Chapter Eleven | Gradatim vincimus
[We conquer by degrees]
Vivian has been to Knockturn Alley before, many times. Her father would occasionally bring her along with him on his various trips to several of the storefronts along the main road. His ongoing search for books pertaining to dark magic had meant that a visit to Flourish and Blotts wouldn't have cut it. The sorts of books sold on those shelves hold no comparison to her father's collection. His interest in dark magic and occult tradition requires a more fitting destination. She's been here without her father a few times too, with Morrigan and Narcissus, but they hadn't gone very far before turning back. In all of these instances, the afternoon sun had lit their way, drifting down into the streets and illuminating the street. This time, though, the moon is their only light source, and the thin crescent is too shrouded by the thick clouds to be of much use.
"Are you cold?" Sirius asks in an undertone. He's walking close to her side with his hands shoved into his pockets. She knows that one of them is grasping his wand.
In a murmur, she responds, "No," but it isn't entirely true. The evening is brisker than she had anticipated, and she regrets having chosen this thin summer cloak. With summer slowly collapsing into autumn, the nights have grown steadily colder, ushering in the telltale signs of the change of seasons.
"I didn't think to bring a spare cloak," Sirius mutters as the pair makes their way around a darkened corner. He shifts closer to her as they do. His eyes flicker around the street as if he's expecting that one of the cloaked figures walking towards them will draw their wand on them. Nothing happens, though. The figures hasten past with only a cursory glance at the pair, seemingly intent on whatever business they are conducting at this hour.
Vivian huffs, "I'm fine, Sirius," and falls into silence. This is, admittedly, not what she had been expecting when Sirius had suggested that she come along on their next mission. Now she understands why the Marauders have been so glum about the assignments they've been given, though. So far, they've been into a couple of shops, but the shop owners have been very close-lipped about anything that doesn't directly involve their wares. They haven't discovered anything of import, any connections, any artifacts, or indeed, any other questionable customers. It's already close to midnight now and they're on their way to meet up with James, Lily, and Peter. Remus had left for Romania a few days ago, and he hadn't been sure when he'd be back.
"They should be somewhere around here," Vivian murmurs. Upon deciding to split up, they agreed to return to this street in an hour's time to regroup. Knockturn Alley is much more encompassing than it appears from its vantage point near Diagon Alley. Its many streets cut deep into a network of narrow corridors and alleyways. The main street is home to many shops, but there are many others the further in you go. It's easy to get lost here.
The thought obviously concerns Sirius, who reaches out to take Vivian's arm and pull her to a stop. Together, they pause nearby a flickering lamppost and sink into the shadows just beyond it.
"Hold on a minute," Sirius mutters, digging around in the pocket of his cloak. After some moments, he pulls out a thin, square mirror. It's dull reflection slices through the darkness just so.
Vivian tilts her head at it. It looks oddly familiar. She's sure she's seen it before.
"James," Sirius hisses into it, much to her confusion.
"What are you doing?" she demands in a whisper, feeling half amused but mostly baffled. She always knew Sirius was insane, but honestly, this takes it to a new level.
Sirius glances over at her and murmurs, "What does it look like I'm doing?" Then, without further explanation, he turns back to the mirror and hisses again, "James, answer me you prat."
Vivian lifts her eyebrows. As she stares at him, a memory comes to the surface of her mind. Actually, several memories. She has seen that mirror before, now that she's thinking about it. She's seen both Sirius and James holding it from time to time during classes back at Hogwarts, and she recalls seeing Sirius with it after he had used her own spell against her in the beginning of seventh year and had made her spew out all sorts of disgusting compliments to everyone she spoke to…
Just as Sirius is opening his mouth to say something else, a whispered voice sounds, "Don't call me a prat, you tosser," from the mirror, and Vivian's eyebrows lift a little higher.
She leans in, grasping Sirius's arm to keep her balance as she looks into the mirror. To her surprise, James's face appears on the other side, darkened in shadows and just barely visible.
"Where are you?" Sirius asks. "I thought we agreed to meet up after an hour."
James's expression furrows. "We're down by that creepy divination shop – the one that sells these crystal balls that start screaming at you whenever you look at them? You've got to get over here, Padfoot. Pete saw Lucius Malfoy just now. I made him transform into a rat and go inside to see what they're up to, but Lily and I can't go in ourselves – look, just come here as soon as you can, I'll explain once you're here."
With that, James's face disappears. It seems that he's shoved the mirror back into his pocket, because a moment later, all they see is several folds of dark fabric before everything turns black. Then, a moment after that, whatever magic had forged the connection between the mirrors fades away, and Vivian and Sirius's faces are all that they see reflecting back at them.
"…The divination shop? I think that's a few streets down from here," Vivian says as Sirius slips the mirror back into his own pocket. She catches him eye with a solemn expression and murmurs, "Have you seen Malfoy around here on any of your other missions?"
Sirius frowns, "Well, yeah, actually. We've seen a few of them, but they've never gone into any shop in particular and they've always noticed us eventually." He sighs and nods towards the street, "Let's go."
Vivian falls into step beside him as they head back down the street that they had only just walked down minutes before, retracing their steps back into the depth of the alley. One would think that, at this hour, it would be bereft of life, but not so here in Knockturn Alley. She sticks close to Sirius when they pass a particularly old hag who keeps muttering to herself, and she doesn't look at anyone directly.
"So…that mirror," Vivian says as they approach the end of the street. She smirks and sends Sirius a side-long glance. "I always thought you were just obsessed with yourself, carrying that thing around everywhere you went."
Sirius snorts out a laugh and sends her a smirk, too. "Well, I am ridiculously handsome, but I don't need a mirror to tell me that."
She rolls her eyes at him with an amused smile, but that's where their conversation falls away. This isn't exactly the ideal place to have lighthearted dialogue, after all, especially when they finally catch sight of James and Lily a few streets down.
"There you are," James says, sounding relieved. "Wormtail's still inside. I'm starting to get a bit worried."
Sirius and Vivian come to a stop beside them and look towards the shop that James gestures at. Most of the shops are closed at this hour, but several lights stream out of this one. Vivian doesn't recognize it. Even with her father, she's never been this deep into Knockturn Alley before.
"How long has he been in there?" Sirius asks, eyeing the windows. Beyond the display of divination tools – dusty crystal balls, ancient looking tarot decks, and the like – they can just about see the telltale sign of Lucius Malfoy's white-blonde hair standing by a towering shelf. He appears to be talking to the shop owner, a grumpy looking man who seems somewhat wary of Lucius by the way he's partially bent over as if in a perpetual bow.
Lily twists her mouth thoughtfully and guesses, "Fifteen minutes, maybe? It took James a couple of minutes to convince Peter to transform too, so Malfoy's been there for a bit longer. He's been talking to that man since he went inside."
"That's strange," Vivian mutters. She studies Lucius closely, and can't help but recall seeing his father at the Ministry all those weeks ago. What Lucius is doing here, at this hour, she has no idea, but it surely isn't anything good.
"We'll wait a few more minutes," Sirius decides, and leans back against the wall with his arms crossed, looking far more casual than he has any right to.
A few minutes pass them by, but Lucius doesn't leave. He lingers in the shop for at least ten minutes more before he turns to face the window. His expression is thunderous, his eyes narrowed. The shop owner, grumpy as he seems, looks rather shaken as he follows Lucius to the door. The three of them huddle back into the shadows of the narrow alcove James and Lily had been standing in to avoid being seen.
When the door swings open, it's clear that Lucius is indeed annoyed. From across the way, they hear him drawl something particularly rude to the shop owner, who frowns but doesn't reply or attempt to defend himself. He seems to know who he's dealing with and smartly remains silent. Lucius merely scoffs and sweeps out of the shop, pulling his cloak about his form as he goes. He doesn't turn his head or notice that he has company, nor does he see the rather fat rat that scurries out of the shop just before the shop owner pulls the door shut, grumbling as he goes.
"Thank Merlin," James whispers as the rat dashes across the shadowy street to where they're standing. A moment later, the small creature begins to transform into the familiar form of Peter Pettigrew, who immediately begins to mop at his brow as he collapses against the stone wall with a heaving sigh.
When he doesn't say anything, Sirius demands, "Well? What happened?"
Peter startles a bit, perhaps having not realized that Sirius and Vivian had joined up with them. His nose twitches in the way it often does just after he transforms – a habit that the Marauders are all accustomed to by now, but still unsettles Vivian whenever she happens to see it. In a shallow voice, as if all the air has become compressed within his lungs, Peter explains, "He's looking – looking for an artifact that will – raise the dead." Then, with a shudder, Peter gives out a tremble and says nothing more.
James and Sirius glance at each other, then over at Vivian. It is plain to see that their thoughts are on the same exact wavelength that Vivian's are. They're obviously remembering Vivian's explanation of her impromptu run-in with Regulus, and the message he had for her.
"…It sounds like they're trying to work out some sort of alternative plan," Sirius mutters.
James appears to agree. "Whatever wards you've put around your new place seems to be working, otherwise they probably would've found you by now, Vivian."
She purses her mouth and hums, crossing her arms over her chest with a grimace. As for Peter, he finally seems to have caught his breath. The adrenaline that had stolen it now fades enough for him to say more clearly, "I think you're right, Prongs. I heard Malfoy say something about how his acquaintance's plans weren't working…I think he must've been talking about Mulciber."
This information doesn't sit well with Sirius, who glances over at Vivian with a hooded expression. She can see the concern in his eyes clear as day, but she's not sure how to assuage his worries. She doesn't know what to say to make him feel better about their current circumstances, but she does know one thing. It's a thought that slowly unfurls within her mind, gaining gravity the more it festers. It's a plan that could backfire with terrible consequences…but it could also give the Order a leg up, which is something they desperately need right about now…
"I have an idea, but you're probably not going to like it," Vivian says, knowing full well that the concern in Sirius's eyes is only going to get worse once he hears the extent of said idea.
Still, sacrifices must be made for the greater good, sometimes, and Vivian Blair just so happens to be in the ideal position for this particular sacrifice.