Harry, Ron and Hermione told me everything they'd heard Malfoy say in the shop, Harry also telling me his suspicion that Draco Malfoy had gotten the Dark Mark tattooed onto his skin, but at his insistence that Draco Malfoy was a Death Eater, I just gave them all a look. "Well of course he is, but I doubt it's by choice. His parents are both Death Eaters, his father more than his mother, which makes him one by association. Besides, Lucius Malfoy failed to get the prophecy for Voldemort last term, which means that Lucius is in Azkaban and his ranks are a lot thinner than before. He needs to bulk them up, and what better way to punish a failure than to force his son into service?" Hermione's eyes widened at me and Ron at least looked a little guilty, maybe even slightly sorry for Malfoy.
"But still, there has to be something we…"
"We aren't going to do anything, Harry." I interrupted him before he could get too far ahead. "You are going to go to school, have your private lessons with Dumbledore and keep your focus on what matters. Dumbledore's teaching. If Malfoy really is up to something, then I'll have Arthur put someone on watch at Borgin and Burke's." He glared at me slightly, growing frustrated that I apparently didn't understand the problem.
"But Malfoy is up to something!"
"It's Malfoy, he's always been an underhanded kind of person so even if he was up to something, it's not like it would be unexpected. Listen Harry, I know you and Malfoy have a particularly bad rapport, which is probably why you're so adamant that he's a bad guy – don't look at me like that, you know it's true – but you have to try and think of it this way. Malfoy is probably now in way over his head. I wouldn't be surprised if he was terrified. So, no matter what, try and cut him some slack. Back off, don't try and challenge him. If he feels relaxed, he'll slip up, then we'll catch him." Reaching out my hand, I gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze, trying to make him see. "Remember, he's the same age as you, he's still underage, he'll have no real clue of what he's doing, and he's probably being forced to do it anyway."
"So you're telling me to do nothing?"
"Harry, I love you dearly, but honestly you can be such a dense prat sometimes." Letting go of him with a sigh, I pointedly folded my arms and shot him a look. "It's not your responsibility to get involved with everything. If you're so worried, go to Dumbledore about it and he'll know what to do. I know what you're like, you'll get obsessed over this, and then you'll wind up landing yourself in trouble. It's pretty much how every single year at Hogwarts has gone for you. Is it too much to ask for you to try and have a safe and normal year?" With a look at Ron and Hermione, I told them to keep their eyes peeled and to write to me with any developments before leaving them to continue packing.
Despite what I'd said, I was concerned about Malfoy's movements so I made sure to mention it to Arthur as well as sending a note to Dumbledore in code with Orion so that only Dumbledore would read it. Rather ingenious, actually, we were using a muggle system of coding which required a cipher from a book, and we'd chosen a muggle book because there was no way Voldemort would ever figure it out. He would never think to look in a muggle book for the answers, so we were fairly certain the system was safe. So far, all was well.
I helped with the escort to get Harry and the others to the train, sending them off with hugs and my best wishes to Neville and Luna, who I had also written to over the summer to stay in touch. I'd even talked to Neville's grandmother once or twice as she'd asked for a detailed account of what had happened with Neville in the Ministry, so I had told her everything. That he was brave, that he performed defensive spells perfectly, and that even after his wand broke and he could no longer speak properly, he was willing to throw himself upon the enemy in order to help protect his friends. His grandmother had positively glowed in her response, so I was glad to give her the truth since Neville, meek and modest as he was, no doubt glossed over his own heroics.
Now with everyone off to the safety of Hogwarts, I could turn to the other duties Dumbledore had left to me. Disapparating directly from the station, I appeared at Grimmauld place where I promptly went into the study where Moody was pouring over papers, keeping track of everyone's assignments and their reports. "All good with Potter?"
"No trouble, everyone got on board fine." I confirmed, drawing up a seat. "I'm here for my next assignment. I know Dumbledore had something important in mind for me. What does he need?" Making a gruff noise, Moody shuffled a few pieces of parchment around until he pulled one free and handed it to me.
"Memorise it then destroy it." He told me so I quickly unravelled the roll in order to read Dumbledore's neat handwriting, the letters formed across the page making no sense until I'd worked out the code with the book we used as a cipher. Each member of the Order had their own book, so no one had the same code. It was a double safety measure, and even then Moody felt like it wasn't enough. After I'd worked out the code, I was able to translate the letters into the message meant only for me, which was more than what I had been expecting.
"I see." Frowning slightly, I let the parchment rise into the air before I turned it to ash then vanished the remains. "Do you know?"
"Dumbledore mentioned it in person." Moody confirmed, looking at me with both eyes, though the magical one swivelled upon occasion. "I'd say your goodbyes before you go, you could be gone a while." Yes, it would seem so. It also seemed like I would get my wish to travel, just not under the circumstances I had imagined, but still, this was possibly the most important job within the Order. Recruiting allies, both wizard-kind and creatures, to join our side. "Dumbledore also said, if you didn't wish to go alone, then you could choose to take someone with you."
"Who would you suggest?" Moody had clearly already thought it all through and provided me with a list of names of people within the Order, including their abilities and any special skills they possessed so that I could make an exact evaluation. "It's too risky to choose someone new, I'd need to know that I could trust that person with watching my back and that we could tolerate each other's presence for more than a minute…I'll go alone. It'll be better that way since I'll be less noticeable." Nodding his head, Moody made a coded note in his ledger.
