. 'There could be trouble afoot.' Arms crossed, Maria nodded in agreement. She glanced at the goblins, quickly averting her eyes when she caught one of them staring. There was something about those black, soulless eyes and unbearably long fingers that made her want them far away from her sight.

There was talk of speaking to the manager immediately or waiting for the speech to be over. Maria didn't want to volunteer herself alone for this task. Instead she was silent, observing the enthusiastic reaction of the crowd to Slughorn's explanation of the book. She couldn't help but to frown at the situation, there was something important missing and Maria felt it was connected with the goblin's distress.

Despite a possible catastrophic outcome, Maria had an ordeal of her own to deal with. Growing ever restless, she knew her time was running low and it bothered her that she couldn't just leave. She had concocted a small plan to introduce the subject of her early departure, but required someone to serve as a witness and to testify in case something went wrong in the future. Maria would not have anyone doubt her word in this matter. When she noticed she had less than forty five minutes to reach the Ministry, Maria had halfway decided between leaving without anyone noticing and crossing over to the center of the room, when she heard applause and much excited gossiping.

'It's over.' She told the colleague who gave her the letter, impatiently. 'We need to talk to the manager quickly.'

She was regarded with a quick nod and scurried to the center of the room, the other man trailing behind her. Her remaining colleagues stayed behind to keep an eye on the goblins who were swiftly trying to go through the crowd.

They reached the manager easily, even if a few bystanders managed to elbow them. Maria felt particularly testy at the situation and cleared her throat to gain the manager's attention, but to no avail. The manager was speaking to one of the reporters at the Daily Prophet, while Slughorn seemed to be engaging in frivolous conversation. Both were, as far as Maria knew, unaware of the goblin's nearing presence.

'Goodness, is something wrong?' Asked the manager a few moments later, surprised to see two of his employees bearing such anxious faces. Maria inwardly cringed as she checked her watch and roughly counted thirty five minutes.

'Yes, sir. There is something we must discuss.' Maria said promptly, so she could lead the conversation before anyone else. 'It seems there are three rather suspicious goblins in the store. Do you think it wise to call for security?'

The manager gave her a strange look. Maria couldn't decide if it was only due to concern or if there was something else involved, but figured she could overlook it for higher purposes at this time. She needed to buy herself some time to leave. If some sort of trouble was to come, then she had to be miles away from Flourish & Blotts and that required some persuasion.

'An awkward situation would benefit no one.' She said quickly, cutting the manager before any sound came out of his open mouth. There were, she noticed, a few drops of wine dangling on his mustache, certainly from the large glass he took hostage throughout the event. 'Perhaps keeping an eye on them wouldn't be badly planned, but surely there's no need for an exaggerated reaction.'

'Three goblins you said?' The manager seemed to have paled considerably ever since the beginning of the conversation. The weariness at least was noticeable from the creases on his forehead and the dark rings under his eyes. If anything, in the light of day these only looked more evident. 'We can't afford any concerns this afternoon; I shall deal with the issue myself. Now, if you'll excuse me –'

'Sir!' Maria braced herself for the moment, faking her best distressed performance. Both men stared at her in bewilderment. 'There is something else, a personal matter I must attend. A letter came bearing news of a severe situation within my family, I will need to leave right away to deal with it–'

The manager gaped at Maria. 'Now, you say?' He closed his eyes firmly, gritting his teeth, and uttered an annoyed reply: 'Miss Cooper, what can be so important that requires you to leave your work in the middle of the afternoon, during the most important event of the year?'

'Family issues, sir!' She cried, though not so loud as other people within the premises could hear. 'I've even received a letter from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement! Here, look!' She shoved the envelope underneath his nose so the manager could attest to the veracity of her words. It was enough proof and, as for reading the letter itself, Maria was counting on proper etiquette. Knowing the manager, he was well-mannered and would never read other people's correspondence – not in front of them at least, for intelligence's sake.

From the corner of her eye, Maria saw her colleague's mouth forming an 'oh' of comprehension. If she wasn't acting, Maria would've liked nothing more than to give him a good piece of her mind for withholding her correspondence for so long. This nose-poking business gave her no peace of mind at all.

'I apologize, I cannot spare you for the afternoon –' the manager was abruptly cut off by Maria.

