Chapter 18: Plans and measures
Yannick slowly stirred from sleep with the rays of the morning sun. Without opening his eyes he felt Alex's warmth partially on top of him and could also her hair touching the base of his jaw. He smiled at that and opened his eyes, his smile growing wider and his heart making a high leap when they met her peaceful resting form. But as beautiful this sight was, he had also to get up for his morning exercise.
Alex had defied him on again managing to get out of bed without waking her. And this time, he had to admit that she had made it almost impossible for him to move without waking her. He saw a way to do it though but as he was about to do it, he relented. He was not sure she would not wake up from it and right now, the sight she offered to him was not something he wanted to walk away from. He carefully readjusted himself and continued to gaze at her, hearing her peaceful breathing and marveling on the soothing feeling her mere presence gave him.
After a while of going through his thoughts while watching her sleeping, he felt her shift slightly and smile. She opened her eyes and met his, her smile growing wider.
"Good morning, beautiful," he said kissing her on the tip of her nose.
"'Morning yourself," she replied, snuggling closer to him, "slept well?"
"I have never slept better since we are back together, love" he answered.
"Same here," she replied, "I told you that you would not manage to go out of bed without waking me," she added after a moment of silence.
"Actually, I thought of a way that could have worked," Yannick replied, "but I did not want to do it in any case. You are so beautiful when you are asleep, you have no idea," he added.
"Given the fact that it kept you from your morning exercise, I have a pretty good idea actually," she said, rising up on her elbows to meet his gaze and kiss him.
Yannick drowned himself in the feeling and then held her tighter when they parted.
"Soon time to get up, though," she said, sounding sorry to say that.
"I know," Yannick replied, "If it were just for me I'd stay like this the entire time."
"I'll need to floo over to London for training," Alex told him, "Bob will have my skin if I miss practice."
"Then it would be best that you do not miss it," Yannick told her, kissing her on the top of her head.
"What are your plans for the day?"
"I have to meet people with Gran today," he told her, "They are coming over to the manor. After that I have to go over to Hogwarts and deliver things to Alwena. Gran feels that she might need a bit more protection with Andrelith getting bold."
"That is a wise move," Alex said, "Anything else after?"
"Not sure," Yannick said truthfully, "I do not know the outcome of the meeting so I do not really know what is planned next."
"Well… you'll most probably be in Hogsmeade after seeing Alwena, right?" Alex asked.
"Definitely," Yannick replied.
"So, how about dinner? Just the two of us?" Alex asked, "Hogsmeade has some good restaurants. You pick and then let me know. Like this it can still be a surprise," she added, smiling slyly.
Yannick chuckled. "That sounds like a very good idea," he said.
"So, it's a deal?"
"Deal," Yannick replied, kissing her.
--
"It's a pleasure finally seeing you again, Yannick," Remus Lupin said as he stepped out of the fireplace of the apparating room.
"The pleasure is reflected here too, Professor," Yannick replied, shaking Lupin's offered hand warmly.
"Yannick, when was the last time I was your professor?" Lupin asked.
"Around 6 years ago, Sir?" Yannick replied.
"And at the end of your 6th year at Hogwarts I do remember asking you to call me Remus," Lupin replied, smiling slightly, "I have not been your professor since then so please dispense me with the title, will you?"
"I'm sorry, Remus," Yannick replied, wincing internally, "Old habits die hard, I guess."
"I can relate to that," Remus said, "You have no idea how long it took me to call Dumbledore Albus."
"This is something I do not think I'll ever be able to do," Yannick said laughing.
The floo emitted a sound and Kingsley came out of it, followed shortly by a young woman.
"Ah! Kingsley. Right on time I see," Remus said, greeting the tall black Auror, "Good to see you too, Miss Weller," he added.
"Hello Sir," Weller answered back.
Hearing her last name Yannick remembered where he had seen her before. She was with that other boy, Alec Ramsay, when he had showed him how to shoot with a bow.
"It has been a long time, Shannon," he said to her, as Remus was talking some more with Kingsley, "I did not see you or your friend Alec after this incident in my sixth year."
"Seeing that we were two years behind yours, it is not that surprising," Shannon replied, "Good surprise to see you, though," she added with a smile.
