Chapter 6- Suspicion
That night Anaka sat up in her bed, staring out a nearby window. She couldn't understand the way she was feeling. The day had gone great with the exception of the Self-Defense class. Yet Anaka just did not feel right. The girl next to her snored loudly and Anaka lay back on her bed with a sigh. She knew why she didn't want to sleep, that was an easy question to answer. For the past month, Anaka had been having recurring nightmares about her mother. Seeing her die repeatedly with no way to stop it and then having the wolf turn on her. Every night they grew more vivid and she woke up with a horrible pain in her arm.
If only she could talk to someone! Only she couldn't talk to her father about it, he was the cause of her nightmares! Talking to Harry, Ron, and Hermione was also out of the question. Even though she was reluctant to admit it she just wasn't as close to them as she had thought she was. She felt like they were barely still friends, things just weren't the same. Too much had happened. She couldn't talk to John, Leslie, or anyone else at Hogwarts. They wouldn't understand! They would tell her to take it easy and comfort her like a little girl. If only George was here, she thought gloomily. He was the only one she felt she could talk to and have him speak to her honestly.
Quietly she climbed out of bed and opened her trunk. Taking out a piece of paper and a quill Anaka started to write. She didn't think about how she would reach George, she just wrote. By the time she was done, Anaka decided to send it to Mrs. Weasly first and ask her to kindly forward it to George.
She returned to her bed and stuck the letter on her dresser. I'll do it in the morning, she resolved and then settled in to sleep, preparing herself for another night of torture.
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Leslie was sleeping when a loud thunk awoke her. Naturally, she was out of bed with her glasses on in no time ready for action. The thunk came again and Leslie turned to the window in her room. There on the perch outside was a small barn owl wearing a small pendant around its neck and a letter in its beak. Her heart jumped when she saw it and she quickly opened the window. The owl dropped the letter in her hand. Leslie quickly shut the window as the owl flew away. Slowly she lit a candle on her desk and sat down to open the letter. The seal on the letter was that of the American Ministry. It worried her that they were contacting her so soon. Contrary to the belief of the Ministry of Magic here in England, the American Ministry would not have let Leslie come here without giving her a job to do. She was on an extremely important mission, one she didn't like one bit. Why did she ever agree to work for them when she returned to the States?
Carefully she opened the letter and read the contents. Her stomach lurched. How could they ask her to do this? Of course, she could refuse but what then? Return to the Ministry here? They probably would kindly hire her to work against Voldemort and then fire her when her job was done. The Ministry here was just as devious as the one in America. Weren't all government like organizations?
Leslie reread the letter and then held it to the flame of the candle. It burned quickly to ash that Leslie swept into a garbage pail. Tomorrow was the day she had to start putting everything in motion and her life would become even more difficult. She thought of what could happen if she was caught or if Severus or Remus found out. She was risking many friendships for this job.
"That's what you get for breaking the first rule of a spy," she mumbled bitterly, "Don't get close to any body. Don't create attachments that could get in the way…."
*******************************************************
Dumbledore sat in a small waiting room at the Ministry of Magic, looking most unhappy. Sitting to either side of him was Severus Snape and Leslie Brand. At his feet sat a large black dog. This morning their had been an urgent owl from Cornelius Fudge asking to see him and Severus. Only a few minutes later there was another owl from the American Ambassador asking to see Leslie. Dumbledore was not happy that two of his professors were being taking away from their students. Along the way a large black dog had joined them. Dumbledore hadn't had time to ask it why.
A tall blonde wizard approached them and Dumbledore gave him a cold look. The man took a deep breath.
"We're sorry to keep you waiting so long Headmaster Dumbledore," he stuttered.
"I wasn't the only one waiting," he replied coolly.
"Oh, I apologize Professors Snape, Brand," he said glancing at them nervously, "Fudge will see you and Professor Snape now Headmaster. Mr. Diqui will still be a few minutes I'm afraid Professor Brand.
Leslie smiled at the man.
"That's alright, I'll wait here," she replied. She watched Dumbledore and Severus follow the man into an office. The black dog started after them and then stopped. He came back to Leslie and looked up at her.
"It's alright super dog, I don't expect you to keep me company," she said quietly. The dog growled slightly and then headed towards the office Dumbledore and Snape had entered.
Leslie was left waiting a few minutes before the tall secretary returned.
"Mr. Diqui will see you now," he said.
