Chapter 10 - The Quill
"This way," Penelope directed from the door of her flat. "And grab that bottle of wine." Percy grinned and followed her down the back steps and into the garden.
"Miss Clearwater, you are up to something," he said, almost tripping over the bottom step in his hurry.
"What makes you think that?" she smiled back, ducking into a door underneath the staircase. Percy followed her into total blackness.
"Pen? What are you doing? Are you sure it's okay for us to be in here?"
"We must gage the level of risk with the corresponding benefits, Mr. Weasley." Penelope lit her wand and appeared beneath his nose. " Do you remember who told me that?"
Percy pursed his lips. "It wouldn't have been me, now, would it?"
"Right-o, Head Boy," she giggled.
The garage below Penelope's flat was slowly lit by a few small lanterns. Percy could see a collection of wizarding junk: a stack of old cauldrons; a spinning wheel; and in the center, a red Austin-Healy convertible.
"Penelope, you aren't thinking we're going to go driving in Healer Covey's car?" Percy said slowly. "Because that would be..."
"No don't be ridiculous," Penelope reached in and ran her hand along the creamy leather seats. "I just thought we could, well, I thought maybe we could just sit in it a while."
"Why?" Percy looked incredulous. "Why do you want to sit in a dark cold garage when we could be upstairs in your flat where there's a fire and a bed and a loo?"
"Come on, Percy. I'm so sick of that flat. We never go anywhere. For months we just sit together on Friday nights in that flat."
Percy stiffened, "I thought you liked being alone together in your flat."
"Of course I do," Penelope wrapped her arms around his waist. "It's just that...oh Percy don't you ever want to go and do things together? Just the two of us? Sometimes I wish we could go to a pub or go dancing or to a concert or a museum or just something."
He pulled himself free but kept hold of her hand. "I didn't know you were feeling this way. Penny, you know that it would be too dangerous to..."
"I know, I know, so that was why I thought maybe tonight we could do something just a tiny bit different. Maybe we could just pretend we were going somewhere even if we really weren't." Penelope opened the door of the convertible. "Care to drive, Mr. Weasley?"
Carefully placing the bottle of wine beside the console, Percy slid into the driver's seat. He ran his hands along the steering wheel and a grin spread across his face. "What do you think Fred and George would think if they could see me in a car like this?"
"They'd be crazy with jealousy," Penelope laughed as she ran around to the passenger's seat.
"Alright then Miss Clearwater, where would you like to go on our pretend excursion?"
Penelope settled herself and got a dreamy sort of look. "Well, perhaps we could pretend we've spent the day driving in the country and we got the car stuck in a mud hole on a little country lane. So you got out to push the car while I steered and…"
"Excuse me, Miss Clearwater," Percy interrupted as he uncorked the bottle of wine and filled a magical glass, "but don't you think I am a powerful enough wizard that I could magic a car out of a mud hole?"
Penelope swirled the wine in her glass and took a delicate sip. "Your ego is spoiling the fun, Mr. Weasley...now as I was saying, you pushed and pushed on the car and then after all that strenuous exertion and, of course, being slightly dirty from the mud..."
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Slightly dirty?"
"Just slightly...we thought it best to rest in a nearby pasture. Fortunately," Penelope sniffed dramatically. "I had prepared an absolutely delicious picnic lunch…"
"This is pretending," Percy muttered into his wine.
"…and we found a lovely spot under a large oak tree where we could enjoy our picnic and watch the cows graze on a distant hill. Then with our bodies rejuvenated from my delicious lunch we made love in shade of the oak tree."
"What?" Percy snorted and looked over the top of his glasses.
"Well why not?"
"In the middle of the day? With a bunch of cows and cow paddies everywhere?"
"There are no cow paddies in my pretend cow pasture, Mr. Weasley."
"Oh, I see..." Percy poured more wine into her glass. "Please continue, Miss Clearwater. I'm finding this 'pretending' increasingly fascinating."
"Well, after that, we fell asleep in each other's arms and when we woke we found that night had fallen."
"That's a rather long nap, don't you think?"
Her eyes widened. "We were really really tired…So, we hurried back to our convertible which you drove to the top of a hill and there we stopped to just look at the stars and talk."