"Same here," Yannick, "How's Alec?"
"He was doing fine last I heard," Shannon said, "He's in the States on the trail of a dangerous criminal."
"So you both became Aurors then," Yannick said.
"I did, but Alec's not an Auror," Shannon said.
"He's a special investigator in the Order," Remus said, "I have him now on the trail of a man named Kraikov. He's a criminal that is proving to be a real tricky character. Has evaded capture for too long now."
"Well I'm glad the Order is on that one," Kingsley said, "Especially with the rest of what is happening now."
"True, Alec's spelljamming abilities make him an invaluable asset for that case," Remus said.
"Alec is a spelljammer?" Yannick asked, surprised, "I did not know."
"The gift showed itself in his sixth year," Shannon said, "It gave us a really cool year too," she added, winking.
"I bet," Yannick said.
He was about to add something else when the floo's flames became brighter once more and let an out of breath Sean through.
"Sorry for being late," he said, "Cynthia had to go to Gringotts for an emergency and I had to arrange for a babysitter for the twins."
"Understandable, Sean," Kingsley said.
"And you better show me pictures of them soon, Sean," Shannon said, "Or else there will be Hades to pay," she added, smiling.
"I think we should go a see Mrs. Silverleaf now," Remus said, clearing his throat to gather their attention, "Yannick, if you could lead the way."
"Right away, sir," Yannick replied.
He went out of the room and led them to where Gran was waiting for them, her study. It was one of the rooms Yannick preferred in the manor, full of interesting artifacts and Gran's work with metal. Its location was ideal on the second floor and its orientation meant that it got sun everyday of the year, no matter what the season was. One of the main reason he liked this room was also because it was there that Gran would teach him about Elves and his Elven heritage. Gran stood up from the armchair she was seated in as they entered the room.
"It is good to see you again, Remus," she said, greeting him with a smile, "I am happy to see you agreed to this meeting, even if we have not been a lot in touch and I could not tell you much by floo."
"I would be remiss not to help when you need it, Gwenaelle," Remus said, "I owe you my education. I would have never gone to Hogwarts without your help on the matter." (1)
"Still, I am in your debt," Gran said, "Would I be wrong to say that you have changed? Your aura is different."
"I got rid of my curse some time after the defeat of Voldemort," Remus said, "I have been free of it for almost five years now."
"This is very good news and although I am late to voice this, I am very happy for you," Gran said, "You must be Mr. Shacklebot," she said, greeting Kingsley.
"I am," Kingsley replied, "Remus was very insistent that I come to this meeting."
"Seeing your involvement in the case it is only logical that you be here," Gran said, "I appreciate you taking the time to come."
"I hope we can resolve the mess this case degenerated into," Kingsley said, "This is my new assistant, Shannon Weller," he added, presenting the young Auror.
"A pleasure to meet you," Gran said, "And I'm very glad to see you again, Sean. How's Cynthia?"
"She has never been better since the birth of the twins," Sean said, smiling brightly.
"I can imagine that easily," Gran said, "You'll have to pass by with them soon."
"I'll arrange that with Cynthia," Sean replied, "She's very protective of them."
"As any good mother should be," Gran said.
They all settled in armchairs and a House Elf busied himself with serving them drinks. As soon as everyone was settled, Gran spoke up.
"I called you all for this meeting as it has come to my attention that the case of the murderer that has acted in both France and England, is far from being resolved," she said, "As a matter of fact, from what I learned from Yannick, there seem to be elements within the British Ministry of Magic that are active in making sure the true culprit never gets caught."
"I can definitely agree with that," Kingsley said, "Yannick also stated he had a good lead on who the culprit was."
"He has," Gran confirmed, "And our examination of the liquid picked up two days ago only confirmed his lead."
"My team did not find anything in that liquid," Kingsley said, "Or in the dead suspect as a matter of fact. They said he died of an unexplained heart attack."
"That is because it cannot be detected," Gran said seriously, "at least to human means."
"I am not sure I follow," Kingsley said, "my team is able to detect any kind of poison."
