4
The station was bustling with life when Daryl stepped off the train. Adults were milling about, minding their own business; some running to catch the train while others were either reading the papers or chatting with an acquaintance. The children, well, are just children and they do what kids usually do; they play. All in all, there was nothing out of the ordinary with the sights, sounds and smell at the crowded train station.
Daryl knitted his eyebrows in confusion as he took in his surroundings. Nothing seems to be out of place there. The train was not gobbling up any humans. Furthermore there were no one dropping dead all of a sudden. Neither the people were in unnatural trance-like states, nor were they under the control of love spells. Everything there seems normal. Why on earth would the ministry send the Unspeakables there?
"Irvyn, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong in this town. Are you sure the ministry got the right place?" Daryl eyed his best friend skeptically, who was currently bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking absolutely gleeful. A sense of foreboding settled onto the pit of his stomach.
"Well of course there isn't anything wrong here. We will be in trouble if there is," replied Irvyn offhandedly. He still had the idiotic grin on his face but his eyes now sported a predatory gleam that only exists when something sweet is near. Very near.
"What? So you mean that the ministry sent us here for nothing?"
"Don't assume things, Dar. The ministry did not send us to Glennmarie town. I just thought that we should stop here before we proceed to Little Pickering." Irvyn fiddled with the mission file in his hands.
"And pray tell why should we waste our time here and not head straight to Little Pickering?"
"Information gathering," Irvyn tossed the file he was holding to his friend. "Perhaps you will understand when you read this."
Daryl scanned through the file that contained a parchment with two sentences that simply read, "Our department has received a report stating that something strange is occurring in Little Pickering, Wales. Please investigate and rectify the problem."
"What kind of mission is this? Didn't your Department Head supply you with more details?" Daryl stared at the piece of paper incredulously.
"Unfortunately, no. Emmeline is a slave driver and she loves handing me one-lined missions. I think it is her past time to watch me suffer." Irvyn laughed as he fidgeted nervously.
"Why Glennmarie Town? How sure are you that you can get information on the situation in Little Pickering here? And don't tell me that you are psychic. I'll hex you."
"This town has good trade relations with Little Pickering. With the amount of merchants going to and fro between the two towns, someone is bound to know something. Besides, if scandalous blather can travel at the speed of light here, how swift do you think an interesting rumour like this can fly?" Irvyn replied with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Your analytical skills never fail to astound me. If only you had put them to good use within the ministry and learn that drugging your fellow colleagues with weird concoctions is not the way to get you promoted, I'm sure you would not have stayed as a lowly staff for five years," Daryl commented dryly giving Irvyn a pointed look which Irvyn blissfully ignored, since his eyes are currently glued to a delicious looking lollipop held by a child at the station.
"By the way, I heard that Glennmarie is quite famous for its muggle hand-made candies. I'm sure that with your level of professionalism it did not influence your decision to come here." Daryl's voice was cool, almost flippant.
Oops! Busted! Irvyn mentally winced.
Within a split second, he changed the subject. "Oh my! Look at the time. We are off schedule. I need to go gather the news fast. Wait for me here. I'll be back soon."
Irvyn turned to leave but a hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. "I'll follow you. It's my mission to escort you on your task."
"I think you have some pronoun difficulty, Daryl Rivers. It's your mission to escort US namely the Unspeakables on OUR task. For your information, this isn't my first field assignment but it is for her." Irvyn gestured at the still slumbering Cheryll Jones whom Daryl had wisely deposited on a bench at the station. "Listen to reason, Dar. I'm capable of taking care of myself. Even the blind can see that she needs your protection more than I do. So, stay here with her."
"But…"
"This is a direct order," snapped Irvyn sharply, exerting his authority as the team leader.
The ring of finality in the statement effectively cut short whatever Daryl had wanted to say. He could only nod mutely as his grey eyes watched his friend leave in a flurry.
