Arc II: part VII
A few hours later, Alexa stood in line in front of the charms class and could barely stand on her feet. Her sleep had been shaky lately; because of the strange dreams she kept having recently. The dreams seemed so real and stuck in her mind. In one of her mother's books, she learned how dreams are plural, most often confusing, and a royal road to her unconscious, even if they seem entirely absurd, meaningless, and present as a chain of events with no apparent links.
''However, dreams have meaning and a key to help to understand and interpret them. They are composed of two elements. First, the manifest content, which represents the dreamer's scenario as it appears in the dreamer's memory, is often confusing and absurd for adults. The second element is the latent content, composed of repressed thoughts at the origin of the dream but of which the dreamer is not immediately aware.
The latent content is restituted from the manifest content through the free association of ideas; therefore, the manifest content's meaning. Thus, the manifest content is explicitly about the dream; the latent content is the set of thoughts and desires that seek to become conscious but censored by repression. However, Alexa may have thought about it; she could not find any element in these dreams that could have a link with her, let alone her" repressed desires."
Arrived at charms, Professor Vogts stopped her.
''Acker, the Headmaster asks to see you in his office right now." She said to her before closing the classroom door to start her class.
Alexa stayed staring dumbly at the door. Why would he ask to see her? Her grades have been gradually improving, not that they had been low in September. She slowly climbed the stairs to the last floor, where the headmaster's office was and timidly knocked at the door. Shortly after, a voice invited her in.
She opened the door and stepped for the first time inside the room. It was a large, square room, with bookshelves occupying the entire right wall, facing a big fireplace carved in stonewall, wide enough to allow at least five adults to stand inside. Facing the entrance stood the headmaster's desk, and behind it, a large window allowing an unobstructed view of the Academy's park and the landscape further. However, it was the people present in the room who intrigued Alexa.
Janna and Rea sat near the headmaster's desk, while on the right sat a well-built bald man who had his blue eyes looking coldly at the newcomer. Alexa noticed a silver badge pinned on the man's chest as she walked nervously toward them. On the other hand, the headmaster was an opulent grey-haired man with a trimmed beard. But don't judge a book by its cover. The headmaster Leupolz, even at the age of eighty-five, kept amassing wins in the most prestigious duelling tournaments around the world.
"Miss Acker, thank you for joining us. Please take a seat!" Leupolz said, pointing at an empty chair in front of him, on which Alexa sat without a single look at the other girls nor the ministry man. "Miss Acker, please meet Heir Elsig. An Auror sent by the Ministry of Magic." Leupolz said, nodding at the man present.
Alexa felt some panic take her. What was an Auror doing here? Was he tracking Sirius? Did Sirius got captured while escorting her father? or did Janna and Rea see Sirius with her in the forest and recognize him?
"And, of course, you already know Miss Wiegmann and Miss Rahn," Leupolz added.
"Yes, I do" Alexa said, furtively glancing at the two girls.
"Good...The reason I asked the three of you to come is related to..." Leupolz said before the Auror interrupted him.
"Professor, do you mind if I take it from here?" Elsig asked, then carried without waiting for leupolz's reply. "The Auror office has received reports of two disappearances since October...If at first, we may have considered it as a simple teenager's drama, now we take it quite seriously due to the insecurity created by another matter."
"Sir, what does it have to do with me?" Alexa asked.
"I beg your pardon?" Elsig asked.
"We are not friends" Alexa said, nodding at Janna and Rea."...Nor I was with Kaia and Yuna. I already said it to Frau Neumann when she came asking."
"I don't remember saying that Yuna Maier was one of the two girls missing" Elsig said.
"I just assumed...Because they've been missing for weeks…" Alexa said.
"Rahn and Wiegmann here claim that the last time they've seen Maier, she rushed to the forest to respond to your call, after hearing your voice" Elsig said.
"No! That's not true! The last time I saw her was here, at the Academy!" Alexa said before turning to look darkly at Janna and Rea." Why are you lying?"
