Zurich Interlude II continued

Svein led me up the narrow wooden stairs to an attic room at the back of the house. I sensed the wand at once and wondered why he hadn't bothered to conceal it. Were there other wizards in the house? If so, they were surely Voldemort's. Svein seemed too powerful to let Ministry wizards quietly reside under the same roof as him.

Svein's plain room betrayed few signs of his countercultural leanings, except for the Dark Omega poster on the wall and the open closet with all his dark clothes in it. I took it in with wide eyes, all the while trying to determine where the wand might be hidden. In my survey of the room, I discovered a low table covered with a black lace cloth under the window. Svein lit the short black candles in the corners. In their winking light, I saw a photograph at the center. The girl in it had Svein's pale complexion and white-blonde hair. She wore an off-the-shoulder black dress with a skirt of velvet and sheer material. Heavy dark eyeliner framed her eyes, which were blue to Svein's pale gray.

"My twin sister, Sylvi." Svein touched his heart. Brief sorrow flickered across his face.

"What happened to her?" I felt compelled to whisper.

Svein's voice trembled with remembered rage. "Our father was more kin to slime than men, and those he called friends were less than that. They came after my beautiful sister, hurt her until she was out of her mind. She was already so delicate, physically, and especially mentally. On her best days, she was somber and soft-spoken. She never smiled except at me. The day she ended her life, part of me died with her."

I swallowed. "I'm sorry." And I was.

"Her pain is still my pain. You see, beneath these colors..." Svein pushed back his ornate sleeve. Scars of every size and shape covered his forearm, circles and slashes, long and short. "Sylvi is the reason I left my home in Norway. I followed the Dark Omegas for years, lived in hostels when I could and nowhere at all when I couldn't. I was never alone. My companions were all different like me. With them, I found acceptance. Eventually here in Zurich, I met Fritz and acquired my current home. But enough about me."

My senses prickled in warning.

"You have the gift," Svein declared. He sat on the edge of the bed and pointed at the space beside him.

"How do you mean?"

"Magic. Abilities ordinary humans lack. I sensed it when I saw you at the concert. But how much do you know about it?"

I'd figured a conversation like this would come up, so I'd made up a little backstory for myself. "I've always known I was different..." Brilliant. Could it get any more clichéd? On the other hand, I sounded exactly how I imagined a young airhead, dazzled by the experienced man of the world, would.

Svein nodded in all the right places as I chattered away. As I went through the shallow details of Nina's life, I had an idea of how to work the wand into the conversation. "I've always been good at perceiving magical things and people around me. That's what drew me to the Dark Omegas, and to you."

"Intuition. Very good." Svein nodded.

"It feels good to be around the power. It's..." I groped for the words. It was a warning of how tired I was, this struggle for the word I wanted.

"Intoxicating." Svein's eyes were becoming rather too piercing and focused for my comfort. I hoped I could divert his attention soon.

"You stood out among all the others." I lowered my voice due to my growing unease at Svein's scrutiny. I hoped he would interpret it as shyness in the face of attraction. "I can still sense your strength. But there is something else in here giving off great power."

Svein thought for a minute, then retrieved his wand from atop his desk. I felt foolish for not noticing it before. On the other hand, maybe he'd laid a concealing spell over it. It looked just like its description: a slender stick of wood so dark it was almost black, just over a foot long. The white crystal mounted atop it shared a similar frosty hue to the braid winding around the smooth length. I'd barely uttered a syllable of admiration when the white-haired man brought the wand to my throat and held it there as though it were a knife.

"What are you doing?" I managed a nervous giggle. Dread beat at my temples; if this were Svein's idea of foreplay, I was in way over my head. How far should I let this go? I wondered. Even now, I had no idea of William's whereabouts. He could be crouched in a tree watching the attic window (I actually couldn't remember if there were trees outside. So much for observation as Intelligence's primary tool) or scowling in a bar downtown. Would he do that as payback for the dress? In my heart of hearts, I didn't believe that, but in this increasingly grim situation, doubt began to creep in.