Percy nodded, "And that's where we are right now?"
"Yes Mr. Weasley, that's exactly where we are."
Percy paused and looked around the garage. "Here, hold my glass." He jumped out of the car and headed for an small barrel in the corner.
"What are you doing?" Penelope asked as he reached inside the barrel and then hurried back.
"Hold on now, just watch." Percy rubbed his hands together quickly about five or six times and then tossed a pale powder up into the air.
Penelope gasped as a sparkling dust floated up. "Oh Percy, you made the stars!"
"Just 'pretend' stars. One of the many uses of Floo powder. We used to get into such trouble for wasting it like that when we were kids. But Healer Covey's got a year's supply over in the corner."
"Why would he have a barrel of Floo powder?" Penelope asked as they leaned their seats back to watch the tiny sparkles.
"Don't you know? That's what fuels magical cars. You don't think this thing runs on regular petrol do you?
Penelope laughed, "I never thought about that. I'm always learning something new from you, Mr. Weasley."
Percy smiled and then turned to watch her starring up at the ceiling of the garage. The light flickers were quickly disappearing above her. "So tell me the truth, Pen. How was your week?"
She sighed and the girlish glow drained away, "It was tough. I've made a pretty hard decision. I'm closing the Manor."
"What?" Percy scrambled up on his elbow. "Penny, why?"
"Without Grandmother there's really no point in keeping it open anymore. Maybe one day things will be different. But for now, I'm having the furniture covered and well...shutting it down. The hardest part is that I'm also letting all the staff go."
"What about Phillip and Iris?"
"Well, Phillip will stay on and take care of the grounds, take care of the cars and do maintenance on the house. He loves that sort of thing. Iris wants to do something different. She told me she wanted to go back to teaching and there is a little nursery school in the village that would be perfect for her. They'll continue to stay in the cottage so we can always go there to visit. But everyone else, the maids and cook. They'll all have to find somewhere else to go."
"It was a wise decision," Percy said firmly. "You and your family have been excellent employers. I'm sure you can give references. You can't worry about those people, Penny."
"Those people? Sweetheart, you don't understand. Some of those people have been working for my family for generations. I can't help but feel responsible for them. Can you imagine what it would feel like to work for something your whole life and then one day to just have everything shut down. As if your work didn't matter. As if you didn't matter."
"You can't think of it like that, Pen. Their work mattered very much to your family and to you." Percy thought about Dobby and Nod and Mr. Crouch. "There are people out there who aren't as generous and kind, as you are. People who use their employees cruelly."
They looked at each other and she reached over to twirl a finger through a curl above his temple. He closed his eyes and she spread her hand through his hair gently pulling at the soft strands. "Now, you pretend," she said.
He opened his eyes and considered her sagely. "Well the first thing I would pretend is that I could make this gear shaft vanish." Reaching up, he pressed a silver knob beside the steering wheel and the gear shaft and console between them disappeared, leaving one long seat.
"How did you know how to do that?" she snickered.
Percy downed the last of his wine, "Because it says 'vanish gear shaft' right there on the dashboard. Apparently, your Healer Covey must be a bit of a man about town."
Penelope giggled as he removed the glass from her hand and firmly guided her down to the soft dusty leather. "Healer Covey is about eighty-five years old."
"Then more power to the old chap." He tucked his arm under his head and began to move his hand warmly over her hips.
Penelope sighed and relaxed against him. "You should pretend something else, Percy. Studies show that it is healthy to talk about our fantasies. It leads to increased intimacy."
Percy surpressed a smile. "My dear Miss Clearwater, have you been reading Witch Weekly Magazine?"
"Umm…mm hmm."
"Aah…I see." His nose brushed against her cheek and wandered toward her ear. "That's an intriguing concept," he whispered, "however I remain dubious that your theory is universally appropriate."
"And do you propose a counter theory, Mr. Weasley?"
"No," he replied, his breath teasing her with the taste of the wine. "I propose a demonstration."
She closed her eyes and gripped the leather seat.