"We never said we heard you!" Janna replied meanly.
"I don't hang out with anyone from the Academy outside school! I have no idea where those idiots could be!" Alexa said.
"Idiots...Do you have a particular reason to display such animosity towards those girls?" Elsig asked.
"What?! No!" Alexa said.
"Are you sure? Some students told me some stories about you. More precisely, you, often having problems with them..." Elsig said, smiling.
"What kind of problems?" Leupolz asked, looking darkly at Janna and Rea, who stared at their knees.
Janna cleared her throat." Whoever told you that lied. Alexa and the four of us get along very well."
"Janna is telling the truth, sir! Alexa is quite withdrawn, but we sometimes have lunch together...I'm sure even if she doesn't show it, she worries about Kaia and Yuna." Rea said, raising an eyebrow at Alexa.
"Really?...Alright then...One last thing, Miss Acker. Some villagers confirmed to me having seen you go every afternoon to the forest and only come back shortly before night." Elsig said.
"Our students are encouraged to collect the ingredients they need in the forest. They're also required to complete a herbarium." Leupolz said.
"Just like the headmaster said, I get what I need for class in the forest. But my mom also adopted a dog a few months ago, so after school, I like to take him outside so he can have some exercise and play." Alexa said.
"It's true, sir, we've seen him; in fact, we accompanied her a few times. A German Shepard, an adorable dog" Janna said.
"Of course...He must feel quite confined in your garden, which must cover about a quarter of this Academy's park." Elsig said.
"Where are you going with this Elsig?" Leupolz asked sharply.
"I just noticed a small contradiction and wanted to shed some light on it", Elsig said, taking notes.
"Is there anything you would like to ask, or are you planning to uselessly keep these girls here all day?" Leupolz asked.
"No, I'm nearly done...Just one last thing. Why do you disappear every afternoon at 5.30 pm?" Elsig asked.
" I told you, I walk my dog" Alexa said, anxious.
"Yes, but you see...The German Ministry of Magic, as all the ones around the world, imposes a trace on all minors to detect improper use of magic. The problem is that we can't always detect you..." Elsig said.
"That would mean Miss Acker respects the law," Leupolz said.
"Only, the German Auror office keeps a record of all the wands used in our territory. In the case of wands used by minors, we can also locate precisely where a wand is and, therefore, where its owner is at any time. And both Miss Acker and her wand completely disappear between specific ours, as if hidden behind a ward too strong to be built by a first-year student " Elsig said, looking straight at Alexa, who started sweating.
"That's...Completely illegal! It's a violation of international law! I'm going to seize the ICW and personally inform Dumbledore!" Leupolz said, standing up, looking furiously at Elsig.
"Meanwhile...If Miss Acker could enlighten me about..." Elsig said before Leupolz interrupted him loudly.
"No, she can't...This conversation is over. Elsig, when you asked to talk to three of my students, I was far from imagining you wanted to interrogate them. I remember you that they are underage. Therefore, you can normally not talk to them without their parent's presence. Janna, Rea, please go back to class...As to you, Elsig, you know where the door is ...I won't shake your hand. Alexa, please, stay a moment." Leupolz said, dismissing the Auror waving a hand towards his office's door.
Janna and Rea didn't drag their feet while leaving. Instead, Elsig remained a moment seated, looking darkly at Leupolz before finally standing up. Eventually, he turned his back at them, then headed towards the fireplace and shortly after disappeared amidst green flames under Alexa's surprised eyes, leaving behind him a cloud of ash that landed on the carpet.
The headmaster walked silently around his desk, approached the fireplace and waved his wand to clean the ash from the carpet. Alexa noticed then the banner hanging on the wall above the fireplace. It was dark blue, but what caught Alexa's eyes was the Archway on in...Identical to the one she had seen in the first dream she had a few months earlier. Before she could look at it closer, Leupolz turned to her, smiling in his beard.
"Miss Acker, I sincerely apologize for all this circus" Leupolz said.
