Chapter 21
Robert did not know what to think any longer. That had to be a novel experience for him, since Robert West was used to knowing exactly what to make of things and persons. It made his life considerably easier to live. Death Eaters were bad, Aurors were good. Julius was bad, Amy was good. It was the world in black and white. Some called him naïve for thinking like that, but Robert disagreed.
It was a necessity of life in this line of work to think in blacks and whites. They were the good guys, catching the bad guys. Any other approach to his work was doomed to fail. If he allowed the greys to get in the way of the blacks and whites, he would be confused, uncertain of what to do.
Yet this was what had happened to him. For as long as he had known Julius Burke, it had been quite obvious that the Slytherin was a nasty piece of work with a thorough dislike of Muggles and Muggle-borns that he did not even bothered to try to hide from the world. In Robert's mind that put him on the same level as those bastards they were always trying to catch, because a lot of Death Eaters had escaped from the Battle of Hogwarts and were doing everything they could to keep out of Azkaban. How Burke had ever gotten into the Auror department was a mystery to him. Yes, Mr Potter was known for making the occasional controversial decision, but this was taking things a bit far.
And so Robert had stayed watchful, kept an eye on Burke. He seemed to be doing his job well enough, but the itching powder that had landed them all in Thames House had really only increased his doubts. It had not been a Death Eater they had been after, but the man had several dark items in his possession the Aurors believed he was on the verge of selling to the group that was also responsible for the Manchester debacle. The items had gone missing, just as the wizard who owned them. If Robert's suspicions were right and Julius was involved with them, then it would not have been too bad if the suspect did a runner. And what better way to make it look like less than it was by simply bringing in the itching powder and making a colleague responsible for the failure? No one thought anything of it. It was a childish prank, but everyone expected that from him. And as long as Robert didn't have anything more substantial to go on, he had to keep his suspicions to himself.
And he was not at all at ease with sending him undercover, right where he could do damage, should he indeed be the mole Robert feared him to be. On the other hand, it was only a Muggle woman they were trying to butter up to and not the very heart of MI-5. There was only so much damage he could do in his current position. The most important things happened on the Grid and Julius would not step foot there until the operation was concluded. That was a relief.
That was what he had thought right up to the moment when he heard that Julius had been captured. Surely that could not mean well? Surely that had to mean that he was on their side? On the other hand, it could still be possible that Burke was one of the Death Eaters and they had pulled him out when they reckoned the operation got too dangerous. There was always the possibility of that.
But then, why had Burke made a job of finding out what Lestrange had been up to? His note about the use of the Fidelius Charm was a valuable clue and one that he would not have left for his enemies to find if he were on their side. It did no longer make any sense to Robert. He was just left with the lingering suspicion that maybe things weren't as black and white as he had always thought. And it frightened him more than he was ready to admit.
And this website was just topping it all off in a way that sent shivers down his spine. Not for the first time he cursed his own ignorance of Muggle ways and technology. This assignment may still be the most foolish thing the Ministry had come up with in a long time – which was saying something – but the operation itself was well worth the time and effort. But for the moment it seemed they had reached an all-time low.
That became all the more apparent when they were all called to the meeting room. Someone was broadcasting something on that website Ruth had found and it had most of the section in all of a fluster. It was nowhere more obvious than in Harry Pearce, whose face might very well have conjured up the most serious storm this country had witnessed in many years, despite the fact that he was not even a wizard himself. He was one of the last to enter the meeting room, with Ruth and Amy hot on his heels, the latter looking slightly out of breath because of her run to and from the Section Head's office.
The screen did not yet show a lot. In fact, there was very little to be seen. They were looking at what appeared to be the inside of some kind of warehouse with just one window high up in the wall. Given that it was already dark outside, that did not shed much light on the scene, literally and figuratively.
Harry Pearce cast one glance at the screen and then turned to Malcolm. 'Is there any way that you can check where this is?'
The technician looked doubtful. A frown appeared in his forehead. 'Maybe,' he said eventually. 'I'll see what I can do.'
Personally Robert didn't see how anyone could work with so little, but he had to admit that it was better than doing nothing anyway. They were grasping at straws and he knew it. They had almost nothing on their suspects. Even the smallest thing was welcome now, just to give them something to do. Doing something at least gave him the feeling that he was being useful. The lack of results was starting to undermine his confidence though. They had a pretty clear view of what the Death Eaters were capable of and even of why they were all working together, but the two most important things they needed to find out were still as mysterious as they had been when they had started this operation: where they were and what in Merlin's name they were planning on doing next.
The team was tense, but no one more so than Ros Myers. She didn't pace the room like a caged lion, the way Adam Carter did, and didn't send angry glares at the screen like Harry Pearce. She was standing completely still. She could have turned into a stone statue for all Robert knew.
The silence was become so awkward that the Gryffindor was almost glad when something happened on the screen. It was better than waiting here whilst not knowing what they were waiting for. A chair was levitated into view, which indicated that magic was indeed involved in all of this. Not that Robert had expected any different from a thing – even if it was something as Muggle as a website, whatever that was anyway – that was related to Death Eaters.
