Chapter Ten
Dispersed
"Where are they?"
Harry asked, agitated. He and his friends had grown very fond of Imelda in the past few weeks, and he was very conscious of the fact that Dumbledore had not got to finish his instructions as to where Mel, Lucius and Draco should head. The rest of them all knew their destinations, and where to at least look for each other once it was safe to do so, but Mel and the two Malfoys had disappeared, and no-one even knew where to look for them. Come to that, they didn't know if they had even made it out of the house on Honey Hill alive, and although that was a dreadful thought it had crossed all of their minds. Harry was not really concerned for the welfare of Lucius or his son- like other members of the group he found it hard to trust or forgive them as soon as Dumbledore appeared to have done. But Mel was one of them, and with only a death eater and his son for company and a personal vendetta against from the Dark Lord himself facing her, Harry supposed he had a right to be concerned for her welfare.
"I don't know, Harry." Sirius sounded tired, and looked as grave as he had done when they had left the house.
"You don't…. you don't suppose he was working for them all along? Lucius I mean…"
Harry had to ask, although he dreaded the reply.
Dumbledore looked thoughtful.
"Well it was I who decided the groups we split up into, and I must admit that when I did so I did not give much thought to it, given the fact that we were in great danger and speed was of the essence."
He looked at Sirius.
"But judging by the attack on Reuben, Imelda would be a great prize for the Dark Lord, a great threat…extinguished."
A terrible silence ensued.
"But…. After all that with Draco… would he do that?" Harry grappled for his fast fading hope.
"I just don't know Harry. As much as I hate to say it, and as much as he seemed to have changed, Lucius Malfoy's reputation does not exist for nothing, and Imelda would be useful redemption for him in the eyes of the Dark Lord, a Lord that he has loyally followed since the start of this war……"
Dumbledore stopped, realizing that he was only convincing himself and the other two of the worst.
But had he been wrong to trust Malfoy? Had he planned all of this to recover his position in the Dark Lord's army? Had he tricked them and established himself as one of them, in order to bring them down?
The truth was they just didn't know, and until they heard from Imelda herself, they would not know.
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"I'm worried, Remus."
Reuben cuddled closer into the crook of Lupin's arm as they shared a deep, red sofa in the Hogwarts staff common room. They had reached the safety of the school two days ago, and were now safely concealed within its protective boundaries. Hermione was happy to be reunited with Ron and Ginny when Snape had arrived with them unscathed a few minutes later, and the three teens now sat in front of the fire talking. Snape had been in touch with Sirius and Dumbledore, reporting their safe arrival in the East to the others, and telling the headmaster of their own arrival at Hogwarts.
But still there had been no word from Imelda, Lucius or Draco.
"I know, I am too."
Remus felt guilty for feeling so happy when Imelda was in such danger. His dreams for the past ten years at least had come true, and as he sat on the sofa in safety with the love of his life cuddling up to him, he could not help but feel happy. Snape eyed them wearily from the corner of the room.
"Are you going to do that the whole time we are forced to be together?" he sneered.
"Do what?" the two of them chorused innocently.
He made a face and strode to the window slowly.
"You know very well what."
Remus chuckled and Reuben half buried her face in his chest to hide how red it had turned. She was not completely herself again yet, and still required help from Lupin to walk steadily or get up. Of course, he did not mind.
"Has anyone heard yet?" Hermione called from the fireplace.
Snape shook his head and frowned.
"Must you ask that every five minutes, Granger?"
She looked confused.
"The last time I asked was two hours ago."
Snape looked agitated and turned around sharply.
"Well that was two hours ago too soon. If I had heard then I would have said something. Now kindly stop asking and be quiet."
With that he left the room, slamming the door on his way out.
"Who stole his dummy?" Ron asked, throwing some screwed up paper into the fire to make it roar up again.
"He is just worried," Reuben murmured, clutching the front of Remus's shirt as her head lay on his chest, rising and falling with the rhythm of his heartbeat.
"Well we're all worried but he's the only one opting for verbal abuse." Hermione turned back to the flames and sighed.
"It's been two days. Where are they? Why haven't they made contact?"
"Maybe they can't," Ron suggested. "Maybe that Malfoy git is not the cuddly bunny we decided to make him."
Reuben looked up at Remus, but he was looking at Ron with a strange sort of agreement clear in his expression. Reuben considered it for a moment. They had a point. Imelda had had little choice but to go along with Dumbledore's instructions- what if they had Lucius Malfoy wrong? What if he had disclosed to Voldemort the location of Honey Hill? He could easily have decided that life on team good was not as much fun as life on team evil, and could have offered the information as an attempt to redeem himself, along with handing over Imelda. Would he do that?
"But hang on," Hermione piped up, voicing something that had been troubling them all.
"Wasn't Mr. Malfoy the one to point out the attack?"
"Yeah," Ron replied, "But notice how he did it when it was almost too late? We made it out by the skin of our teeth, they were seconds away from busting us. It could all have been part of his plan, you know how conniving and sly the man is. He is clever, and managed to fool the Ministry and everyone else for years."
Reuben shifted on the sofa. Ron's answer made sense.
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