"Any human poison, I am sure," Gran replied, "But the one we found is of a far more insidious type. It was an Elven poison known as the swift death. It has now been used in centuries, mainly because it is quite vicious and dangerous to use. It is inert when cold and needs mixing in a hot liquid to be effective. Its symptoms on the victim is a quite sudden heart attack, hence its name."
"How did that type of poison ever get in this case?" Kingsley asked.
"Because the real culprit has access to it," Gran replied.
"Meaning he has Elven connection," Remus said, "Now I understand why you called us Gwenaelle," he added.
"It is actually worse than this, Remus," Gran said somberly, "The one behind this is an Elf."
"An Elf murdering people?" Kingsley asked, "Impossible!"
"Not for this one I'm afraid," Gran replied, "Killing is not much for him when I means reaching his goal."
"I must admit that of the little I know of Elves, they are the beings that value lives the most," Remus said, "I have a hard time to believe one would kill others for personal gain."
"Before I go further on with this meeting, I must get your understanding that you will learn things here that should not be revealed to others," Gran said seriously to Kingsley, "Remus already knows the reason for that but I must ask you to believe me when I say that while I know the perverted being that is most probably behind these murders, myself or the Silverleaf family are in no ways connected to them and we will got at any extent to stop him."
"I understand and I can believe that," Kingsley said, "Yannick has been a good help already on the case and has saved the skin of one of my assistants in the process. I cannot believe that he would be in league with whoever is committing these crimes."
"Thank you Mr Shacklebot," Gran said, "First, to explain a few things; the reason the Silverleafs know much about Elven culture, and right now poisons, is because of their Elven decent."
"You are descended from Elves?" Shannon asked, looking very surprised.
"I am not descended from Elves, young lady," Gran said smiling kindly, "I am an Elf myself."
Yannick saw Remus and Sean smile at Shannon surprised face, but if Kingsley was surprised by this revelation, he hid it well as Yannick did not see much reaction to it apart from a comprehending nod.
"But, Yannick is not an Elf," Shannon said when she recovered from her surprise.
"Indeed he is not but he has Elven blood in his veins nonetheless," Gran said, "He is my descendant. I married with a young wizard named Aidan Silverleaf back in King Richard's days. From our union came the first Silverleaf wizards."
"That explains a few things I had spotted about Yannick then," Kingsley said, "You are a treeshaper, aren't you?" he asked him.
"Yes Sir, I am," Yannick replied.
"I figured as much," Kingsley said, "I may not know much about Elves but I know that most wizards that have been recorded as being able to influence plants have had Elven background one way or another. It also explains you companions," he added smiling slightly.
"This is from the Elves' close affinity to nature in general," Gran replied, "It enables us to bring forth old powers that are very rarely seen in humans. They do not share the same affinity I'm afraid."
"So our murderer is an Elf?" Kingsley asked.
"As much as it pains me to say it, he is," Gran said, "He was cast out from our race for committing the gravest crime in our kind, the murder of another Elf, my father. Andrelith, the murderer, did this because I had chosen to marry a human wizard, denying him hopes of marrying me himself and acquiring the political power it would confer him."
"But that must have been hundreds of years ago if you married back in King Richard's days," Shannon said.
"Indeed it was," Gran said, "But Andrelith is mad and Elves have a very common trait which is that they never forget. Offenses are never forgotten. Andrelith has been attacking the Silverleafs since that time and we have been countering him. However, he recently turned his actions on innocents that had nothing to do with our feud and this cannot be allowed."
"But why has he started to do this?" Kingsley asked.
"My family and thus the Silverleafs by my marriage are keepers of certain artifacts, possession of which he believes will confer him limitless powers and he is doing so to force us to give it to him. He is wrong on both counts though. The artifacts do not give power and I would rather die than let him put his murderous hands on them."
That last sentence surprised Yannick. While he knew that Gran would never give in to Andrelith's blackmail, he also knew that she prided life over anything. To hear her saying this was not something he was used to.
"Having a lunatic with a lot of power is never a good idea," Kingsley said, "I can definitely agree with this."
"So can I," Remus agreed.
