Thanks for the review Mia-Phoenix. Here is the next chapter as promised. :)
Chapter 9: Surprise, surprise...
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Summer 1996 – London
You know, it is a good thing she gave me the house number, Yannick thought as he looked around, because a description of the house would not really have been helpful. ()
He was in the Camden area of London and right now, he would have felt lost, if it were not for the paper Alex had sent him by owl, showing him how to get to her house. All the residential houses around here were the same, two floors including the ground floor, a nice small garden, same type of roof, same type of windows on the roof, some even had the same house color!
This is where house numbers really come in handy, he thought as he walked in the direction indicated by the paper he held in his hand.
After a few minutes of walking in the already heating morning sun, he arrived at the house number he had been looking for, number 26. He looked at the house a moment. It was again of the same build of the ones around, with a dark red roof. A mix of creamy white walls with red trimmings gave it a nice cozy feeling and the garden looked very well kept. There even was a small garden dwarf statue in the middle of the lawn, with its red pointed hat and pushing a wheel barrow where pots of flowers had been put. Yannick stayed a bit at the gate, not really knowing if he should come in or wait for someone to come out.
As he stood there he suddenly saw a paper that was stuck with some tape on one of the stone pillars holding the hinges of the gate door. It looked like nothing until he saw the drawing there was on it, a black wolf. Chuckling he took the note and looked behind.
Just come in, it's not locked. He read, recognizing Alex's handwriting.
He opened the low gate and walked on the gravel path to the front door. There he stood again on the porch, not really knowing if he should knock or if there was a Muggle way to announce himself. Looking around again, he saw another little note with a black wolf drawing on it, stuck to a square piece of plastic with a red looking button on it.
Press the button. The note read.
He did just that and was surprised to hear a pleasant little ringing sound coming from inside. Less than a few seconds after he heard someone coming down some stairs fast. A lock was heard moving before the red door opened on a beaming Alex, who looked very out of breath.
"You found your way, good!" She said as she embraced him, "I was afraid you would get lost."
"Almost did," he said, "But your little map rescued me. Nice wolf drawings by the way. Yours?"
"Yeah," she said. "I figured you might get a bit confused at the entrance."
"Good thinking," he said, kissing her softly on the lips, "Am I too early?"
"Hardly," she said, "I've been up since hours and so have my parents."
"They are inside?" Yannick said, pulling a bit away from her. What if they did not know Alex and him were together?
"Of course they are!" Alex said, preventing him to pull more away, "Come on. They are dying to meet you, she added, taking his hand and pulling him inside the house.
"So they know about us?" Yannick asked on a low voice as she closed the door.
"Yeah, you can thank Cynthia for that," Alex said, rolling her eyes, "She let the cat out of the bag when she came one day to eat dinner with us. My mother has been pestering me since then to meet the boy who captured the heart of her little girl," she added.
"So I have captured your heart then?" He asked, smiling playfully.
"You bet you have," she said, kissing him quickly, "Come on, my mother's in the kitchen."
She steered him in the small entrance hall, in the direction of the door that was to their left. It had a center of frosty brown class and was closed. Alex opened it and Yannick saw a very nice kitchen and a woman with long red hair, her back turned to them and tending to something on what looked like the stove.
"Mum?" Alex said, "He's here."
The woman turned to face them. She looked in her late thirties and was Yannick's height. She was quite slim and the apron she wore gave her a very motherly figure. Yannick had the feeling of looking at an older version of Alex.
"Mum, I'd like to you to meet Yannick Silverleaf," Alex said, "Yannick, this is my mother, Mary."
"A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Dewitt," Yannick said, bowing politely.
"The pleasure is all mine," Mary Dewitt said smiling to him, "It is nice to finally meet the young man whom Alex has been talking about the whole time."
Yannick looked at Alex, wondering exactly what she had told her parents.
"Well, well, well," a man's voice at the entrance of the kitchen said, "So this is the famous Yannick."
Yannick turned to face a man about a head taller than he, sporting a neatly trimmed moustache and short brown hair. The man had his strongly built arms crossed and looked as if evaluating him. Yannick felt a bit awkward, not really knowing what to do.
"I hope you did not plan doing anything reckless with my girl today, young man," the man said, "Or you might find my reach quite long, I might say."
Yannick was a bit taken aback by his tone and shot a glance at Alex, seeing if she maybe could help him out of this. The man suddenly laughing baffled him even more.
"It is good to see that I can still have an intimidating influence on young people," the man said, now grinning widely, "Jeremy Dewitt, and proud father of Alexandra there. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Yannick," he added, extending his hand to Yannick.
