Veritas
Part One: Dawning on the Horizon
Chapter Seven - Gathering
Remus Lupin wandered through the corridors of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. The windows were boarded up, but the place was much cleaner than it had been in years. All kinds of memorabilia from the Black family had been taken down and tossed. The place was more empty than it had ever been. There were blank spaces where pictures and tapestries used to hang. The furniture had been reupholstered. The effort to clean out the house was an enormous task that was taken up various members of the Order of the Phoenix.
Number 12 Grimmauld Place had been the ancestral home of the Black family, but with the death of Sirius Black, the house now belonged to someone else. Sirius Black had left a will. The house now belonged to his godson, Harry Potter, along with all the assets that Sirius had left behind. Harry had turned over control of the house to Albus Dumbledore. The extra money was also used to fix up the house, but there was still quite a bit left over. The house that was once a testimony to the Dark Arts, and the idea of purebloods being superior beings, was now the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
Remus Lupin spent a good amount of his time taking down all the things that his best friend hated. He had taken down all of the family pictures and put ones of the Order in place. He had put in pictures of the Potters, which Harry had approved of. Sirius had been considered a member of the Potter family, even before Harry had been born. Number 12 Grimmauld Place looked nothing like it had last year.
A lot of work had gone into taking all the Dark Art relics out of the house and destroying them. The heads of the house elves had been taken down, which caused the last house elf, Kreacher, to die. His little house elf heart had stopped suddenly. The only people present at the time were Remus and Tonks. Neither of them made a move to revive the elf. It was just as well. He was the one who held up their efforts. And if that had not killed him, learning that Harry was now the owner of the house would have.
Remus was having a cup of tea when he heard the sound of crashing in the hall. He smiled without moving from his seat. He could hear the sound of soft, deep laughter. "I'm sorry!" exclaimed a female voice. "I'll fix it!" This was followed by sound of another crash. "I'm so sorry."
Remus continued to enjoy his tea until a tall, black, bald man with a gold hoop earring showed up with a young woman. At this particular moment, her hair was long and blonde. Her eyes were the aqua colored. "How are things going, Remus?" asked the man as he took a seat.
"Have some tea, Kingsley," offered Remus. "You, too, Tonks."
"Don't mind if I do," said Tonks as she took a seat. Remus poured tea for both of them.
"Cream? Sugar? Honey?" asked Remus. Kingsley held up his hand as an answer. "I would like some cream and sugar," answered Tonks.
The sounds of more people Apparating came did not bother the tea drinkers. Their voices were heard loud and clear. Eventually, they strolled into the kitchen. The house got livelier as more people arrived. However, the sound of the voices had stopped suddenly, causing some alarm for Remus, Tonks, and Kingsley. They stood up and went to the living to see what was wrong.
They stopped when they saw the uninvited guest. The uninvited guest was Percy Weasley. Arthur was trying to explain. "He has information that the Order may need."
Alastor Moody was not very convinced. He rounded on Percy, looking at him carefully. His magical eyeball settling on the young man. Percy did not so much as flinch. "I'm not so sure about that," said Moody. "Can we trust him?"
Molly was the one who stepped in to answer that question, "He's my son. I think I know whether or not he can be trusted." She stood in front of Percy protectively as she had done when he had first reappeared at the Burrow. Percy wisely decided to say nothing. It was better to leave his mother to fight for him.
"You're a good judge of that. Your opinion is obviously biased," growled Moody. "I say we give him some Veritaserum." Percy's face remained stony. He was well trained and could handle this. Moody studied him carefully.
"I'll take anything you can throw at me," whispered Percy. He concentrated again, focusing his eyes on Moody. He could read Moody's magical energy. His reading was stronger than the others he had seen, which was unsurprising.
"I think that will be unnecessary," said a quiet, firm voice. Percy looked past Moody and saw Albus Dumbledore. "Welcome, Percy."
"Thank you, Professor," said Percy. The magical energy he could see from Dumbledore blinded. It was so strong that Percy had to stop the reading. He pulled back involuntarily, startling Moody. "Watch it!" he exclaimed.
"I'm sorry," muttered Percy. He could feel his ears getting red as he looked around the room. He turned on the lenses again. He had to record more readings as they continued to stare at him. "Look, you can have the information you want since I'm here. You can wipe my memory clean afterwards, if you want."
"Why are you so eager to give us this information?" demanded Moody. His magical eye whirled around in its socket before settling again on him.
"I have my reasons," answered Percy quietly. "If you don't want the information, then I've wasted my time."