"I had first thought that Yannick helping you on the case would be enough to actually catch Andrelith and stop him from harming others," Gran said, "But he became only more violent due to this, attacking the Silverleafs as well. I'm quite certain that the beasts that Yannick and Sean escaped from late last year were sent by him. But what scares me most now is that, as I said earlier, there are clear indications that members of the Ministry are helping him."
"Forrester," Sean said.
"Actually I think that Forrester is but a pawn in this dangerous game," Gran said, "I have reasons to believe that one key person in this is Maximus Octavius."
"Him again?" Remus asked, "He's always one to complain about the Order if something goes wrong."
"And he has been clearly backing up Forrester and his incompetence," Kingsley said.
"He tried to bribe me the day Forrester's team took over the case," Yannick said.
"Did he now?" Kingsley said, "That could be used against him."
"But that won't be enough to put him out from messing with the case, Kingsley," Remus said, "From what I know, he's part of Devin Stiller's circle. So he has good protection."
"This is another reason why I believe that we should not trust the Ministry anymore on this case," Gran said, "Apart of course from people we know are fully trustable."
"You want the order to help out on it?" Remus asked.
"If that could be possible," Gran replied.
"Well, we do have a quite heavy load with a special case right now," Remus said, "But I can see what assets I can put on this case too."
"I do have one question though," Yannick said, "With the death of the 'suspect', what is happening to the case?"
"They are shelving it," Sean said, sounding disgusted.
"Sean's right. I received a note this morning from Forrester's office that due to the fact that the evidence clearly pointed to our dead person, the case was considered closed and would be shelved."
"So our hands are kind of tied in the Ministry," Yannick said.
"In a way yes," Kingsley said, "Unless we can prove that the case needs to be opened again."
"By showing the suspect as being innocent," Sean said.
"Or easier yet, from another murder occurring," Gran said darkly, "Andrelith despises humans and he has still not gotten what he wanted. He might have provided the poison to kill the 'suspect' but that does not mean he will stop his actions. There will be more murders, and when this happen, we should be able to re-open the case."
"I'll see to have some of my people discreetly get the case folder to the Order's headquarters," Remus said, "We have an agreement with the Ministry that completed and filed cases can be consulted by people from the Order. It is a very good way to learn the ropes. I'll make sure we get that file. I'll get it copied so we can have our own version. It is a bit unorthodox but the end justifies the means."
"I did not hear that," Kingsley said, "You know I cannot warrant this type of action, Remus," he added.
"As you said, you did not hear it," Remus replied, "So you will not need to warrant it."
Kingsley chuckled at that.
"If you can let me know when you have this file, Remus," Gran said, "I'll be very interested to pass by your headquarters to consult it."
"That can be arranged easily, Gwenaelle," Remus said.
"While we await new developments, I'll be seeing how to prove the 'suspect' was innocent," Sean said, "They would be too suspicious if we just gave up on this."
"A very good point, Sean," Kingsley said, "You let me know if you need anything."
"I'll help him out too," Yannick said, "Better that I do something useful while we wait."
"That would be best, Nick," Gran said, "This way we are sure to catch any action related to this case and be ready when it does. On my side, I will use some more of my influence to find out a bit more about Mr. Octavius and his dealings."
"I think he'll have been careful to hide any compromising evidence, Gwenaelle," Remus said.
"I'd be disappointed if he had not," Gran replied with a smile, "It will make the search more challenging and I always like a good challenge."
The meeting continued until the beginning of the afternoon, with Gran, Remus and Kingsley going over every little details of what exactly they would need in order to get the case moving and resolved once and for all. Yannick and Sean gave bits of inputs here and there and he could see that Shannon was scrupulously writing down anything she expected her boss to request from her and other annotations of other things that would generally be useful for the operation.
"One last question," Kingsley said as they were wrapping up, "How can we contact you? I doubt that owl post or floo would be secure for such matters."
"Indeed," Gran agreed, "Although the manor's floo points are secured, so many calls coming from it are very hard to monitor. I will give you and Remus little tokens that I have used for such cases."
She stood up and went to open a cupboard. After a few seconds of looking in it she handed two silver tokens shaped as Silverleaf crests to Kingsley and Remus.
