The Dark Lady
Chapter 9 – Capture of the Key Holder
By gracie5412
Thank you to my reviewers and Merry Christmas to you all–
JKIJ,
LaxGoalie,
Jessica-McConell,
Kendra is cheese,
Slayer of the Evil Penguins
"So I lower his defences, you take him I then act distraught and say that he was killed. In the meantime you get the names out of him and I 'breakdown' and go away for a while." Hermione recapped to the room of death-eaters as the meeting drew to an end.
"I believe we shall carry it out on Saturday. That gives me two days to find out where he'll be at the time." She decided as she got up and walked from the room. Malfoy at heel, as always.
"So how's the new boy doing?" she asked as they headed down the corridor.
"A little better, but he's too nervous. Reminds me of the idiot Longbottom."
"Well let's just hope he gets better soon. Continue with the training and if that doesn't work I suppose he may just happen to be in a terrible accident."
"Of course Mistress, excellent plan Mistress."
"I'll go now, the sooner I get back the quicker I can leave again."
She disapperated with a 'pop' leaving Malfoy stood alone. He quickly went to find three men he deemed worthy to go with him on Saturday to free his fellow deatheaters.
The next morning Hermione hung around near the Records Room until the office worker got there. Luckily it was a guy around her age that she had spoken to while she was still 'good'. This would be easy, she decided, she would simply flirt her way to the information she needed.
She quickly changed the spell upon her so she was wearing; tight revealing clothes, a little more make-up and her hair was sleek and shiny. She slinked up to his desk and shot him a smile.
"Hey James." She said in a seductive whisper after quickly reading the nameplate on the desk.
"Oh, err, h-hey H-H-Hermione." He stuttered, very obviously nervous from the attention he was getting.
"Oh my gosh! You know my name?" Hermione squealed in fake delight making James blush. "So do you mind if I hang around for a while?"
"Uh, err, sure." He stammered as she pulled her chair near to his.
"So it must be sooo interesting doing this job." Hermione said whilst secretly slipping her wand out of her pocket.
"Oh, well yeh I guess so. A job's a job really, no big deal." He answered trying to act cool, but failing dismally.
"Yeh I know exactly what you – dormirse!" She said suddenly sending James into a deep sleep. She then, quickly, moved around the desk and stood on the middle of the room.
With a flick of her wand all the draws flew open at great speed. And with another flick all the files concerning male order workers floated out of them and remained in the air. Hermione then found that there was charms sealing the records so no one could read them and it took her a good half hour to undo the complex spell. But finally she was able to start the task of checking each of the photos until she found the one of the Key Holder. After another thirty-five minutes she finally found it.
"Well hello, Duffy, Thomas P. Nice to put a name to the face. Well let's see what sort of fun packed life you lead shall we?"
She quickly located and took the needed information, concealing them in the back pocket of the tight trousers she was wearing. With another quick spell all the files were back in the appropriate draw, the charms were back upon them and Hermione was going through the door. A loud snore made her stop and growl in annoyance. She turned to look at the hunched over, sleeping figure of James. She rolled her eye and said the reverse spell before tuning on her heel and leaving.
Halfway to her room she decided she would need an excuse as to why she left. Looking around she made a grab for a nearby vase of flowers. Quickly discarding the contents out of a nearby window, hoping that there was someone below; she transfigured the vase in a potion bottle full of a red liquid.
She walked back to the Records Room doors and changed her expression to one of worry before quickly bursting through the door. James was sat at his desk still looking slightly bewildered.
"James! Oh thank Merlin! I was so worried you just collapsed; I didn't know what to do! I didn't want to leave you but I knew you needed a potion. I had to go and get you this." She said, brandishing the potion bottle in front of her, while making her voice sound panicky.
"Well I'm ok now I think." James said.
"Oh good! I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you! Listen I really need to go now, meeting planed, sure you'll be ok?"
"Yeh I'll be fine. Go, I don't mind. Have a fun meeting." James said not realising she had already gone.
On Saturday afternoon Hermione met up with four deatheaters two streets from Grimmauld place. She quickly cast a spell upon them so they were wearing The Order's Soldiers uniform. They then all simply walked through the front door. Luckily for them they didn't bump into anyone. She quickly led them to a small courtyard and gave them their instructions.
"Right. Stay here, the meeting ends at two so that give us an hour and a half. Make sure no one is here by then. Malfoy, you are in charge of these idiots. If anything goes wrong it is your fault, you chose these men and you are to tell them what to do. Get them into place and none of you come out until I give the signal. Now I'm off to see precious Pothead to lay the foundation of my 'breakdown'." Hermione smirked before walking away.
