The Magical War Detective I: The New Protector
Chapter Four: The Importance of Meeting Earnest
Part II
Alice finally found a small flat next door to Wingfield and Perry's Apothecary shop. It was not much, but it was neat, clean, and quiet so she did not have to use many sound-proofing charms. Alice had always been heavy handed with those charms; they came out too strongly and tended to muffle the sounds within the room. Her schoolmates had not been pleased when they overslept after not hearing their alarms.
Her first evening in her new home, Alice was surprised to find a package waiting for her. Inside was a copy of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. A note tucked inside the book suggested she Floo to a certain London pub for dinner. Remembering Dumbledore's cryptic words to her in the Ministry about Oscar Wilde, she made plans for an evening in London.
Two days after the fire, the specialist Andrew brought in confirmed that Adams was indeed a victim of the Killing Curse. After the Healer's grisly report, Alice was relieved to have her mysterious London dinner date to distract her.
She found a man seated in the pub reading The Importance of Being Earnest. When he saw her approach, he gestured for her to take a seat at his table.
"You may call me Earnest. I'm not a fan of the Daily Prophet, I far prefer the works of Oscar Wilde," he said as he set the book aside.
"You must be the person Dumbledore mentioned," Alice said.
"Perhaps," he said vaguely.
Alice sighed. "I suppose being involved with Dumbledore leads to obfuscating speech patterns."
"Perhaps," he smiled. Alice noticed absently that he had a nice smile.
"For all I know there could be Polyjuice Potion in that glass and you're really a witch," she said. He was a handsome man with sandy hair that looked as though it might be blond in the summers and kind blue eyes. He had the look of a pureblood about him, but his familiarity with Muggle authors hinted at a Muggle strain.
"Its seems blatant you never seen Polyjuice Potion. This is a martini - stirred not shaken." He seemed to find something in that statement amusing, but Alice found it merely puzzling. "But I could have taken Polyjuice Potion before you arrived. A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal."
Alice decided to cut to the chase. "Why did you want to see me? Who are you really? Who do you work for?"
He studied her over the rim of his glass for a moment. "My name is unimportant. I work for Dumbledore as you already guessed; feel free to contact him if you have any doubts. As for why I want to see you... the fire destroyed any evidence left when the unfortunate Mr. Adams was murdered. You are the only witness. What did you see?"
Alice stared at the man in disbelief; he expected her to trust him? As he met her gaze, she found her reluctance to speak of what she had seen wilting.
The words tumbled out before she could stop them. "It was probably the Killing Curse." She remembered seeing Louis Landry in the morgue all too well. "Only odd thing was a black feather stuck in his mouth."
Earnest appeared thoughtful. "A black feather in his mouth?"
"It might have been an Augurey feather," she conjectured. "It was pretty ragged."
The Oscar Wilde enthusiast tapped his chin with a finger. "Peculiar."
"Indeed," Alice said dryly.
Earnest stood and bowed to her. Alice found herself amused by the gesture. "Thank you for the information."
"I wish I could offer more." Where, she wondered, did that sentiment come from?
Earnest paused, his demeanour suddenly one of uncertainty. "There is something else you could do, if you are willing."
"What?"
"You could give me your memory of the event. To be examined in a Pensieve."
The look in his blue eyes was hopeful and Alice found herself nodding her agreement. As it turned out, giving her memory did not hurt. In fact it rather tickled and was over with before she knew it.
Earnest smiled at her. He had a lovely smile. "Good evening, Miss...or should I say, Protector Pevensey. We'll meet again sometime."
Alice watched him disappear around a corner. Protector Pevensey. She liked the way Earnest called her that. She was going to have to get used to that address, but she had plenty of time. It was a wet, cold, evening in London and in the morning there might be news of another death or disappearance, but for the moment the world seemed full of limitless possibilities. She suddenly felt like a schoolgirl giggling over a boy and the sheer silliness of the thought made her laugh. Alice found herself humming under her breath as she took a meandering path in search of a good place to Apparate from.
She ended up outside the Knarl and Griffin, back in St. Peter Port. She had meant to go directly to her new flat, but there was a strange feeling of savage glee about the pub that compelled her to stay. She found out the reason when in answer to a simple question she glimpsed a newspaper headline.
"Aurors are permitted the use the Unforgivables?" Alice said incredulously after reading the headlines. The evening Prophet had to be in error.
The bar man nodded. "About time we started giving Aurors real means to defend themselves."
By killing people? Alice thought, feeling her earlier good cheer replaced by dread. Out of thousands of spells someone would choose to defend themselves with that curse? She noticed Basil at a table nursing a drink but he seemed to be in a foul mood and in truth Alice did not really want so much to discuss the latest revelation as run away from it.
Alice excused herself and went outside where she was sick in the shrubbery. No, this was not about defence. This was about revenge.
She leaned against a wall. The Ministry was fighting with fire now, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named would surely retaliate. She wondered what poor soul would pay the price. She wondered at the cost to the Aurors for using Unforgivables.
"The Killing Curse is the worst of the lot not only because it has only one outcome but because it actually affects the castor's soul..."
The end...and the beginning
Author's Note: This is the end of the first Magical War Detective story, but don't fear: there are other stories planned. Next up is a one-shot entitled Alice in Muggleland, then The Death Eater's Daughter where Alice and Andrew have to investigate the death of a pureblood girl.
"A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal." - Oscar Wilde (of course)