Chapter Twenty-One
Fireside Chats
Alaw had never been so embarrassed in her life and she went out of her way to avoid Snape for the next few days, even going so far as to don the invisibility cloak for meal times again. He didn't try to speak to her in that time so she assumed he wasn't too bothered about forcing her to continue her Occlumency lessons. When her friends had asked how the lesson had gone she'd been breezy in her answer, describing the meditation technique and the blinding headache that followed. She hadn't intended to tell them the truth at all but Hermione had sensed that something was wrong and cornered her in her living room to ask if she was alright. Alaw had felt obliged to explain the situation to her.
"Oh," said Hermione, once Alaw had muttered the truth to her, not looking up from her History of Magic essay. "I see. Well of course that's, awkward, but, Al, be realistic here. Professor Snape is a brilliant Occlumens and a professional, I'm sure he'll handle it tactfully in future."
"I am not going back there!" Alaw hissed hotly, blushing at the very memory. "No way! There's too much stuff in my head that I don't want him to see. Never mind the personal stuff, what about all our plans for the Flames? I can't let him see that."
"Al, you have to go back!" Hermione scolded. "You need to learn Occlumency. Having Snape in your head might be embarrassing, but it's far better than having Voldemort poking around in there!"
Alaw grimaced and scratched out a few more words of her essay to avoid Hermione's stern look. She was right of course, Snape was bad enough, but what if Voldemort somehow got hold of her personal fantasies? Besides being absolutely mortifying, it might put Draco in serious danger if Voldemort found out how much she liked him. Except, she hadn't had any dreams about Voldemort since the incident with the snake. She hadn't had a single glimpse of the mysterious corridor or the black door, so perhaps Voldemort too was weary. It must have been embarrassing for him to realise that a Mudblood with no training could ransack his brain so easily.
Alaw was just flicking through her copy of A History of Magic, looking for information on Ulick Gamp and the formation of the Ministry of Magic, when she heard a faint tapping sound. Frowning, she looked over her shoulder and saw a ghostly barn owl perched on the windowsill outside. It was tapping the glass with its beak, and had a letter tied to its leg.
"Bit late for post isn't it?" Hermione asked as Alaw crossed the room and opened the window to let the bird in. "Who's it from?"
Alaw untied the letter and unrolled it. She didn't recognise the handwriting, but the Ministry seal made her heart leap in hope.
"Mum and dad," she lied, absently, allowing the owl to take flight before closing the window on it. A few snowflakes had begun to drift lazily past the castle. "Must have gotten blown off course."
Whilst Hermione returned to her homework, Alaw tried to contain her excitement and open the letter calmly.
Dear Miss Jones
Thank you for your letter. I apologise for taking my time in replying, but I felt I needed to give this matter some serious thought. I would be very glad to speak to you, but I cannot trust matter this important to a bird. If it is convenient, you may call my home fireplace this coming Saturday at nine o'clock in the morning. I would advise you not to use a fireplace within Hogwarts, as the castle network is being closely monitored by certain parties within the Ministry.
Yours,
Bartemius Crouch
Short, and to the point, but it was exactly what Alaw had been hoping for. Now, perhaps, her plans for the Flames could finally progress.
The rest of the week passed without incident. Alaw finally managed to master healing small cuts, Tracy confided that Professor Flitwick had spoken to her about working on her tattooing skills, and Snape hadn't tried to force Alaw back into Occlumency lessons. Harder to avoid was Hermione, and Neville, once she had snitched to the boys that Alaw was no longer attending her classes. Ron however was on Alaw's side, especially when Alaw had let him know enough of the details to be enraged on her behalf.
"I'm surprised you didn't punch the slimy pervert right in the face!" Ron had cried. "I would have."
Neville on the other hand had firmly agreed with Hermione, saying it was vital that Alaw learn to protect her mind from Voldemort. Sick of the bickering, Alaw had made her escape on Saturday morning by telling them all she was going to see Emrys. Instead, she threw on the Invisibility Cloak and trotted down the lane to Hogsmeade. She wasn't sure if it was wise to be keeping secrets from her friends, but she wanted to see how this Barty Crouch angle worked out before telling them what she was up to.
