Harry Potter and the Mind Mage
By James Milamber
A/N: Mixed reactions about the last one…oh well, can't please everyone. Most of the questions asked are answered here somewhere…so, without further ado…
This chapter is posted un-Beta'ed, because if I delay it any longer I'll probably wake up tomorrow without my head. Damn those pitchforks…
'McGonagall's pretty much given us leave to declare open season on the little twerp,' Alex said. 'I say we take the opportunity and make an example of him.'
The seven students that had come to be known as the "Core Gryffindors" were seated around the fireplace on the day after Harry and Isabelle's meeting with the Deputy Headmistress, which was also the official first day of the holidays. It was just after lunch, and the common room was nearly empty, owing to the fact that the vast majority of students had returned home on the Express that morning.
Hermione scowled at Alex. 'You can't just attack a student like that, Alex!'
'Why not?' Alex shot back. 'You said yourself that the little snotrag deserves it.'
'That doesn't make it right,' Hermione said resolutely. 'Ron, help me here, you're supposed to be a Prefect!'
'Hermione's right, Alex,' Ron said reluctantly.
'Much as I hate to say it, they do have a point,' Isabelle said thoughtfully. 'If we just start attacking anyone we don't like, how are we any better than Malfoy – or Voldemort, for that matter?'
'Oh great,' Alex crossed his arms sullenly, slumping down in his seat. 'Spoil all my fun, why don't you.'
'We can't just let him get away with it,' Harry protested. 'There must be something we can do.'
'Let McGonagall handle it,' Hermione said immediately. 'She said she was going to Dumbledore, right? So let him be suspended.'
'And then he'll just go home, spend a month brooding, and be even worse when he gets back,' Cassie interjected. 'Maybe there's something else we can do. Instead of pranking him, why not just completely discredit him? Then he can say whatever he wants, and no-one will believe him.'
'Why the hell didn't I think of that?' Isabelle groaned, burying her face in her hands. 'You bloody Gryffindors are a bad influence on me, you know that?'
'But you love us anyway,' Alex wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.
'Don't push your luck,' Isabelle growled, swatting him away.
'So how do we go about discrediting him, then?' Harry asked.
'Maybe we could feed him some false information,' Ginny said slowly, her eyes on the fire that burned merrily in the grate, keeping the winter chill at bay. 'Then, when he tries to use it…'
'…we jump in and prove he's an idiot,' Isabelle finished for her, her dark eyes narrowed thoughtfully. 'It needs something more, though.'
'Like what?' Alex looked at her curiously.
'I'm not sure,' the ex-Slytherin frowned. 'There's something not quite right about all this. It seems to be a little more than a case of House pride, is all. Hayden doesn't really have a reason to be attacking me, and certainly not Harry. I think it might be high time I looked into our little friend's history.'
'How do you plan to do that?' Ginny asked.
'Simple,' Isabelle smirked.
'Pray tell, enlighten us mere mortals,' Alex nudged her shoulder. 'How exactly are you going to get access to Dumbledore's files? I'm assuming that's what you have in mind.'
Isabelle's smirk only widened. 'You'll see,' she promised. 'Harry, the Map would make this a lot easier.'
'You're going now?'
'No time like the present,' she shrugged.
'I'll go get it, then,' Harry got to his feet and headed for the stairs to his dorm.
Harry and Alex loitered casually at the end of the fourth floor corridor that led to the entrance to the Headmaster's office. Isabelle had led them here and instructed them to wait for her; she had then vanished down another corridor. The two boys had exchanged a glance, and settled down to wait.
'Did anyone tell you what happened at the tournament after you were all knocked out?' Alex asked after a moment.
Harry shook his head. 'I meant to ask, but I got a bit distracted.'
'Funny, that,' Alex agreed. 'Well, when you knocked everyone else in your match out and then fainted yourself, Dumbledore had to declare you all knocked out. Isabelle won by default.' He looked at Harry apologetically.
Harry, however, found he didn't feel jealous of the girl for winning – rather, he felt proud of her. 'That explains Hayden last night,' Harry realised. 'I wondered why he wasn't attacking Isabelle as much as he normally did, but if she just won a hundred and fifty House points, he'd probably be shouted down.'
Alex nodded in agreement. 'There might be something to that. Maybe he figures you're vulnerable now, since most of the school is afraid of you at the moment.'
'Story of my life at Hogwarts,' Harry sighed pensively.
'Hermione told me about the Chamber of Secrets and the Triwizard Tournament, not to mention last year,' Alex gave him a sidelong glance. 'Seems like you're always under fire for something or another.'
Harry laughed hollowly. 'Tell me about it.'
'Well, not to worry,' Alex clapped him on the back. 'I can't see Ron or Hermione giving up on you anytime soon, Cass and I are with you, and even if she'd never say it, Isabelle thinks you're the best thing since sliced bread. I doubt she'd settle for me if she thought she had a chance with you.' He smiled self-depreciatingly.
'You think so, do you?' Isabelle's voice made them both turn to see her striding down the corridor. When she reached them, she reached up and slapped the back of Alex's head.
'Ouch! What was…mmph!' He was cut off when she grabbed him around the back of the neck and glued her lips to his.
Harry hid his smile and turned away politely.
When she finally pulled away, her dark eyes were sparkling as she looked up at her boyfriend, who wore a rather dazed expression. 'And don't you forget it,' she nodded, then turned to Harry. 'Come on, we'd better get back to Gryffindor Tower. I think everyone's going to want to hear this.' With that she turned and walked away, dragging Alex along behind her. Harry followed her, a bemused smile on his face.
