Chapter 5 - Tension
The atmosphere was tense as the members of the Order of the Phoenix congregated in the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore explained the situation in a hushed voice. "After last night's excursion, Severus was not permitted to return. It appears that Lord Voldemort feels that the time has come for Severus to declare his loyalty openly. As you know, he has been working for several months now to bring us information about Voldemort's movements. Part of that work requires answering the call of the dark mark when he feels it. That is the only way to keep from arousing suspicion. He was, therefore, required to go last night, and was only able to report briefly to me, earlier this morning." No one spoke as Dumbledore paused to take a drink of the water Molly had brought to the table.
"Although he has not been able to give me any details of what Voldemort's plan is, we do know that Severus' part will take place in the heart of London, which puts him in a very accessible location. The time frame was a bit sketchy, but it appears that Severus will have to be gone quite some time. We'll need to appear surprised by this, and it will have to take us a few weeks, I think, to come up with a new Potions master. Also, after he misses his first and second class today, I will be notifying the Ministry of Magic of his disappearance, so that they will join in the hunt. It will be important not to let the Minister jump to any conclusions." At this, Dumbledore looked over the top of his glasses at Arthur Weasley and Kingsley. "We do not want to appear as if we have ANY advance information. We will, however, need to be scouring London for any sign of what is happening. Even without details, we should be able to have someone on hand when the trouble begins."
At this point, different sections of London and times were assigned to each member of the Order. It was decided that Moody would come to teach Potions, which made Muriel very nervous. Her father had worked with Moody. And she'd spent a great deal of her time in America studying painless ways to break through memory charms. She had tested those theories on herself and all her memories of her own interrogation had been revealed to her. Moody had been there, and he hadn't been very easy on her.
Monday night, Muriel sat in Severus' chair in the Potions classroom, waiting for Harry and Draco. To her surprise, they came in together. Neither one spoke at first, and they took seats on opposite sides of the classroom. She got up and approached Harry first. "Have you finished the Occlumency books in the school library?" she asked wearily. He nodded, and she pushed at him a bit, trying to see if he and Draco had spoken in the hallway. She felt him push back, just a tad and smiled. "That's an improvement. Here are the books Papa leant to Severus when he was learning. I expect you to have them read by Christmas. Then we will begin." Harry nodded again and picked up the first book.
Muriel smiled at Draco, who looked very grave, as she made her way back to the front of the room. She hadn't counted on handling the boys alone. The only reason she'd wanted to have the detention down here was so she could sit with Severus. And now he was gone. She folded her hands on the desk and rested her head on them, looking at the Occlumency book she'd opened on the desk. She had never needed to learn occlumency – a natural legilimens is a natural occlumens, after all, though her natural oclumency would never be able to block her emotions.
But that wasn't why she was reading this book. She was only reading the little notes, written in Sev's handwriting in the margins. She wondered if Potter would recognize the handwriting when she finally gave him the book. She was startled when Draco coughed delicately in front of her. "Yes, Draco?"
He looked guiltily back at Harry, who seemed to be very interested in his book. "Er – I had a letter this morning that I thought you'd want to see," he whispered, handing her an opened envelope. Muriel recognized the precise lettering immediately. She closed her eyes, grateful. Draco was already choosing the right path.
"Thank you." Draco nodded and went back to his seat. She noticed with amusement that he took the top book off Harry's stack and sat down to read it. It couldn't hurt him to learn as well. Especially if Dumbledore expected, as Muriel believed he did, that Draco would make an excellent spy. When she was sure Harry wasn't going to retaliate for the stolen book, she carefully unfolded the letter.
"My Son, I have been informed that you are to be included in the next adventure. It will occur over the Christmas Holidays. He is anxious that you should be involved. You are to pack all your things for this trip home. Do not leave anything behind. HoH sends his regards. He will also be joining us. He requests the following items be brought as well. Regards."