"Same here, Sir," Yannick replied, shaking his hand.
"Dad!" Alex moaned, slapping her father playfully on the arm, "Did you really have to do that?"
"It is always fun," her father said, "But she told me enough about you that I know you're not the reckless type," he added to Yannick.
"I think we will be more comfortable in the living room," Mrs. Dewitt said, "Alex, why don't you show Yannick the way. We'll join you in a moment."
Alex took Yannick by the arm and led him out of the kitchen.
"See? It was not too bad," she told him on a low voice when they were out.
"Your father scared me for a moment," he told her.
"Don't worry about him," she answered, "this is usual for him, Where do you think I have my teasing edge from?"
"Right," Yannick chuckled, "What exactly did you tell them about us?"
"Well, most of it," she answered as they entered the living room, "That you took me to the Yule Ball, your accident with the Willow, my stay at Silverleaf Manor and that we have been a couple since February."
"You did not tell them about the events of the end of the year?" He asked.
"Are you mental?" She replied, "They would yank me out of Hogwarts right away if they knew."
"And about me? My family?"
"They know that you are French and live with your parents in London," she told him, "They also know a little bit about Silverleaf Manor, but I did not say much about it They don't know about your Elven parentage on the other hand, I kept quiet on that part."
"Thanks," he said, kissing her on the cheek.
"You are welcome," she answered, "So, mister Silverleaf? What do you think of my humble home?" She asked him, motioning around the living room.
"It's very nice," Yannick said, "Very cozy place from what I can see."
"Flatterer," she chided him.
"No really," he countered, "I don't know much of Muggle homes but from what I have seen so far, your home is beautiful. Much more cozy than Silverleaf manor. We are lucky that the family is so big… else it would quickly get boring there," he added with a small chuckle.
"I can imagine," she said.
"Glad you appreciate our home," Mr. Dewitt said as he entered the room with his wife, "But please take a seat. I trust you are not planning to leave so soon?"
"To tell you the truth sir, I left the planning to Alex," Yannick said, sitting in an armchair while Alex sat next to him in another and her parents face them from their seats, "I am not very good when it comes to planning a Muggle, non magic, day out."
"You can trust her on that, true," Mr. Dewitt said.
"So you are from France," Mrs. Dewitt said, "Silverleaf does not really sound French though."
I guess I know why Alex is in Ravenclaw now, Yannick thought
"Well, it is mainly due to the fact that the one who founded my family line came from England," Yannick said, "he met a beautiful lady while in Brittany and then settled there."
"And that was?" Mrs. Dewitt asked.
"Around Richard The Lionheart's time," Yannick answered truthfully, "My ancestor was a knight to the crown of England."
That statement caused Mr. Dewitt to choke a bit on his drink. He started coughing and his wife tapped him on the back to help him. He was soon fine but while coughing his leg rocked the small table where the drinks were, causing a nice pitcher to fall on the floor and break in pieces.
"Oh, there I go," Mr. Dewitt said, "Clumsy me as always," he added as he knelt to pick the pieces."
"Wait Sir. I can fix that easily," Yannick said taking out his wand, "Reparo," he added, pointing to the pieces.
The pieces moved together alone and mended back into a pitcher, which went back on the table and stayed as if nothing had happened. Yannick's smiled at his work but it soon faded when he saw Alex's parents looking at him with surprise on their face.
"I'm sorry," he said, putting his wand away, "You must not be used to that happening a lot around here."
"Not totally yet, that is true," Mrs. Dewitt, "But I was more under the impression that no underage magic was allowed out of Hogwarts."
"Well that is true and the rule is still there, but it does not apply to me anymore," Yannick replied, "I am seventeen and not underage anymore."
"You are?" Alex said, "When was your birthday? It must have been recent or else you would be a year ahead of me."
"It was a few weeks ago," Yannick replied, "End of July, to be more exact."
"Well, that was surprising indeed," Mr. Dewitt said, "And thank you for the repair."
"You are welcome sir," Yannick said, "I'm sorry I startled you with my reply before."
Alex had apparently not told them his family went as far back as the time of Richard the Lionheart. Yannick smiled internally and continued to answer their questions, gradually getting more comfortable as they spoke and finding Alex's parents to be very enjoyable persons.
After about an hour, Alex pointed out that it was time for them to go, or else they would run late on what she had planned out for the day, not that she had told him anything about it. "It's a surprise," she had said. Her parents let them go, with Mr. Dewitt reminding them to not be reckless, which earned him a punch in the arm by an annoyed Alex. Her mood improved rapidly as they stepped outside and went on their way.
