Chapter 6: Revelio

From that evening onward, David vowed to keep an eye on Tod. The mystery that was his nanny seemed to give him a new lease on life, and while the sadness and desperation he felt at the loss of his Mallory was still there, it took a back seat to his curiosity about the man at the end of the hall. In a startling revelation, he realized that other than lack of skill in the kitchen, he did not know very much about the man looking after his children.

When he really looked, the information confused him further. The house always seemed exceedingly clean, but David never caught the man cleaning. He sometimes looked at things, things that every adult human should be able to use like a dishwasher, as if it were some testy dragon and he was not up to that challenge. The vacuum was the only thing collecting dust in the house. His kitchen skills were improving, but he still looked painfully uncomfortable around most cooking utensils. Sometimes David would even catch him doing odd things, like standing outside in the twilight, talking to himself, or standing on the porch murmuring words he couldn't quite catch as he watched Fern play with a friend in the yard. If caught off guard, he would immediately shove his right hand into his pocket. His style of dress seemed to be the only thing that seemed comfortable about him. While David stuck to brown suits and what his late wife called 'bad ties', Tod's usual attire was a dark pair of slacks, a slim white shirt, the collar unbuttoned, and a black belt to match his black oxfords. Everything seemed perfectly fitted to him. The only jacket he seemed to own was a black leather jacket he wore sometimes in the cooler evenings, or if the fog rolled in. On those dreary evening he made hot cocoa for everyone, which put them all in better spirits, and it was the only thing David saw him reliably eat or drink.

Tod's relationship with the girls had also developed slowly in past couple months of his stay. No longer a stranger, David found Fern going to him for help with homework, or talking about her day, and seeking his approval. Daisy, had also become his shadow, following him without complaint, and now running to Tod instead of her father when she had a bad dream or was scared.

The only one who Tod had not grown close with yet was Hyacinth, but David couldn't blame him. Hyacinth could be very difficult, independent, and since her mother had become ill, had become more sullen and angry. Every Saturday morning Tod walked her to Karate practice down the street. This gave David time to bond with his other children. Upon one such occasion, Hyacinth came home, running in the house before Tod. She had her head down, and marched right past where Daisy and Fern were coloring at the kitchen table with David's help, and out the back sliding door without saying a word, slamming the door as she left.

"Hey!" David yelled after her, the other two girls looking aghast. No matter how angry she was she didn't need to break the place! Seeing Tod walk in and remove his jacket, he demanded, "Is there a reason my middle child nearly broke the glass on the sliding glass door?"

Tod glanced at David, giving the older man the sensation of not so much being looked at, but being looked through. Turning to the freezer and extracting an ice pack, he explained, "She lost the match for her green belt. I think she got flustered during the test and messed up somewhere. Another student ended up giving her a black eye too." Sighing and wrapping the pack in a dry wash cloth he sighed, "I'll go talk to her."

David nodded said, "Tell her that there's no reason to be slamming doors please." Sitting back down, he returned to his coloring with his other two girls.

Tod took a deep breath and slipped out the back door and into the backyard. The trees were now fully blooming their leaves, and the thick gardens along the brown fence were coming back to life. If the weather held, tomorrow perhaps he and Fern could clean them up. He found Hyacinth with his back to him, swinging back and forth from the old wood and rope swing dangling from the single large oak tree that provided the only mature shade in the yard. With long, dark tresses and olive skin, she looked much more like her father than her siblings did. She had a stick in her hand, and from what Tod could see, she would whack it against the ground, light the tip on fire, and then put it out again in the dirt. If he had any doubts of whether or not she would be getting an acceptance letter from Ilvermorny, they were gone now.

"I used to do that," Tod said, startling Hyacinth as she plunged the little flame into the dirt. She looked mortified. She hadn't wanted him to see that. He continued, "My brother would tease me, or my parents would get down on me, and I would sneak out of the house and go hide in the woods, set a couple sticks on fire just to watch them go out. I would do it until my mother send Dulbis, that was our house-elf you see, to come get me when it was getting dark."

Hyacinth paused her swinging, and in her eyes he could read suspicion. She was trying to figure out if he was making fun of her. "Didn't you ever wonder why only you could do that, and none of your friends at school? You ever get scared and things just happen? You fall and don't get hurt, or you're running, and a door just happens to open?"

Now the young girl appeared confused. "How did you know…?"

