Well as always thank you for your continued reviews, follows and favs and also for your patience. I know updates are not as fast as usual, but I promise the story will be updated and not just left. Life gets in the way especially at the moment, and my brain is not always in the right space to write. That said, I hope that this little bit of fun keeps you as distracted from the real world as it does me and that you are still enjoying the ride.
I don't know if some people read this next bit ... but as always I apologise for any errors whether they be grammatical, spelling or something else. I write purely for fun and to distract myself. I do not profess to be a professor of English but having the equivalent of and English A level (all be it many years ago) I like to think it's still OK. I appreciate constructive criticism, I also appreciate someone picking up a genuine mistake or typo that I might have missed, like everyone else I am only human and do make the odd faux pas, but I don't appreciate my work/writing being critiqued like and English lesson or exam, nor do I appreciate being given incorrect facts and told I am wrong. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong and will rectify but only after double checking. I will therefore not be responding to anything that goes under the guise of a review but falls into that category. If you do not like my work or how I write then do not read it or add your so called reviews. Go write your own perfect piece of literature. To everyone else please enjoy ...
Meetings with Ralph Messervy were always referred to as interviews because no matter how warmly you were spoken to, no matter what the situation was, that was precisely how you felt. The head of the Wizarding Secret Service was a remarkable man and Hermione felt excited at the prospect of her interview today, a tad apprehensive but excited nonetheless.
She found herself in a corner of RM's office, slightly shielded from view behind a large potted plant and an ornamental screen both of which she had noticed on her visits to his office previously. Presumably, they gave the head of the Unspeakables section a few moments warning of Lucius' arrival and a chance to clear his office, should the need arise. It was the weekend, so she wasn't entirely sure, without any prior knowledge of her visit, whether he would actually be there. A subtle cough and a firm "good morning" alerted Hermione to the fact that he was indeed at his desk and she stepped out from behind the screen and plant. The young witch was more than a little self-conscious today, of both her very casual attire and the fact that she had used Lucius Malfoy's secret entrance into her boss's office.
A reading lamp with a green glass shade cast a pool of light across the red leather top of his broad desk. The rest of the room was darkened by the misted windows which concealed his office within the Ministry.
"Good morning Granger" He offered once again.
There wasn't the merest hint of surprise in his tone that he was addressing her and not Lucius, that it was she who had stepped unexpectedly into his office.
"Good morning Sir." Hermione replied politely, noticing there was in fact a slight twinkle in those shrewd but often cold blue eyes of his.
Neither the fact that RM was here at the weekend or that he was not in the least bit startled by her arrival really surprised Hermione. There was very little which escaped his attention, it was why he'd held the position he did for so long, and she felt a small flush of heat course through her body at the notion.
"Sit down Granger". His tone was as soft and authoritative as always.
Hermione walked over to the single chair which faced RM across his desk.
"From your mode of arrival I gather that you have made contact with our undercover operative."
That small flush of heat coursing through her body increased and Hermione desperately fort to keep it from spreading to her face. Oh she had definitely made contact alright and they had certainly been under the covers. The heat was also borne from the further embarrassment, that she had only made contact with said undercover operative because she had gotten in trouble herself.
"Yes Sir, I am afraid I got myself in a sticky situation."
Oh crap, Hermione bit her lip and silently chided her choice of words which implied all sorts, or was that just her?
"No matter Granger" RM said dismissively, not allowing her to put herself down.
"It was only to be expected, sending you in blind and not appraising you fully of the situation. Can't say I was entirely happy, but Malfoy insisted it was the best way."
Hermione was once again more than a little impressed with the influence and sway Lucius wielded with Ralph Messervy. It wasn't everyone, in fact it was hardly anyone who could manipulate his decisions when it came to other operatives or missions. She supposed however when it involved the minds of other Dark Wizards Lucius Malfoy did have the inside tract, so clearly RM listened and took heed.
"Yes Sir he explained that, and he was right. My reactions and actions would not have been convincing had I had knowledge of his involvement beforehand."
RM nodded sagely, adjusting the top pocket handkerchief in his usual very Muggle pinstriped suit.
"Excellent. So what brings you here Granger? Something of the utmost importance I would imagine as you chose to use Malfoy's floo and not an owl."
"Yes Sir." Hermione said again, taking a deep breath and preparing to relate both what they had discovered and what they proposed to the head of the Wizarding Secret Service.
Ralph Messervy listened intently as Hermione spoke succinctly and knowledgeably explaining what Lucius Malfoy had discovered from his meeting with Julius Nihil. The details such as they had of Operation Grand Slam, the proposed use of the Deltanovem potion and the plan she and Lucius had come up with to foil it. Not once did he interrupt her, or even ask questions everything being absorbed meticulously as she went on. She concluded her briefing with how she had got into her "sticky situation" and how she had made contact with the undercover operative, glossing over quite a bit of the latter. She did however of course tell RM that Lucius had been tasked with eliminating the problem…her, which was why she had used his floo network and why of course they now both had to be very careful, that Hermione couldn't be seen for her sake and for Lucius'.