The Three Broomsticks was crowded and noisy as usual when Alaw entered, slipping in behind a couple of gossiping witches to avoid having to open the door whilst invisible. Alaw moved carefully through the crowd, taking great care not to bump into anyone, and eventually managed to find an empty backroom. She closed the door softly behind her and locked it with her wand. This was a little risky, someone might come and investigate the locked room at any moment, but Alaw would just have to be quick. She threw off the cloak but kept it close at hand, just in case she needed to put it back on in a rush, and knelt by the empty fireplace.
"Incendio," she muttered.
The logs in the grate ignited and began to fill the room with a warm glow. Alaw took a small leather pouch out of her satchel and after fumbling with the strings, extracted a glittering pinch of Floo Powder.
"Crouch Manor!" she said, throwing the pinch into the fire.
The flames turned bright green and, after glancing nervously over her shoulder to check that no one was coming, Alaw took a deep breath and plunged her head into the fire. She had never liked travelling by Floo Powder and this was even worse. Her body remained stationary but her head spun dizzyingly until it came to a jarring halt and Alaw peeked through her eyelashes. She was now looking at a large living room, with dark-wood panelling on the walls and antique rugs over the floorboards.
"Ah, Miss Jones, right on schedule," said Mr Crouch from the leather armchair placed directly in front of the fireplace.
"Jesus," Alaw muttered, swallowing a few times to beat back the nausea. "Uh, good morning, Mr Crouch."
"Are you using a secure fireplace?" Mr Crouch asked sharply, disregarding her greeting. Alaw nodded, and then realised Mr Crouch might not be able to tell as all he could see was her disembodied head.
"Yes, I'm in the Three Broomsticks."
"And are you alone?"
"Yes."
"Good, then we can speak freely," said Mr Crouch with grim satisfaction. "Forgive me for being overly cautious Miss Jones, but I'm sure you understand, given the current climate."
"Too right," Alaw agreed. Back in the Three Broomsticks, she pressed a hand to her chest and rubbed it distractedly. It had been aching all morning and now it was worse than ever. She wondered vaguely what Voldemort was up to that had him so excited today. "Um, right. Thank you for agreeing to speak to me."
"Not at all. Your letter intrigued me. I expected some sort of contact from Dumbledore, but for you to appeal to me directly is most unexpected."
"I'm not here on behalf of Dumbledore," Alaw hastened to clarify. "He doesn't even know I wrote to you. Or at least I hope he doesn't. He and I don't exactly see eye to eye."
Mr Crouch raised an eyebrow and leant forward in his chair.
"I see, well then, why don't you tell me why you asked for this meeting?"
"I would have thought it was obvious," said Alaw. "I want you to help me convince as many people as possible that Voldemort is alive."
A blink was the only reaction Alaw got to this statement and she watched Mr Crouch closely.
"You do believe that he is alive," she said when Mr Crouch remained silent. "I know you do. You're an intelligent man, you fought against him in the first war so you know what he's capable of."
Mr Crouch sat back in his seat and drummed his fingers lightly on the arm. He considered Alaw for a moment before saying,
"You're bolder than I thought, Miss Jones. You are of course correct, I never doubted that Lord Voldemort would return. But I'm afraid you'll find me to be an outlier. Most at the Ministry are convinced that Dumbledore is seeking to take power for himself, and you must admit, it's a compelling argument."
Alaw wasn't going to bother breaking that theory to pieces as she had with Madam Bones. She wasn't trying to convince Crouch, he was already sane enough to see the truth.
"Are they really convinced, or are they just covering their arses?" Alaw asked bitterly. "I hear Fudge is conducting a witch hunt against anyone who disagrees with him. Real pillar of democracy you've got there, by the way. I'm sure there are plenty of people at the Ministry who are sceptical, but who won't say a word that might jeopardise their careers."
"So what is it you wish me to do? Convince them to speak up?"
"I doubt that will be possible until Voldemort comes into the open," Alaw sighed. "But there is something you can do. Voldemort has supporters in the Ministry, people who can pull the strings very quietly behind the scenes. I've been gathering evidence since the summer, if you'd be interested in hearing some of it?"