"Check in every two weeks. Failure to do so will result in the assumption of death or capture."
"Delightful as always, aren't you Moody?" He just looked at me blankly so I shrugged. "I'll be fine. I'd like to see them try and catch me. Of course, I'll have to avoid any obvious form of travel as much as possible, which means a lot of hiking…I'd better start packing. I'm going to need to prepare." Beginning to think carefully over the things I should bring, Moody gave me his advice on the essentials so I tossed him a smile and a word of thanks before leaving to get started. I chose a simple rucksack to take with me, using an extendable charm on it to fit in everything I would need.
Clothes, provisions, medical supplies, blankets, tent, anything I would need for roughing it out in the muggle world. It was my mission now, to go out and solidify friendships and allies as Dumbledore instructed, which would mean I would have to find ways to earn people's trust, do favours for them and earn one in return. I needed to convince people that Voldemort needed to be stopped, so I also put together a portfolio with newspaper clippings and photos of all the things he'd done and the people he'd killed, and how that once he'd taken over the Ministry here, he would then move onto the rest of the world.
I doubted even the world would satisfy Voldemort, but he'd sure give it a damn good try. Putting it all together took a lot longer than I expected, so when I heard a knock on my door and looked up, I was surprised to find that it had gotten dark. Wow, I'm starving. "May I come in?"
"Uncle Rem! Yes of course, come on in." I invited eagerly and next moment, my door swung open.
"Moody told me you would be leaving soon, I know roughly for what purpose, I wanted to make sure I caught you before you left. To say goodbye." I chuckled lightly, folding up some more clothes in order to place them in the rucksack.
"Goodbye sounds so final, I don't like the word much now that I think about it. I feel like that's the word you should only use when it's the last goodbye, you know…" I trailed off slightly, only then thinking what a morbid thought that was, and then realising that I hadn't even thought about death. It was a real possibility now, this was no game, I wasn't safe in Hogwarts anymore, I was out in the real world and there was so much danger out there…I really need to take safety and caution more seriously. "Anyway. I'll be back before you know it, and hopefully with an army of allies on my heels."
"I have no doubt you will succeed, Mia." Remus said to me confidently and gently so I managed a shaky smile at him which he immediately caught. "Are you frightened?"
"Well, I think so. Apprehensive is probably the best word for it. Nervous. I've never really been on my own before." I admitted, pausing in my packing in order to sit down so Remus came to join me so that he could listen. "I'm not afraid for myself." I quickly added, wanting to make that fact clear, as if displaying weakness in myself was something I didn't want to be seen by others. "I'm afraid for everyone else. You, dad, Harry…everyone who's become family to me. I don't want to go and come back only to find out someone got hurt or…killed."
"No one is forcing you to go, Mia. You can choose to stay, if that is what you want." Remus told me softly, putting his arm around me so that my head came to rest against his shoulder. "There is no shame in choosing to protect your loved ones over a mission, no shame at all, if that is what worries you. In fact, it is braver. You'd rather face the threat side by side with them rather than be so far away." Humming quietly in acknowledgement, I thought about it a great deal.
"If I don't go, someone else will have to." I started slowly, voicing my thoughts out loud. "But they might not be as prepared as I am, as well equipped. I speak different languages, I already have friends I can contact, I can branch out from them and find more. Communicating is something I do well, and this is a mission that requires an excellent communicator to spread the message, one that everyone needs to hear." Lifting my head, I looked up at Remus with a much stronger smile. "So I'm going, and when I come back, it'll be in success."
"You always were so fearless." Giving me a squeeze, Remus pressed a kiss to the side of my head. "I'll miss you Mia."
"I'll miss you too. I'm sorry but I won't be able to brew your potion for you until I come back. Will you be alright?" Assuring me that he'd managed, I nodded my head then sat up a little straighter in order to face him fully. "Seeing as I've finally got you here and you're not trying to hide from me, do you think you'd talk to me about Tonks?" His face dropped like a stone in water. "I know that that's why you've been looking unwell recently. I'm just worried that you're hurting yourself by rejecting someone who clearly loves you a great deal."
"You wouldn't understand Mia, you're…"
"What?" Arching an eyebrow at him, I gave Remus a look which told him I wasn't impressed. "I'm what? Too young? Too inexperienced? Come on Uncle Rem, you know me better than that. I'm an eighteen year old genius, I'm pretty sure I can keep up." Teasing him lightly, Remus did at least allow himself a weak smile at that. "It just seems to me that with people being taken and killed every day now, it seems pointless depraving yourself of every happy moment you can possibly have, and if you have a shot at love, then that's all the more reason to fight for it. What's the point in defying Voldemort if we don't have a reason to keep on going? People to fight for?" Reaching over I gave his cheek a kiss before standing up. "Life's too unpredictable to leave things up to chance. You can't let opportunities just pass you by. Now I'm starving, shall we go get something to eat?"
And so with a rather baffled but pensive Remus, we went down to dinner to join the others who had just dished up, everyone smiling and greeting us both cheerfully as we sat down at the table where I could very well be having my last meal in this house, in this country even, for a very long time.