Gwendolyn took off her glasses, and rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"What a day," she sighed.
She took off her rock crystal pendant. "Must clean that, I guess," she mumbled. Honoria had explained that gems had to be cleaned with clear water once in a while to remove unwanted energies. Then they had to be laid into the moonlight to recharge them. As her rock crystal was still smeared with green tank solution, it needed cleaning urgently.
Jonathan put a pot of steaming wonton soup on the table in front of her, and she beamed at him happily.
"Thank you so much! This smells lovely! I didn't know you were such a good cook."
"Well, not me," he grinned sheepishly. "But Mr Miraculous. It's one of "Mr Miraculous' Magical 1-Minute Meals", but I thought you'd like it – something hot and soothing to the stomach."
Wookey bustled into the kitchen, frowning at the soup, and put a bread basket beside the soup bowl.
It was very late and darkness had already fallen. Gwen savoured the hot soup, and Jonathan helped himself to a slice of bread. Wookey asked whether they needed anything else, and they shook their heads. Wookey withdrew.
"Did anyone find out what caused the explosion?"
"No," Gwen replied gloomily. "Must have been some magic going awry. Things like this do happen they say."
"Some magic. Well. Magic done by whom?"
"I don't know. And I don't want to make any accusations."
"Has the tank exploded before?"
"Erm… no, at least not during my time at the Ministry. But Isabelle told me that there had been bad accidents before."
Jonathan munched on his bread.
"Did Bob finally turn up in the Brain Room?"
"Yes, of course, and he was horrified when he saw the wreckage of "his" tank. Several other colleagues came to the Brain Room, too, and helped spontaneously. Which was lucky, since this Cattermole guy from Magical Maintenance wasn't exactly a great help. Eleanor and Manisha joined us, and Manisha was surprisingly good at catching our brains. Alex Campbell from the Death Chamber helped Bob to retrieve some of the green liquid. Most of it, however, is lost now. Vivi said she'll help us to provide a new tank. But at least all the brains are sound and safe, which is the most important thing."
She dipped some bread into the hot soup. "By the way," she said slowly, "what do you think about Alex Campbell?"
Jonathan raised his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Did you interview him? I mean, he is one of the leaders in the Death Chamber, and I've just sent you and Mrs Beresford a report about a memory, where he talks to Archibald, asking him whether something was wrong, and emphasising that he'd known him for years."
Now it was Jon's turn to heave a sigh. "Yes, of course, we've talked to him. At first he didn't want to tell us anything at all," he frowned at Gwen, "like all of you."
Gwen took another spoonful of soup and said nothing.
"At a later stage he told us that he had been wondering whether Archibald was in any trouble, but hadn't been able to get anything specific out of him. Archie had only admitted that he was feeling a bit under the weather. Too much work or something like this. Campbell told us that he assumed it had to do with Archibald's and Mayfield's work project, which was, by the by, the first one Campbell wasn't privy to."
„Now that's interesting, isn't it?"
„Yep."
„And who assigned them the project?"
Jonathan shrugged: „Everyone is very tight-lipped regarding this question."
It must have been Agatha Hill herself, Gwen thought, I can't imagine Archibald and Mayfield working on this without her approval. Of course she wouldn't tell the Aurors what illegal subjects we're working on... Out of habit, she occluded her brain, while thinking of certain brains, ghosts, and several other projects and things she had glimpsed or heard of in the Department of Mysteries. Then again she couldn't fathom why Agatha Hill was interested in horcruxes.
„And did Mayfield admit to you that they had been working on horcruxes?"
Jonathan swallowed the last bite of bread with a sip of butterbeer.
„No, of course not, even though he stared at us like a bowtruckle caught in a wand light."
Gwen listened intently, while she finished her soup.
"Regarding that other memory we also asked him about Eleanor making tea for them both, and Mayfield said that she often prepared their tea in the afternoon."
Gwen nodded. She remembered Eleanor passing from the Planet Room through the Brain Room to the Death Chamber once in a while. Gwen had finished her meal, and Wookey cleared the table before Jonathan could lift a finger. The elf hummed happily, and started doing the dishes.
"You know what," Jon said finally, "don't let's talk about that business anymore now. I'll put some logs in the fireplace, and you put some nice music. How about that?"
"Brilliant. And I'll open that bottle of elderflower wine Miss Carthew gave me the other day. What do you say?"
~ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~
Tuesday, 16 August 1994
"Did you know that she lives in such a … palace?" Gwen whispered in amazement.
"It's not a palace," Isabelle whispered back. Roberta had just left the impressive dining room, with the etched glass windows, walls of brocaded velvet, and floor of wool Axeminster carpeting.
"It's a Victorian mansion. And no, I didn't know either. It's lovely." She eyed the hanging tapestries and the ornate brass chandelier appreciatively.
"Nor me," Manisha smiled, stroking the edge of an exquisite porcelain plate.
"Well," Gwen hastened to remark, "she doesn't put on airs about it. I mean, she never dresses like a rich lady, she always wears rather casual or even sportive clothes."
"Ouais, t'as raison, she never let show that she is rich," Isabelle nodded.
"But perhaps she isn't," Gwen wondered, "I mean it might be just the house. She could have inherited it, and…"
Manisha looked at her curiously.
The door opened and Roberta reappeared.
"Here there are," she held the special Quidditch World Cup Portkey licence forms out to Gwen and Isabelle, and they each took one.
"Oh, great!" Isabelle beamed at her. "You've thought of everything!"
Rob looked rather pleased with herself, but waved a dismissive hand.
"Has everyone got a tent?" she asked.
"I've got one", Gwen said.
"I've got a tent that would accommodate all of us," Isabelle offered. "Eh bien, wouldn't it be fun to live all the four together?"
Gwen was enthusiastic about the idea, while Manisha shook her head.
"I'll have to use my own tent", Manisha said, "sorry, but I got my ticket earlier than you and therefore will be assigned a different location than you."
"Ah, you're right," Roberta nodded, "but we could try and ask the organisers…."
"No, please, don't bother, I'd rather sleep alone," Manisha replied, somewhat awkwardly.
The others looked disappointed. "That's quite all right," Isabelle murmured.
"I'd love to share a tent with you all," Gwen beamed. Manisha eyed her again curiously, which she noticed. "It would be a bit like being at Hogwarts again, wouldn't it?" she explained. "But I understand if someone wants to be alone." She wondered why Manisha had joined them at all this evening if she wanted to keep to herself.
„We could try to arrange to camp side by side," Manisha hastened to add. „I mean, I do, of course, appreciate your company, the only thing is that I need to sleep in my own four walls, so to speak."
Now Gwen eyed Manisha curiously. Well, perhaps she only doesn't want us to hear her snoring or see her wearing hair curlers.
Roberta called the house-elf with a spell from her wand, and the elf entered.
"Anyone else some more wine?" she asked. Isabelle nodded and the elf hurried forward to pour out some Cabernet Sauvignon for her.
"You can bring in the pudding in about a quarter of an hour," Roberta instructed the house-elf. "Thank you, Burky."
~ooOOooOOooOOooOOoo~
Monday, 22 August 1994, Quidditch World Cup
"Here you are," Roberta handed Gwen two big bottles filled with water she had fetched from a tap nearby. Gwen chuckled when she noticed that Rob had used an unobtrusive hovering charm to carry them.
She and Manisha had managed to light a fire without magic, while Isabelle had resigned and put up the big tent with a silent Erecto spell. Her nine-year-old son Nicolas was stirring the fire excitedly, his blond curls bobbing in all directions.
"We are really lucky to be here on holiday," Gwen remarked, looking around at all the wizarding folk settling down on the campsite, where the Quidditch World Cup visitors had put up their tents. A number of Ministry people were busily walking around trying to monitor the signs of salient magic. They looked rather strained.
Manisha, whose tent they had erected beside their own, rummaged in her bags and extracted a package full of sausages. Isabelle handed her the sticks.
"Not yet, we have to wait until the fire burns down a bit," Manisha explained and laid the sausages on a big plate, which she had put on a camping table.
"I know," Isabelle smiled, "I just want to save them from Nic."
"On my way to the tap I met Broderick Bode from the Hall of Prophecies and James Croaker from your Room," Roberta told Gwen, while trying to wash the mache salad with the water she had brought – without magic.
"Ah, really! I'd liked to see James, haven't seen him in the Brain Room for months now. He's taken a very long holiday. Is he on duty?"
"Yep, that's what he told me. And he says it's getting more and more difficult to control all the wizarding folk arriving from all over the world. Everyone is so excited."
"Do you want me to help you with the salad?"
"I've brought tomatoes, too. Look here," Roberta produced a bag full of big red tomatoes. "You could wash and cut them, if you like."
Suddenly they heard a loud bang nearby, and pink smoke erupted from a tent with a wind vane. Nicolas looked startled, but soon continued to stir the fire. He asked his mother a question in French. A Ministry official was running to the tent from which the smoke emanated, waving his arms in exasperation.
"What did Nicolas say?" Gwen asked, dipping the tomatoes into a bowl filled with water.
"He wants to put the sausages on the sticks", Isabelle laughed. "Come here, mon grand, I'll show you how it works, and then you can help me."
When the wood had nearly burnt down to hot embers, they held the sticks above them. Roberta served the salad, and Nicolas was thrilled and wanted to try the sausages at once.
~ooOOoo~