Hogwarts
Assignment #4 - Religious Education
Task #4 - Andrew: Write about meeting someone new.
Warnings: major character death, non-graphic depictions of torture, murder
Further prompts are at the end.
Word Count: 3,906
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated universe belongs to J.K. Rowling, and not me.
One
"This is m- this is our newest recruit, Septima," Bill introduces. "Septima, this is your trainer, Alice." He gestures to the mousy-haired, blue-eyed, middle-aged witch Ginny's facing - who looks vaguely familiar, for whatever reason.
The witch beams at her - though the smile seems tired, somehow, like she's trying to be someone she no longer is. "Hiya Septima! So happy to meet you! Welcome to the cause."
"The cause," Ginny parrots, glancing at Bill. "Really?"
"G-Septima-"
It doesn't have the same effect, as when he's actually saying her name.
"Oh, no, it's alright, Bill," Alice reassures quickly. "I heard what I said - that would sound a little cheesy, I suppose."
Bill half-nods, half-smiles, caught between acting the big brother and scolding-slash-apologizing further, and attempting to conceal the nature of their relationship by not acting so close.
Ginny's noting his behavior only absentmindedly, though, the rest of her focused on the enigma that is Alice. See, the thing is, Ginny's got a natural talent for understanding people, which is the whole reason why she's becoming a spy instead of joining the fight outright, recruitment-wise, or politically like all of her siblings. That means that, even without training, Ginny knows that though Alice said, 'that would sound a little cheesy,' the 'would' instead of 'does' and not the 'a little cheesy' part is key, which means that Alice meant was, 'that would sound a little cheesy to someone who's not a part of this,' which translates to, 'of course you think that's cheesy, you're not a part of this'.
Which. Hello, Ginny's literally just graduated from Hogwarts, how do you think she could've joined up with the cause before this?
She chooses to take the high road, instead of respond. "Don't you have to be somewhere right after this, Bill?"
"I- uh…" He glances nervously between the two of them, the reason why he's not a spy as obvious as the concern on his face. "If you two are…?"
"Oh, don't worry about it! I'm sure Septima and I will get along just perfectly," Alice chimes in - somehow, magically, managing not to sound sarcastic in her cheer.
"We'll be fine, Bill," Ginny adds, as he hesitates further. "Don't worry about it."
"Well… if you're sure…"
With a half a dozen more worried looks back, her brother makes his way out of the anti-Apparation wards and twists away.
Ginny turns back to move Alice from the corner of her vision to the center. So, these next few days will be… fun.
…
Two
"Congratulations, Septima!" Alice chirps, as Ginny relaxes a little with the signal of the end of the test. "I'd say, you're just about ready to be on the field! Spectacular work, all around, not to mention that you do really have a natural talent for these things."
Ginny smiles a little at the implication, that the rest of the reason for her success is Alice's own good teaching - but not annoyed or angry about the hidden messages, because, as she's learned in the past three days, that's just the way Alice banters with others.
So: "Thank you," Ginny says in response. "I'm sure a large part of that was thanks to your teaching, though." Possibly sarcasm, possibly genuine, but either way, a nod to Alice's implications.
"Aw, you're too good," Alice coos - and this time, Ginny starts a little, because taken out of context instead of in response to Ginny's words like Alice must intend, the words seem to be… an actual compliment? "Seriously, hun, really glad you're a part of this with us. Oh- but that reminds me. Graduation gift time!"
The last sentence sounds cheery, but the one before that - a downwards turn meaning that this 'gift' isn't necessarily a good thing? What kind of-
Alice pulls out a small grey box from some invisible pocket inside her robes, opens it to reveal a milky-white capsule, small enough to fit on the tip of a wand.
Ginny closes her eyes as it clicks, what this is.
"It's a last resort," Alice says, sunniness dimmed for the first time since Ginny's met her, "but what we do… the Order'd prefer you have a way out, if needed. Every spy has one, myself included. This design was perfected a few years ago - after Neville's- well, you know. The pill will merge into some of your back teeth, and if you have to use it, all you have to do is cast, Apertapill, then bite down hard."
Ginny nods in acknowledgement, then pauses as Alice flicks her wrist to release her wand from its holster. "Do we… now?"
