Chapter 14 - Mirror Images
Percy's hands balled into tight fists. Peter Pettigrew had taken Penelope. A pure white hate burned in his stomach and it made him see things more clearly. He would work quickly and methodically. He would find Penelope and then he would kill Pettigrew. Kill him and cleanse the world of his filth.
Percy lifted Zelda from the bathroom floor and steered her toward the bed. "Zelda, I need you to tell me everything you can remember, as calmly as you can."
She wiped her face with a wet cloth and took a deep breath. "Alright. I was closing and I went down into the cellar to count the cases of Butterbeer. We have a delivery coming in the morning and I thought we might be running low. I don't know how he got into the cellar. He wasn't there and then all of a sudden he was. He told me not to be afraid that he wasn't going to hurt me and he said he had to see Penelope."
"What did you tell him?" Percy asked.
"I told him to go to bloody hell. That he couldn't see Penelope because she wasn't working tonight. That's when he told me we would have to get her to the Owl's Nest."
"He wanted you to contact her?"
"Yeah. I told him to sod off. I swear, Percy, I did. But that's when he brought up Zoe." Zelda shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself.
"Zoe?"
"My little girl. He knew where she was. He knew she was with my mother. He even knew she was wearing her Puddlemere Quidditch pajamas. He said if I didn't do what he said she would be gone. There was something in the way he talked about her, Percy. I think he was watching her. I didn't know what to do."
Percy nodded and paced. "Zelda, the man's a Death Eater. I'm sure he was watching her. What happened next?"
"He made me send the owl to Penelope telling her I needed to talk. I was praying she would be busy or I thought perhaps if you were with her..."
Percy shut his eyes. "I should have been with her."
"When she sent the owl back, she said she wanted to talk too. She left her address and said to be here at exactly half-past eleven. She said...'if you're late you'll never find me.' The man seemed to love that. He laughed and laughed. I was really frightened."
"How did you get him here?"
"I can't Apparate. I suggested that we fly. I thought I might ditch him, but he wouldn't do it. He said he was good at making Portkeys so he picked up a Butterbeer bottle and did an incantation over it. It took us to the garden outside Penelope's flat."
Zelda's lip trembled and she twisted the bath cloth tightly. "The man, he has this powerful hand. It's not a normal hand. It's metal. He grabbed me with it. I thought he was going to strangle me. But then Penelope opened the door and he hit her with a stunning spell and then drug us both into the bedroom."
"What did Penelope do?" Percy asked hoarsely.
"She was very calm. I was hysterical but she never screamed. She kept talking to this man. He said that she had to come with him...that he...that he..."
"What Zelda?"
"That he needed her blood...a blood signature...he said."
Percy froze, gaping.
"At that point I screamed. The man threw a curse at me and I fell over. I must have hit my head because things went kind of foggy, but I remember that he took her over to the mirror and he told her to look in the mirror. After that I woke up in the bathroom when you were calling Penny's name."
Percy crossed over to the mirror above Penelope's dresser. "He brought her to this mirror?"
"Yes. He told her to look in it carefully. I don't know what she saw, but he was showing her something. It's the last thing I can remember."
Percy frowned. "Well, let's see if we can tell what he was showing her." He pointed his wand at the mirror. "Reverto."
The mirror went black and slowly a red color began to form at the center. Flames. As the picture wavered and came into focus they could hear voices coming from the mirror.
"NO...HE'S ALIVE! HE'S BEEN TAKEN! SOMEONE HAS TAKEN MY BABY!"
It hit him with the clarity of a punch in the stomach. Phillip was holding Iris in the dark. They were in their nightclothes. Flames had engulfed the little caretaker's cottage. Muggle firemen were everywhere. This was what Pettigrew had been showing to Penelope.
"Zelda, the Death Eaters haven't just taken Penelope, they've kidnapped her godson. I'll bet anything it's a ransom."