Ralph Messervy adjusted his pocket handkerchief again, his blue eyes dark, he remained silent, clearly thinking.
"We knew Julius Nihil was up to something big, but this is beyond anything we had anticipated. My confidence in you and Malfoy was clearly well placed. I have to say I think your plan is incredibly dangerous, but I also think it is the only way to go. Sending the Aurors in now will achieve nothing, we want all these wizards behind bars, be it in Azkaban or Nurmengard especially Antonin Dolohov, although quite frankly I don't care if he ends up not making it anywhere."
Hermione breathed an inward sigh of relief, there had been no guarantee RM would allow she and Lucius to go ahead with their plan.
"Miss Bliss."
RM used the discreet intercom system on his desk to speak to his assistant who was obviously also working on the weekend. Like his three pieces suits it was something else he embraced from the Muggle world.
"Sir?" Came the ever efficient voice of Lois Bliss over the small box.
"Could you get the Quartermaster to come to my office immediately."
"Yes Sir of course."
A few moments later there was a knock on the heavy wooden door which separated RM's office from that of his assistant. Boothroyd Llewellyn the eccentric, but genius old wizard who was in charge of the Spells Incantations and Devices Department joined them.
RM himself briefed the Quartermaster Wizard but on only what he needed to know.
"Is what Granger needs possible in the time frame we have?" He concluded in asking.
The old wizard didn't look in least bit perturbed, in fact a smug smile wrinkled his already rather lined face.
"Well actually Sir, it's something the potions lab have been working on for some time now. Not just with the Imperius Curse, but with others that might come in useful on future missions or that could even be used against us. It needs a little tweaking but in the time we have it shouldn't be a problem at all."
"Excellent." Said RM extracting his pipe from a drawer. He hadn't smoked it in years but out of habit he still took it out and waved it about almost in a celebratory fashion every so often.
"Granger, I want you to go to SIDD, Llewellyn please ensure Granger has a supply of polyjuice potion I think she might need it."
"Of course Sir, we've added a better flavour to the new batch."
Hermione smiled gratefully on both counts. Polyjuice potion tasted disgusting to say the least, she could still vividly recall the first batch she'd made at Hogwarts causing Harry and Ronald to throw up. Any improvement on the taste front was a good thing, especially if she was going to have to use it. A supply of the potion would certainly come in handy too, as she was supposed to have been taken care of, although she wasn't entirely sure who she could polyjuice into, Vesper Drax maybe her mind suggested, hmm now there was an idea. She better do some homework on the foremost criminal mind in potions, just in case.
"Sir do you think I could borrow a file on Vesper Drax". She heard herself asking RM.
The Head of the Unspeakables nodded, clearly knowing it wasn't just research that Hermione had in mind. He reached for the intercom once more.
"Miss Bliss, bring me in a complete file on Vesper Drax please."
He released the button, returning his attention to Hermione.
"I expect you and Malfoy to keep me informed every step of the way. I trust you both implicitly but what you are proposing really is incredibly dangerous, even for you two. If you need any help or anything else from SIDD just ask, as we've discovered this morning everything is possible."
He cast his blue eyes at the Quartermaster, who bustled with pride.
Lois Bliss entered the room with a sharp knock and the requested file, which she handed to Hermione.
"You have to use a revelio on it and the password is Moonraker." She explained quietly.
"Use it again to hide the file."
"Thank you." Hermione acknowledged tucking the slim brown folder under her arm.
She returned her attention to her boss as his assistant left the room.
"Thank you too Sir."
RM's steely gaze softened.
"For yours eyes only" He indicated the file.
"Suufficed to say Granger I will leave you and Malfoy to work on this together. I assume that going forward that will not be a problem, you two working so closely together?"
Hermione struggled once more to keep the heat from colouring her face.
"Of course not Sir, it's actually been a pleasure so far."
"Oh crap". She'd done it again, Hermione silently scolded herself once more for her unfortunate choice of works.
But RM just nodded sagely. "I think you two will work well together, a good meeting of minds."
"And bodies" Another unspoken thought popped into her head, as she tried to keep her focus on RM's words.
"I am not sure what else there will be to report between now and summit, but we will of course keep you informed." She tried to keep her voice sounding professional.
"Good, make sure you do. I would also suggest Granger that you stay put or stay somewhere out of sight, don't go back to your flat. As you say, we cannot risk you being seen."
Hermione processed the implications of Ralph Messervy's words. She had never been unable to return to her own home before, she'd worked away on missions, but this was different. He was however right, she would have to stay at the hotel, remain out of sight until all of this was over.
