CHAPTER 25

On the Order's Secret Service

All right Quidditth playerth, fall in!" Marcus Flint announced to the Slytherin Quidditch team as they gathered behind the bleachers of the sand Quidditch field.

"Okay," Goyle said, and he fell over on his face.

"Get up you idiot." Flint said kicking Goyle. "Ith everybody here now?"

Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy, Grahm Prichard, and the girl were there with their brooms. Malcolm Braddock's replacement, the plump second year Patrick Damien, stumbled over to the team.

"Is this were we're supposed to meet?" Patrick asked.

"No, this is the Harry Potter Fan Club," Malfoy said sarcastically.

"Nexth time, be on time!" Flint scolded. "That means you too, woman." He added with a glare at Culebra.

Culebra, who'd shown up on time or earlier every day, nodded and scratched her nose with her middle finger.

Meanwhile, the Gryffindors were behind the bleachers on the opposite side of the field, preparing for battle.

"Gryffindors," Katie Bell announced, "I know I'm not that interesting of a coach, and that I'm almost exactly the same as Angelina Johnson. But I also know that we kicked Slytherin's rear last time. Do the same thing you did then, only better! We'll turn Slytherin into kneasle-litter!"

The Gryffindor team put their hands together and yelled "Go Lions!"

They marched up to the Quidditch Field,

"But the Lions suck," Robin Chicken commented, thinking of Muggle American football.

It was mid afternoon on Beach World, on a sunny Friday. The stands were filled. Tourists were gathered around and under the bleachers to watch.

Dumbledore stood and announced to the teams. "Have at each other!"

The Quidditch balls were thrown in the air, and the game began. Harry immediately cornered the snitch against a palm tree. "Ha! Where're you gonna fly off to now?" Harry reached out to grab the snitch.

"And it looks like Potter's got the Golden Snitch cornered!" Jordan announced. "Looks like Slytherin will lose early tonight…"

"Freeze!" a voice suddenly silenced the onlookers and stopped the game.

The snitch sped past Harry's outstretched hand and vanished from sight.

"This coach is a fraud! A cheat!" the person continued, rearing up his broom as he stopped, like it was a horse.

"Who's this bloke?" Jordan wondered.

"It's our old new coach, Montague!" Culebra exclaimed.

Lee Jordan announced into the microphone, "It's the old new Slytherin coach, Montague! Oh, this should be interesting."

Luna and Maggie parked their thestrals under the bleachers and took seats next to Hermione.

"M- Montague?" Flint gasped. "Y- you're thupposed to be- I locked you in the toilet, you creep!"

Everyone gasped!

"Well I escaped!" Montague spat back. "No one does that to me and gets away with it."

In the stands, Fred and George slowly looked at each other, then glanced back at the Slytherin chaser who they'd jumped in their last year at Hogwarts.

"I'll deal with you slime-balls later." Montague snapped at the twins.

"What do you want?" Flint shouted to Montague.

"I want my Quidditch team back!"

"I had it firtht!"

"Until I proved to be a better coach than you! It's my team now, so you can just go get some braces."

The crowd was filled with a collective "Ooooooo…", followed by "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

"Now then," Montague took out his wand and pointed it at Flint. "I challenge you to a Wizard's Dyuel. Right now!"

Flint took out his own wand. "I acthept!'

Draco Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Oh this is stupid. Crabbe, Goyle, come on!"

Ron flew over to Harry. "Look, Malfoy's leaving!" he whispered.

Ron and Harry flew to the stands and told Hermione. Seconds later, the three of them were behind the bleachers and back in their detective uniforms.

"Camera?" Hermione read from a list.

"Check," Harry stuffed it into his pocket.

"Parchment and quills?"

"Check," Ron said.

"Magnifying glasses? Trench coats? Hats? Pipes?"

Ron blew some bubbles with his pipe. "Check, check, check, and check!"

"And cloak of invisibility?" Hermione finished.

"Check," Harry said, pulling it out of his pocket.

"Right. Let's go!"

