"What do you mean?" Hermione asked quietly. She was also looking around, making sure no one saw me. I felt a sort flash of guilt for putting her in danger because if any Death Eater saw me, then we were screwed.
"The old Purebloods – most of whom are Death Eaters – should be the closest tents to the field. They aren't. All of them are further away than the Weasley's."
"So…" Hermione said slowly. "They didn't want to pay as much for them?"
"No," I said, a bit annoyed. "They have to be planning something. Something big. We passed a few old family tents that I recognized, but they weren't old Death Eaters. Even Malfoy is further away from us. Something's up."
"Do you have any idea what?" Hermione breathed, beginning to look nervous. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.
"My best guess is an attack of some sort." Hermione bit her lip, and I watched her swallow hard, no doubt trying to get past the fear lodged seemingly in her throat.
"What should we do?" she breathed.
"Be prepared. Keep your eyes open. Don't go off alone. And make sure Harry doesn't try to be a hero. They will kill him if they find him," I said. Then I thought for a moment. "Or at least take him to Voldemort. Neither option is good for him."
"Is – is that all we can do?" Hermione said, looking scared.
"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "But if I see one of the old Death Eaters, then I'll follow him and see what their plans are."
"You can't, Regulus!" Hermione exclaimed. "What if you're caught?"
"What if you three are killed?" I countered. "Look, Hermione. You won't want to hear this, but I have a target on my back. As soon as Voldemort calls, then I won't have near the amount of freedom I had before-"
"You aren't free, though," she interrupted.
"I am. The fact that I'm here today says that. As soon as the Death Eaters know, I won't be able to be in public – Animagus or not. Even if I announced that I'm not dead, then I would end up in Azkaban for bearing the Dark Mark. Not to mention what would happen to Severus."
"Why are you saying all of this?" she questioned, her voice hardly above a whisper.
"Let me help while I can. Because soon, I won't be of any help at all."
"But – you could get hurt." Something in the way she said it reminded me that she was only fourteen.
She was still a child. No matter how mature she acted, or how much she tried to help, in the end she was very young.
At that age, I hadn't focused on anything other than trying to piss the Gryffindors off. I knew that I'd be a Death Eater, and I welcomed that opportunity.
Hermione was still young, and she hadn't grown up with a war. No, the thought of someone getting hurt terrified her.
"Hermione, I need to realize that people will get hurt, and if I do when I'm trying to save someone's life, then so be it. I was ready to receive the Dementor's Kiss for Sirius. Now, I want to help you three and the Weasleys and every other innocent out there."
Hermione looked up at me and nodded. She turned around, no doubt ready to rejoin Harry and Ron. Right before she began walking, she turned back to me.
"You know, Regulus. You said to not let Harry play the hero, but I think you should make sure that you don't. After all, you would be killed or taken to Voldemort. Neither of those are good for you."
Then she walked away, forcing me to not answer, and instead, I changed back into my Animagus form.
Was she right? Was I trying to be a hero?
I didn't think so. After all, what I was doing really wasn't that dangerous. I was only following a Death Eater and seeing what their plans were. Yeah, that was hardly dangerous.
Who was I kidding? I could be found out easily. Even as a cat, there were spells – though not that many – that could detect my presence.
Huh, it seems that Sirius affected me more than I thought he had. I was acting – Merlin forbid! – like a Gryffindor.
Too bad that no longer mattered. Because I was a mix of Gryffindor and Slytherin, and I knew that. There was no House for me anymore. Too much had happened.
After my 'death,' I had wondered what would have happened had I been Sorted then. I had wondered what would happen if everyone was Sorted later.
The answer seemed obvious now. There would be no Houses. No one would fit into only one. Life changes people. At eleven, innocence was the only thing that made you fit into one house.
Eventually, however, the innocence was gone and so was the perfect fit into a House.
Looking around, lost in thought, I saw a flash of dark robes. Robes. That had to be a Pureblood. Who else would be allowed to blatantly go against the Ministry? Looking over, I saw that it was Avery.
He was an obvious Death Eater – actually, he had joined with Severus. They had been acquaintances in Hogwarts. Leon and I were Severus's true friends, but he occasionally hung out with the Slytherins in his year.
I whisked my tail over Hermione's hand, and when she looked over, I motioned towards Avery before looking away. Before I was out of earshot, I heard Ron whisper,
"Where's Crookshanks going?"
I didn't hear Hermione's answer, however, as I was already walking faster to try and keep Avery in sight. He walked at the perfect speed – not too fast or slow, blending perfectly into the crowd.
He was trying to hide something; I knew it. After all, he was walking away from the field, towards a group of plain tents.
The old Purebloods couldn't be hiding out in those tents. What would cause them to leave their portable mansions?
As Avery and I got closer, we passed through an icy chill. A ward. Luckily, it hadn't been able to stop me. Animagus forms really helped at some times.
