Chapter 3 is out! One more to go before Hogwarts starts!
Scala ad Caelum
Chapter 3: First Steps
Ronald Weasley POV
Friday 24th December, 1989 (The Burrow, England) - Before lunch
It was the first time Ron realized how orange was his bedroom; like really orange. He was laying down on his bed, and he was bored to death.
His mother had gone with Ginny to visit the Lovegoods for the afternoon, while the twins were in muggle London with a friend of theirs from Hogwarts, Lee Jordyn or something like that. The only ones to be at the Burrow right now were his brother Percy, Gerd, and him.
The Essentia, sharing his mood, had spent the whole afternoon looking at the Chudley Cannons posters which were in his room and asking questions about the sport. "So you are really telling me that a simple game can last for weeks?" She asked. "How crazy is that? You wizards really don't know what to do these days."
"Is not that extreme, Gerd," Ron started to explain. "The game ends when the seeker catches the Snitch, no matter how much time it takes, but usually, games don't last more than a few hours."
This was pretty much the sum up of his day, trying to explain to Gerd why Quidditch was the best thing that the wizards had ever invented, but she couldn't understand how incredible it was that the Chudley Cannons were in a winning streak of two games; were there more incredible things than that?
No one was able to understand why Ron supported the Cannons with so much passion. The truth was that even he didn't know why. It was something which has been inside him since he first saw a game of Quidditch in a real stadium, with all the people cheering their teams.
The Weasley family couldn't afford the price of the tickets to a Quidditch game, but one day, one of the Ministry workers from the same department as Ron's dad gave him some tickets to a game he couldn't attend due to personal issues. That was the first, and the only day, all the Weasley boys saw a real Quidditch game.
Ron would never forget that moment. The game featured the Chudley Cannons versus Puddlemere United, and it was a complete banger from the beginning. The game lasted at least four hours, and the seeker of the Cannons managed to capture the Snitch with an incredible manoeuvre to win the game by just ten points.
"You know?" Gerd started. "Why don't we go to visit your brother Percy? I want to see what he is doing. Among all the people in this house, he is the one I see less."
"If that's what you want," Ron sighed in defeat. "But he is going to be studying. This year he has a lot of subjects, I don't even know how he can live with that many things to study. It's utterly ridiculous."
"You just gave me another reason to visit him, then!" She exclaimed after clapping her little hands. "Let's see if we can make you learn a bit from him; it is about time you take your education seriously. You are attending school in a year and a half!"
"Wow, for a moment I thought that Percy's spirit had possessed you."
But in the end, they both walked out of Ron's bedroom in the direction of Percy's. To be honest, Ron had always wanted to know what Percy saw in studying so hard. It had to be something incredible because otherwise, he wouldn't spend so much time on it; especially when it was something that turned you into the victim of many pranks of the twins.
With the twins out for the whole weekend, he wouldn't find any better chances than this one.
Ron knocked on Percy's bedroom door. "Percy, it's me, Ron," he felt a little stupid saying that since they were the only two Weasleys at the Burrow right now.
Well, Gerd was also there, but no one except Ron knew about her existence. It was very weird having some kind of spirit who only he could see, but Ron really enjoyed her company. He could tell her the things he couldn't or didn't want to tell his brothers and parents; no matter what it was, she would always listen, trying to help and giving good advice to him.
"What do you want?" Percy asked, from the other side of the door. "You can come in, Ron."
That was what he did. Unlike with his other brothers, you had to knock on Percy's door before coming in, otherwise, you would never hear the end of his scolding. Just as Ron had guessed, he was currently sitting in front of his desk, studying. It wasn't a really hard guess; Percy only stopped studying to eat or to attend the family meetings.
"Hey, Percy!" Ron greeted. "Are you still working on that Transfiguration essay?"
Only on the last day, Percy had mentioned he was working on a very important Transfiguration project at least over a hundred times; those were a lot of times, especially when you consider that the only time he talked to the rest of the family was at lunch or at dinner.
His brother had always respected all the authorities—either teachers or ministry officials—and two of the people whom he looked up to the most were Hogwarts' Transfiguration professor, Minerva McGonagall, and Amelia Bones, who was the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
"Of course," he answered. "I'm only halfway through it, but I might add a few things after finishing it. This essay has to be perfect."
"Why is it so special?"
"It isn't," Percy stated. "It is as important as the others, but I'm in my third year now, Ron, and the OWLs are getting closer and closer. I have to be ready for them, it's the only way for me to get a good job in the Ministry."
