The Devil's Advocates
Tess was used to her love life being a topic of conversation at Hogwarts. News of her dance with Patrick Wren was quickly, breathlessly, spread around school. Calliope, Mona and Sally caught up with her Sunday afternoon for more information.
“You were dancing with a younger boy at the ball on Saturday night?” asked Calliope.
“Yes,” said Tess. “I’d been stuck with Tobie Eagleton the entire night. I kept thinking someone would come to rescue me, but I guess Pierce and Blake wanted to punish me, and nobody else stepped forward.”
The girls nodded their heads. They had heard about Tess’ abrupt breakup with Pierce as well as the Coven’s punishment of Blake earlier in the term. It made sense that neither boy would quickly come rescue her from a dull Ravenclaw boy.
“If Tobie danced with me for one more song, he was going to start acting like he was my boyfriend,” continued Tess, “and I’m simply not interested in being a short-term rental.”
This term caused some sideways glances between the Ravenclaw girls. After Patrick cut in on him, Tobie Eagleton turned to Ravenclaw Sixth Year Trillian Dent for that last slow song. They were now a couple, though no one expected the relationship to last beyond the end of the term.
“But, a Fourth Year boy?” asked Desdemona, skeptically.
“Not just any Fourth Year boy,” said Tess. “Patrick is the Alpha, the Captain of that lot. He was showing off for his mates. It was a very Gryffindor thing to do.”
In another part of the castle, the Fourth Year girls were comparing notes from the previous evening. They came to the same conclusion that Tess did about the dance between her and Patrick. “He’s was getting his ‘dance with a pretty girl at the Ball’ merit badge,” said Belladonna. There was some bitterness in her voice. She was a little hurt that Patrick abruptly moved on from her after just one dance.
The girls quickly moved on to a topic that they found more interesting. Alyssa said to the group, “Ellie and Theo – when did that happen?”
All eyes turned to Elanor, sitting quietly at the edge of the circle. She was often distracted with her own thoughts, and she paid little attention to campus gossip, but that day, she gave them a smug smile.
“The boys all had their first girls picked out,” said Ellie, “and Theo picked me.”
“But, unlike everybody else,” said Bell, “Theo stayed with you.”
“We had a nice time talking,” said Ellie. “When we weren’t dancing, we were talking.”
“And, he walked you back to the tower,” said Bell.
“Did he kiss you?” asked Katie, eagerly.
Ellie blushed and shook her head. “No. It was a first date. We held hands and danced, and that’s it. Oh, and I gave him a hug at the end of the night, after he walked me to the base of the tower. Everyone was glaring at us, because he was a Hufflepuff, but he didn’t care. He wanted to walk with me. He thought it was proper. But no kiss. He says he wants to take me to the movies, but I’m not sure how that’s going to happen, since he doesn’t live in the Hollow.”
“Had you two even spoken prior to Saturday night?” asked Alyssa.
Ellie shook her head. “No. He’s in my Arithmancy study group, but he only comes right before exams.”
“I’m going to tell him to start coming every week,” said Bell.
With the thrill of the Winter Ball behind them, the students fell back into the dull school routine. The second Hogsmeade weekend was still a few weeks away, and there was nothing to do but focus on their studies. The Ravenclaws took advantage of the lull to master as much material as they could, so they could flaunt their knowledge and cut into the Hufflepuff’s lead in House Points. They made little headway, however. Liam’s plan was working to perfection.
Every day, the Hufflepuffs scored points in their classes, and no matter what the Ravenclaws did, the Hufflpuffs seem to offset it. Meanwhile, the Slytherins decided that, if they could not win the House Cup, they could at the very least deny it to the Ravenclaws. They took delight in scoring points here and there, knowing that any points they scored were points that could have gone to a Ravenclaw.
The Gryffindors, too, got in on the act. For years, they had neglected the House Cup. They felt free to act as they would without worrying overly much about whose banner hung in the Great Hall at the end of the Spring Term. Now that they found themselves ahead of their bitter rivals, they were determined not to be overtaken. They pushed their hands in the air and grabbed points for correct answers, and they did their level best on each project.
Friday evening towards the end of dinner, Professor Gregor spoke to the Slytherins. “I want to have a brief council meeting tonight. Besides the Council, I will need the Fourth and the Fifth Years, please.”
Morwena looked to Umberto. “Why is he excluding us? It’s got to be something to do with our petition.”
“It’s got to be related to the upcoming trial,” answered Umberto. “We are the prosecution. He must be organizing the defence.”
After dinner, the Fourth and Fifth Years proceeded to the Council room. Q led the way while Jim and Dave took up the rear. Freya slipped beside Aiden and took his hand. “Do you know what’s going on?” she asked.
“No. We’ll find out soon enough.”