"All you need is to cast a lumos spell on the token when you need to speak to me," she said, "I will then know you are trying to reach me and will contact you via our floo network."
"That sounds good," Remus said.
"I agree," Kinglsey replied, "I think we have covered everything then," he added.
"I think we have," Gran agreed, "Now, seeing the time, I would be very remiss in my hospitality if I did not ask you all to join us for lunch. Can you please let the House Elves know we will be having four more persons for lunch, Nick?"
"Right away, Gran," Yannick replied, standing up and heading out the room.
"I'll come with you, mate," Sean said joining him, "It has been a while since I visited the kitchens."
--
Yannick had a smile at the excited looks of the Gryffindor second years that were coming out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. He did not know its current teacher but it was easy to make out that he was popular, given the looks of his students.
He had met earlier with Professor Dumbledore to convey a message from Gran and also let him know of the measures that were being taken to ensure of Alwena's safety. The Headmaster had been happy to see that Gran had this time warned him of the problem before it actually happened. It had not been so in Yannick's sixth year and although he had not voiced it, Yannick was sure that Dumbledore was not too happy of seeing some of his students face unnecessary danger. The Headmaster was very fond of the safety of the pupils under his care and Yannick could not find anything wrong with that.
After the meeting he had gone down to where Alwena was having her last lesson of the day. Thinking of that class brought him many good memories of Remus teaching him to master Elven spells but also more sad thoughts about professor Bishop, who had been popular as well but had perished defending students during the Slytherin rebellion.
The last student came out of the class room and passed in front of Yannick, causing him to frown. He had not seen Alwena there, and he was quite certain he would not have missed her, and neither would she have. Just as he started towards the classroom door, it opened again, letting Alwena out with Professor Armstrong.
Alwena beamed when she saw him. "Nick!" she exclaimed, hugging him warmly, "this is a cool surprise!"
"Glad to see you Wena," Yannick said, kissing her on both cheeks, "Good class?"
"Very!" she replied, "you know Professor Armstrong, our Defense Against Dark Arts teacher?"
"By reputation only," Yannick replied, looking at the teacher, "I'm Yannick Silverleaf, Alwena's cousin," he added, extending his hand to the professor.
"Aldwyn Armstrong," Professor Armstrong said shaking his hand, "a pleasure to meet you. You have a cousin who is very apt in her wandwork. She will make a good auror or curse breaker," he added, making Alwena blush at the compliment.
"I know, she's been practicing trying to hex me since she got a wand," Yannick replied smiling, "And likewise she has had to learn her deflecting charms to avoid my answers."
"That sounds like fun training," Professor Armstrong said, "As long as no dangerous hexes are used," he added with a look at Alwena.
"Of course, Professor" Alwena said, looking back seriously.
"Good," Armstrong said, "Now I wont keep you more, just make sure you have the assigned homework done on time and keep up your good progress. Mr Silverleaf," he added, nodding at Yannick before to head back in his classroom.
"He sounds like a very pleasant teacher," Yannick said when the door had closed.
"He is," Alwena replied, "He always makes sure we understand the theory behind what he teaches us."
"That sounds like a very good way to teach," Yannick commented, starting to walk towards the stairs that gave to the main hall.
"We had a practical lesson today though," Alwena continued, "We had to get pixies back into a cage. I used a shield charm to defend myself against four of them that were just diving to get me."
"Good reflexes then," Yannick said, "Pixies can be quite fast when they want to."
"Yeah," Alwena agreed, "We basically had to petrify them so we could put them back into their cage. But my little shield charm caught Professor Armstrong's attention. It is only taught in third year apparently."
"That is true," Yannick said, "But Gran made it a point to teach it to all the ones who did not know it and could use a wand after my 6th year here. It is basic defense but it can deflect a good number of hex and curses if done perfectly."
"I'm glad I know it," Alwena said, a bit more darkly, "It helped me last Christmas."
"I know it did, Wena," Yannick said stopping by a bench, "And this is why I'm here today."
"I figured as much," Alwena said, sitting down, "Am I in danger?"
"As far as I can tell, no," Yannick said, sitting by her, "But seeing that Andrelith tried to harm you, Yves and Loïc, Gran did not want to take chances."