A second sheet revealed a list of potions ingredients, and Muriel read through them, snorting. Draco and Harry looked up. Harry looked puzzled, Draco looked afraid. She winked at him, and he relaxed. Then she went to the storeroom and took the indicated items out, placing them on Draco's desk.
"You aren't going to send him what he wants, are you?" Draco asked incredulously. Muriel met Harry's eyes. He looked worried. She could tell that he didn't trust Draco with the information she was about to give him. But then, Harry couldn't read the boy's thoughts, either.
"I'm not going to send him YOU, but read this list again, Draco and tell me what you can make with these ingredients." She handed it back to him and waited. Finally he looked up.
"The only thing he could make would be an aphrodisiac. It would just make them overconfident and – and dull witted, though they're that already." Draco was looking at her, still confused. She raised an eyebrow. Instantly he understood. He turned sharply to look at Potter, sure that he would already know. But the boy was looking at him with an inscrutable expression. Draco couldn't tell.
"Harry is aware of it." Muriel said quietly. "And now that you are as well, I suggest you get back to that book. When you finish, give it back to him, and borrow another. I want you both to rival Professor Snape when it comes to being blocks of ice, is that understood?" The boys exchanged a glance and nodded mutely.
It was less than a week later when she came upon a duel in the hallway again, this time it was Ron Weasley who had his wand in the air. Draco was holding one of her father's books, and Harry had a hand on Ron's arm.
"Mr. Weasley?" she said, in her best impression of Severus. "Might I ask you why you are about to hex Draco?" She saw the young Malfoy smirking out of the corner of her eye as Ron turned to face her. All the boys were taller than she was, but only Draco looked at ease.
"He called Hermione a mudblood again," Ron said savagely. Muriel looked around. Sure enough, Hermione Granger was standing behind Harry, looking petulant.
Muriel smirked. "Miss Granger, are your parents, in fact, muggles?" she asked, making all the boys gape at her. Even Draco hadn't thought she'd insult Hermione. The girl only nodded. Muriel noted that Ron seemed far more upset than Hermione did. That answered that question.
"I see. Miss Granger, are you not the most powerful witch in the 6th year class?" Hermione blinked at the short brunette stupidly. Gryffindor modesty, Mur supposed. She stifled a sigh. Why were Gryffindor boys so conceited when the girls were always so modest?
"Perhaps you can answer for her, Mr. Weasley?"
"Of course she is! She can do every spell we've ever learned!" he spat angrily.
"And yet you do not feel that she is capable of defending herself against a little INSULT?" Mur asked scathingly. "30 points from Gryffindor for disrespecting Miss Granger, Weasley, and detention tomorrow night in my office." She waited as Ron sputtered, watching the look on Hermione's face change to discreet satisfaction. No one liked to be treated like a porcelain doll. When he finally fell silent, glaring at her angrily, she turned to Draco.
"Care to explain why you insulted Hermione?" she asked calmly. Draco's smirk fell away abruptly.
"I only say it to get a rise out of Weasley," he mumbled quietly.
"So I gathered. 30 points from Slytherin for choosing your battles so poorly. If you want to duel Weasley that badly, then you may do so tomorrow night, during detention." Draco nodded. "Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, you are dismissed." For a moment she thought Ron might protest, but Harry pulled him away insistently. He knew she was about to make Draco apologize, and Harry for one, thought it was long overdue. He wasn't about to let Ron's temper keep it from happening.
Muriel turned back to Hermione and Draco, both of whom were looking anywhere but at each other. She waited. When Draco finally looked up at her, she raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry I called you a mudblood," he said grudgingly, looking at the girl in front of him. "If you'll promise not to call me a ferret anymore, I'll come up with a better way to get at Weasley." Muriel smiled behind her hand. That was by far the best compromise she had ever heard from a Malfoy. It was, perhaps, the ONLY compromise she'd ever heard from a Malfoy. She headed to lunch quietly. They could work it out, now. Hermione was a good deal more level headed than the Gryffindor boys would ever be.
Muriel shared Draco's letter with the Order a few days later. It relieved the tension a great deal to know, within a few days span of time, when the event would take place.
Professor Snape finally managed to contact them only 3 days before the Christmas Holiday. Lord Voldemort, tired of operating covertly to attract followers, was planning to abduct several people in key positions, most notably, Percy Weasley. Percy was still being hard headed about returning to the family. Although it had been proven to him that his parents had been correct, he was still refusing to have anything to do with them. According to Snape, the targets in question, over twenty young witches and wizards in all, were to be rounded up on Christmas Eve. Professor Dumbledore sat again at the head of the kitchen table in Headquarters, recounting everything Snape had reported to the rest of The Order.
It was decided that the school would have to be emptied for Christmas to allow the professors free movement. Professor McGonagal hurried off to see to this as they continued to come up with a way to protect Percy and the others. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley immediately sent an owl to Percy, inviting him to spend Christmas at the Burrow, but without much hope. He hadn't answered their last 2 owls at all.
Muriel had taken special care to write to Narcissa informing her that Draco would not be able to come home for the holiday, because he had already agreed to help her catalogue and sort the various dark arts objects that Quirrel and Crouch had left in the school's possession. She told Narcissa that Draco was certainly the only student who could help her with this, and she was sorry to impose but she had asked him before Lucius' letter had arrived. She made sure to sign her name legibly. Lucius and Narcissa were NOT going to be happy to find out that she was teaching their son.
She shuddered as she sat beside Remus, listening to Dumbledore and the others argue. She wondered if she ought to mention the hurried conversation she'd had with Severus the night before.
Alone in her quarters, she had cast the Legilimens curse. There had been little time. The only information she got was that he was at the Malfoys', which she already knew, and that he was nervous. It wasn't encouraging to find that Severus Snape was nervous. She decided not to tell the rest of the Order. She would catch Dumbledore later and let him know.
The atmosphere was tense as the members of the Order of the Phoenix congregated in the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place. Dumbledore explained the situation in a hushed voice. "After last night's excursion, Severus was not permitted to return. It appears that Lord Voldemort feels that the time has come for Severus to declare his loyalty openly. As you know, he has been working for several months now to bring us information about Voldemort's movements. Part of that work requires answering the call of the dark mark when he feels it. That is the only way to keep from arousing suspicion. He was, therefore, required to go last night, and was only able to report briefly to me, earlier this morning." No one spoke as Dumbledore paused to take a drink of the water Molly had brought to the table.
"Although he has not been able to give me any details of what Voldemort's plan is, we do know that Severus' part will take place in the heart of London, which puts him in a very accessible location. The time frame was a bit sketchy, but it appears that Severus will have to be gone quite some time. We'll need to appear surprised by this, and it will have to take us a few weeks, I think, to come up with a new Potions master. Also, after he misses his first and second class today, I will be notifying the Ministry of Magic of his disappearance, so that they will join in the hunt. It will be important not to let the Minister jump to any conclusions." At this, Dumbledore looked over the top of his glasses at Arthur Weasley and Kingsley. "We do not want to appear as if we have ANY advance information. We will, however, need to be scouring London for any sign of what is happening. Even without details, we should be able to have someone on hand when the trouble begins."
At this point, different sections of London and times were assigned to each member of the Order. It was decided that Moody would come to teach Potions, which made Muriel very nervous. Her father had worked with Moody. And she'd spent a great deal of her time in America studying painless ways to break through memory charms. She had tested those theories on herself and all her memories of her own interrogation had been revealed to her. Moody had been there, and he hadn't been very easy on her.