Oh, yeah, working at the Ministry. That had always been Percy's dream. He was the only one with that ambition; both Charlie and Bill had been eager to leave The Burrow and pursue their dreams in foreign countries, while the twins had always said that in the future, they were going to create their own prank items for a living.
If someone were to ask him, Ron had no idea what he wanted to do; actually, he hadn't even thought about it yet. The future looked like a thing to be so far away that he wouldn't have to worry about it right now.
"I like him a lot, you should be more like him," Gerd said. She had always shown a preference towards Percy among all his brothers. The blue woman was both very alike and very different from Percy at the same time. The Essentia was always telling him to read or to study something before going to Hogwarts, even to the point of being a bit annoying. But she also was much funnier and relaxed; there were very few things that Gerd loved more than playing and messing around with Ron.
"Why do you like studying so much, Percy?" Ron asked with pure curiosity. He had always been wondering that, especially since Gerd shared the same love for learning.
The question made Percy stop writing, finally turning his head towards Ron, who was sitting in his bed. "Why are you asking me that?"
"Well, to be honest, I've been very bored since the twins left for Hogwarts," Ron answered. "Also, I've always wondered what was so interesting about studying that made you so keen on it."
Something sparkled in his eyes. "Really?" He asked. "I've been waiting for ages for this question, Ron! I was starting to think that I was going to be the last Weasley to take his studies seriously."
"Ehh, it was just a question, Percy, you should chill a bit."
"Do you remember the first time you flew with a broom?" Percy ignored him. "That rush you felt when you were in the air? Well, that is what I feel when I learn something new."
"Come on, Percy," Ron laughed aloud; his brother couldn't have done what Ron thought he had, right?. "There is no way you are comparing studying to flying."
"It is for me. Let me use another example, then," Percy argued, not faltering for a second. "Do you remember when you couldn't win against me or Bill in a game of chess? What did you do?"
"Well, I read some books about chess and asked grandpa about some doubts I had."
"What did you get with that?"
"I finally won, it took me a few weeks, but I was able to finally win a game."
"How did you feel when you won?" Percy's barrage of questions went on. "Did you feel good about improving by yourself and doing something you couldn't before?"
"Of course!" Ron exclaimed. "It was the first time I was able to win a game against you, how would I feel?"
"Well, there you have it. That is how I feel whenever I learn something new," Percy stated, looking very proud of himself. "When I can use that knowledge to do something I couldn't before; when all the effort I put into something translates into results; when all the Professors congratulate me."
"Why does it make you so happy?" Ron asked with confusion. "I get what you're saying, but I can't understand what on earth about studying compares with learning how to fly or winning a game of chess for the first time."
Percy sighed with the inquiry; he was really trying to make Ron understand the importance of the studies. "Look, I'm going to tell you something that happened in my first Transfiguration class of the year, okay? Professor McGonagall asked us to transfigurate a match into a needle; can you guess what happened?"
"You made it?"
"Of course not!" Percy almost exclaimed. He often was so distant from them that Ron almost forgot he had the temperament of a Weasley. "Nobody could do it. Professor McGonagall told us she would have been very surprised if someone was able to do it in their first lesson. Transfiguration was one of the hardest branches of magic; we would need a few more lessons before making it. You know what I did?"
"Let me guess, you studied?"
"Yes!" He almost jumped out of his chair. "I studied about the wand movement; about some basic notions about transfiguration and all those kinds of things. Despite all my efforts, I still couldn't make it in the second lesson. That didn't stop me, though. I keep working, and finally, in the third lesson, I was the first one to turn a match into a needle. McGonagall congratulated me in front of the whole class and rewarded Gryffindor with ten points. You can't imagine how happy I was that day." Just before finishing his speech, he asked: "Can you see now why I compared flying and chess with studying?"
Ron took a moment to think about the answer before talking. "More or less, I guess."
"You may don't know it yet, but magic can be used for everything," Percy explained. "Even the twins study a lot, but not for their academic records, unfortunately; they do it because they need to learn new things if they want to do better prank items. The worst of it is that they both are pretty intelligent. If only they used their brain for preparing themselves for their future..."
"Wait a moment. Did you just say that Fred and George study?"
"Of course they do!" Percy confirmed. "They started to take it seriously after their first week of classes, or so I believe. You can't imagine all the possibilities magic gives them to their pranks and crafts."
"Wow, that was something I wasn't expecting to hear," Ron whistled. If even the twins thought studying was necessary to get better at magic, it was because there was no other way. "I can see your point now. Could you lend me some books or notes to give them a look when the holidays are over? I have nothing better to do and I want to try it."
