Conception of a Conspiracy
Freya crossed her legs and looked coyly at Aiden. “Yes, the Felwiches and the Dennisons do run in the same circles. We’re both Slytherin families who live in Godric’s Hollow. And Renata, Reggie’s mother, is a Kane. She’s Cyrus’ Aunt. Our mothers have known one another forever.
“Roger Dennison is very wealthy. He bought the Dashwood estate when they finally died out. Nobody likes Roger, though. He’s backstabbed too many people on his way to the top. And he’s nouveau riche,” she added, with a sneer.
“As opposed to the Kanes,” said Aiden, “who have Old Money?”
“Much older money,” said Freya, her face sly and wise. “Like the Felwiches in that regard, by the way. When you’re sorted into Slytherin and initiated into the Emerald Club, some doors become open to you. When you marry into one of the older families, other doors come open. But not every door.”
“So, you’re saying Roger Dennison has been shut out of certain Slytherin events and councils because he’s nouveau riche and he’s a backstabber?”
“An egregious backstabber,” said Freya, “even by Slytherin standards.”
How do you know all this? Aiden wondered. He had a vision of Freya sitting at a dinner table, at the edge of a group of men, including her father. She was wearing a pretty dress, sitting quietly, eating daintily, and listening to every word the men said. Q would be impressed.
At three o’clock, the hunting party gathered again in the Entrance Hall. The rain had subsided into a heavy mist. They ran out to Gregor’s car in twos and threes to get into the backseat. Gregor drove them home in the opposite order in which he picked everyone up. The first stop was East Barnet.
The room was quiet on the way back. Everyone was tired after a full day searching through the castle. A few people dozed off while others talked quietly. Q pondered her next few moves.
What’s my story, in case anyone saw me getting into the car with Umberto and Jim? She considered the question for a few minutes. I was at the boys’ school, obviously, not the ‘prissy girl’ school. We went up to the school to find contraband. Porn? No, too sordid. Drugs of some kind. Not marijuana. Meth. That sounds more sinister. Someone was selling meth. The evil addict/drug-dealer kid, Dennison is his name, had stashed some meth somewhere on campus. The headmaster and the prefects were all searching for it. But boys are stupid and can’t see things that are right in front of their faces. They needed me to help look, since I’m a prefect, too, and I’m careful and have good attention to details.
She ran the story over in her head. I may as well tell the gang that I’m a prefect. My mum will say something to them about it eventually. I could even show them the badge, so they see how ridiculous it all is.
When they pulled up to the Quillan’s house in East Barnet, Q said, “No need to walk me to the door. Thanks for everything, Professor. Sorry we didn’t find the thing today.”
“Thanks for your help, Claire,” said Gregor. “Keep your eyes open when you are back on campus in September. We will find this thing yet.”
The next stop was Biggleswade. Liam gave Gillian a kiss and waved good-bye to everyone else. “See you all September the First!” he said cheerfully.
When he and Patrick were inside their house, Annie asked, “How was your day, boys?”
“Great!” said Patrick. “I got to hang out with Jill’s brother Todd. He was in Gryffindor, too! He’s older than Jill and Liam. He took me everywhere. He knows all these secret places in the castle.
“First, we went to the Room of Requirement. Gregor was there, too. Gregor said that before the Battle of Hogwarts, that room was full of random stuff – books, furniture, statues, all kinds of crazy stuff - but it all burned in a fire during the battle. It’s been a while since then, and there were a few things in there, today. We looked around, but of course, we didn’t find it. So Todd took me to some other places – secret rooms, rooms with trap doors in the floor – places I’ve never been before and would never find unless he showed me. And then we were in this long underground tunnel. We were walking forever, and I’m thinking ‘Where are we going?’ but Todd knew the way, so I just went along. And you know where we ended up? At Honeydukes! He even bought me a chocolate frog!”
“That was nice of him,” said Annie. “Where were you when all this was happening?”
“Jill and I were searching the dungeons. That took a while. There are plenty of loose stones and weird rooms to check out.”
“What were you looking for, again?”
“This book. See, this punk kid in Patty’s year …”
“Dennison,” interjected Patrick.