Alwena nodded at that but stayed silent.
"I already told Professor Dumbledore about it so he is warned and I am sure he'll tell the other teachers just in case," Yannick continued, "But Gran wanted me to give you two things she feels will provide more help should it be needed."
He took out a parcel from his cloak's pocket and took a medallion out of it.
"This is the same medallion as the one you have now, save for the fact that is has been enhanced," Yannick said, "It will start to feel warm should there be anyone around you that has an evil intent against you. Should that happen when you are outdoors, you should seek the safety of the castle as fast as possible or stay close to a teacher if you are in class. You understand?"
Alwena nodded gravely as she took the medallion. Yannick took out a dagger in an elaborated sheath.
"The second item she asked me to give you is this Elven dagger," He said, handing it to her, "Professor Dumbledore has authorized you to wear it while in school as long as it is only used in case of extreme need and not against any schoolmates, not that he thinks that you will," he added at her slight frown, "but he felt you should know. Gran cast the same enchantments on it than my blades or the ones of your dad. That means that it can deflect a curse if it needs to."
Alwena took the dagger in stayed mesmerized by it for a moment, she then looked up at Yannick and he saw that her eyes were watering.
"Wena, what's wrong?" Yannick asked, reaching to her face.
She did not answer but only buried her face against his chest, sobbing lightly. He held her, softly rocking her to calm her sudden distress.
"What is wrong, little Devil?" He asked again after she had calm down a bit, "I'm not used to see you in such a state."
"I'm scared, Nick," Alwena said, raising tearful eyes to him, "I'm nowhere strong like you."
"Wena, you don't need to be afraid," Yannick said.
"But I am," Alwena countered, "He already tried to attack the family many times. Just last Christmas he tried it against my father, brother and me and if you had not been there we would have been most likely dead."
"But I was there and I blocked that attempt," Yannick said.
"What if he tries to attack me while I'm here? I will not be able to stop him from that," Alwena said, "And he already succeeded in killing Pierrick before I was born. What can I do against that?"
"Alwena, listen to me," Yannick said seriously, lifting her chin so she would look at him, "There is very little chance that he will attack here in Hogwarts. And even if he did, you will be safer here than in any other places, save perhaps Silverleaf manor. The wards protecting Hogwarts are very strong. The only reason Andrelith managed to almost get me in my 6th year is because he lured me outside of the wards by kidnapping Alex. This won't happen to you, because I know you will stay in the castle if you feel the pendant warning you."
Alwena nodded but stayed silent.
"I don't want you to feel threatened and to constantly worry about what will happen. Gran was pretty certain that Andrelith would not try to harm you in Hogwarts and I have rarely known Gran to be wrong in her judgments. However, if you feel there is danger in any way, go to find Professor Dumbledore. I'm sure he will be willing to help you out."
She smiled slightly at that.
"And another thing, Wena," Yannick continued, "You are far from weak. Your reflexes saved your brother on Christmas as you were able to block a cruciatus curse aimed at him. I don't know many of your age that would have been able to do so. Even your Defense teacher has noted your skills and says you are gifted in it. That has got to count for something, right?"
"I… I guess so," Alwena replied.
"Don't doubt it, Wena. You are gifted," Yannick said, "You'll make a great witch when you graduate Hogwarts, and who knows, you might even finally be able to beat me in our little hexing contest," he added, winking at her and causing her to laugh slightly.
"Thank you, Nick," she said, hugging him.
"You are welcome Little Devil," Yannick replied, hugging her back and kissing her on top of her head.
"When do you need to leave?" she asked him after a while.
"I'm meeting Alex in Hogsmeade tonight, but I'm free until then," he replied, "I was planning to see how the Whomping Willow was doing though. You want to come?"
"Sure!" she replied, smiling.
"We will just have to make sure that you do not get late for your homework," Yannick said as they stood up.
"You could help me on it," Alwena said.
"Oh no, Little Devil," he replied laughing, "I'm afraid that you will have to rely on your wits for your homework, although I'm sure your housemates will be glad to help you out too."
Alwena laughed at that and they went out of the castle, heading in the direction of the willow.