"So, milady?" Yannick asked, "Where do we go from here?"
"Well," she said, "I was planning to first go to Diagon Alley to pick up some supplies for next term, pass by Ollivanders to get my wand checked, Meet Cynthia and the girls at the Leaky Cauldron before we head out on a girl shopping spree and then pass by the Library to pick up some Muggle books. What do you think?"
Yannick was looking at her with eyes like galleons, trying to find his voice. "You're joking right?" He finally managed to say.
"Of course I am joking, silly!" She said, laughing and kissing him on the cheek, "I have an entirely different plan for today and it is without any of the things I just mentioned. Just you and me, enjoying some time together," she added, taking his arm and leading him down the street.
"Thank Merlin!" Yannick said, looking relieved.
The day passed on and for Yannick it was the best time he had ever had. Alex took him around London, showing him sights and staying away of any parts that might have been magical. He found that he enjoyed Muggle London, although the tube tended to drive him insane. Alex admitted to him that it was the same for her and that she could not wait to have her apparition license during the next term.
Hyde's park was his favorite stop, enjoying the freshness that the park gave in a city full of cars and noise. It was not their last stop however and after a quick dinner at a bar next to the park, Alex led him to a Cinema, to see a film that had come out recently, Dragonheart it was called. He had never been to what the Muggle called a cinema so Alex had to explain to him the concept and how it worked. The movie was very good and he enjoyed it very much, having a hard time to recognize which Dragon specie Draco would have been. After that he escorted Alex back home, feeling content with the way the day had gone.
"So mister Silverleaf?" Alex asked as they walked slowly up her street, "Did you enjoy your day?"
"It was magnificent Alex," he said, kissing her on the temple, "Your father is right, you are a great planner for such things."
"Thank you," she said, hugging him tighter.
"I'll have to find a way to show that film, as you call them, to Alwena," he added, "She would love it, although the end might make her sad."
"She is still into dragons, huh?" Alex asked.
"Completely and not showing any tiring on the subject," he replied.
"It's nice to be so young and know what you want to do in life," she said.
"Don't you?" He asked.
"Well, I am not sure," Alex replied, "My parents would like to see me on a secure job, but I would love to go professional on Quidditch."
"You'll make professional," Yannick said, "I've seen you play enough to know that."
"Thanks," she replied, "What about you?"
"I don't really know yet," he replied, "Auror I guess. I have got the right marks for it."
"That would be great," she said, "Well, I guess this is where I live," she added, as they came to her house.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Yannick said, embracing her tenderly, "I had a great day. Thank you," he said, kissing her softly.
"Me too," she replied when they parted, "I'm just sad it ended so fast."
"Well, we still have some days to September the first," Yannick said, "How about we meet to get our supplies for the term together?"
"That would be a great idea," she replied, hugging him tightly, "Owl me when you plan that, alright?"
"No problems," he said.
"I really have to go now," she said, "I'll wait for your Owl," she added, before to kiss him.
They parted and she walked up the garden alley to the front door of her home slowly, looking back at him often. She opened the door and smiled at him, giving him a small wave, to which he replied before she went in. He stood there for a moment, smiling to himself and looking at the closed door, before to start walking gain. As he did that he saw a figure at a window of the house and saw that it was Alex's father. Had he been there long? He was not sure. Yannick waved at him, smiling politely and felt relieved when he saw Alex's father return the wave with a smile as well.
Winter 2002 – London
Yannick shook his head, dismissing the thoughts that had drifted in his mind as he stood in the drizzle, a small rose in his hand. Why was he thinking of these happy moments now? No clue, but he did not feel it was appropriate. Maybe because it was the only time he had met them.
He knelt and laid the rose in front of the tombstone, feeling the coldness of the main stone as his fingers touched it.
Here lies Jeremy and Mary Dewitt,
Beloved parents and priceless friends.
Your memory lives on with us.
The grave was sober and well kept. He could see that someone came by regularly to take care of the plants around it. Although the little fir tree behind the tombstone was sick and dying, but you had to be a treeshaper to cure that one, no Muggle or magical remedies would help it.
"I guess you must wonder why I only come by again now, or even why I show up after the pain I caused Alex," he said to the grave, "To tell you the truth I am not sure myself. Perhaps I am hoping to make it easier to tell Alex I am sorry and that I never intended to cause her this."
He stayed silent a bit, choosing his words.
"But the fact is the same," he continued, "I am sorry for the pain I caused her. I should have been there for her but I was not. She painfully showed me how much she had been hurt by that and I can understand her, but I had my reasons too. The only problem is I am not sure how to tell her. She does not want to talk to me anymore and besides, I am afraid of what her reaction will be when I tell her the reason."
He felt a tear falling from his cheek. It was a bit weird but he was now speaking without restraints.
"I do not want to lose her. Alex is the best thing that has happened in my life. If it were not for her care I would still be mourning for the death of a close friend. Perhaps I would also be dead, I do not know," he said, "But the fact is I most probably already have lost her by my stupidity and I would like nothing more than to mend the pieces."
He rose to his feet, wiping his eyes.
"I don't really know why I came here to say this," he said, "Perhaps because I hoped it would make it easier to speak to her afterwards. I really am sorry for the pain I caused you and her."
With this he extended his hand towards the fir tree and used his power, healing the sickness from its limbs and giving it new energy. The tree responded with a shudder and suddenly looked more alive.
"I just hope that one day she will be able to forgive me," he added, before disaparating.
Later that same day, Yannick was at his parent's home going over some papers that needed his attention and also looking forward to having a nice evening with his family. Quite a few things had come for him while he had been gone in training, one of them being his application to be an Auror. At the time he had applied for it it had been one of his goals, but that was before the Elven training and five long years ago. While he was gone the application had come back, approved and he could start the Auror training when he wanted. The question now was, was it still his goal? As he re-read the parchment, trying to decide himself on what to answer to the official letter, a knock from his bedroom's entrance caught his attention. He looked there and smiled at his mother.
"You seem preoccupied, Nickie," Izabelle said, smiling warmly.
"I was considering what to answer to this letter," Yannick replied, waving the parchment in the air.
"What is this one again?" Izabelle asked, coming to sit on her son's bed.
"An answer to my application to start Auror training," he said, "I can start when I want but I am wondering if I still want to."
"You have the needed skills," Izabelle said.
"Yes," Yannick agreed, "But do I still have the motivation? My training with the Elves got me to realize what my powers could do. Are they compatible with that of being an Auror?"
"I think that your father would be best to answer you on this," Izabelle said, "But you know, being a treeshaper does not mean you cannot pursue another career. Aidan Silverleaf continued to be a knight after his training. Your own father is using his skills with understanding plants in his work. You should do what you feel is best, Nickie," she said, stroking his hair, "I know I can trust you to do that."
"Thanks Mum," Yannick said.
"You're welcome," Izabelle said, "You know, your father might have given you your hair colour, but there are blond strands in there and they are soft like mine."
"Another proof that I really am your son?" Yannick teased.
"I never doubted that one," Izabelle said, "I am just amazed of how handsome my little Nickie grew into."
Yannick chuckled at that. He was about to answer when an owl flew in his room and landed in front of him. He took the parchment that was at it leg and unfolded it to read but found himself staring at a blank parchment. A little sign at the top left corner of the letter told him that it was from Sean. Smiling, he took his wand and muttered an incantation, causing text to suddenly appear on the parchment:
Yannick,
I just got a message from a person who claims he has a lead on the case. He wants to meet but not at the Ministry. He gave me an appointment in a northern forest by London. I want you to come with me. We meet him at 19:30. Just come to the point on the map below.
See you there, Sean
"What is it?" His mother asked.
"From Sean," Yannick replied, "Apparently he wants me to come to a meeting he has with someone. Regarding the case."
"I thought you two were off it," Izabelle said.
"Me too," Yannick said, "I don't like this."
"So you go there?"
"Of course I go there," Yannick replied, surprised, "I am not about to let Sean go in there alone. It could be a trap."
"I never doubted you would, Nickie," Izabelle said, smiling, "Just be careful alright?"
"Don't worry mum," Yannick said, "I am going there prepared," he added, standing up and going to open the trunk by his bed.
An hour later Yannick aparated silently near the spot Sean had told him to meet him. Looking towards the meeting point, he could see his friend patiently waiting, his back to a tree.
Good thing I came prepared, he thought as he went towards his friend, because Sean's getting careless.
He moved silently between the trees and soon reached Sean from behind. He then gently prodded his friend on the shoulder, causing him to jump and turn suddenly towards him.
"Merlin! Nick!" Sean said, "Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Sneaking up on me like that?"
"Not really," Yannick said, "But I wanted to make a point. You are taking this tip we got too positively. It could be a trap."
"Come on!" Sean replied, "The guy gave us a meeting place and has some lead on the case…"
"Which we are supposed to be off from," Yannick said.
"The guy most probably did not hear of the changes yet," Sean explained, "Easy mistake to do."
"Could be," Yannick said, fingering the hilt of his sword.
