Closed The Secret in the Clock Tower PV Irina Shevel

The package contained a wooden box with some kind of Coat of Arms on it. Simon's first impression was that the box looked more valuable than he had anticipated. Irina examined it carefully, almost a bit too carefully. Why doesn't she say anything? Or try to open it? That would most likely be the first thing Irina would try to do, he thought.

Then she turned the box to him and whispered: "That's the Shevel Coat of Arms. Merlin's beard, how the heck did this get here?"

"Yeah", said Simon, chuckling. "That would have been cool, though..." Judging by her face, she was not kidding. "You're being serious?"

Irina tried to open the lid but it would not give in. With the effort she put into it he was sure he would not be able to open it either. But why was there a box in the Clock Tower connected to Irina's family? Could this all be a prank? No, probably not. Irina would most likely not have put it there and risked that dangerous climbing just for a prank. And she could not possibly perform such advanced magic.

"Any ideas, O Smart One?"

"But how is it possible? I mean... This is your family's Coat of Arms?" His mind was spinning like clockwork, trying to puzzle the pieces together and understand it all. "What are the odds of we finding it? Well, I mean, technically I found it, but what were the odds of us being friends and me inviting you to get it... And who put it there? Your sister Idril?" Simon was trying to think of a motif but could not come up with anything. Most likely, that answer was in the box. "What does it even say, and why is it in French?"

@Irina Shevel

@Simon Tilia

Irina stared at the box, Simon's sceptisism turned disbelief washing over her. Her mind was performing summersaults, chasing it's tail and whining in confusion. This made no sense! She couldn't decide whether she felt excitement or trepidation - it was too much of a coincidence.

And who put it there? Your sister Idril? What does it even say, and why is it in French?"

Irina's stomach seized up at the idea that Idril had something to do with the mysterious box. She shoved the idea out of her mind and focused on Simon's final question.
"It says, L'amour engendre L'amour. La haine engendre la haine.' I think it's French cause that's where my ancestors origionated from? And I think it translated to . . . wait, hold on."
She screwed up her eyes in an effort to remember any French. The words trickled back to her along with a vague memory of something her grandpa had told her. "Love begets Love. Hate begets Hate. I don't really understand what it -"

Irina stopped midsentence as the box gave a small click . . . and opened. She looked up in delight and anticipation, eyes gleaming and shuffling over to sit next to Simon so he could see.
She reached into the box and found it was a lot larger than the outside suggested. Her brain struggled on this concept before remembering her mum had something similar at home. Undetectable bigger spell or something like that.
Old parchment, browned with age presented themselves to her touch and she carefully took one out, examining it. It was a letter, the wax seal on the envelope broken and the ink on the front faded slightly. Adelio Shevel
She gave a small sigh of relief glad to see that neither the name nor the writing suggested her sister, parents or brother were involved. Her Great Uncle was though.

She handed the letter to Simon for him to inspect before reaching in again and drawing out a folded bit of parchment. She slowly unfolded it, fearing that the lightest tremor would tear it in two.
Once the parchment had been laid out in front of her, her eyes narrowed in confusion, her heart beating faster with suspision.

Reducio

"Simon . . ." Her voice was no longer a whsiper but it sounded small, scared. "Simon . . . it looks like a register. It has lists of loads of families - no, people and their families. And . . . dungbombs." She looked up at Simon, her face white, voice dropping back to a whisper. "Simon, this is a register of purebloods. What in Merlin's name is my Great Uncle doing with this? What does it mean?"

To his surprise, it turned out that Irina could speak French. Apparently, there was a whole lot more to the Shevels family than he knew. 'Love begets love, hate begets hate'. He wondered what that meant, before he heard a small 'click!' from the box and the lid opened. Curious to see what was inside, he leaned in towards Irina.