Tod sat down on the patch of grass next to the swing and handed her the ice pack. "Because you're just like me. Actually, I should say: You're just like your mother."

Hyacinth put the pack on her eye. "What are you talking about?"

"Your mother was a witch. She could do things just like you. She even went to a school to learn how to control it. She was very talented, and when she finished, she was one of the most powerful witches in America. In fact, she came from a long line of powerful magic folk. And now that power is in you, and I suspect your sisters as well."

"You're lying." She frowned.

Gently taking the branch from her, he lit the tip on fire, but this time with a large green flame that he shortly after put out. "Am I?"

Shifting in her swing, Hyacinth left it and slowly lowered to the ground beside him. "You mean I'm not some sort of freak of nature?"

"No. I'm sure your mother could have explained this better than me though."

"Then why did she leave?"

Tod frowned, trying to think of a valid excuse. "She had to. Everyone dies."

"If she really had this magic stuff, then why couldn't she have healed herself?" she sniffled, her good eye tearing up.

"Because the illness she had could not be cured with magic." It wasn't technically a lie. Most No-maj illnesses could be cured with magic, but a curse like Mallory's could not.

"That's stupid." The single tear slipped down her cheek.

"I agree, but it is the way things are."

Hyacinth paused for a moment, looking at the yard out of her one good eye. "Did you really know my mom?"

Tod was not about to tell her that they had been mortal enemies. "As well as anyone in the magic community did, I guess. Your mother was well known."

"Is that why she sent you? To teach us?"

To torture me, more like, Tod thought, but answered, "No. She sent me because she wanted to make sure you and your sisters would be safe until you were old enough to attend Ilvermorny."

"When will that be?"

"Well I expect your sister to be getting her letter this summer, and she will attend in the fall. Everyone starts at age eleven."

Hyacinth frowned again, doing the little math in her head to figure out how many years before she could go. "Does dad know?"

Tod shook his head, "No. And it would be best not to tell him either until I can sit down with him. Your sisters as well."

"You mean I'm the only one who knows?" Hyacinth asked, her eyes lighting up despite the darkening bruise on the right one.

"Yes. I'm trusting you to keep this a secret."

For the first time since he had met her, Hyacinth smiled. Tod could see a bit of Mallory in her. "Can you show me some more magic?"

"Ok, but only a little bit," he said, looking about to make sure no one was watching. Taking his wand from his pocket, he swished and flicked it at the stick while reciting, "Wingardium Leviosa". The stick hovered a little bit above the ground with direction from Tod, who then lowered it back to the ground.

"Will I get one of those?" Hyacinth asked, gesturing to the wand.

"Of course. After you're sorted into your house at Ilvermorny, you will be brought into a separate room where your wand will choose you."

"Choose me?"

"Yes, every wand is a little different, depending on the wood and its core. Mine is cedar wood with a dragon heart-string core."

"You mean there's real dragons?" her face open and inquiring.

Tod smirked at her excitement, "Yes, you'll learn all about them and all the different beasts that most people have no idea about."

She paused and then asked, "How many houses are there? What house was my mother in…?"

"There's four, and your mother was in Wampus, I think."

"What's a Wampus…?"

Questions like this continued over the next hour or so until lunch time came and went. Tod found Hyacinth to be an engaging and precocious child, far apart from the anger and sullen attitude he usually saw. His confession had given her a sense of belonging in a world where the one individual that understood her and her emotional outbursts had left. Of each of the individuals left behind by Mallory's untimely demise, Hyacinth had been the most ill-prepared. She had inherited Mallory's fierce, warrior spirit, and without a parent that understood her that fierceness had turned to anger, and that anger into frustration, until she had successfully alienated herself from her entire family, sure that no one would understand her. And while Tod may not understand all the roller coaster of emotions that Hyacinth unleashed, he now provided a very necessary source of stability and encouragement.

In the days following the Saturday revealing, David saw a noticeable difference in his middle daughter. While still tough and never sweet, she was more pliant; actually joining in conversations at the dinner table, coloring with her sisters on a rainy day, spending less time shut up in her room. The crowning achievement was when after he had tucked Daisy in and kissed her goodnight, he peaked in on Tod reading to Fern to find that Hyacinth squeezed on the bed with them, watching the pages with interest while Tod read along. It was as if he had hired some magical miracle-worker. Clutching the pendant he now carried everywhere in his pocket, he couldn't help but feel as though he were waiting for another shoe to drop. Something was going on here that he just wasn't getting, like he was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle that was Tod.