"Or you are making too much of it," Sean said, "Look at you. You seem ready to face a demon."
"Does not hurt,"
"No, justs makes you look like a paranoid," Sean said, "Why the sword?"
"In case I can't use my wand," Yannick answered.
"Well, it is very nice," Sean commented.
"Thanks, bought it in France," Yannick replied, "Nothing compared to Elven swords. But I was not able to get one of those."
"Why not?"
"I did not fully graduate from my training yet," Yannick said, "You can call this first case a kind of field test."
"I see," Sean said, "A way to see if you can apply what you learned?"
"Exactly."
"Smart," Sean replied, looking at his watch, "Well, almost time. I think we should go to the meeting point now. Our man should be there already."
"Lead the way," Yannick said.
He created an elven orb of light in order to light their way through the forest. The sun was set since a few hours and the sky was clear but he knew that Sean did not have his ability to move in the dark. They walked for fifteen minutes until they came to a small clearing, created by a massive tree that had fallen in the forest. The moonlight shone softly through the area. Yannick looked around but could not see anyone. The clearing was empty. Strange smell in the air, he thought as he ventured further into the clearing with Sean.
"So?" He asked his friend, "Where is our man?"
Sean shrugged an walked a few meter more before to turn to him. "I have no clue mate," he said, walking backward towards the fallen tree, "We are at the right place and the right time…"
Sean was interrupted before he could finish as he tripped on something that made him fall backwards.
"Sweet Merlin!" He exclaimed, when he saw what had caused him to fall and retreated away from the spot.
Yannick summoned the orb of light to come to the spot when Sean had tripped and saw what it was. Their contact, laying on the floor. A strange place to take a nap, if it were not for the fact that the man's head was a few feet away from the body.
Now he recognized the smell he had picked up when they had entered the clearing, blood. Yannick knelt by the body. The wound was recent and the head had been taken off with one swift move. The poor man probable never knew what hit him, from the surprised expression on his face. The blood was forming a pool at the severed neck. As he dipped two fingers in the pool to see how fresh it was, Yannick saw something that caused him to become very alert. A small bloody print on the man shoulder, the print of a creature, and near it a fresh trail.
"Sean," he said, "This man was killed by a creature, not by a man."
"Not good I guess?" Sean asked.
Nope. Not good at all, he thought as he tried to see where the beast's trail went. As he looked to a group of bushes, he heard a small growl emanating from them.
"Oh shit," he cursed.
"What is it?" Sean asked.
"The beast is still here," Yannick said rising up and drawing his sword.
As he said this a blood chilling screech was heard and a creature emerged from the bushes in front of them, bearing down at full speed. Yannick recognized it. The nimble brown creature with four long legs obliqued its course, heading for the most dangerous target of the two, Yannick and his drawn sword. Yannick readied himself as the it approached, remembering the basics he had learned on how to defeat these creatures.
As it was a few meters away, the creature leaped, its razor sharp claw extended, aiming for Yannick's head and howling an ear splitting cry. Yannick sidestepped to his right, away from the reach of the creature and brought his sword down on it, cutting one of its legs in the process.
The creature let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground, rolling as it could not properly fall back on the ground with one of its front paws missing. It hit a tree in the process and stayed there, writhing in pain and trying to stand up to attack again.
"Great job, mate!" Sean said as he darted his wand towards the fallen beast, "Stupefy!"
"Sean! Don't!" Yannick warned.
But it was too late. The red energy had already left his friend's wand and was speeding towards the creature. It hit it in the middle causing a flash of light and making the it scream. When the light faded, it was still very much alive and concious. The creature looked refreshed, had a new leg where Yannick had cut the previous on off and was readying itself for another attack.
"Uh oh..." Sean let out.
"Sean, do me a favour and get out of here," Yannick said, readying his guard again, "That creature is immune to magic," he added.
"I can't leave you here alone, mate," Sean started.
"Then get some help from the Ministry fast and get back here even faster," Yannick said, "Go! I can handle this beast."
"I'm coming right back," Sean said before to disaparate.
Free from having to protect his friend, Yannick focussed entirely on the beast.
It was facing him, apparently startled by the sudden disappearance of its second prey. Yannick could see it was studying him, trying to find a weak point in his defence. The beast snarled, scraping its forepaws in the ground and its tail slashing around, cutting the low grass with its sharp end.
"Beware of the tail of that creature," his teacher had said, "It is more dangerous than its fangs."
