KEYS
The dinner ended without any more conversation directed at Evangeline. Though they still had guests in the home, she was mostly free to do as she wished afterward so she found herself wandering back toward the library. The Dox collection of books and artifacts sits just under the main floor and just above the basement which housed the kitchens and other house-elf necessities. It could be accessed two different ways. First, through the stairway just under the stairs that lead up to the bedrooms, which somehow magically faded into mist after 9 pm. Second, through a skeleton key that, when placed into any door in the house, would open to any other chosen door in the house. She had been gifted the latter on her eleventh birthday and gratefully never tired of using it.
She had attempted to figure out how these keys worked for years, only ever coming close to the idea that they could have been something like portkeys. But in the end, just like the vanishing stairwell, she had been forced to just accept that they were old magic that worked like old magic does.
Inserting the key into the lock at her door, she willed it take her to the door of the library, which only really worked for this purpose. Turning the knob and pushing the door open, she was greeted by the smell of old books. Lamplight lit the way on the walls. Shelves lined every section of the large room and towered all the way to the ceiling. It was a fairly expansive collection, having been gathered since even before the age of witch hunts and protected by every sort of magic there was. Even if an unwanted person had managed to possess Evangeline’s key they still would have been unable to enter. Her hands ran along the shelves, though physically searching for a book in this place had been proven useless when she had first received the key. The books were organized just fine, but there were too many of them and the shelves too tall. Accio most likely would have been the best solution, but though Evangeline knew vaguely of the charm’s existence, she had not been taught it nor was she able to perform it properly. Instead, she sought out Basil.
He was an old house elf, given his freedom long ago by Evangeline’s great-grandfather. He had stayed about the house afterwards and eventually decided to hole away in the library. Evangeline was sure he had somehow managed to read every book within it. She wasn’t, however, sure how he was still alive. She found him in toward the center of the room, peering down his spectacles at a small volume on magical household pests. Ever since he was freed, he had begun dressing in the finest tailored three-piece suits. She had no idea how he got those either. He nodded as she approached.
“Evening, young mistress Evangeline,” he croaked, peering at her with large blue eyes, “I dare say the library has missed you for some time.” She smiled at him and curtsied.
“It is good to see you again Basil,” she paused, then added, “I’ve been off at school.” He sniffed in response and turned back to his book, which must have been riveting somehow. Evangeline slowly unwrinkled the paper she had brought with her, smoothing it out against her dress. Then, she held it out to Basil, who curiously took it with his small and worn hand.
“What’s this?” he asked, bringing it closer to his face. The light peered through the paper, allowing Evangeline to make out the mirror image of Theodore’s symbol, which she had drawn for reference.
“I was wondering if you’d seen it anywhere, maybe in a book?” she led. Basil’s eyes snapped up to her.
“No, I’ve seen this in no book. Neither do I know what it means,” he said, handing the paper back to her shakily, she felt herself deflate, “But I have seen it before. In the library.”
Evangeline gaped down at him for a moment, “Well– well can you show me?”
And he did, leading her through the deepest shelves of the Dox library, through to the far wall where even she had never been. He walked slowly, more of a hobble, with the look and feel of arthritic bones, then stopped just shy of the wall, in the 7th row of shelves down from the front. With the snap of his fingers, a long step ladder slid into place beside them.
“It’s up 7 shelves I believe,” he huffed beside her, “underneath a row of books.”
“How did you find it?” she asked, bringing her leg up to step onto the ladder’s polished steps.
“I was reorganizing. Stopped because I didn’t even recognize the books that were on top of it, thought I might have finally been losing my edge,” he grumbled, “Not as young and spry of mind as I used to be.” She nodded and bit back her thoughts about how true that was, then began to climb. She heard Basil’s footsteps fade away from her as she counted each shelf she ascended. Even if she hadn’t been, she would have known the shelf right away. The history or magic book that Evangeline had been reading, the one that Theodore had taken from her, the one that would have told Hermione Granger about Nicolas Flamel, sat in the very center of the shelf.