I was surprised that so little people became Animagi, but then again, it was very hard to do.
As soon as I passed through it, the tents changed. I saw the ones that I had been looking everywhere for.
The Lestrange tent was a tall tower built of stone. Each stone was black with lines of red running downward and spreading out to form a puddle around the tower.
It was meant to symbolize the spreading of Pureblood. I had always thought it was vulgar.
The Nott's had a mansion, as per usual, but I recognized their banner immediately.
I also recognized the Bulstrode tent. It appeared to be a black house surrounded by a swampy area. They also had black clouds and shadows darkening the grounds. The Bulstrodes had always enjoyed dramatics.
I knew from experience that if you were uninvited and crossed the premise, then hands would rise from the ground and hold you down until someone from the family released you.
It had never happened to me, but I had had the pleasure of seeing Sirius being pulled down when he and Potter tried to pull a prank at the 1977 Quidditch World Cup.
They were planning something. I followed Avery into his own tent.
I wasn't surprised to see Lucius Malfoy there.
"We'll do it tonight, of course," I heard Malfoy say.
"Why tonight?" Avery growled. "It seems too soon."
"The game could be finished today, fool!" Malfoy spat. "We need to get this set up. I'm meeting Crouch soon."
The Minister? Why would he be meeting the Minister?
"Crouch could help us plan," Avery grumbled.
The Minister… was a Death Eater? No, no, it couldn't be. After all, Crouch had had a very hard stance against Death Eaters.
He'd even allowed the use of Unforgivables against Death Eaters by Aurors. There was no way he could be a Death Eater.
"You know he has to play his father's pet, Avery," Lucius Malfoy snarled, flicking his hair back, clearly annoyed. "He'll join us soon."
I didn't know what they were talking about. Crouch play his father's pet? I didn't understand.
Unless… No. It couldn't be… His son was a Ravenclaw a year behind me. I had never heard of him being a Death Eater.
Of course, however, I certainly had never been trusted with anything important from Voldemort, and I definitely did not know all the other Death Eaters's names.
It was insane, however, to think that that smart boy who had wanted to follow his father's footsteps had been corrupted into becoming a Death Eater.
That would explain everything, even how he was 'playing his father's pet.'
I started paying attention to the conversation again and was furious to realize that I'd missed a bit of it.
"…have to Apparate away quickly."
"We can't Apparate here, you fool," Mulciber growled. "We'll all have to take Portkeys. Malfoy can make one legally in the eyes of the Ministry. They won't be traced, either."
The Death Eaters clearly agreed as a whole. Malfoy looked annoyed at the concealed order, but he seemed to understand that it was their only option.
"I need to go," Malfoy growled, no doubt leaving to meet with Crouch.
I knew enough. They were planning to attack tonight, and Crouch's son was a Death Eater. That was valuable information.
I needed to get out. Carefully, I turned and left Avery's tent, following Malfoy closely. The Wards probably could sense how many people were around, but I wasn't going to take a chance by waiting until Malfoy was gone.
After all, there was a chance that the Wards would recognize me.
I followed Malfoy as he walked towards the field. He walked quickly, and as I followed, he made his way into the stands. I was too far away to hear what he was saying, but I needed to figure out where he was sitting. Then I could find the Weasleys. After all, I needed to figure out when Malfoy would leave.
That would show me when the attack would happen.
Malfoy sat high in the Minister's Box. I was shocked to see the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione there as well. I was lucky.
However, that luck didn't last, as I had no way to tell Hermione what I knew. Padding towards her from behind Malfoy's seat, I thought about how to tell her.
As soon as I got there, I nudged her hand. She looked down and jumped.
"Crookshanks!" she hissed. "Did you…?" I nodded. Thinking for a moment, I touched her wand with my paw.
"What?" Hermione breathed. I nudged it again.
"An… attack?" she asked uncertainly. I nodded firmly. "When?"
Looking around, I carefully grabbed her Omnioculars. I pressed the button for normal time on them.
"Today?" she whispered. I nodded again. Then I pressed a button to convert the Omnioculars to work at night.
She looked confused. I could almost see the wheels turning in her head.
"Tonight?" she questioned. I nodded again. "Thank you." I turned around and returned to my spot behind Malfoy. As I lowered myself into a comfortable position, though, I sadly couldn't see the field, I felt a hand grab me firmly.
I sucked in a shocked breath, ready to yowl loudly, only to be silenced by a spell. I spun in the grip, only to see that there was nothing there.
I was being grabbed by someone invisible.
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Hey guys! I know this is a really quick update (I'm quite a bit proud of it, really.)
Please tell me what you think! This chapter is a bit more serious, and this fic will slowly begin to get a lot more serious, just as the books do.
Please review!
Thanks to all my old reviewers!
Dislciamer: Harry Potter is not mine. If it was, then clearly, Regulus would be alive.