"Of course! Trust me, nothing would make me happier. I was starting to fear that you would turn out like the twins!"
At some moment during the conversation, Gerd must have moved from Ron's side, because she suddenly appeared right above Percy's head, nodding in agreement with his words.
"Unfortunately, I can't give you the books from the first years, because... well, the twins got them," Percy whispered, but Ron already knew it. In The Burrow, almost everything was handed down to the next sibling. "But I must have all my notes from first year somewhere in this room. I know I shouldn't say this, but they are very good; even better than some of the books. If you take it seriously, you can start the first year with a very strong base!"
"Percy you should chill a bit," Ron tried to calm him down. "I'm doing it because I'm bored most of the time here. I don't know if I'm going to like it or not."
"You'll see," he kept going. "You may not like it at first, but trust me, if you try it even if it's just a bit in these two years, you are going to enjoy much more your first year. There are a lot of people who get frustrated because magic can be very difficult to learn at first."
"Thanks, Perce. You may have saved me from many hours of doing nothing."
"It's nothing," he shrugged it off with a wave of his hand. "I'm quite happy that you have decided to follow my steps. I will look for those notes; you'll have them before I'm back at Hogwarts."
"Perfect! That was all for what I came for," Ron thanked him. "You can continue to do what you were doing. I'm quite hungry right now, so I think it's time for me to go."
"Okay, I'll see you at dinner."
After saying goodbye, Ron got out of Percy's room. Damn, I didn't expect him to get so excited, but it was good to see him that happy, to be honest. Percy was the most lonely and reserved of all the Weasley brothers who still lived in the burrows. The twins often mocked him because he spent too much time with his books instead of with the family, and he had almost nothing in common with Ginny.
"It can take so little to make others happy," Gerd said while taking a seat on his shoulder, which was a habit she had developed with the time. Since the Essentia didn't weigh at all Ron didn't mind it. "Now that you have finally decided to take your first steps in the world of magic, I will finally be able to talk to you about interesting things in a few years! Not in the near future, of course; you are still too silly for that."
"Of course the great Gerd would say that since she was born a genius."
"Come on, you don't have to be like that," she smirked. "It is true that I am very intelligent and wise, but don't worry! You can always be the second after me."
"The twins say that Percy is the most insufferable one. I should introduce you to them! I'm sure they will change their opinion."
When Ron finished talking, he found himself in front of the kitchen's door, so it was time to finish the conversation. Gerd didn't want the others to know about her, and Ron didn't really question the Essentia. She had been a good friend since they met at that shady beach in one of his dreams, and it would be such a mess having to explain her existence to his family if his mother suddenly appeared in the kitchen and found him talking to the air.
Ron pushed the door open to get into the kitchen, his mother wasn't there because she had left to do some errands at the Lovegood's, but before going, she had made sure of leaving some sandwiches for him and the twins. Oh please, not again... Ron mentally groaned, after discovering that his sandwich was made of corned beef. Whatever, I would eat anything right now, this will suit.
Alexander Shawn POV
Saturday 1st January, 1990 (Greengrass Manor, England) - After dinner
Like every Christmas or New Year's day, one of the most powerful and wealthy lords from England had organised one of the biggest balls which would be celebrated in the whole year. The previous one, it had been Lord Lucius Malfoy, but this year, the one to hold it was no other but Lord Thomas Greengrass, who probably was the wealthiest lord in England; maybe, he even was among the five or seven richest men in Europe.
These kinds of parties were one of the most anticipated and important events in the pureblood societies every year; especially in England, which had one of the closest pureblood politics in the world. Why was England different when compared with the rest of Europe? What had happened in the past to provoke this?
Well, the War happened.
Most of the world still blamed England for the acts of the dark lord who called himself Lord Voldemort. This dark wizard had damaged England's wizarding society to a point that even in the present, people were afraid to say his name aloud; using the words You-Know-Who when talking about him.
Alex understood them, but he had no problem using his name. After all, he was lucky enough to be born in the last year of his reign of terror, so he didn't remember all the horrors and slaughters he and his followers had done. On top of that, the lasting damage had not been as big in America as it was in his native country.
But what was really damaged after Voldemort's demise, was England's outer politics with the rest of the world. Almost none of the important pureblood families from all over the planet wanted to have any kind of relationship with the British. Only those lesser foreign lords who 'wanted'—even if need was the correct word for their situation—to establish new political, economic, or trading bonds attended to the balls; risking themselves to the critics and margination from others.