“… well, he shot a bad curse at Jill last term. Me and Lara helped treat her. It was Lara, mostly. She’s in Healing Arts.” Liam had no desire to discuss the heat spell in front of his mother and brother. “Afterwards, Professor Gregor traced the spell to this one book. We figured Dennison had a copy of it, but he didn’t have it on him when we searched him at the station at the end of last term, so we figured he must have stashed it somewhere on campus. We didn’t find it, but Lara’s pretty sure that we will. She can see the future, you know.”
“Lara is Alex and Tonia’s daughter?” asked Annie.
“Yes.”
“I saw them at the station back in June. They helped me get onto the platform. I think you did tell me once that she can see the future. Something about a card deck, too.”
“Yeah, Lara has this deck of cards that tells your future, almost like a tarot card reader at the fair, but way more accurate. I’ve never asked her for a card, though. I’ve seen it mess with people’s heads. I just let the future come to me."
“That’s probably wise. You’re not dating Lara, though. You’re dating Jill?”
“Yes.”
“Jill’s the red-haired girl with freckles. Very athletic.”
“Yes.”
“And this boy hurt her?”
“Yeah, but we took care of it.”
“Don’t go looking for an excuse to fight him.”
“I won’t. I’m a prefect, so I have to model the code of conduct. But he better watch it around me. If I can bust him for something, I’m going to do it. And we’re finding this book. If Lara says we will, then we will.”
The black sedan proceeded to Godric’s Hollow. Gregor made several stops, bringing students right to their doors.
When Morwena had entered the car that morning, she greeted Gillian warmly. “Roycester, I didn’t have the chance to say this at the end of term last year, but we were simply appalled by what happened to you. Yes, Gryffindors and Slytherins are fierce competitors, but we never wished any of you harm. Dennison was quite out of line. We are furious with him.”
Jill smirked at this ostentatious display, but she said, “Thanks, Felwich.”
That evening, as the car stopped in front of the Felwich’s mansion, Morwena took Gillian’s hand in both of hers. “We will find this book. We will put an end to this nonsense once and for all!”
As Morwena and Freya left the car, Gillian rolled her eyes. She sent out a telepathic message which Todd, Sadie and Aiden both heard. Still kissing up to Gregor. What's she after this time? She’s already a prefect!
“She’s angling to be Head Girl,” said Aiden.
“Exactly what I was thinking, kid,” said Todd.
Gillian moved to Todd’s other side and sat next to Sadie. “You look happy.”
The two girls embraced. “Yes, I’m feeling better about things,” said Sadie.
“I’m glad.” They spent the next few minutes talking, until Gregor pulled up in front of the Roycester’s property.
Sadie and Aiden had been the first students to be picked up, and they were the last to be dropped off. As soon as they came in the door, their mother called out, “Go wash your hands, please! It’s time for dinner.”
Genevieve had made a hearty stew, which she ladled in to wide, shallow bowls. When everyone was served, Sadie summarized her search of the library. Aiden followed that up with his search of the wharf with Freya.
Sadie said, “I’ve been thinking, after I’ve graduated from Hogwarts, I think I’d like to go back to California. I was so young when I visited there. I have fond memories, but there’s a ton of stuff that just went right by me.”
“Would this be a little trip, maybe with one of your girlfriends?” asked Genevieve.
“I was thinking of staying there for a while.”
“But who would be with you?” pressed Genevieve.
“Nobody. I’ll be by myself. I’ll get a job or something and stay there for a while.”
Gerald spoke. “Why don’t you enter a graduate program at the magical academy there? That way, you would use your time wisely and productively, and you would have professors and school administrators to check in with, to whom you could go in times of need.”
“I don’t know what I want to study,” said Sadie. “I just want to go back and experience Santa Cruz again.”
“As a graduate student working with an advisor,” said Gerald, “you could craft an open-ended course of study that would allow you to follow your magical intuition.”
“I still don’t think you should go out to California without a girlfriend, someone to be your roommate.”
“I didn’t have a lot of friends when I started at Hogwarts,” countered Sadie. “I didn’t even know Jill at first. I’ll make new friends. I’ll be fine.”
“It’s an intriguing idea,” said Gerald. “I still have some contacts at the academy. I’ll reach out to them and see what they recommend.”
