Spy

I see you from my spy plane, baby

I see you walking on the ground

I see you through my spy glasses, baby

I can see right through the ground

If you want to be a spy then you must really see

And you must really see if you want to be a spy like me

I might gaze on a submarine

I see your face smiling at me

Even when I close my eyes your silhouette is smiling at me

But you will never understand me because I have a special job

I wish I could break the spy glass

Set it free so we could be...

Picking absent-mindedly at a roll, Vala watched Grant negotiate with Fae. Grant showed the Hufflepuff a pack of cigarettes; Fae only pushed his hand down. Vala wasn't sure whether she'd taken the offer or not.

Vala was so absorbed she didn't even realize someone slide into the seat next to her.

"We won't be going for a walk this Friday night."

"Wha-" she begin, turning in her seat. She froze, a piece of bread halfway to her mouth, staring at Saxon.

He frowned and pushed her frozen hand down. "I'm busy Friday, but there is a dinner party at my father's on Saturday night. I'd like you to be there."

"Uh…"

"Meet me at seven at the front doors."

"Uh…"

"And Vala, please eat something… you look something dreadful." He shook his head and stepped out of the bench.

"Uh… okay." Her eyes followed him to the door, and then another guest took the seat next to her.

"She says she'll do it."

"Huh?" She directed her gaze to Grant. "Oh! Excellent."

He held up a finger, "But only on one condition."

"Oh, Merlin's Beard…" she cursed, turning towards her plate. "What does she want?"

"Another pack of cigarettes."

"Another?" she exasperated.

"Yes."

"How much does she smoke?"

"A lot." He rested an elbow on the table and bit into an apple. "She's a hacker, Vala, a skilled hacker, and she needs her concentration as well as motivation. I'm not sure how she got into the habit, but cigarettes help her think clearer. She mentioned something about the smoke."

Vala wrinkled her nose. "Can't she burn incense? At least it smells pleasant."

"'Fraid not." He pulled his elbow off the table. "She's fair about it though, says she'll take the other pack after the deed is done."

She dropped her roll onto her plate. "And remind me why we're employing her?"

"Because… She can get Snape out of his office, and besides, I love being surrounded by beautiful women." He winked at her, and stepped out of the bench.

"Grant, wait." She grabbed hold of his cloak sleeve.

"Yes, Lass?"

"Saxon uh… Saxon just invited me to his father's for a Saturday night dinner party. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Grant stood thoughtfully for a moment. At length, he shook his head. "No, I can't say that I do."

"Oh, okay… Thanks anyway."

"No problem, and hey I'll pick up the smokes and drinks for you. Just be sure to pay me back later."

"Yeah, I'll be sure to put that on my To-Do List," she muttered sarcastically, turning back to her plate.

~+~+~+~

"How about we combine the two? Black roses could be overpowering by themselves, but if we throw in some colorful lupines it might just even out." The wedding director pushed her thin-framed glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Kind of like a battle between light and darkness?" Saxon tried.

Vala sighed. He had to work on that whole mysteriously dark side of his; it was getting weak. Or maybe she was just getting used to it.

"Sure. Hmm… You mentioned you wanted to get married in December." She flipped through a few pages. "What about New Years?"

"Uh… That's in January," Vala reminded, raising an eyebrow.

She waved a hand dismissingly. "Yes, yes… But wouldn't that be romantic?"

Vala glanced at Saxon. "I guess so."

The director smiled. "Great." She turned back to the papers. "Now these requests for a cake… I don't care too much for the raven/snake idea, but the red filling sounds delicious. Maybe strawberry?"

"Actually, I was thinking black-"

Vala elbowed him. "Strawberries are fine," she confirmed.

Saxon scowled. "Is that alright, Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yeah, whatever." He looked out the window.

"Excellent. Now, Miss. Amoureux, if you'd like me to direct you to some lovely wedding gown-"

"I already have one."

Saxon stared at her. The director looked like she'd just lost a game of poker. "Very well, then. And Mr. Malfoy I can direct you to some-"

"I already have one," he cut off.

Now the director looked as if she'd lost her diamond ring in a crazy game of poker.

She's a nice lady, Vala thought, but a bit of a control freak.

"Very well," she attempted not to huff. She checked her watch. "I believe that is all for now." She extended a card to Vala. "And if you have any questions, you can reach me here."