The only exception to the rule was the Great House of Shawn.
Alexander had been in England for more than a week now, spending some time with his sister and mother. Since he had nothing better to do, he had decided to attend the ball; after his father ordered him so, that's it. It was a great opportunity to make some connexions that could be helpful in the future; also, he got to spend a few more days with his sister Sophie.
With a quick glance at the entrance, Alex observed the guests were still arriving. Like every other event of this calibre, they had to present their respects to the lords who held the party.
Lord Thomas Greengrass was at the little reception at the entrance of the gigantic ballroom. Standing at his right, was his wife, Anna Greengrass, who was the only daughter of Lord Gustav Larsson; one of the most important and ancient families of the Nordic. She was a very beautiful lady, with fair, blond hair that almost resembled a darker shade of silver. Lady Greengrass was wearing a white, large dress that almost touched the floor, with long sleeves that reached past her elbows, where they met some large white gloves which covered her hands.
Now, standing at his left was the heiress of the family, just as the pureblood etiquette said. Lord Greengrass didn't have any sons, so it was his first daughter, Daphne, who was meeting the arriving guests. Alex was sure that—at least in terms of physical aspect—she was a copy of what her mother had been at the age of nine. The only difference between the two of them was that Daphne's hair was of a darker blond, but they still had the same eyes and face.
Daphne Greengrass was one of the very few important pureblood children who Alex could tolerate, in fact, he could even consider her something close to a friend when the other girls weren't around. Magic was hard to understand, but girls and their antics were far more complicated.
Alexander observed the rest of the big stance.
On the one hand, the lords had already started to divide into little groups, something that was very common in events like this one. There were the lords who wanted to stick with their allies in order to appear stronger of what they really felt, and there were the lords who wanted to implicate themselves with others because they wanted something; either money, influence, or new business opportunities.
On the other hand, there were the heirs and children of those lords, who had to implicate themselves with the heirs from other families at their parents' request. Just what Alex was about to do.
For this ball, he was wearing some classical and formal wizarding robes which were covered by a long cape. He was representing the Great House of Shawn, so his robes had the colours of the family. They were of a light blue with golden ornaments at the end of the sleeves, near the wrists, and near the neck in the form of a clasp for the cape. But most importantly, he wore the shield of his House on his left chest; the golden phoenix with two black swords crossed behind it.
Appearances were something very important to keep.
The boy already had in his mind the group of heirs he was targeting that night. They all were the same age as him, so they used to meet in these types of parties in order to gain some allies for the next few years when they would be attending Hogwarts. Said group had important people, like Draco Malfoy or Daphne Greengrass, and others like Vincent Crabbe or Gregory Goyle who were there because they had to surround themselves with more important people in order to not be the trash of Slytherin.
There we go again, time to stand this Malfoy prick. He was by far the most condescending and egocentric heir he had ever known, and that was something to be proud of. The Great House of Malfoy was the family with the most influence at the British Ministry, and that made the group pivot around Draco. Some of the other kids, like Goyle or Crabbe, were practically Malfoy's slaves and buffoons; but if they were happy with that dynamic, who was Alex to tell them otherwise?
The other members of this little group were Daphne Greengrass, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode.
Since the moment Alex met her for the first time, Pansy had been trying to get Malfoy's attention; trying to be the female leader of the group. But in order to do that, she had to cast Daphne away, and that was something the name Parkinson couldn't do by itself.
Someone who judged people by the first impressions would probably think that Millicent was Goyle and Crabbe's girl version. It was true she wasn't the most charming girl in the world, but she was far more intelligent than those two; even though that wasn't a feat to be proud of. Bulstrode used to be in Pansy's shadow, but she probably was the closest thing to a friend Millicent had in the group.
The bulky girl was the only half-blood member of the little group, and maybe, also in the whole party. Her father, Lord David Bulstrode, had been a very important man of Voldemort's inner circle, but Alex didn't know why; there weren't any reports in the library of his manor that talked about his role in the war. It was his fame that allowed his only daughter to be welcomed in parties where her presence could be considered a grave offence to most of the pureblood lords.
Then, it was Blaise Zabini, the only one who wasn't born in England. Zabini was a peculiar case. He had a lot of wealth and some international influence in Europe thanks to her mother, who had been widowed four times; every single one of them occurring under suspicious circumstances. Everyone was free to think what they wanted, but Alexander could imagine what his mother had done to get all that money and power.