The first thing she pulled out was an opened envelope. She handed it to him. When he examined it, he found that it had the name Adelio Shevel written on it, clearly a relative to Irina. He peaked inside the envelope and could see an old yellowed letter with an old-fashioned handwriting, clearly written in a decade long ago.

"Simon . . .", said Irina, when she examined a piece of parchment from the box. "Simon . . . it looks like a register. It has lists of loads of families - no, people and their families. And . . . dungbombs . . ." Seeing Irina with such a troubled look on her face was not something he was used to. Even her voice sounded strange. With all that seriousness that she radiated it was like she was much older from all of a sudden. "Simon, this is a register of purebloods. What in Merlin's name is my Great Uncle doing with this? What does it mean?"

"Let me see", said Simon and stood beside Irina, shoulder to shoulder, to examine the list. He frowned. "Well, you mentioned that your relatives was pureblood elitists. So, I guess the content of this list does not come as a complete surprise. I think the main question is what is it for? What's the purpose of this list? To make sure that purebloods only stuck to purebloods?"

Voices were heard from the direction of the Hospital Wing on the other side of the tower. Simon turned his head towards the sounds and noticed a couple of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins coming in their direction. He hoped they would not come here, so that he and Irina could be alone.

He put his arm around her shoulders. "Come on, let's take a seat." Simon lead her to the circular space behind the glass of the clock face and sat down. "Perhaps some of the answers lay in this letter. I think you should open it." He gave her the envelope and looked to the left towards the students. They were heading down the stairs on the other side. Good...

@Irina Shevel

@Simon Tilia

The world had gone silent. Her mind was still, frozen in horror at the list in front of her - reguardless of it's unknown purpose, the meer fact it existed was horrific. Why would her relatives want to make this? She had known that her Great-grandma was a pureblood elitist and she had known her parents didn't speak to her great-uncle or his son, but what is because of this? Was Maeve so prejudiced she had to write a register for women her son was allowed to date? It was disgusting.

As if from another world, distant voices rang through her ears, seemingly imagined they were so quiet. A hand on her shoulder pulled her from her trance as Simon sat her down behind the clockface. She shook her head slightly and peered around the edge, realising Simon had moved them to ensure their privacy. She gave him a wan smile before accepting the letter he held out to her. She handed him the register so he could have a closer look.
After seeing the register, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to read its contents but her face set in determination and she gently pulled the letter from the envelope.
The words were just as faded as the name and Irina had to strain her eyes in order to decipher the slanted words. In the right hand corner of the letter was the Coat of Arms, worn and tired, almost invisible.

Reducio

Irina's mind reeled, and the world was frozen again. But this time she angrily shook herself awake, determined to figure this out. Maeve . . . that was her great-grandmother. And Callahan was her grandpa. The letter didn't answer many questions though, only created them. What was Adelio 'endeavouring' to do at Hogwarts? It didn't seem like he wanted too all that much. 'Maybe the register is his endeavours. Maybe he was trying to find a load of Purebloods.'
She read through the letter again. What were Adelio and his mother trying to convince Callahan about? Something to do with their twisted beliefs? She presumed 'Half-Blood harpy' referred to Aesira Takara, Callahan's at-the-time girlfriend and . . . Irina's grandma.
Dazed, Irina handed the letter to Simon, hoping he could find something in it she hadn't. The pieces of the puzzle were emerging, but other overall picture was still unclear.
"So," Irina said, turning to Simon, "So Maeve gave Adelio some sort of mission? To do with Purebloods marriages or something. And she was angry at Gumpa cause he was with Sisi? Or is this 'harpy' another person?"
She growled in frustration, her confusion and fear being chanelled through anger. She stood up quickly and paced up and down, hands in her hair and eyes flicking from floor to ceiling, as if the answers would appear there. Finally, the anger got so much that she gave a short yell and hit a wooden beam with the outside of her fist.
"I don't understand! I knew there was something weird about Adelio, but I didn't . . . I didn't realise he was willing to, to - to sabotage a relationship, or make a flipping list about disgraced purebloods!"
She gave a deep sigh, sitting down next to Simon once more and glowering at the parchment. "Well, whatever happened, we need to get to the bottom of this. Any ideas from the letter ot register?"