In the hall, the Fifth Year girls took the front row. Since there was space, Alyssa and Meriko sat with them. Freya, after a moment’s hesitation, sat with her coven. Aiden took his seat among the boys in the second row.
There was a delay, as Blake and Pierce took their time getting to their seats. Professor Gregor, rather than sitting in his usual chair, strode to the front and stood between the Council and the younger students.
“In the time since we last gathered,” said Gregor, “I have had many conversations regarding the Sixth Year’s petition. I have spoken with trustees of this school, and with governors of the Emerald Club. All are in agreement that the step the Sixth Years have proposed is drastic, yet commensurate with the harm they have suffered.
“If Morwena Felwich and company had merely sought to censure Reginald Dennison, they could do so without input from their elders. To deny him forever more the honour, right and privilege of Slytherin men – such an action is subject to appeal and review. For it to be upheld, everything must be done properly. Specifically, the accused in this trial must be given a vigorous defence.
“I have spoken with an alumnus who is willing to take on this task. Still, he is a busy man with many obligations on his time. He asks for an assistant. One will do, he tells me, but two is better.
“I will not force anyone to take on this assignment. Know that, though you will not be excused from any other school assignment, Professor Binns has offered Extra Credit if he is allowed to review the research you uncover. Know too, that if no one volunteers, the petition will likely fail. Even if this Council votes in favour of the Sixth Years, it will be denied upon appeal.
“I will ask only once. Is there any here who will step forward to defend Reginald Dennison?”
Aiden Thompson sat very still. His eyes flicked left and right. No one around him moved. He pulled in a deep breath and then got to his feet. He heard Terril mutter, “You’re on your own, brother.”
But he was not on his own. Freya had her head cocked, watching him. When he got to his feet, she also quickly stood. Aiden said, “I accept the assignment, Professor.”
“I do as well, sir,” said Freya.
Gregor smiled like a proud father. “Very good! I will take you two to meet the distinguished alumnus. He is here tonight, waiting for us. The rest of you are dismissed.”
Aiden thought Gregor would lead them upstairs to his office. Instead, he took them down a corridor neither he nor Freya had yet been down. Freya took Aiden’s hand and whispered, “This is part of your plan, right? This isn’t that you just want to be prefect next year.”
“Oh, I very much want to be prefect next year,” said Aiden. “But yes, there’s more to it than that. This is taking me in the direction I want to go.”
There was no time for further elaboration, for they had reached their destination – a small library with stacks of leather-bound books. Standing there was a tall man with keen grey eyes. Aiden recognized him immediately. “Robert Kaufmann!”
“Well met, young man,” said Kaufmann. The two shook hands.
“I met you the night of caroling, do you remember?” said Aiden. “Freya and I were both there.”
“Yes, I recall meeting you. The younger Thompson and, most intriguing, the younger Felwich. Perhaps some sibling rivalry is on display?” Freya held back, but nodded. She smiled shyly up at him.
He turned his gaze back to Aiden and said sternly, “You are a peer of the accused, are you not? You are both Slytherin Fourth Year boys?”
“Yes,” said Aiden. “I never liked following Dennison’s lead, but I didn’t have a choice. I never had the numbers to oppose him. I stayed close and tried to keep him on the straight and narrow. Not well enough, obviously.”
“He and another boy spoke out against the idea of attacking the girl, Langlet,” said Gregor. “The accused stunned them to prevent them from interfering with his plans.”
Kaufmann nodded. “You know the game we’re playing here, don’t you?”
“Yes,” said Aiden. “We have to defend Dennison so that when he’s found guilty, it’s not overturned on appeal.”
“Well said. Breaking Baingarden’s Oath is one of the most serious offenses a Slytherin boy can make. And, I’ve never seen a clearer example. There’s no ambiguity here at all! On top of that, we have the dreadful Barren Curse. This is precisely the behaviour the Oath is attempting to prevent!”
A grim expression came over him. “Morwena Felwich and Umberto Calais are formidable opponents. They will get their conviction, but we must make them work for it. We will throw every defence we can think of up and make them knock them down one by one. We’ll start with the Oath itself.
“This is the library of records. As you can see, there are books with green covers and ones with silver covers. They are both arranged by year, but they have slightly different areas of focus. For every six green books, there is an index. For the silver books, the index covers twelve volumes. I need you to search the indexes and find me every example listed of someone being accused of breaking Baingarden’s Oath.
“Find the example and copy it verbatim using the duplicating spell, but then read through it and write a one paragraph summary. I’ll read all the summaries and choose the examples that are most relevant.
“Find as many examples as you can. You’ll need to be diligent. The records go back centuries. Send me what you have every Friday, so I can peruse them over my weekend.”