"Mm-hm," Alice agrees. "Don't worry about your disguise, the implementation will work through whatever disguises you wear. But yep, we do it now. Like I said: graduation gift."
Ginny takes a deep breath, then nods again. "Okay. I'm ready."
…
Three
"Hiya Septima!"
Ginny turns around slowly, like she knew all along of the newcomer's approach, cursing internally all the while - a moment's inattention might not get you killed on the battlefield, if you're lucky, but for a spy, a moment's lapse of control can be everything. She'd been expecting Bill, as her handler but also her brother who can't Apparate silently and wouldn't surprise anyone who's fought in the war anyway, but still.
"Why the hell are you here, Alice?"
Alice's smile falters a little, almost enough to make Ginny feel guilty - almost convincing enough, that is. "Bill was busy, so you'll be making your report to me, today."
That sounds… unlikely. There're reasons why none of the handlers are also spies - to minimize mistakes from information cover identities shouldn't know, to decrease people risked if spies are caught, to keep from piling further work onto the already-stressful lives of spies, and so on. The only reason why she and Alice met was so Ginny could learn from an experienced spy - Ginny has no idea who Alice truly is, and Alice has no idea who 'Septima' truly is. But the Order wouldn't just send Alice in Bill's place, not unless something was seriously wrong - and if something was seriously wrong, Ginny thinks she would know about it.
Which leaves two options, here. Or… make that three. One, this location's been compromised, this isn't really Alice, and whoever this actually is, is trying to get information from 'Septima' to suss out Ginny's identity and, potentially, other Order spies. (Just in case, she flicks her left hand, hidden by her body from view, to grasp her wand, and casts a Notice-Me-Not charm on the hand and wand.) Two, Alice has been compromised, and is similarly trying to suss out Ginny's identity and other Order secrets. (Unlikely, because that would be breaking Alice's cover within the Order, and Ginny doubts any secrets of hers, a witch barely a part of either the Order or the Death Eaters, would really be worth it.) Three, this is some sort of Order-contrived test to see what Ginny's response would be to potentially-suspicious behavior. (Which… seems a lot like them.)
Not that the actual situation really matters, here, because Ginny's response is the same.
She casts a nonverbal Protego, then says, "O-kay then. No pressing news, situation remains, basically, the same as last reported. Two newly Marked in the month, both joined with the standard outer circle route. Talk of raiding the rumored headquarters of Democratic Alliance, but nothing confirmed. New Dementor troops sent to support the efforts in Poland. Oh, and: a strongly-worded refusal from the Japanese Ministry to the proposed alliance."
Don't say anything incriminating, don't say anything unknown, don't say anything unusual, get out of there as quickly as possible, contact someone who cannot be compromised (because if they were, the whole Order'd be dead, which means, McGonagall, Moody, or Kingsley) to reevaluate position.
"Good answer," 'Alice' praises, relaxing like she's dropping some sort of act. "See, I told them you'd get it immediately!"
So… either scenario three, or scenario one or two pretending to be scenario three. But then again, if it were scenario three, Ginny also doubts that Alice would give up the ruse so quickly.
Still, safer to pretend that she believes her. "Thanks," Ginny says drily. "We both know how much your opinion matters to me. If that's all…?"
"Oh," 'Alice' says, looking a little dejected. "Actually, it's been quite a while, Sep, hun, and I was wondering how you've been. Mind staying for a bit?"
Really? "Oh, of course!" Ginny coos, channeling, well, Alice herself. "I would love to stay - I certainly don't have other things I need to do with my time." A lot more obviously sarcastic than normal, but for a reason, to deliver the message.
Which 'Alice', of course, receives. "Of course, of course, I wouldn't want to inconvenience you. Go ahead, then, go! Don't worry about me."
McGonagall confirms that it was a test, after Ginny Apparates away and contacts her on the Muggle burner phone, a safe distance away from any magical structures to interfere with the technology. A test Ginny passed with flying colors, too - apparently, Alice was most profuse in her feedback.
"Oh, and, Miss Weasley," McGonagall adds, as an afterthought. "She told me to communicate - and these are her words precisely - 'Just so you know, I meant what I said.'"
Now… what part of what she said was Alice referring to?
…
Four
"Hiya, Septima."
Ginny blinks at the cloaked figure, surprised not because that's Alice, since it figures that she'd be at Alastor Moody's wake, but because she'd recognized Ginny, hood drawn over her face like everyone else in the crowd.
