Draco marched in silence up the stairs and down deserted corridors. Etean followed a pace behind him, they didn't speak. Draco tried to force all thoughts from his head, he wanted to concentrate on the duel he was about to fight. His teeth crushed into one another, filling his ears with an audible grinding sound. So caught up was he that it took him several seconds to realise that Etean had stopped. He turned to see him standing at a junction, staring down another corridor.
"What is it?" he hissed, stepping back to him. Etean didn't answer, his eyes narrowed in obvious concentration. Draco followed his gaze, extending himself to try and sense whatever had attracted Etean's attention. He could feel Etean beside him but beyond that there was nothing but chaos. "What is it?" he repeated, "What do you sense?" It was several moments before Etean answered,
"Something…interesting," Draco sighed,
"Can you be a little vaguer?" Etean looked at him,
"There's someone moving down there,"
"Who? Weasley?" Etean stared off into the darkness for a moment more,
"Yes, but not the Weasley you're referring to," he moved forward, "Come on,"
"Where? I'm supposed to duel Weasley," Etean ignored him and continued down the corridor, melting into the shadows as his cloak hid him,
'This will be more interesting, trust me,' he sent. Draco looked down the corridor, then back to Etean.
"Shit," he hissed to himself and took off, jogging to catch up on Etean's shimmering form. He touched the tiny presence of his cloak and made himself invisible as he fell into step with him, following his lead through the corridors. They passed the Arithmancy classroom and headed up a back staircase to emerge on the second floor from behind an ancient tapestry. Draco felt the mental warning from Etean to be silent as they stepped out. He instantly saw why.
Immediately ahead of them, a shadowy figure wearing a dark travelling cloak was marching in silence down the corridor. Etean silently stepped in behind and followed him down the corridor. Draco paused when he realised where they were headed, this corridor led to Dumbledore's office. Did Etean know that?
'Yes,' the answer flowed into Draco's mind,
'Do you have to read my mind all the time?' he asked, annoyed,
'No, just when it's important.' They reached the large stone gargoyle that stood guard over the entrance to the Headmaster's Office. The person they were following paused at the statue and lowered his hood to reveal short cropped bright red hair. Draco stepped round him so he could see his face – Arthur Weasley.
'What is he doing here?' he sent, puzzled,
'I don't know, that's what we're here to find out,' Arthur scratched his head,
"What is that damned password again?" he said to himself, trying to remember it.
'Butterscotch,' Draco felt Etean prompt him. Arthur straightened,
"Butterscotch," he said clearly, the gargoyle moved aside, revealing a twisting staircase. Arthur started to climb without hesitation, Etean followed with Draco ducking round the closing gargoyle behind him.
'How did you know that password?' he asked Etean, he heard a slight laugh in his head,
'Draco, I have been here for almost two weeks now, there isn't much I don't know about this place. That includes passwords.' They reached the top of the stair, Arthur knocked once then opened the door. Etean ducked in behind him, the door nearly collided with Draco as he entered, 'Remember, stick to the walls, in the shadows, and not a sound. Try not to breathe if you can help it,' Etean warned him. Draco looked around, he had expected to see Dumbledore, but the other occupants of the room came as a shock,
"What are they doing here Albus?" Arthur's question echoed Draco's thoughts. Dumbledore turned from attending to his phoenix to answer, but Weasley beat him too it,
"Why shouldn't we be here Dad? This meeting concerns us too,"
"You are too young Ron! You're not even a member of the Order,"
"Not yet no, but I will be, we all will," he looked at Hermione and Harry. They both nodded,
"I think we deserve to be here Mr. Weasley," Hermione said, "I think we've all earned the right not to be left in the dark," Arthur was going to argue some more but Dumbledore beat him too it,
"I realise that you have been somewhat out of the loop of late regarding the Order Arthur. I apologise for that however, in light of recent events, I have decided that it is best to keep the children informed on all maters that directly concern them. Therefore it makes sense for them to be present at this meeting," he looked at Potter, then at Weasley, "Besides if the past is any indication, it should be clear that it is hardly possible to keep them," he smiled at Hermione, "'in the dark' as you put it Ms. Granger,"
"But Albus, this is Order business, where are the other members?" Dumbledore waved him off,
"I thought it best to keep our numbers small this evening so as not to attract unnecessary attention, the others will be informed later," he pointed at the Gryffindors, "And this is their business too Arthur, they are a part of this," Draco moved closer to Etean, as if that would help conceal their presence further,
'What is the Order?'