"Enough," said Dumbledore as he held up his hand. He gazed at Percy as if to judge him. "We do not turn away those who belong here, Percy. You made your choice. The meeting will begin in fifteen minutes. I have some other business to take care of."
All the chairs had already been put out for the meeting. Percy scanned the room again. He spotted his old Transfiguration teacher, Professor Minerva McGonagall. She was chatting with the Aurors. Percy could record more readings. "You're to wait in the other room," order Molly to Ron, Harry, Hermione, and Ginny.
"Why can't we stay?" argued Ron. "Shouldn't Harry be here?"
"He will be told at the end of the meeting what needs to be done," snapped Molly.
"This isn't fair. Percy's never been here before, but he gets to stay," said Ginny. "We were in the Department of Mysteries just weeks ago, and you're still keeping us out of the meetings."
"I think we should stay," said Harry.
"You know that we're going to figure it out eventually," said Hermione.
Molly looked at each and everyone of them. Percy thought that she was losing ground with them. He didn't say anything. The old Percy would have given an opinion without being asked.
"Just leave them," said Charlie as he capped Percy's shoulder.
"Yes, it's going to take Mum a while to get them to clear off. I think that's why Dumbledore gave us fifteen minutes," said Bill. "Come with us."
Percy followed his brothers. It was odd being in the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. He was conscious of the fact that he was an outsider, even though he was welcomed. He spotted someone who had just arrived. It was Severus Snape, Hogwart's Potions Master. His dark eyes settled on Percy.
"Let's go. I can't stand him," hissed Bill. "We'll go back to the kitchen to get some tea." Percy had little choice, but to follow them for the moment.
Tonks looked at up at them. She was pouring herself a cup of tea again. "Hello Percy. I was wondering when you'd join us," she said brightly. "I see you in the Ministry all the time. Where have you been the past few days."
"I got some time off," said Percy. "The Minister said I was overworked."
"Then, it's a stroke of luck again. You decided to join us because Fudge made you take time off. Don't worry about it. You won't have to worry about that here," said Charlie with a grin. "Hey, by the way, did you know that Bill is dating Fleur Delacour?"
Percy had heard of that, but he pretended that it was the first time he had heard the news. "Oh. Wasn't she one of the champions in the Triwizard Tournament?"
"Yes, you remember her," insisted Bill. "She was the Beauxbaton champion."
Percy nodded. He remembered her. She was the stuck up half Veela. He did not like her very much. She kept using her looks to catch the attention of the boys during the Yule Ball. Percy could not help, but be a little disappointed in Bill's choice. He never thought that Bill would be that shallow. Then, something came to him, seeing Bill triggered something in his memory.
Sidney Nelsen. Percy could remember now her more clearly now. She had been Bill's girlfriend in Hogwarts. A more worthy woman in Percy's mind. He found her to be more stunning and radiant than Fleur Delacour. However, Percy knew better than to mention his handler.
"What's wrong?" asked Charlie with concern as he looked at Percy. Apparently, he had been staring into space for a while. "No. Nothing is wrong," answered Percy as he shook his head.
"You look like something's bothering you," said Bill. Percy stared at him. He remembered how much Bill had cared for Sidney and their sudden breakup. Charlie had told Percy not to say anything to their family about it because it was up to Bill to say something. He never did. That was how Percy could have forgotten so easily. A thought struck Percy again.
Joining the Veritas, required sacrificing one's self as a sign of loyalty. Percy now understood why Sidney's relationship with Bill had ended so abruptly. He made a mental note not to mention Bill to her. It was more important to keep their focus. "I'm fine," said Percy. "I just don't know what to say half the time. That's all."
"The meeting's starting now," said Tonks, hearing the sounds of chairs being moved. "Let's go."
They walked to the living room. Percy took a seat next to Bill and Charlie who sat on another part of the room away from their parents. Seeing the absence of the children, Percy knew that his mother had successfully convinced them to wait in another room. Fred and George were sitting with their parents.
"We will start this meeting by introducing a new arrival," said Dumbledore. "Please Percy stand up." Percy got to his feet. He was under a lot of pressure to make a good impression. "This is Percy Weasley, the third son of Arthur and Molly Weasley. He is currently an employee at the Ministry of Magic. He is the junior assissant to Minister Cornelius Fudge."
"He has come here today because he had information that we might consider important. However, we would like to extend a real welcome to him. Please tell us what you know."
