Chapter 1
It was seven o'clock in the headquarters of The Order of the Phoenix. Even though it was in the middle of August, the weather was anything but mild. Strong, relentless wind whistled and echoed through the streets of Grimmauld Place. Rain pounded endlessly on the windows of the houses. The melody of the wind chimes echoed throughout the city, but the wind and the rain could not drown out the commotion that was clearly occurring the kitchen. Harry, Ron, and Ginny looked up from their game of exploding snap and strained their ears towards the kitchen. Even Hermione looked up from the book she was reading.
"She's too young. I refuse--" a female voice was yelling.
"It's up to her," a calmer male voice cut off the argument from the female.
"It's too dangerous. They're too young, they won't understand the dangers!" The female voice was hysterical now.
"I agree with Kingsley. Molly, they're not little children anymore, they can make their own decisions," A third voice interrupted.
"Arthur, you stay out of this!" The female voice that was clearly Mrs. Weasley countered.
"Enough! Bring them in!" A much firmer voice commanded that silenced the discussion.
"What do you reckon their arguing about? Mum sounded like the time Fred and George threw Ginny up a tree and left her there," Ron wondered out loud.
"Probably something to do with the Order, or…Harry," Hermione hesitated before replying. Her eyes darted sideways, trying to see if Harry would blow up at the comment.
Before any of them could make anymore guesses as to what was going on in the kitchen, an angry Mrs. Weasley came out and ushered them in.
"Ginny, you stay out," she firmly instructed.
Ginny's protests fell on deaf ears as Harry, Hermione, and Ron passed her apologetic looks on their way to the kitchen.
When they entered, they could see a few members of the Order sitting at the well Kitchen table. Pots and pans still littered the counters and dishes were being washed by invisible hands in the sinks. After being told to sit down, Kingley Shacklebolt spoke first.
"We have a mission for you," he said in a much more business-like tone than usual.
The three of them froze in the seats of their hard, wooden backed chairs. The Order had forbidden them to listen to meetings before. Now, a mission? It was unbelievable.
"What is it?" Harry eagerly asked. His hands gripped the cold table. He had always wanted to do something for the Order, something to help destroy Voldemort. This was his chance.
Kingsley cleared his throat before continuing. He reluctantly replied without making eye contact with Harry.
"The mission…is for Hermione," he said.
"What?" This time it was not Harry that spoke, but Ron.
"Don't shout, Ron," Remus Lupin calmly responded to Ron's outburst.
"As I was saying before, we have a mission for Hermione. Before you decide to accept this mission or not," he stopped for a moment, looking at Hermione before continuing. Mrs. Weasley was shooting evil glares at him. "I must warn you, this is a dangerous mission and if you agree, you will have to spend the remainder of your summer vacation training for it."
"What is it?" Hermione curiously asked.
"As you all know, You-Know-Who has returned and his Death Eaters have already begun to carry out his plans of killing muggles. We need a spy to not allow their plans to work," Kingsley replied.
"Who do I need to spy on?" Hermione replied with more eagerness in her voice.
"Draco Malfoy, son of the Death Eater, Lucius Malfoy," he calmly replied.
"What? Am I supposed to seduce him or something?" Hermione sarcastically replied. She and Malfoy couldn't even speak civilly to each other. How was she supposed to gain his trust?
"When all else fails, that could be an option," Kingsley quietly replied without a hint of embarrassment.
"Why did you choose Hermione? Why not me or Ron?" Harry demanded.
"We have considered you, Ron, and Ginny, but there was too much hate between you, Ron, and Draco Malfoy to make this mission work," Lupin spoke up and answered Harry's question.
"What about Ginny?" Ron asked. Mrs. Weasley was shooting death glares at her son as if he suggested they spear Ginny to death.
"We figured that we should choose someone in Malfoy's year so you would have more opportunities to interact with him," Arthur explained.
"I'd rather interact with a spotted toad," Ron muttered under his breath.
"Before we continue explaining this mission, to you. We need to know whether Hermione accepts this mission or not," KIngsley announced.
"Now, Hermione. I don't want you feeling pressured. You don't have to accept this mission. This can be very dangerous. The Malfoy boy has a Death Eater for a father, you could get seriously hurt. You're just as good as a daughter to me. I don't want you getting hurt from their absurd ideas," Mrs. Weasley cut Kingsley off and tried to convice Hermione not to accept the mission in a warm, motherly tone while glaring angrily at Kingsley.
"I'll--I'll accept," Hermione hesitated before replying.
Kingsley smiled triumphantly at an angry Mrs. Weasley.
"Now, this mission involves you boys as well," Lupin gestured towards Harry and Ron. "You two have to participate in the training and help Hermione."
"Now, we're going to start…" Kingsley continued on telling about all the defensive spells and special skills that Hermione was going to have to learn.
The music of the wind chimes drifted across London towards the Malfoy Manor. Mookie the house elf shivered as the winds traveled down the drafty hallway. Wearing only a tea towel as a toga, she carried a tray of tea and biscuits that her mistress demanded her to send up to her room from the kitchen. As she walked pass the study, she noticed that the fire place was lit. Usually only the master stayed in the study and he seldom stayed there at night. There door was open just a tiny crack and Mookie could hear voices inside the study. She peered in and saw her master sitting behind his desk and talking to young master. The fireplace roared and crackled. She could barely hear their low voices talking.
"The Dark Lord is not pleased with me," The elder Malfoy told Draco.
"It doesn't matter, does it? I mean you're part of the ministry now aren't you?" Draco retorted.
"You are thinking like a child! Once you have received the mark, you are his servant forever!" Lucius roared, rolling up his sleeve and showing Draco something on his arm that Mookie could not see.
"Then what do you want me to do?" Draco asked impatiently.
"I need you to capture someone so I can present it as a gift to the Dark Lord," Lucius responded more calmly than before.
"Who do I need to capture?" Draco asked.
Who the young master needed to capture, Mookie did not find out. Because at that moment, she dropped his tray of tea and biscuits. All the rumors that the Malfoys were Death Eaters were true. They were working for the dark side.
Lucius Malfoy heard the commotion and opened his door with his wand. There, stood the trembling and terrified house elf.
"I guarantee that nobody except you and me know our secret," Lucius Malfoy gestured at his son.
Without another word, he shouted "Aveda Kedevra" and the house elf was dead before she hit the ground.
Draco swallowed his scream of terror as he stepped over the body of the house elf and walked towards his bedroom.