I must see you as a matter of urgency. I shall come to the Wizard Tower at midday today.
Zelda Heap
Keeper
Marcia glanced once more at the message and felt the usual flicker of irritation that accompanied anything to do with Aunt Zelda. She frowned. She had an important appointment at the Manuscriptorium for three minutes past midday. It went against all her principles to be early for an appointment with Jillie Djinn, but this time it was worth it - if she hurried, she could just get to the Manuscriptorium before Zelda came trundling up Wizard Way. Right now she could do without a white witch burbling witchy nonsense at her - in fact, she could always do without a white witch burbling witchy nonsense at her.
Marcia threw her new summer cloak of fine wool trimmed with silk over her shoulders and rushed out of her rooms, taking the large purple door by surprise. As she hurried across the landing to the silver spiral stairs, the door closed very carefully - Marcia did not like doors that banged. The spiral stairs stopped dead and politely waited for her to step on. Farther down the stairs, a series of Ordinary Wizards all had their journeys suddenly halted. They tapped their feet impatiently while far above, on the twentieth floor, their ExtraOrdinary Wizard stepped onto the stairs.
"Fast!" Marcia instructed the stairs, and then, at the thought of bumping into Aunt Zelda, "Emergency!" The stairs whizzed into action, spinning around at top speed, and the waiting Wizards below were pitched forward. Two of the Wizards who did not have time to grab on to the central handrail were unceremoniously flung off at the next landing. The rest had to go all the way up to the top of the Tower and come back down again once Marcia had alighted at the Great Hall. Three complaint forms were signed and handed in to the duty Wizard, who added them to a stack of similar forms relating to the ExtraOrdinary Wizard's use of the stairs.
Marcia hurried across the Wizard Tower courtyard, relieved that there was no sign of Aunt Zelda, who was always easy to spot in her billowing patchwork tent. As she strode into the shadows of the Great Arch, the tip-tap of her pointy purple python shoes echoing off the lapis-lazuli walls, she glanced down at her timepiece - and cannoned into something soft and suspiciously billowy and patchworky.
"Oof!" gasped Aunt Zelda. "Do try and look where you are going, Marcia."
Marcia groaned. "You're early," she said.
The tinny chimes of the Draper's Yard clock began to sound over the rooftops.
"I think you'll find that I'm exactly on time, Marcia," said Aunt Zelda as the clock chimed twelve times. "You did get my message, I hope?"
"Yes, Zelda, I did. However, what with the disgraceful state of the Message Rat Service and the consequent length of time it takes mere Wizards to get messages across the Marshes, I was unfortunately unable to reply that I had a previous engagement."
"Well, it's a good thing I bumped into you then," said Aunt Zelda.
"Is it? Well, I'm terribly sorry, Zelda. I would love to have a little chat, but I simply must rush." Marcia set off, but Zelda, who could be quick on her feet when she wanted to be, jumped in front of her and barred Marcia's way out of the Arch.
"Not so fast, Marcia," said Aunt Zelda. "I think you will want to hear this. It concerns Septimus."
Marcia sighed. What didn't? But she stopped and waited to hear what Aunt Zelda had to say.
Aunt Zelda pulled Marcia into the sunlight of Wizard Way. She knew how voices under the Great Arch carried across the Wizard Tower courtyard, and she did not want any nosy Wizard to hear - and all Wizards were nosy, in Aunt Zelda's opinion.
"There's something going on," whispered Aunt Zelda, keeping a restraining hand on Marcia's arm.
Marcia adopted a bemused expression. "There usually is, Zelda," she observed.
"Don't try and be clever, Marcia. I mean with Septimus."
"Well, yes, obviously there is. He has flown all the way to the Trading Post on his own. That is quite a big something."
"And he is not back?"
Marcia did not see what business it was of Aunt Zelda's where Septimus was, and she was sorely tempted to say that he was back, but mindful of the ExtraOrdinary Wizard Code, Section 1, clause iiia ("An ExtraOrdinary Wizard will never knowingly promulgate a falsehood, even to a witch"), she replied, rather shortly, "No."
Aunt Zelda leaned toward Marcia in a conspiratorial way. Marcia took a step back. Aunt Zelda smelled strongly of cabbages, woodsmoke and marsh mud. "I Saw Septimus," she whispered.
"You saw him? Where?"
"I don't know where. That's the trouble. But I Saw him."
"Oh, that old Saw."
"There's no need to be so sniffy about Sight, Marcia. Sight happens. And it happens to work. Now listen to me - before he left, I Saw a terrible thing. So I gave Barney Pot - "
"Barney Pot!" exclaimed Marcia. "Whatever has Barney Pot to do with all this?"
"If you would stop interrupting, you might just find out," said Aunt Zelda sniffily. She turned around as if looking for something. "Oh, there you are, Barney dear. Now don't be shy. Tell the ExtraOrdinary Wizard what happened."