As if to prove those words right, the creature leaped at him and the tail came sailing towards his head. Yannick brought his sword to meet it and it stopped it, causing a small shower of sparks fro his sword's blade. The creature's tail seemed to be made of metal, not normal. It continued past him and stopped a few meters away, facing him menacingly again.
Why did I not take my bow again? Yannick cursed himself.
He moved slowly in a circle, facing the creature and trying to bring the fallen tree to his back.
The creature attacked again, this time trying to hit his face with its paws. Yannick blocked the hit again with his sword and gave the creature a swift kick in its exposed belly. It howled in pain but Yannick was not fast enough to pull away his leg and the creature's tail left a small gash on it, causing him to wince at the pain.
It drew blood now, he thought as he readied his guard again, the fight is to the death.
The creature attacked again, barely leaving him time to recover. As he blocked the attack Yannick could feel that it felt more bold from the wound it gave him. He finally managed to get the fallen tree to his back and readied again as the creature attacked ferociously with its tail.
Yannick parried the attack with his sword. The tail hit the blade with force and suddenly, he found himself with half of the blade gone. The tail had cut it away. The creature leapt away evading a kick and let out a small howl of victory.
Alright, I'm in deep trouble now, Yannick thought as he looked at his almost useless sword, and I am never buying Muggle swords again if I get out of this.
The creature attacked again, apparently intent on finishing him. Yannick could not parry and jumped to the side to avoid it. He was successful and the creature hit the fallen tree, planting its claws in the bark and leaving long gashes in it. However, Yannick let out a muffled cry of pain when he landed on his wounded leg. Not being able to regain his balance he fell to the ground.
The creature, seeing its prey down leapt at him, its claws extended for the finishing blow. Yannick saw it coming and desperately used his broken sword and arms to fend off the creature. After a struggle where it managed to start cutting through some of his clothes he managed to drive what was left of his blade in the creature's head, catching it under the jaw. Dark blood emerged from the wound and Yannick let go of the sword. The creature staggered back and after letting out a gurgled cry, fell to the ground, dead.
Yannick tried to stand up but his leg would not let him. He managed to lean back on the fallen tree and let out a sigh of relief. That had been a close one. But as he thought that, a growl chilled him to the bone. He looked and saw that a second creature was looking at him, five meters away.
A second one? He thought desperately, I don't even have a weapon to fend it off.
He drew his wand and prepared to cast a shield spell, hoping that the creature's immunity to magic would not render it useless. The creature took his move as an indication to attack and leapt at him. Yannick cast the shield spell but the creature never reached him. It was met in mid-air by Altair, who had arrived on the scene and leapt from behind the fallen tree to protect him.
They fell to the ground and after a short struggle, broke off and faced each other, Altair putting himself between Yannick and the creature and baring his fangs menacingly. The creature seemed hesitant to attack in the face of this new threat. Its moment of hesitation was its undoing as it was attacked from the left by Nimloki, who had arrived at the same time as her mate. The white she-wolf caught the creature at the throat and shook her head powerfully, causing the creature's vertebrae to emit a loud cracking noise and killing it instantly.
Yannick was amazed by her move. He had seen Altair and her hunt several times but each time it had been Altair who had made the kill. Nimloki had always seemed to him as shirking away from killing. Tonight it seemed that she had changed her way of acting, or was it only because of the creature's origin? He could only speculate.
Seeing that the danger was gone Altair came to him and started nuzzling him and evidently checking for wounds. The black wolf soon spotted the gash on his leg and emitted a small whine, promptly starting to lick the wound clean.
"Thanks Altair," Yannick said, petting the wolf, "If you and Nimloki had not arrived I would be toast right now."
The wolf snorted but continued to lick the wound clean, as if cleaning a young pup. Yannick smiled and took hold of his wand agin.
"Here, let me help you," he said to Altair.
The wolf looked at him and Yannick waved his wand to his wound, uttering a spell in Elven. The blood stopped flowing out and the wound was fully cleaned. Waving his wand again some white cloth came to cover it so it would not infect itself.
Soon after that he heard people aparating and running through the woods. Sean was the first one to come into the clearing, wand in one hand and a dagger in the other.
"Yannick," he said as he spotted his friend and ran towards him, "You alright mate?"
"I am," Yannick replied with a small smile, "Thanks to Altair and Nimloki. They took care of the second creature."
Several Aurors appeared in the clearing, followed by Kinglsey Shacklebolt who went to join Sean by Yannick.
"So what exactly happened here?" He asked.
"Well Sir," Sean said, "I received an Owl this afternoon from a person who claimed to know things about the recent murders. That person asked to meet me here. I warned Yannick as soon as I got the Owl and asked him to come with me as backup. When we arrived here, we found the body of the person, with his head a few meters away. Shortly after we were attacked by one of the beasts you can see on the floor over there," he added, pointing to one of the bodies.
