As the greatest wizard philosopher, Ashrec Blumper, once said, “Greed is second nature to man. ”
Once upon a time, Portia Nott had scoffed at this statement when she had read it from a book. It was ridiculous; to even think that it was human nature for man to be capable of doing anything just to obtain the object that he desired. She didn’t know that she would pay a heavy price for her utmost trust in humanity.
~~~~~~~~~~
Mrs Cope was the most trust-worthy and efficient housekeeper anyone could possibly have and it was the Notts’ fortune to have hired her. Her long, jet black hair was always tied into a neat bun and she always wore a crisp uniform. However, her appearance was not without any flaws. Her chin was always jutted out in an arrogant stance and she was a meddlesome old woman, always about and poking into other people’s affairs.
On this particular day, she was assigned to clean the secret vault hidden behind the large mirror in the hallway. Strangely, she had never been allowed to use magic to do the job. She preferred to think that than face the fact that her mistress and master didn’t fully trust her to use magic to get the job done and they were far too above their social class to do these manual tasks on their own. She knew she was expected to clean the vault by hand like a Muggle. Still, she set about ordering the house-elves to clean the room while she looked on with a satisfied smirk.
“Be careful with that! That trophy alone is worth ten of your useless lives!” she barked, clearly enjoying herself. Her eyes flickered across the room and she frowned, as if a sudden thought had struck her.
She had a very bizarre feeling ” as if something was not quite right about this scene. She couldn’t put her finger on it but she was quite sure that something seemed out of place.
Maybe I really am getting old. She shook her head and tried to focus her attention on the given task. At that moment, one of the young Nott masters, Van Nott stepped into the vault. At a prime age of twenty, he was a haughty and selfish boy. Mrs Cope could certainly vouch for it but she had to give the boy respect. After all, his father was the renowned and wealthy official who held a huge say in the Ministry, Alexander Nott.
“Mrs Cope! What is this?” The boy seemed annoyed, his thick eyebrows puckered up in frustration.
“Young master, we’re doing our monthly cleaning,” Mrs Cope replied politely as she bowed, afraid to raise her voice and risk getting a scolding.
“Did my mother tell you to do so?” he said through his gritted teeth.
“Yes,” Mrs Cope replied doubtfully as she wondered what the boy was getting at.
“Well, I want you to clear out, now.” The command was final and definite.
“But, young master, my mistress has specially instructed for us t”” Mrs Cope said, anxiously, before being hushed into silence by Van Nott’s fearful glare.
His voice turned cold and harsh. “Are you going to listen to me, Mrs Cope? Don’t forget that I’m the heir to the family fortune. You ought to be more careful if you want to continue on here for the next decade,” he hissed menacingly.
“I’m sorry young master,” she said fearfully, her voice wobbling. Clearly, the boy wasn’t in a good mood.
“Don’t ever step in here without my permission.”
The boy’s voice was dangerously soft and dangerous ” like a sly cat waiting to pounce on its unsuspecting prey.
“Yes, sir.”
“Good.” He seemed pleased, satisfied even, as if a very important task was accomplished.
Avoiding her young master’s eyes, Mrs Cope hurriedly instructed the house-elves to clear out. They disappeared with the cleaning supplies soon after with low grumbles.
When she was the last one left, Mrs Cope bowed and said, “Again, I’m sorry to trouble you, sir.”
Van Nott didn’t reply. He didn’t seem to notice her anymore. Mrs Cope was surprised when the boy started walking slowly towards the necklace studded with the famous Cordalis Diamonds which was stored carefully in a glass jewelery box placed prominently in the centre of the room. It was as if he was in a trance.
Afraid that the young master was possessed, Mrs Cope gulped and quickly exited the vault, sliding the mirror which hid the entrance back into place. She could vaguely hear the young master mumbling from inside the vault.
Such a strange day, Mrs Cope thought before spotting a house-elf holding a piece of stolen cake from the kitchen.
“Stop there!” she shrieked as she hustled down the corridor to resume her duties as the loyal housekeeper. The incident was quickly wiped from her mind. After all, she told herself, it couldn’t possibly be important. The boy was probably just in one of his usual grumpy moods.
