The Blood Servant

4

" Okay first thing," Ellery said, " We need to figure out who would be most likely to know how to break the spell. You said that  the book was old, yes?" 

Draco nodded. " Yeah, but I have no idea how old, though it did list some substances that don't exist anymore."

Ellery and Draco stood in the kitchen, the sunrise peeking in through the curtains. They'd been at it for a couple of hours, trying to figure just how they would go about breaking the spell. Ellery leaned on the counter, standing with her arms crossed while Draco stood in the opposite corner, looking a little dismayed that he'd been dragged out of bed early. She was still a little put out with him, so he didn't complain for fear that she might have that glove around here somewhere. If she noticed his frequent yawns, she was doing a good job of ignoring them.

" Hmm..." she murmured, " Do you still have it?" 

"Mhm," he said, producing it from his pocket, " Will we need it?" 

Ellery didn't answer, but instead held out her hand for the book. He handed it to her, and her eyes skimmed the very first page. He watched as her eyebrows crept up in a silent question.

" What?" he asked.

She glanced slide-long at him, her clear eyes holding an expression behind them that Draco couldn't read. " Nothing. It's just that the author of this book died last century. His name was Arthur Williams, and to my knowledge he was buried with this book. I don't know how you found it." 

" It was in my school library, just out in the open." 

" Odd. But that's not my point. My point is that the author might have been our only hope. I doubt anyone here and now would know anything about it," Ellery sighed.

" Actually, there might be a few people." Draco rested his elbow on the counter behind him. Ellery's eyes lit up.

" Who? When can we ask them?" she asked eagerly.

" I'm not sure you'll want to meet them... they aren't good people, if you could call them that even. But, we are having a gathering here in a few days. I could try convincing my parents to let you attend," he explained, looking down at the floor tiles. " You seem in a hurry to be rid of me." 

" I have a right to be. But, in all honesty, I'm not, really. The most exciting part of all of  this is the experience. The things I could get out of it." She shrugged, shifting out of her leaning position and sweeping over to the oven in one smooth motion, lifting a pan of muffins from the rack.

" You like learning?" Draco sounded surprised. Ellery laughed, setting the pan out on the counter and turning to face him, her hand moving to rest on her hip. "Of course I do. Knowledge is power. Books  provide knowledge." 

" You remind me of a girl from school," he mumbled, more to himself than to Ellery. She gave him a disapproving look, but said nothing. Though she didn't like the comparison, there were bigger things to focus on.

" So this event," she began after a short uncomfortable silence, " What sort of event is it?" 

" Well, it's sort of something you wouldn't understand," he replied, scratching the back of his neck nervously.

" How about just telling me instead of assuming that I know nothing?" she suggested. Sensing that she was irritated, Draco sighed heavily and explained the meeting to her. He explained the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort. She listened intently, and when he was finished, she nodded slowly.

" And you've been dealing with this for how long?" She asked.

" Almost all my life, because of my father's involvement. It's been especially bad recently..." his voice trailed away. Ellery gave him a concerned glance, and then drifted over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders.