Disclaimer:

All characters in the story are the property of J. K. Rowling and Bloomsbury Books, with the exception of Eleanora Sterling and a few supporting characters, who are my own creations. This story is created purely for the entertainment of myself and other like-minded readers and no copyright infringement is intended.

By mentioning J.K. Rowling in this story I do not intend to present her as a fictional character or to imply that the Harry Potter books are not her own 100% original works.

Any opinions, political or otherwise, on world events, personages or governments expressed in these pages, are the opinions of the characters speaking them and not necessarily those of the author.

Chapter 17: Remus Checks In

Snape had been in a torture of anticipation since his last conversation with Lupin. The other wizard had not called him, as promised, to apprise him of the latest news, but instead had sent an enigmatic e-mail the day following the call, saying merely "Nothing to report… meetings upcoming."

Two days later there was another e-mail, apparently sent the evening before. It said simply "H.G. is on the case. Will meet again in two days. Meeting at Goodge Street tomorrow. Will call in the evening."

It was nearly eleven p.m. on the day of the meeting when the call finally came. By London time it was actually very early the next morning. Lupin apologised, stating he had been detained and had not been home since the meeting. It seemed he'd been obliged to come out for a drink with some of the boys at Walsh's and the ensuing revelries had gone on a bit late.

"Did you think that was wise, fraternizing with the hired help?" Snape asked incredulously.

"Really, Snape, it wasn't like that. But I do think Walsh's people are trying to suss me out a bit. They may be guns for hire, so to speak, but I really think they would draw the line at aiding international terrorists. I needed to allay any fears that we are trying to cause anyone harm. The device I have discussed with them is virtually harmless to human life. But it can be used in a damaging way so I wanted to assure them that was not our purpose."

"What, exactly have you told them our purpose was? And who have you told them we are?"

"I've told them as little as possible except to suggest that we are trying to stop a very bad and crazy man from doing something terrible. I think as long as they are satisfied that we aren't the bad crazy people they will help us - for the right amount of money, of course."

"Which will be how much, exactly?"

"Development fees will ring in around £700,000. The actual cost of each device we need built is approximately £300,000."

"So – a million pounds, then." Snape felt a bit faint.

"Actually more like a million and a half. We'll probably need two devices: one to rehearse with and one to actually pull off the sting. And we will probably require some additional special effects, lasers, pyrotechnics, etc. to put on a really good show. It's going to be a bit like making a film. They recommend hiring a few people to play dead at the scene... to make it look as though our little item can really do some serious damage. In fact, they'll rent some movie cameras and purchase a permit to shoot a movie in the neighbourhood we're going to use, just so we don't rouse any suspicions. They'll provide us with some out-of-work actors who would work for what they call 'scale', and they have someone on staff who will, er, stage-manage the whole thing.

"And the really beautiful part of this is, with the movie permit, we'll even have police co-operation. They'll close off the area and no one will be allowed in. Of course, we can't let our mark see the cameras. But the others who will be involved will be made to think all the action is just part of the movie."

Even Snape had to admit this sounded like a brilliant cover-up for their activities. They'd be able to stage as elaborate a spectacle as they wished and the local Muggle populace would not be alarmed. "Sounds like your boys have thought of everything," he replied petulantly.

"But there is something important I have to tell you, Snape. It's about the young lady at the Goodge Street office who acts as a sort of special co-ordinator."

"Lupin, I have no interest whatsoever in your romantic escapades," Snape replied with a bored expression.

"No, no, you misunderstand. She's named Morgan LaFay, and I'm pretty sure she's a witch."

Snape was instantly alarmed. "One of ours? Or one of Voldemort's?"

"If she's one of ours she seemed to have no idea who I was, and I think even one of Voldemort's people might have recognized me. No, I think she's an adept of the Mundane dimension. She might not even be aware of her powers. But I certainly caught a whiff of them as soon as she shook hands with me."

"Well, the name is certainly a big coincidence. I hope you're bloody well doing everything you can to find out who the hell she is! If she's a Death Eater plant this compromises our entire plan."

"If she's one of ours and she's registered with the Ministry, I can have Hermione find out for us. Otherwise I'm not sure what channels I could go through to find out who she is," Lupin replied, too calmly for Snape's liking

Snape's heart sank. Without his presence things seemed to be getting out of control. "I need to be there, Lupin. There are too many unknown factors at work here. How soon can you get me that passport?" 

"Ah, Severus, we've been over and over that," Remus sighed. "You need to stay where you are. Am I not keeping you informed?"