'The Order of the Phoenix. It's an organisation Dumbledore put together to fight Voldemort during his first reign of terror, he has reactivated it since his return,'
'Oh,' there wasn't much else to say, 'Hang on, this 'Order' is supposed to be a secret yes?'
'As far as I know,'
'So how do you know about it then?'
'Do you even remember what The Circle does Draco?' Draco shook his head, secret societies spying on secret societies? Who said the world could get so complicated? 'Pay attention,' Etean snapped, 'You might actually learn something here.' Arthur and the Gryffindors had taken seats around a low table. Dumbledore stood at its head. Etean moved away from Draco, he circled to the opposite side of the room, standing behind Potter. Draco moved closer, still being careful not to make any noise he stepped up behind Hermione. Dumbledore cleared his throat, symbolically starting the meeting,
"Now then, seeing as we are all settled, perhaps Arthur can give us his report on recent Death Eater activities," he gestured to Arthur. He looked at his son, then at Potter. Finally he shook his head and started to speak,
"Well Albus, I wish I had better news to report,"
"Things are not going well?"
"In many ways they are going too well. We thought that our biggest problem was going to be finding the Death Eaters,"
"But it wasn't?" Potter seemed confused,
"No, instead of lying low, the Death Eaters have stepped up the frequency of their attacks, and they're getting more daring, taking less and less care to avoid confrontation. In the past three weeks they have mounted over three dozen raids varying in scale from one on one assassination attempts to large scale confrontations. Far from us not being able to locate them, it's almost as if they want us to find them," he stopped speaking and rubbed his chin, Draco noticed a fair growth of stubble, "We get word of their movements and we jump them. There's a battle and they scatter only to reappear somewhere else," he sighed, "We have been flat out for over three weeks, the entire Ministry has been drafted in to assist. We are even giving serious consideration to training our secretaries to fight. Still, with all our efforts. We have yet to actually catch any of them,"
"There have been casualties?" Dumbledore asked. Arthur paused, looking at the students again, then nodded slowly,
"Five Aurors dead, three more in St. Mungo's,"
"Five dead?"
"Who?"
"How?" the questions flowed from Potter, Weasley and Hermione at the same moment. Dumbledore raised his hand for silence,
"Listen, you have the right to be here, I have already said that but you must allow Arthur to speak," he turned back to Arthur, "I have heard about Dawlish and O' Neill, who were the others?"
"Connely, Stephens and Oxbridge. They chased Bellatrix Lestrange into what they thought was a deserted warehouse. Turns out it wasn't quite as deserted as they had hoped. Six Death Eaters ambushed them…it wasn't a pretty sight,"
"I don't imagine it was. Has there been any change to the pattern of their attacks?" Arthur shook his head,
"No, so far their attacks all appear random, chaotic. They seem to be hitting out in all directions at once, but with no discernable pattern. Today for example, they murdered a potions dealer in Coventry,"
'Damien Ashcroft,' Draco heard the thought from Etean, it almost sounded like he hadn't meant to send it, Arthur continued,
"Then they attacked a retired Quidditch player and his wife in Newcastle, both were killed,"
'Alfred Minder and his wife…Emily,' Draco looked over at Etean and tried to read him. It was never easy to be sure what Etean was feeling, but now he seemed edgy,
"There was no connection between the two that we can find, no reason why either should have been targets, let alone both in such a short interval,"
'Was there a connection?' Draco sent, he could sense Etean looking at him,
'Yes,' he sent, the thought was little more than a whisper, 'us!'