"Of course not Sir, I will stay where I am." She assured him.
It could be worse she thought but staying at the hotel would also mean staying in her room, she could hardly pop to the spa or go for a walk that would defeat the object. She'd think about that all later, right now she had to get some better tasting polyjuice potion and see if SIDD had anything else on offer that might prove useful over the next few weeks.
Ralph Messervy twiddled with his unlit pipe, his other hand busy scribbling notes on a piece of parchment.
"Be careful Granger and make sure you do keep me up to date on what you and Malfoy are up to."
Hermione felt her face burn like it was on fire, but fortunately RM didn't look up and she took that as her cue to leave.
"Now pay attention Granger." Boothroyd Llewellyn said handing Hermione a small white box, another of those smug smiles adding more wrinkles to his old face.
"Not only have we made it taste better we have also concentrated it."
Hermione opened the box, which contained a number of tiny bottles.
"Oh wow, that's fantastic." She enthused, running her finger over the small ampules of glass.
"You still have to add something of the person in question for it to work but being concentrate the effects last longer. Hopefully, the taste is better, but just how much depends on the person you are polyjuicing into and well, worse case there isn't so much to drink. These should keep you going for a while, but if you need more just let me know. We have a good supply."
"Thanks that's great."
She tucked the box under her arm along with the file.
"Oh and I almost forgot there's also this." The eccentric old wizard handed Hermione what appeared to be a bag of Bertie Botts Beans all white and all spearmint flavoured according to the label.
She looked from the bag to the Quartermaster curiously, he'd said they'd improved the flavour of the Polyjuice potion, perhaps not so much then. That aside, whilst she appreciated being given a supply of mints Hermione wasn't entirely sure how useful they would be on the mission.
He smiled at Hermione and winked.
"You don't always want to have to wait for the effects of Polyjuice to wear off and as I said the concentrate lasts even longer. So we've been working hard on these. Just pop one in your mouth bite into it and you are you again in seconds."
"Nooooo, at last, that's brilliant." Hermione enthused, now absolutely delighted with the bag of mints. She put them in her other hand, now really wishing she'd brought a bag of some sort.
Boothroyd Llewellyn moved across the room and picked up a small rucksack from a workbench and handed it to Hermione.
"Here use this." He said opening the bag.
Hermione dropped the file, the box of polyjuice potion capsules and the mints into the bag, they all vanished.
The Head of SIDD laughed.
"The lining is like a cloak of invisibility, whatever you put in vanishes behind it, put your hand back in and it's all there, but only for the owner, it's a signature bag. If anyone else puts their hand in… boom, a hair triggered bombardia will go off."
"Merlin's teeth!" Hermione peered into the bag, slipping her hand carefully inside she could feel the box, the file and the mints. She smiled at the older man.
"It has all the usual refinements as well, extension charm, wand compartment. Oh and this…"
He unclipped the leather handle and pulling it apart revealed 25 galleons.
"Just in case" He offered casually, folding it back together and reclipping the handle to the bag.
Hermione knew SIDD came up with some fabulous gadgets, but this had to be one of her favourites. Having already been given three things which would help her enormously, she felt a little guilty asking about the Imperius Potion and how soon it would be ready, but Boothroyd Llewellyn seemed delighted to talk about it.
"Well Granger, I know this probably sounds awful, but I am really excited that someone has asked to use it in the field. We are very proud of it and how it has worked so far in our tests. Somethings never get to see the light of day, thankfully so in certain cases."
"Considering the option, this is very much a lesser of two evils and I really cannot tell you how pleased I am that it isn't something you have to work on from scratch and only have a few weeks to develop and perfect."
The old wizard nodded, appreciating the severity of her words but delighted none the less that this had been one project which was not in vain.
"Always ask Granger if there is something you need, a spell or a gadget, you never know no matter how weird or strange it might seem, we do work on some crazy ideas down here, we might just have something that fits the bill."
Hermione had a soft spot for Boothroyd Llewellyn, like RM he had been in the Unspeakables section for years and like RM he had perfected his craft. The success of many a mission had been down to him and the witches and wizards who worked for him, as had their survival. Stopping by his somewhat chaotic lab was always a high spot in her briefing. He reminded her in many ways of Professor Dumbledore, that same kindly and fatherly way he had and always looking out for those who came to him. Those little phrases and quirks he had. He'd told more than one operative, herself included to try and bring things back in one piece, although more often than not he just got one piece back. But he was always there, and the place wouldn't be the same without him.
As she went to leave him imparted his usual words of wisdom.
"Goodbye Granger and remember… Never let them see you bleed and always have an escape plan."
Hermione smiled, thanked him once more and returned to RM's office in order to floo back to the Firefly Country Club, Hotel and Spa, to Lucius and to details of how his meeting with Julius Nihil had gone