"How'd- you-?"
"Oh, right," Alice chuckles. "Don't worry, it's not your acting skills - I don't see enough of you to really figure that out. No, it's your robes. You always wear those, when you're Septima. I recognized them."
Ginny nods slowly - deciphers the first part of her assurance, which is actually that Alice doesn't know what her true identity is.
"Did you know him well?"
"Alastor? Actually… yeah, I did. He helped train me - and that was before… before. I don't know where I'd be without him and all his 'Constant vigilance!' and, well, you know."
Ginny nods - she'd never met the infamous Order leader enough times to really know him, but that part of his personality is famous.
Just like Alice?
She tries to push away the thought - but something about Alice's unusual attitude, plus her mousy, pleasant looks, just seems so familiar, outside of the few days Ginny's actually spent with her, and even though Ginny had been a Slytherin and not a Ravenclaw in school her curiosity's always been her downfall, and so the question just comes flowing out-
"Who are you?" And then, blanching at the violation of that taboo subject, "Sorry, you don't have to-"
"Oh, you don't know who I am?" Alice exclaims, voice still soft and blending into the background of conversations around them. "No, I'm really sorry, I had no idea you hadn't already figured it out! Although, I suppose, it is my son who's the more famous one."
And since she's Alice, she manages to make that sound entirely sincere.
Ginny frowns - unseen, of course, because of the hood - at her. Alice has just given her a series of additional clues, though, first that her son is 'more famous', second that the appearance Ginny knows isn't a disguise, and third that it would be possible off of those details to figure out who-
It clicks. "You're Alice Longbottom?" No wonder she seems so exhausted all the time, under all that happiness - Ginny's heard of what happened to Neville Longbottom, in the cautionary tales they tell of what happens to those who oppose the Dark Lord, though she never knew their would-be savior when he was alive. "But, wait, are you using your real name, then? Or, no, you're not 'Alice' when you're spying, are you?"
"Nope," Alice agrees. "Too recognizable."
"So you're someone else… but then, what happened to the original?"
"Dead." Ginny blinks at the callous, throwaway, uncharacteristic way she says that. Alice, doubtless, senses her shock, adding, "Trust me - the world's a whole lot better of a place with her gone."
"I'll… take your word for that, then."
No wonder she acts so perky all the time, too - Ginny's heard stories of Alice Longbottom's infamous cheer, and since her son was so brutally murdered, she probably wants nothing but to fight to destroy his killers, while the Order must constantly be on the watch for signs that she isn't ready to be back in espionage.
No wonder Alice sees Ginny's acting as lacking, too, if she's carrying around all of this baggage while pretending nearly 24/7 to be someone else.
"How are you, Alice?" Ginny asks softly.
There's a quiet huff of air, the sound of a quiet laugh. "Tired," Alice confesses. And it doesn't sound like much, is certainly not anything Ginny hadn't figured out from their very first meeting, but the fact that Alice told her this is, well, everything.
Just like Percy and his Democratic Alliance have their language, of politics, Ginny supposes that this is their own language, the language of spies.
"I know," Ginny says - and it's not patronizing, not annoyed, not pitying, just… understanding.
…
Five
"Hiya, Septima." When Ginny doesn't respond, she adds, "Bill asked me to come. Explained the situation and said that, well, he can't really understand."
"Course he can't," Ginny says numbly. "I don't even understand, why I can't- why I'm feeling this way - I mean, I knew this was going to happen, I said I was ready, I know I'm lucky - I mean, compared to you, compared to the others who actually go on raids and serve him directly and everything - I know that being a researcher's really light on the bloodshed and- I know, but I just-"
"It's the first time you've killed," Alice finishes for her. Ginny nods. "I don't think any amount of knowing before it happens makes it any easier, hun - if it were easy, I know we'd all be concerned."
"Dehumanization and all - I know, I know. I just- They were our people. I knew them - Cho Chang, Marietta Edgecombe, Sturgis Podmore, Oliver Wood. They had family, friends, people, who loved them. And I don't even know which one of them I killed. But they'll never wake up again."