Surrounding it were other similarly themed books, as well as a fairly high level alchemical text, and even a biography of Albus Dumbledore. Removing her history textbook, Evangeline could just make out the middle of the symbol etched into the wood. Replacing it and looking around, she spotted one more thing, a stone horse figurine sat on the shelf above the books. It had been almost formed to become one with the wood of the shelf, the feet firmly planted. For the most part, there was nothing else to see, so Evangeline started to make her way down the ladder when she heard voices.
“This isn’t a joke,” Theodore was saying, softly. If she had to guess, he was a shelf over. It was late for him, normally he went to bed early and was the first in the house to wake. She froze in place on the ladder.
“What else could it be?” someone else laughed, much louder than Theodore himself. She recognized the voice, but couldn’t quite place it, “You’re not seriously asking me to keep an eye on Harry Potter are you?” the other said disdainfully. The way he pronounced “Potter” with such venom instantly identified him as Draco.
Theodore hushed him, “I don’t exactly understand how that’s all you got from this conversation,” they had stopped moving and thankfully did not come to Evangeline’s row.
“Ah yes the whole, ‘I want you to keep an eye on Harry Potter’ for non-dubious reasons,” Draco continued, “non-dubious reasons Theodore Dox. If anything I should be keeping an eye on him for completely dubious reasons.” All of Draco’s false decorum from earlier in the day was abandoned and stomped on. Evangeline knew Theodore well enough to tell he hadn’t given in to the same temptation to roll her eyes that she would have.
The calm tone of his voice told her she was right, “So continue to do so for dubious reasons,” he continued, however, with more resolve than she had ever heard from him, “Honor the call of your bloodline, the purest-bred bullies and abusers.” He paused and the silence spoke for Draco, “But tell me what you see. And if he’s ever in any actual danger, tell me quickly.”
Something clicked into place. Not all of it, but something. Theodore’s presence in the dungeons as the troll attacked, his fixation on the broom during the quidditch match, somehow covering up the very existence of Nicolas Flamel from an extremely talented muggle-born researcher… It all had one thing in common: Harry Potter, the boy who lived. Rather than his destruction as most Old families seemed to desire, it was his protection. But, why?
The two boys seemed to come to a sort of agreement in hushed voices, then Theodore said with a note of finality, “Take this… and do summon me if you need me as well. We all protect each other here.” Draco grunted in response and they both began to walk toward the entrance door. Once she thought they had gone far enough, Evangeline began to creep down the ladder and when her feet hit the ground she began to search for Basil again.
He was in the middle area again, though this time picking at a large volume on magical cures for aging (none of which had ever been proven to work). He looked up at her, unembarrassed.
“Find it?” he asked. Every crease on his face deepened as he raised one eyebrow. Evangeline nodded.
“I didn’t learn anything from it though. Other than that those books are certainly not supposed to be here.” She decided not to mention anything about the conversation she had heard to him.
“Baa, at least we’ve learned I’m not losing my mind,” he said, slamming the book on his lap with a huff. Thankfully, he didn’t appear set on evicting the books from his home just yet. Evangeline smiled, then crouched down beside the house-elf, he looked alarmed at the mere action.
“Hey Basil, would I be able to write to you? While I’m at school?” Basil looked scandalized, adjusting his spectacles.
“No offense young mistress Evangeline, but I really don’t want to hear about your latest crush just because you don’t have anyone else to talk to,” he replied, backing away. Evangeline rolled her eyes, struck by the earlier thought that Theodore would not have.
“It would be about information, books from the library. I was asking so that I’d know how to address the letter.” That seemed to calm him down, but he still held a wrinkled hand to his heart as if it would burst.
“Oh, that, yes well. If you address them to the house with my name, the poor indentured will deliver letters to me without them passing through any wizard hands,” he explained, still managing to eye her suspiciously.
“Good. Expect a letter Mr.Basil,”she said and turned toward the exit, hoping that Theodore and Draco had already left.