Svein's other hand closed around both of mine, tightened so I yelped in pain. "I know you're lying." I prayed he didn't break any fingers; he surely had the strength. "I know you're one of them. Those Ministry dogs who want to subjugate by weakening our bloodlines and take away our ability to resist! Well I won't let that happen!"

Svein forced me onto my back, moving his wand in spell gestures I could not follow. A sound like shattering glass rang in my ears. It was not William bursting through the window to my rescue, but the warning that my Transfiguration had been broken.

Svein stepped back and appraised the rags I had brought from Cyrena's closet. Why buy a dress when you can transfigure, right? And I could have needed any number of other disguises.

I tried to wriggle off the bed, but Svein had bound me fast to the mattress. Sweat tickled the edge of my forehead. This guy was good! I hadn't perceived this binding spell or the one that had decimated my Transfiguration, let alone been able to counter them. Maybe the Dark Forces taught variations on incantations for that very reason.

"Svein, please! Let me up. What's going on?" I pleaded, despite knowing the situation was irrecoverable.

"I know your thoughts," Svein murmured. "I know everyone's thoughts when they are strong enough. They are like shouts I hear in the next room. I'm not just a guard anymore. I'm an Inquisitor. And you, Hermione Granger, are going to tell me everything you know."

"I know that Voldemort is evil!" I protested, a last-ditch effort. "He's killed innocent people, uprooted countless lives!"

Svein cut in. "Voldemort said so long as the Ministry stands, people like my father will go unpunished. Voldemort and his people have been friend and family to me. They began by giving back a measure of the pain Father and his friends inflicted. They told me Sylvi and I were not freaks, that our magic was, in fact, a gift. A gift, can you imagine that? After Father imprisoned us like little criminals, afraid to bring us into the world? Beatings build character. That's what he always said. So, Hermione." Svein spat my name. "Let's see what character lies beneath this Nina facade."

The crystal atop Svein's wand glinted fitful green. As he brought it closer, the hairs on my arm stood up, compelled toward its electrical charge.

I kept my eyes wide, focused on him. I had to seem utterly helpless and in his power. Svein's eyes were bottomless mist, locked with mine. I sensed his need to dominate and overpower even before his torture took effect. From insight's whisper in my mind, I knew my captor believed he had won, that I would offer no resistance.

Svein leaned one hand on the bed, holding the wand with the other. His arm did not give off warmth as William's did; it was cool like a smooth stone in the shade. This proximity was his mistake. I moved my fingers, reached for all I was worth, out to his spider bracelet. Wrapping my hand around it, I used Influence to change myself to Sylvi in his eyes, thanking almighty Merlin that her photograph had been so striking.

"Sylvi!" Svein's wand clattered to the floor. "I've looked for you so long...the séances, the drugs. And now you've come!"

I couldn't say anything. I didn't dare for fear of breaking the spell. I had only expected to distract Svein briefly.

Tears trembled at the edges of Svein's eyes. "Sylvi, my dear. I've missed your voice, but I've missed your silence more. You were always so quiet. But to know your heart, I just had to look in your eyes."

The pressure from Svein's binding spell had dissipated. I sat up and composed myself demurely the way I hoped Sylvi would: crossed ankles, straight back and smoothed my non-existent black skirts.

"Please Sylvi...there is something I must tell you." Svein seized my hand, which was a relief because it let me slip the spider bracelet from his wrist to mine. Of course, it was possible he wouldn't see through the spell anyway, his pain and desire to see Sylvi were so palpable.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you..." Svein's voice cracked from emotion. "From Father and those men, the things they did to you. If only you could've known our Great Lord, my sister. Through him, I have the strength I didn't then..."

I almost felt bad searching the room for something to give me an advantage over Svein. Almost.

"I think of you every day," Svein went on. "Of the new world Lord Voldemort is guiding us in building for our people. You could have been happy there."