Musical inspiration: "Harry and Ginny"

"So. . . So Maeve gave Adelio some sort of mission? To do with Purebloods marriages or something."

"That's what I'm getting from this too."

"... And she was angry at Gumpa cause he was with Sisi? Or is this 'harpy' another person?"

Simon shrugged his shoulders. "Hard to say who she's referring too. Who's Sisi? Your grandma?"

Irina got up, clearly bothered by the information in the box. At first, he did not really understand why. Why did it matter, since it was so long ago? And it was not like her grandfather, Callahan, did anything wrong, from what he could tell from the letter. But as he tried to step into Irina's shoes, he could see where the discomfort and frustration came from. He would not want to find this kind of information about his own grandfather or relatives... He had a very clear image of them. That image was based both on what he could remember, on all the photos he had seen and the stories that his parents had told him. But what if this image would suddenly change, from one moment to another?

Irina wandered back and forth, breathing heavily. She looked almost like a volcano that was about to erupt, until she did; with a loud yell that echoed through the tower she hit the wooden beam with her fist.

"Hey, hey!", said Simon and stood up. "Easy." He put his arm around her again, squeezing her arm firmly and pressing her shoulder to his chest, looking at her (their height difference was now more notable than ever).

"I don't understand!" said Irina in a frustrated voice. "I knew there was something weird about Adelio, but I didn't . . . I didn't realise he was willing to, to - to sabotage a relationship, or make a flipping list about disgraced purebloods!"

"I know. I know." He stroked her shoulder. "It's awful what they were trying to do."

They went back to sitting. Simon looked at her with concern. He had never seen Irina like this and he was not sure how to best comfort her or show his support. A part of him wished that he could just take her pain so that she would be rid of it.

"Well, whatever happened, we need to get to the bottom of this. Any ideas from the letter or register?"

The pragmatic Irina was back. Simon looked from the letter to the list with raised eyebrows and took a deep breath before giving a loud sigh. "Well... Did he succeed? Adelio, I mean. That's what I'm wondering. If the 'harpy' is in fact your Grandma, then, good for us, this story had a happy ending... If not... Well, I kinda feel sorry for your Grandpa either way. I can't imagine what it would be like to not get to pick your own partner. He couldn't help falling in love with a half-blood, of course. I guess blood-status was unimportant to him. It's just... sad... to see these crossed out names. Crossed out because of some sick ideas and some completely irrelevant information scribbled below their names."

Simon was a half-blood. What if he were to fall in love with someone, and that girl was in love with him too, but they could not be together because of her family. He could not imagine what that would be like.

@Simon Tilia

"Hard to say who she's referring too. Who's Sisi? Your grandma?"

Irina nodded distractedly, staring into the clouded Clockface. "Yeah, her name's Elysia, but we call her Sisi. I can't tell if she's who Maeve is talking about or if she's referring to Callahan's previous girlfriend. I don't really know much about his time at Hogwarts . . ."

After hitting the beam, the ache she should have felt from such a blow was deadened, from both the anger being pumped through her body and the sudden blanket feeling she felt around her. For a moment she was too shocked to pick a response - Simon was hugging her! For a moment she remained tense, unsure about how she felt. But eventually, her blood simmered down and she relaxed a bit, leaning ever so slightly against Simon's sturdy form. Her head barely reached the bottom of his chin.
It wasn't that she disliked hugs - she loved hugs and was an incredibly physically affectionate person! But it had taken her surprise. Eventually she got used to it and her thoughts returned to the larger problem.