Lastly, there was Theodore Nott. He was a weedy boy with raven-black hair, whose father had been one of the Death Eaters who confessed, in front of the Wizengamot, to be a victim of the Imperius curse. That was utter rubbish. Lord James Nott had been one of the pureblood lords who were part of the Dark Lord's inner circle; according to Alex's father, he loved fighting and killing. In fact, he made a lot of enemies in the war, something that resulted in the death of his wife years after the conflict, when some wizard who fought for the Order of the Phoenix killed Theodore's mother in an act of revenge.
As he got closer to the group, Parkinson was the one to notice him first. The girl got closer to Malfoy and whispered something in his ear, making him turn around in Alex's direction. "Look who we have here," Malfoy smirked. "I thought you would already be back in North America, Shawn."
"Why would I go back so soon?" Alex smiled back. He also knew how to play that game. "It would be such a shame not to attend Lord Greengrass' ball; I do not wish to insult him."
"Yeah, that wouldn't be your wisest move," Nott stated. "I've heard your father rented some of your family's properties to some American lord that wanted to move here, is that true?" Just as Alex's father had predicted, Lord James Nott was going to use his son to inquire about some properties of their family.
"It might be," Alex admitted. "I haven't talked with my father in the last two weeks, but I've heard the same."
"You are not doing a great job as an heir if you don't know that, Alexander," a new voice said. It seemed Daphne had finished welcoming the guests because otherwise, her parents wouldn't have allowed her to join the group. "You disappoint me. I thought the great Alexander Shawn would be more worried about his House's financial state."
To the others, those words might have seemed a bit offensive and mocking—they definitely were—but Alex knew the purpose after them was to tease him a bit; among other things, of course.
Daphne used to do that when there was no one around, but this time it was different. She was using the fact that the others were there to listen to those words, trying to make her presence known and asserting her position within the group. Probably, because in the time Daphne spent with her parents, Pansy Parkinson had been trying to be the girl in charge of the group.
If there is something worse than the lord's game, it's the lady's. But he disliked Parkinson quite a bit, so he decided to let Daphne win the exchange of words. The last thing he wanted to see this evening was a smug Pansy and a frustrated Daphne trying to take over the group.
"Hmpf, as if, Greengrass," Alex huffed. "I've been busy with other things."
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes and turned to look at Zabini. "I've just seen your mother, Blaise. She asked me to find you for her. I think she wants you to meet someone." Those words had a lot of meaning behind them when you considered the fame of Blaise's mother. The real question was who would be crazy enough to have something with Maria Zabini.
Zabini was the name of Blaise's motherly family, each time she got married, she obtained a new surname to add to her collection for a few months, which were the ones from her spouses; like in the past had been with House di Mauro or House Greco. But, after they all died in very strange and peculiar circumstances, she always ended up coming back to her original name.
How did Alex know all this information? Well, he had done some research to complement the information his father provided him. As Elend Shawn used to say: 'It is important to know about your enemies, but the ones you should really know everything about, are your allies'. At least, he couldn't say his son didn't listen to him.
After hearing Daphne's words, Zabini got up from the couch where he was sitting with a sour look. It had to suck meeting a new man courting your mother every year.
"Blaise's mother strikes again, guys," Malfoy laughed out loud, making those gorillas he had for friends to let out a huge guffaw.
That was the dynamic of the group. Draco Malfoy did as he wanted and the others put up with his shit to stay in the loop. This time, it had been Zabini's turn, but every one of them used to mock the others when they weren't able to defend themselves. People like Goyle or Crabbe took it as best as they could because it was their only chance to get involved in the bigger picture.
To those who weren't from pureblood families, this kind of relationship among kids that barely were ten years old must appear to them as something unnatural, but this was the way the heirs and children of the true magical families were raised. They had to learn the politics of the wizarding society even before using any type of magic; everything needed to survive in the Wizarding World.
Today, they weren't kids. They were heirs and heiresses who wanted to make connexions; even though it was very clear this group didn't have any future at all.
But their chemistry was none of Alexander's business. He was here because he wanted to study them for a bit. He needed to spend some time with them first; trying to know more about them by asking some subtle questions.
Unfortunately, his step-brother, Adrien Dorian, had decided to interrupt him; coming out of nowhere. "Alexander, your mother and Lord Greengrass want to talk to you about something important," Adrien said. "You shouldn't make them wait. I think Lord Thomas had some kind of proposal for your father."
