The Talisman of Monguk

Chapter 6: Angela's Best Memory

Back at Grimmauld Place, Tonks, Lupin, Moody, and Angela gathered around the kitchen table. Lupin extracted the scroll from his cloak and prepared to open it, when Moody grabbed his arm with a jerk.

"Are you daft? It could be booby trapped," warned Moody. "Let me see that before you open it."

Moody laid the scroll gingerly on the table and uttered several incantations over it. After several minutes, he seemed satisfied. Then he carefully unsealed the scroll and spread it open on the table for all to see. It was blank!

"BLANK!" Moody howled. "That double-crossing goblin! I knew that he couldn't be trusted!"

"Now, wait a minute," said Lupin calmly. "Maybe it's just enchanted. Maybe we just need the right charm."

He thought for a bit, concentrating hard. Then he pointed his wand at the scroll.

"Reveal your secret!" he commanded, but nothing happened.

"Revelatus!" he ordered. The scroll stayed blank.

"Here, let me try," said Moody. He pointed his wand at the scroll and barked, "Show yourself." Still the scroll remained unchanged.

He tried again. "Aparecium scriptum!" Nothing happened.

"Snogblod is a treacherous rogue!" he growled. Moody jumped back in surprise as a flash of light came from the scroll, setting it on fire.

Lupin quickly tamped out the flames. The parchment now had a huge scorch mark in the corner.

"I suggest that we leave off the insults," advised Lupin. "But at least we know that it's not just an empty parchment. This scroll is enchanted."

Angela had an idea. "Does anyone remember what Snogblod said just before we left?" she asked.

"Something about calling Monguk," replied Tonks.

"That's worth a try," said Lupin.

Angela pointed her wand at the scroll and said, "Monguk!" This time, a faint blue light hovered over the scroll for a fraction of a second and then disappeared. Still, the scroll stayed blank.

"I still think it's just a goblin trick," growled Moody. "Maybe we should offer it money."

Snape strolled into the room. "Well, what have we here?" he said, eyeing the group with interest. He swept over to the table and looked down at the blank scroll.

"We've just been to see the keeper of the map. He sent us to a vault in Gringotts to fetch this. We get back here and it's blank. The sneaky, double-dealing scoundrel!" barked Moody. "What are you doing here?"

"I have news for the Order," said Snape importantly. "I have just spoken with Lucius Malfoy. It seems that he has secured his own release from Azkaban. All the charges against him were dropped."

"What? All the charges?" exclaimed Tonks.

"He claims that it was all a misunderstanding. That he'd discovered the plot through his wife's relations and went to the Ministry to try and save Potter," answered Snape nonchalantly.

"And the Minister bought that story?" retorted Tonks.

"I'm guessing that it was Malfoy that did the buying," replied Moody wisely.

Ignoring Moody's comment, Snape addressed Tonks. "The Malfoys are a very powerful family. They have more influence in the Ministry than you could possibly fathom."

"Well, Severus, you're a little late with your news. We nearly ran into Malfoy at Gringotts Bank," growled Moody.

The corner of Snape's mouth twitched. He was obviously displeased at the criticism. He eyed the scroll and then addressed Lupin with contempt. "What's the matter, Lupin? Can't figure out how to work the scroll? I thought that Dark Arts were supposed to be your area," he sneered.

"This one's a bit tricky," replied Lupin mildly. "And I'm not that familiar with goblin spells. Perhaps you'd care to give it a try?"

"No, thank you," Snape replied. "I think I'll leave this to you experts." He stood by and watched with smug satisfaction, while Moody and Lupin tried unsuccessfully to charm the parchment. "Perhaps you've got the wrong scroll," Snape suggested with a smirk.

"It can't be the wrong one. It was the only thing in the entire vault," replied Tonks defensively.

"Well, Severus does have a point. We can't be sure that we didn't miss something. We really didn't have time for a good look around," said Lupin frowning.

Snape startled with surprise. Apparently, he hadn't expected Lupin to agree with him. He watched them for a few minutes more and then, with a bored expression, said, "I'd love to stay and help, but I have work to do."

As he prepared to leave, he turned to Angela and added "I'd like a word with you, Angela. Perhaps you would accompany me to the door?"

"Sure," she replied, looking puzzled.

Once they were out of earshot of the others, he said smoothly, "I hear that you are still taking dueling lessons with Lupin. Perhaps I didn't make my meaning clear enough last time."

"Oh, that," Angela replied with a frown. "I assure you that you were perfectly clear."

"But perhaps you misunderstood," he said indulgently. "Should I be more direct?"

"Severus, I know. He told me himself," she answered bluntly. Then her voice softened and she added, "Look, I appreciate your concern for me, but I really believe that you're mistaken about him. He's had plenty of opportunities to harm me, if he wished. And he never has."