"I'm not sure I can trust you to deal with this as thoroughly as I would." Snape hissed; a vein in his temple began twitching uncontrollably. He took a breath and tried to calm himself. For the time being he'd just have to let Lupin get on with it. His co-conspirator was clearly ducking the entire issue of the passport, and without it, he was stuck where he was. He was going to have to think of a way to obtain one on his own, or contact Walsh's himself and have it sent directly to him. For that he would need a telephone number or address... but how to obtain that?

For the moment, he decided it was best to change the subject rather than arouse Lupin's suspicions. "So, have you contacted Devani yet? And how is the search for Plotkin going?"

"I spoke with Hermione Granger yesterday. She's going through the Ministry records looking for last known addresses. She's to report to me tomorrow."

"And exactly what good is that going to do? If they have vanished they aren't likely to have informed the Ministry of their whereabouts." Snape replied in a voice brimming with sarcasm.

"It will at least give me a place to start."

"I told you where I thought they were. Why don't you start there?"

"Do you intend for me to conduct this search on my own? Am I not rather busy plotting and scheming on your behalf?"

Snape's reply was an exasperated sigh. "Get someone you trust to assist you then, if you must."

"I thought that was what I was doing, by asking Miss Granger to look them up. At any rate let me find out what she has to report," Lupin continued. "It might all be moot... they could, as you suggested, be right under our noses. Also, I must point out that you are overlooking something quite obvious: if they have disappeared for some reason having to do with the Death Eaters, Albus might very well know where they are hiding, and why. He is, after all, better informed on these matters than the Ministry is."

"We'll just keep Albus out of this for the time being, shall we?"

"I do still think we could pull this off without getting Devani and Plotkin involved. I think we'd have other willing operatives at our disposal, and these fellows are too much of an unknown quantity for my taste."

"All right, supposing we don't find them, what other recruits did you have in mind?"

"Miss Granger herself seems willing to participate in a bit of intrigue. Apparently she is quite bored with her position at the Ministry."

"Interesting choice." No one would suspect a mere girl, thought Severus. With her tendencies to be a know-it-all and a busy-body, she might be the very person to plausibly leak information to the 'wrong' party. Which reminded him -  what might her former classmate, the very conflicted young Mr. Malfoy, be up to?

"Now let's see then, who else can we ask? What about Malfoy?" Snape added innocently.

"Who? Lucius? God, man, you know he's been a dedicated Death Eater for years," Remus replied, aghast.

"No, no, not Lucius… his son, Draco."

"Ah yes, I seem to recall his allegiances were as yet undecided when he graduated."

"I should say he's pretty well decided now. In spite of my rather strenuous attempts to influence him to the contrary, he has followed his father's wishes and joined the ranks of the Death Eaters, much to my despair. He's reportedly operating undercover in London, and living somewhere in the vicinity of Knockturn Alley."

"You're better informed than I, then, but now that you mention him I think I spotted him today in the Leaky Cauldron. I had quite forgotten that in all the excitement."

"Really?" Snape asked with a hint of satisfaction. For once he knew something Lupin did not. "Potter and Weasley have had their eye on him for ages. Seems he's becoming a bit of a key player, and something of a golden haired boy." The last statement was an embellishment; he actually knew no such thing. But he had inferred from something Potter and Weasley had said when they appeared at Hogwarts on the eve of his and Nora's departure that Draco had been involved somehow in an imminent Death Eater intrusion. They had been watching for signs: when Malfoy had gone on the move, they had followed. It stood to reason that if they had been watching him it was with good cause.

"So what exactly did you have in mind for him?" Lupin asked.

"I'm thinking, being young and a bit on the impressionable side, that we just might be able to use him without his knowledge!"

"Use him? How?"

"By selling him a bill of goods to pass along to Voldemort about the Mundane Dimension, you nit! Have you not been paying attention?" Snape asked in exasperation.

"Naturally, but it just took me by surprise that you would think of using someone so young and inexperienced. I would hardly think Voldemort would trust any information young Malfoy might bring him."

"Why not, especially if it's something he would dearly want to hear? And I'm thinking that Hermione might be the right person to feed him disinformation"

"Oh dear!" groaned Lupin. "I wonder how she'll feel about doing that."

NEXT: Nora Has Her Say

A/N

Things were a bit more reasonable this week so I found some time to write, and fix a plot problem that's been plaguing me since before Christmas. THAT chapter won't be posted until I've written a few more, but until then, here's another installment! I hope it partially answers a few questions... and maybe raises a few new ones.

Cheers!

-Grey Lady