Irina grumbled into his shirt and he stroked her shoulder, consoling her before they went to sit back on the floor. Her mind was clearer now, still shell-schocked and and nervous, confused and anxious to get to the bottom of things, but she could still feel anger bubbling. Trying to keep a level head, she glanced at Simon and noted with a small jolt of guilt how concerned he looked.
Not many people saw her have outbursts like this. They weren't uncommon but she didn't make a point of having them in public cause she knew how uncomfortable or unnerving they could be to witness. Often, people didn't know how to help.
She listened intently to his theories and questions, pondering them and rolling them over in her mind. After he finished talking, there was a short moment of silence as Irina tried to think of answers.

Irina sat up straighter and stared at the ceiling, remembering one of Gumpa's storytime stories. "Actually, I remember Gumpa saying that he and Sisi were school sweethearts. That still doesn't guarantee that Sisi is the harpy, but it makes it a tad more certain."

There was another silence as she and Simon wallowed in their seperate thoughts though, Irina speculated, probably on the same topic. Clearly Maeve expected Callahan to abandon his halfblood love to continue the family name. Denying love for an obsolete cause. A piece of puzzle clicked in place and she spoke her small revelation aloud.
"Callahan was written out of the Will which is why my Dad doesn't have any claim over the Shevel property. He must have been written out cause he disobeyed Maeve and married the harpy anyway - ergo, harpy is Sisi."

Irina picked up the register again, staring out the names crossed out, mind mulling over something deeper. Throughout all of these letters was an invisible thread tying them all together. She glanced over the letter and scanned the words, 'renual of the gift.'
Her brow furrowed as the thought tugged deeper. Why would Maeve be so genuinely picky about Purebloods. They weren't common, so surely she would settle for any pureblood if it guaranteed the continuation of a pureblood line.
"She's being too specific," Irina whispered, almost to herself. "There's another reason for this list . . . something to do with the 'gift' Maeve mentioned in the letter."
She looked towards the box and pushed it towards Simon, egging him to look inside for further clues.

"Actually, I remember Gumpa saying that he and Sisi were school sweethearts. That still doesn't guarantee that Sisi is the harpy, but it makes it a tad more certain."

"Hmm... Yes, we shouldn't rule out any possibilities at this point, I think."

Irina looked like she got an idea. "Callahan was written out of the Will which is why my Dad doesn't have any claim over the Shevel property. He must have been written out cause he disobeyed Maeve and married the harpy anyway - ergo, harpy is Sisi."

"That would make sense, yes", said Simon and nodded. "And maybe that was for the better. I'd say what they got instead was far more valuable; your dad, his wife, your siblings – and you. You seem like a very loving family, from what you've told me. To me, that's more valuable than money and upholding family traditions. Especially if those traditions mean forced marriages because of something as silly as blood status."

"She's being too specific", mumbled Irina. "There's another reason for this list . . . something to do with the 'gift' Maeve mentioned in the letter."

"That's right! Are you thinking about the metamorphmagi gene?"

Irina handed him the box.

"How deep is this thing?" said Simon, before picking up a piece of parchment. It was hard to read, same as the letter from Maeve and Adelio's list of purebloods, but with some effort he was able to read it. "Hmm... You might wanna see this. It's a letter from Callahan. To Adelio. It seems like Adelio somehow warned Callahan, or at least admitted the plot to ruin Callahan's and Sisi's relationship – yep, it's Sisi, for sure. He says that he's going to stay with her no matter what, but he promises to not mention to Maeve that Adelio admitted what they were about to do. I don't know, it seems like there was some level of understanding between the two after all, if I'm not reading to much into this. Here, have a look."

@Irina Shevel

@Simon Tillia

"You seem like a very loving family, from what you've told me. To me, that's more valuable than money and upholding family traditions."

Irina nodded absently, taking small comfort from his words but unable to rid herself of the hollow feeling forming in her stomach. How could her family have been so . . . prejudice? So disgustingly discriminating? Her body was hot and her mind was boiling, filled with a simmering rage that wanted to explode out of her. But, for the moment, she ignored the anger and focused on figuring out the mystery.