"No need to apologize, professor. Actually, I feel safer knowing the Aurors don't let anything to luck" Alexa said.
"I will still address a formal complaint to his hierarchy," Leupolz said, sitting back on his armchair.
"Sir, about what he said earlier...I do not have any idea about where could Yuna and Kaia be. As to why I 'disappear, I can explain..." Alexa said.
"Alexa, I believe you. I also know you told the truth about not being friends with Miss Rahn and Miss Wiegmann." Leupolz said, smiling.
"You do?" Alexa asked.
"I have some knowledge of Legilimency. It consists of penetrating someone's mind to extract an element from it or pass through memories or emotions...But do not be alarmed; I only intercepted your emotions, enough to distinguish between a lie and the truth. So I know when Miss Rahn and Miss Wiegmann said you are friends...They lied." Leupolz said.
"Oh…I imagine that must be a helpful skill " Alexa said.
"I'll also ignore the use of magic outside the Academy...Yes, miss Acker...Your professors talk highly of you, so I looked at your grades. Such progress so fast couldn't possibly be explained only by your assiduity in class." Leupolz said, smiling." Only, I would like you to enlighten me about the nature of your relationship with Miss Rahn and Miss Wiegmann."
"Well, as I said before, we are not friends. We might have had some differences some time ago, but now we ignore each other. We are not in the same year anyway, so we don't have to interact" Alexa said.
"I also noticed how earlier; you all were ready to say whatever that could protect each other" Leupolz said.
"Honestly, I was just trying not to say anything stupid" Alexa said.
"Fair enough...Just keep in mind that my door is always open for my students. So if you need council, do not hesitate to send me a note, and I will receive you here" Leupolz said.
"Thank you sir; I will" Alexa said, smiling politely.
"There is no need to thank me. I was myself a student here, as I was born in a non-magical family" Leupolz said before gold-red flames sparkled above his desk, and a parchment scroll fell on it, interrupting him. Leupolz opened it and quickly read it.
"Alexa, I won't keep you any longer. Thank you for your time, and please, keep in mind that the academy staff and I are at our students' disposal, whatever the matter " Leupolz said smiling.
"Thank you, Professor!" Alexa said, standing up. As she walked towards the door, she stopped a moment when her eyes met the banner again. Hesitate a second before turning back to ask Leupolz. "Sir, what does this banner represent?"
The headmaster looked at the banner. " Are you familiar with the story of our Academy's foundation?" He asked.
"If I'm right, it inspired the Grimm brother's story about Hansel and Gretel..." Alexa said.
"Correct, but you must have guessed that the real story is slightly different to the story you've must have read in muggle books. Do you see that Archway on the banner? A few of them exist around the world, some already discovered and being studied, while others are still to be, holding their secrets. Although we only know what survived through history, historians agree that a long time ago, a mighty wizard discovered their secret and created a powerful artefact capable of resurrecting the dead..."
Alexa didn't hear the end of the headmaster's sentence as green flames erupted from the fireplace, and a slim, tall, silver-haired wizard with a long beard reached down to his waist, stepped out of it and cleaned the carpet with his wand. Leupolz jumped from his armchair and went to greet the newcomer.
"Albus! You shouldn't have bothered!" Leupolz said, smiling.
"Not at All, Thomas!" The man said, shaking Leupolz hand before noticing Alexa." Am I interrupting?"
"Absolutely not! Alexa was about to leave...We will resume our conversation another time Alexa." Leupolz said to her, smiling while conjuring two comfortable armchairs near the fireplace along with a bottle that levitated towards them.
Alexa left the headmaster's office, walked down the two upper floors and headed toward the lower floor when a hand grabbed her and dragged her inside the girl's toilet; then Rea pinned her against the wall while Janna searched her and confiscated her wand.
"What did you two talk about after we left?" Rea asked, slapping her in the face.
"Ouch! Nothing!" Alexa said.
"You're lying!" Janne said, slapping her again.
"Why did he ask you to stay?" Rea asked.