Meeting with Dobby would be tricky. Grimmauld Place was out of the question. Kreacher would be a risk. Percy knew he couldn't appear at Hogwarts because of Umbridge and the Burrow was being watched. At last he decided on a simple plan. He would send a message to the elf and meet it in the Forbidden Forest.
He Apparated to Hogsmede, then transformed into his owl form behind The Three Broomsticks. There were still patches of white snow on the ground, even though a warm day had turned the road to mud. He was quite happy to be up in the air, sailing over the school grounds.
Hard to believe it had been less than two years since he had been a student here. It felt as far away and distant from his life as the toys and books of his childhood. Students, wrapped in cloaks and scarves chatted in small clusters around the courtyard. A boy and girl were kissing behind the greenhouses. Brooms zoomed around the Quidditch field and a few on-lookers scattered the stands. They were all so happy. Their darkest worry was completing tomorrow's homework assignment.
The forest looked as foreboding from the air as it did from the ground. He whipped through the trees until he came to a little clearing. This was the place. Lighting on the branch of an ancient fir, he waited patiently, surveying the ground below for any sign of movement. At last he saw it. He thought, at first, that it was merely dead leaves moving in the wind but then he saw two huge eyes peek out from behind a tree.
Sweeping down to the center of the clearing, he lighted before the elf and with the fullness of his magic, transformed. The bird body stretched in an orange glow until arms and hands exploded from wings and round glasses sat on a sharp straight nose.
"Hello elf. Thank you for coming."
"Dobby, sir. You are the friend of Professor Dumbledore, sir?"
"Yes, I am."
The elf inched from behind the tree and Percy's jaw dropped. The elf was wearing multiple small knitted caps and multiple pairs of socks, but most striking was the maroon knitted jumper, a smaller version of one he had seen a hundred times.
"Professor Dumbledore said I could meet you here. He said I might help you on an urgent matter."
Percy felt a knot tighten in his stomach. It was as he feared. Dumbledore would not order the elf to help him. This elf was free and now he would have to convince the creature of his purpose.
"Elf…ahem…Dobby…do you understand the return of He Who Must Not Be Named?"
The elf nodded. "The master of my former master."
"Yes. You see Dobby. Your former master has stolen a very powerful magical Quill from Hogwarts and I want to get it back. I am afraid that if we do not return it soon, innocent lives will be destroyed. I have reason to believe that Mr. Malfoy is hiding this Quill in his home and that his new house-elf knows the location. The elf is very young and frightened. Her name is Nod."
Dobby sat on the ground and pulled the maroon sweater up over his nose. Percy suddenly felt very awkward, lording over the small creature who sat huddled in his own mother's wool. Glancing around, he sat down too. Patience was one of his lessons. Not everything came with the speed he desired. Sometimes the only answer was to wait.
The elf rocked thoughtfully, then finally spoke. "Dobby is frightened of the bad wizard and frightened of his old master. But Dobby fears more for the little elf, for she is still bound to the bad master."
Percy nodded. "I understand. But if we cannot return this Quill, many more will be imprisoned by your former master. I am sure of it. I need your help Dobby but it is your choice."
Dobby's huge ears twitched. "I will help you owl wizard, sir. I will be at the old master's house tomorrow evening, sir. Dobby waits at the elf entrance."
Percy nodded and they both rose. "Dobby, may I ask who gave you that sweater?"
"A great and brave wizard," the elf replied. And with a crack, he was gone.
Penelope and Iris walked through the ballroom with their arms around each other. Together they had inspected almost every room, carefully closing all the drapes and checking that the sheets properly covered the furniture.
Iris squeezed her shoulder as they looked up at the dark chandeliers. "I'm proud of you Penny. Your grandmother would have been proud too."
"Do you think the staff will be alright?"
"Oh yes. They'll find other work. I think Cook was ready to retire anyway. You know her daughter just lives in Kinlochard. She can come and visit occasionally."
"That's good. I'll miss her desserts and her homemade marmalade."
"She's made a basket for you to take home," Iris smiled.
Penelope bit her lip and nodded. "Iris, there's one last thing I still have to do."
"I know. You still have to go through your grandmother's suite. Do you want me to help you?"
"Would you mind terribly if I did by myself. I promise I won't take too long."
