Disclaimer: All belong to J.K. Rowling
Chapter 9: The Visitor
The grandfather clock in the mansion began its haunted chiming again. Ethelinda found herself awake past midnight. For the past few days, a peaceful sleep became a luxury activity for her. She grew up with no harm ever coming close to her, even when her whole family got killed, she was comfortably hidden away in the attic. However, encountering those Death Eaters in Loseley Park changed her. Every time she closed her eyes, the hand that choked her throat and the icy-blue eyes penetrated to her mind reappeared as if they never left. She could feel her breath shortening and the air began to disappear. Her vision was getting blurry and soon turned dark. She coughed hard as if the event actually was happening. Her eyes flash opened, trying to regain her surroundings. She found herself in her study. The sweat was visible on her forehead as well as in her palm. She used her shirt's sleeve and wiped them away, re-positioning herself back against the chair, she had another nightmare.
She rested her head on the desk with her arms loosely on the side, letting her cheek touched the cold surface from the wood. The chill sensation made her brain numb and her body felt relaxed for a few seconds.
"Did you have a bad day, kiddo?" A warm, gentle, and deep voice spoke up, shaking up the quiet night.
Ethelinda lazily rose her head up as the voice reached her. She squeezed her eyes, trying to get a clear vision of whoever was talking in front of her. Finally, she recognized the middle-aged man who was standing at the other side of the desk. His face hid behind the shadow of a dark-gray trilby. The same color vest unbuttoned mixed with a light blue shirt. One hand put inside the pocket of the nearly black trouser while the other carried a old brown suitcase. He set the suitcase on the floor and took the trilby off, revealing a very masculine face, with thick eyebrows, hazel eyes, a straight nose, and thin lips which sneered at the person who was looking at him.
"You just made it the worst day in my life, Jonathan," Ethelinda rolled her eyes as she identified the man, Jonathan Reid. "What are you doing here? I thought this mansion was unplottable. How could you enter it?"
"It's impolite to question your guest while he's standing, kiddo," Jonathan grinned.
"Just take the damn chair, old-man," she snapped, losing her patience with him. "And stop smiling," she demanded.
"Oh dear, who has made my little girl become so snappy?" he continued his adore voice as he took the chair close to the desk. "Ah, I sense a male presence in the house, perhaps he's the reason. When did you get married, kiddo?"
"Male presence? You mean Cadfael?" She sneered, trying to avoid the subject but did not hide her smirk at the words. "Male presence?" Really, he sounds like I own something other than the furniture.
"I don't consist Cadfael as a male, if you know what I mean," he chuckled at the idea that she was presenting, noticing that she did not want to press further in the matter.
"Seriously Jonathan, what're you doing here?" She shook her head, steering the conversation back to where it was. Cadfael will not be pleased with that comment.
"Actually, two things set off the alarm in my office," he stated as he waved his wand and a bottle of firewhiskey and two glasses landed on the desk. "First one is the contracts of Dave, Donovan, and Thanos. Second thing is your mother's room. And about the unplottable thing, I built this damn house, kiddo. I can make an exception for myself." He poured the firewhiskey for both of them and gave her one.
"Alarm? Why?" She sounded surprise, frowning as the man gave her a glass of firewhiskey. "I thought one of the requirements to work for our family that you can't make any exception." She accepted the glass from his hand, taking a moment to inhale the fragment of the drink.
"I am this family's lawyer. Anything happens in the house that may affect the family's benefits will need my consult," he replied. "Well, actually I have your mother's approval to enter the house without you."
"Hmm, well, I will discuss with you about that approval later," she took a sip of the firewhiskey, feeling her body responded tingling at the taste. "Damn, this thing never gets any better." She complained, but did not put it down. "Okay, so about the contracts, do I need to explain it to you?"
"If you want to, but it is not necessary," he shook his head, leaning against his chair and getting comfortable.
"Then it comes to my mother's room," she finally put the glass down, steadied her eyes at him. "Why is it vacant?"
"You never fail to amaze me in asking questions, kiddo," he chuckled at the way she presented it. "It was your mother's request."
"And do you know why she made such a request?" She arched a brow, sensing something more in the story.
"Do you want a short version or a long one?" He rose the glass to her as he waited for some kind of cheers.
"It's not like I can go back to sleep anyway, so we have plenty of time, old man," she picked up the glass and met his own. "Now let's listen to the tale of Freya Lefevre."
"As the head of the house, you have the power to foresee some of the important events. Two days before the massacre, your mother contacted me," he spoke softly as his eyes drifted off to some old memories. "Cadfael was there with her while she arranged some of her last works. One of them was for me to take care of you as long as possible, before you can take on the role of the house's head. The second thing was to build a new mansion and make her room movable." He paused, staring at the empty glass, his eyes became dull as if his soul was no longer there. Then he blinked and the lifeless sigh in his eyes disappeared. He grabbed the bottle and poured another glass of firewhiskey, but did not touch it.
"Your mother was a great witch with many ambitions. She wanted to make the Lefevre regain its fame again. People used to fear your family for generations. The power hides within each of your family's members possess can either produce greatness or destruction. And your mother was… destruction." He let out a deep breath, trailing off his eyes to the ring on his left hand. "There were many theories in how Voldemort and his Death Eaters could enter the Lefevre's mansion without dropping the ward. No-one has the power to drop that ward, my dear child, even Albus Dumbledore would have a difficult time to lift it. And yet, Voldemort has freely attacked the place as if he owned it. Your mother was… the one who dropped the ward for… him…"
A long pause emerged as he finally took a good look at the young woman in front of him. She was quiet, absorbing the tale as he was pouring to her. Her face remained impassive, but he could see a flash of anger rise in her beautiful eyes. But not yet, the young woman stayed still and did not make a sound, waiting for the tale to continue.