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle quietly flew behind the stands and took off into the air. Harry, Ron, and Hermione mounted the Firebolt, covered themselves with the invisibility cloak, and flew after Malfoy. The flight didn't last very long. They flew to the other side of the island, where the jungle became thicker. After a few minutes, Draco and the other two landed their brooms in the middle of the forest, next to a stream. Harry landed his broom behind a nearby tree.

"Hurry." Draco ordered to Crabbe and Goyle. "Look, there's the portekey!"

Harry couldn't believe his eyes when he saw what Malfoy was pointing at.

Hermione whispered, "Harry, it's your ugly red wagon!"

The tiny red wagon Harry had been forced to pull in the rain on the first day of September was sitting next to the stream on its side, broken and covered in insects.

"How'd he get that thing?' Ron asked.

Why'd he get that thing? Harry wondered silently.

"I'm not sitting on it," Crabbe complained. "It's gross."

"Of course it's gross Crabbe, my dad found it in a trash bin at King's Cross. A portekey is supposed to look gross so any old lummox doesn't just touch it and appear at our mansion. Now get in!"

Malfoy pushed Crabbe and Goyle onto the wagon and jumped in after them. With a yank of the handle and a flash of light, the three of them were gone. The wagon however, remained.

"It's not quite a portekey then," Hermione said. "A portekey should vanish with them. It must have some other charm."

Hermione Harry and Ron abandoned the broom and rushed over to the wagon. The banged heads with two other strangers who were running from the other side of the wagon. And had also tried to touch it. They all stumbled back, and Ron fell over. The invisibility cloak came off.

"Luna Lovegood?" Hermione looked from Luna to Maggie. "Erm, what's going on exactly?"

"I saw Death Eaters having a meeting," Maggie said. "And that mean Slytherin boy was there-"

"Draco Malfoy." Luna said. "I figured you three'd be on their case as usual, but we came just to be sure you knew."

"And because you three always hog all the adventures to yourselves—"

Luna jammed Maggie in the elbow.

"Fine," Harry said, "But we're gonna use my cloak."

The five managed to fit under Harry's magical poncho and then kicked at the wagon. Before they knew it, they were standing in a very wealthy looking neighborhood filled with mansions surrounded by tall gates. It looked like an all-magical community, not a parking meter in sight. Hermione looked at the street sign; CALIFORNIA STREET. They were in front of what seemed to be a more of a small castle than a house. The tall black gates to the house were opened, and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were strolling through them down a brick path that lead to the tall front doors.

"Creepy." Ron said as a clap of thunder flashed behind the castle.

Maggie whimpered.

"You're not going to be wining like this the whole time are you?" Ron asked her.

She bit her lip and shook her head.

The Gryffindors and the Ravenclaws hurried down the path, still huddled under the invisibility cloak. (And they were huddling; at Beach World it was always warm and sunny, but here it was December). The gate bars were entwined with carvings of serpents. The stained-glass windows of the mansion had images of snakes on them as well, and so did the green front doors.

"I reckon I know whose house this is." Ron said opening the door with the silver snake-shaped handle.

"I'll reckon so too," Harry said looking up at the house address, 666.

They entered a high-ceilinged hall lined with family portraits of the Malfoy's. Narcissa holding a blond baby, then Narcissa and Luscious Malfoy getting married, and so on. Malfoy and his cronies headed into a long dimly lit dinning room to the right. Harry and the others followed them in. The walls were lined with cabinets containing antique artifacts, including Tom Riddle's Diary, the Ring of Power, the Black Cauldron (from the fairy tale, not the one Montague found), a video tape labeled "7 days", a golden compass, and a pair of ruby slippers.

The table was occupied by the followers of Voldemort, with Luscious Malfoy at the head. Next to him sat Narcissa, pale, blond and blue-eyed just like her son Draco, who sat beside her with his two friends. There was the rat Peter Petigrew; Sirius's murderer, Bellatrix Lestrange; and also Crabbe and Goyle's fathers, with the same look of stupidity about them as their sons.