"He knows you lied; he can do some magic mind trick! He wanted me to tell him what's happening between us." Alexa said.
"And?!" Janna asked.
"I told him we're cool now, and he didn't insist! But, he told me if I have any problem, I can just go and see him, so as soon as I walk out from here, I'll go straight..." Alexa said.
If Janna stepped back, Rea punched her so hard in the face that Alexa's head turned to her left so fast her neck hurt, and her tears splashed on the wall.
"You think you scare me?" Rea said, her hand closing on Alexa's throat. " You want me to remind you..."
"Stop!" Janna said, stepping between them, pushing Rea away from Alexa. "There is already an Auror snooping around!"
"He's only here because he knows this bitch is hiding something!" Rea said to Janna.
"No! He suspects the three of us! And who knows what this garbage bag said to Leupolz! Her whining is the last thing we need!" Janna said, facing Rea.
Alexa took advantage of the argument between the two girls, who were not paying attention to her, to try to steal back her want from Janna. Only Rea was faster. She grabbed Alexa by her hair and landed a violent punch her in the guts before throwing her on the cold tiled floor.
"Remember, you asked for this...Here comes a little taste before I shove your wand in your ass!" Rea said before she started battering her with her foot. She crushed her head with the sole of her boot and kicked her violently everywhere Alexa's short arms failed to shield. Rea kept beating the younger girl, lashing out at Alexa, until Janna grabbed Rea by the waist and dragged her back.
"What the fuck Rea!" Janna shouted, holding Rea back as Alexa was sobbing on the floor.
Janna glared at Rea before grabbing Alexa by the hair, pulled her up on her feet before dragging her out of the toilet, then forced her inside an empty classroom. She pushed Alexa to sit on one of the tables.
"Look at me!" Janna said to Alexa, who was staring at her knees, holding her sides, her face red, as her tears fell on her skirt. She only looked at her when Janna forced her head up.
"I...I...I...Can't... breath." Alexa struggled to say, "I...want...mom...Please."
Janna gave her a weird look before trying to lift Alexa's jumper, but Alexa stopped her.
"Let me see!" Janna ordered.
Janna finally lifted her jumper and gasped as she saw a large darkish blue stain extending on Alexa's right side, from her breast to her hip. Janna slowly lowered Alexa's jumper and said to her. "Listen to me...Don't move from here! I'll be back in one minute! I swear if you leave this classroom...Stay here!" Janna said before hastily leaving the room.
Alexa could only obey; it wasn't only that every single move made her feel as if all her bones were in bits, but fear. Not only the fear of leaving the room and meeting Rea again or seeing her entering the classroom to keep battering her but also how difficult she found it to breathe. The air she inhaled burned her throat, and only a tiny part seemed to reach her lungs. She couldn't say how much time she had remained alone in that classroom, but as she felt her eyes close, Alexa thoughts went to her parents. She was tired of lying; she wanted to leave the Academy, snap her wand and go back to Hamburg.
Janna came back the moment Alexa started slipping from the table; she quickly slammed the classroom's door behind her and rushed to hold her. She forced Alexa to take off her jumper, shirt and underwear and pointed her wand at Alexa's side. Shortly after, Alexa felt the pain in her side slowly, and even if it still cost her, she found it easier to breathe.
"It's going to take some time, but you'll be fine by tomorrow..." Janna whispered." Can you raise your right arm?"
Alexa raised her arm slowly, wincing as the pain was still there. Then Janna grabbed a big, long tube from her bag and opened it before pressing it to let a generous amount of a green ointment on her right palm. Then, Jenna carefully applied the lotion on Alexa's skin, slowly moving her hand in circles until she extended the cream on all Alexa's right sight. Again, Alexa winced while Janna applied it on her because of the cold and the slight pain she felt. Both girls didn't look at each other the entire time; Alexa's teary eyes turned towards the blackboard while Janna's focused on Alexa's side.