It was not the magic that took him by surprise, but the person sitting in the chair. No, sitting was not exactly the word he was looking for. The young man in the chair was more slumping than sitting, only held in place by the bonds at his wrists and ankles that secured him to the furniture.
Burke, his mind supplied and it was right. Julius Burke was the one on the screen and Robert's stomach turned to ice instantly. There was not a single doubt that the Slytherin recruit was not involved with the Death Eaters, not in the way Robert had believed him to be. He barely seemed conscious at all and he was badly bruised. One eye was shut because of the bruising around it and he seemed to be bleeding from various wounds on face and hands. The Auror had a strong suspicion that he was bleeding elsewhere as well, but his clothes prevented him from making sure. He was not sure he wanted to know anyway.
There was a piece of parchment on his lap, but Julius did not look at it as he addressed the people who were watching him, even though he could not see them. 'My name is Julius Burke, recruit in the Auror Department of the Ministry of Magic,' he spoke. He may be bruised and battered, but his voice was steady and he was in control of his face. 'I am also a blood traitor, who conspired with Muggles and Mudbloods to undermine the wizarding society.' If there was any emotion Robert could name – and that was difficult enough with Julius sounding as cold and unemotional as usual – then it would be loathing. It was however difficult to determine who the loathing was directed at.
'For this I will be sentenced to death unless my boss complies with the following requests: the immediate release of all Death Eaters still in Azkaban and a reassurance from the Minister of Magic that they will face no further persecution in future. Furthermore it is demanded that all cooperation with Muggles will be abandoned forthwith. At no time in the future will you be allowed to seek out Muggle aid in wizarding affairs, lest they corrupt aforementioned society.' The loathing became more obvious now, more pronounced. It seemed like Burke hated the fact that he was reading this. And even though he was clearly badly injured, he did not show it. Calm, collected and cold, those were the words to describe him. It was pure-blood arrogance, a Slytherin attitude, but Robert found that in this moment he might even be in immediate danger of admiring his colleague.
'They can't mean that!' Amy exclaimed. She was staring at the screen in horror. 'It will be anarchy on the streets if they do that.' She bit her lip, looking at the messenger. And it didn't take a great intellect to work out what she was afraid of. It was rather obvious. If they did not comply with the Death Eaters' requests, then Julius would be killed and after that it would be Manchester debacle all over again, all over the United Kingdom until they had gotten their way, after which it would presumably only become worse. The prospect made Robert West want to vomit on the spot.
He'd always known that these people were serious, but so far they had never known what it was that they were so serious about. The attacks had dragged on for months and months, but never before had they voiced their goals. Why was that, he wondered? Was all that just a prelude to what was to come, to show what they were capable of, to get the Ministry's undivided attention? It could be one of the three, or simply all of them. What was certain was that these people did not care about the lives they took, not at all.
And for possibly the first time in his life the Gryffindor felt something else for Julius than mere annoyance and anger. He felt afraid for him. They had never gotten on, a rivalry that had started before they had even boarded the Hogwarts Express for their first year. Things had only gone from bad to worse after that. The rivalry had turned to enmity and Robert would stand by his assessment of the Slytherin as an arrogant and Muggle-hating bastard, but what he could no longer deny was that Julius was serious about this operation. If he had agreed to read this willingly, he would not look like he did now, after all.
'You have until dawn to comply with these demands,' Julius went on. This time there was a slight tremor in his voice. 'If you do not, you will see me die and my head will be sent to the Ministry as a reminder of how foolish it is not to do as they are told.' He swallowed and there was a hint of fear in his eyes now as well. 'We would like to remind you of what we can do and we will do it should you not heed us. Manchester will be nothing compared to what we can and will do if you do defy us.'
Robert had been right to fear for him. Burke himself was clearly frightened and he would have very good reason to be so. They had until dawn to do as they were told and the Auror knew enough of both Harrys to know that they would never set all the Death Eaters loose to do as they pleased on the streets of England's cities. Such a situation would be impossible to contain. It would be the Second Wizarding War all over again and Robert had seen one of them already, enough to know that hell would not even begin to describe the situation they would be facing then.
Another man stepped into view. He was wearing a wizard's robes and looked thoroughly pleased with himself. Robert recognised him immediately. He had never met him in person, but he had been on enough wanted posters over the years. 'As you can see, your officer is still alive, Mr Potter,' Antonin Dolohov said. 'We have been given the impression that he would like to remain so for quite some years yet. You would do well to hurry. We are not known for our patience with blood traitors.'
'Don't listen to him!' a voice called out.
Robert for a moment was confused who had spoken and it appeared that he was not alone in that. The whole team seemed a bit bewildered by the sudden exclamation and so, it looked, was Dolohov. But then he swivelled around and Robert knew who had spoken.
Did Burke have a death wish to speak up like that? He must know what this action meant surely? But he didn't seem to even stop to think as he went on. He may be hurt, but he stared at the camera with the one eye that was not swollen shut, a determined expression on his face. Suddenly there was nothing slumping about his posture anymore. He looked like he was bracing himself for a fight. No, he looked like Robert when he was defying some authority figure. 'Don't listen to a word he says!' he repeated. There was nothing composed about him anymore. He was worked up over this in a way that Robert recognised as his standard way to fight his battles. 'Dawlish is a spy in the Auow!' The sentence ended in a scream of pain as someone kicked him in the stomach, effectively shutting him up.
