THE VAULT

"Filch... Filch?" The green eyes peeked inside the gap between the two stones, only to close in disappointment.

"Filch where are you pal?" Gerald called again after straightening up.

The niffler had gone missing since morning, and there was no clue of him. Gerald was getting worried with every minute.

He and Filch, were inseparable since the time immemorial. He did not even remember when they got so close to each other that they began sharing and sometimes ignoring each other's pain and joy.

The niffler was not only Gerald's pet but was also a reliable partner in every job.

"Filch?" Gerald hollered, looking around in worry.

He was so busy finding the niffler that he did not realise a pair of eyes watching him, following him for some time.

Ten minutes later, Gerald finally began losing hope. He was searching for Filch for three hours. He searched the niffler in the town, in the outskirts and now in the forest. But there was no clue about it.

"Filch, come on pal. Where the heck are you?" Gerald was getting frustrated now.

He ran his fingers through his golden-brown hair and then cursed loudly. Now he had only one option left with him. Oscar!

Perhaps he would find something with his magic?!

Gerald turned on his heels to head straight to Oscar, but a couple of steps later... he halted. Something did not seem right.

Gerald tried putting a finger on it, but he was confused. What bothered him?

He replayed the entire day once in his mind, trying to figure out what was that his intuitions were pointing at.

He again turned on his heels and stared at a crow that sat on the branch of a nearby tree. Gerald narrowed his eyes as the bird did not make any move and matched his gaze.

"What the hell are you?" Gerald asked, walking towards the bird.

He stopped at some distance from it, and instead of flying away, the crow sat staring back at Gerald.

"Why the fuck are you following me? Who are you?"

One might think that Gerald had gone insane. But given his experience with the magical world and the things he had been through and had witnessed, he knew better than to believe only what meets the eyes.

The crow tilted its head, observing Gerald carefully. But Gerald knew that something was not right. Instinctively he looked around, straining his ears to pick on any sound that hit them. He slipped his hand under his shirt to wrap his fingers around the dagger he carried along with him sometimes.

But then again, he doubted that dagger would be of any use against the mystical things. Did one of those things that he had fooled, defeated or annoyed during his adventures follow him to this realm? Gerald wondered.

He was distracted by the laughter... a weird one. Confused, he looked around, then realised that it was no one but that crow.

"What kind of joke is this? Who has sent you?" Gerald had enough of that.

The crow finally sobered up and flew to sit on the nearer branch from Gerald.

"You are desperately searching for something." The crow said in a croaky voice which Gerald found irritating to his ears.

Of course, the crow knew!

"Where is Filch?" Gerald asked darkly. He did not take long to figure out that the disappearance of Filch was not just a coincidence.

"If you want to find it then rech the North Eastern hill after two hours sharp. If you get late even by a minute, then you would need to bid your last goodbyes to your Filch!"

Saying that, the crow flew away from there.

"Wait ! Wait! Who sent you? What have you done with Filch?" Gerald ran in a fruitless attempt, screaming at the top of his lungs.

But the crow was ordered only to deliver that message and nothing more.

Gerald did not understand what was happening to him. Was it a prank by Oscar, or was it indeed a threat? He did not understand.

He thought of running to Oscar because that was what he always did whenever he landed himself in trouble. But today, he thought otherwise. After collecting much money, Oscar and Isabella had gone to one of Oscar's connections to sell all three of their's gold they had robbed in the fair.

So it was impossible to meet Oscar before the evening or maybe tomorrow morning. So this time, Gerald was on his own because he had no control over the situation. And that was frustrating for him.

Then he thought of going to Sylvia. She was the right person whom he could trust. But then he paused midway.

What if involving Sylvia would only worsen the situation?

"Damn it!" Gerald cursed, pulling at his hair in anger.

Now all he could do was wait for the next two hours and pray that Filch was safe.

*

*

*

Theodora was with her father in the library of the Longhurst mansion. Ralph had requested Theodora to join him in the library.

The library was the least favourite place of Theodora, and she did not get along well with the books. Although, she found herself reading some classics sometimes.

She followed her father into the big room. Ralph walked through the rows of the shelves, and seeing so many books made Theodora feel dizzy.

This place was more suitable for someone like Bertha. That woman was a voracious reader. Theodora did not understand why she tried to accumulate so much knowledge when she was going to spend all her life as her maid only?!

"Come on Theodora sit here." Ralph gestured for her to take a seat around a table, and he himself got comfortable in the chair beside her.

"Father you know I do not like reading much. Why are we here today? We could have gone for horse riding or something?" Her eyes twinkled at that idea.

But Ralph frowned, shaking his head. "Theodora, I know that I have raised you not only like a woman but also like a man. You are not only my daughter but also my son. But you need to behave like a woman now."

"And why is that?" Theodora asked, clearly displeased with her father's words.

"Because you are at an age when you should get married. And to make a man like you, you need to behave like a woman. I am not saying that you should leave everything and busy yourself with cooking and household chores.

But I am referring to your mannerisms, your thoughts and your habits. The way you are growing up, is not going to work well in your husband's home. What if he is like every other male in our society?"

"You can use the word 'misogynist' father." Theodora rolled her eyes.

"That is what I am talking about. You should stop with that?"

"With what? Showing that I am a literate woman who knows the pronunciation, meaning and usage of convoluted words like mysoginist?"

Ralph pursed his lips before retorting. "No! Using your tongue uncontrollably like that!"

"Well that is very difficult to happen father." Theodora replied nonchalantly.

Ralph sighed. He did not know how to make his daughter understand the things that she should have learned on her own. Sometimes he wondered where he fell short in raising her as a disciplined woman.

"Anyways," He decided to leave that topic for some other time. Besides, that was not why he had called her there to meet.

"I have something important to discuss with you Theodora."

Now She was back in a serious mood. She listened to her father carefully.

"As you know I am getting older now and I have only one daughter and that is you. So about the family heritage and the fortune-"

"Yes, it is going to be all mine. I know! What about it then?" She asked curiously.

Ralph narrowed his eyes at her but then continued. "I and your mother are thinking about donating a share of our fortune to the shrine. We are sure that father would put that money in a good use."

That news dropped like a bomb on Theodora's head. Sharing... no no no... donating her family fortune?

That thought had never crossed her mind before, and now when she heard it, she did not like the sound of it... at all!

"Father!" She slammed her hands on the table angrily.

"What are you saying? Why do you need to donate what belongs to us? Do you think just because I am a woman, I am incapable of inheriting my family's fortune?" She fumed, disgusted at her father's chauvinistic thoughts.

Ralph did not like the tone she used toward him. "It is not like that Theodora and you know it!" He said through the gritted teeth.

"Then what is it, huh? Why do you want to donate our money to that old shag?"

"Mind your language Theodora!"

"No, I am not going to! Tell me! Why do you want to donate our money... MY money to be specfic?!"

Now Ralph had enough of her nonsense. Glaring furiously at her, he finally burst out.

"Because do you think you can handle what is inside the vault?"

Theodora was taken aback by that. She blinked a couple of times, then slowly sat back in the chair, silently. Because, she was not sure if she could handle what was inside the vault.