'And I apologize sincerely, but this is a matter of great importance. Surely you understand?' Maria doubted he would appreciate her being so vague, but she had been blessed with some luck today. In fact, the manager was far too weary to come up with suitable questions regarding her "severe issues". 'It was most unexpected, but it cannot be delayed.'

'Miss Cooper -'

'I will make up for this inconvenience the rest of the week if need be.' She started speaking fast, trying to be sensible and yet, unyielding. 'But I must simply go. Now.' As much as Maria didn't want to admit, the last word was almost a plea, though by the looks of her manager, it was as if she had grown two heads.

'Miss Cooper!' He bellowed in indignation. Maria averted her attention from the manager and gave her colleague a pleading look. She was met with some sympathy mingled with distress, followed by a patronizing pat on the back. This one, she noticed,was more concerned with the approaching goblins than helping her resolve her issue. Maria felt irritated with the man's unhelpful behavior, especially after withholding her letter.

'There's no excuse for this behavior, Miss Cooper!' The manager looked like he was trying to reign in his temper, gripping the glass of wine tightly. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep, heavy breaths. 'Should you choose to leave now, you will only receive half of today's wages. No matter how urgent it might be, today's event is even more important.' He stressed the last word, sending her a half-weary glare.

Maria looked sharply at the manager, seething. If this wasn't a lie, then the manager's behavior could be considered tactless, in the very least. She tried her best not to glare back and shortened her reply to a 'Thank you' through gritted teeth that certainly lacked in politeness. She turned her back on the two men, but noticed her colleague had sent her a reproachful stare. Maria ignored it. She avoided the crowd and hurried to the entrance, all the while mentally cursing the event.

She didn't wait around to see where the goblins were going. Before leaving the bookstore, Maria caught a glimpse of the three creatures still rushing through the crowd, towards the center of the book display, and she quickened her step. When she was finally outside, instead of heading to the Leaky Cauldron, Maria took a sharp turn right towards Knockturn Alley.

Just around the corner from Diagon Alley lay a dark alleyway. Maria had only been to Knockturn Alley once with her father. If she recalled correctly, it had been in her fifth year during Christmas holidays. They had only visited one shop but Maria remembered how careful they had to be not to raise suspicion upon entering the alleyway.

Maria glanced around warily. Most bystanders seemed immersed in their own business and she was fairly sure no one was paying attention to her. However, since Flourish & Blotts was still within her line of sight, Maria chanced one last glance before vanishing into the alleyway.

There was an immediate difference in environment. Whereas Diagon Alley was bright and bubbling with laughter and life, Knockturn Alley was a dark, dodgy place. It was fairly surprising for Maria that the Ministry allowed such a hot-bed of Dark Magic to remain so close to the main mercantile center of Wizarding London. Would it not be better to eliminate or move it and the Dark associated enterprises somewhere else? Perhaps the Ministry reasoned it would be simpler to keep all evil-doers in one place. Certainly they figured it was much easier to keep track of them.

Entering Knockturn Alley was odd. There were a few suspicious looking witches and wizards abound and Maria sometimes felt like everybody was staring at her and pointing, but they really weren't. Some gave her a brief look before continuing on their mysterious destinations, while others presented her with glares and guarded stares.

A particular man caught her attention: one filthy wizard was whispering at the stone wall. He was most likely demented, but made no move towards her despite following her every move with cold, black eyes. The man never ceased his whispering.

Maria was starting to feel nervous and quickened her pace to number 13B. Mostly, the lurkers at Knockturn Alley left her alone. She was starting to regret coming on her own but her options were running short. It wasn't as if she didn't know her way, she simply had to get there unscathed.

At last she reached a wider corridor between buildings. The heels of her shoes clicked on the stone pavement with every step, which echoed in the unnaturally silent alley. There, just a little further, was Borgin & Burkes. Maria recognized both the area around and the sign hanging on top of the door. After checking her watch, Maria gave a quick glance to the shrunken heads displayed on window of a shop just behind her, and quickly stepped on the threshold.

'Is anyone there?' Maria called, closing the door behind her with a 'click'. Even after nearly a decade, the dimly lit shop was almost as she remembered it. When she had come with her father, Maria recalled he had been bargaining with one of the owners over a small statuette of a twisted faced goblin. It was now kept in a permanent exhibition in the living room, along with the other foul beasts her father seemed so fond of.

