The next day was same as ever with beautiful weather. The only difference was that it started with the torturing labs that the recruits had to run.
Harry and Ron sprawled on the grass once again after their long labs. Harry had to admit that it was a bit easier for his lungs, but his legs felt like pieces of leads. Everyone else was already gone after their labs, and since Disguise Class did not start until a half an hour later, they decided to have a rest.
The sun was blazing as time went along. Complaining how painful the beautiful sunray was becoming, they decided to get to the edge of the wood to rest better in shade. While they were resting there, Harry closed his eyes and was dozing off when he heard the sound.
It was a soft sound that sounded like landing. Harry sat up, finding hard-to-miss platinum blond nearby. It was LeRouge. And beside her, there was someone that he easily recognized: Felicia. It seemed that Felicia caught LeRouge when she just landed after her mission. He could not see LeRouge's expression since she was facing back to him. However, he could definitely tell that Felicia had some malice against her.
"So, how was the mission, Valkyrie?" asked Felicia, putting an unnecessary emphasis on her nickname.
"If you are trying to provoke me by calling me with that nickname, do keep in mind that it not work, Quintin. You know I hadn't asked for it." LeRouge coolly flattened her sarcasm. However, Harry could tell from the tone that LeRouge did not harbor any good feelings toward Felicia either.
"Oh, please. Why would I ever dare to provoke you? After all, you are our only hope destroying the remaining Death Eaters." Harry thought he heard a snarl—one of those that you could only hear from a menacing animal with killing intent.
However, LeRouge did not seem to budge at the threat. "If you want to track down Death Eaters that badly, then why don't you?"
This seemed to tip Felicia over the edge. She pulled out her wand, but before she could do anything, LeRouge was already behind her. She had one of Felicia's arm twisted on her back. Felicia screamed in pain, but LeRouge only tugged the twisted arm. She finally let go of the arm when the wand in the hand was dropped. LeRouge swiftly picked up the wand and put it in her coat. At that time, Harry thought he saw something on her belt, but it was so fast that he could not figure out what it was. When she turned around, Harry could see a distinct hatred that was well masked by a cold, stern authority in her manner. She pointed to the inner pocket where the wand was. "You should be relieved that I do not a wand in my possession. I will report to Salmander about your actions, and you will be suspended from duty. He will decide the duration of suspension."
LeRouge eyed Felicia who was glaring at her as if she was ready to bite her head off. "Do not be angry with me. You should blame yourself. The reason why you are only an Auror is because you can never control your emotion. Stop blaming others and get a grip on yourself." When she was done with her lecture, she glanced at the way that Harry was hiding. He instinctively flinched when he thought their eyes had met. He was surprised to see her leave when he was sure she noticed his presence. After she left, Felicia was cursing under her breath.
"Those darn Reforms. They destroyed everything! And that LeRouge, I know she is up to something. She has no loyalties except trying to please the higher ups. How dare she try to lecture me, how dare she! I have been here longer than she has and suddenly she is my senior? What is this madness? We didn't need those changes, hah! One day, I'm going to change this all back!" After her long monologue, she disappeared to thin air.
Harry let out a big sigh, glad that he wasn't caught. He figured that he might be late for Disguise class so he hurriedly shook Ron awake. Ron immediately realized that something happened while he was asleep from Harry's expression. "I'll explain later," said Harry curtly. Besides, Harry did not want to talk about this until he really knew about the Reform.
Of course he knew what the Reform was. Ever since Shacklebolt became the Minister, he drastically changed the role of Auror Office. During the wars with Voldemort, Aurors were the secret agents who specialized in tracking Death Eaters. However, when it became sufficient to reason that the force of Death Eaters had diminished considerably, Shacklebolt instigated the class system in Auror force. After taking a rigorous test, Aurors now had a higher level: Senior Aurors. Only Senior Aurors were given the duty of tracking down the possible remaining Death Eaters. The rest of Aurors were more of a police force for personal protections, or investigating various crimes.
As many expected, Aurors revolted against such changes. Some Aurors felt that it was unfair to classify them according to their skills. This small revolt was instantly crushed by the supporters and Acton Salmander. This kept the Auror system together but many Aurors left as a result. Harry knew the basic stories from Daily Prophet but he never guessed that there was still someone who was this unhappy about the situation. He hesitated if he really had to tell Acton about it. What if LeRouge had already told him? Harry instantly erased that possibility. It was obvious that Felicia was jealous of LeRouge, but LeRouge never stuck around to hear that she was also contempt about the Reform. He figured that he'd better be safe to notify him.
"Harry, are you alright? You haven't been talking at all since we woke up," asked Ron worriedly. Harry just shook his head. "It's really nothing. Can you tell Doug and Calista that I will be late to the class? I will get a necessary pass."
Ron absentmindedly nodded, confused about Harry's behavior; but he knew his best friend better to not ask him. Grateful for Ron's understanding, Harry walked into the Office of Administrative Division to find Marianne. He was in such a hurry that he almost bumped into her. They avoided a physical clash, but she did drop all the papers on the floor.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" exclaimed Harry, hurrying to pick up the papers.
"Don't worry about it," a clear voice answered, and the papers were instantly gathered and hovered to her hands. She adjusted her glasses and looked at him. "What business do you have here? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"
The question could have sounded interrogative, but Harry could tell that she did not really care about the fact that he was not in class. Harry did not know how much he should tell her. She was an official, so technically, he could tell her everything. However, he could not fathom just how sensitive this information might be. In the end, he just reported that he had to see Acton.
"You want to see Acton, why?" Her tone became cold and questioning all of sudden. Harry was surprised that her attitude changed dramatically by the fact that he wanted to see him. He felt the hair on the back of his neck standing. He was not sure what to tell her exactly.