"Penelope's godson, Daniel?" Zelda asked.
"You know about Daniel?"
"Yes, of course, Penelope has told me all about him. She adores him. She said there wasn't anything she wouldn't do…"
"Where did she tell you all this?"
"Well…at work, of course. You know, we talk about our families and stuff."
Percy nodded. They talked at the Owl's Nest. The place where Pettigrew mysteriously appeared in the cellar. He'd been watching her all along. "Zelda, you stay here just in case Penelope returns. I've got to go try and find her."
Zelda nodded. "Percy, I'm so sorry. If anything has happened to Penelope...it will be my fault."
"No," Percy said grimly. "It will be mine."
Percy's feet hit the ground on the pebble path that lead through the Manor gardens. He could smell smoke and see a glow bleeding through the tall hedges. He set off running, the stones crunching beneath his boots.
The cottage was at the bottom of a small hill surrounded by more trees than the main house and when it came into view he could see it was lost. The firemen seemed to be working to keep the fire away from the trees.
He searched frantically in the dark for Phillip and Iris. He spotted them huddled at the edge of the woods. Iris was clutching a dull grey blanket around her shoulders covering her nightgown. Phillip spotted him first, shot a cautious look at the firemen, then held up his hand for Percy to stop. He pointed toward the greenhouses and Percy nodded, making a sharp right and circling broadly to keep in the shadows.
He reached the glass door of the greenhouse and Iris pulled him inside. "Where's Penelope?"
"I don't know. Someone has taken her. Is Daniel gone?"
"Yes!" she said frantically.
"We woke up to smoke in the house. We ran to the nursery first and this was in Daniel's cot." Phillip thrust a piece of parchment at Percy.
Will return upon condition of business transaction.
The parchment was marked with a Death Eater seal.
Phillip looked at him coldly. "Do you know who has taken my son?"
Percy nodded, his heart in his throat. "Yes."
"Do you know where they have taken my son?"
"No." Percy swallowed and squared his shoulders. "We've got to figure out a way to track them. We'll have to search."
"We don't have time!" Iris moaned. "My watch! Look at my watch! It says that Daniel is in Mortal Peril!"
Percy grabbed her wrist. The watch. The watch he and Penelope had given to them the night they babysat for Daniel. The watch that was like his family clock.
"Iris give me the watch."
She took it off quickly and Percy took it over to a small potting table and laid it flat. Phillip turned a small plant light on it. The single hand was pointing squarely toward the words 'Mortal Peril'.
"I need a piece of parchment," Percy said.
Phillip turned to a small chest in the corner and started fumbling through drawers of tools. "There's not a pad of paper but there's the instructions for the irrigation system."
"That'll work," Percy said unfolding the paper across the potting table and then easily erasing all writing with a quick flick of his wand. He placed the watch on the top of the blank paper and grabbed a trowel. Turning the trowel upside down he began to firmly but gently tap on the glass face of the watch.
Iris gave a startled gasp. "Stop! You're going to break it!"
"That's the idea," Percy said leaning over and carefully prying apart a crack in the glass. "This watch is charmed," he explained. "I've been watching my dad work with charmed objects my whole life. It's part of his work at the Ministry. Are there tweezers around here?"
Phillip turned back to the large tool chest and returned with a pair of tweezers. Percy took them and carefully lifted off the watch hand and placed it on the white paper.
"My dad built my family's clock that is like this watch. I watched him add my little sister's hand when I was five. In every hand there is a hair from our own head. That's how the clock traces us. A part of us is actually inside it."
"Are you saying there is a part of Daniel in this watch?"
"Exactly," Percy said. He stepped back and frowned at the tiny black sliver on the white paper. "I need to check this with my Advanced Charm Text." He swished his wand and a large leather bound book appeared floating in midair. He quickly flipped through the pages as he spoke. "Penelope had saved a lock of Daniel's hair from one of her visits. To put something of a person inside an object is very advanced charming, but it's not terribly uncommon. Wizard artists do it frequently with their paint…people have been known to do it with books, mirrors, even maps."