Slowly, Vala took the card. Saxon stood up, and she followed him out of the office.

"Ta, ta, and do come by again, we should discuss the invitations next time!" she called after the couple.

Once they were out of hearing range, "I don't like her."

Vala didn't bother to look at him. "I'm sorry to hear that, however she is all that is left."

"She's doing this wedding for herself," he commented.

Vala thought for a moment. She had gotten the same impression between the planning and one-sided discussions. Their opinion didn't much matter if the thin-rimmed, boisterous director liked it.

"And I don't want to get married on New Years."

She's trying to make it so romantic… I wonder what she's making up for.

"And I specifically said dead roses."

She stopped. She touched Saxon's arm. He turned to look at her. "What?"

"Let someone have their fairy tale ending, will you?"

He shook his head and turned to walk away. He threw his arms up in defeat. "Yeah, yeah… whatever!"

~+~+~+~

An empty classroom served perfectly for an impatient seventh year, a laid back one, and a hacker.

Fae sat cross-legged on a desk. Her eyelids twitched. "Dragon scales… beetle eyes… how did that potion go again? Blasted, if only I were the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher… Anyone can remember a spell, but it takes a skilled master to understand potions…"

Vala rolled her eyes. Personally, she thought Fae was making it up for show, but Grant insisted they were Snape's true thoughts.

"I wonder if the House Elves have made any pumpkin pie… Yes, some pumpkin pie would really hit the spot."

Vala pressed her ear against the closed door, she heard footsteps. Who's, she couldn't say, but she was sure Fae would insist they were Snape's.

"He's gone," Fae said, lighting a cigarette.

Vala opened the door and Grant roll-dived across the hall, standing up once he was safe in Snape's classroom. You wouldn't know it by looking at him, but Grant was extremely agile. She watched him disappear into Snape's office, then she cracked the door.

"How's the wedding coming?"

"Hmm? Oh… fine."

Fae nodded. "That's nice to hear." A puff of smoke escaped her. A smile curled her lips.

"What's so funny?"

She tapped her cigarette on the side of the desk. "Nothing," she looked away, a smirk well in place. "Nothing, at all."

Vala moved closer. "Why are you smiling?"

Fae looked up. "I hear things, Vala… Oh, the things I hear!" She burst into a round of laughs.

"You're ridiculous," she cursed. "Telling stories and lies for anyone who'll listen. They're fools, to listen to you."

Only a well-placed smirk was left of the laughter. "You didn't seem to think that when I told you about Raissa, my dear fool."

Vala stared at her. Then, "You lied, didn't you! And for God's sake, put that out!" She grabbed Fae's cigarette and threw it on the ground.

Fae sobered. She shook her head, "No, not completely.

She crossed her arms. "Which parts where true then?" she demanded.

Fae smiled again. "I guess you'll never know, will you." She lit another cigarette.

Vala fumed. I'm gonna take that and-

Fae held up a hand. "Please, don't even think about it."

Her shoulders sagged. "What?"

Fae stared at her. She sucked on her cigarette, then finally said, "I told you, I was given the gift of hearing, and I'd really rather not listen."

Vala wound up to slap her. Fae blocked the hit and laughed, "That's it! Start acting spontaneous! Then not even I know your next move!"

"Ugh, I hate you!" Take this, you-

"No, no!" Fae shouted. "You can't think!"

"Is there nothing I can keep from you?" Vala shouted, swinging at Fae.

Fae caught her fist. "Yes," and pushed Vala back. "But don't fight me until you've learned to."

Vala huffed, and dropped against a wall.

"There are ways to control it, you know…" Fae examined her bent cigarette. "The thing is, we don't even think about it… We think we're safe in our own minds, we never even suspect that someone might drop by to listen in."

"What the hell are you talking about? There's no we, there's only you's and they's. You never have a second thought, never even consider someone might be listening to your thoughts. You never have to worry about it."

Fae quirked an eyebrow. "Is that so? You believe that, do you?"

Vala stared at her.

Fae attempted to unbend her cigarette without breaking it. "You think I'm carefree, do you? I'm not. Just because I can hear others thoughts doesn't mean nobody can hear mine."

"It doesn't matter," she said sourly. "I bet you like it, listening to everyone's thoughts. Knowing everything about our lives. It's only justice that someone should hear yours."

Fae sighed. "You really don't understand."