At the doorway she stopped and turned around. It seemed as though the courtyard was empty but with her keen eye she soon spotted three out of the four of them. Draco however remained hidden.
"Remember you guys, an hour and a half. If anything goes wrong I'll kill you on the spot." She called as she walked away.
She knocked on Harry's door and quickly walked inside.
"Hey Hermione!" Harry smiled and placed the book her was reading down on the bedside.
"Hi Harry. Listen can we talk?" Hermione said, nibbling on her bottom lip.
"Sure what's up?"
"Well, erm, it's just I-I-it's-" Hermione stuttered before bursting into tears.
"Hey! What's wrong? Here come and sit down." Harry said in a voice mixed with shock and anxiety.
"It's just I, I d-don't think I c-can do this anym-anymore. We t-thought it was a-all over. But now there's these dream you've been h-having. What if something else I-is going t-to happen?" Hermione said between sobs.
"But we'd get through it! You know that." Harry soothed.
"The thing is Harry I'm not sure I'd want to. I'm going crazy! I can't eat, sleep do anything. All I think about is us all having to fight again and it scares the hell out of me! He haunts all I do. Is he really dead? Will he come back again? What if someone's picked up where he left off?" Hermione wailed into his shoulder.
Harry spent the next three-quarters of an hour listening to Hermione's 'what ifs' and trying to calm her down. After a while she finally got up and left telling Harry she was going to clear her head for a while.
She walked down the corridor and went quickly into her room. Once there she changed into a knee-length white dress, white heels and a white jacket. She tied her hair up in bunches and brushed it until it glowed. She was the picture of pure innocence.
Hermione arrived outside the meeting hall just as people started to leave. She quickly spotted Thomas Duffy across the hallway."
"Excuse me! Sir! Hi. Sorry, I was wondering if I could talk to you? I've got something to show you it kind of relates to what we were talking about last time." She asked, grabbing his hand and giving him no time to answer. She pulled him out into the courtyard.
"Hermione what's wrong?" He asked as they sat down.
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to show you something. I think it may interest you a little." She smirked as she saw his confusion. "Well, we're all alone so it's the perfect chance for me to really show myself to you."
She stepped back a little and pointed her wand at herself. Her eyes flashed black and her appearance changed to her black leather wearing evil self. Hermione pushed the silver cuff up her arm and showed him the mark.
"Well Thomas P. Duffy what do you think of me now?" She drawled walking towards him. "Now!" she snapped and her four deatheaters jumped out from their various hiding places. They tied him up and gagged him before he had enough time to think about screaming. Hermione then sat on his lap placing one leg on either side on his.
"So what do you think of my naughty little secret?" she giggled, running her hands over his chest. "You could join me you know. I could really make it worth your while." She whispered seductively into his ear. "What's it to be? You can join me give me the information I want or these lovely boys will take you torture you for a while and you'll give me the information I want. The choice is all yours."
She pulled the gag out of his mouth.
"Get away from me you evil bitch!" He yelled and Hermione replaced the gag and slapped him around the face.
"Draco he doesn't want to play!" She whined in a childish manner before smirking. "Well looks like he chose option two then. Take him now before someone comes' I'll make up a cover for us."
The five men disapperated and Hermione cast a spell upon herself to make it appear as though she had been beaten up.
She placed herself on the ground just as Harry, Ron and Ginny and rushed outside.
"Herms! Oh my gosh! Are you ok? What happened?" Ron cried as they rushed to her side.
"I couldn't stop them, I, we, they, they came out o-of nowhere." She babbled, making no sense.
"What? Herms, what's wrong? Calm down, it's ok now we're here now." Ginny soothed.
"Dumbledore. I need to see Dumbledore." Hermione said suddenly and they quickly took her to his room. Once there she seemed to calm a little, and after a moment of silence she started to tell them what had happened.
"I was going for a walk when I bumped into Him, sorry I don't know what to call him I'm not allowed to know his name, he was coming form a meeting. We walked together, he was asking if my nightmares had lessoned. We heard a noise from the courtyard and went out to see what if it was. Suddenly four deatheaters surrounded me. They were intending to kill me, said it was revenge for their master. But He fought back and they, they killed him. They were turning on me again but I think they heard you coming and left with his body."
"Did they know who he was?" Dumbledore asked with great concern. Harry, Ron and Ginny looked puzzled at this question as Hermione had not told them about her trip to the Holding Room and knew nothing of the Key Holder.
"I don't think so." Hermione answered. "But that's no matter anyway I got it off him before they took him." She said and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a piece of metal she had transfigured to look like the Key Holder's key and handed it to Dumbledore. "He did his job. He kept them from getting out." She said weakly as fake tears of grief brimmed her eyes.