Iris gaped at him. "Maps? What are you saying, Percy? Can you make a map to Daniel?"
He ran his finger across the page and frowned. "There's two charms. Spirit of Place and Spirit of Person. In theory, Spirit of Person should work."
"In theory?"
"Well it's just that I've never recycled a charm. It's tinkering with magic and I'm not sure…"
"You're wasting time," Phillip said sharply. "You've got to try!"
Percy nodded. "Okay, stand back." He pointed his wand at the paper and took a deep breath. "Loco Persona Trahere"
A beam of light shot from his wand and connected to the tiny watch hand on the paper. The watch hand glowed and then melted into the paper and the single thread of light began to splinter into many threads, reaching the edges, which began to curl and then burst into flame. Quickly, Percy reached out and slammed his hand onto the burning paper. "Damn," he winced. "Don't worry, that was just a first try. Maybe I was a little over-enthusiastic. Let me try to refocus."
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Daniel had pulled at his glasses. He could stack blocks. He babbled words just to hear their sounds. Penelope had rocked him in the chair beside their bed. Could he remember how that looked? He opened his eyes and pointed his wand again. "Loco Persona Trahere."
The beam connected with the paper and this time the splintered lights seemed to move into patterns across the paper and they darkened. Lines formed and connected. Streets. Square shapes seemed to become the outlines of buildings. In the center of the map was the single word 'cold.'
"This is better, right?" Phillip said excitedly. This has got to be some place north. Some place where it is still cold."
Percy shook his head grimly. "This isn't fully charmed. A fully developed charm would allow the map to think on its own."
"You've got to try again."
"Try again, Percy," Iris whispered. "You can do this. Penelope has always said you were powerful. She said you were capable of more than you even realized."
Percy looked at Iris. Strange that he had actually come to care about these Muggles. Care about them like a family.
"Alright, let's try one more thing. This time you are going to need to help me."
"Help you?" Phillip shook his head. "We can't help you with magic."
"Yes, I think you can. Professor McGonagall always said that love feeds magic. This time when I do the spell let's all three hold the wand together. I'll say the spell and you two need to think as hard as you can about Daniel. No matter what flashes into your mind, just keep trying to think about him."
Phillip and Iris looked at each other, then nodded determinedly. He pointed the wand one last time and Iris and Phillip clasped their hands together around it.
"Concentrate," Percy muttered, almost to himself. "Ready, then?"
"LOCO PERSONA TRAHERE"
The power burst forth with such force that the wand was difficult to hold steady. The table began to shake and then the entire room. Dust and dirt were raining down and swirling up. The gold lines moved once more across the paper and they began to move with lightening speed, changing, morphing into deeper detail. The paper lifted in the air glowing, almost dancing with the rhythmic movement of the patterns. Brighter. Faster. He was dizzy inside the spinning lines. And then without warning, it all stopped. And with a quiet buzz, the fluorescent light blinked on.
Iris was still clutching the wand, her eyes closed and her lips moving in a sort of silent prayer. Phillip looked shaken. "Does that happen all the time?"
Percy shook his head. He was breathing too hard to speak.
Iris opened her eyes. "Did it work? Oh please let it have worked!"
He reached out and picked up the paper. "It worked," he whispered.
The paper was now a clear map. Real streets were marked and on the left a lighter ink displayed a river. A single dot was blinking a location.
"This is the Vauxhall area in London," Phillip said. "Look, there's Black Prince Road and Vauxhall Walk. It looks like he's not too far off the river."
"Let's call the police, right now," Iris said. "They can get over there and get him."
"No, they won't find him," Percy said dully.
"What do you mean? It's right here on the map!"
"Because I know this address. It's a magical building that's owned by the Ministry. To Muggle police it would be invisible."