'The Circle?'
'Yes,'
'Were they members?'
'Minder was a member but it's been years since he was active. Ashcroft wasn't a member but an informant, though he never knew it. He dealt in some pretty rare things, some possibly dangerous potions, we contacted him under the guise of a large European supplier, got information about what amounts of what things he was selling and, through our own investigations, who he was selling them to,'
'But, why would the Death Eaters attack them? How could they have known?'
'I don't know Draco, it is possible that this is merely a coincidence,'
'Do you believe it is?' Etean didn't respond. The silence was his answer. Draco didn't believe in co-incidence and he got the impression that Etean didn't either. Draco turned back to the conversation, Potter was speaking,
"So…what are the Ministries plans in the long term? You can't just keep running about like headless chickens. You'll never win that way,"
"We don't have a choice Harry, we have to be seen to be fighting…You Know Who. It's the only way to prevent a mass panic,"
"But you have to plan, come up with some sort of strategy if you want to beat Voldemort," everyone at the table winced except Potter and Dumbledore,
"Don't say his name," Weasley growled,
"For fuck's sake Ron…"
"Harry," Hermione interrupted him, "mind your language," Potter glared at her,
"I'm sorry if I offended you Hermione, but I'm sick of this being afraid of his name bullsh…nonsense. How can you expect to win this war if you won't even say the name of your enemy?"
"I know, but…it's hard,"
"No it's easy, listen…V o l d e m o r t!" he said it very slowly, causing another round of winces,
"Please Harry," Arthur said. Potter scowled and stood up. He turned, narrowly missing Etean and started to stalk round the room as Dumbledore spoke,
"You have a point Harry, there is a need for a more effective strategy. We must start to act, not react as we have been to Voldemort's," more winces, Potter growled under his breath as he passed by Draco, "attacks. I have discussed this with the Minister on several occasions over the summer,"
"What did he say?" Hermione asked, Dumbledore said,
"He said, quite correctly that we need to know more about our enemies goals before we can plan an effective strategy. That is why his primary order to the Aurors has been to capture the Death Eaters alive so that we can attempt to extract some information from them,"
"But so far, you haven't been able to?" Hermione asked Arthur, he shook his head,
"They seem to always be one step ahead, like they know ahead of time where we'll be and what we'll do,"
"Maybe they do," Potter added, the sound of his voice made everyone, including Draco look at him,
"What did you say Harry?" Dumbledore asked, Potter shrugged,
"Maybe they have someone in the Ministry who is feeding them information,"
"A double agent?" Hermione asked, he nodded,
"Why not? We do," Arthur frowned,
"What do you mean Harry?"
"Snape! He's been spying on Voldemort," wince, "for the Order,"
"Yes, but a spy within the ministry? I don't believe one could exist undetected," Dumbledore cleared his throat to regain the floor,
"It is a possibility I have considered, but I do not believe that it is very likely. It is far more probable that the Death Eaters have just been lucky. They for the moment have all the initiative and while their attacks may appear random, I do not believe for one second that that is the case. I have known Voldemort," shudders all round, "for a long time and I believe that he never acts without careful consideration and planning. Our task is to figure out his plan, so that we can counter him,"
"Good luck!" Weasley barked sarcastically,
"Do you have something to say Ron?" his father asked him. Weasley paused,
"How are you planning on figuring out…His plan?"
"Like I said, when we capture some of the Death Eaters and get them to talk…" Potter and Weasley both scoffed, "Have I missed something?" Arthur started to sound angry,
"You won't be able to break the Death Eaters Dad. They are far more afraid of Vol…" he hesitated, "Of You Know Who than they are of anything the Ministry will do to them, I mean it's not like you are going to kill them or anything is it?"
