Of course, it would have been advisable to hatch a plan first and then act, but for some reason Albus had failed to think about that this time. It is all Dirk's fault; may his mouth get glued by a candy! And James', too…
And now he stood in the doorway of the room where he had wanted to get into last night and was at a loss for words. The girl – very pretty and not quite as sad as she was yesterday – was staring at him, apparently expecting an explanation.
"And what did your house elf do?" she sat down on a pouf, wrapping the robe around her and watching the boy curiously.
"Well, really, it is not his fault…" Al once again adjusted his glasses. "It is about my older brother. He likes to sleep and disliked being disturbed… and so when we got the house elf, James – my brother – ordered him to make sure that I always got a good night sleep. And Dirk – that's our house elf – always abides by that order. And I completely forgot about it last night. If not for that, I would have arrived then.
"And why did you come? Are you looking for your wand?"
He liked this girl: she did not ask silly questions and did not talk down to him. And she was not angry for his intrusion.
"Yes. A man took it from me yesterday and then entered this house."
"What did he look like?" the girl stood up and her eyebrows knitted together warily.
"He looked ordinary," Albus shrugged his shoulders. "By the way, I am Al."
"Well, hello, Al," the lady of the house shook the slightly smudged hand extended to her. "Helene."
"Do you live here? With that man?"
"I don't know who you are talking about," Helene smiled faintly. "Anyone could have entered the gate…" she waved her wand and a candy dish jumped out of the closet, full of chocolates. "Help yourself."
"Thank you," Albus sat down on the chair and reached for the candy. "Why did you look so sad last night?"
"Were you spying on me?" Helene asked cheerfully, still watching the boy, smiling.
"No, I was just passing by."
"By the way, what are you doing here, in this Merlin-forsaken place?" the girl also took a piece of candy.
"Looking for my wand," Albus also smiled: he was not about to tell this wonderful girl about the kidnapping attempt. What if she doesn't believe him and think him a liar? Or if she knows his would-be kidnapper and this would upset her? "And I also wanted to know why you were sad."
Helene watched her uninvited visitor with interest.
"You are an odd fish, Al."
"Why?"
"You show up in this little-known part of England, alone…"
"With Dirk," Albus corrected her.
"Fine, with a house elf, lose your wand somewhere, then break into a strange home, walk into a bedroom and ask for candy. What is this all about?"
Albus saw that Helene was watching him intently and a tad warily. Of course, he must appear very odd to her, indeed…
"If you wish, I can leave. But first, I need to find my wand."
"Are you hungry?"
"What?"
"I am asking whether you are hungry, Al. Want to have some breakfast?"
"Only if together with you," the boy smiled, imagining the face his brother would have made, should he hear him now.
Helene narrowed her eyes mockingly:
"There is really more to you than meets the eye, and I think that your brother had a good reason to have a house elf keep an eye on you. By the way, where is he?"
"Hmm, I believe he is at practice now; it is that time of the day. He is a Seeker for the 'London Lacewings' Quidditch team…"
"I was asking about your elf."
"I knew that," Albus smiled disarmingly, "but it is more interesting to talk about James than about Dirk. I sent him to look for my wand, while you and I chat."
"And you are not afraid that my house elves might do something with an intruder?"
"I think they would become fast friends. Just like you and I," Albus finished the last piece of chocolate and got to his feet.
"You are not afraid of anything, are you?"
"Well, I am a Potter."
Helene's pretty eyes became round:
"This is quite an honor: to have our house burglarized by the youngest Potter. Or is there someone even younger?" the girl asked jokingly, walking towards the walk-in closet door that stood slightly ajar.
"Not yet," Albus smiled again, "but Dad says that he is not going to remain just a dad for long; soon he will become a gramps. He has said that he is dreaming about a black-haired grandson and a ginger granddaughter. James, however, is of an opinion that the granddaughter will have silver hair, just like…"
"Wait!" Helene crossed the room and crouched before Albus, looking a little frightened.
"What is it? Do you think James is right?"
"Why would your brother say that? Does anyone else in your family have… silver hair?"
"Yes, Scorpius does," Albus shrugged his shoulders. "Although he has not been a family member for very long, and few people know about that."
"Who is this Scorpius?" it was as though Helene was trying to remember something, at least it seemed that way to Albus. Of course, he could read her mind, but he didn't: it would be adding insult to injury if he first intruded on her and then peeked into her mind without permission.
"He is my sister's husband. And before that, he was – and is – James' best mate. And before that, according to Lily, he was a detestable Slytherin, wicked Malfoy and all that…"
"Scorpius Malfoy?"
"Yeah. Do you know him?"
"I am not sure…" she got to her feet, staring at the wall as though trying to discern something there. "I don't think so. But I saw him… Along with your brother, I think..."
"Really? Where?"
