Chapter 12
Rebecca's enchanted stone kept her visits to Diagon Alley uneventful. She was a shadow for all the attention anyone paid her. Rebecca didn't attribute it to the charm stone until she had sat in front of a horse for nearly an hour watching the trolls work on the roofs.
We are running out of time. The new security devices are nearly in place. A platform had been placed on the roofline of the house the wizards had talked on.
A man came walking by, not paying attention to where he was going. Rebecca had to jump out of the way to keep from being stepped on. Her dash put her at the hooves of the wagon horse. The sudden appearance of a cat startled it. The horse reared up, crying out in terror. It took several minutes for the driver to get the frightened animal under control again. Even though the cause of the disturbance had been there in full view the whole time, no one said a thing about a cat frightening the horse. The animal was accused of shying at nothing.
To test, Rebecca jumped up on the wagon after the animal had calmed. She sat on the far end away from where the driver was, but within the five feet, Mrs. Wendell had spoken of. She gave out a cry.
The driver looked around and under the wagon but didn't see the cat sitting beside him until he came back to take his seat. The next the driver shooed her off his wagon. Once off, though, the amused cat sat eight feet from him in plain sight, watching as he circled the wagon again, looking for her.
If there wasn't work to do, this could make a fun game.
Troll watching was diverted whenever the two wizards appeared. Wizard Malfoy seemed in charge of security for the district. He directed all the work and gave reports to Mr. Gryffindor. The older wizard was a town councilman of sorts. People came to him with problems and questions. He visited about and monitored what was going on. From time to time, the old man seemed to notice he had a shadow. Mr. Gryffindor would turn and look in Rebecca's direction above her head, but never made eye contact. He turned away, shaking his head with a puzzled expression.
On her fifth day as a cat, Rebecca watched as the security wizard, Malfoy, remove the old enchantment on the entryways to Diagon Alley one by one. He directed the trolls to install gate stones. Two of the entrances were open places between buildings. Once the enchantment was gone, big open places suddenly appeared. The wizard had large wagons parked between the entrances and the streets beyond, masking their activities. Some tried to make a shortcut through the work area. Mr. Malfoy paced about, barking warnings and orders the whole time the gates were down. When the stones were in place, the original enchantment was reactivated.
Rebecca watched, as uneasy as he was. Should something go wrong, and those enchantments go down permanently, this place would be discovered fast. It was easy for her to understand now how bad that would be for them and the rest of the city.
On the sixth day, with great fanfare, the new security charm was put in place. The main gate stone was set on the platform at the center of the roof's widow's walk. An ancient-looking man in black robes named, Nicolas Flamel, said some odd words over it. His flattering introduction said he was a gifted alchemist with advanced knowledge of magic stones. The control stone, now looking like a roof ornament, glowed green under the effect of his words. He told Mr. Malfoy to disable the old enchantment. As far as Rebecca could tell, nothing changed. The green light faded from the control stone after a few moments.
The group of officiating wizards moved to keep unseen. A man with a bag was walking by the wall. On the other side, a child complained her kite was stuck on the wall. The man good-naturedly put down his bag and retrieved the kite for the child. When he leaned up against the wall, He grunted, and bent slightly before pulling the kite down and giving it to the child. When the child turned away, he retrieved his bag. Holding his middle, and hurried down the road, ducking into an alley. Much laughter followed his movements.
"I think it works," Mr. Malfoy said cheerily. He led the wizards to the Spell Caster's Hall for refreshments.
Rebecca looked over the broad entry she knew would be visible if the gate stone was gone. These people were terrified of the people of London getting in here, and well, they should.
As much as one wished to think the age advanced, there was still much superstition and distrust of the occult. The charlatans that called themselves clairvoyants, alchemists, and supposedly good witches on her side of this wall were feared, ridiculed, and harassed constantly.
What would happen if an entire district of trolls, witches, wizards, and their various effects were uncovered? Rebecca didn't have to wonder too long. Pitchforks and torches. It always comes to pitchforks and torches.
Rebecca had no love for those who had forced her to live as a cat for the last week, but she didn't relish seeing the devastation their discovery would bring. The cat hopped down to the main city side of the wall and headed home. Tomorrow will be the day.