Aiden did not know what to make of his sister’s sudden desire to return to Santa Cruz. He didn’t ponder the puzzle for long, as he had other things on his mind. He never connected it with the fact that Sadie had spent the day with the seer, Lara Guishar.
That evening, Aiden, Sadie and Gerald watched a movie in their home theater, the Swedish Muggle film about vampires called Let the Right One In. Genevieve had no interest in watching a vampire movie, so she sat in another room and read a book. Aiden found it exciting and surprisingly accurate. Vampires are really like this, thought Aiden.
As the film was wrapping up, he asked his father, “How did they get this through the ISWS censors?”
“Like dragons and werewolves, vampires have long been part of the Muggle experience,” said Gerald. “Mostly, they have been relegated to the realm of myth and legend. Any depiction of vampires, even ones as accurate as this, are considered fiction. Therefore, Ministry need not interfere. A minimalist approach is often best – I wish our government would take that maxim to heart more often.”
Later, Aiden lay in bed, staring up at his dark ceiling, pondering all that he had learned about the Dennisons from Freya, and combining it with Lara Guishar’s prophecy about Reginald and Professor Gregor’s advice about revenge. Aiden strove to bring it all into one cohesive plan of attack. Sleep overcame him before he could come to an answer.
In the morning, he stared at the same spot of his ceiling as the morning summer light brightened his room. His mind immediately returned to the problem before him.
How do you take revenge on a family in a subtle way, so it’s never discovered, and so, can’t be retaliated against? And have it not be so subtle that it doesn’t even matter?
What do I know so far? According to Freya, Roger Dennison is rich. He’s wealthy enough to buy an estate off some dying pureblood family. But everybody hates him because he’s just as much of a jerk as his son is. And, his bloodline isn’t quite as old as, say, the Felwiches or the Kanes.
Lara Guishar says that Reginald will die young if he doesn’t change his ways. And it doesn’t look like he has at all, since he’s started to learn some Dark Magic and already tried it on someone. Has he seen the error of his ways now, or will he be the same petulant brat he’s always been? He probably thinks he got away with it. His parents came and bailed him out like they always do. And Professor Gregor can’t find the book, so he can’t prove that Reggie had it and used it to curse Jill.
If Reggie doesn’t change his ways, he’ll die young. What will his parents do then? What good is all that money going to do them? They only have one child. Reggie’s their only heir. They’re assuming he’ll be there to pass their wealth on to, but he won’t be. What are they going to do when their son dies young?
An audacious thought struck him, and he laughed aloud. They should give it to me! They should make me the heir! And you know what I’ll do? I’ll give all their money away to charity! The Food Pantry! The Women’s shelter! The ballet, even! They’ll be rolling in their graves, the three of them! He laughed again. Here was the subtle revenge Professor Gregor spoke of! They won’t be able to stop me! They won’t be able to retaliate, because by the time I pull it off, they will all be dead!
Then, his laughter died, and a sudden chill took him. He gathered his blankets up to his chin. This isn’t a joke. Reggie is going to die young. And when he does, the Dennisons will need an heir.
If I wait until he’s dead, it’ll be too late. They’ll pick someone they know, like Cyrus Kane or Jason Carter. No, if I’m going to be the heir, I need to make my move, get in with Reggie’s mum and dad, while he’s still alive. I’ve got to become a second son to them, so that when he dies, I’m the obvious choice to be the heir.
How the heck to I do that?
I’ve got only one advantage – I know what’s coming. Jason doesn’t believe Guishar’s prophecy. Cyrus probably doesn’t even know about it. And the Dennisons certainly don’t believe it. But I do. I need to stay alert and look for an opening. Stay on the initiative. Act before anyone else even thinks to act.
How do I keep this from Reggie? He’s gonna smell a rat the second he sees me kissing up to his folks. I have to somehow do this without him knowing what I’m up to.
I don’t know his parents. I don’t even know how to meet them.
One more piece of his plan locked into place. Freya knows them. She could introduce me.
He couldn’t see the future, not like Lara could, but one thing was clear to him at that moment – he would need to orchestrate this whole crazy plan with the help of Freya Felwich.