Disclaimer: All belong to J.K. Rowling
The Office
Coming back to the office, Jonathan found himself staring at a man leaning against his office's door at three in the morning. He frowned, questioning the man's motive, but he still opened the door and let the man step in. This was not the first time his office had guests this late, yet he could not hide his surprise to see the man.
"What are you doing here, Novas?" Jonathan set his briefcase on the desk, asking the man with an exhausted voice. He did not have the energy to dance around as usual.
"Did you just visit Ethel?" Novas asked as he walked pass him, settling down in one of the armchairs. He observed Jonathan, waiting for an answer that he already had.
"I don't need to answer you," Jonathan replied, dismissing the conversation's direction. They had been friends for far too long. He knew Novas was trying to pursue something out of him again.
"So, you did," Novas figured out, ignoring the fact that Jonathan did not want to continue, his questions kept going. "Were you aware of her current activities?"
"If you want information, I believe you came to the wrong person," Jonathan said, grabbing a bottle of an old vodka that he had in the desk's cabinet and pouring himself a glass. He glanced at Novas for a second before taking a sip of the liquid and closing his eyes as he tried to rest for a few minutes. He did not bother to invite his guest for a drink. He was too tired for a common polite gesture.
"Jonathan," Novas called and his tone became more serious. "This is a dangerous job that Voldemort has left behind. The moment I knew Lucius is followed up with it, I agreed to help him regardless of our bitter relationship. However, things did not go well the past few days. Those Death Eaters attacked her and I believe she's still recovering. If you truly care for her, please I need your aid in this. You're the last one she may listen to."
"Ethel… she found out about her mother," Jonathan drank the glass rapidly, almost choking himself as his voice broke in, addressing the problem. "I don't think I am of much use now. Besides, she follows the family's tradition, she will be fine."
"She gave her ring to another man? Who?" Novas sounded surprised as he almost jumped out of his chair and grabbed Jonathan's collar. Luckily, the man still had enough conscious to restrain himself from doing it.
Jonathan remained quiet as he walked to one of the cabinets. He pulled one drawer and searched for one particular paper. Then he found it, an old newspaper, and put it on the desk, pointing to the headline, "The New Headmaster of Hogwarts."
Novas did not need to read the article because seeing Severus Snape's photo explained more than he wished for. "She chose Snape," he whispered and the surprise he had earlier died out. "That's unexpected."
"You don't sound surprised," Jonathan curiously asked, noticing the change in Novas's voice.
"I know she partnered up with him but… this is not what I had in mind," Novas pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ease the headache that suddenly spread out.
"Ah!" Jonathan exclaimed oddly. "So, what exactly do you want to do with her once you capture her?"
"Lucius has not discussed fully of his intentions," Novas leaned against the back of the armchair, resting his body as he continued. "However, he mentions something about a book and a spell of reviving the dead."
"He basically told you the whole plan," Jonathan chuckled, mocking Novas. "And you said he did not share much? Seriously, Novas, sometimes I wonder what is happening in your head."
"Stop insulting my intelligence, Jonathan," Novas shot him an angry glance but his voice remained neutral. "The reason I said that, was because he also joins hands with Shacklebolt. I knew both of them and one is almost personally. I notice several loopholes have risen since their collaboration. Just looking at Snape's case, if he is truly guilty, why do they have to save him and then put him to Azkaban? Besides, Lucius is seriously more focused on capturing Ethel than capturing Snape. They used to be friends, good ones too. And I know Lucius would turn a blind eye so Snape can disappear. He does not care about Snape. But then, why would he agree to help Shacklebolt? It's just too strange to ignore."
"Interesting," Jonathan finally settled down on his chair, amusing at the inside story of the commotion behind Severus Snape's crazy pursue. "Now you have my attention, Novas. Tell me the full story, then we will decide where we can go from there."
Novas did not take long to summarize the collaboration of Kingsley, Lucius, and him, and how their operation worked. In the end, Novas received a doubtful gaze from Jonathan.
"How can you prevent him from getting the book?" Jonathan asked, referring to Lucius's true intention.
"Both of us know that Ethel is the book," Novas slowly explained his plan. "When she uses the rings to activate the power of the book, we can insert the portkey in the process and apparate her to an unknown timeline."
"That sounds like a great idea but it is too easy, Novas," Jonathan shook his head. "Did you ever wonder why Voldemort was able to track down Ethel under the alias Lala Bloodworth?"
Novas froze his gaze at Jonathan as he processed the information, then his face turned pale. "Oh dear Merlin, Freya?"
"Obviously," Jonathan sneered.
"Shite," Novas cursed, putting his palm on his face. "If her mother gets involved, the game is completely changed. She is a crazy bitch who will do anything to achieve her goal. She's fucking killed her entire family just so Ethel can obtain the book."
"Language Novas," Jonathan chuckled but his voice was darker. "I bet with you that between Malfoy and Shacklebolt, one of them is working for or under Freya. That is the only explanation I can think of regarding to your doubt in the relationship between those two."
"I know Freya was in the same year with Lucius and they were very close," Novas said. "Kingsley is another matter. I think I need some deep investigation into both of them."