Adrien Dorian was the son of Lord Paul Dorian, an important French pureblood lord who married Alex's mother, Athena, when she and his father decided to part ways. He was three years older than him, and he was attending Beauxbatons; even though his father decided to move to England after his second wedding.
From what Sophie told him, Adrien was a good step-brother. He was kind and took care of her; that was the only thing that really mattered to Alex. His relationship with him was nothing but formal. He was a good bloke, even though he was a bit full of himself; but who was he to judge that? Alexander himself had very high self-esteem, or at least, that was what his sister and Daphne thought of him, and they used to be right.
"Well, I think it is time for farewells, guys," Alex said to the group, with evident sarcasm in his voice. "We were having so much fun, but duty is calling me." He did an exaggerated courtesy before walking away, accompanying Adrien to meet his mother.
"You shouldn't act like that around those heirs," the French started to say, looking at him with a disapproving look. "That Malfoy kid wasn't very happy about you stealing his show."
"That is such a shame," Alex told him. "As if I would care about their group. They were the only people around my age that I knew, so I wanted to mess with them a little."
"I'm not sure if your father would have liked to see that attitude from you if he was here, Alex."
"No, he wouldn't," on that, he totally agreed with him. "But he isn't here, and the only reason why I am is because he was so busy with his work that he couldn't send one of his men with a portkey to bring me back. So I don't really care what he thinks about my attitude right now, Adrien."
"Wow," Adrien whistled. "You are a bit moody today."
Alexander didn't want the conversation to keep going, so he just growled in response. He was very moody indeed. The last thing he wanted to do right now was discussing any important matters with Thomas Greengrass and his own mother right now. Despite that, he had a duty as an heir to carry out, so he shut up and put a smile on his face.
It was Lord Greengrass the one to see them first. He acknowledged them with a little nod of his head, inviting them to join the conversation.
"Alexander," his mother greeted as soon as they were close enough. "Lord Greengrass has a very interesting proposal for your father and he wants you to deliver a letter to Elend."
"Your mother is right," Thomas Greengrass nodded. He was a man in his mid-thirties, tall and broad-shouldered. His presence demanded respect, as every good lord should. He had short black hair, with a very neat beard that was freshly cut. He really paid attention to his looks. Some people would have called it vanity, but appearances were very important to the purebloods, and you couldn't say that Thomas Greengrass ignored that.
"I want you to deliver this letter to your lord father," the man continued, with his deep voice and dead eyes, which were looking at Alexander's right now. "I don't trust owls to deliver these kinds of messages, but you must not open this letter. This information is reserved only for your father. Was I clear?"
"Yes, Lord Greengrass," Alex answered. One of the things he hated the most was to be the errand boy for another pureblood lord, but being House Shawn's heir, you just couldn't refuse to deliver an important letter from a man like Lord Thomas Greengrass because of pure pride. "I will have it done in the next few days, but I have to wait for my father to send one of his men with a portkey if I want to be back in the United States."
"Oh, that won't be necessary, Alexander," his mother pipped in. "That man who works for Elend, Nathan was his name? Well, whoever he is, the man is here with the portkey. He is waiting outside for the party to end, so you can get back home this very evening."
It was about damn time. I will be going as the errand boy, but at least, I will be back at home before dawn. Well, I'll rather take that before having to wait two more days here, Alex thought.
"Your father must answer me as soon as he can," Lord Greengrass added. "I hope you will enjoy what's left of the party. It was a pleasure talking to you and your mother, Alexander, but there are more guests that are waiting for me to negotiate some contracts, and I don't want to make them wait for me. It would be my pleasure to invite House Shawn to the next ball organised by House Greengrass. Enjoy what's left of the evening."
Of course I'm going to enjoy it! Is there something better than having to stand Draco Malfoy for a few more hours?
Master Shana POV
Monday 22nd February, 1990 (Tower of Merlin, Greece) - Middle of the day
It had already been three years since Shana joined the Order of Merlin; three years since Isaac the First announced her to replace the deceased Master Rhoblas, the Fifth.
Since that day, she had been Shana the Fifth.
Things in the Order of Merlin were odd, to say the least. They were a group of five masters, but everyone acted individually and followed their own agenda. Each one of them had their own men to do the dirty work, who were only loyal to the ones paying them. The only thing they shared was their ancient tower, where they all lived.
Actually, it was a huge structure that was a compound of six towers made of polished, white marble. Five of them were built to host each Master and their entourage, which were set out in a way they created a huge pentagon that enveloped the highest and mightiest of all the towers.
The real Tower of Merlin.