"What? Are you saying Daniel is invisible?"
Percy cringed. He didn't have time to explain what he now knew. That Daniel had been taken to Lucius Malfoy's school. That the Death Eaters intended to rid the world of Muggle-born magical children. That Daniel was in more danger than just being held as ransom for Penelope's fortune and that the man who had trapped him had once eaten bits of apple and sunflower seeds from Percy's own hand.
"I've got to handle this. But I need your help. I need you two to find an owl and get a message to my brother, Bill. Tell him what's happened and where I've gone. He'll find reinforcements."
Iris nodded and then kissed him on the cheek. "Hurry, Percy. I don't know what is happening. But I know that Daniel is cold and that Penelope needs you. Please hurry."
Percy squeezed her hand, stuffed the map in his pocket and disappeared.
Penelope dropped the Portkey Butterbeer bottle that Peter Pettigrew had handed her. She was pretty sure she was still in London. This was some a deserted street in a run-down warehouse area. She could hear cars in the distance, so she guessed a major thoroughfare was not too far away. She looked around and saw that he was now nowhere to be seen. She considered running for help but she knew she was being watched. Daniel must be close by.
She walked a few steps. In front of her was an empty lot. A tall black iron fence separated the pavement from rambling overgrowth. Wild vines had smothered the trees and bushes. As she approached the fence, a gate swung open and the bramble parted, clearing a path.
She wished for her wand. Pettigrew had taken it and she knew she was completely vulnerable without it. But she had to move forward to find Daniel.
As she stepped through the gate she saw that she was walking on what had at one time been a sort of gravel drive and she went only a short distance before she realized that the path led to a large stone building. Vines had crept over every part of it, so it was easy to see how it had been obscured by the iron fence. On closer inspection she could tell that a large section of the building was missing. She remembered Grandmother telling her of the war air raids along river and she wondered if this building had been a victim.
She climbed the steps to the front door and the vines untwined, retreating like curls of smoke. The moon struck a sign above the door.
Vauxhall Children's Asylum
A chill swept over her. This had been an orphanage. She reached for the door and her stomach clenched. Even though it was a warm spring night, the metal was like ice.
She was in an entry hall. "Daniel?" she called. She heard a scampering sound and then a creak. "Pettigrew, where's Daniel?"
A slight breeze lifted her hair and she noticed another door to her right. A pale blue light gleaming around its cracks. She turned toward it and it opened of its own accord.
It was a long and narrow dining hall. A single aisle separated rows of tables. Eight iron chandeliers hung from the ceiling, magically lit with blue flame candles. Tall black windows gaped on either side, the broken panes open to the night.
At the front of the hall a man sat at a single small desk with a candle and an hourglass. He was cloaked in long black robes, and his head hung low, covered by the stiff curls of a ghostly white wig. Penelope was not sure how she was walking, but her legs seemed to move of their own accord. A numbness had crept through her entire body.
"Where is Daniel!" she said.
The man looked up and she froze. Norman Brown.
"You! What are you? Oh God. You bastard. I can't believe I trusted you. You set me up!"
"No…no…Penelope, it's not what you think. Please!" There was a look of panic in his eyes and even though the room was freezing, sweat glistened across his forehead. His eyes jumped nervously.
"Listen to me. First you need to know we don't have much time. Do you see the hourglass? That's how much time we have."
A small pile of sand had gathered at the bottom of the hourglass and it was rapidly increasing in size.
"Time to do what? Where is Daniel? Where is Pettigrew? What the hell do you have to do with this?"
"Pettigrew is here but he's not going to show himself BECAUSE HE'S A NASTY COWARD!" Brown screamed at an empty corner of the room. "He's going to force others to do his dirty work. Daniel's here too, but you don't want to see him. He's in great danger and any move we make…" Brown looked pale and rocked slightly as he spoke. "So let's get down to business."