"Of course not but…"
"But they know that," Potter interrupted, "They know you won't do anything to them that even comes close to what he will do,"
"The Ministry has rules Harry," Dumbledore's expression darkened,
"Well, maybe it shouldn't," Weasley looked up, staring Dumbledore in the eye, "We can't let ourselves be forever bound to some dusty old rulebook. If all they do is get in the way…"
"What are you suggesting we do Ron?" Arthur's expression was serious, even more so than Dumbledore's,
"I'm suggesting that we do whatever is necessary to beat…him, if that means we break a few rules along the way then so be it," Arthur opened his mouth to respond but Hermione spoke first,
"The rules do not get in the way Ron, they are all that separates us from the Death Eaters. If we start to act like them, then we become them,"
"I am nothing like them Hermione," Weasley was becoming agitated, Dumbledore's voice boomed in the room, shutting everyone up,
"This discussion is pointless," he turned and fixed Weasley with a look that made Draco nervous even from where he stood at the far side of the room, "For what it is worth, I agree with Ms. Granger. The rules, that you would have us so readily set aside are not just words written in some dusty old rulebook, they are principles by which I have lived my life and by which I will continue to live my life for as long as I draw breath," the silence was deafening in the room as Dumbledore finished speaking. He held his cold stare into Weasley's eyes for a moment, then he smiled, breaking the tension,
"That said, we must do something. There are other avenues to explore,"
"Like what?" Hermione asked, Dumbledore steepled his fingers in front of his face as he sat back,
"Of late, the Minister has been considering seeking international help to aid in our current situation,"
"International?"
"He has been making subtle enquiries into the viability of an international alliance to fight Voldemort. In his view, the governments of France and Germany would be willing to help us, given the right conditions,"
"Help us how?" Weasley asked,
"Our primary problem at present is a lack of resources, specifically personnel. We are fighting an enemy that is both skilled and elusive. They are mobile, free to move and hide at will, while we are burdened by our position, by the places and people that we are bound to protect. Our European neighbours could provide us with the additional numbers that would allow us the freedom to act that we sorely need,"
"They could at that," Arthur sounded excited, "the French Aurors are about the best trained security wizards in the world," he sat back, "I'm sorry to say it, but ten French Aurors are worth twenty of ours,"
"They're that good?"
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed, "I once was allowed to tour their primary training facility. It was quite impressive. Over the last several years I have urged the Ministry to adjust the standards of training for our Aurors to bring us on a par, but to no avail,"
"So, what are they waiting for? Why not just call up the French and have them send over the troops?" Potter sat down, Dumbledore leaned forward,
"Politics,"
"Politics?" Potter and Weasley echoed in unison,
"Yes, right now things on an official level between our government and those of our European neighbours are not too friendly. The rather unfortunate confusion surrounding the Tri-Wizard tournament meant that it didn't help cement relations as it was hoped it would and," he sighed, "they saw the Ministries initial denial and eventual reversal concerning the return of Lord Voldemort," again the winces, "as an attempt to cover up the truth, to deceive them and prevent them from learning the true nature of the threat that they, that we all face,"
"But we," Hermione hesitated, "I mean that isn't what the Ministry was doing, they really did believe that…that Voldemort," she shuddered even as she said the name, "hadn't returned at all,"
"I know that Ms Granger, but it will take time to convince them of that,"
"Let's just hope that we have the time to spare," Arthur added,
"Here, here," Dumbledore rose from his seat and clapped his hands, "Now, what I said earlier notwithstanding, I believe that it is time for you three to head to your beds. Arthur and I have other things to discuss. Things that are," he raised his voice to cut off Potters objection, "not for you to hear. Now, off you go," The three Gryffindors leapt to their feat to argue the point some more, none louder than Potter. The fire in his voice surprised Draco. Etean moved over to him, his voice in his head drowned out the others,
'We should go now as well,' Draco was surprised by this,
'Why? Surely we stand to learn more by staying here,'
'Maybe, but one of the first lessons any good spy learns is when to get out of the way,' he moved to stand by the doorway. Draco felt the mental imperative to stand beside him and he complied. Arthur crossed and opened the door. Hermione, Potter and Weasley, still arguing were ushered out of the room. They created enough of a fuss for Draco and Etean to leave ahead of them. Draco heard them grumble and bicker amongst themselves as he headed down the corridor. He followed Etean, the sound of the argument died away as they marched in silence to the training room. Inside, Etean became visible again and turned to Draco.