That was the place where the great and ancient library was placed; where the Five Masters spent most of their time, acquiring more and more knowledge about Magic itself, the Ancient Times, or whatever thing the Master wanted. There was no other place in the world that held as much knowledge and history as the Great Library. There also were great chambers and rooms which allowed the Masters to perform whatever magic or experiments they wanted without having to worry about the others or their men knowing what they were doing.
They were part of the same organization, but each one of the Five Masters did everything by themselves; following their own agendas and ambitions. It was something Shana had learnt the tough way in the past, but since then, she also followed that philosophy. What the other Masters did was something she wasn't aware of, and the same went the other way around, even though the young witch was sure they had way more things to hide than her.
Isaac the First—the leader of the Order—had been working on something very important; at least, that was what she had been told by her sources. But that was everything she had to work with. No one really knew the true intentions behind the Master's action; it didn't matter who she asked or what she did. Despite the secrecy, there were a lot of rumours within the Order about what really was Isaac's ambition.
On the contrary, there was nothing about Xaladir the Second, and that was something that Shana considered extremely suspicious.
Without any doubt, Xaladir was the Master who travelled the most and it wasn't even close. Like Isaac, he was also working on something big, but no one dared to guess about the Second Master's true intentions, and Shana could understand the reason behind it. Xaladir was the type of man who wouldn't have to think twice about making people disappear if they started to spread rumours about him and his projects.
That's why Xaladir the Second was out of Shana's reach, and that was also the reason why she was focusing on Isaac the First. I need to be very cautious; they don't know I'm onto them, the young woman thought. It was no secret that Shana was the weakest member of the Order, and the difference between the power of men like Isaac or Xaladir and hers was huge.
Shana and her magic were special in certain ways, of course; otherwise, Isaac wouldn't have recruited her for the Order of Merlin. But her talents wouldn't make a difference if any of the two Masters caught her investigating them. Isaac would probably let me live, but Xaladir... Shana didn't want to think about that scenario; she would not get into Xaladir's way.
A sudden knock on her big bedroom's door allowed her to push those thoughts away from her mind. "Get in," she said.
The red-haired witch didn't need to ask who was at the other side of the door because she already knew it. Shana had trusted one of her best spies with the task of keeping an eye on Isaac the First's men, and now, it was time for the report.
Jasmine came into the room after receiving Shana's permission. She was a woman in her late forties, and she had a few streaks of grey on her raven-black hair that reached a bit past her shoulders. She was a very short and thin woman, which gave her an air of being very inoffensive, and that was partly true; she wasn't the most talented witch in combat, or the most skilled assassin in Shana's entourage, but she really knew how to go unnoticed, and that was why she had selected her for the task.
"Master Shana, I got new information you should know about," Jasmine started. "There was some American Unspeakable at Isaac's meeting. I've never seen this man before, but even if I had, it would have been impossible for me to recognise him since he was wearing some kind of mask with the form of a crow."
"An American Unspeakable you say?" Shana asked. "You say he was wearing a mask with a crow's form? That's very odd, even for Isaac's associates. The only American Unspeakable who used to be in touch with the Order of Merlin was Lord Elend Shawn, but it was mainly with Master Lawrence, the third."
"It wasn't him, I'm sure of that. I've also sent some of my best men to investigate whatever thing they can at the American Ministry; every little piece of information we gather can lead us to something bigger."
"Yeah, you are right, Jasmine," Shana agreed. "I knew you would be the best for this task. I want you to contact me as soon as you know something new, I don't care how important it is, you will tell me everything; and you will do it here, in my chambers, only here."
She nodded before going out of the room. Jasmine's information had been something that Shana wasn't expecting. What the hell is an Unspeakable doing here? What does Isaac want from him? There were too many things she didn't know, and the worst of it was that Shana was very limited because she was being watched by the men of other Masters. That was why she had to rely on Jasmine and his other followers or mercenaries to do the work, while she just tried to keep up appearances.
Whatever, it is time to meet the old man. Shana had a meeting with Master Lawrence the Third. It was Isaac the one who recruited her, but the old man had been the closest she had to a fatherly figure within the Order.
Master Lawrence was the oldest of the Five Masters. He was an erudite, and he spent most of the time at the Great Library, carrying out many types of research about the history of the wizards and how magic has evolved since the Ancient Times. He wasn't involved in strange and mysterious projects like Isaac or Xaladir; his only purpose seemed to be knowledge, and everyone knew it.