Snape's eyes flashed angrily. "Well, I don't pretend to know what game he's playing with you, but I know him much better than you do. I can tell you from personal experience that he is not to be trusted," he spat.

The color rose in Angela's cheeks. She was indignant that he had spoken about Lupin like that. Knowing of his resentment toward Ravena, she lashed out at him. "Perhaps you're right. Maybe I should ask my cousin, Ravena, to give me dueling lessons instead. She's certainly accomplished in this area. I happen to know that she's as talented as she is beautiful," she retorted spitefully.

Snape's mouth dropped open and then closed with a snap. His eyes narrowed dangerously. Then he spun around on his heels and swept out the door without another word. She had never seen him so incensed. As she watched him go, she felt a twinge of remorse for her words.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The next Saturday, Angela was again at Grimmauld Place for her dueling lesson with Lupin. Since they hadn't practiced sparring in several weeks, Lupin devoted the entire lesson to it. For Angela, it was a good session. She was definitely improving. When it was over, they retired to the kitchen for dinner.

Upon entering the kitchen, Angela saw that the table was littered with spell books. The blank scroll was sitting open next to them. She turned to Lupin.

"So this is what you've been doing all week," she commented. "Any luck?"

Lupin shook his head. "Unfortunately not. I've tried everything that I can think of. I can't find anything in these books either."

"I'm sure that you'll find a solution. Perhaps you just need to take a break for a while," she suggested. She smiled at him and continued, "At our last lesson, you asked about my best memory. I'll tell you about it, if you'd like?"

He smiled back and replied, "Yes, I would."

Then she and Lupin began gathering up the spell books and the scroll. Once the table was cleared off, she put her picnic hamper upon it.

Tonight, I'll have to take you to Italy," Angela explained.

She opened the basket and began unloading it onto the kitchen table. She spread a tablecloth on the table and put a candle on it. Then she handed Lupin a bottle of wine. "Would you please open this and pour us a couple of glasses? Fixing dinner will take a little longer tonight. I'd like to sip a little wine while I cook."

He fetched a couple of glasses from the pantry and poured them each a glass. "Can I do anything to help?" he asked, handing her a glass of wine.

"No, not tonight," she replied.

He sat down and watched while she cooked. After a short while, she spread the dinner on the table. It was a five course Italian meal: bruschetta with mozzarella and oregano, a green salad with vinaigrette dressing, pasta with grilled sausages and artichokes in a cream sauce, a whole grilled fish, and cannoli for dessert. As they sat down to dinner, she raised her wine glass in a toast. "Saluté!" As they ate, she began her tale.

"I have to begin with some family history. My father, William Hawkins, and his twin brother, James, came from a wizard family that was not well off. Both men were very handsome and charming. My fathr fell madly in love with and married a Muggle, my mother Eudora. Before long, they had my twin brothers, Paul and Francis. Three years later, I was born. My Uncle James was more ambitious. He married Medea Malfoy, a socialite and heiress to a vast wizard fortune."

"Malfoy?" said Lupin with surprise.

"Yes, she's Lucius Malfoy's cousin. She's very fond of him. Believe me, you don't want to cross her," she warned. "Well, Medea and James had only one child, my cousin Ravena. As you can imagine, Ravena was raised in a world of privilege. They traveled a lot and she had the best of everything. My upbringing was much different. But despite those differences and my aunt's objections, Ravena and I grew very close. She was like a sister to me."

"When we were very young, Ravena and I were inseparable. I would sneak away to her house through the Floo Network and we would play for hours in her wonderful nursery. Mum would read me fanciful Muggle stories of princesses and exciting adventures. As such stories were not allowed in Ravena's house, I would tell them to her in secret. We would spend our days acting them out. My favorite was The Three Musketeers. I, in my brother's hand-me-down clothes, would play d'Artagnan." Spotting Lupin's quizzical stare, Angela laughed and replied, "A swash-buckling swordsman!"

"Ha!" Lupin guffawed, before he could catch himself.

Angela blushed. "Ironic, isn't it? I can't even duel my way out of a paper sack. Ravena would play the villainous Lady de Winter, beautiful and heartless." She giggled. "I guess we both played against type. Ravena's not heartless at all."

She continued, "We acted out our adventures in the many hidden staircases and passages in the Hawkins Mansion. Ravena knew every one. They were useful for avoiding Aunt Medea, when she was in a particularly bad temper, or for spying on the nasty neighbor boy, who was always trying to hex us. We also hid from Ravena's Malfoy cousins, who were frequent visitors. We even used them to rescue my brothers, when they got themselves into a spot of trouble, which was surprisingly often. They took a certain perverse pleasure in annoying Aunt Medea."

Lupin furrowed his brow. "But wasn't that dangerous?"