My gaze settled on the ornate wooden clock sitting on the windowsill. It would be better than the wand, which I was certain would protect its owner; it was a prison wand, after all.

Trying not to give away my haste, I crossed the room.

"Time is short. Is that what you're trying to tell me, Sylvi?" From the pained affection in Svein's voice, you'd never know he was an Inquisitor for Voldemort. I tried to put the revelation of his humanity out of my mind and raised the clock.

"The world means nothing to me without you. I have tried so many times to join you. It is only fitting that you should bring me across that dark threshold. Down with time," Svein whispered just as I brought the dark wood down on his head as hard as I could. He dropped like a stone, blood running from his forehead, giving his scar a renewed, raw quality.

For a few seconds, I just stared at Svein's fallen form. My mind felt hazy, like I was about to join him. I shook myself. That wouldn't do. The spell I'd cast to stay awake must be catching up to me. I had to make sure Svein couldn't follow me, at least right away, and then get away with his wand. But where would I go? The feeling intensified as I took up Svein's wand and cast my own binding spell. I had to sit down several times during the process. When it was complete, I collapsed beside Svein.

I'll just lay here for a minute, I reasoned. Precious seconds were ticking away. The rest wasn't giving me more energy; it was drawing me deeper into lethargy.

My eyes were half-lidded when the window swung open and a dark figure came through. Thoughts of self-defense came to mind and wafted away like the smoke of a snuffed-out candle.

{****}

When I opened my eyes, I discovered I was laying on my back, staring at...myself?

"What happened?" I murmured. How had I come to sleep in this cloud-soft bed the size of a country with a mirrored canopy above? As I became more awake, I realized that William lay beside me, fully clothed atop the bed, his hand in mine. He had a black eye and had several bandages on his arms and shoulders that hadn't been there before. At the sound of my voice, he opened one eye. I wondered if he had been asleep or merely dozing. Had he watched over me all this time? How long had it been?

"I found us a hotel room," William said wryly. "Despite the Dark Omegas and that bankers' convention."

The concert! It all came rushing back to me then: my fight with Svein, clocking him (quite literally), the inescapable consequences of my energy spell.

"Was that you in the window?"

"Yes," William said. "I had a time finding you after the concert. The crowd got between us after you left with Svein. If it weren't for your Influence spell, I wouldn't have found you at all. I assumed the worst and broke into the house. I had to bust up an old man and some other people who looked like they'd been at the concert. They were all wizards."

"What happened to Svein?"

"We fought," William said simply. I knew there was more to it, but I just couldn't press for details now, any more than I could delve into the implications of an entire house filled with Voldemort's followers.

"This place is incredible," I said, impressed despite my subdued tone. It took a minute to take it all in: miles of bed, ornate dressers and vanities that wouldn't look out of place in a palace, the immense fireplace with a sitting area in front of it.

"There's more through those double doors," William said. "The Ministry will be thrilled to have to pay for this."

I managed a weak laugh and pushed myself to a sitting position. As I did, the diamonds on Svein's spider bracelet flashed. Svein wanted to be with his sister, I tried to tell myself. I still felt terrible for my involvement with taking his life. I couldn't escape how human he'd been. Perhaps it was odd, but I had expected something else. I moved my wrist, watching the diamonds twinkle. I would keep it, I decided, to remember the humanity of my enemies. Maybe a time would come when the gap between the Ministry's people and Voldemort's could be bridged.

"We should be on the train back to Sion," I insisted, trying to get up. William gently lowered me back down to the bed.

"I know. But we both need to recover. I've got the room through tomorrow."

"What about the wand?" I realized with a jolt of panic that I couldn't sense it.

"Yes, it's here. I know a little magic, too, you know. I couldn't just leave it unshielded. It'd be like a beacon to every dark wizard in Zurich."

I heaved a sigh of relief. "We'll rest today," I conceded. "But we need to act quickly. Tomorrow night, we'll return to Sion and fulfill our mission."

"Yes," William agreed. "Tomorrow."

With that, I lay back and allowed sleep to work its magic.