The old Master had summoned her in his own chambers, which were at the top of the third tower, in the outer circle. Shana could go through the fourth tower or through the central one. Since the masters always had their chimneys disconnected from the floo network of the Tower of Merlin, it was walking time. That had also been one of the first things she had learnt; the Masters were always as cautious as they could be.
In the end, she decided to go by the shortest way, which was through the central tower. It didn't matter how many times the witch walked through the corridors of the Tower, she was always left mesmerized by their beauty. As any other part of the structure, they were made of polished marble, but thanks to the very large windows which went through one end of the corridor to another, the habitants of the Tower had an incredible view to the pristine sea.
After a few minutes, Shana was in front of Master Lawrence's chambers. She knocked on the door to announce her arrival, but she didn't wait for a response. The old Master already knew they had a meeting scheduled, and Shana wasn't a big fan of waiting, so she got into the big room without waiting for a response.
Master Lawrence was standing near a big window at the other side of the room, looking through it. "I often forget you aren't the type of woman who likes to wait, even if it is just a few seconds," he commented without turning back to look at her.
He hadn't changed a bit since the day Shana first met him. He was a tall and slender man, a bit stooped over on account of the weight of the years. Both his hair and beard were as white as snow, just as his old eyes had prominent bags under them. Despite his looks, he still had something in his bearing that radiated respect and wisdom.
"You know me well enough, Master," Shana greeted. "If you already know I'm coming, because I'm pretty sure you have someone keeping an eye on my accommodations, I don't see the point in delaying our meeting for a few seconds. We can skip those formalities, Master Lawrence, we are way past that point."
"There it is," the old man smiled. "That is why I prefer you to the others; you are like a breeze of fresh air to this old man. I've had enough formalities for my liking during my time as a Master. Blessed be Isaac for bringing you to the Order."
Shanna rolled her eyes. Lawrence sure liked to ramble about everything being too formal and all those kinds of things. "What do you want, Lawrence? Why have you summoned me here?"
"Jin the Stranger is back at the tower," he told her, as relaxed as if he was making a comment about the weather. "I just thought that it was something you should know."
Well, definitely, it was something Shana should know. Jin the Stranger was Isaac's personal mercenary, assassin, bounty hunter, bodyguard and a lot more things; he was the one to do all the important and dirty work for the First Master. Jin had been out for some months, and that had allowed her to be a bit bolder with her investigation, but now she will have to be very cautious again.
Why had Lawrence summoned Shana just to tell her something she would have noticed in a few hours at worst? Well, this was his way of telling the witch he still wanted her to carry on with the investigation. Lawrence the Third would not risk himself under any circumstances, but knowing what were the plans of the First and Second Masters was a piece of knowledge as important as any new discovery about magic could be.
This old bastard will never change. Why was Shana allowing him to act like this? After all, she was the one risking everything while he just waited for her information to come at him in the safety of his chambers. To be honest, Shana was okay with the situation because it allowed her to have Master Lawrence in debt with her, and it wasn't like she was telling him the whole story the moment she discovered something new. She just gave him some information from here and there in order to keep his interest and to show him that Shana was a very valuable ally to have within the Order.
"Did you know anything about why he was gone for so long?" Shana asked.
"Nothing important at all," Lawrence answered. "From what I've heard, Jin had been travelling around the European continent. Some of my little birds told me he was looking for someone important, but I wouldn't take that for granted."
That was the other reason why Shana wanted to keep Master Lawrence in the loop. He wouldn't risk himself under any circumstances, but the old man had a big—and often reliable—net of informants which went by the name of his little birds. If that information is true, it would also coincide with mine. But who had Jin been looking for? That is the real question. Unfortunately, like every other important question in life, it didn't have an easy answer.
"I see," Shana said to the old master. "I'm very thankful for the information, Master Lawrence. I will contact you as soon as I hear anything new about what Jin has been doing in the past months."
"I wish you good luck, girl. You know where I will be in case you need to contact me."
As soon as he finished the sentence, one of his servants opened the door to let her know the meeting had finished and she was very welcomed to leave. He hasn't mentioned Isaac's meeting with the unspeakable, Shana thought. There is no way he doesn't know it, so he must be playing some of his games once again. He used to do that; hiding information from her to test how good her informants were.
But she also knew how to play that game. He thinks he knows more than me about this new man, eh. He doesn't even know I already have some of my people inside the American Ministry. You shouldn't spend so much time with your books, Lawrence; a lot of things are happening under your nose and you aren't even aware of them.
With those thoughts on her mind, Shana started to walk back to her room. She had to prepare herself for a visit to the American Ministry of Magic.