Maria heard the sound of the wooden floor crackling and a stooping man emerged from the back room, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face. She couldn't remember which of the owners he was, but, still, Maria straightened and walked to the counter, trying not to show any sign of nervousness.

'Good afternoon,' Maria started, noticing the glare the man was directing at her. Despite the obvious tension, she felt rather irritated to be received in such a manner. The amount of dust inside the shop was also an issue, and Maria was careful not to touch anything with her bare skin. She glanced at the assortment of human bones lying on the unclean counter and twitched her nose. 'I am looking for a book that would allow me to translate certain… unusual languages.'

'And what languages might those be?' Snapped the man, obviously impatient. Perhaps he didn't remember her from five years ago. That was a good thing, since Maria's greatest fear was to be recognized when she was risking her reputation. However, she would avoid showing him the piece of parchment so no one could trace it to her.

'The odd and nearly unrecognizable sort,' she explained vaguely, not wanting to delve into the matter further. 'And let's just leave it at that. I have money.' Maria shoved a hand inside her purse and emptied the contents of a small leather pouch on the counter. There at least ten galleons, nearly half of the savings she had put aside from the ingredients she sold at the Apothecary.

Though it was probably not much compared to what most of his clients must spend, the man raised his eyebrows in surprise. He then gave Maria one last doubtful look and proceeded to collect the gold coins on the counter. Before she could say anything, the man disappeared into the back room for a few moments, leaving her alone in the shop. Maria took this opportunity to examine the items on display, still a little befuddled at the recent exchange.

Evil looking masks stared down from the walls and rusty spiked instruments hung down from the ceiling. Unfortunately, these were not the most disturbing objects that Maria could see. She closed her eyes tightly at the sight of a glass eye next to a blood-stained pack of cards and swiftly returned to the counter. The wooden floorboards were crackling on the other side of the door and coming closer. Suddenly, the door opened and the man appeared with an old, small black book covered in dust. He held the book up to his eye level and blew the dust before placing it on the counter.

'What is this?' Maria asked, coughing. Some of the dust from the book had landed on her hair and face. 'I'm in a rush. Is this what I asked for, Mr…?'

'Borgin.' The man grunted. Maria could already feel her eyes watering. 'Take it and leave. This is no place for naïve little –'

There was some shouting in the distance and a loud 'bang'. A few of the spiked instruments on the ceiling started to shake at the impact, and Maria could see a waft of smoke from the dirty shop window, going up in the sky. She was gradually starting to realize that, no matter what had happened, no one could find her in such a dodgy place. Her blood started to run cold as the screams started to get louder.

'Away with you!' Mr Borgin shouted, his eyes widening and face contorted in a feral grimace. Maria quickly tucked the book in her purse, just in time before she felt herself being dragged out of the shop by Mr Borgin. Despite her cries of distress, he pushed her out of the door and Maria fell on the stone pavement, wincing in pain. The sign on the door saying 'Open' turned to 'Closed' and the shop windows were hastily covered with black curtains.

Grimacing at the pain in her leg, Maria checked if her purse was still there and pulled her wand out and forced herself to stand. The few inhabitants of Knockturn Alley were running and locking themselves in their own shops and houses, while others tried to escape to safety. Maria almost got trampled by a decrepit witch who carried a tray of what seemed like human fingernails, but managed to crawl out of the way in time. The was a cloud of smoke coming from Diagon Alley, and she had the terrible feeling that it had something to do with the goblins –

'Watch it!' She whimpered, as a black clad wizard almost tripped on her leg. The man paid no mind to her and continued running. Trembling, Maria held on to the wall and tried to find a dark corner where she could Apparate safely. She needed to get to the Ministry as soon as possible, things were getting out of control –

Another loud 'bang' coming from Diagon Alley and more screaming filled the air. Maria decided there was no time to hide and held on to her wand tightly, concentrating on her destination. This was easier said than done, the shouting came from everywhere, and there was panic in the streets. The smoke was making her dizzy. Before another distraction could happen, Maria kept clutching her wand tightly and forced to think about the great entrance halls of the Ministry.

Then the world went black and Maria felt she was falling. The world was rushing past her and she had little time to consider what was happening. The only thought that solidified in her head as she clenched her jaw was that this was the worst Apparition she had ever experienced.

A huge thank you for everyone who reviewed and helped me with this story. I hope you enjoyed the new chapter =) More trouble is coming next, stay tuned! Critique is always appreciated.

Next update: 9th of December