AN: I do not own the Harry Potter universe. I am simply borrowing it for a fic. Enjoy!
The last chapter was longer than my usual chapters so I hope you enjoyed it! We've got the rest of the order meeting now!
Chapter 37
Everyone had settled into their seats, ready to begin the meeting. There was an air of expectancy all around the table. It excited her; Minerva stood up to begin the meeting like she always did. "Today we're here to continue on from the last meeting. Severus and Hermione are up first. Then we'll be moving on to Neville and Luna." She took a seat and Hermione realised she was supposed to get up.
Shit, I didn't think of what to say! Severus stood and watched as Hermione did the same. She didn't look like she was about to say anything any time soon so he cleared his throat. "At the last meeting we discussed that myself and Miss Granger would be going undercover to find evidence against Dolores Umbridge. This first weekend she was supervised and she will also be supervised next week. After that she is free to go wherever she wishes, without supervision on Hogsmeade weekends. We do have some evidence, but we will have more when that time comes." He didn't really know what to say next so he looked to Hermione. As if they had practiced, she pulled out the photographs of Umbridge.
"This picture here," Hermione said and slid the image of Umbridge smiling at the newsstand into the middle of the table. "Is from yesterday. As you can see, she is smiling at the headlines of Kingsley's strange behaviour. It isn't much, but it's all we got from that day. The next picture," she carried on sliding the second picture into the middle of the table, "Is one of Umbridge scowling at me. This could be taken as a mere coincidence. But we all know that she probably holds a grudge against me, Harry and Ron for leading her into the forest and getting her into Azkaban. Again it's not much but its stronger evidence than the last picture." He watched as Hermione pulled the recorder out of her pocket and pressed play. There wasn't a sound as everyone strained to hear what was being said.
"Silly witches hmmmmm silly kid's hmmmm silly… hmmm mess hmmm with me." The recording sounded echoey which added to the eeriness of the recording. From the corner of his eye, he saw Ronald Weasley shudder and Potter make a pained sort of face. The recording cut off and Molly Weasley asked:
"Where was this recorded?"
Hermione replied, "A public toilet in Hogsmeade. Just near the newsstand in the first picture, that's why it sounds all echoey."
"You were by yourself in there?" Asked Ronald Weasley incredulously. He saw a flash of annoyance pass across Hermione's face.
"Yes of course. Severus wasn't going to accompany me to a female toilet." She said, sounding insulted. He quieted back down and Hermione continued, "I used a glamour charm anyway, even if she saw me I'd be unrecognisable."
"Well that's all we have for now. We hope to have some more evidence by the next meeting." Said Severus, successfully ending their portion. Neville and Luna stood up as Severus and Hermione sat down.
Hermione watched as Neville pulled out a carefully sealed jar with a little pile of pinkish powder at the bottom. "Mine and Luna's job was to find out what Umbridge gave to Kingsley and find an antidote to it. This," He said, pointing to the jar, "Is what she used. We got a sample of this right after the last meeting and went to Luna's to analyse it." Luna took the jar from him and placed it on the table, looking at it with interested eyes.
"We found out it was a rare powder called, puluerem instabilitatem." Said Luna softly. Hermione looked around the table to see if anyone knew what it was and her eyes stopped at Severus whose eyes were wide. "It is more commonly known, at least in the potions industry, as pi." Luna continued, looking directly at Severus. She had also noticed his reaction. "Do you know about this?" She asked.
Severus nodded and said quietly, "The effects of the powder are to make the user unstable and unpredictable. It's incredibly difficult to attain. Umbridge must have gotten it whilst she was in her position of power. I have done a little research into the powder in the past but I never got back to it. I've heard there is a cure, but you have to ask around. But be clever about the way you're asking." He warned, "You don't just go around asking about this powder. It's dangerous and rare, which will make you memorable to whoever you ask about it."
Severus had indeed known about the powder. He had researched it in one of his holidays but had never got back round to it because his holidays had finished. His teaching kept him busy, and though that was a good thing most of the time, it got in the way when he wanted to do side research. Sometimes he contemplated quitting but he knew that he couldn't leave the castle. Leaving the castle meant finding another job and spending more time at his house on Spinners End. He only stayed there if it was necessary; there were too many bad memories in that place for him to ever call it a home. Although Hogwarts hadn't been entirely pleasant, it was the one place he had been accepted for being a wizard. He wasn't a freak there. His attention was brought back to the present when a flash nearly blinded him. Again. A quick voice made a suggestion, "I want to show everyone my pictures, so we can end on a happy note. Can I?" He asked turning to Minerva. She nodded, smiling kindly at the young man and he jumped straight into action. A quick movement saw the images being cast from the camera onto the wall. The first picture was of Nymphadora entering through the floo. It was quite dramatic, the green flames flickering around her bright pink hair.
Hermione watched as the second picture came up. This one was of Lupin entering the same way as Tonks, but instead of looking vibrant and dramatic it looked dark and mysterious, the flickering flames casting shadows on one side of his face. The one after was of Lupin and Tonks laughing together over something. Tonks looked at the pictures happily from where she was sat, and Lupin sat blushing. The next picture was of Minerva entering through the front, looking powerful and stern. The pictures were stunning; as each one went by she looked at the person it was of. The pictures seemed to capture everyone's personalities. She looked as pictures of Harry, Ron, Ginny, Sirius and Regulus went past. The next picture came up and Hermione held back a gasp. It was stunning. It was a picture of her entering with Severus. They looked like a celebrity couple. A couple. She caught Ginny's eyes and the redhead wiggled her eyebrows at her. She held back a laugh but couldn't stop the blush that spread across her cheeks. She didn't pay attention to the rest of the pictures, her mind stuck on hers. Why did she have to like a man that wasn't going to return her feelings?