"It's done..." Janna said, cleaning her hand with a tissue, while Alexa hurried to put her clothes back on and hide her small breast." Keep it and make sure you always have some applied, wake up at night to put on some more… Keep using until it's gone," Janna instructed her, putting the tube on the table next to Alexa.
They stayed silent, sitting across each other until Janna broke the silence." Listen..."
"Why?" Alexa asked, who couldn't hold her tears, "What did I ever do to deserve this? I swear I won't tell anybody... I thought I was doing better, that it was behind me, but I'm begging you to stop...I can't stand it anymore."
"Don't be so dramatic," Janna said, sighting.
"Dramatic?!" Alexa asked, glaring at her with her wet reddened eyes. "You made me eat mud! Rea just broke my ribs! And...She...wanted...To rape me with my wand?!"
"She wouldn't...I would have..." Janna said.
"What if you weren't there?!" Alexa asked.
"She wasn't being serious…And I would…" Janna said.
"Would have pushed me in the stairs? Like you did last September? Or emptied my bag in the toilet?" Alexa asked.
"I...I did stop her now, didn't I?" Janna asked.
"BECAUSE SHE WAS GOING TO KILL ME!" Alexa shouted at her before moaning as her side hurt her again.
"You'll have noticed I barely looked at you in the last two months" Janna said.
"Well, you caught up quite well today" Alexa said quietly.
"I just took care of you..." Janna said.
"Yeah, thanks..." Alexa replied, ironically. "So, why? Why did you do all this to me?"
Janna stayed silent, looking straight at the wall, letting a long sigh before answering, "Why would there be a reason? Do my dad need one to beat the shit of my mom and turn to me when he's finished with her?"
Alexa smirked, slowly shaking her head, "So that's how it works…It's this simple... I'm no more than a septic tank for your own shit!" Alexa said, slipping from the table to the floor before heading to the classroom door.
As her hand reached to the handle, she heard Janna say to her " Without my help, they would have found you dead in the toilet tomorrow! If you go to Leupolz, keep in mind that you owe me this"
Alexa smirked and said, her back turned at Janna." You could at least blush" Before leaving the classroom, slamming the door behind her.
Alexa went back to charms, spent what was left of the day's classes looking absently at her books, skipped lunch and returned home. Once inside her home, she limped through the dark until she reached the stairs. She was relieved that neither her mother nor Sirius were back home. She climbed the stairs, leaning at the stairs guard and went straight to the bathroom. She stripped naked and climbed on the stool under the sink to inspect her body in the mirror.
She caressed her reddened cheek, where Rea and Janna had slapped her earlier. Alexa raised her arm and slightly turned her hips to look at her side. She could see the effect of the ointment Janna had applied on her starting to do its effect, as the dark blueish was now light yellow. Alexa grabbed the lotion Janna had given her and laid another generous amount on her side, then hesitated a moment before adding a little more on her cheeks before putting on her pyjamas. She cleaned the bathroom from every clue her mother could find and went to her room to get in her bed to curl under the blankets.
Mrs Aker came back later in the early evening and fused around the kitchen cooking dinner. At the same time, she talked happily about her day to Alexa, who was lying down on the living room sofa, wrapped in a blanket near the fireplace, reading her DADA book, trying to catch up with the chapter she had missed while spacing out during the afternoon classes. She had stopped paying attention to her mother as soon as she was informed that her dad had arrived safely.
After a moment without receiving any comment from her daughter, Mrs Acker appeared on the kitchen's door frame, looking curiously at her while cleaning her hands.
"I'm sorry, mom, did you say something?" Alexa said, raising her eyes from her book.
"Yes...I was asking about Padfoot; I didn't see him around today." Mrs Acker asked, looking around.
"Oh, neither did I..." Alexa said, also intrigued, as Sirius said he would be back as soon as her dad would reach his destination, which happened hours ago, "I don't know, he might be chasing squirrels outside, or in the forest..."
"Squirrels? In the middle of January?" Mrs Acker asked.
"I don't know...I'll go look for him," Alexa said before leaving her book on the coffee table.
Hello guys! Thank you for reading, and please review!