"Greetings fellow Death Eaters," Luscious began the meeting while Harry, Ron, Luna, Hermione, and Maggie stood invisible in a corner by the door. "First, I must regretfully report that our loyal spy and slave, Kreature, is no more." the Death Eaters gave little response. Bellatrix blinked. "While leaving Black's mansion to give us information of Dumbledore's Pheonix Club, or whatever they call it, he was struck down by a muggle vehicle, and is now an ugly little stain on the road.

"On a brighter note," Luscious lifted his head slightly. "I would like to take a moment to give my great congratulations to my son, Draco, who has successfully committed his second murder as a Death Eater."

"Second murder?!" Maggie gasped.

"Death Eater?!" Ron rasped.

"Thank you Dad," Draco said proudly as the Death Eaters clapped.

"In fact son, why don't you show us that nice tattoo of yours one more time now?"

The spies watched stunned as Malfoy rolled up the sleeve of the arm where he always wore that blue bandana, and took it off to reveal a Death Eater's mark. A tiny flash erupted from under the invisibility cloak, as Luna took a picture with the camera.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, "Harry, are you all right?"

"Just some flash-backs…" Harry answered.

… Malfoy surfed over on a black-and-red-flamed water-carpet…He didn't look bad, wearing nothing but a dark green Speedo and a blue bandanna tied around his left forearm…

…"All right then," Malfoy took his wand out of the blue bandana around his arm and yelled "Serpensortia!" …

…"Why do'ya always wear that bandana around your arm?" Ron asked shaking his wet red hair, and pointing to Malfoy's blue bandanna. "Is it the place where you've been injecting yourself with steroids?" he, Hermione, Harry, and Nevil laughed.

"No, I do that in my other arm." Malfoy answered.

"Well tell us Draco," Belatrix leaned forward eagerly, "Who was your victim this time?"

"Well it wasn't Potter or Weasly like I'd hoped it'd be. I was assigned to kill this bloke Malcolm Braddock who was going to ruin our rivalry with Gryffindor. My first victim was just for practice, it was some stupid Muggle fan of Potter's. But I didn't kill him the right way. See I messed up on it, and then the Boss got really mad at me because the bloke almost escaped or whatever but you know it really wasn't my fault…"

"So Draco murdered Braddock," Ron muttered, "I knew it!"

"Um, I have to go to the bathroom." Malcolm Braddock said excusing himself and exiting the restaurant.

"Oh! Uh, me too." Said Malfoy, and he quickly got up and followed Malcolm out.

"And it wasn't his first murder either," Luna whispered.

Hermione remembered what Malfoy had said at the candycorn game…

"I can see them perfectly!" Malfoy bragged.

They all stared nervously over at Malfoy (except Crabbe and Goyle, who just stared).

"What?" Malfoy looked around. "I, eh, saw my granny die. So what?"

Luscious continued. "The Dark Lord has told me what Draco's new nickname among us Death Eaters shall be, so that no one at the school suspects him…"

"…Lemonhair," Harry whispered along when Luscious said it.

Harry remembered the dream he'd had.

"No no NO!" Harry hollered angrily. "That's not how you do it you simpleton! You have to kill him quicker than that! Lemonhair, are you listening to me?! You're doing it all wrong!"

"But let's get on with what we're really here about." A Death Eater named Paul said.

"Ah, yes." Luscious looked away, trying to remember. "Ah, the subject of our meeting, yes…"

"The plan for Potter?"

"Shut up! The plan for Potter. Here it is." He cleared his throat. "First,"

"Uh hu," they all said.

"Stop that. First, we will not try to look for Potter. It'll be much quicker if he comes to us! We will go to Hogwarts at the end of the school year and we shall siege the castle!"

"But Potter's at-" Narcissa began.

"The beach, yes. But our Master wants to destroy him in a very special way. Wants to do it at Hogwarts, where the brat's been vanquishing him since five years ago! If you asked me, I'd say it wouldn't be very good karma to try killing him there again, but I guess if the Boss wants too... Anyway, the best way to get Potter over there is the same way we got him to the Department of Mysteries. Set a trap."

Bellatrix smirked. "That's right! He can't resist being the heroic spotlight hog."