It was well past noon when Irvyn finally returned to the train station. He spotted Daryl immediately since his unruly mop of jet-black hair does stand out in a crowd and walked towards the young Auror. As he approached his friend, he noticed that Cheryll was already awake and up about, ranting something that he couldn't quite make out. However, she stopped raving when Irvyn was within hearing range and instead, smiled sweetly at him as she adjusted her robes.
"Oh Irvyn, you are back! I was so worried for you," Cheryll gushed out clasping her hands together.
Irvyn shifted the heavy bags of candies from one of his hand to the other and beamed "I'm sure you do."
"Been shopping?" The bags filled to brim with sugary confections of all sorts were met with a heated glare from Daryl.
Irvyn blinked back innocently and clutched the bags tighter to his chest. "Well, you don't expect me to waltz into a shop and ask for information without buying anything right? That will be so rude. It's only common courtesy to return a favour by doing a favour. And in this case, it is rather justified that I purchase the product from the vendors as a form of appreciation for the precious info."
"Your logic is impeccable as always," Daryl shot back sarcastically, unwilling to start another tirade on wasting precious ministry funds. "And I gather that you were successful in getting the information needed?"
Irvyn nodded enthusiastically. Still smiling, as if he was commenting about how fine the weather was he stated plainly, "It seems that we will be dealing with a rewinding town."
Both his team mates could only stare blankly at Irvyn when he delivered the statement. Irvyn chuckled sheepishly. "Errm.. I'll give you the details as we go along. Right now we have to get to Little Pickering fast. We've got no time to lose, literally." He then turned and walked towards a secluded area of the train station.
"How are we going to get there? Not by train again?" Cheryll piped up, eyes shining with hope.
"No. We will be apparating. See you on the other side," came the reply and a loud cracking noise. Two cracking noise followed soon after.
They had left the station.
The corner café in Little Pickering exudes a homely atmosphere. Upon stepping into the tiled café, one would certainly notice the beautiful and sweet floral wallpaper that adorn the walls and the low hanging wooden potted plants above each varnished table. The sunlight that hits the glass windows on a bright clear day casts streams of light into the little coffee shop, further enhancing its ethereality. This was where travelers and villagers alike would come together, relax and trade tales.
And here, we find a wizard and a witch leisurely sitting at a booth by a glass window. This seems almost like a date. Cheryl sighed dreamily as she rest her cheek on her hand, absently stirring her cup of tea and staring intently at the handsome amethyst-eyed young man before her.
"Would you like another piece of chocolate cake, sir?" an adorably blushing waitress addressed Irvyn, interrupting Cheryll's train of thought. Cheryll mentally cursed, sending a possessive evil glare at the lady attendant.
Irvyn looked up from his plate and smiled charmingly at the waitress. "Yes, please. I would love to have another. The cakes here are just plain wonderful." The lady's face flushed even more at the compliment and with a bright smile, she gushed, "You should try our muffins. They are the best. I'll get some for you. Don't worry, it's on the house!" Then she turned and left, grinning from ear to ear.
I can't believe that this is so easy. Irvyn thought to himself and scooped another spoonful of cake into his mouth, conveniently ignoring his female colleague. The little bell at top of the front door tinkled merrily, signaling a newcomer into the shop.
"Over here, Dar!" Irvyn waved to his friend who has just entered the café. Daryl walked towards Irvyn and Cheryll, and made himself comfortable on a chair to the right of the wizard. "Found anything?" asked Irvyn between mouthfuls.
"Well it seems that your theory is correct after all," Daryl answered. He signaled for the waiter and placed an order for a cup of coffee. He certainly needs some caffeine in his blood now. "I've tried blasting a hole at the northernmost wall that enclosed this town, but I still couldn't get out. I thought that I'm finally out of the town when I crept through the hole, but I find myself back from where I started. This is so frustrating."
"Well, we couldn't get out of the front gates either. After we entered this town we attempted to go out through the gate and for some unknown reason, we ended up back inside the town," Cheryll chimed in, unwilling to be left out of the conversation.
