22thFebruary 1973
Update at last! Sorry for the long wait! A lot going on at the moment but spared enough time to write this chapter :) I know it's short but I'm halfway through the next chapter so, if I really buckle down, I might be able to finish it by this weekend! I would love to read your thoughts if you can spare the time to drop in a review or a PM. Have a nice day!
Minerva saw Elphinstone come out of the Ministry from across the street where she was standing. Turning up his collar, he looked left and right before finally spotting her and waving. Mouth set in a determined line, he crossed the road and walked up to her.
"Alastor and the twins will be down in a moment," he said after they'd briefly hugged and moved farther up the road.
"Right."
"You ready?" he asked, meeting her eyes.
Minerva felt her insides squirm. "As I'll ever be."
"We'll only be a few steps behind you all the way. If anything happens we'll be able to intervene."
"I know."
Elphinstone looked at her and smiled. "Cheer up, it's Friday!"
Minerva felt the corners of her mouth twitch. "I don't think I've ever felt so happy." Elphinstone laughed and Minerva rolled her eyes.
They fell into a comfortable silence and watched as cars; taxis and buses passed by them, their passengers, she imagined, probably looking forward to the weekend and a nice evening at home. Her mind wandered back to Hogwarts and Minerva tried to block the image of Pomona at school nestled up on her sofa with a blanket and a cup of tea and a biscuit. The thought of being cocooned away in her quarters too made Minerva vaguely wonder what her life could have been if things had gone differently. An image of Dougal surfaced in her mind and although her heart did clench, she noticed it didn't affect her as much as it used to.
"Ah, here they come."
Minerva blinked a few times and looked up. Sure enough, Alastor, Fabian and Gideon Prewett seemed to be marching in their direction, Alastor as sombre and dark as she had ever seen him.
"All right? Everybody ready?" asked Fabian, clapping his hands together enthusiastically.
"What's the plan, Moody?" asked Gideon.
Alastor looked suspiciously from side to side. Once satisfied that nobody around was listening in, he bent his head forwards and said, "Dolohov will be out in a moment. We know that every day at this exact time he goes to Knockturn Alley where we think he has a meeting with a group of people. We'll follow him, however, for precautions, Minerva will go first in her animagus form. If there isn't any trouble we won't need to get involved. If there is-well-"
They all looked up and shifted uncomfortably. There was a brief silence spanning over a few minutes when the sound of Alastor's hands clapping together made them all jump and forget about the less than positive possibilities of their little excursion.
"Right, he should be coming out soon," Alastor looked expectantly at Minerva, "Minerva, if you'll…?"
Minerva didn't need him to finish his sentence. Instead, she nodded curtly and together they walked behind a corner and out of sight from the muggles. Whipping out her wand she tapped all three men lightly on the head and watched, fascinated, as they blended in with their surroundings. Admittedly, she had never found the need to use that specific charm and so, although she knew how to cast it, had never seen it in use before. Although she could vaguely distinguish their outlines and knew more or less where they were standing around her, she still jumped when she heard Gideon's voice by her right ear.
"Somebody's just come out. He's to the left of that post-"
"Yes that's him," said Moody's disembodied voice.
The four of them watched as Dolohov exited the building and swiftly started making his way around the building he had come out of. He was shorter than Minerva had expected and, if she had not known he was a wizard, she would have mistaken him for a muggle. He held a briefcase in his left hand however, it was the thin piece of wood poking out from his coat pocket that gave him away.
Minerva felt someone move behind her, Fabian's voice sounding a second later. "Shall we?"
Feeling as though this was going to be a very long evening, Minerva transformed into her animagus form and, relishing her newfound agility, started to follow the moving figure of Antonin Dolohov.