Leslie nodded and followed him to another office a few doors down from the one the others had entered. Once inside with the door closed Diqui smiled grimly at her and started talking.
"I think you like this idea of the American's as much as I do," he whispered. Leslie sat in a chair and moved close to the desk he was sitting behind.
"Tom, how can we go through with this?" she asked.
"How can we not?" he retorted, "I know this is bad. Believe me the last thing I want to do is betray the people I've been working with for three years. However, the A.M.M thinks the E.M.M is hiding something. So I looked."
"And?" Leslie asked anxiously. Tom handed her two folders filled with papers.
"You might want to read these. The Ministry isn't in as bad a shape as they want us to think. However, they're also in a much worse situation then we thought. I wrote a small proposition I'd like you to read and send to the A.M.M. If you agree with it I'd appreciate it if you'd write to them yourself."
"I'll take a look," she murmured stuffing the folders in her coat, "now can you point me in the direction of room 360?"
Diqui turned pale.
"Why?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you Tom."
"But…that's where Fudge keeps his things. It's under some tough spells to unlock. It'll take you ages!"
"Not if you have the key," Leslie replied with a half smile. Tom nodded and stood.
"Follow me."
Leslie followed him out of the room. She couldn't help but notice the black dog that was lazily walking in the opposite direction as them. She knew she should have told Tom that the dog might have overheard but then she'd have to reveal who he was and the whole thing would be a big mess. I'll deal with him later, Leslie thought as they reached the room.
*************************************************************
Anaka was only listening partly to what Harry, Ron, and Hermione were talking about during breakfast. She was starting to rethink sending her letter to George. What if he had a job now? Would he want to be bothered with her? She was too preoccupied to notice a certain owl swoop down in front of her. When it landed on her food with a loud shriek it had her full attention. She glanced at the familiar owl and smiled. Anaka stroked it gently and it made a pleased noise.
"That doesn't look like your owl," Ron said with a confused look.
The owl turned to him and snatched a piece of bread off his plate.
"Hey!" Ron cried. Anaka laughed.
"Dear, play nice or else," she teased. The owl flew to the floor and the other students gasped as the owl changed to a handsome young man with a familiar face.
"Or else what?" he laughed. Anaka jumped from her seat and hugged him. Ron glowered unconsciously at the scene. Only when he noticed Hermione eyeing him did he realize what he was doing and stop.
"Old habit," he muttered. Together Anaka and John sat down forcing Ron further down the bench.
"You owe me a piece of bread Muffin Man," Ron growled. John smiled at him.
"I missed you to Ronald Weasly," he replied.
"What are you doing here John?" Anaka asked.
"I couldn't stand another minute without you," he said smoothly.
"Well how are you? How did you like New York?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, anything new about Abaron? Have you spoken to your parents?" Hermione pressed.
John frowned at the last question but then regained his composure with a bright smile.
"I doubt I'll be able to tell you everything now but we can finish during lunch," he started.
***********************************************************
"I know you're upset Severus but we cannot ignore what Sirius overheard," Dumbledore said calmly. Severus on the other hand was finding it very hard to remain calm. Sirius sat smugly in the chair next to him. God if I could just kill him, Severus thought murderously.
"It's true. Leslie is working as a spy against us! She's with the American Ministry now and they don't trust us so they sent their lovely little Leslie to spy on us," Sirius sneered.
"I don't believe it and there's nothing you can say that will make me!" Severus snapped. Dumbledore stared at them both in silence.
"If it's true," Dumbledore started. Severus was about to protest but Dumbledore raised a hand to silence him.
"If it's true that doesn't mean Leslie's an enemy. She's following orders. It's not her fault. Anyway, who says the A.M.M is wrong to be suspicious? After all they're in a tough situation with everything going on in the world and now with Voldemort acting up they have to wonder what we're doing."
"Well what are you going to do about it?" Sirius demanded.
"Nothing," his gaze rested on the both of them for a minute, "for now. Don't try to confront Leslie. I don't want you telling anyone about this. Not even Remus."
His gaze rested on Sirius who shifted uncomfortably.
"You can both go," Dumbledore sighed. Severus stood quickly and stalked out of the room. As much as Sirius wanted to rub this in Snape's face he held himself back. He had known all along that Leslie was bad news and even though he knew Dumbledore thought it was better to keep this from Remus he didn't agree. The sooner he got over her the better.