"NO!" Penelope spat. "I want to see Daniel! How do I know he's really here? What if you've taken him somewhere else?"
Brown groaned and gritted his teeth like a great pain was passing through him. "You don't want to…"
"Don't tell me what I want, Norman! SHOW ME THE BABY!"
From a dark corner a shadow moved forward. It seemed to emerge through the wall, as if it was a part of the building. She felt an icy sting. A dark hooded figure approached. Skeletal decaying flesh held Daniel's little body toward her. He was limp, and ghostly pale, his head dangling backward . The creature drew a long slow breath of death. She gagged. She was on her knees.
She was falling, speed, uncontrollable, the airplane was spinning, there was screaming.
"No…NO…NO…" She could not look again. And mercifully, the figure was gone. She was on all fours. Her forehead touched the dirty wood floor. She looked to the side and she saw them. Rats. There must have been a dozen and they were scampering nervously at the edges of the tables.
She closed her eyes and tried to control the panic. Percy was not here to save her. She had no one. And without her, Daniel had no one. She was alone and she had to fight.
She pulled herself up. "Is he dead?"
Norman had slumped across the table. He seemed to shake himself back to consciousness. "No. He's not dead. But the sand is moving. We have to hurry."
"What do I have to do?"
Norman pushed forward a piece of parchment. "This is a magical legal agreement. It will contractually bind you and Pettigrew by its terms. The Death Eaters want your company. Once they have it, they'll shut down any Wizard to Muggle monetary exchange. With Goblin relations already weak that will be enough to secure them Gringotts and they'll have money to spare to attract wizards to their cause. Anyone in the magical world outside of their circle will be financially bankrupt."
Penelope closed her eyes against his words and Norman continued matter-of-factly. "They plan to resurrect this Muggle orphanage and they'll convince the Wizarding World that separate education is best. Of course, they'll use it to drain the power from the Muggle-borns and half-borns. Hate loves ignorance, you know." He cleared his throat. "That's what will happen if you sign their contract."
"And if I don't sign?"
"They'll take the soul of the baby."
"NO!"
"You have to choose, Penelope."
She looked at him bewildered. "I…I have to have Daniel. I need you to give me the baby back."
Norman nodded and pointed to a quill on the table. "This is a blood quill. You must take it and sign this contract. It is very carefully constructed to read that the moment your name appears on the parchment, Daniel will be safely with his mother. Your blood will secure the transfer of your fortune to the Death Eaters."
Penelope stood very still. Had Norman's eyebrow just raised? Was he trying to tell her something? She looked at the hourglass. The sand was almost all gone.
"If I sign my name Daniel will be safe with Iris?"
"By this contract, yes."
"And Clearwater Enterprises will be gone forever? I'll have nothing?"
He looked at her pointedly. "You'll have hope."
"And how do I know, you haven't betrayed me?"
"You don't."
He nodded toward the blood quill. "Shake before you sign.""Are you mad? I'm not shaking your hand!"
His eyes bore into her. "Penelope, your grandmother would always be gracious in business transactions. Take my hand."
She took his hand. Under the sleeve of his robe he slid his hand farther up her arm. And she felt something warm and wet. Blood was pouring from his wrist covering her own hand now and soaking into the fabric of his robe.
"Norman!"
"Shh…" He squeezed her hand tightly. "Sign, very carefully. The contract states your blood moves the fortune. Once your name appears, Daniel is safe. Hurry now."
She looked at him and picked up the quill. Moving it to her right hand, she coated it in his blood, then leaned forward and signed the parchment. She felt the sting of the Quill as she signed and yet she was not sure where her blood began and his ended.
The moment she lifted the Quill from the parchment she heard a loud 'crack'. The paper rolled itself up and flew across the room and into the silver hand of Peter Pettigrew.
A/N: As always, thank you for your reviews - I wish I could give each of you a huge hug! Love to Zsenya for the beta and St. Maggie for holding my hand through these really hard end chapters.