The smallest smile curled Mr Crouch's lip.
"I would indeed."
"I thought you might," said Alaw, smugly. "But I'm not just going to give it to you."
The smile faded and Mr Crouch fixed Alaw with a hard stare.
"And why not?"
"Forgive me sir, but I don't know you, I don't trust you yet. No more than you know or trust me. I want to know you can keep your word before I start dishing out the dirt."
"And how do you suggest I prove myself to you then?"
Now came the test, something Alaw had been intending to do months ago but other things kept getting in the way.
"Do you remember your old assistant, Percy Weasley?"
The one you kept calling Wetherby, she thought privately. Mr Crouch frowned a little and cocked his head.
"Arthur Weasley's boy? Yes, he now works directly under Fudge. Been doing quite well for himself."
"I'd like you to convince him to go and see his father in hospital," said Alaw boldly. "He hasn't spoken to his family in months because he's so hell bent on getting in with Fudge's lot. But he respects you, he'd listen to what you have to say."
There was silence in the living room for a few moments. Alaw shifted uncomfortably back in the Three Broomsticks as the chill from the hard stone floor started to hurt her knees.
"And this will convince you that I am a man to be trusted?" Mr Crouch asked eventually.
"It would be a start," Alaw confirmed.
Another pause. Alaw really hoped this conversation would end soon so she could stretch and maybe take some pain-killer potion for her heart. It was throbbing dully still.
"Alright, Miss Jones. I will see what I can do. But I make no promises, young Weasley is one of Fudge's most ardent supporters."
"Thank you," Alaw sighed gratefully. "I don't see him changing his mind about Dumbledore anytime soon, I just want him to go and see his dad. I mean the guy nearly died for Christ sake!"
Crouch gazed at Alaw shrewdly and said slowly,
"I did hear that Weasley had been in a terrible accident. I don't suppose you would know the details would you?"
Alaw shook her head and smiled a little. Instead of answering she said,
"Thank you for seeing me Mr Crouch, shall we say, same time next Saturday?"
Alaw stood beneath the Invisibility cloak with her arms crossed and a bemused expression on her face, watching the scene before her unfold. She had been walking back to the castle with a smug spring in her step when she had noticed two familiar figures making their way across the lawn towards Hagrid's Hut. Naturally she had followed them and now she was unsure what to do as Umbridge and Filch dithered around Hagrid's front door.
"And you're sure she comes here, Argus?" Umbridge asked, wrinkling her nose a little as she surveyed the hut. Filch bowed his head.
"Yes, ma'am. Whenever Jones leaves the castle by herself, she always heads down in this direction. And there isn't anything else down here 'cept the forest."
"Excellent," said Umbridge with satisfaction. "Finally we can find out what that wretched muggle-born is up to. No doubt she's planning some sort of subterfuge for Dumbledore, and she thought she was being clever doing it away from the castle."
Umbridge withdrew her wand and Alaw raised an eyebrow at the sheer pig-headedness of the woman.
"Stand back, Argus," said Umbridge, pointing her wand at the front door. "Alohomora!"
Nothing happened and whilst Umbridge scowled, Alaw suppressed a snort. No doubt the stupid woman hadn't realised that Hagrid was in fact a wizard and that his home would be protected against such basic magical invasion. All wizarding homes had runes inscribed into the lintel, corner and hearthstones, they had just learned about them a few weeks ago from Professor Babbling.
Alaw watched the pair try and break into the cabin for a further ten minutes before shaking her head and turning back towards the castle. They would probably be able to get in by brute force eventually. But there wasn't anything in the cabin for them to find anyway, Hagrid didn't own anything valuable and anything precious he would have taken with him. Alaw was however annoyed that, despite her best efforts, Filch had deduced in what direction she went whenever she left the castle. She would have to be extra careful from now on.
"How can you all possibly be so messy?" Hermione tutted as she swept up the crumbs off the meeting table and vanished them with her wand.