"That will do for now," Jonathan looked at his watch as he spoke. "I think your time is up, Novas. The sun will come up in a few minutes. We will discuss this again when you gather enough evidence."
"Thank you for your encouragement, Jonathan," Novas smirked as he readied to leave the office. "By the way, how's Ethel?"
"She looks healthy," Jonathan replied gently.
"That's good," Novas nodded and he did not bother to hide the small smile appearing on his face. The news brought a little happiness to him. "Farewell then my friend."
"Farewell," Jonathan bid his goodbye as Novas left the office.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling extremely tired. His body stumbled back to the chair and he breathed out deeply. He knew sooner or later, Freya would reveal herself completely. She never left anything undone, especially something she was longing for. He poured another glass of vodka, trying to drown himself in the alcohol. Just one day, one day without dealing with her again. He murmured tiredly, his eyes still shut. Unfortunately, it was a wishful idea as a knock shortly followed. He groaned annoyingly when he noticed the time, it was just past two. Who want to visit a lawyer at four in the morning? And again, his office's hours were never a normal one.
"Come in," Jonathan called as he straightened his body's posture, waiting for the new customer.
The doorknob turned slightly then it stopped. He arched a brow at the motion and kept a close gaze. Something flicked in his mind, warning him of something unpleasant was coming. He quietly drew his wand out from under the shirt's sleeve, readying to cast any spell. The knob turned again and this time it completed a full circle. He watched the door pushed slowly and waited to see the face of his customer.
"Stupefy!"
Without any warning, a flash of light flew directly to where Jonathan was sitting. Gladly, he was quick enough to dodge the spell, jumping off to the floor and hid behind his desk.
"Who the fuck are you?" Jonathan hissed but he did not fail to notice how shaky his hands were..
"Don't get nosy in Mistress's business," a deep, almost in the bass mode, voice replied.
Jonathan's eyes got darker at the mention of the title, Mistress. He knew that Ethelinda was the current head of Lefevre's house and the legal Mistress. He was completely sure that she was pissed off at him and could possibly kill him if he provoked her again. However, hiring people to kill him, that would not be her motto. Therefore, the only one left who used to have that title was… Freya. His eyes just went cold at the thought. Yet, the sound of the man's shoes echoed at each time they hit the floor, distracting him from the string of questions. He swallowed hard as the sound brought him back to reality: there was more than one man in the office. His thumb pressed firmly on the wand, he might not get out of here alive.
"What do you guys want?" He asked without a tremble in his voice, hiding the fear that kept rising inside.
"This is your only warning," another voice replied, adding a bit more of threat in the words. "Next time, you will die before you hit the floor."
With that, their shadows disappeared, leaving the office's door creaking back and forth. Jonathan's back hit the desk's cupboards, letting out a long breath that he did not realize he was holding. The game just made a very nasty turn. He bit his nail while trying to connect all the dots. Something flashed in his eyes before he cast, "Expecto Patronum." A silver light slowly spread from the tip of his wand and quickly formed into a squirrel, "Old man, I take your offer. She is definitely needing our aid." His patronus ran through the window and disappeared into the early morning.
Seeing the patronus carry the message to its destination, Jonathan returned to his current state. His hand grabbed the edge of the desk, using it as a support and stood up. His legs almost lost their balance but the desk helped him to stay straight. He sighed, he was not born to be a fighter and those men basically drained him out completely. It took him a length of twenty minutes to finally get over the attack and begin to go through all of his files. He needed a plan, no, they needed a plan.
The patronus soon arrived to an old castle located in the far north of England. It leaped through the old wall and found itself inside a room. It was pitch black with the only source of light from the fireplace. The light was able to spread far enough to reveal an old couch and a man, who was watching the fire that was flickering. The windows were all covered in a heavy and thick curtain, blocking any sunlight that tried to reach inside the room. It was a perfect environment for a vampire.
Novas, the owner of the old castle, was surprised to see the squirrel approach him and replayed its owner's message. He nodded at the squirrel, acknowledging the information before it disappeared. His attention shifted back to the fire, he took a sip of a red-color liquid. His eyes were bored to the unchanged scene in front of him. Nothing seemed to change in his attitude. Nevertheless, inside his mind, he knew well enough that something had happened in Jonathan's office after his depart. Jonathan was a stubborn man and their relationship was not any better than with Lucius. Only in a crucial moment, like this, he would willingly join with him. He put down the glass and headed to his desk. He had arranged some letters to a few old friends, searching for more information between Lucius and Kingsley. Then, he would need to draft a letter to Jonathan as well, arranging a meeting place so they could go into details of what exactly was happening, especially with the return of Freya.
Sometime later, the squirrel was back with a simple answer, 'Yes.'
A/N: I think the more I write, the longer the wait between the chapters lol Besides, the usual complaining of writer's block, I am happy to share that the story gets more than 1000 views. Yes, it's not much, but enough to steam my power to keep writing. Also, a special thanks to FelixFelicisWriter for her supporting as my fastest reviewer. Love you and your wonderful review ^x^ Anyway, enjoy the story as always and look forward to more reviews lol
Specially thanks to my beloved beta Hero of Olympus in Disguise