Starry skies and Gardenias

Chapter 61

Isabella noticed that the shop was closed, but the backdoor, which was usually locked was open when they arrived. 

Perhaps Catherine was waiting for them inside. 

But when they went inside and took the stairs to the upper landing, they found the living room, the kitchen and even the bathrooms empty. 

Isabella looked questioningly at her father, who shrugged. 

"Maybe she's gone out?" he suggested. 

Isabella didn't pay much mind and went to her room, dragging her trunk behind her. 

She would like to take a shower, before lunch. . .and if Catherine wasn't coming, she could take a good nap and see what she would dream of now. 

And as it happened, Catherine didn't turn up for lunch, or for hours after that or for supper. Mr Jefferson was worried something had gone wrong since the door was left open when they arrived and a person who was supposed to be there was missing. 

Isabella didn't see a point in worrying just yet. Catherine was a grown woman, and she should be responsible enough to know where she was going and when she was going. . .or she hoped. She didn't want something wrong to happen to the woman. 
One plausible explanation would be that she had gone to tend to a patient. She was a doctor after all. 

Isabella lay in bed, her eyes closed, but well awake. She was listening to the soft sounds that the nighttime was accompanied with. It was the strangest sounds the bugs made. It sounded so natural, yet when she focused they sounded odd and a jumbled mix, as though everyone was talking at the same time. 

Wonder what they would be talking about? . . .If the Marauders were illegal animagi, did that mean that they could understand other animals when they were in their animagi form? . . .Could they understand birds and insects, or was it only their species.  .  .well, since they were doing it for Remus, she supposed they understood more than they would in their human form certainly. . .

"There is a little more in the bottle, my Lord, if you are still hungry."

"Later," said a second voice. This too belonged to a man — but it was strangely high-pitched, and cold as a sudden blast of icy wind. Something about that voice made the sparse hairs on the back of Frank's neck stand up. "Move me closer to the fire, Wormtail."

Frank turned his right ear toward the door, the better to hear. There came the clink of a bottle being put down upon some hard surface, and then the dull scraping noise of a heavy chair being dragged across the floor. Frank caught a glimpse of a small man, his back to the door, pushing the chair into place. He was wearing a long black cloak, and there was a bald patch at the back of his head. Then he went out of sight again.

"Where is Nagini?" said the cold voice.

"I — I don't know, my Lord," said the first voice nervously. "She set out to explore the house, I think. . . ."

"You will milk her before we retire, Wormtail," said the second voice. "I will need feeding in the night. The journey has tired me greatly."

Brow furrowed, Frank inclined his good ear still closer to the door, listening very hard. There was a pause, and then the man called Wormtail spoke again.

"My Lord, may I ask how long we are going to stay here?"

"A week," said the cold voice. "Perhaps longer. The place is moderately comfortable, and the plan cannot proceed yet. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over."

"The — the Quidditch World Cup, my Lord?" said Wormtail. "Forgive me, but — I do not understand — why should we wait until the World Cup is over?"

"Because, fool, at this very moment wizards are pouring into the country from all over the world, and every meddler from the Ministry of Magic will be on duty, on the watch for signs of unusual activity, checking and double-checking identities. They will be obsessed with security, lest the Muggles notice anything. So we wait."

Frank tightened his hold on his walking stick once more, and listened more closely still.

"Your Lordship is still determined, then?" Wormtail said quietly.

"Certainly I am determined, Wormtail." There was a note of menace in the cold voice now.

A slight pause followed — and then Wormtail spoke, the words tumbling from him in a rush, as though he was forcing himself to say this before he lost his nerve.

"It could be done without Harry Potter, my Lord."

Another pause, more protracted, and then —

"Without Harry Potter?" breathed the second voice softly. "I see . . ."

"My Lord, I do not say this out of concern for the boy!" said Wormtail, his voice rising squeakily. "The boy is nothing to me, nothing at all! It is merely that if we were to use another witch or wizard — any wizard — the thing could be done so much more quickly! If you allowed me to leave you for a short while — you know that I can disguise myself most effectively — I could be back here in as little as two days with a suitable person —"

"I could use another wizard," said the cold voice softly, "that is true. . . ."

"My Lord, it makes sense," said Wormtail, sounding thoroughly relieved now. "Laying hands on Harry Potter would be so difficult, he is so well protected —"

"And so you volunteer to go and fetch me a substitute? I wonder . . . perhaps the task of nursing me has become wearisome for you, Wormtail? Could this suggestion of abandoning the plan be nothing more than an attempt to desert me?"

"My Lord! I — I have no wish to leave you, none at all —"

"Do not lie to me!" hissed the second voice. "I can always tell, Wormtail! You are regretting that you ever returned to me. I revolt you. I see you flinch when you look at me, feel you shudder when you touch me. . . ."

"No! My devotion to Your Lordship —"