Chapter Twenty-Nine
A Patron and a Partner
Despite having a bath the evening before, Gilderoy decided that another bath would be just the thing to get him moving in the morning, managing to pull himself together early enough to have time to drop off his suit at the Robe Cleaners near the far end of Diagon Alley. Much to his relief, his wasn't the only set of robes that had been turned in with cream and custard on it; apparently several of the other guests who had been brave enough to stay over had sent their robes as well.
"I see you're well versed in this Spectral Ball thing," Gilderoy commented as the Elven woman handed him a ticket.
"Oh, yes, sir. It's one of our busiest days of the year! Thank you, it'll be ready first thing tomorrow," she assured him.
"Thank you," he replied.
He wandered back down the alley, stopping to buy and peruse the morning paper. After scanning it intently, a pleased smile crossed his face. He folded it back up neatly and put it away before climbing the stairs up to Emil Trench's flat. He knocked rhythmically and the door opened. He stepped in to see the wizard putting down his wand distractedly after opening for him. Emil was apparently busy with his research.
That was when Gilderoy realized just how many books and scrolls there were in the room. A fine oak bookcase housed most of them in the far corner, along with a hand-carved wine rack that was serving as a scroll rack for a multitude of ancient scrolls.
"Why, that corner is as good as a library now," Gilderoy declared, amazed at how much had changed in a week. "This sofa and tea table looks brand new. And what lovely scented candles! I take it that you managed to sell all of the items you put up in the auction house."
"That was part of it," Emil said, turning the page. "The rest came from a very generous advance from Wizardday Publishing. I agreed to have the bulk of my research organized and published in a book."
"The advance was generous?" Gilderoy repeated with a skeptical smile. "I've been a best seller under Wizardday for years, and yet I can't recall a single time that I could claim that Wizardday gave me a generous advance. Fortunately I'm a fast writer, so it didn't matter so much. Perhaps you simply felt as if they paid you well because of the lump sum? It does have to last you several months, so it's wise to stay frugal."
"I was promised a weekly retainer, as long as I report my progress to one of the assistant editors," Emil replied, marking his place. "It is nice to be paid what my research is worth for a change. Perhaps I could put in a good word for you... or are you just an entertainer now?"
"And just what do you mean by that?" Gilderoy asked. Emil picked up a paper, which was already folded to the society page.
"Despite the dreadful weather, the Spectral Ball was still a unqualified success, thanks to the attentive faculty and several alumni volunteers who helped to keep the guests comfortable and entertained. 'We owe a special thanks to Tonks Dalance and Rhett Heron for helping with security, as well as Gilderoy Lockhart, who kept the guests entertained until the end of the evening,' said Deputy Headmaster Weasley," Emil read.
"I spent the evening accounting my many adventures to those who were privileged enough to attend," Gilderoy explained.
"Really. And how many of those stories were actually yours?" Emil asked dryly.
"Most of them," Gilderoy said indignantly. "I have had plenty of my own adventures, you know, especially these last few years."
"You mean while you've been busy tracking down those you Obliterated so that they could be cured," Emil said icily.
"Naturally. I wrote about many of them in my last book," Gilderoy pointed out, suspecting that Emil had yet to read it.
"It is lucky that you happen to be in a profession you can still earn a living while you're in the process of redeeming yourself," Emil said.
"True, true," Gilderoy agreed, looking around. "Although I hope you don't mind my pointing it out, but from the looks of this apartment, you seem to be quite settled now. Can I assume then you no longer need my help with expenses?"
"For this apartment, no," Emil replied, but then opened a book again. "Save what you can so that we can use it for expenses for the expedition."
"The expedition? Do you have a lead on the location of Pandora's Box?" Gilderoy asked with interest.
"I need to go to Italy for further research, but I am hoping my journey will give us the information we need to continue. Besides, winter is coming and I don't much like the weather here," Emil said.
"Is your parole officer aware of this trip?" Roy asked.
"Yes, my legal counselor took care of it for me, categorizing this as a business trip. As long as I'm back in a fortnight and make my parole meeting, it's within my legal limits, and I have proof that I'm under contract with Wizardday to give me a justifiable reason to leave the country. After this first trip, the parole board will no longer be a problem, since I only need to report until the end of January. That friend of yours... the lumberjack who is watching my medallion..."