"Of course not," Iris said as they made their way back into the grand foyer. "Don't worry about the details. You wouldn't believe the instructions your grandmother left in regards to her charities. Take what you would like and I'll have the rest boxed for storage."
Penelope hugged her friend. "Iris, what would I do without you?"
"You'd find another lucky person to be a part of your magical life," she laughed. "I'm going to run down to the village, before Phillip gets too tired of watching Daniel, but I should be back shortly. You take your time, love. And come by the cottage before you leave."
Penelope watched her go and then started up the stairs for her grandmother's private suite. Everything looked exactly as it always did. The walls were a sunny yellow and the carpet was thick and soft under her feet. There were the pictures that Penelope loved and she gently took them down and ran her fingers across them. Her grandmother and grandfather on their wedding day. They looked proud and serious. Her grandfather had tucked his arm around her grandmother as if she were more valuable than all his riches. There was a picture of her family. She could even remember the day it had been taken. She had been kicking a ball in the garden and she remembered bare feet on the grass and lemonade and being happy. She placed the pictures in a box that Iris had left and spent the next hour caught between odd bursts of joy and sadness. In the end she decided to keep three other items. A cane with the head of a swan carved into it's handle, a rose covered tea cup, and the leather-bound book with her grandmother's daily calendar notes. She opened the book and flipped through the pages looking at her grandmother's delicate loopy scrawl. There was a pocket at the back of the book and something was tucked inside. Her hand shaking, Penelope reached in and pulled out a letter. She knew immediately who it was from. The pages where yellowed and the date was unmistakable. It was from her father. The last letter before the crash.
Dear Mother,
We are looking forward to seeing you soon. You will be delighted with the children. Teddy is growing so fast. Pris can barely keep him in clothes that fit. Penny continues to exhibit unusual talents. She is unique but so delightful. I think of Father and wish he could see her. He would be quite proud.
It has been a busy month, as you are aware. I am hopeful that we are seeing a new attitude with the government. I think there is reason for optimism, though Father's concerns do occasionally haunt me.
I have hired a new solicitor who I think can greatly help us. I ran across him here in London. He's young, not long out of school, but his family connections are truly outstanding. He is convinced of certain protections we should place on the company, especially in regards to our wills. Remembering father's last words, I am inclined to agree.
I am setting up an office for him in Glasgow inside the company and having him shut down his other two offices.
Enclosed is his card. Please contact him mother. I think you'll find him charming.
Pris sends her best. We're all looking forward to August. It will be great to be home.
Love to you,
Edmund
Penelope shook the envelope and a small white business card fell out. On it was printed…
Norman Alberic Brown
Solicitor
Offices
London and Hogsmeade
"Hogsmeade?" she whispered. "Oh, I've been a fool."
The night was clear with only a sliver of moon. Percy flew for the sheer freedom of it, working the plan in his mind as he headed south. In his talons he clutched the most important part of the plan, a Portkey sack. He was quite proud of it. All he had to do was get the Quill and Book inside the sack and they would be safely back at Hogwarts. Simple, completely simple. Harry Potter could do it. Bill could do it. Hell, even Ron could do it.
He passed over Stonehenge and saw a few lights from Malfoy Manor across the plain. He wondered what it would have been like to grow up in such a huge and lonesome palace. There was no sign of Dobby and he lighted on a tall iron gate. From this perch he could hear and see the stone steps down into the elf entrance.
He sat alert. It must be almost half past eight. A clatter sounded from the stairwell and the tiny elf, Nod, climbed up and out of the dark, pulling behind it a heaping bag of what appeared to be rubbish. Percy wondered how a creature so small could maneuver something three times her size. Somehow she managed to place the rubbish in a low wire cage near the stair well and it immediately caught fire and began to burn. There was a crack and Dobby appeared next to her by the fire.
"Who is you?" Nod jumped back in shock.
"Dobby, free elf. I bring you greetings from your family in Dover." Dobby bowed low and a number of knitted caps tumbled from his head even as he extended a small seashell toward Nod.
Nod hesitated then reached for the seashell before retreating from Dobby as if he was mad. She quickly held the shell against her forehead where it glowed amber before fading. Her lip trembled as she looked at it, then she dropped it into a pocket on her apron where it disappeared completely. She starred up at Dobby. "Speak then."