"So," he said, "What did we just learn?" Draco sighed,
"Not as much as we could have had we stayed. I still don't see why we left when we did. Surely they were just getting to the good stuff,"
"Like what?"
"Like…oh I don't know. But the more private the conversation the more sensitive the information they would discuss don't you think?"
"It stands to reason, but I don't think it was worth the risk,"
"What risk?"
"When the three others had left, Dumbledore and Weasley Senior would be the only two in that room. In that situation, the odds of one or both of them noticing us would have gone up tenfold. These cloaks can hide us from Dumbledore, but only just. But believe me it wouldn't take much for him to realise something was out of place had we stayed,"
"But it would have been worth the risk?"
"How so?"
"Maybe it would have told us what the Death Eaters are actually up to,"
"They did tell us that,"
"Yes, but what else are they talking about? What other details do they know that they didn't share?"
"Oh, Weasley Senior shared more than he realises. Definitely more than he intended to," he tapped the side of his head, Draco remembered just how hard it was to keep something from Etean,
"Like what?"
"Like what he and Dumbledore had left to discuss,"
"And, what was it?"
"Boring stuff, personnel deployments, mission updates. Nothing critical from our perspective," Draco nodded,
"Why didn't you just say that?" Etean smirked,
"That wouldn't have been any fun," Draco scowled, then a question occurred to him,
"Was it true what they said about the French?"
"What? That they are better trained than the English Aurors?"
"Yes, that and the part about them not helping for political reasons," Etean nodded,
"Yes," he sighed, "in fact, Dumbledore of understating the problem. You see, in political terms, Europe really boils down to three countries, England, France and Russia. The other nations are all hangers on. Now, you can probably imagine that this has led to a degree of rivalry between the three," Draco thought back to the Tri-Wizard tournament and to the meetings and dinners he had attended with Lucius in the summer preceding it. He remembered listening to dozens of stuffy old wizards all hawking for one school or another – Durmstrang, Beaubatons or Hogwarts. According to his father, the divisions between the three largest and most prominent magical academies in Europe mirrored the political divides between Russia, France and England.
"Yes," he said, "I can."
"Good, now because of this, and because of the political debacle that surrounded Voldemort's return, any alliance of any kind is going to be thorny at best,"
"But, doesn't The Circle control the governments of Europe?"
"Yes and no,"
"What does that mean?"
"It means that while we do have some influence over their decisions, we can't make their minds up for them…not easily anyway. Certainly, any attempt to engineer a decision of this magnitude at the current time would be extremely difficult," Draco frowned, something didn't make sense,
"But…wouldn't stopping Voldemort be worth the effort?"
"Certainly, but the alliance that Dumbledore was proposing won't destroy Voldemort,"
"Why not?"
"Because Draco, destroying the Death Eaters won't finish him. In fact, it will prevent us from destroying him, maybe forever," Draco shook his head,
"I don't see how?" Etean nodded,
"I know you don't so let me explain. You see, you are making the same error in judgement that Dumbledore and the Ministry are making,"
"Am I?"
"Yes. Right now, the Death Eaters and the Aurors are equally matched, engaged in a battle that neither side can win easily. Both sides are however completely committed, thus restricting their freedom of movement in other areas. We need them to stay like that,"
"Why?"