"He's a Defense professor at Fishanwish, actually," Roy explained.
"I assume he will be going with us," Emil said.
"Provided it is a weekend trip or during his school's winter holiday, yes. He has told me on numerous occasions that his job comes first and foremost... being my bodyguard was nothing but an way for him to make a bit extra, you see," Roy explained.
"But he will be going if scheduling permits," Emil concluded.
"Yes, more than likely, although he has some doubts on whether or not the medallion truly is connected to Pandora's Box," Roy admitted. "He believes it was likely carved between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries."
"Let him doubt it if he likes! I've had to deal with intellectual blowhards my entire career thinking they know better than I do, despite being the leading expert on the subject! He'll change his mind when we find the box we're looking for. You see, I have a hunch that Pandora's Box has been misidentified just like the medallion has been; its locking charm is so sophisticated for the time that it may have been mistaken for a much later piece. It may be in someone's private collection, or stowed in a vault, or even left in situ on an archaeological site," Emil explained.
"If that is the case, how will we ever find it? There must be dozens hundreds of sites set in that time period along the Mediterranean," Roy said.
"Yes, but the vast majority of them would have been categorized and excavated for magical items by Wizard teams, and all of them would have logs and photos of each and every item before they would be allowed to license and sell it. I am going to Italy to go through the Wizard Archives to search through those photos. The pattern in that medallion is unique, and I may be able to find a match. At the very least, I'll be able to use what I find to eliminate sites through a process of elimination," Emil said.
"I see. Well then, I suppose I should wish you good luck until you get back," Roy said. "Do you need any funding for the trip?"
"No need, it's already been taking care of," Emil assured him, flipping another page.
Jennifer had every intention of spending lunch the next day getting caught up from her two day absence. It was something that she had gotten used to over the last few years, but nevertheless, it tended to leave her desk piled up with haphazard work as she preferred to finish whatever fell out of the pile first rather than sorting it into any particular order.
Just then an owl perched on the windowsill and Jennifer immediately brightened.
"Oh hello, Wilder! How lovely to see you! Would you like some lunch? Come and have some tea at least!" Jennifer insisted.
"Is lunch allowed when I'm on official business?" Wilder hooted.
"Of course. I do most of my official business over meals," Jennifer replied. "Come on in!"
Wilder hopped off the window sill and was human before he reached the ground, dressed in a dapper suit.
"Thank you, Jennifer... Mum... actually this is an official visit. Do you have an Agent name?" Mage asked.
"Alex doesn't want me to ever get comfortable enough to get an Agent name. Typically, I come in on behalf of the Auror department," Jennifer explained.
"She did say something about that. Perhaps I should call you Auror Jennifer?" he wondered.
"I think we can dispense with that. Pumpkin butter, cucumber, or hummus?" Jennifer asked, looking between the bread.
"I do love a good cucumber sandwich," Mage admitted. Jennifer smiled and filled up his plate.
"After all, it's a long flight," Jennifer said.
"Thank you," he said sincerely.
"How's little Beatrice?" Jennifer asked.
"Such an angel! As cute as a button no matter what form she's in," he replied.
"She can change already?" Jennifer asked with surprise.
"Oh, not on her own, no. She can only change when I'm holding her to match the race I've changed into so that I can always take care of her. It's... what did Doctor Sagittari call it... a survival adaptation," he explained. "I hate being away from her for a long time... it makes me so anxious," he admitted.
"That's quite natural, especially when they're this young," Jennifer assured him, getting a plate of her own. "So what is this official business you're here about?"
"Oh, yes! The official business. Actually, it's about Emil Trench. Have you heard of him?" he asked.
"Yes, he's the wizard who Rhett is holding that jade medallion for... the medallion that's supposedly a key and that I haven't gotten my hands on yet because they all keep dodging me on the subject," Jennifer said.
"That's the one... at least, I assume so, although I'm surprised you haven't seen the medallion yet. Alexandria mentioned that Heron and Lockhart both have made more than one trip to the castle," Mage said.