"Relax, Marianne. He is a recruit, not someone to be interrogated." A familiar voice rang through and Harry secretly sighed in relief. LeRouge was standing behind her with folders in her hand. She did not even bother to lift her face when she said, "If he is in this Office, he is someone to be trusted. You should treat recruits as if they are members here. But of course, you know that already, right, Marianne?"
Her tense body relaxed instantaneously. She gave him an apologetic look. "I am very sorry. It's just the nature of my job. There are many dangerous people who wish to see Acton and, I just…"
"Do not bother, Marianne. I know exactly why this boy wants to see him, but Potter, I do advise you that the meeting would not be necessary." Marianne glanced at him curiously when she heard this. Not caring about her curiosity, LeRouge went on. "However, if you do see it necessary to talk to him, then there is no reason to stop you. So, move along."
Harry took couple steps forward when he heard the conversation between two women.
"What is the folder about? Another mission?" asked Marianne. Harry did not hear any response.
"What is it this time? I thought you took care of them in the last mission."
"Not all, Marianne. There are a lot more of them than we expected. It will very hard to eradicate them all at once. However, this mission, or case, is rather bothersome."
"Case? You mean, someone is murdered? But you can give those missions to Aurors."
"True, but the victim is McClintock." Harry heard a gasp from Marianne.
"McClintock? He was your client!"
"Yes, he was. He was alive and well when I left after I completed a mission. He… died a day later. I will not be charged since I did complete my mission, but it does not feel right that he died after I offered my protection."
Harry heard flipping pages. Eager to hear more of the conversation, he took deliberately very slow, small steps.
"How peculiar," said Marianne. "It seems that he died from a Muggle weapon, gun."
"Yes, however, it seems some Aurors have found a trace of magical energy around him so they suggest a possible involvement of a wizard."
"A Muggle and a wizard working together?"
"Not quite. Guns are not extremely hard to use." LeRouge added quickly. "Or so I heard."
"I see… Well, good luck with your investigation."
LeRouge scoffed at her. "What investigation? It is very obvious that the magical energy belonged to McClintock. He was probably fighting against a Muggle intruder. And Potter," he flinched at the mention of his name. "Our conversation is done and Acton is in his office, so I'm sure you're free to go to him."
Rather embarrassed, Harry quickened his pace to the Head Room as he heard the door closing behind him. He nervously knocked on the door. "Come in," a thick voice answered. He slowly opened the door. Acton was sitting at his desk, furiously signing papers.
"Hello, sir," said Harry tentatively. "I thought I had to tell you something." Acton instantly raised his head and gave him a big, warm smile. "Welcome, Harry. And please, call me Acton. It's a house rule that everyone calls each other by their first name, and I'm no exception."
"Er, sure, Acton." Harry said Head's first name rather awkwardly. "There is something I need to tell you about Felicia."
"Felicia? I believe LeRouge has already reported on the incident. And she also told me that you were present in the scene."
"I didn't mean to!" Before Harry knew it, he was defending himself. Watching Harry warmly, Acton smiled. "Harry, I'm not blaming you for anything. Now that you realize that I already know you were there, is there still something you need to tell me?"
"Yes," he said weakly. Now, he was not so sure if his information was so valuable. He explained to Acton what Felicia had said after LeRouge left. Acton's face darkened after he heard Harry's story. He let out a big sigh and stared at Harry gravely.
"First, I thank you for telling me the information. And please bear in mind that you must never repeat what I'm about to tell you." Harry tensed at the sudden seriousness of Acton's tone. He realized that Acton was not Head without a reason. "Felicia used to be part of the revolt against the Reform. However, in the middle, she changed her mind and offered to be a spy. It was disconcerting to see her loyalty shifting so easily at that time, but we had no choice. Don't worry, though. I have other Aurors already keeping an eye on her. Your information, however, tells us that she is indeed supporting the revolt—a bit more than we expected. We will not do anything with her in case there are other Aurors involved in this. She might be our only lead." Acton stood up and put his heavy hand on Harry's shoulder. "The reason I'm telling you this is because I trust you as an agent even though you are only a recruit. If you were only a student, for example, I wouldn't have told you any of this and probably used Memory Charm to erase your memory of what you saw. However, this also means that I trust you with this information. It is of utmost importance that no one else knows that we are keeping an eye on Felicia. Do you understand?"
"Yes… Sir." Harry added the title unconsciously. He quickly caught himself, but he realized that he could not help himself. Acton Salmander was indeed a great wizard and a leader. One could not help but respect the current Head.
He motioned the door and Harry instantly realized that his time was done. Before he headed out the door, Acton said, "And don't worry about the class. I will notify Doug and Calista."
Harry was grateful for Acton's attentiveness but also surprised. It was as if he could read minds. As soon as Harry stepped out of the door, a shadowy figure appeared from the corner of the room. "So you heard?" asked Acton.
"Every bit of it," Jaden answered. "Do you think he might be lying?"
"I wouldn't think so, but I did try Legilimency. The boy isn't lying. It appears Felicia does still have a contempt attitude toward this office." Acton's eyes became grim. He was generous and fair to everyone, but he did not tolerate anyone or anything that would endanger his office or fellow Aurors. "It is too bad that Felicia is excellent at Occlumency. If not, I would have found out about her intentions and possible accomplices."
"But we can't act on Felicia solely based on Harry's words." Jaden grunted frustrated. "But I hate this whole acting. I hate the fact that we are putting this show for one person. When is the curtain going to go down?"
"Until we find who else is involved." Acton answered defiantly. This was a big operation. If he was going to strike down Felicia, then he needed to make sure if anyone else was involved. He was willing to wait as long as it took if it meant he could take out all the rebel forces.