"Does your Master keep a magic book and quill in the dungeon of the manor?"
Nods eyes bounced wildly from the door and around the dark garden. "Nod speaks not of any book. Nod spends her days cataloguing Master's wine." She hesitated, then looked up slowly through huge brown lashes. "Nod is small and writes slowly, so she stays behind, do you see?"
Dobby nodded slowly. "Dobby sees."
Nod twisted her ink stained tea towel then went over and placed her hand on the red hot wire around the flaming rubbish can. She let out a little scream then started down the steps.
"Nod wait…" Dobby called rushing to the steps. He took her tiny brown hand and placed his long finger against the burn. Percy could see a smile spread over her face.
"What kind of magic does Dobby know?"
"Free elves can learn new magic," he answered.
Nod wiggled her fingers and disappeared.
Percy flew behind a cone-shaped hedge and transformed. "She didn't tell us anything."
"Nod told Dobby," the elf nodded.
"What? Dobby, do you know where to find the Quill? Please tell me…"
The elf pulled thoughtfully on his nose. "The bad master has the largest collection of magical wines in Britain. It fills much of the dungeon, but not all. Behind the last wine rack is a door into a hidden room. That is where the bad master is making Nod work." Dobby pointed to the steps, "Sir can enter the wine cellar by jumping from the center of the kitchen. The bad master keeps the key on a ribbon just beside the door. Use your wand, owl wizard."Dobby's huge ear twitched. "Dobby must go now, sir." He was gone before Percy could say another word.
Percy stood still in the bushes of Malfoy's garden. He had to find the right moment to slip into the kitchen. He transformed and flew down to the stone steps feeling grateful for the black night and for the silence of his wings. His owl ears could sense the slightest sounds and he waited there, what must have been hours, until he was quite sure the kitchen was completely still. Transforming back, he carefully turned the knob of the child-sized door. It was unlocked. He got down on his hands and knees and crawled inside.
The Malfoy kitchen was empty. A few low torches cast dim light, and the fire in the giant stone fireplace was only glowing embers. Everywhere he turned he saw metal. Copper plates, iron pots, silver knives and candlesticks would have glittered in other light, now they only cast stark shadows.
He moved to the center of the room. There was no trapdoor, no marking on the floor, but this was a wizard trick he knew - fairly common in old wizard homes. Grandmother Prewett had had a jump-down cellar, with an old mattress for a soft landing. He had a bright memory of a Christmas in her house. Bill and Charlie laughing in the kitchen and his grandmother chasing them with a broom."No little boys jumping in the kitchen!" she had called. Uncle Gideon had swept him up and whispered, "Wait till after tea. She'll fall asleep," then carried him triumphantly on his shoulders. Funny, he could remember that house as if it still existed.
He jumped up and felt his feet slide though the liquid floor pushing downward into the cellar below. With a loud click his boots hit stone and he found himself surrounded by shelves as high as the ceiling.
Percy lit his wand and wandered down an aisle. Amazing, almost like the library at Hogwarts but containing bottle after bottle of magical wines. He pulled out a bottle and blew the dust away. A 1922 Gooseberry. Damn Malfoy. This stuff was powerful magical sweetness. As he replaced the bottle he heard a sound that made him freeze. A quiet clicking and what sounded like a rope dragging across the floor. He flattened himself against the side of a shelf and peered cautiously around the corner.
It was the strangest looking guard dog he had ever seen. Much larger than a normal dog and fat with tiny legs. It was walking away from him, its over-long tail was hairless and dragged limply behind it."What is it doing?" he thought. It looked like it was going to run into the wall. And then as the creature turned it s head, the sickening horror came over him. In its confusion its red eyes jerked from side to side. It lowered its nose to the ground and bared sharp ugly teeth. It was a rat and it was trapped here with him in a maze of shelves.
Percy shot a stunning spell and started to run. Stunning the thing would not last long. It was too big. He tried to remember Charlie's words on dangerous creatures. Charlie had never mentioned an engorged rat. He scrambled past shelves. No sound came from behind him and he ran to then end of a corridor only to find it was a dead end with no place to turn.