Irvyn pursed his lips thoughtfully. He abandoned his now empty plate and started dumping packets of sugar into his hot cocoa instead. "It's like what I've said before. This is a rewinding town. It seems that time and space has stopped on one day and people kept experiencing that day forever. The information that I've collected from Glennmarie Town have proven as such. For instance, there was a testimony from the owner of the vineyard who got an order from a shop in Little Pickering on 30th August asking them to send over 50 barrels of rum before the 31st August. The man delivered the rum that was requested immediately. However, no matter how many times he tried to enter Little Pickering, he was still on the outside of the town. Puzzled, he went back to Glennmarie. Then, he tried calling the shop that ordered the wine but all he could get was static. And every day since, he received a call saying, 'Please send over 50 barrels of rum to Little Pickering before the 31st.' And this isn't an isolated case. Several other merchants also experienced the same problem."
"But isn't it weird that we could get in?" Cheryll voiced out, a quizzical expression adorned her delicate features.
Irvyn smiled patiently, "Well, I had two theories regarding this mission. And it seems that both are unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on whether you are a pessimist or an optimist, proven correct."
He paused for dramatic effect and waited for the cheesy detective music that is constantly abused in movies worldwide to be played in the background. But since this was real life all that he met was silence. Disappointed, he continued his explanation.
"Firstly, because this town is obviously under a mysterious spell, only people who are able to wield magic can enter it. So that explains why we can enter this town but not the muggle merchants. Secondly, if this town is indeed repeating August 30th over and over again, then it might not be possible for us to exit once we are in it. To make the long story short, we are trapped here unless we are able to unravel the mystery of the magic that had this town within its grasp."
"We are back to square one then. So far, I have found nothing that could have caused this disturbance. I just don't understand this," Daryl gritted, massaging his temples.
Irvyn heaved a sigh. The mission was also taking a toll on the normally very energetic Unspeakable. That, and the lack of sleep of course. Irvyn took his eyes away from Daryl and began scanning the crowd outside the café lazily while his fingers caressed the handle of his cup lightly. At that moment, a flash of gold and blue caught his attention.
Irvyn's eyes widened in surprise He got up from his seat and in his hurry, spilled his cup of cocoa on the table. Irvyn then rushed out of the café without a word to his confused team mates.
Unbeknownst to the trio, they were not the only people from the wizarding world in the little corner café. Two figures sat in a booth at the far end of the shop, silently observing the two wizards and the witch. The taller and lankier of the duo spoke in a harsh whisper to the other occupant sharing his table, "See? I told you to get a better flying carpet didn't I, Joe? Look what you have gotten us into."
The man with a thin moustache and blonde hair scowled indignantly. "Well, that carpet was too expensive, Adrian. It is not my fault that our budget is tight! And I didn't know that the carpet is not equipped with a shock-absorber. The shop-keeper lied to me. Darn! I demand a refund."
"You should have checked it out first. Boss will kill us for dropping the stuff," Adrian muttered, twisting the paper napkin in his hands in anxiety. "And worse, the ministry has sent their dogs to sniff out this problem. We are so going to die," he moaned into his hands.
"Not if we get to the girl first. I swear she knows something. She kept hiding away from us," Joe stated confidently and sipped his tea. "She may also have that with her," he added, smirking.
"Why did the ministry send him? Of all people, why couldn't they choose someone else?" Adrian groaned, obviously too absorbed in his own thoughts that he had unintentionally paid no heed to what his partner had said.
"Are you even listening to me?" Annoyed, Joe rapped on Adrian's head sharply with his fist.
"What?"
"Forget it. Who are you talking about?"
"Him. The one in that white trenchcoat. Irvyn Quinlan. He was in the same House as I was back in Hogwarts. There were rumours circling around saying that that guy is a seer. It's creepy, I tell you. I heard that all of his premonitions are dead accurate. He may have known that we are here. He could have set traps to lure us in and force information out of us. And if we won't tell, he will torture us and then kill us... Or worse, he could feed us to the occamy. I heard that they keep those beasts in the ministry. I hate occamy! And and…" Adrian rattled on nervously, shredding the napkin he had into pieces. The poor lad was close to hyperventilating.