Luna and Maggie were nodding along with the Death Eaters, until the three Gryffindors gave them looks.

Luscious went on. "And of course it had to be at the end of the year, because it just wouldn't make sense to kill him in the middle of the school year. Then what would be happening for the rest of the book?"

"Us taking over the world?" Paul suggested.

"…Hmm, maybe I should mention that to our Master next time we speak." Luscious stroked a phantom beard. "Either way, we shall succeed! We'll destroy Potter and that geezer Dumbledore! And Severus Snape, the traitor." Narcissa Malfoy shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Snape, and Hermione stared thoughtfully. "…And not to mention little mudblood worm Ms. Granger…"

Draco looked up suddenly. "No let's not kill Granger!"

When he noticed a few stares from the others, he explained, "Cuz I mean, such a clever mudblood would make a smashing slave. You know, to design super weapons for us and, stuff, she'd be good for that wouldn't she? I- I mean wouldn't it?"

Luscious leaned over his son and whispered harshly. "I want to see you after this meeting, boy." Straitening up he said to the rest, "This plan worked last time, and it'll work again."

"Unless…" Wormtail mumbled.

"Unless what?!" Lucsious demanded.

"Well- unless he gets that thing you know- to keep from being hit with th-"

"He won't get that! No one apart from us even knows it exists except for Black, and that's why Bella killed him!"

Bellatrix shrugged. "That and the fact that he chewed up my bunny slippers when we were teenagers while he was in that that accursed dog form—"

She stopped when they all heard the thump against the floor. The thump had sounded from the corner near the door. Harry had feinted.

"What was that?" Lucsious ordered.

"There's nothing there." Paul said squinting his eyes for a better look.

"Must've been a Bogart or something…" Luscious shrugged and returned to the meeting. "Well it looks like our little gathering's almost through. There is but one last topic we haven't covered yet, and that's the ice-cream truck."

"The ice-cream truck?" Luna asked curiously.

"Ice-cream truck?" Harry, who Maggie had been fanning with a Beach World pamphlet, awoke instantly and sat up.

"What ice-cream truck?" Mr. LeStrange asked.

"It is crucial that Potter die by the Dark Lord, in Hogwats, at the end of the year." Lucias said, stabbing the table with his want with each italic word. "However, the Master's just informed me that all year, some twit in an ice-cream truck has been bouncing around the jungle trying to kill the little creep himself! If any of us spot it we're to destroy it immediately!"

"…and the Master hasn't done this himself yet why…?" Paul questioned.

"Em, er…Meeting adjourned! Bingo in the kitchen."

The Death Eaters rose from the table and clamored out the door. Hermione, Ron, Luna, Maggie, and Harry didn't dare to move until the dinning room was empty, at which point they dashed out of the house for dear life.

"I can't believe it," Harry while they ran down the walkway towards the gate. "That hooded ice-cream man, he's not Voldemort and he's not even a Death Eater! Who else wants me dead?"

When they finally reached the outside of the serpent-encrusted gate, they remembered that they'd come by means of that un-portekey, the enchanted wagon- a one way trip- and had no way of getting back.

"The wagon!" Ron exclaimed flinging off the cloak, which Harry shoved back into his back jean pocket.

"Back at the jungle," Maggie looked up at the blue sky. "What time is it? We can't have been gone too long,"

"I don't know." Hermione shrugged. "Perhaps we should've brought watches."

"No kidding," said Harry. "After all we got these heavy coats, these magnifying glasses we never used once, and—wait. Hermione, did you just say you don't know something, for once?"

"Well." Ron said grimly, "What should we do when those psychos find us, beg for mercy and die horribly, or be heroic heroically and horribly?"

"Or we couldjust put the cloak back on." Luna suggested.

"Wait!" Harry pulled out his wand and held it out into the street. "Lumos!"

Within seconds, the Knight Bus screeched to a halt in front of them, despite the fact that it wasn't nighttime at all.

"All aboard!" the young conductor Stan Shunpipe announced. "And it's Friday! You're just in time for the afternoon Pillow Fight!"