“We’ll do it,” said Aiden. “I’ll do anything to see him doomed for what he’s done.”
“It’s a peculiar business, isn’t it?” said Kaufmann. “Striving for one thing while desperately hoping for the opposite? But that is the path before us. We have become, quite literally, the devil’s advocates.”
They made their farewells. Kaufmann shook hands with Aiden, and when he extended his hand to Freya, she shyly accepted. He held her fingers gently for a moment, a proper gentleman’s gesture. “Now Professor,” he said, “if you will excuse me, I have another matter to attend to while I am here on campus.”
Gregor and Kaufmann left the two young students in the library. Aiden and Freya gazed at the books on the shelf. The books with the green covers were thick and heavy. Their titles, in silver foil, read Journal of the Masters. “My father receives these journals,” said Freya. “He gets them monthly. It’s mostly a business journal, but there will be politics there and other news. They’re for the Masters of the Human Race,” she added, wryly.
“Masters, meaning wizards?” asked Aiden.
“Wizards generally, yes. Slytherins specifically.”
The books with silver covers were thinner and had green writing on the front and spine. “Progress and Culture,” said Freya. “This is more of a women’s journal. Births and deaths, weddings and divorces. That sort of thing. How about I take the silver journals and you take the green ones?”
“Agreed. We may as well get started.”
“We didn’t bring parchment and ink with us. I wonder if there are supplies down here.” There were, set in a desk between the bookshelves. The two got right to work.
They worked for a half hour or so, perusing the indexes, before Morwena found them. “I should have known it would be you,” she said coldly. “Do you think this is some sort of game?”
“You need us!” shot Freya. “If we don’t defend Dennison, you fail! It all gets overturned on appeal. Professor Gregor said so.”
“Don’t you dare make a mockery of this.”
“I’m helping you!”
“You shouldn’t be downstairs without an escort.”
“We’re here by leave of our Head of House, so we’re fine. If we wander and get into trouble, I’m sure you will swoop down to punish us.”
Aiden kept his head down while the sisters bickered. He pressed his lips tightly so that he wouldn’t laugh aloud.
Tess was sitting in a lounge plying Pauline with questions about her time with Philip, when a paper aeroplane floated into the room and dropped into her lap. She gasped as she read the note: “Tess, stopped by the castle on business. Would love to see you if you have a moment. – RK.”
“Robert’s here!”
“Who?” asked Pauline.
“Robert Kaufmann, my brother’s friend.”
“Oh! Wasn’t he the one that helped us with that mystery our first year?”
“Yes! He’s here, and he wants to see me.” She went quickly into a restroom to check her appearance in the mirror. “I guess it will do,” she said. “If I had known he was coming, I could have prepared.”
“Shall I come with you?” asked Pauline.
“Let’s hold you back,” said Tess. “I’ll tell you all about it afterwards.” She followed the paper aeroplane down the corridor. Robert was waiting for her at the foot of the stairs.
“Robert!” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m helping Professor Gregor with a project.”
“The project?” she asked.
“Yes, the big one.”
“Interesting. But you took a moment to say hello to your old friend’s little sister?” She flashed a warm and flirtatious smile.
“Yes. It occurred to me that I missed your sixteenth birthday, and I nearly neglected your seventeenth as well. I got you a little something in honour of the occasion.” He fished a black velvet box out of his pocket. It was long and narrow.
Tess eyed it hungrily. “Goodness! What is this?” She took the box from him and popped open the lid. Inside was a woven silver bracelet bearing a silver plate with letters engraved upon it. She gasped at his audacity. It was her full and proper monogram: E O H C. Not T for Tess but E for Esther.
She slipped her hand through the loop and held the bracelet up to the torchlight. He kept a respectful distance, but his desire for her was palpable. When he spoke, she could feel his enchantments envelope her. “Esther Olivia Highcross Covenshire.” Though this was not a ring, he was staking a claim on her.
“Only you would call me that,” she said. “Not even my parents call me Esther.”
“Not Mageford?”
“Neither Mageford, actually.” she said with a laugh. “I dated them both. Neither knew to call me Esther. I never told them about it.”
“Will you wear it?” There was a note of nervousness in his voice, now. He was afraid he had overstepped his bounds.
She put him at ease with a warm smile. “Of course, I’ll wear it. It’s lovely!” They embraced, but there was still some awkwardness between them. What step are we on? thought Tess. He kissed her cheek. Not kissing on the mouth. Not yet.
“I must go,” he said. “I have other matters to attend to.”
“I’m glad I got to see you,” said Tess. “Thanks again for the birthday gift!”
“I’ll be back around later in the spring. I’ll see you then.” He turned and strode up the stairs. They parted at the hearth room with a wave. Torchlight caught on the silver chain.