A tear threatens to drip down from the corner of her eye. Ginny blinks it away furiously. Why is she crying when she barely knew them when she is the one who killed them when she-
Alice sits down besides Ginny, wraps an arm around Ginny, leans Ginny's head onto her shoulder, and the action's something- something Mum would've done- except-
The dam bursts.
When Alice whispers, lips brushing across Ginny's disguised hair, something that sounds like, "You're too young for this war," there's no sense of indignation that rises inside Ginny; instead, she thinks she understands.
…
+1
"Did you hear? Our Lord caught another filthy blood traitor in the ranks, and we're all going to get to go to her interrogation - rumor has it that we might even get to curse her, ourselves!"
Ginny represses, like always, the urge to curse Mafalda - she never learned better, she reminds herself, she never had an older brother who remembered the times before. And when that isn't convincing enough, you can't afford to break your cover.
"Are you sure about- mmph!" A pain flares up in Ginny's left arm, and her heart sinks, because this must be the call to the interrogation, which means that another Order spy probably has been caught.
"Told you so!" Mafalda crows, before twisting on the spot, following the Mark to where it calls.
Ginny mimics her, landing at what looks like the amphitheater of Malfoy Manor - the one constructed specifically for Death Eater meetings, or so Draco's told them. Mafalda has already, doubtless, disappeared into the crowd, so Ginny does as well, making her way through the mass of people to the elevated platform just by the house. If this will be the execution of an Order spy, the least she can do is be there to witness.
She manages to squeeze through to the front- and then freezes.
Because there, crumpled on the ground and seemingly unconscious - or dead - by the Dark Lord's feet, is Alice.
No no no no no no no-
Someone spits on her body - Ginny turns to look: Macnair. She fights the urge to curse him - curse everyone around them -, grab Alice's body, and Apparate them both out of there.
You'd never make it, she reminds herself. Alice wouldn't want you to die for- for nothing.
"My Death Eaters," the Dark Lord says in that cold, high voice, and the crowd turns obediently silent. "I am sure that many of you know why I have called you here, today. But for those of you who do not: a spy of the terrorists who call themselves the Order of the Phoenix was apprehended today by our counterintelligence forces." He pauses, letting the murmurs die off a little before continuing. "Some of you may recognize our… esteemed guest."
A flick of his hand, and Alice's body starts to rise off the ground, floating to just above the heads of the front few rows, visible to everyone.
"Alice Fortescue Longbottom," the Dark Lord says, voice quiet but echoing. "Mother of Neville Longbottom. Wife of Frank Longbottom. Alive, as it turns out - but then again, not for much longer."
Wrong, Ginny thinks - Alice must've already taken the pill, right? She must've realized that there'd be no way out, that her death would be most painless if-
Another flourish of that pale, long hand - and cerulean-blue eyes open.
Ginny stares - because terrible as it is to think, why is Alice still alive?
The Dark Lord smiles. "Let's have a little lottery, shall we?"
"If your name is called," Lucius Malfoy - Malfoy, some part of Ginny notes absently, and not Bellatrix Lestrange - says, "you may come to the front, and cast any spell of your choosing - provided, of course, that you do not kill."
An excited hush, through the crowd. Ginny feels sick.
Malfoy flourishes his wand, upwards from a jar of paper slips, opens the chosen name, and says, "Marius Jugson."
Someone, in the crowd, starts a chant, "Jugson! Jugson! Jugson! Jugson!"
Ginny doesn't show the slightest bit of anger as Jugson prances to the stage and starts the- the torture off with an (unoriginal) Crucio, but inside- why isn't Alice doing anything (why isn't she doing anything) what happened to the pill (what happened to saving people she could save) why is the curse lasting so long (why has she just been staring for so long) what-
"Antonin Dolohov."
"Morrigan Wilkes."
"Ginevra Weasley."
"Weasley! Weasley! Weasley! Weasley!"
Alice has doubtless lost, or been otherwise unable to, use her pill, Ginny thinks, which means the kindest thing to do would be to end it, now - and this would be the best opportunity to do so, to let that flash of green light escape her wand instead of some other, worse torture. Except she can't, not when Malfoy's given express instructions against it, not when it would break her cover at the worst, and put her under heavy suspicion and/or punishment at the best.
