Disclaimer: The characters and places in this story and some of the situations belong to J.K. Rowling. The expansions are mine.
Mixed Loyalties
April 1996
Under the reign of Dolores Umbridge Adrian Pucey began to worry about his place in the wizarding world. He would be finishing his N.E.W.T.s in June and then be expected to join the ranks of the other pure-blood Slytherins in fighting for the Dark Lord. His whole goal was to complete his schooling and move on. He didn't want to go home; he didn't want to work for the Ministry; and lord knows he didn't want to follow Lord Voldemort (pun intended, thank you). Right now his whole goal was to keep his head down and stay out of the line of fire. If he could avoid the Inquisition Squad and anything to do with High Inquisitor Umbridge he would be free of the place.
"Quidditch wasn't even fun anymore," he thought. "The best beaters and best seeker, if you wanted to give credit where credit was due, were all suspended for life from playing Quidditch. How could Umbridge control the whole world outside Hogwarts? Yes, she had an in with the British Ministry of Magic, but she had no control over the teams outside Britain. They could even go over to Ireland and not leave the British Isles."
Avoiding contact with his father was Adrian's next goal. His father would consider it a betrayal if he weren't to become a Death Eater when he finished school. His mother was pressuring him to join the Ministry and work for the Dark Lord from inside their hallowed walls. There would be the inevitable guilt trip when he told them that was not what he believed. Hexing children from other houses was one thing, cursing them was a whole new level. He just needed to decide how to avoid it. If there were a way to remain as the muggles say "under the radar" he might be able to obtain an apprenticeship in another country and have a valid reason to leave all this behind.
He thought to himself, "I really am not a coward. I am just into self-preservation. That is a truly Slytherin trait."
Finding an occupation where he could apprentice was no mean task. He had good scores in Astronomy, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Charms. He was okay in Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration, but really stunk in History and Divination. Now was the time for him to put forth the work on the remaining time he had classes in order to get the best scores on his N.E.W.T.s. The other task was to get the apprenticeship.
Going into the library he went to the section where the newspapers were shelved. There were only a few because students got their own, but there were a few international offerings that were used for research. Reading through several, he found that there was a conference to be held in Edinburg in a few weeks for the Society of Arithmancers. If he could get there, it wasn't far; he could apply for an apprenticeship.
Adrian was 17 and had he could apparate. Now he just needed one more piece of luck. He had to get past the Hogwarts wards in order to apparate. Adrian was hoping against hope that there would be a chance to get into Hogsmeade, but that was a slim chance. Professor Umbridge had all but shut down Hogsmeade week-ends. Being a Slytherin he had a better chance than most of the students at Hogwarts, especially Gryffindors.
Saturday morning dawned clear and sunny, a beautiful spring day. Most of the students were serving some sort of detention. Adrian had remained in the shadows and was free to go into Hogsmeade. There were approximately seven hours of free time before he had to be back to the grounds of Hogwarts. The one thing that he had been worried about was coming across Professor Vector, but she had been assigned six Ravenclaws and two Gryffindors for detention that day. He was good in charms and would use a masking charm to disguise himself just in case there were people who knew him or his father at the conference. He doubted it; they didn't run in the same circles. Things were going his way and it was an uplifting experience. If Slytherins were excitable he would have been happy, but he knew that the numbers had given him a sign that this was what he needed to do on this day.
Adrian walked into the conference with a few copies of his resume in his pockets and hoped that he would be able to meet with a few of the attendees. Being the Slytherin he was he had thoroughly researched the attendees and decided that there were two or three he would want to try to work with. If he were to secure a position he would then have the means to avoid the dealing with the terrible problems at home.
When he returned to Hogwarts Adrian was smirking, because he had secured an Arithmancy apprenticeship and he would be leaving the country in June. He would keep it a secret until after he was gone and then owl his mother. It wasn't ideal, but at least he knew what he would be doing for the next two years.
June 1998
Adrian Pucey was walking down the hall of the Ministry of Magic. He had a newly minted certificate of completion of apprenticeship in Arithmancy signed by Siobhan O'Doherty formerly of Ireland currently residing in Canada. He had a resume in his hand also and a ten o'clock appointment with Acting Minister of Magic Shacklebolt. He had applied for a position in the Department of Mysteries and since his father had been a Death Eater, Minister Shacklebolt wanted to personally be certain that Adrian was not cut from the same cloth.
"The Minister will see you now," his assistant told Adrian when he presented his notice of appointment.
"Mister Pucey, please come in and have a seat," Kingsley Shacklebolt said, rising from his chair behind his desk. "Would you like something to drink? Tea?"
"No, thank you, Minister," Adrian answered. "I appreciate you giving me an interview."
"Mister Pucey, I am going to cut to the chase. I wish to know where your loyalties lie." The Minister continued, "I know your father's loyalties, but I am also aware that you left the country to complete an apprenticeship immediately after you had completed your studies at Hogwarts."
"Minister, I understand. I became disenchanted with the Ministry during Dolores Umbridge's term at Hogwarts. Torturing children is never excusable." Then Adrian took a deep breath and said, "I was not thoroughly aligned with Dumbledore either. You might say, that I was mainly for self preservation."
"Why do you think that you can help us now?"
"Because I am not loyal to either side but can be fair. Also, in obtaining a position as an Unspeakable, I can just go back into my corner and possibly do some good after all. I promise that I will be faithful to my task and nobody will need to know," Adrian replied.
Ten minutes later Adrian left the Minister's Office and headed toward the lifts. He was on his way to level nine where he was to meet his new supervisor.
Hogwarts School Charms Assignment #2
Task- Write about someone who is hiding a secret from everyone. Alternatively, write about someone who feels invisible.
Optional Prompts- Betrayal, Guilt, Water, Uplifting, Faithful.
Word Count - Minimum 500. Maximum 2000.