"What are these beasts?" Shacklebolt asked.
"They are known as bloodsuckers, Sir," Yannick said, "They are dark beasts, actually spawns of dark magic."
"I never heard of those," Sean said.
"I'm certain you have not, they are believed to be extinct," Yannick replied, "But actually there are a few of them left around, but they are supposed to be under close watch. These two for some reason were not."
"How come you know so much about them?" Shacklebolt asked Yannick.
"Well, I learned about them during my stay in France. I even had to fight one that was roaming in the wild," Yannick said, "You see, while they are dangerous animals and are resistant to magic, their blood is a very rare key component for a powerful exotic antidote, But in order for it to be effective, the blood must be taken from a live beast, or one that has not been dead more than a few minutes. These ones are already spoiled by now."
"Interesting," Shacklebolt said, "But if these creatures are supposed to be under watch, how come these two escaped?"
"I have thought a bit about it Sir," Yannick said, "I would say that someone got wind about our informant and sent the beast to kill him. And just in case we would have been here too, he sent two of them."
"Do you have an idea who it could be?"
"Right now, no," Yannick replied, "But I am sure that…"
"Alright everyone," a voice said from the clearing, "This scene is under our jurisdiction now so nobody leaves until we give him clearance."
"Who the hex warned those guys?" Sean muttered between his teeth, looking desperately to the sky.
Standing in the clearing now was Florian Forrester, looking quite pleased with himself. He was surrounded by Aurors that Yannick recognized as being from his department. The plump man spotted the group he formed with Mr Shacklebolt and Sean and walked towards them.
"Everything on this scene is evidence," Forrester said as he walked, "This includes these two wolves. Men? Stun the beasts," he added, to his men.
"What?!?!" Sean burst out.
Altair and Nimloki started growling, baring their teeth and retreated back under the branches of the fallen tree. Yannick was about to say something but Forrester's men did not give him enough time for it, sending spells towards his two companions. Not wasting time he used his power and caused the branches of the tree to move around wildly, catching the spells before they could hit the wolves. He the stood up and walked towards Forrester, who was shocked by what had happened.
"What sort of trickery is this?" He asked in bewilderment.
"I would think twice before you give another stupid order like that one," Yannick said coldly, "Why the hex did you order that?"
"We have a dead man on the scene and two wolves around," Forrester said, trying to regain composure, "The white one has blood on its snout. This is a clear indicator that those two barbarous beasts are the ones that killed that man and…"
He did not finish his sentence, Yannick had punched him in the jaw, sending him to the ground. Forrester tried to bring his wand to bear but found himself staring at the tip of Yannick's own.
"Nick, cool down mate," Sean said behind them.
"Stay away from this Sean," Yannick said, before to turn to Forrester again, "Now listen to me, peas for brain. These two 'barbarous beasts' as you call them just saved my skin. I don't take insults on my companions lightly and if it were not for them, I would be in the same state as the dead man over there, minus my blood," he added fiercely.
Forrester scurried back a little and rose to his feet.
"Now you take your pathetic little crew and get out of this place," Yannick spat.
"You cannot order me Mr Silverleaf," Forrester started.
"But I can," Mr Shacklebolt's said, coming by Yannick, "And as my team was here first on the scene, we are the ones who will be investigating it. So you are to leave right now and do not try to take any evidence around here with you."
"But…"
"Forrester, you are getting on my nerves," Mr Shacklebolt's cut him, "I suggest you get out of here before I decide to report this incident to the Minister."
Forrester apparently was startled by the coldness in Mr Shacklebolt's voice. He turned and made quick motions with his hand to his men. They disappeared and he followed them after having cast a last dark look at Yannick.
"Thank you for your intervention, Sir," Yannick said to Mr Shacklebolt.
"You are welcome Mr Silverleaf," Shacklebolt replied, "I did not want this to escalate."
"But Forrester is bound to complain about this now," Sean said as he came next to them, "And my bet is that he will do so to Octavius."
"Mr Octavius does not control our department," Shacklebolt said, "He might have influence and be in Mr Stiller's good books, I will not let him interfere with this incident."
"Although I am sure he will try," Yannick said, "He has been suddenly most interested in the murder case. And I am getting to think that this hit on the probable informant is tied to it."
"Really?" Shacklebolt asked.
"There are a few coincidences, but I am not sure yet," Yannick said, "I would need to see some people in France before to be fully sure. I do not want to start us on a wrong lead."
