Chapter 4
A Visit from Yaxley
The Writer congratulated herself on her magnificent work as she sat at her computer. A Death Eater and the Dark Lord himself! Who would she humiliate next, she wondered?
At that exact moment, there was a small explosion as the door burst open and Yaxley marched in, wand raised at the Writer. But instead of cowering and begging for mercy as he had expected, he was taken aback when the Writer burst out laughing.
"You have impeccable timing, you know that, Yaxley?" she wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye.
"The Dark Lord wants you dead," he growled, "I'm more than happy to make that happen."
"Love to, Yax," the Writer turned back to the computer nonchalantly, "it's not going to happen, though."
"And why not, pray tell?"
The Writer sighed, leaning her elbows on her desk, "Does nobody tell you anything? I'm going to explain, like I explained to your Master. In this place, whatever I write is...well, let's just say if I wrote...I don't know... that you could sink through floors like this..."
With a few clicks of the keyboard, Yaxley dropped through the floor, up to his waist. He struggled, attempting to regain his footing.
"There's no floor underneath me!" he shouted, slightly panicking.
"Of course there isn't, Yaxley," the Writer patronised, "there's another room underneath my office."
Yaxley was still attempting to climb out of the floor, so the Writer turned back to the computer.
"I think it's likely that the people downstairs will be sick of seeing your legs dangling by now..."
Yaxley was pulled by some mysterious force, back to his feet. This upturn in events was suddenly snatched from him, when his wand flew out of his hand and landed across the other side of the room.
"I'm not sitting down and drinking anything, if that's what you're about to ask," Yaxley snarled.
"That's your call," the Writer shrugged, "not to say that I can't...alter things slightly."
With another few taps at the computer, Yaxley was shocked to find himself turning, as though someone had grabbed him by the shoulders and swung him round. His right foot raised itself into the air and made him step forwards. Then his left foot, then right again, until he was at the shelf in the corner of the room.
"What are you doing?" Yaxley's voice was high with worry and it took the Writer's entire willpower to not laugh at the ridiculous position he was in.
"Altering things slightly," the Writer replied with a splutter.
Yaxley's arm raised itself and grabbed a small, suspicious looking bottle. Unstopping it, Yaxley's head went back and he threw it all down in one go. Replacing the empty bottle on the shelf he was frogmarched by invisible hands back to the desk, where he, too, spilled his guts on things he did in his private life.
"I cheated on my O.W.L.s! I never had a girlfriend, all the girls laughed at me because my name is..." Yaxley screwed up his face.
"What is your name, Yaxley?" the Writer asked.
"Leslie! My first name is Leslie, do you want to make something of it?" Yaxley scowled, "and I never wanted to work for the Ministry, all I ever wanted to do in life was be a ballet dancer!"
"I love my job..." the Writer took out her wand and pressed it to Yaxley's head.
Sending him away with a wiped memory and the slightly bitter taste of Veritaserum on his tongue, the Writer closed the door and rubbed her hands together.
"Three," she giggled to herself, "three of them and so many still to come! I wonder...will I ever get bored...?"
Then she shook her head, "Of course not!"