"Perhaps you should adapt the wand movement like this," Ad answered Gwen's question, and showed her a complicated movement that looked like a tiny Z, followed by a sudden swish and a dot. Always keen to help solve a problem, he had instantly put his own work down and delved into the issue Gwen had put before him. "And put all your intensity in the last part," he recommended. "The words should remain the same."
Gwen nodded. She had been thinking along the same lines when she had worked on the brain Vivi had provided. "I'll try this. Thank you! Where's Isabelle?"
"I don't – ah, but look, here she comes," he pointed at the door leading to the Circular Room.
"Ah Gwendolyn – tellement contente de te revoir ici!" At least Isabelle seemed to have missed her. She rushed to join them, her beige-coloured robes fluttering around her, her smoky-quartz collar gleaming.
Firmin looked up from his desk and nodded in their direction. He looked quite relaxed today, having just completed an interim report on his research topic, as he'd told Gwen some minutes previously.
"So – how's your work proceeding?" Gwen asked her team colleagues.
"Fine," said Ademarus, "we're working on a variation of the Indicimaginis spell."
"Attend, if you have time, I'll show you!" On Gwen's nodding affirmatively, Isabelle hurried to their office, where she left her cloak and things, and returned with two small tanks. Ad helped her to extract two brains from the big tank in the centre of the Brain Room ( "Jérôme" and "Corinne").
They put the tanks with a brain in each one on one of the desks, one opposite the other, and the three gathered around it.
"Look closely," Isabelle warned, and waved her wand in some complex motions at Corinne. Nothing happened.
"Bor…" she suppressed a heavy oath, "I still don't get the hang of this spell variation," she murmured.
"Shall I?" asked Ad.
Isabelle nodded, sighing and drawing up her brows in a rather dramatic gesture.
Ademarus executed nearly the same movement, flowing and swiftly, and both witches took a sharp inward breath.
A string of pictures, small as a postage stamp, lit up between Corinne and Jérôme for some seconds. And they seemed to have emanated from Corinne.
"Did you see the shape they are forming?" Isabelle whispered, in awe.
Gwendolyn nodded. "Sinus-shaped. Looks like a wave, indeed."
Isabelle beamed, Ademarus looked quite content.
"It was, after all, a good idea to pursue a holistic approach and use some muggle insight," he mused. Gwen couldn't suppress a proud grin. "I don't know whether it'll be possible to show the images for a longer while, but even making them visible for some seconds – that's really something."
"And you made it possible – congratulations!" Gwen nodded approvingly, and not without envy.
All of a sudden Bob appeared in his usual red overall. "Heya, Gwen! Good to see you! How're you doing?" He beamed at her.
"All right," she said, while Bob started to get out his equipment to clean the tank.
"I'd prefer to work with you all, much nicer in here," Gwen said almost sentimentally, looking around the Brain Room.
Isabelle squeaked and patted her back: "Poor you! Are they treating you that badly?"
Gwen shook her head: "No, but could you show me this spell right now. I've got some time."
Ademarus nodded, and said: "Perhaps Isabelle can do. I'd like to review some measurements, but will join you two later."
~ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~
At five o'clock Gwen left the lift with its clattering golden grilles. She was rather content with her day's work in the Brain Room. Isabelle and she had experimented with the new Indicimaginis spell and had had some success with visualising some of "Corinne's" images.
Deep in thought, softly humming a tune, she crossed the Atrium without looking left or right. She was startled out of her reverie when someone suddenly blocked her way.
"Good evening, Miss Bale," a deep voice said.
Mrs Beresford stood in front of her, building herself up like a green hill in the lovely South English landscape.
"Good evening," Gwen murmured. "How are you?"
"How…? Now – what does it matter? Where have you been?"
"Well," Gwen said defending herself. "No-one was there today, so I decided to get some support from my own colleagues." That was a bit stretching the truth. They had even skipped the lunch hour to continue with their Legilimency experiments, and Honoria had fetched them some sandwiches from the Cenaculum.
Gwen ploughed on valiantly: "Where is Jonathan?"
Mrs Beresford suddenly put an arm around Gwen's shoulder, engulfing her in her wide emerald-green cloak. At the same time she withdrew them both back into a recess in the black wall and cast a nonverbal spell.
No-one in the crowd of witches and wizards in the Atrium seemed to have noticed.
Gwen was so nonplussed at this strange behaviour that she nearly daren't breathe.
"I really estimate your work with Mr Crow," Mrs Beresford whispered. As her voice was so deep, her whispering sounded very hoarse. Gwen smelled a strong whiff of cigarillo smoke.
"And I know exactly what you're doing," Mrs Beresford continued whispering, even though whispering wasn't really necessary, given the spell she had cast.
"I've seen your file in Human Resources." That sounded rather menacingly.
A group of chatting witches passed them, nearly touching their elbows without registering them huddled there.
"And based on my own knowledge of human nature I deduce that you can keep a secret."
Gwen nodded, dumbfounded, even though the last sentence was stated as a fact, not as a question. Something seemed to have changed in Mrs Beresford. Perhaps Jon has put in a good word for me. Seems that I've been removed from the suspect list.
Mrs Beresford drew her even nearer: "Sirius Black. There are rumours he's been sighted near Hogwarts. Seems that Harry Potter is in real danger. An Auror task force has been concentrated in a … base near Hogwarts. Jonathan's been called up, too."
Gwen looked at her with dismay: "But … for how long? I mean, what about our matter in hand?"
Mrs Beresford raised her eyebrows. "Well, I am still here, and I'm working on it. Is there anything you have to tell us?" With 'us' she probably meant herself and Jonathan, or the Aurors as a whole, but from her lips it sounded like a majestic plural.
"No, nothing," Gwen said firmly, shielding her mind even more than usual. Then she made an instant decision. "I just think you should keep an eye on Mayfield."
Let her think I suspect him. If they observe him he'll be well guarded.
Mrs Beresford shot her a shrewd glance. "You're a clever girl," she said slowly.
At precisely that moment Mrs Beresford, on her part, lowered her guards, and Gwen had the opportunity to get a glimpse of Mrs Beresford's mind.
"Jacobus Mayfield is certainly a very ambitious coworker. Very ambitious," said a white-haired woman with steel-blue eyes. Agatha Hill.
Gwen withdrew at once. Mrs Beresford narrowed her eyes, shaking her head vigorously.
"What was that?"
Gwen tried to look innocent. "What?"
"N…nothing. I had… I think I need… sorry." She fingered her pocket. "So, how come you mention Mr Mayfield?"
Gwen took a deep breath: "I can't tell you more at the moment. Just trust me, will you?"
Mrs Beresford loosened her grip, and finally withdrew her cloak. She gave another flick with her wand.
"Ok, Miss Bale," she said at last, looking her straight into the eyes. "I will trust you. Thank you for your help."
Gwen couldn't believe she was free. She said good-bye to the Auror and hurried to the fireplaces. She was happy to have obtained her own floo powder at last.
~ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~