He shot back down the corridor and turned another corner. Still no sound. If only he could test for dead ends. He fumbled in his pockets - a Galleon, several Sickles and a piece of string. He pulled out the string and clenched it in his fist.
"Extenda Milia," he muttered and the string lengthened a thousand times and floated before him. "Go that way," he ordered. The string nodded then zoomed away down the dark corridor and within a few seconds returned, hovering snake-like in front of his nose. "Okay then, try that way," he pointed. A few more seconds and he felt a quick tug on the end of the string.
He took off, following it. Behind him he heard the rope-like sound of the rat's tail and he knew it had recovered from his stunning. "Go string," he whispered and he was off again, racing past shelves of bottles, no longer concerned about the sound of his boots on the floor.
He made two more turns and then he saw it, more elegant than the regular shelves and encased in glass. Inside were several ancient flasks and cordials marked with strange hieroglyphics. This must be it. The door was behind the cabinet. He held out his wand and skimmed the area around the cabinet for a key. Dobby had said if he used his wand he would find the key beside the cabinet.
A black ribbon with a gold design fluttered at the side. The key must have been attached to this ribbon, but it was missing. He swore under his breath as he heard the scratching of the rats giant toenails and fell to his knees, desperately searching the floor for a key that might have fallen. "Key Revealo," he muttered. The ribbon flew from the side of the cabinet and stretched flat across the stones, the gold design on the black ribbon glittered under his wand. With a rush of clarity he realized. Letters. It wasn't a design, it was a code! The ribbon held a message.
The rat's tail hit a corner of shelf and he heard bottles shake. Think, Percy. Was it a substitution code? In his mind he tried to rearrange the letters, looking for patterns. 'The answer is simple,' he told himself. 'It's always something simple.' He felt his temper rising in frustration. Why hadn't the elf told him how to use the key? What good was all of this if he couldn't use the key? Use your wand, owl wizard. Use your wand. He tapped the ribbon and it rose in the air and began to wrap itself in tight circles around his wand.
He turned his wand sideways as words began to form. P - U - R…
The rat was coming down the aisle, it's teeth bared at him. He couldn't use his wand! The ribbon was still wrapping. E - P - O…He grabbed a bottle from nearby shelf and lobbed it at the rat's head. With a crack, the pungent wine broke open and the rat stumbled…W - E - R…
"Pure Power…Pure Power," he gasped and the door swung open.
Once behind the door he found himself at the top of a dark stairwell that descended into blackness."Lumos," he whispered. The walls were damp rock and the temperature dropped as he descended into blackness. As the stairs ended, he moved into a narrow passageway. What if there was nothing here? A dead end or a trap?
The passage began to widen and ahead he saw a light. A torch hung on a wall next to a door. He reached for the handle and it turned. Inside the room was small, the size of some sort of cell. There was a small desk with stacks of parchment and there in plain sight, the Hogwarts Book and Quill.
The book was not small but it was not as massive as he had feared. In fact, it was smaller than several of his seventh-year text books. On the front, imprinted in gold, it read, A Record of the Magical Living. The Quill was unlike any he had ever seen, slender with one side crystal white and the other jet black. Percy's heart raced. He had done it. Soon he would be back home and the Quill would be safely at Hogwarts. He pulled the Portkey sack from his pocket and reached for the Quill, but it raised itself into the air and the book beside it flipped open, pages ripping by as he watched. The Quill lowered and wrote the date in a clear black ink then, Kevin Gilbert Scott - Norwich. A baby, a new magical baby had just been born. Before he could move, the pages on the book flipped again, backwards this time, to a page quite near the front. The Quill rose and rested on a name, Berte Dorathea Swain - Hexham. The Quill moved backwards across the parchment pulling ink back into itself until the name was erased.
For the first time he understood what was really in the book and he hesitated. The power of what was before him had never seemed so real. But a clicking sound quickly drew his attention.
The door was swinging open.
A/N - Thanks to Zsenya, St. Margarets, ShouldersFree, and wise little Kate for all the help, encouragement, and good advice on this chapter and on writing in general.