"There's another reason for this list . . . something to do with the 'gift' Maeve mentioned in the letter."

"That's right! Are you thinking about the metamorphmagi gene?"

Irina paused, eyes opened slightly and mouth open in a comical 'O' shape. After unfreezing, she nodded and said with too much certainty, "Yup! That was exactly what I was thinking. I'm, um - I'm waaaaaay ahead'f ya."

She turned her head quickly, cringing to herself at how slow her brain was being and trying to contain the sudden desire to laugh. It was good to have Simon with her, and not just because his brain was making bigger steps than she was. He was supportive and compassionate, not pushing her to hard but attempting to understand how she was feeling - something she usually did for others. It felt odd and starngely nice to be on the recieving end for once. Irina looked over at him as burrowed further into the box and gave a small smile.

The smile was replaced by a furrowed brow as Simon picked up a letter, explaining it's contents and handing it over for Irina to have a look at. She reached over and took it with gentle hands, heart lifting slightly at the hope that maybe Adelio wasn't all bad.

Reducio

She stared at the letter for a moment, realising just how much Callahan had loved both his brother and now-wife.
"It must have been so hard for him," she whispered, afraid that if she spoke her voice would crack and betray the emotion behind it, "so hard to try and decide between his family and his love."

Irina sniffed before placing the letter onto the growing pile of parchments. She sat back onto her heels and adopted a thinking face.
"Okay, so Adelio . . . he isn't the person everone thinks he is. Do you think my parents know about this? Or is it just Callahan?"
She stood and walked over to one of the stone walls, sliding down it and enjoying the cold stone against her back.
"Back to your- I mean, our earlier idea about Metamorphmagus. Do you think it's the core for everything? Do you think it's the reason Maeve was a blood-purist?"
She screwed her eyes half-shut in an effort to remember all knowledge about the ability to her head. She gave it up as a lost cause and turned to Simon. "You're the brainiac here so you tell me; is metamorphmagus passed on only in a pureblood family?"

"It must have been so hard for him", Irina whispered in a fragile voice. "So hard to try and decide between his family and his love."

Simon gently put his hand on her shoulder. It was hard to see Irina so troubled. He had seen her scared, irritated and angry, but never like this. Her eyes looked sad, almost as if something had broken inside her. "Hey...", he said in a low voice. "Are you alright?"

"Okay, so Adelio . . . he isn't the person everone thinks he is. Do you think my parents know about this? Or is it just Callahan?"

Simon shrugged his shoulders with an excusing look on his face. "That's impossible for me to say, Irina."

"Back to your- I mean, our earlier idea about Metamorphmagus. Do you think it's the core for everything? Do you think it's the reason Maeve was a blood-purist?"

This was indeed a deep and profound mystery. But since they only got fragments of the truth, Simon wanted to be careful not to jump to any conclusions or give Irina any ideas based on mere speculation. How was it possible, though, that Irina did not know about all this? That made him wonder what potential family secrets his own family was holding, if any.

"Based on what I'm reading, and what you've told me before, it seems probable, yes."

Irina contemplated for a moment before looking at him. "You're the brainiac here so you tell me; is metamorphmagus passed on only in a pureblood family?"

"Honestly, I have no idea... But we can look it up in the library, if you want? Perhaps tomorrow?", he suggested. "But I do know that my mother led a research project once about how some upper class families, or people of privilege, historically has been trying to maintain what they believed were genetic traits within their family. Such as blue eyes, athletic body shape or intelligence. They did so by being very selective who their children married. I don't remember what it was exactly. My mom talks a lot about her work and sometimes I listen, sometimes it just goes in and out..."

He scratched his forehead.

"But let's step into Maeve's shoes for a moment. I feel like it doesn't matter if she was right or wrong, but if we consider the idea that she believed that the Metamorphmagus gene was only passed on in pureblood families, wouldn't that be a perfect motif for her actions?"