For his own part, Tod felt like he was playing a waiting game. Every night before he would cast the protective charms, he would stand at his window and search the skies for a moment, waiting for Ascalpus to bring him word on what they were up against and who was behind the murder of Mallory. Each night he would sit and wait, but his owl didn't seem to want to appear. Weeks he was without word. Now and again he reminded himself that he saw no deceit in either of the talented brothers' eyes, that they would eventually bring him word. Reconnaissance missions always took a while. It was difficult though, fearing every bush, turning every corner, every night of fog. It was like waiting for a Hidebehind.

Finally, just before the holiday weekend at the end of May, Ascalpus came swooping in with silent grandeur to land with noiseless grace on the dresser. Offering the letter in his talons, Tod grabbed it and scooped a handful of owl pellets into the feeder in his cage with a "Thanks buddy." Tearing open the letter his eyes absorbed the words with haste.

Hey Tod,

Sorry we haven't been sending regular letters. We're not sure who is watching who at this point. It took us awhile to tail them and then figure out who exactly is the head honcho. As far as Takeo and I can tell, the person who came up with the plans to murder Mallory Graves was some rich no-maj named Victoria Shaw. We have never heard of her, and wondered if maybe you had. From what we researched, she comes from a long line of politicians, and her husband owns a diamond mine, but he's a no-maj too. They have one son who is 8. According to no-maj press he's in fragile health, so he doesn't go out with the parents much.

The bigger problem is who she's hired. She had GertrudeJames and Madison Ruthway doing her dirty work. They're on to us, so we've had to lay low for a while. Gertrude is pretty stationary, holed up in an apartment in DC, but Madison is mobile. Takeo caught her lifting a cauldron the other day, so we think they may be plotting something for the other Aurors, given that they're so close to NYC. We'll try to keep you updated on anything else we find.

Best,

Dai

PS: Feed your bird more. He was pecking at us until we wrote back to you. I think he was hungry.

PPS: Since we're working our birthday weekend, feel free to send us presents.

Despite the jest at the end, Tod felt a chill run through him, as if a dementor were approaching his window. He knew both the women that this Shaw woman had hired, and it did little to comfort him. For starters, he recalled Gertrude, as she had been in Horned Serpent with him, only a year ahead. While rather brilliant, she hadn't been an overtly outstanding or memorable student. Hardworking, sure, with her best subjects being potions and transfiguration. She had been mostly quiet and intimidating when Tod had ever interacted with her. If he recalled, she was on the quidditch team too. A bludger maybe? From school the only thing her remembered standing out about her was her beautiful Jonker-made ebony wand.

What troubled him about her was after school. He could still remember the trial, as his elder brother had worked on it to try and help her. Gertrude had been attacked by 3 wizarding men in NYC while she was trying for a job as an Auror. According to his brother, whom he was still on speaking terms with at the time, they had done horrible things to her. But something had gone wrong with the trial; the men knew too many people higher up, so they got off with a mere wrist slapping. Gertrude had disappeared after that, and word was that she had joined one of the crime guilds.

Madison Ruthway he knew perhaps a bit more about, as she had been in his year. Though she was in Thunderbird, he had had several classes with her, including Defense against the Dark Arts, Charms, and Potions. He could recall she had never been good at the latter, which required patience and finesse. When it came to the Dark Arts she was a master. Year after year she proved herself an exceedingly worthy opponent in the Dueling Club, even being crowned champion their last 3 years at Ilvermorny. Temperamental and reactive, Tod had little doubt that she would be a fierce opponent if he were to come up against her now. She had always been obsessed with being the best, or the toughest person in the room, and Tod doubted that her burning desire to be so had cooled much since school.

Using his wand for light, Tod wrote off a quick note of warning based on what he knew of them, and looked over at Ascalpus, who was snoozing in his cage.

"C'mon buddy I need you to take this to Daisuke and his brother," he said, tapping the cage.

Ascalpus gave him a scandalized look and begrudgingly held out his leg.

"Thanks Asculpus," he said, tying the letter and helping his friend to the window.

With a great stretch of dark wings and the rasping shriek that only a barn owl can provide, Ascalpus leapt from the window sill and glided away into the darkness. Standing at the window until he could see him no more, Tod raised his wand with new apprehension in his heart, and began to murmur.

"Protego maxima…fianto duri…repello inicum…"