The Flames liked to snack during their meetings but they had quickly discovered that the Room of Requirement did not magically clean itself like the rest of the castle so they had to tidy up themselves after every gathering. Alaw felt they were making good progress in their plans, for example, that evening they had agreed to approach Daphne and Tracy to find out if they were interested in joining them. Alaw had also put Millicent Bulstrode forward as a possible candidate but the other Flames had been less enthusiastic about her. She'd been put on the bench for now and Alaw would continue making friendly overtures in the hope that she could one day be a useful ally.
Alaw, Hermione and the boys were now alone in the room as Hannah and Susan had just left, complaining about Umbridge's latest essay. Ron yawned hugely and wondered over to the window where snow was falling silently.
"Quidditch is going to be a nightmare in this," he said grumpily.
Neville was helping Hermione clean away their papers and Alaw stole a sneaky glance at the two of them. As she watched, Neville 'accidentally' reached for the same file as Hermione and brushed her hand with his. Alaw was really getting sick of the two of them dancing around each other. She'd urged Neville to officially ask Hermione to the Halloween party a few weeks ago but nothing had come of it. Perhaps Christmas would offer a similar opportunity.
"Alaw Jones!"
Alaw started and glanced around at the mirror in the corner of the room. Sirius' blurred face had appeared in the glass again and she wondered over.
"Hey Sirius, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?" she asked cheerfully. Her smile slipped however when she got close enough to see that Sirius was sporting a blackeye. "Jesus Christ, what happened to you?"
"Never mind that, I'm fine," said Sirius dismissively. "I'm calling because Snape just told us tonight that you've stopped going to his Occlumency lessons."
Alaw felt her cheeks warm up but she squared her shoulders stoutly.
"Yes," she snapped. "Yes I have and for a bloody good reason."
Before she could elaborate however Sirius interrupted her.
"Yeah, yeah, we all know the reason. Snape kindly explained the situation to us and I've already had words with him about it."
Alaw cringed at the thought of Snape retelling the story of her humiliation to the entire Order of the Phoenix. The others had joined her by now and Ron squinted dubiously at Sirius.
"Words, is that how you got that blackeye then?"
Though Sirius shrugged in response, Alaw thought he looked a bit pleased with himself. Hermione gasped, scandalised.
"Sirius!" she scolded. "You didn't!"
"The creep was asking for it," said Sirius unrepentantly and Ron and Neville grinned at each other. "Anyway, that's all settled now, Dumbledore saw to that. But he told me to tell you Al, that you have to keep taking those lessons. I know it's a pain, and I'm sorry, but this is really important."
The white hot anger that always lanced through Alaw at the mention of the headmaster boiled up again.
"If Dumbledore want to tell me to do something, he can fucking well talk to me himself!" she snarled.
Sirius grimaced and paused before saying,
"Al, please listen to me. This is so important, you have to learn to defend your mind from Voldemort. Please? For me?"
He was pulling the concerned godfather card and it was deeply unfair. As Alaw squirmed and griped wordlessly, Hermione put a hand on her shoulder.
"What if I came with you? Would it be less embarrassing if I was there too?"
Alaw looked at her friend in surprise and then back at Sirius briefly.
"Well, yeah, actually that'd be great. But are you sure you want to give up two evenings a week to be a chaperone?" Alaw asked uncertainly and Hermione smiled.
"Of course I don't mind! I could take homework with me and sit quietly whilst you do your thing. If Professor Snape doesn't mind of course."
"I'll ask him," said Sirius and Alaw frowned at the mirror.
"Wait, he's there right now?"
"In the next room, we're actually in the middle of an Order meeting."
"You paused an Order meeting to give me a telling off?!" Alaw asked incredulously and Sirius snorted.
"Yes I did, and you'll be getting daily tellings off until you go back to your lessons, madam. Now, I've got to go. No doubt Snivellus will let you know when's a good time for another session. Take care of yourselves."
His image faded from the mirror and Alaw immediately chose to swear colourfully in Welsh under breath. She took to pacing around the room, still muttering mutinously whilst Hermione watched on in exasperation.
"Oh come on, Al. It could be worse," she said. "I'll be there from now on and I'm sure Snape won't pry into your personal thoughts. Last time it was just an accident."