Percy looked around him. He swallowed. "A report came in last year just before Harry Potter's hearing at the Ministry of Magic. A numbers man from the Department of Magical Catastrophes submitted predictions of what would happen if Voldemort regained his original strength based on the past death toll." He paused for a moment to survey the room. Each person looked a little worried or more alert than they did before he started speaking. "The prediction for London alone is 10,000. That's just the wizards."
"What did Fudge do with the information?" demanded Moody.
"He told me to destroy the information," replied Percy.
"Did you destroy it?" asked his father.
"No," answered Percy after taking a deep breath. "I couldn't smuggle the files out of the Ministry. Instead, I hid it in my office. It should still be there. I haven't seen it since then."
The employees from the Ministry looked at each other. Bill and Charlie betrayed looks of surprise. Fred and George looked even more shocked than Bill and Charlie. They would not have imagined Percy could be so sneaky. They don't know the half of it.
"If I could figure out a way to bring the information, I would," continued Percy. "I knew for a year. I thought that the Ministry would be able to handle it. I thought as long as I did my job it wouldn't get out of control. I was wrong. I kept quiet for a while, but with You-Know-Who back. I couldn't. The Minister is unsurprisingly inept."
Fred and George choked down their laughter. "He was willing to deny the existence of You-Know-Who, and put innocent people's lives on the line to keep his job when he should have been doing his duty to us." Percy's anger and disgust was blatant.
"When did you start feeling this way?" asked Molly. "When did you start doing this? You went on to say some more horrible things after that."
"I wanted you to stay out of it," answered Percy. "It wasn't safe in the Ministry of Magic. I didn't want anyone to worry. I saw Lucius Malfoy go in and out of Minister Fudge's office. No doubt, he was taking some charitable donations. They had a few meetings during the year. I documented the dates and the meeting times."
"You seem a little too efficient," growled Moody. "A little too eager."
"Then wipe my memory clean," said Percy as he squared his shoulders. His tone was no longer humbling, but challenging. He could read Moody like a book. He knew if he kept challenging him, Moody would eventually back off. Percy had studied everyone in the short amount of time he had been there. He could already tell a lot about them.
"That won't be necessary," Dumbledore intervened. "As I have said you are welcomed to join us. You seem to be very disappointed in the Minister."
"You have no idea, Professor," said Percy as he took a seat.
"Let us move on to other business. Bill Weasley has just returned from Egypt recently and has a report," said Dumbledore.
Bill stood up and gave his report. He talked about meeting the stranger in the desert and about the mysterious orb that was in vault 206. He had concluded by saying that the bank has not determine what the orb was or what its function was.
During Bill's report, Percy figured out what was going on. Dennis had told Percy to wait and find out for himself about what happened in Egypt. "His name was Asmodeus. Other than that I don't know much else," concluded Bill. "The only thing I know is that the orb was probably made in Egypt."
The members of the Order started asking questions, while Percy silently sat there. He knew more about what was going on than anyone else, but he did not want to look it. However, he decided to interrupt. "You say that you don't know much else about Asmodeus?"
"Yes, Percy," answered Bill.
"You know more than you think," said Percy quietly. "Recreate the vision you saw in your mind. You'll find that you know more than you think."
Fred snorted, "You never took Divination in school. How would you know?" Percy locked gazes with him again and won a quick staring contest. "As I was saying," continued Percy, "there's probably more in your mind than what you think you remember. Like how was he dressed? Did he speak with an accent? Did he have any strange habits like shifting his eyes around as if he was looking for trouble? Things like that."
Kingsley and Tonks appeared to be mildly impressed by him. "Are you sure you're not an Auror?" asked Tonks.
"No, I'm not. Just a student of human nature," answered Percy.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," said Dumbledore quietly. "Your mind has always been quite agile, Percy." There was no way anyone could predict what Dumbledore was thinking at that moment. He did not sound that impressed nor surprised. He seemed to be expecting it.
"I'm not that good," said Percy truthfully. "It's just that being exposed to more people helps one learn to become more observant, Professor."
Bill looked thoughtful for a moment. He said, "There was something. Like I said, he did magic without a wand, but there was something in his walk. I couldn't tell because of his clothes, but he was very athletic. I can't describe it. When he said he was only delivering the orb, it looked like he didn't know what was going on either. It was the way his accent changed. Yes. His accent changed. He had a British accent, but it was hidden by his Egyptian accent. He was also right-handed. Yes, he was right handed because his dagger was on his left side."