"What's there to understand?" Vala snapped. "You've been listening in on everything I've been thinking about! You do it to everyone! It's-It's-"

"Not fair?" she offered. "You're right, it's not… Not to me, not to anyone."

"Not to you? What do you-"

"Do you think I like it?" Fae interrupted, glaring at Vala. "Knowing what everyone's thinking? It's more of a curse, really." She sucked on her cigarette. "Let me ask you this, How often do you think about your deep dark secrets? Not very often from what I know. Nobody does." She rolled her eyes. "Everybody thinks about their hair, or their crushes, or if snuggles will be okay on his own. It's tiring really." Breaking her cigarette by accident, she tossed it. "I get sick of hearing about everyone's problems. So I try to block it out, but that doesn't always work. Sometimes I can't block everyone out, and that's when it gets worse… That's when I hear the darkest, most disturbing thoughts. I never know whom they belong to. No, nobody ever thinks, 'Hi, my name is Kristen and here I am thinking about a killing I witnessed.' No, nobody ever introduces themself. Know why? Because we outta be safe in our minds, but you know what? We're not safe. Not in our minds, not anywhere."

Vala sat down on a chair. "I always wondered why I never saw you," she began. "I mean, we've been going to school together for seven years now, and I've never seen you until this year."

"Ah, I see you're finally catching on," she said sarcastically, padding her pocket for another cigarette.

"Have you always avoided crowds then?"

"No, just when I realized what I was hearing." She unfolded her legs, and leaned back on her palms. She stared with unseeing eyes at the ceiling. "I couldn't hear things at home. Maybe there was no connection, maybe I just didn't want to hear things… Who knows? I only heard things in crowds… I thought I was hearing angels… I thought someone somewhere was watching over me." She breathed a chuckle. "Oh, I was so stupid… Then I came to Hogwarts and it only got worse." She sighed, and glanced at Vala. "I didn't know what I was hearing, but it wasn't long before I did. You know… I remember the exact moment when I did, too. There I was sitting at the breakfast table one morning, and the boy next to me couldn't pull his mind off the food. He just couldn't believe how much there was… So I listened, and he grabbed everything he thought about. It was no coincidence, they were his real thoughts."

"Were you scared?" Vala asked softly.

Fae glanced at her. She shook her head, looking away. "No, at first I thought it was normal, so I tried to talk to the boy--with my mind. I suggested he eat a muffin instead because in my humble opinion they were more filling. Oh the look on his face! He looked around piercingly, wondering where the thoughts had come from."

"So he could hear you?"

"Oh yes, and I could hear him… But soon I realized he could only hear me. Then I recognized my gift, and I started to use it. I never studied for a test, I never asked for anything; I relied on everyone else… But people are unreliable."

Vala, staring glassy-eyed at the floor, nodded.

"We all must grow," Fae said quietly, "But now we have more urgent matters on hand… Did you hear that?"

Vala looked up. "Hear what?"

"That's what I thought… Shit," she pulled her legs in. She began to rub her temples, "We've got some interference--Bloody House Elves… 'All we've got is pumpkin juice.' Pumpkin juice? Bah! All I wanted was some pie; pie really would've hit the spot… It was just one of those once-in-a-lifetime temp-Mmm… But you know, some juice doesn't sound so bad." Fae's eyelids twitched.

Vala held her breath.

Slowly, Fae opened her eyes. She smiled at Vala. "What's taking that boy so long?"

Vala exhaled, and shook her head. "Got me. Can't you tap into his mind?"

"Uh… I'd rather not," Fae said, a blush creeping across her cheeks.

Vala stared. The door creaked open before she had time to speak.

Grant brushed several sandy blonde tresses from his eyes. "Whew, that was definitely worthy of several beers."

"With an Irishman, what isn't?" Fae asked sarcastically.

"What happened?"

"Nothing… But you wouldn't believe the collection that man's got! And his handwriting!" He shoved a small bag at Vala. "Take your ingredients, I'm washing my hands of this!"

"Thanks, Pilate, you're a dear," Vala said, kissing his cheek.

(A/N: I am so incredibly sorry about how late this chapter is! You see, my internet crashed late last week. Since my dad was out of town, I couldn't get it fixed until last night. To make it up to you, I'm uploading chapters 14, 15, 16. Oh, and I've finally written the time jump, though you won't read it in these chapters I expect you will before the end of the week. Thanks for your patience- Vouivre.)