Alaw chose not to answer this, instead crossing her arms and scowling at her shoes. Neville wondered over the window and gazed down at something in the grounds.
"Don't be too down," he said, still looking outside. "I've got something that might cheer you up."
"Oh yeah? What's that?" asked Ron and Neville smiled over his shoulder.
"I think Hagrid's back."
The friends decided not to visit Hagrid until the following morning as it would have been a bit unfair for them to barge in on him after he'd just got back from a long journey. After a hasty breakfast they threw on their travelling cloaks, hats, gloves and scarfs and set off across the frosty lawn, three figures clad in red and gold, and one in green and silver. When they got to the cabin and knocked however, there was no response from inside. The four of them frowned at each other, puzzled.
"He definitely is back, right?" Alaw asked. "We all saw the light in the window."
"He's back alright," said Ron, peering around the edge of the porch. "Look, he's chopped some fresh firewood."
As they all followed Ron's gaze, they spotted the hulking figure of Hagrid coming out of the forest beyond the vegetable patch. They cried out when they saw him and his beetle-black eyes lit up in delight.
"Should 'ave known!" he chuckled as they hurried over to greet him. "Barely been back a night an' you lot are on my doorstep! Blimy it's good ter see ye!"
He drew all four of them into a crushing bear hug and when he let go they all staggered a little. Alaw beamed up at the game-keeper, but in doing so she noticed that his entire face looked bashed and bruised. There were deep cuts across his nose and cheeks and some of the half-healed ones looked like they were infected.
"Fucking hell, has everyone been in fights recently?" she asked wonderingly. "What happened to your face?"
"Just had some scrapes on the road is all," said Hagrid breezily. "Anyhow, come in, come in, I'll make us all a cuppa."
As they followed him into the cabin, Alaw noticed that Hagrid was limping heavily and she exchanged a worried look with the others.
"Would you like me to see to those cuts, Hagrid?" Hermione asked once he'd closed the door on the chilly outdoors. "They look nasty!"
With a little persuasion, Hagrid sat down in his armchair and let Hermione work her magic whilst Alaw lit the fire and Neville went about putting the kettle to boil.
"So, are you going to tell us all about this mission you've been on then?" Ron asked, settling himself comfortably on the sofa. Hagrid shook his head, making Hermione tut and hold him steady with her free hand.
"Can't, Ron, sorry. That's top secret Order stuff."
"Please," Alaw snorted, dragging a chair from the kitchen table around the face the others. "Hardly a big secret, we know you've been off to tangle with the giants."
Hagrid started and fixed Alaw with an astonished look.
"Here now! How did you know about that?" he demanded and Alaw smiled and tapped the side of her nose.
"My Slytherin wiles of course. Now come on, how did it go? Have any of them joined up with the Order?"
Hagrid scowled, though the effect was ruined when he gave Hermione a grateful look for attending the gash over his eye. He was obviously in more pain than he was letting on.
"Never known such a bunch of nosy parkers in all my life," he grumbled. "Alright, yeah, I've been ter see the giants."
When he didn't elaborate Alaw sighed.
"Well?! What are they like?"
"Big," said Hagrid unhelpfully. When they all groaned he chuckled and went on. "They're well away from people, I can tell ye that. Way up in the mountains, I pity the muggles who come across 'em sometimes."
"So, they really are as dangerous as they say?" Alaw asked.
She'd always been sceptical of the descriptions of giants in her history textbooks. They were classed as Beings by the Ministry, capable of understanding the laws set down by wizards. That meant they had to be more intelligent than mere animals, but her books always depicted them as dull, rampaging monsters, incapable of being reasoned with. Hagrid gave a humourless laugh.
"Oh, they're dangerous alright. Though, a lot of that's our fault o'course."
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked with a frown.
"Giants, well, they're not like us, exactly," Hagrid explained. He accepted a large mug of tea from Neville and took a gulp before continuing. "They aren't as stupid as people say, they've got their own languages and art and music, just like humans. And you can talk to 'em, if they're in the mood to listen. But they don't like company the way we do. Giants are meant to live alone most of the time, they only come together to have their babies or in times of war. That's how it was back in the olden days. Only in the past few centuries us wizards forced them to move a good long way away from us and they ended up packed together like sardines."