That night Anaka sat up in her bed, staring out a nearby window. She couldn't understand the way she was feeling. The day had gone great with the exception of the Self-Defense class. Yet Anaka just did not feel right. The girl next to her snored loudly and Anaka lay back on her bed with a sigh. She knew why she didn't want to sleep, that was an easy question to answer. For the past month, Anaka had been having recurring nightmares about her mother. Seeing her die repeatedly with no way to stop it and then having the wolf turn on her. Every night they grew more vivid and she woke up with a horrible pain in her arm.
If only she could talk to someone! Only she couldn't talk to her father about it, he was the cause of her nightmares! Talking to Harry, Ron, and Hermione was also out of the question. Even though she was reluctant to admit it she just wasn't as close to them as she had thought she was. She felt like they were barely still friends, things just weren't the same. Too much had happened. She couldn't talk to John, Leslie, or anyone else at Hogwarts. They wouldn't understand! They would tell her to take it easy and comfort her like a little girl. If only George was here, she thought gloomily. He was the only one she felt she could talk to and have him speak to her honestly.
Quietly she climbed out of bed and opened her trunk. Taking out a piece of paper and a quill Anaka started to write. She didn't think about how she would reach George, she just wrote. By the time she was done, Anaka decided to send it to Mrs. Weasly first and ask her to kindly forward it to George.
She returned to her bed and stuck the letter on her dresser. I'll do it in the morning, she resolved and then settled in to sleep, preparing herself for another night of torture.
***********************************************************
Leslie was sleeping when a loud thunk awoke her. Naturally, she was out of bed with her glasses on in no time ready for action. The thunk came again and Leslie turned to the window in her room. There on the perch outside was a small barn owl wearing a small pendant around its neck and a letter in its beak. Her heart jumped when she saw it and she quickly opened the window. The owl dropped the letter in her hand. Leslie quickly shut the window as the owl flew away. Slowly she lit a candle on her desk and sat down to open the letter. The seal on the letter was that of the American Ministry. It worried her that they were contacting her so soon. Contrary to the belief of the Ministry of Magic here in England, the American Ministry would not have let Leslie come here without giving her a job to do. She was on an extremely important mission, one she didn't like one bit. Why did she ever agree to work for them when she returned to the States?
Carefully she opened the letter and read the contents. Her stomach lurched. How could they ask her to do this? Of course, she could refuse but what then? Return to the Ministry here? They probably would kindly hire her to work against Voldemort and then fire her when her job was done. The Ministry here was just as devious as the one in America. Weren't all government like organizations?
Leslie reread the letter and then held it to the flame of the candle. It burned quickly to ash that Leslie swept into a garbage pail. Tomorrow was the day she had to start putting everything in motion and her life would become even more difficult. She thought of what could happen if she was caught or if Severus or Remus found out. She was risking many friendships for this job.
"That's what you get for breaking the first rule of a spy," she mumbled bitterly, "Don't get close to any body. Don't create attachments that could get in the way…."
*******************************************************
Dumbledore sat in a small waiting room at the Ministry of Magic, looking most unhappy. Sitting to either side of him was Severus Snape and Leslie Brand. At his feet sat a large black dog. This morning their had been an urgent owl from Cornelius Fudge asking to see him and Severus. Only a few minutes later there was another owl from the American Ambassador asking to see Leslie. Dumbledore was not happy that two of his professors were being taking away from their students. Along the way a large black dog had joined them. Dumbledore hadn't had time to ask it why.
A tall blonde wizard approached them and Dumbledore gave him a cold look. The man took a deep breath.
"We're sorry to keep you waiting so long Headmaster Dumbledore," he stuttered.
"I wasn't the only one waiting," he replied coolly.
"Oh, I apologize Professors Snape, Brand," he said glancing at them nervously, "Fudge will see you and Professor Snape now Headmaster. Mr. Diqui will still be a few minutes I'm afraid Professor Brand.
Leslie smiled at the man.
"That's alright, I'll wait here," she replied. She watched Dumbledore and Severus follow the man into an office. The black dog started after them and then stopped. He came back to Leslie and looked up at her.
"It's alright super dog, I don't expect you to keep me company," she said quietly. The dog growled slightly and then headed towards the office Dumbledore and Snape had entered.
Leslie was left waiting a few minutes before the tall secretary returned.
"Mr. Diqui will see you now," he said.