But the message had arrived. It was a live broadcast and there was no way that the Death Eaters could cast an Obliviate on them now. The damage was done. And it was shocking news. It was suspicious indeed that the Death Eaters always seemed to be five steps ahead of them all the time and some even had started to whisper that they must have a sympathiser in the Ministry itself. How else would they know when they had to run for it again? They could only know that if someone told them to.
Robert himself had been among the whisperers and he had one very likely candidate in mind as well. Julius was a Slytherin, coming from a pure-blood family who hated Muggles and were none too fond of Muggle-borns either. And he was working in the Auror Department. He had let a suspect walk because of that itching powder. There was no one else in such a good position to sell their secrets to the Manchester group. He was the only candidate in Robert's mind and he had not hesitated to voice that opinion to anyone willing to listen to him. There had been more enough willing ears.
Now he was forced to admit that he had not only been accusing the wrong man of treason, but that he had never really gotten the measure of his rival too. He was far more devoted to his work than Robert had ever given him credit for. He would love not to believe it, but there was not much of a choice now, not when Burke had risked his life in warning them about a traitor in their own ranks, whose identity he must have discovered since he had been taken.
And now Robert found himself wondering what that said about him. It was already obvious that he was no Death Eater, but it was very well possible that he was the farthest away from it that anyone could be. It was just that it seemed to disagree with his views on the world. He hated the Muggle world and had never given the impression that he liked the Muggles any better than their world. Could such a person truly oppose Death Eaters?
Blacks and whites did not work in this situation. They were useless, he now realised, and maybe they had always been useless. He had uttered accusations about someone that he now was powerless to defend as he was beaten to make him stop talking. Burke must have known that his actions would have consequences. He looked like he had already found out exactly what kind of consequences defying those people could have. He looked like he had been in a street fight Muggle style, on the losing side. And he did not like what that meant. Personal dislike or not, Julius had taken huge personal risks to tell them what they needed to know and Robert was forced to admit that he felt a measure of guilt for never really taking the time to get to know the man that was going to be his colleague for the rest of their working lives, provided the Slytherin lived past dawn. And that was something that was not at all certain.
'Let that serve as a reminder to you what we will do to him if you refuse to do as we asked,' Dolohov said icily. He had his back turned on Julius, who was moaning in pain after the beating he had received from the man who looked like Andrew Simmons, even if it was difficult to make out for sure when he only saw his back. Robert had known that he was dangerous before, but for some reason the message only seemed to land now that he saw how little he cared for human lives. And Julius was at their mercy. One of their own was in danger of getting killed in this. Because that was who Julius was; one of them, even if Robert had only just come to acknowledge that fact.
He still stared at the screen long after it had gone blank, shocked to the core. They only had a mere nine hours, at most, before the Death Eaters would make good on the threat they had uttered. Robert was familiar enough with the concept of that group not to make the mistake to think that those had been idle threats. If he wanted any confirmation for that idea, Julius had given it to him by sounding so scared. Not that he had meant to sound scared, the Auror would bet, but he had sounded it all the same. Nevertheless he had been brave, Gryffindor brave, recklessly brave. And maybe Robert owed it to him to find some Slytherin qualities in himself to get him out before it was too late.
Harry Pearce seemed to have been thinking along the same lines. 'Right, that's it. We're going to get him out.'
It was telling that no one even asked if they were going to comply with the demands. There was never a question. We do not negotiate with terrorists, Zaf had told him on his first day here. Robert took it that meant they would not give into blackmail either. And he was all for that. It just had the minor complication of endangering Burke's life and Robert found he was not ready to do that.
'What do we do?' Amy asked. She looked anxious and far too pale to be healthy. Robert laid an arm around her shoulder. She did not even seem to notice it, too preoccupied with thinking of some kind of solution. 'They must be in their secure place. We won't get in there without the Secret Keeper telling us where it is.'
'Then I suggest you keep looking, Miss Hamilton,' Mr Pearce said. He sounded on edge and short-tempered. 'Malcolm, I want the video pulled off the net right away, before the press catch wind of it. God forbid that the bloody press have their merry way with this. Zaf, Robert, talk to Simmons's mother and get whatever you can from her. Ros, you deal with the wife. Squeeze them until the pips squeak. Somewhere there must be information that will lead us straight to them. Ruth, Amy, I don't care how many stones need turning to find that warehouse, just do it. I don't care if it belongs to the pope or the US president. Get onto it. Adam, my office, now. And get someone to take that video to the Ministry of Magic and tell them to get rid of the bad apple as soon as they can. Heaven forbid they'll bolt to God knows where before we can get to them.' He stalked out of the meeting room with the Section Chief on his heels.
They were not really any closer to Julius, but at least someone knew what he was doing and that should be enough to be getting on with.
Next time: Phoebe is brought in for questioning. Please review? I'd so love to hear what you all think of the story so far!