Monday night, Muriel sat in Severus' chair in the Potions classroom, waiting for Harry and Draco. To her surprise, they came in together. Neither one spoke at first, and they took seats on opposite sides of the classroom. She got up and approached Harry first. "Have you finished the Occlumency books in the school library?" she asked wearily. He nodded, and she pushed at him a bit, trying to see if he and Draco had spoken in the hallway. She felt him push back, just a tad and smiled. "That's an improvement. Here are the books Papa leant to Severus when he was learning. I expect you to have them read by Christmas. Then we will begin." Harry nodded again and picked up the first book.
Muriel smiled at Draco, who looked very grave, as she made her way back to the front of the room. She hadn't counted on handling the boys alone. The only reason she'd wanted to have the detention down here was so she could sit with Severus. And now he was gone. She folded her hands on the desk and rested her head on them, looking at the Occlumency book she'd opened on the desk. She had never needed to learn occlumency – a natural legilimens is a natural occlumens, after all, though her natural oclumency would never be able to block her emotions.
But that wasn't why she was reading this book. She was only reading the little notes, written in Sev's handwriting in the margins. She wondered if Potter would recognize the handwriting when she finally gave him the book. She was startled when Draco coughed delicately in front of her. "Yes, Draco?"
He looked guiltily back at Harry, who seemed to be very interested in his book. "Er – I had a letter this morning that I thought you'd want to see," he whispered, handing her an opened envelope. Muriel recognized the precise lettering immediately. She closed her eyes, grateful. Draco was already choosing the right path.
"Thank you." Draco nodded and went back to his seat. She noticed with amusement that he took the top book off Harry's stack and sat down to read it. It couldn't hurt him to learn as well. Especially if Dumbledore expected, as Muriel believed he did, that Draco would make an excellent spy. When she was sure Harry wasn't going to retaliate for the stolen book, she carefully unfolded the letter.
"My Son, I have been informed that you are to be included in the next adventure. It will occur over the Christmas Holidays. He is anxious that you should be involved. You are to pack all your things for this trip home. Do not leave anything behind. HoH sends his regards. He will also be joining us. He requests the following items be brought as well. Regards."
A second sheet revealed a list of potions ingredients, and Muriel read through them, snorting. Draco and Harry looked up. Harry looked puzzled, Draco looked afraid. She winked at him, and he relaxed. Then she went to the storeroom and took the indicated items out, placing them on Draco's desk.
"You aren't going to send him what he wants, are you?" Draco asked incredulously. Muriel met Harry's eyes. He looked worried. She could tell that he didn't trust Draco with the information she was about to give him. But then, Harry couldn't read the boy's thoughts, either.
"I'm not going to send him YOU, but read this list again, Draco and tell me what you can make with these ingredients." She handed it back to him and waited. Finally he looked up.
"The only thing he could make would be an aphrodisiac. It would just make them overconfident and – and dull witted, though they're that already." Draco was looking at her, still confused. She raised an eyebrow. Instantly he understood. He turned sharply to look at Potter, sure that he would already know. But the boy was looking at him with an inscrutable expression. Draco couldn't tell.
"Harry is aware of it." Muriel said quietly. "And now that you are as well, I suggest you get back to that book. When you finish, give it back to him, and borrow another. I want you both to rival Professor Snape when it comes to being blocks of ice, is that understood?" The boys exchanged a glance and nodded mutely.
It was less than a week later when she came upon a duel in the hallway again, this time it was Ron Weasley who had his wand in the air. Draco was holding one of her father's books, and Harry had a hand on Ron's arm.
"Mr. Weasley?" she said, in her best impression of Severus. "Might I ask you why you are about to hex Draco?" She saw the young Malfoy smirking out of the corner of her eye as Ron turned to face her. All the boys were taller than she was, but only Draco looked at ease.
"He called Hermione a mudblood again," Ron said savagely. Muriel looked around. Sure enough, Hermione Granger was standing behind Harry, looking petulant.
Muriel smirked. "Miss Granger, are your parents, in fact, muggles?" she asked, making all the boys gape at her. Even Draco hadn't thought she'd insult Hermione. The girl only nodded. Muriel noted that Ron seemed far more upset than Hermione did. That answered that question.