"It's not much," said Severus Snape suddenly in a quiet voice. "I can tell you one thing. The Dark Lord doesn't know what's going on. At least the Death Eaters haven't mentioned it yet."
Percy's ears perked up. He was going to have a lot to report. The Order settled down again, ready to hear what Severus Snape had to report. Percy knew that the Veritas already had information on the Death Eaters. However, he was interested in knowing which information the Order found relevant.
Severus Snape looked at all the eyes on him before speaking. During that time, Percy focused again to activate the lenses and recorded the readings off him. He turned it off as soon as he was satisfied. He decided that studying Snape more closely would garner important information. He did not have a quill nor parchment to make notes, so Percy was going to have to remember the most important details.
"As I was saying, the Dark Lord doesn't know about the orb. He has no idea that it exists. His movements have been very secretive lately. Since Harry Potter has mastered Occlumency, we haven't been able to determine his emotions or thoughts. He is calling a meeting this summer as well. I think we'll be coming up with a way to assist the Death Eaters currently in Azkaban as well as recruit new members."
Percy noticed the way Snape kept his arms at his sides. He did not make the normal hand gestures that most people did in conversation. In fact, Snape had the edge of his left sleeve clutched. He looked tired and paler than Percy had ever seen him. His exhaustion was not as obvious as Minister Fudge's. He was a man who was precariously on the edge. In a way, Percy could relate to the way Snape was feeling. They were both living double lives, trying to keep a balance between the parts that they were playing and their true selves.
"Do you know who the possible recruits are, Severus?" asked Dumbledore.
"Not as of yet, Professor Dumbledore," answered Severus with a shake of his head. "I do know that he is looking for a connection into the Ministry. I think that he would have left the ones that were captured in Azkaban to rot, but they're loyal to him. He doesn't have enough followers. Still, we shouldn't underestimate him."
"That was the mistake the majority of the wizarding world has made," said Dumbledore. "However, I hope that we can all get together and stand together as one. There are other groups out there. Ones that could easily rival us."
"I've heard of one that is quite powerful," said Moody. "They are called the Veritas. That's all. It could be just a rumor."
"I've never heard of that," said Kingsley. "The Aurors would know about that sort of thing."
"The Minister hasn't got any information on them," agreed Percy mildly. "Then again, the Ministry doesn't really know much about the Order."
"What has the Veritas been known to do?" asked Tonks. "What are they capable of?"
Dumbledore's eyes sparkled. "I have no idea. I have heard of them. I do not even know if they are on our side. Perhaps, it would be more accurate to say that they make their own side."
"A triangle," said Remus. "It's a triangle. Or it could be more than that. How long have you heard about it, Professor Dumbledore?"
"Years. Decades. It started after the fall of Grindelwald," answered Dumbledore. "There is not much I know."
Percy could see how uncomfortable they were. He could not blame them, but at the same time he derived some satisfaction from their discomfort. Percy did not feel the disturbed the slightest bit because no one would suspect him of doing anything.
A short time later, the meeting was concluded. Fred and George started to move the furniture back into its original positions. Bill and Charlie were discussing more business with other members. Arthur decided to talk to Percy, while Molly went to get the children.
"Percy, I want you to be careful," said Arthur quietly.
"I am being careful, Father. I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry," assured Percy. His words were not enough to soothe his father's worries. "You taught me how to take care of myself. If you don't trust me, then you don't trust yourself."
Arthur opened his mouth and closed it. He did not look angry. Rather, he had a sad smile on his face. "I know. I should have more faith, but this is very dangerous. The Ministry is just as much a target as any other place, if not more."
"You're there," Percy reminded him. "I'll be fine. I can handle myself. I've been doing it for a year."
Before Arthur could respond, they were interrupted by Molly and the children. "So, how'd it go?" asked Ron.
"If you must know, it went all right," answered Molly. "Why don't we all sit down for dinner? I still have to prepare it."
Percy looked away from his father. "I'm afraid I can't stay, Mother," he said softly.
"Nonsense. You're on vacation, Percy. You can stay," said Molly. "You should stay." Percy ignored the people staring at him. He really wished that she would not make it so hard him. He had to return to his flat so he could send in his report. "Please, Percy."
He sighed and looked upwards at the ceiling. "Very well. I suppose I can get sleep some other time," he relented.
"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" asked Charlie, who had turned his attention to Percy.
"No. I haven't. The Ministry of Magic is working around the clock. You know that. I come in early and leave late. I am forced to eat in my office because I don't have the time to leave, but I'm used to it. It's not much of a problem. At least it wasn't before. The Minister calls me into his office regularly now."