Leslie nodded and followed him to another office a few doors down from the one the others had entered. Once inside with the door closed Diqui smiled grimly at her and started talking.
"I think you like this idea of the American's as much as I do," he whispered. Leslie sat in a chair and moved close to the desk he was sitting behind.
"Tom, how can we go through with this?" she asked.
"How can we not?" he retorted, "I know this is bad. Believe me the last thing I want to do is betray the people I've been working with for three years. However, the A.M.M thinks the E.M.M is hiding something. So I looked."
"And?" Leslie asked anxiously. Tom handed her two folders filled with papers.
"You might want to read these. The Ministry isn't in as bad a shape as they want us to think. However, they're also in a much worse situation then we thought. I wrote a small proposition I'd like you to read and send to the A.M.M. If you agree with it I'd appreciate it if you'd write to them yourself."
"I'll take a look," she murmured stuffing the folders in her coat, "now can you point me in the direction of room 360?"
Diqui turned pale.
"Why?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you Tom."
"But…that's where Fudge keeps his things. It's under some tough spells to unlock. It'll take you ages!"
"Not if you have the key," Leslie replied with a half smile. Tom nodded and stood.
"Follow me."
Leslie followed him out of the room. She couldn't help but notice the black dog that was lazily walking in the opposite direction as them. She knew she should have told Tom that the dog might have overheard but then she'd have to reveal who he was and the whole thing would be a big mess. I'll deal with him later, Leslie thought as they reached the room.
*************************************************************
Anaka was only listening partly to what Harry, Ron, and Hermione were talking about during breakfast. She was starting to rethink sending her letter to George. What if he had a job now? Would he want to be bothered with her? She was too preoccupied to notice a certain owl swoop down in front of her. When it landed on her food with a loud shriek it had her full attention. She glanced at the familiar owl and smiled. Anaka stroked it gently and it made a pleased noise.
"That doesn't look like your owl," Ron said with a confused look.
The owl turned to him and snatched a piece of bread off his plate.
"Hey!" Ron cried. Anaka laughed.
"Dear, play nice or else," she teased. The owl flew to the floor and the other students gasped as the owl changed to a handsome young man with a familiar face.
"Or else what?" he laughed. Anaka jumped from her seat and hugged him. Ron glowered unconsciously at the scene. Only when he noticed Hermione eyeing him did he realize what he was doing and stop.
"Old habit," he muttered. Together Anaka and John sat down forcing Ron further down the bench.
"You owe me a piece of bread Muffin Man," Ron growled. John smiled at him.
"I missed you to Ronald Weasly," he replied.
"What are you doing here John?" Anaka asked.
"I couldn't stand another minute without you," he said smoothly.
"Well how are you? How did you like New York?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, anything new about Abaron? Have you spoken to your parents?" Hermione pressed.
John frowned at the last question but then regained his composure with a bright smile.
"I doubt I'll be able to tell you everything now but we can finish during lunch," he started.
***********************************************************
"I know you're upset Severus but we cannot ignore what Sirius overheard," Dumbledore said calmly. Severus on the other hand was finding it very hard to remain calm. Sirius sat smugly in the chair next to him. God if I could just kill him, Severus thought murderously.
"It's true. Leslie is working as a spy against us! She's with the American Ministry now and they don't trust us so they sent their lovely little Leslie to spy on us," Sirius sneered.
"I don't believe it and there's nothing you can say that will make me!" Severus snapped. Dumbledore stared at them both in silence.
"If it's true," Dumbledore started. Severus was about to protest but Dumbledore raised a hand to silence him.
"If it's true that doesn't mean Leslie's an enemy. She's following orders. It's not her fault. Anyway, who says the A.M.M is wrong to be suspicious? After all they're in a tough situation with everything going on in the world and now with Voldemort acting up they have to wonder what we're doing."
"Well what are you going to do about it?" Sirius demanded.
"Nothing," his gaze rested on the both of them for a minute, "for now. Don't try to confront Leslie. I don't want you telling anyone about this. Not even Remus."
His gaze rested on Sirius who shifted uncomfortably.
"You can both go," Dumbledore sighed. Severus stood quickly and stalked out of the room. As much as Sirius wanted to rub this in Snape's face he held himself back. He had known all along that Leslie was bad news and even though he knew Dumbledore thought it was better to keep this from Remus he didn't agree. The sooner he got over her the better.