@Simon Tillia

"Hey . . . are you alright?"

Simon's voice sounded like it was floating to Irina through water. She slowly looked up at him, feeling her eyes beginning to water, her throat beginning to ache. Quickly, she scowled and looked away, determined not to start crying in front of her friend.
Irina was perfectly comfortable to cry infront of her family, but having never had any truly close friends, she was still conflicted as to what she should do. She encouraged anyone and everyone (herself included) to show emotion, but for some reason, the idea of crying in front of Simon seemed to overstep a boundry. As if she had an image to maintain.
Irina gave a small sniff and nodded her head, saying in a firm voice, "Yup, all fine.'
She felt irratated at how clueless she still was. How much did her parents know? How much did her siblings know?

Irina listened as Simon explained about muggle versions of blood purism. Her face became one of almost comical bewilderment - "Why in Merlin's name would anyone care about any of that?

"But let's step into Maeve's shoes for a moment. I feel like it doesn't matter if she was right or wrong, but if we consider the idea that she believed that the Metamorphmagus gene was only passed on in pureblood families, wouldn't that be a perfect motif for her actions?"

Irina sighed and looked down at the small collection of documents in her hand and littering the floor. "I guess it would. It just seems ridiculous that Maeve would disinherit two of her kids whilst threatening and blackmailing the other! Hasn't she ever heard of a little thing called love?"

She looked into the box, caution and fear causing her mind to tell her, 'Don't look at anything else.' But she had never been one to listen to her head - her heart told her to look so she did.
Irina reached out her hand and rifled through the box, not wanting to read more but merely looking. She found a small locket, the embossed gold now seeming more green with age. It was circular in shape and very light.
She opened it to see a photo of 3 teens. Her grandfather, standing in between a sandy-haired boy and a very pretty girl with long, sandy-coloured hair. The two boys were just a little taller than she was, but she was clearly older, a look of maturity on her face as she smiled softly at her brothers. 'That must be Aesira,' she thought, noting how different the softly smiling girl looked to her now stern-faced (but kind-hearted) Great Aunt.
Irina had never properly met Adelio, only ever seen photos of him as an adult. He had always been serious and frowning, so it made a change to see such a broad grin across his face, one eyebrow cocked as he looked up at Callahan, slightly taller than both him and his sister. It brought a smile to Irina's face to see him happy.
Callahan's mouth was open, his whole face beaming, laugh captured and frozen forever in the photo. He looked out past the camera and the only discernable difference between the grandpa Irina knew and the boy in the photo, was time. Whilst the photo was a strange brown colour, stained and old like all the letters, the real Callahan had grown whiter hair and a more lined face.
Irina closed the locket, passing it to Simon with a lighter heart and heavier mind - they had all looked so close.

Rifling through the box, Irina brushed away envelopes with various names on the front; Adelio, Callahan, Maeve, even one or two from Aesira. There were a few names she didn't recognise, people she guessed were friends to Adelio, also seeking help from the register. There were more registers and more plans that after quickly glancing over, Irina guessed were to do with seperating Gumpa and Sisi. Photos occasionally popped up, containing the same 3 faces - Callahan, Adelio and Aesira. It caused her heart to ache when she saw how happy they had looked. But what made it ache most was a photo of Callahan and Elysia facing each other, holding hands, Elysia in a white dress. On the back, in Adelio's writing, 'I'm sorry I couldn't be there brother.'

Irina found herself holding her breath, desperate to keep the tears in, whilst new questions bubbled to the surface. She handed the photo to Simon and asked, Why wasn't he able to go? Maeve may never have found out he was there. What's to stop him from going to the wedding? And," she grumbled pushing her hand into the box, straining to get past the letters, "Why . . . can't . . . I find . . . the bottom!"

Her hand had now completely disappeared, half her forearm following, despite the fact the box was only the height of her pinky.