"Mate, we do not even have the case anymore," Sean said.
"For now," Shacklebolt said, "Forrester's high display of competence here tonight will be part of my report to the Minister."
"So that means the case could come back to us?" Yannick asked.
"I am not promising anything but I doubt if it would not," Shacklebolt answered, "But it could take a bit of back and forth before it is settled."
"That is good news, Sir," Yannick said.
"Alright, Mr Silverleaf, Shacklebolt said, "I think your work here is done. You leave this scene to Sean and my team and we'll keep you informed. Sean knows where to reach you."
"Yes he does, sir," Yannick said, "Thanks again."
"Don't mention it," Shacklebolt said, "Now get out of here," he added with a grin.
Yannick smiled back and turned towards the tree where Altair an Nimloki were, only to find that they had already gone. Smiling at his companions' insight, he apparated back to London.
Next morning – London
Alex was walking up the path that lead to where she wanted to go in the small cemetery. She had wanted to go there the day before but the weather in the morning had been against it. No one in his right state of mind would go out in that cold rain. The practice of the day had then taken her time fully. She had also wanted to meet with Cynthia and Sean but her friend had told her that Sean had had to go out unexpectedly for something. She had to remember to see them today.
She hugged the bottle of green liquid she was carrying, she had seen that the fir tree by her parent's tombstone was dying. She had tried a few Muggle remedies but it had not helped. Even the two magical ones she had gotten from a former school friend had not helped. The bottle contained what she hoped would help it. It was a present from Yannick in their seventh year. She had forgotten that she had it. IT was a tonic for wood, usually used on wands to keep them from breaking but it could also work on trees and plants, he had told her. Would it help? She hoped so. She kind of liked this little tree. She had planted it soon after the burial and it had grown stronger until this autumn, where some of its green parts had started to go brown.
She turned left to walk the last meters to the grave, feeling sadness filling her. This emotion was always coming back to her, even if it was five years ago now. She did not want to forget either. However, something caught her attention when she came to the grave. It was a red rose, still covered with the morning dew. She picked it up and smelled it. It still smelled sweet, probably a few days old but not much.
She suddenly saw something else that got her to gasp. The fir tree was standing taller than it had a few days ago and the brown patches on on it were gone. It was now of a resplendecent deep green. She went closer to look at it. It was the same tree, no doubt about it, she recognized it easily. But how had it healed by itself like this? The plants near the grave also seemed to be more healthy.
A rose on the grave, the fir tree healing by itself and the rest of the vegetation near looking better as well, these fact sent her mind looking for answers.
"Good morning Miss Dewitt," a familiar voice said, causing her to turn around.
"Good morning Mr Parks," she replied at the man who was standing in the alley, different gardening tools in his hand.
Mr Parks was the Muggle caretaker of the cemetery. She knew him well as he usually talked with her when she came here. He was also taking care of the grave when she was not around. Could it have been his work? But then, what abut the rose?
"Glad to see the fir tree regaining some life," Mr Park said, "I was starting to wonder if I would have to replace it."
"What did you do to it?" Alex asked.
"Me? Absolutely nothing," Mr Park replied, "I was planning on using an old remedy on it in the next days but I now see that it wont need it at all."
"This is a bit odd," Alex said, "I did not do anything either."
"Perhaps the rain of yesterday did it some good," Mr Park replied, "Nature works in many mysterious ways you know. I hardly understand it myself, and I have been taking care of plants for a long while."
"Perhaps you are right," Alex said.
"Well, I need to take care of some dead plants near the Robinsons grave," Mr Park said, "Pity the rain did not help them like the fir tree, but then, they were already dead. Have a nice day Miss Dewitt."
"Same to you Mr Park," she replied, "Oh, I found a rose on my parent's grave when I arrived. Would you know who put it there?"
"Most definitely not myself," Mr Park replied, "There was a person who came in yesterday. I can't recall having seen him before but it was raining and he had his hood up. A young man. Asked me if the cemetery was open."
"A young man?" Alex asked.
"Yes," Mr Park replied, "Nice manners but I did not recognize him. Brown hair and green eyes. He had a slight accent, don't know from where. Never saw him leave either, but then, I was not in my office all the time."
"Really?" Alex asked.
"Yes, curious things happen sometimes, don't they?" Mr Park replied, "Do pass by before you leave," he added before to walk down the small alley, leaving a very confused Alex rooted on the spot.
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() This is actually a quote of Obelix in the cartoon, Asterix in Britain. I translated it from the French version and felt it was appropriate to the setting of this chapter.