~~~~~~
It was barely fifteen minutes later “ while Mrs Cope was serving her mistress with a choice selection of cakes for her afternoon tea “ when she heard a blood-curling scream echoing from inside the house.
“Oh my!”
Startled, she gasped as the glass saucer slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor, shattering into minute pieces.
“What was that?” Eleanor Nott snapped, not amused by the sudden commotion.
“I’m sorry, Madam. It must be one of the imbecile house elves,” Mrs Cope apologised profusely. Couldn’t she get through the day peacefully for once? At that moment, a house elf Apparated to her side. He had a petrified look on his face.
“ Tipsy! Explain, please, what in the name of Merlin is going on? The mistress is not pleased to be interrupted during her afternoon tea,” Mrs Cope reprimanded loftily.
“Excuse me mistress and madam! But something just happened in the secret vault!”
“What is it?” Eleanor Nott glared at the house elf accusingly.
“But madam… this is very important…I…she…”
“What is it?”
“ It’s just so terrible, mistress… ”
“ Tipsy…” Eleanor Nott warned.
“Please, mistress, it is…. I cannot tell you the bad news. ”
“Just say it, elf!”
“Miss Portia is dead.”
~~~~
After a few hours of consoling Eleanor Nott, and brewing a cup of strong coffee to soothe her nerves, Mrs Cope finally managed to calm her mistress down.
“Oh, my daughter! My poor child!” she hollered, seemingly distraught with grief. Turning away, Mrs Cope rolled her eyes. Nobody would believe that Eleanor Nott was truly sad about her daughter’s death. She was doing all this because it was expected of her as a mother.
“How did this happen?” Alexander Nott had flooed back the moment he had heard of the news. “Mrs Cope, do you know what is going on here?” he demanded angrily.
Personally, Mrs Cope thought that he cared more about missing his board meetings than his daughter’s death.
“I’m not sure sir, I””
“ I’d be damned if you don’t know a single thing,” he growled. The entire Nott family had assembled in the lounge area. “Was anything missing from the vault?” he asked, directly addressing the housekeeper.
“ I’m afraid so.”
“What is it?”
“The necklace studded with the Cordalis' jewels, sir.”
“What?!”
Alexander Nott looked as if he wanted to passed out. “Our precious family heirloom has disappeared? How is it possible?”
“Yes, indeed.” Eleanor frowned at her husband as her voice took on a steely edge. ”It was worth a hefty sum of money. That irritating child must have stolen it and given it to one of her many lovers before killing herself. I knew that girl was nothing but trouble since the day I conceived her.”
“Perhaps, so. That would be the most logical explanation. ” Alexander nodded before calming down.
Mrs Cope kept quiet. She wasn’t about to say that she had seen Mister Van Nott behaving strangely at the vault just minutes before Miss Portia’s death. She wasn’t that nosey.
“What do you think, my children? How should we settle this?” Alexander looked around the room.
His eldest daughter, Bianca Nott, was half-asleep, as if this entire affair bored her. She was a slim and beautiful girl who didn’t appear to be concerned about her youngest sister’s death. After all, Portia Nott had always appeared as an eyesore to her, with her goody-two-shoe manners.
Meanwhile, the only son of the Notts’, Van, was flipping through a book on dark magic. Like his elder sister, he was there only for the formality. Being handsome and young, he was pursued by many girls. He apparently wished that he could have spent the time doing something more useful rather than talking about something which didn’t even concern him.
The only person who appeared to be truly upset about Portia Nott’s death was their cousin, Helena Greengrass, who was staying temporarily at the Notts’ whilst her parents go off on a holiday in the Middle East. Although everyone knew that Helena had a close relationship with Portia since they had both been young, as far as the Notts were concerned, nobody really cared about that.
“I say we dispose of Portia’s body properly and carry on with our own business,” Bianca said with a drawl. She was preening herself in front of a mirror, checking that there wasn’t a single flaw in her appearance.
“I’d second that,” Van agreed.
“Well, I suppose that there would be preparations with the funeral and such. You know, to maintain appearances,” Alexander Nott said uncomfortably. He wasn’t used to handling these kinds of situations.
Merlin! Do any of these people care about the child at all? Poor girl, fancy her dying with nobody caring about her, Mrs Cope thought as she stood quietly to one side.