"I see. Miss Granger, are you not the most powerful witch in the 6th year class?" Hermione blinked at the short brunette stupidly. Gryffindor modesty, Mur supposed. She stifled a sigh. Why were Gryffindor boys so conceited when the girls were always so modest?
"Perhaps you can answer for her, Mr. Weasley?"
"Of course she is! She can do every spell we've ever learned!" he spat angrily.
"And yet you do not feel that she is capable of defending herself against a little INSULT?" Mur asked scathingly. "30 points from Gryffindor for disrespecting Miss Granger, Weasley, and detention tomorrow night in my office." She waited as Ron sputtered, watching the look on Hermione's face change to discreet satisfaction. No one liked to be treated like a porcelain doll. When he finally fell silent, glaring at her angrily, she turned to Draco.
"Care to explain why you insulted Hermione?" she asked calmly. Draco's smirk fell away abruptly.
"I only say it to get a rise out of Weasley," he mumbled quietly.
"So I gathered. 30 points from Slytherin for choosing your battles so poorly. If you want to duel Weasley that badly, then you may do so tomorrow night, during detention." Draco nodded. "Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, you are dismissed." For a moment she thought Ron might protest, but Harry pulled him away insistently. He knew she was about to make Draco apologize, and Harry for one, thought it was long overdue. He wasn't about to let Ron's temper keep it from happening.
Muriel turned back to Hermione and Draco, both of whom were looking anywhere but at each other. She waited. When Draco finally looked up at her, she raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry I called you a mudblood," he said grudgingly, looking at the girl in front of him. "If you'll promise not to call me a ferret anymore, I'll come up with a better way to get at Weasley." Muriel smiled behind her hand. That was by far the best compromise she had ever heard from a Malfoy. It was, perhaps, the ONLY compromise she'd ever heard from a Malfoy. She headed to lunch quietly. They could work it out, now. Hermione was a good deal more level headed than the Gryffindor boys would ever be.
Muriel shared Draco's letter with the Order a few days later. It relieved the tension a great deal to know, within a few days span of time, when the event would take place.
Professor Snape finally managed to contact them only 3 days before the Christmas Holiday. Lord Voldemort, tired of operating covertly to attract followers, was planning to abduct several people in key positions, most notably, Percy Weasley. Percy was still being hard headed about returning to the family. Although it had been proven to him that his parents had been correct, he was still refusing to have anything to do with them. According to Snape, the targets in question, over twenty young witches and wizards in all, were to be rounded up on Christmas Eve. Professor Dumbledore sat again at the head of the kitchen table in Headquarters, recounting everything Snape had reported to the rest of The Order.
It was decided that the school would have to be emptied for Christmas to allow the professors free movement. Professor McGonagal hurried off to see to this as they continued to come up with a way to protect Percy and the others. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley immediately sent an owl to Percy, inviting him to spend Christmas at the Burrow, but without much hope. He hadn't answered their last 2 owls at all.
Muriel had taken special care to write to Narcissa informing her that Draco would not be able to come home for the holiday, because he had already agreed to help her catalogue and sort the various dark arts objects that Quirrel and Crouch had left in the school's possession. She told Narcissa that Draco was certainly the only student who could help her with this, and she was sorry to impose but she had asked him before Lucius' letter had arrived. She made sure to sign her name legibly. Lucius and Narcissa were NOT going to be happy to find out that she was teaching their son.
She shuddered as she sat beside Remus, listening to Dumbledore and the others argue. She wondered if she ought to mention the hurried conversation she'd had with Severus the night before.
Alone in her quarters, she had cast the Legilimens curse. There had been little time. The only information she got was that he was at the Malfoys', which she already knew, and that he was nervous. It wasn't encouraging to find that Severus Snape was nervous. She decided not to tell the rest of the Order. She would catch Dumbledore later and let him know.