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Chapter 2 -- New Missions
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Hermione half-expected to hear the sound of two sets of footsteps jogging up behind her as she walked, but even as she had gotten herself to the Hogsmeade station, only the usual rush of shoppers could be heard. Approaching the ticketbooth, she realized she had no idea what she should be doing, what exactly... did independence mean? She could always go back to Hogwarts, it wasnt too late to get her final year in, perhaps stay there and wait out what she should do with her life. But no, it was no safer there now than on the streets -- not with Dumbledore gone. Lost in a steady stream of thoughts, she set herself down on a vacant bench to sort through everything. Had she really intended on leaving? --No, of course not. Perhaps she would request a meeting with the rest of the Order and they could present her with a more challenging mission, surely after all these years, she had proved herself capable. She had dealt with more than half the order; how dare they demean her like this!
As if her thoughts were being answered, she suddenly felt a heavy hand clasp on her shoulder and she was startled quickly out of her daze. She looked up, expecting to see Harry's concerned face or Ron pleading with her to think rationally. Strangely, it was neither.
"Funny running into you here, Hermione." The man drawled out, taking a seat next to her and settling his patched ad scuffed breifcase on his lap.
"Professor Lupin, I dare say you can come straight to the point, I am under no dillusions that you have met me here out of sheer coincidence" Hermione said plainly, shifting her gaze to the pale man. He looked worse for the wear these days, scruffier and more haggard looking than ever.
"You always were a bright witch. You are quite correct, I have just spoken with Harry and a very frantic Ronald Weasley. Please, come with me, I beleive you have passed your apparation test? After all, it is..." He checked his watch "The 2nd of September which means your birthday was a little over a week ago."
"Thankyou for pointing that out, Professor, I do know when my own birthday is. I have no intention of going with you, however, because you will only delay my journey further by pointing out that what you are all giving Harry, Ron, and I, to do is more than simply busywork. Which is a lie, by the way." Hermione got up to leave, only to have Remus Lupin speak again.
"I know it is, Hermione, I am not the one that makes these decisions, but if you would come with me, we could all sort it out" He lowered his voice considerably, "New events and news have travelled to us recently and they may change things substantially, but I cannot speak of such things here, the walls have ears." Now he had done it, she could keep secrets, yes, but her curiousity more than often, got the better of her and this was something that was too big to miss out on.
"Fine, I'll go with you, but if you try to convince me to retake my post or anything of that nature, I assure you, I will be on my way before you can say Riddikulus" Hermione said, with a hint of impatience in her voice. Under normal circumstances, she would have dared not to speak to an adult this way, but techincally speaking, she was of age -- 17, and in her prime. Also, she wanted to do all she could for the light side of the war and they were wasting valuable time and efforts on insignificant things such as dark activity in Hogsmeade, and she for one, would not squander her efforts on such petty things. So, with ease, Hermione and Lupin prepared and disapparated and she felt like she were suddenly in two places at once, before her feet hit a dusty wooden floor and she staggered to regain her posture.
"Haven't had any time for cleaning yet, then?" Hermione asked, dusting off her robes.
"No, unfortunately, Sirius', excuse me Harry's house, is still having some technicalities and Kreacher is not being ... well ... sane. It should be sorted out shortly though, never you mind." Lupin said, clapping his hand on Hermione's back and leading her down a dank hallway and into a semi-lit room. The Order had to use this dark cabin-type warehouse in the middle of absolutely nowhere until things were fixed up at Grimmauld Place, unfortunatly. Hermione took a look around the room, expecting to see Harry and Ron and maybe Tonks, but she saw many more people as well : Kingsley Shacklebolt, Minerva Mcgonagall, Alastor "Mad-eye" Moody, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, and several other people. Many Order members were here so this must be important.
"I suppose some of you are wondering why we've brought such a large meeting about" started Mcgonagall, "and the answer is simply-- it is time for action. When Harry and Ron came to me, exclaiming that Hermione had gone off to do something undoubtably stupid ("Hey!") I decided that she was right, much to my dismay.
"This was not the only thing that prompted this meeting, however. Kingsley has identified the whereabouts of some of the more major meeting places of the Death Eaters and those who will be involved, already know the procedures in which we will go to to learn anything we can about such occurances. Also, all of you who are involved with the second mission, you know the one I am speaking of, should occure shortly, and sooner than we expected if we think it will work, perhaps in the next month. Harry, Ron, Arthur, You three will be sent to Cairo, Egypt where some meeting should be taking place. Hermione, Remus, you are to report to the Manor, Remus, you are to fill her in on details. The rest of you should already know the plans.
"As for the rest of you who do not know of some of the secret goings-on in the Order, the main mission may or may not be divulged to you, depending on the outcome and whether or not the Order members involved succeed. Especially you, Harry." Harry made a loud huffing noise.