Hagrid shook his head sadly and looked down at his drink.
"There were only about eighty left when Olympe and me got there. Eighty, in the whole world, and there used to be a hundred different tribes."
"But, you did talk to them?" Ron asked and Hagrid nodded.
"Oh yeah, we brought gifts, see, and they were curious so they let us into their camp. We spoke to the Gurg."
"The what?" Neville asked.
"Oh, it's like the Chief. Karkus his name was, and he was quite happy to listen to us when we told him about Dumbledore. But – ah – we ran into a bit of a snag."
"What sort of snag?" Neville asked with a frown, settling himself on the sofa next to Ron. Hagrid grimaced.
"A fight broke out one night, and Karkus was killed. The new Gurg, Golgomath, didn't want nothing to do with us. Even tried to have us killed, but Olympe jumped in with the best Conjunctivitis Curse I've ever seen. And if that weren't bad enough, just a few days later a couple of bloody Death Eaters turn up!"
"Of course," said Alaw bitterly. "Who were they?"
"Well, one of them was this bloke called McNair, right nasty piece of work. He's with the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, and he's bloodthirsty, got it in for interesting beasts he has."
"Did this Golgomath listen to them then?" Hermione asked. She appeared to be finished with her work on Hagrid's cuts because she stowed her wand away in her robes and sank onto the arm of the sofa beside Neville. Neville immediately got up and offered his seat to her.
"Watched 'em talking from the mouth of our cave," Hagrid growled. "Got on like a house on fire by the looks of things. You-Know-Who always did well with the Giants in the last war, guess he offered them revenge for all the stuff the Ministry did to them."
"So, they're joining up with Voldemort then?" Alaw asked, her heart sinking at the very idea. Hagrid winced and slopped some of his tea into his lap.
"I've told ye not ter say his name, Al!" he snapped. "An I dunno, could be that most of the Giants want nothing to do with either side. Can't say I blame them much, plus, it's a bit hard them to get to Britain, got to cross a whole lot of other countries and the other Ministries won't take kindly to that."
There was a pause as they all drank some tea, each imagining the horror Voldemort could unleash with just a handful of Giants on his side. Hagrid eventually shook himself out of his thoughts and asked,
"Anyway, what have you lot been up to since I've been away? How's Emrys been?"
"I thought you'd just been to see him," said Alaw in surprise, nodding her head in the general direction of the forest. Hagrid opened his mouth and then shut it again, looking a little awkward.
"Oh, uh, yeah I have, but I can't speak ter him can I? You been practising yer flying?"
"Sort of," Alaw shrugged. "We still suck at it though. He seems happy enough with his territory though, he's way better at hunting now. What else has been going on? Uh, oh yeah! We've got a spy from the Ministry right up in our business. Dolores Umbridge."
"Oh, yeah. She came to see me last night," said Hagrid and they all started and stared at him in horror.
"Woah, hold on, she came here last night?!" Ron demanded and Hagrid frowned, bemused at their reactions.
"Yeah, she was a bit rude I thought. Told me she was the new Defence teacher, and that she was inspecting all the other staff members."
Alaw and her friends exchanged dark looks.
"Ok, Hagrid, listen to me very carefully," said Alaw urgently. "That woman is a full on psychopath. Fudge has sent her here to get dirt on anyone she thinks is close to Dumbledore and that definitely includes you! You have to make sure your lessons are perfectly boring until she leaves, or she'll have you sacked."
"Oh but that'll be rubbish!" Hagrid chortled. "I've got some great lessons planned for you lot this year."
He didn't seem to understand the gravity of what they were saying and was surprised when they all shouted him down.
"Hagrid please be careful around her!" Hermione pleaded. "She's a monster, she really is! She's already used dark magic on Al during a detention!"
That warranted further explanation and Hagrid was suitably enraged by their account of Umbridge's behaviour. They spent the rest of their visit hotly abusing her and when they walked up to the castle some time later, Alaw hoped against hope that Hagrid would heed their warnings.