She meets Alice's eyes, at the center of the stage, trying to convey some sort of comfort to her- and nearly flinches back at the sheer amount of hate in the other witch's gaze. And it's genuine hate, not some sort of act, and for a moment Ginny can't understand why-
But oh. Alice doesn't know who she is - she's Ginevra Weasley, right now, not Septima, not the spy whose identity no one except McGonagall and Bill know.
Malfoy's eyes flicker questioningly towards her, and Ginny knows that she's dawdled long enough.
"Torquere Aqua," she casts - a spell of her own horrible, terrible making because, of course, that's what's expected of her - and tries to look gleeful as Alice screams.
"Ginevra Weasley," the Dark Lord says quietly, as Ginny passes him on the way back to the audience. "I've heard of you. One of the brightest minds of your generation - isn't that what they say? Was that curse one of yours?"
"It was, my Lord," Ginny says, bowing her head. And then, because she just can't, not when she just had to torture Alice - she lifts her chin daringly and says, "And of course you've heard of me - whatever you've heard, it's not an exaggeration-" No no no, she did not just say that to the Dark Lord- "Thankyou," she adds quickly - and oh no are his eyes gleaming more, gleaming dangerously, at her right now or is that just-
"Feisty," he comments. "I hope to see more of you later, Ginevra."
She hurries back to her seat - barely keeps herself from hyperventilating once she's there, safely enmeshed amidst the crowd- except no she shouldn't be taking this time to relax because Alice is still being tortured, because Alice is still screaming, because she won't get a chance after this torture ends and once they've taken her to the dungeons to break into her mind and discover Order secrets.
"Vincent Crabbe," Malfoy calls, and Ginny thinks, perfect, because Crabbe the younger is known for his stupidity, for his sloppiness, so it wouldn't be that far of a stretch for him to accidentally kill Alice with his spell.
"Imperio," she casts in a whisper covered by the bloodthirsty chants and the tortured sobs. The connection stabilizes and Crabbe stumbles, before Ginny sends a quick act like everything's normal at him and he resumes his stride.
Stare for three seconds at her body, Ginny orders. Then cast Sectumsempra with your wand drawing a line from the outer corner of her right eye to her throat - cut her throat.
The next three seconds seem to last an eternity, the whole world seeming to go on mute as Ginny stares at Alice - alive, for the last time; hurting, for the last time; hating Ginny, for the first and last time.
It shouldn't matter, because she knows that she has to do it even though Alice has no idea who she is, because she knows that this will be a mercy no matter what Alice herself thinks of it, except it does, because Alice doesn't know that Ginny's there for her, because Alice hates her right now, because Alice won't meet her eyes and tell her silently to do it and make ending it, ending her, the right thing to do.
It shouldn't matter, what with the number of horrors she's witnessed, the number of people she's tortured and killed, the number of curses she's invented and experiments she's conducted to hurt others if only by proxy - it shouldn't matter that Alice doesn't know who she is except it does.
"Sectumsempra," Crabbe casts, following Ginny's instructions to a T.
Alice's body falls, lands on the stone floor with a thud, a puppet whose strings have been cut.
Summer Seasonal Challenges
Days of the Year: 11th July - Cheer Up the Lonely Day
Anti-Boredom Month: Get together with a friend or two
International Pirate Month: (character) Antonin Dolohov
Self-Improvement Month: Draco Malfoy
Indoor Plant Week: Rose of China
International Body Piercing Day: Reverse Prince Albert
Creative Ice Cream Day: Green Tea & Butterscotch
International Beer Day: Bell's
Colours: Cerulean
Crystals & Gemstones: Star Sapphire
Tarot Reading: The Hierophant
Gryffindor Characters: Ginny Weasley
Writing Club: August
Bromance to Romance: (word) Disguise
Written in the Stars: (character) Ginny Weasley
This Or That: Write about witnessing a murder
Film Festival: Trope: Secret Identity
Lizzy's Loft: Trouble [bonus]
Elizabeth's Empire: Chameleon
EnTitled: Earth Kills
Amber's Anime Adventure: (trait) curious
Lyric Alley: I had no where to turn
Artist Appreciation: Since We're Alone
August Auction: 23.4 - (genre) Angst
Southern Cookout: Drinks - Ginger Ale
Fight Club: Heal - (Action) Reading
Summer Bucket List: Write a fic featuring a friendship (2 people) you have never written before - Alice&Ginny
Takeaway Night: Dominos: Dominos Cookies