"I thought you looked a bit tired," said Molly worriedly. "You haven't been eating nor sleeping well. You call this taking care of yourself."
Percy knew that his mother was just worried about him. There was no need for him get so agitated or hostile. He also probably deserved the treatment he was receiving. He made her worry for a year, so she was making up for loss time. "It can't be helped, Mother. There's a war hovering over our heads. What do you expect me to do? I can't pay attention to myself as long as there's something going on out there," he said in a gentle voice.
"That's not what I meant, Percy—"
"Enough, Molly. He's right. He's an adult. He can decide what he wants to do," said Arthur. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to."
"No, I said I was staying. I'll stay," said Percy.
"Hey…wait a minute, could it be that you actually have a social life outside of this?" asked George suddenly.
Percy smirked slightly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Fred and George seemed ready to prey upon this. "Well, what are you up to?"
"Let's just say that I'm seeing someone," answered Percy, grabbing onto the excellent opportunity that George had presented to him.
"Who? Who are you seeing?" asked Molly.
"She's a musician," answered Percy casually. "She lives in London."
"A musician?" asked Ginny skeptically. "I thought you were seeing Penelope Clearwater."
"Penelope and I agreed not to see each other anymore after Hogwarts."
"What instrument does she play? What's her name?" asked Charlie.
"I'll let you figure that out," said Percy with a smile as he walked towards the kitchen.
"Hey! Wait! What else?" asked Ron as he and his siblings went after him. Percy had no idea that he was going to enjoy the assignment that much.
It took a few more hours before Percy could get away from the Order, but he did not regret staying one bit. He learned more about the members of the Order who had stayed for dinner. Percy was readily accepted into the group, but he remained an observer. The twins were still bothering him about the mysterious new woman in his life, but he was having fun with them.
Percy was one of the first leave. This time his parents made no move to stop him. He knew that they would have preferred it if he had gone home with them. Bill and Charlie had their own places in England; they didn't even live together. Percy kissed his mother goodbye before Disapparating.
Even though he was tired, Percy still had to input his report for the Veritas. He turned on his computer as he took off his glasses. He was going to have to go back to Gizmo's Lab to get the readings translated into the main database. As soon as the computer was done booting up, he went to the network, logged in, and started his report.
It took another two hours to write the report. Percy spent another hour correcting and double checking his facts. It was almost one in the morning by the time he submitted his report. He took the time to check his e-mail. There was only one message waiting for him.
Omega
I trust that everything went as planned. Please be prepared to meet with me tomorrow. I will contact you with further information.
Aura
Percy deleted the message, cleaned out his trash, and logged out. He spent his time thinking about what he had just done. The trust that he had just betrayed. It was not like Snape going to the Death Eaters. No. What Percy had done was worse.
Betrayal. It did not matter how good the other cause was. It was still betrayal. Percy's guilt was amplified by his parents', especially his mother's, ready forgiveness. The talk of the Veritas made him even more aware of the fact that no one really knew him. No one in his family knew him. He did not want to think what would happen if something bad happened to him. The cold truth would never come to them. His family would never know of his sacrifice. Percy knew that his brothers and sister thought that he was incapable of loving anyone. That was not the truth. The truth was he loved them enough to put his life on the line, even though they would never know it.
"I'm a bastard," he whispered as the screen of his laptop turned black. He stared at his reflection on the screen. It was getting harder and harder to look at himself. It was even more difficult to live with the things he had done.
He reminded himself that it was for the good of others. There were more than just 10,000 lives of wizards and witches at stake. Percy didn't tell them about all the numbers. The wizarding population was less than ten percent of the total world population.
Compared to the millions of lives at stake, Percy felt that his life was infinitesimal.
Written by kirikarin
Beta Read by IvyDragon
AN: More about the Veritas' members will come up. Percy is working very hard to keep everyone else safe at his own expense, and it's starting to show. Does Dumbledore suspect him? I'm not saying. There's still a lot of stuff that will happen. I have no idea how long this fic will be at this point. I can hardly predict these things. All I know is that things will get worse before it gets better. Percy's beliefs and strength will be tested beyond what he has just done.
I'm not completely back from my hiatus just yet, but I figured since I started working on the story again I should just update. I'm more ahead then I let on, but they're kind of like reserve chapters when I can't update.
I had to pass my Japanese class term, so I took lots of time off from this question.
kirikarin.livejournal.com
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.