"In a café at the Diagon Alley. Yes, of course, that black-haired chap wore a Quidditch team jacket. And I believe, he favoured you a lot."
"Not me – our dad, and before him – our grandpa who died when Dad was only a year old."
"Can you take me to see him… Scorpius Malfoy?"
"No problem, but why do you need him?" Albus very much wanted to look into Helene's mind, but he held himself back. It seemed to him that she was trying to recall something and failing. And also, she had grown sadder again.
"I don't know yet myself. But I am sure that it's important."
"Then let's find my wand and get going: I have a lot of things to do today," Al did not go into the details about Bertie, her mum, the kidnapping that he was yet to inform the adults about. Speaking of the kidnapping: "Who else lives here, besides you?"
"My husband; he is an advisor to the Minister of Magic," Helene said curtly over her shoulder, walking into her dressing room. "Elle?!"
The elf maid appeared promptly, out of breath, her apron askew. Her eyes were rolling strangely in her head.
"What happened?" the girl looked at the maid, while Albus ran over and began adjusting Elle's clothes. She shrank away from him with a squeak. "Elle, what's wrong?"
"We spotted a strange elf in the house, grabbed him, and he put up a fight. And then the new elf began defending him, so we tied them both up. Barely…"
Albus glanced fearfully at Helene and then said:
"Dirk!"
With a pop, a strange tangle of legs and arms, big ears and round eyes appeared in the middle of the room. Albus managed to make out Dirk, with arms and legs bound, gagged, and tied peculiarly to another house elf, restrained just as securely. The boy could only see a long nose peeking from behind Dirk and the flailing bare legs.
"Free them," Albus looked imploringly at Helene. "They didn't cause any harm…"
"They beat up Ervus," Elle squeaked, looking at the boy in indignation. "And they broke a tea service… And they sneaked into the Master's study… Stole a wand…"
"What wand?" Helene asked quickly. "Where is it?"
Elle dug around inside her apron pocket and pulled out a wand, which Albus immediately recognized.
"There, I told you it was here," the boy reached out toward Helene. "It is my wand."
"Was it in the Master's study?" Helene asked in disbelief, addressing either Albus, or Elle, or the two bound but still resisting house elves.
"Yes," the maid nodded, without giving the wand to Albus.
"Give it to him," Helene ordered. She was pale and even frightened. "Could he have simply found it?"
Or maybe it was him who took it from me in the first place, Albus thought to himself, but did not say out loud. He walked over to one of the elves and begun unwinding the ropes.
"Stay still, you two!" the boy said, a little crossly, because the elves got in the way of his attempt to liberate them from the bonds concocted by the local house elves. "And besides – why couldn't you have handled this yourselves? You have the magic!"
"They can't," Helene smiled, waving her wand, to help out Albus. "The enchantments placed by the house elves preclude them using their magic in this house."
The two elves finally stood straight, and Al anxiously looked over his (a tad bruised) house elf:
"This is just like you," the boy said in a very adult manner, trying to reprimand Dirk. "You always get into brawls…"
"But, Master Al, I found…"
"I know, you found my wand. Good for you," Albus complimented the house elf. He simply could not be too severe with his household companion. "But still, you…"
"Master Al!"
Albus jumped a little and finally took a good look at the elf bound to Dirk: he could not help but recognize the first house elf he had ever seen.
The Malfoys' house elf!
"Dong, what are you doing here?!"
"Do you know this elf?" Helene stepped forward, seeing the fierce embrace in which Albus enveloped Dong.
"Of course!" Al smiled, still not letting go of Dong. "This is Scorpius' and my sister's house elf, he always gives me candy when I visit with them."
"The Malfoy's elf?" Helene looked really frightened now. "But…"
"Yes, how did you get here, Dong?" Albus looked at the Scorpius' elf, who merely made big eyes and him and shook his head. "What's wrong with you?"
"He is forbidden to speak to anyone but the Master," Elle supplied, looking with dislike at the two elves.
"But…" Albus wanted to point out that Dong's master was Scorpius, but Helene grasped his shoulder.
"Let's go, Albus, we need to find Scorpius Malfoy. I don't understand all this…" she looked at a loss. She turned towards Dong. "Can you obey me?"
The elf nodded, staring hopefully at Albus.
"But no talking," Elle reminded him pointedly, her tiny hands at her hips. "And you are forbidden to leave the house…"
Dong's ears wilted, but perked right up when Helene spoke again:
"You will accompany me to the Diagon Alley."
"Helene, you…?"
"Albus, let's hurry," the girl took her cloak from the closet and then turned toward Elle who was watching them crossly: "I went to class and then shopping. Don't tell the master anything…"
The elf maid nodded, a little vexed, as though a nanny humouring a precocious child. Albus waved at Elle, and then turned towards the other two elves:
"Let's go, chaps; it is almost dinnertime."