"That, I beleive, is all, any questions and you can report to me personally now, or you can wait until next week, this is the only time I could get away, I dont know how Du----- He did it" She looked near tears, and walked away into another room and out of sight.
Everyone was silent for a few moments and then small chatter broke loose, mostly concerning either Dumbledore or their new missions. Hermione, ignoring the slight on Dumbledore, made her way across the room to where Remus was waiting for her.
"What was she talking about, what manor?" Hermione asked plaintively, taking a seat opposite him, clearly intrigued-- if she was to be paired with Lupin, then this job couldn't be pointless.
"The Malfoy Manor" Lupin said, adjusting his coat and waiting for the bomb.
"WHAT!" Hermione exclaimed, unabashed that everyone had turned to look her way.
"We are to surveil the Malfoy property and manor. We now not only need to keep an eye on Lucius and the goings-on in his home, but now Draco, he could be just as dangerous as his father, though Minerva exclaims that Dumbledore always thought it was a shame he was brought up here, always being belittled and having his choices made for him. However, whether he be as menacing and cruel as his father, or just caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, we will find out and that is why we are to watch them. You will be the night shift, and I will be the day shift, that way, during the nights of my transformations, I can be far away from both you and their porperty so I do not have to risk being caught or maiming anyone," he told her.
"Are you telling me this 'project' is going to go on for more than a month, Professor?" Hermione asked tentatively, not sure if she wanted the answer or not.
"There is definately a possibility. We also have to keep a lookout for Severus, as will every one of the other Order members. We will be leaving tomorrow morning, 5 am sharp to a village in proximity to the Manor. Do you have any other questions?"
"Yes, how are we supposed to spy on them? You dont actually intend to go in the house do you?" Lupin merely smiled.
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Dear Journal,
I hope father is satisfied, he's ruined another perfectly good set of robes. Not that the blood couldn't be simply washed out of them, but the memory of it all would linger. I'll have the house elves discard them as soon as one of the little scums come by. "Master Draco, can I wash your feet? Master Draco, can I be any lower than dirt for you?" Ha. Unfortunately, this is the closest I can come to a laugh these days, after the episode in June, I fear I am officially marooned in this Voldemort-forsaken Mansion for eternity. My blood, or what is left of it, runs cold everytime father comes my way -- sure, the man can be brilliant, sometimes, but he has since taken to violence when he can not get his way in words. Also, I have recently come to realize -- with all this time pent up in my room I had a multitude of time to think about things like this -- that father is Voldemorts little bitch. One of the greatest pawns in the history of... well... history! Oh, how great it would be to be as strong as he, who has followers who question not his motives and engage in any pursuit he wishes them to embark on. The appearance of such a man should radiate posture and greatness, but how can a man -- if that truely is what he is -- be so powerful, but also so feared? "Draco, I will make you into the best Deatheater you can be" and "Draco, you have to be your own man, stand up for what you beleive is right and do whatever it takes to get what you want. Whatever it takes," father says. These two statements, when looked at seperately would seem like the man has big plans for me, and wants me to take control of my life. However, when looked at together, they are so contradictory, it makes my head spin! A deatheater is a follower, I will make you into the best follower' -- i.e. 'Be a follower'; and 'Be your own man, take control of your life' -- i.e. 'Be a leader'. How dare he try and use such adverse statements on me -- did he not think I would finally notice; that I would not see the truth? I am trapped in a world that doesn't understand me, and that I don't understand. Someone, anyone, help.
Draco+
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They were given the rest of the evening to say their goodbyes and ask any questions they needed to. Hermione, Ron and Harry talked and both the boys decided against drinking away the death of Dumbledore and chose to make a more realistic and rewarding route. This still didn't make Hermione feel any less outcasted but she didnt let on and they seemed utterly pleased with her reaction. Of course, this made Hermione wonder whether they really knew her at all. Did anyone really know her? Did she really know herself? She pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind where they would dwell until it started to eat at her and she would be forced to brood on them yet again. She spent the remainder of the night reliving the good times she'd had, followed by dinner and a few other words from Lupin as to where they would be staying and some other minor details such as how they would be getting there and the like. Dinner was as delectable as always, seeing as though Mrs. Weasley went all out, exclaiming that this would be their last good meal for possibly weeks and she was sure they would all starve before Voldemort could even get to them. She spent a great portion of the evening in tears, needless to say. When bedtime came about, which was earlier than anyone could have hoped to even begin to be tired, Hermione found herself thinking about how horrible it would be to have to see Draco Malfoy every night, when she thought she was rid of him for good. After he almost killed the headmaster and then fled like the coward that he is. She didn't care how much Professor Mcgonagall protested that Draco could indeed be good, she wouldn't have it, and she wanted him to suffer, she wanted him gone; dead. (2164)