"Yes, and foolhardy. My brothers were brave. I never said they were clever," she replied. "Still, they seemed to know enough to only pull their pranks when Uncle James was around. Aunt Medea would never lay a hand on us as long at he was there. If he weren't around, I'm sure she would have blasted their buttocks off long ago."

"Our fun ended when Ravena and I both turned eleven. I went off to Hogwarts and Ravena was sent abroad to Durmstrang. After that, we saw each other only briefly over holidays. But we wrote each other nearly every day."

"After Durmstrang, Ravena stayed abroad for a couple of years. Then one summer in our early twenties, she decided to take me with her on holiday to Italy. Since I couldn't afford it, she offered to pay for us both. My parents agreed on the condition that we have an escort. One of Ravena's Italian friends, Claudio, offered, and so we went. Well, Claudio was enamored of Ravena and when he discovered that she was not interested in him, he abandoned us after about one week. Ravena and I were young, foolish, and a bit arrogant. With her dueling skills and my karate, we thought that we were invincible...that we could take care of ourselves. We were lucky!"

"Now, my mother has a sixth sense about such things. She always knows when one of us is doing something that we shouldn't. So she sent my brothers to Italy to bring us back home. However, once they arrived, they decided to stay too."

"So all four of us were reunited at last and having the time of our lives. Ravena had friends everywhere. We would stay in their posh villas, eat wonderful food, and see places more enchanting than you can imagine. My brothers and cousin had many admirers. We didn't lack for company or attention. And I, I was fascinated with the country - the sights, the sounds, the smells. I'd never been away from home before. This was all new. I was like a child in a candy shop, wide-eyed. I wanted to know everything about it. Those weeks in Italy were the best of my life."

"Unfortunately, our holiday was cut short. When my brothers failed to return, my mother sent my uncle to bring us home. I returned with a trunk full of cookbooks and lots of lovely memories."

Lupin smiled incredulously and said, "I can't believe that you didn't have admirers too."

"Well, one or two," she replied with a grin, "but nothing serious. My brothers made sure of that. They are very protective of me and can be intimidating. And you've seen Ravena! When she's around, no one notices anyone else. I mostly buried my nose in a book and pretended that it didn't bother me," she answered with a wan smile.

Lupin nodded sympathetically and added, "In my gang, Sirius was the handsome one. He was clever and popular and was always surrounded by hopeful girls. Of course, James was infatuated with Lily. Even Peter had a date by his seventh year. As for me, given what I am, well, that just wasn't a possibility." He stared at his plate for a moment, lost in thought, and then prompted, "So what happened next?"

"After that, circumstances took an unfortunate turn. Ravena met a young man, her first real love. As she knew Aunt Medea would never approve of him, they met in secret. Their trysting place was her favorite spot in the vast gardens, one that we had often used as children. One fateful night, Aunt Medea discovered them together there. She flew into a violent rage. Ravena and her mother argued. That night, the young man disappeared. No trace of him has ever been found. So Ravena left home and vowed never to return. Except for her farewell letter, I received no word from her for years. She did not want anyone to know where she had gone. She feared that if she told me, her mother would try to force it from me. That was the last time that I saw her, until last weekend."

There was a lull in the conversation. Both Lupin and Angela sat sipping from their glasses and staring at the candle in the middle of the table. Then Angela smiled sweetly, as if remembering something very pleasant.

Seeing her, Lupin asked, "What are you thinking?"

"Nothing." She blushed. "I was just thinking of this one night when we were in Italy, before my brothers arrived. Ravena took me to the opera. Have you ever been to the opera?"

Lupin shook his head.

"Well, you need to dress for it. Since I didn't own anything suitable, Ravena loaned me one of her gorgeous gowns. It was black silk and chiffon with beads, all shimmering and silky. She did my hair for me too. When I looked in the mirror, it was like someone else was staring back at me. At the opera, people stared at us both!" She smiled at the memory of it and continued, "The opera was Puccini's La Bohème. It was the most romantic music that I've ever heard."

She waved her wand and strains of the aria "Che gelinda manina" could be heard in the room. Her eyes sparkled in the soft glow of the candlelight. She was smiling dreamily, as if a thousand miles away, reliving the memory. Lupin watched her from across the table, enthralled. When the music stopped, she looked over at him.

"I must be boring you with all this," she said apologetically.

"Not at all," he answered.

Sh stood up. "Oh, I almost forgot about dessert."

Then she pulled a large plate of cannoli from the picnic hamper.

"No, really, I couldn't eat another bite," he protested.

"But you really must try some of this. Here, I'll split one with you. I've been tinkering with the recipe and think I've finally got it just right." She handed him a piece. "Just try it and tell me if you don't agree that it's divine."

He did and it was.