"To make a difference, a sacrifice is needed," he took another long sip of the firewhiskey. "She knew that you have the power to make a difference, and she made the first move for you. This was also explained why she hid you away in that attic since your birth. No-one knows about you. To the family, she lost her child during labor. To the world, she never had gotten pregnant in the first place. That room, her room, holds a mystery of its own and it will reveal its power once you unlock the locks. Meanwhile, it will remain vacant."
That long version took them nearly two hours to finish. In the end, Ethelinda just stared at her glass of firewhiskey, which emptied an hour ago.
"That. Crazy. Woman." She grind hard, almost hurting her teeth.
"Don't be angry at her, kiddo," he reached out and held her hand, which began to shake. "She always has her reasons."
"Has? Did you just use present tense on her?" She snatched her hand back, furiously looking at him. All those feelings that she had build inside for years finally burst out, creating one of her massive uncontrolled magics that knocked down the bookshelves to the floor as well as multiple broken vases.
The loud noise from the study echoed through the house, waking up both Severus and Cadfael. Meanwhile, Ethelinda quickly warded the door, preventing anyone to enter. She also cast a spell and bounded Jonathan to the chair. That woman can't be alive. She walked around the desk, her bare feet touched the felt which usually brought her a bit of joy, but today it just increased the anger in her.
"Tell me, Mister Reid! Is Madam Freya Lefevre alive?" She rarely called people formally, especially those close to her, however, when she got annoyed of the situation, she made the conversation sound dramatically painful.
"Does it matter to know whether she's dead or alive?" Jonathan asked her back.
"Yes, it does," she replied, pressing her wand to his throat. "Because if she is still alive, I don't give a damn about searching this stupid box or the fucking title as the head of house. I don't even care about rebuilding the family's legacy. I don't want any of these. She has been ruining my life the moment I breath the first air of this world. I want to be… free from her. That's all I ever wanted…" Her voice broke down in the end. Tears unknowingly escaped her eyes, running down on her cheek.
Outside of the study, Cadfael and Severus found each other as they rushed to the place after hearing that loud sound.
Severus took a quick glance at his butler and murmured a reverse spell. The ward lifted and the door slowly opened. They stormed in and found a middle-aged man bounded to the chair while Ethelinda threatened his life with her wand.
For a moment, Severus was not sure if the man bounded to the chair was in the danger or Ethelinda with her wand pointed to his throat.
"Miss Lefevre!" He called, hoping that she was still conscious.
Ethelinda did not react to Severus's call. She stood there, unmoved, her head was down almost touching the man's shoulder.
"You know what, kiddo?" Jonathan finally spoke. "Whether you like it or not, it's your destiny. Your mother lost her right the moment she let those Death Eaters enter the mansion. That night, she did not only kill her family but she killed herself as well. The woman you will see now is not the same one of twenty years ago." He paused and then exhaled heavily as he concluded, "Her ambitions finally ate up her last sense of sanity."
Severus watched the strange exchange between the man and Ethelinda. He walked close to them and waved his wand, unbounding the man. Severus gently held Ethelinda's hand as he took her wand out and pulled her into his arms.
"Who're you?" Severus arched an eyebrow at the man, questioning his identity.
"Jonathan Reid, an old friend of the family," Jonathan introduced as he put his trilby back on and he did not forget to take a quick look at the one who held Ethelinda tightly then.
"Ethelinda mentioned you before," Severus said, recognizing the name from Ethelinda's story. "I don't know what is happening but I think you should leave now."
Jonathan nodded as he picked up his suitcase. His eyes dashed momentarily to Cadfael and then walked out of the study without saying a goodbye.
Meanwhile, Ethelinda was still resting her head against Severus's chest. She had lost her focus the moment Jonathan unofficially confirmed her mother's life. She clenched on his shirt, breathing the familiar sense of the sandalwood and the parchment. Being with him always made her mind feel at ease. It was like she could bet her life to his care and knew for sure that he would never fail her.
"Are you alright?" Severus could not tell how long they stood like that, but he finally asked when he felt her tense body become more relax.
He waited for her answer, but she did not seem in the mood to have a conversation. And when she decided to answer, it was not the one he expected to hear.
"Can you stay with me tonight?" She whispered.
He was quiet and she could feel his body stiffen to her request. She sighed softly. Tears had dried long before he held her and she could not bear to cry again. She just wanted to have someone tonight. For the first time in her life, she feared of being alone. She pushed him away gently, lifting her head up and looking at him. Before she could manage to read his expression, he swiftly carried her up and left the room.
And Cadfael heard a faint voice as they passed by him, "Thank you, Severus."
A/N: I am deeply sorry to everyone for taking too long. This chapter was rather difficult to write, especially a few odd ideas kept popping in my head. I'm writing the next chapter now, hoping it will stay on track. Again, thank you all readers and reviewers. Enjoy and have fun. Love ^x^
Specially thanks to my beloved beta Hero of Olympus in Disguise