"Because from our perspective, this is actually a good situation. It means that the Death Eaters are prevented from causing any real damage,"
"Apart from killing Aurors," Etean paused and looked at him,
"Yes, that is…unfortunate but the Aurors stand a better chance of surviving a confrontation with the Death Eaters than your average witch or wizard does," Etean rolled his head to one side and scowled, "An unfortunate side effect of this strategy it that as a result, the Aurors and indeed the entire Ministry staff involved are as you saw Arthur Weasley – exhausted. In balance, the same is true of the Death Eaters. It is our hope to ensure that this situation continues, hopefully long enough for us to succeed in our plan," the penny dropped in Draco's head, he finally understood,
"You have been making them fight haven't you?" Etean nodded,
"Yes, but not as you think. We, our members have been monitoring the movements of the Death Eaters and, in many cases, been in a position to tip off the Ministry in time for them to thwart the Death Eaters' attacks," Etean started to pace round the room, "Now, if the alliance goes ahead as proposed, with or without our assistance, the Ministry will instantly have the resources to destroy the Death Eaters, and they will do it in short order. They will not however destroy the Dark Lord,"
"No?"
"No, think about it. He will simply disappear when he believes he is incapable of achieving his goals. He will run and hide, licking his wounds until he is ready to come back. Upon his return, he will raise another army of followers and start this all over again," Draco shook his head,
"I don't see how he could. Who would follow him after he has been defeated once?"
"Once? This is his second war Draco, he has already lost once and look where we are now. As for who would follow him, I can name a dozen people in this school who would in a heartbeat,"
"Students?"
"Yes, Slytherin students in particular fit the profile of those who would follow the Dark Lord. Shit, half of them have parents that already do,"
"Like me?"
"Yes but you are different. You are strong enough to make your own way to whatever goal you want to set for yourself," he jabbed his finger in the general direction of the Slytherin dorm room, "They on the other hand are not. They have all the ambition, all the greed, but none of the strength. Not one of them can gain the power they desire alone. Voldemort could offer it to them, well a counterfeit of it at least. He is smart, he knows how to play to peoples' weaknesses," he stopped and leaned against the wall, "No, it won't be much of a challenge for him to rebuild his support base and attack again. That is why we are attacking now, because at that point whenever it is, we may not be in as good a position to oppose him as we are now," Draco scratched his head, Etean really thought like this?
"Yes," he answered the thought, "I do and so do the Council. You would not believe how long we have spent thinking this through. We chose this course because we had to, because it may be the only way,"
"Right. So, what did we learn tonight then?" Etean stretched and folded his hands behind his head,
"We learned that Voldemort has learned something about The Circle, and that may be a problem,"
"How big of a problem?" Etean shook his head,
"Not sure," he sucked on his tongue, "His attacks on Minder and Ashcroft are confusing. Ashcroft couldn't have told him anything and neither could Minder,"
"Why not? Voldemort could have broken them," Etean shook his head again,
"No, Ashcroft never knew anything to tell him in the first place. Minder was obliviated, retired Circle members always are to ensure that they cannot reveal any sensitive information, he couldn't have broken even if he wanted to. The question is why he attacked them," Draco shrugged,
"They weren't the only ones he attacked. It is possible that it was just a weird co-incidence. Maybe he just hit them at random,"
"Maybe, but I don't think so,"
"But it is possible. I mean if he knows about The Circle, why hit only them? How many members could he have hit? How many could have given him more useful information?" Etean sighed and closed his eyes,
"A few," he shook his head and yawned, "But, that isn't my concern,"
"No?"
"No, I have enough to deal with training you. I'll inform the others, they can investigate any possible security breech, if there is a problem they'll find it,"
"How will you contact them?" Etean yawned,
"There are ways," he shuddered, "but right now I'm headed to bed. This has been a long day."
A/N: Yippee Horray and Hallelujah. Sorry guys but I feel like celebrating. This chapter, for those of you that haven't noticed marks the 100,000 words mark. Cheers for all the reviews, it appears that I have well and truly got some of you hooked. People keep asking me to reveal things about the story, but be patient, we will get there – eventually. Seriously if you guys knew what was coming, how much I have left to tell, you'd probably quit your day jobs to keep reading, I know I've been tempted to a few times :-)
PS: I just realised that the last four chapters have all happened on the same day – morning, lunchtime, afternoon, and now night. Etean wasn't wrong when he said it was a long day!