"Well, they weren't here to see me," Jennifer said. "To be fair, I was gone on Halloween for other reasons, since I also have a job abroad, as I'm sure you know. So even if Rhett was ready to bring it up, I wasn't at the ball. I do admit to be curious about it, though, and I'm hoping that Rhett will eventually let me have a look at it."
"Yes, that'd be very helpful," Mage said. "Because, you see, Alexandria wants to know if there's any chance that you'd be interested in looking into it... discreetly... perhaps even try to find the thing before Emil Trench does."
"Really? Well, I don't mind helping. In fact, I had been hoping that someone would ask me for help, but I was expecting it to come from Rhett or Roy on Emil's behalf. I wasn't expecting the Ministry to be interested in this sort of treasure hunt... quite the opposite, in fact, considering it will no doubt mean crossing borders to look for it," Jennifer replied. "It would cause international headaches."
"More than likely that's why it ended up in our department, considering that Harry Potter was the first one expressing concern over it... both the Minister of Magic's office and the LE office denied his request to go after it, saying that he had more important things to take care of here," Mage explained. "Even Alexandria thought it wasn't worth the trouble at first. She felt that Lockhart had gotten caught up in believing his own narratives again, and that it would turn out that the relic was probably destroyed... if it existed at all."
"I'd say that conjecture is quite likely, otherwise, I'm sure it would have been found a long time ago," Jennifer agreed. "What made her change her mind ?"
"It's because Mr. Trench suddenly began receiving an impressive amount of money," Mage explained. "Not only were the bidders at his items auction overly generous, but Wizardday Weekly decided to buy the rights to Mr. Trench's book based on his research... and then provided him an extraordinarily large advance considering the nature of the work."
"In other words, Bagman has taken an interest," Jennifer concluded, and Mage nodded in agreement. "But why would he care one way or another? As the former leader of Equinox, I know he's avid about artifacts and cares about where they go after they're acquired, but is it really as simple as him wanting to keep it out of the wrong hands?"
"By the wrong hands, I assume you mean any hands but his," Mage suggested with amusement.
"I'm really not sure what I mean. I guess what I'm trying to ask is, what's in it for Ludo?" Jennifer wondered.
"Uncertain as of yet. Alexandria has also mentioned the possibility that he is simply trying to keep it out of the museum, but she knows better than to assume anything without evidence. We don't even know if Mr. Trench realizes who is benefactor actually is. The only person that he's come in contact with other than LE officers and Roy is Ambassador Aldus," Mage explained.
"So he might not even know who the real benefactor is," Jennifer concluded, and Mage nodded. "I wonder if there's some sort of back history between them?"
"Alexandria is going through all Mystery records to look, but there's no guarantee anything is there," Mage warned. "Bagman did destroy a great many of the records from when he ran the Ministry of Mysteries, so it may take some time. So, what should I tell Alexandria? Are you going to help us look for Pandora's Box?"
"It's a Pithos," Jennifer corrected.
"Maybe we'll just call it, 'the artifact in question," Mage suggested. "What is your reply?"
Jennifer sighed resignedly.
"I will help out on two conditions... first, that I can tell Severus so that I don't have to lie to him about it, and second, that I work on my own schedule as time permits, because I have very little time as it is," Jennifer said. "Not only am I serving important positions in two different schools, but we have a Hogsmeade trip this weekend, not to mention a family wedding in two months -"
"I am certain that Alexandria knows you're busy, just as I am certain that she will accept whatever time and help you can give."
"I'd also like a partner, and I'd like it to be Harry Potter," Jennifer added for good measure. Mage blinked.
"I was expecting you to ask for a partner, but I was expecting it to be Severus," he admitted.
"Of course it should be Harry, especially if he had already been wanting to look into it. Harry's got quite the knack when it comes to tracking down ancient relics... especially when someone else doesn't want him looking," Jennifer explained. "Besides, if I've learned anything in recent years is that there are some things that Severus and I do better when we're working together, and there are some things that Severus and I do better when we're apart. This is definitely one of the latter."
"Can you meet Alexandria and I at the tea room in Hogsmeade on Saturday for meeting? We can use a grandmother's right to baby inspection to explain while we're together," Mage suggested. "Alexandria told me that no one would be suspicious of you attempting to walk off with a baby."
"She knows me well," Jennifer agreed with an amused smile.