"Enough! You exaggerate too much! I will have no more of this nonsense. If he is indeed a seer as you claim, and sensed our presence, he would have confronted us a long time ago and not sit there, chatting without a care." Joe exclaimed. He shook Adrian's shoulder roughly to get his point through.
"Then again, if that Irvyn Quinlan is a seer, it would be beneficial for us to have him on our side. He is a muggle-born?" Joe added, stroking his chin slyly.
"A half-blood. Hey, look! He's leaving." Adrian pointed when he noticed Irvyn's hasty departure.
"Holy shit! He has spotted the girl. How on earth did he know? Doesn't matter. We better move quick," Joe cursed. He hauled the gaping Adrian from his chair and the both of them exited the café.
Irvyn lost sight of the little child he was trailing at the crowded town square. "Where did she go? She was just too fast," he grumbled, wiping the perspiration from his brow.
"It's exactly like in my dream…" Irvyn frowned. Then does it mean that there will be wizards other than us here? He mused as he weaved through the maze-like streets and alleys aimlessly.
"KYAAAA!" a shrill scream sliced through the silent street, effectively shaking Irvyn out of his reverie. Tension hung in the air like a woolen blanket, thick and heavy as Irvyn ran towards the source of the voice.
After several twists and turns he finally skidded to halt at a secluded alley. There, he saw the little girl from his dreams being held by a burly man with thin moustache while another, who was taller and lankier, was pointing a wand threateningly at her. Irvyn felt a wave of déjà vu. Without wasting a moment, he whipped out his wand. "Stupefy!" He yelled and a stream of light streaked from his wand, hitting the wizard who was holding a wand to the child's face, point blank.
He then turned towards the burly man, a spell on the tip of his tougue but he could not utter it for the man had a wand at the child's throat. "Speak a word, and she dies." A guttural voice gritted out. "Drop your wand."
Irvyn's schooled his features to portray nonchalance even though deep down inside, he was bubbling with anxiety. He raised both his hands, palms up. His wand slipped from his slim fingers onto the asphalt lane in a noisy clatter. "Fine. Fine. You've got your wish. Let the child go." A smile played on his lips. A mask.
"I don't remember striking a deal with you, you ministry dog," the man bellowed. "You are Irvyn Quinlan are you not?"
"And so what if I am?"
"It's a pity that a talented young man like you would be groveling at the feet of those blasted pure-bloods. Don't you think that it is time for you to break away from their oppressive clutches and join us to uphold your true rights as a respected wizard in the wizarding world?" the man preached.
Irvyn's eyes glimmered dangerously, though his facial expression showed no evidence of his feelings. "I do not know what you are talking about. Politics are of no concern to me." Irvyn took a step closer to the wizard. "If I'm a dog, what makes you, then? A murderer? A kidnapper? Or rather, a Puppet?" He smirked mockingly.
Irvyn's taunt struck a chord. "Why you…" he started angrily.
His sentence, however, was left hanging with the appearance of Cheryll Jones into the scene. "Irvyn? What's wrong? What's happening here?"
It all happened too fast. Sensing Cheryll's untimely arrival, the hostile wizard had whirled around and pointed his wand at her. "Abicio!" A beam of purple streak out of his wand towards Cheryll who was rooted to the spot, too stunned to move.
"Ms. Jones? Merlin! Get down!" Irvyn yelled a split second before the spell was spoken, and he was moving just as the flash of power flew from the wizard's wand. Lunging for Cheryll he drove his shoulder into the lithe form of his team mate, pushing Cheryll away.
The spell moved along its original course and hit Irvyn squarely on the chest instead. Irvyn was picked up and sent hurtling to the side. His body impacted on the wall of the building that lined the small alley and a distinct sound of bones cracking could be heard as Irvyn slid down the wall in a lifeless heap.
Vision blurred by the blood trickling down his face, Irvyn watched with fuzzy eyes as all hell broke lose. He remembered seeing Daryl arrive, and then he lost track of time as darkness claimed him into her comforting arms.