“Excuse me,” a nervous voice said. Everyone looked up. Their eyes flew to the frenzied young woman who was half-hidden behind the armchair.
“Do you have something to say, Helena?” Eleanor Nott said through her gritted teeth, trying her best to be polite to the guest. She wasn’t particularly fond of her niece. Helena Greengrass wasn’t what you would call a normal girl. She would become overexcited over the smallest of things, yet usually appeared calm whenever calamity struck. This time though, she was visibly distraught by her cousin’s death.
“ Shou” shouldn’t we try to find out who” who killed her?” she whispered, almost unwilling to accept the fact that Portia was dead.
“That isn’t necessary. It’s obvious that Portia killed herself. There wasn’t any forced entry and we are the only people in the house,” Eleanor replied briskly. “Unless you’re implying that one of us…. killed her?’’ She raised her well-groomed eyebrows and smiled, as if the mere thought of that amused her.
However, this comment drew a few gasps from the intimate circle of people. Bianca narrowed her eyes and her gaze flickered suspiciously to her father. Meanwhile, Van looked discomfited as he focused his gaze on the ground.
“Now, let’s not worry about this.” Alexander Nott gave a half-hearted laugh but he was visibly troubled by her wife’s words. “Anyway, who would you suggest to do the investigation? The Ministry would go through the normal procedures but would entertain the idea no more than we have because, certainly, all the clues points to suicide. Even if someone had stolen them out of pure greed, I'm confident of finding out the person's identity given my position and power. Then again, it’s just not possible for Portia to steal and hide the necklace before killing herself. My daughter wouldn’t do that. ”
Satisfied with his explanation, Alexander leaned back against his chair as he watched the child. Much to his surprise, the young woman raised her chin and bravely said, ”I will find a detective.”
“Pardon me?” Alexander Nott was astonished that his niece was so insistent on pursuing the case.
“I’m going to find a detective to handle a case. I won’t let Portia die just like that,” Helena said firmly. She was usually a shy and timid girl, yet she would do anything to make sure that Portia didn’t die with a sullied name.
“What do you mean, a detective?” Eleanor Nott retorted. “I will not tolerate any more nonsense from you. Goodness, how does your mother stand this every day? We have already decided to settle the case now and you will not challenge our authority. ”
“Peace, my wife, the child is emotionally affected by Portia’s death,” Alexander Nott chided lightly. In spite of his disapproving tone, he did not immediately brush off the girl's idea. he briefly considered hiring a private investigator and found this suggestion relatively viable. “ Well, Helena, I will consent to you hiring a detective. However, the detective must regard the job of finding the lost jewels as his main priority,” he finally said.
Helena opened her mouth to protest about his proposition but eventually backed down, knowing that it was not practical to test her uncle’s limits. For her, it was enough that a detective would be called in even though his main job would be to retrieve that utterly useless heirloom. She would personally find a way to convince the private investigator to seek out the murderer at the same time.
At this moment, Alexander’s frowned as if a sudden thought had just occurred to him. “ But, dearest child, where on earth are we going to find this so-called detective? ”
Helena fixed a steely gaze on her uncle and said without hesitating, “I’ve someone in mind already.”
~~~~
Meanwhile, somewhere in West London, a lone man sat at his desk, musing over an article in the Daily Prophet titled, “Daughter of Alexander Nott Found Dead in Secret Vault‘’.
“Interesting,” he murmured to himself as he twirled his beard. At that moment, he heard a pecking sound on his window. It was an owl, scratching frantically at the surface of the glass. A letter clasped in its claws. The man’s eyes twinkled as he slid open the window and retrieved the note. He grinned as he registered the meaning of the letter. Quickly, he drafted a reply before entrusting it to the owl to deliver it back to its owner.
When the owl had flown off, the man settled back onto his armchair. He had expected that note to come “ sooner or later.
“Arthur Aesalon, it’s time for a new mission,” he whispered to himself.
La Mystère D'Une Fille by Immunity
Story Notes:
Special thanks goes out to Alex (welshdevondragon) for his great help!
Chapter Notes: Thanks to Alice (theblacksister) and hogwartsbookworm for their betaing. Special thanks also goes out to Carole (Equinox Chick) for coming up with the wonderful title.