Although Severus persisted in his objections to her going, Evangeline remained steadfast in her course, and three days later found her settling in on Clendenning Island. Magic turned her warm brown hair to ash blond and her green eyes to gray blue. She introduced herself to the house elves, Nipper and Etta, and to Matthew Isley, as Charlotte Mellyn, an artist sent by Dumbledore to occupy the house for awhile.
The house elves accepted this at face value and were simply pleased to have someone to "do for" again. Matthew didn't allow them to even enter his quarters, much less take care of him, as they'd have liked to do.
The cottage was actually a small stone house with two outbuildings, a barn that she could use as a studio if she ever found the time to pursue any artwork, and an old stable complete with two horses, suitable for riding. Matthew occupied an apartment on the upper floor of the stable, while the elves remained in the cottage.
The first thing Evangeline did upon arriving there was to give Matthew a sealed note from Dumbledore. The caretaker had been a bit suspicious at her sudden appearance in their midst, but the note took care of any lingering concern. Amiably, he showed her around the house and grounds, which were actually quite extensive. Their tour ended on the cliffs overlooking the sea and Clendenning Castle.
"He's up to something all right is Mr. "high and mighty" Clendenning. He's been spending a lot of time digging among the ruins on outer island. That's a speck out on the horizon. It contains some very ancient ruins including one to them stone circles. He's looking for something, he is."
Evangeline frowned as she listened to his concerns. "Do you have any idea what he's looking for?"
Matthew shrugged. "Wish I did, but so far I haven't had any luck finding out anything too useful. Alwyn, she's one of the chambermaids there in the castle, she heard him talking to some slick blond guy in black robes one night. Apparently they were looking over maps and old scrolls and kept talking about dragons. It didn't make any sense to her. Didn't make any sense to me, either for that matter."
Evangeline's heart leaped into her throat. "Did the blond guy have a name? Was it Malfoy?"
Matthew shook his head and shrugged. "Might've been…something odd…I'm not sure. Whoever he is, apparently he's a frequent visitor."
It seemed rather important to Evangeline to attain the identity of this mysterious visitor if at all possible. The very last person she wanted to run into was Lucius Malfoy. A few superficial magical changes in appearance wouldn't fool him. Although she'd never admit it to him, she was beginning to think that Severus might have been right, and this job could end up being a bit more dangerous than she'd thought. "Could you ask Alwyn to send you a message the next time this man comes to visit with Mr. Clendenning? It's important that we find out just who he is."
Matthew nodded. "Aye, all right. I'll ask her."
"Have you ever been inside the castle, Matthew?"
He shook his head again. "Never been past the kitchen door, where I meet Alwyn."
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That evening Evangeline closed herself into her room and touched the painting that hung on the wall at the foot of her bed. A few moments later, she came out of a painting on Dumbledore's office wall. As they'd arranged, she found Dumbledore and Snape sitting on opposite sides of Dumbledore's desk waiting for her. After giving Snape a brief kiss, she settled into another chair across the desk from Dumbledore.
"You're right, Albus. Something is up with Victor Clendenning. He's been meeting with someone whose description matches Lucius Malfoy, on a regular basis. He's also conducting a search of ruins on a small island farther out in the bay called outer island. Matthew says that Clendenning and Malfoy, if it's him, have been poring over old scrolls and maps and talking about dragons."
Snape and Dumbledore exchanged puzzled glances. Dumbledore frowned. "Dragons. I wonder what that could mean?"
Evangeline shook her head. "I have no idea, but I doubt if it's a good thing. Do you have any operatives who can transfigure themselves into something with wings? A fly over of outer island sounds like a good first step to me. I asked Matthew to have his contact in the castle, a chambermaid named Alwyn, let him know the next time the man in the black robes comes for a visit. I'll try to determine if it's Malfoy or not."
Dumbledore put out a hand to stifle Snape's automatic protest and looked sternly at her over his glasses. "How could you do that, Evangeline? I don't want you putting yourself in unnecessary danger."
Evangeline shrugged and kept her eyes carefully fastened on the elder wizard. "Don't worry. I'll be careful. I could simply have Alwyn listen more closely for the name and report it to Matthew."
Snape watched her sharply and frowned at her response, stating dryly, "Yes, you could do that, but you have something else in mind, don't you?"
She sighed and blushed as she relented and turned her eyes to his. "Severus, you know me too well. I was thinking of entering the castle and spying on them myself. I've explored the area within the painted world. There are paintings all through the castle. It shouldn't be very difficult to listen in on their conversations."
Before Snape could explode, Dumbledore jumped in. "Could you listen in on their conversations without leaving the safety of the paintings, Evangeline?"
Evangeline hesitated, knowing that this was the weak point of her plan. "No. I'd have to enter the castle itself."
Refusing to be restrained any longer, Snape jumped to his feet and glowered at her. "No! That would be too dangerous! You can't afford to be seen by Malfoy."
Evangeline stood up and faced him trying to plead her case and set his fears at rest. "Severus, I'll be very careful, I promise. This sounds important. We need to discover what they're up to."
Dumbledore decided to intervene before the two of them got too upset. "Evangeline, don't attempt to enter Clendenning Castle at this time. Severus is right. It's too dangerous. Do ask Matthew to have his friend watch and listen for a name, though. I'll have someone fly over outer island in the meantime."
Evangeline sighed and nodded, not quite ready to give up. "All right, Albus. You know, you could send someone on a broom with an invisibility cloak over them. If I had one of those, I'd be perfectly safe entering Clendenning Castle."
Dumbledore smiled at her. "Yes, perhaps you would be, my dear, but I don't have a cloak to give you. So let's proceed the way we've discussed, all right?"
She nodded again. "All right. I'll do as you say."
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Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story so far! It was exciting to put up the first four chapters and get reviews right away. To Ms-Sorceress: I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not familiar with "Bring It On". I was actually thinking, Mission: Impossible, the show, not the movie. : )