'So Hayden Senior is a Death Eater,' Harry sighed. They had re-joined Ron, Hermione, Cassie and Ginny before the fire in the common room, and Isabelle had just reported her findings. 'Great, now I have to be on guard even from my own House.'
'Explains a lot, though,' Ginny said thoughtfully. 'I always thought he was a bit too fanatical about Isabelle being resorted.'
'How did you get into Dumbledore's office, exactly?' Ron asked suspiciously.
Isabelle rolled her eyes. 'Ron, do you remember the day we were all inducted into the Order?'
'Yeah, but…' His eyes widened in understanding, remembering her metamorphosis. 'Oh.'
'That brings up a point,' Harry said wryly. 'We probably could have just asked Dumbledore for the information, now we're in the Order.'
Isabelle opened her mouth to speak, then stopped. 'I never thought of that,' she said a little sheepishly.
'So how did you get in? Just because you can turn into a bird, doesn't automatically get you access,' Cassie asked curiously.
'Easy,' Isabelle shrugged. 'Dumbledore leaves a window open for any owls to go in and out.' She hesitated. 'Actually, Harry, I have a confession to make.'
'Oh?'
'When I was still in Slytherin, I…offered my information gathering services to anyone who could pay. Malfoy…"employed" me several times, and one of them was to look into your files. That's probably how Hayden knew about you being almost sorted into Slytherin.'
'You worked for Malfoy?' Ron sounded outraged.
'You have no idea how Slytherin House works, do you?' She smiled almost sadly. 'If you have talent in any area, you use it to your best advantage. The fact that I could offer a unique service – for a price – guaranteed me immunity.' She shrugged. 'Besides, I made quite a bit of money out of it. Dumbledore never found out, so he never tried to stop me.'
'I doubt Dumbledore wouldn't know,' Harry disagreed. 'The portraits in his office would have seen you, and even if they didn't, not much slips by Fawkes.'
'He knew?' Isabelle looked astonished. 'So why did he let me keep doing it then?'
'Practice,' Cassie said simply.
'She's got a point,' Ginny agreed. 'Maybe he let you keep doing it so you could get experience. I'm sure it'll come in handy at some point, and it's just the sort of thing he'd do.'
Alex laughed delightedly. 'Lestrange, Isabelle Lestrange. Shaken, not stirred.'
Ron and Ginny looked confused, but Harry, Hermione and Cassie laughed. Isabelle just looked at him oddly.
'You're comparing me to a middle aged male spy now?' She shook her head. 'You do wonders for my ego, Alex.'
'Well…a young, talented, beautiful, female version of said spy maybe,' Alex amended.
'What are you lot on about?' Ron asked, his expression baffled.
Alex and Cassie exchanged a look, then both turned to Ron and grinned impishly. 'Tell you when you're older,' they said in unison.
Ron blinked.
'Ahh, you make it too easy, Ron. You really do,' Cassie said sympathetically, patting him on the shoulder.
'Are you really sure this is necessary?'
'Absolutely. Even if he doesn't know it, Harry's in even more danger now than he has been these last few years.'
'I need not remind you this is a very large step. What if…'
'Albus, please, no "what if's". I'm doing this, with or without your approval.'
Albus Dumbledore gazed over his steepled fingers at the determined man sitting opposite him. James Milton's blue eyes flashed fire as he determinedly stared the Headmaster down.
'James, please understand…'
'There's nothing to understand. I worked for the bastard, remember? I know how he operates. Hell, last time around I helped him come up with his tactics, for crying out loud. I know better than anyone should exactly how his mind works. He's building up to something big, I can feel it.'
Dumbledore was silent for a long moment, then sighed heavily. 'If you really feel it's necessary, I shall do all within my power to aid you.'
'Thankyou,' James nodded curtly.
'There is one stipulation, however,' Dumbledore continued. 'Miss Weasley.'
James frowned. 'Are you sure?'
Dumbledore nodded gravely. 'Very sure. All the signs are present.'
'But they're so young,' James objected. 'Are you really sure it's wise to involve her?'
'I do not think we have much choice in the matter. I doubt Harry would allow us to exclude her.'
'That's true enough, I suppose.' James sighed, tapping his fingertips on the Headmaster's desk absently. 'What about the other elements? If we're going to include her, we really need to balance it out.'
Dumbledore considered for a moment. 'Mister Weasley should be suitable for Fire, I believe, and Miss Granger is eminently suited to Air. I believe Miss Lestrange will fit Water, but I do not know who could represent Earth.'
'I have a fair idea,' James shook his head. 'Longbottom. He's involved already, and he does fit.'
'Are you sure…'
'If you ask me that again, you probably won't like the consequences,' James said irritably. 'My kids couldn't do it anyway, I'll need their help. They're passing familiar with Old Magic.'
Dumbledore let out a low chuckle, settling himself more comfortably in his chair. 'Very well James, I'll let you arrange the details. When do you think would be the best time?'
'The full moon of Aquarius,' James said firmly.
Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully, taking a lemon drop from the tin on his desk and placing it in his mouth. 'The start of February it is.'
A/N: Apologies for the long wait, but I've just recently moved to Perth, and I've only just managed to get my Internet back up and running. I'm trying to keep writing, but things have been a bit hectic these past few weeks. Fingers crossed that things slow down a smidgen and I can go back to semi-regular updates. A huge thanks to everyone who reviewed and stuck with me, even if real life keeps trying to interfere. You all make this worthwhile.