--
Maximus Octavius was quite joyful when he arrived at his mansion that evening. In overall it had been a well rounded affair. The case was now closed and Devin Stiller had been satisfied with the results, even if it was obvious that Shacklebot and O'Malley had been furious at this, they would not be able to do anything. O'Malley had said he would prove that the case was far from solved but Octavius was not worried, he had personally seen to the destruction of any clues that might have compromised their "culprit".
Entering his study, he flicked his want towards the earth, starting the fire there and went to the cupboard that held his spirits. Such a good day deserved a good firewiskey.
"Have you succeeded with your plans?"
The cold voice sent a shiver of fear through his spine causing him to drop the bottle he was holding on the floor. It did not break though, the carpet cushioning its fall. He whirled around to find a man clad in dark clothing sitting in one of the armchairs in front of the fire.
"How the hex did you get in here?" he asked harshly, "My mansion boasts some of the best anti-intrusion spells."
His tone did not have the effect he expected as he was suddenly flung back against the wall, pain erupting in his back at the force of the impact. The man was now standing, a dark wand in his hand.
"Quiet human!" the man spat, "Do you truly think that puny man-made magic is enough to keep me from going where I want? Now I asked you a question, answer it!"
A lightning spell shot from the wand, shocking Octavius against the wall.
"Yes! Yes!" he exclaimed as the pain coursed through him, "The plans succeeded! The case is closed!"
The man lowered his wand, stopping the spell and also releasing him. Octavius fell to his knees trying to find his breath after the pain he had just been subjected to.
"So… there is no one investigating it anymore?" The man asked.
"It has been shelved and we were very careful to destroy any evidence that would compromise our "culprit"," Octavius answered, standing up.
"Has the first team given up?"
"They were frustrated and clearly showed it but Mr. Stiller left them no choice but to accept the decision," Octavius said, "O'Malley did state he would be reviewing the case in full to make sure it was correct and Silverleaf agreed to help him. I think they want to find more clues, not that they will find any but the ones we planted."
"It will not deter them," the man said.
"They cannot do anything unless they prove out dead culprit innocent, and this is impossible," Octavius said.
"Do not underestimate these people, human," the man said, "They can be very bothering if they want to."
"So what should I do?" Octavius asked.
"Remove them," the man answered.
"I do not have that kind of authority," Octavius said, "O'Malley is not under my orders and Silverleaf is not even a ministry employee."
"I meant another kind of removal," the man said.
"Are you mad?!" Octavius answered, "You are implying I get them killed. I cannot..."
He did not finish his sentence as he was once again flung against the wall by the man's spell.
"Do not give me excuses for your incompetence human!" the man snarled, "Did you forget the contract you agreed on? The gold will never be yours if you continue to fail me as such."
The man took out a large pouch from under his cloak. It was made of red leather with a golden thread keeping it closed. Octavius' eyes bulged in surprise when he recognized it.
"This was in my personal safe," he started.
"Your safe is very easy to break into, human," the man said, "this gold was given to you in advance so you would do your job well. Should I find someone more effective?" he asked, tossing the pouch on the floor.
"No! no... I'll do what you say," Octavius gasped. He knew very well that if that man decided to use another person for his deeds, he would not be left alive with what he knew.
"Good," the man said, releasing him from the spell that kept him pressed to the wall, "I will wait for your reports the usual way. I can wait but know that even my patience has limits," he added before disapparating.
Octavius let himself sag against the wall, reminiscing what had just happened. Just when he thought things would go well, more problems arose. That last demand would be very tricky to execute. The poison, little there was of it, had be wholly used now. Other methods came to mind but they were much more dangerous with chances of failing too.
Should he decide to cut his losses and not help the man anymore? He had said he could find someone else but then, what would he do of him if that happened? No, he was bound by the agreement. Besides, the type of gold the man was providing could resell for 10 times the amount in galleons, a worthy improvement of his own fortune. And with more fortune came power.
Rising up to his feet again, Octavius picked up the pouch and decided. The meddlers would be dealt with, beginning with O'Malley and Silverleaf. And with this decision he went to his desk to start to make plans.
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1: See Discovery for a New Student for this.
As always.. I'd appreciate constructive feedback.