Review Responses:
Annibal – glad the last one amused. Sorry for the wait, thanks for reviewing!DarthRoden – I'm so pleased people enjoyed the Slytherin Common scene, I enjoyed writing that. Thanks for the review!
db – no Percy once more I'm afraid but he'll be back next chapter. Thanks for reviewing!
Dark-Lady-Devinity – Harry's definitely on the unstable side of things, as you'll see more of here. Thanks for the review!
Thanks also to Natasha, Jenny and Balsam for their reviews of Shades of Grey and Understanding.
Sorry for the long wait, hope people are sticking with me. Hope to get another chapter up before the weekend. Very excited, queuing at midnight, though I had hoped to finish this fic by now. Guess it's needless to say I won't be taking book 7 developments in account in this fic.
Enjoy and please review and tell me what you think.
Chapter 12Druscilla Thornfield was sat in her office, up to her neck in red tape and paperwork she couldn't seem to cut through. It seemed there was actually no legal way to dispose of a Minister's junior assistant. The man was trying her patience beyond all measure and she was determined he was the leak the ministry seemed to have developed. She had even started to be grateful when he sent his secretary to see her instead of coming himself. The woman might be a brain-dead blonde who had trouble finding the office and got lost seemingly every time she went to Druscilla's floor, and ended up in the oddest and most inconvenient places, but at least it meant Druscilla had to deal with the minister's pompous assistant less often than she would otherwise have had to.
All in all she was grateful to be distracted by a knock at the door and the ever-welcome arrival of Remus Lupin.
"Good Morning, Remus." She smiled, "What can I do for you?"
He returned her smile and sat down without waiting to be asked. "I came to talk to you about the Order. I need your help with something."
Druscilla was not happy that he had only turned up because he wanted something and frowned instantly.
"We're trying to work on where Voldemort's hideout is, but we're hitting a dead end and Percy's been asked to dig through the ministry records from the last war and see what he can find that might help. However it was thought to be a good idea to inform you, as we were also hoping you might be able to help, after all you remember the last war and he doesn't. You'd have a better idea what you were looking for."
"I haven't the time," she snapped, "I'm snowed under with work and I'm still working on the issue of the information leak!" It suddenly occurred to her that an opportunity to help her cause was being presented to her and she forced a smile onto her face. "Actually, Remus, I was hoping for your help. I need someone from the Order to track the minister's junior assistant, you know the way you've been following other suspicious characters."
Remus frowned, "I thought you'd already suggested that to Dumbledore and he'd said no?"
"Well yes he did but I thought that with your help I might get him to change his mind. You could remind him of how he didn't listen to you the last time you said someone needed keeping an eye on and how badly that ended for poor Ginny. Please, Remus." She reached up and unclasped her hair, allowing it to fall loose about her slender shoulders, her jacket had been discarded sometime through the speech and as she crossed her legs her skirt rode further up her thigh. Remus was suddenly struck by a feeling of déjà vu and the knowledge that he was being manipulated, or rather that she was trying to manipulate him. Trying, and failing.
He grinned in a mixture of annoyance and amusement, "You know you're really insulting my intelligence, Druscilla. You tried this exact same trick on that poor guy the other day and I watched you do it."
The half smile dropped from her lips, "So it's not working then?"
He shook his head, "I'm afraid not. I'm not about to be charmed by you, Druscilla."
Her annoyance was clear, "I'm just trying to get you to do what you should be doing anyway. This guy is a threat! I have no idea what he's up to once he goes home for the night and frankly he's someone who the order needs to be keeping an eye on!"
"Would you really be so bothered by this guy if he weren't being charmed by his young, blonde secretary instead of you!?"
Remus' remark clearly cut a little too deeply for Druscilla's comfort. "If you have such a low opinion of me I wonder that you came for my help!" she snapped, "As it is I think we can safely say we have come to an end for today."
Remus was suddenly reminded of why he had come to see the woman in the first place. "We have not come to an end. I still need your help. I need you to be helpful and not kick up a fuss while Percy goes looking for this information…" Remus trailed off suddenly.
"What?" Druscilla was by nature too curious to prevent herself from furthering conversation with the werewolf at his sudden silence.
Remus frowned, "Didn't you already make arrangements to monitor his fireplace? I seem to remember you flirting with someone from floo security or something until you got your own way. I take it that hasn't turned up anything?"
She sighed heavily, "You know as well as I do that those spells are easily detected if you check for them and every time I put one up he just deactivated it. He's obviously a little brighter than I'd quite given him credit for."
"Which in itself is hardly suspicious," Remus stated, "If someone were monitoring my fireplace, I'd certainly try to stop them."
"Yes, but you'd also report the fact to someone," she pointed out, "Which he hasn't."
Remus thought for a moment, "Druscilla, if he is using his fireplace to contact the Death Eaters is there a chance we could trace the connection backwards and find out at least roughly where Voldemort is? I mean, even if we can't monitor it as it happens, can't we go through all past communications one by one and trace where they came from?"
She looked at him for a long moment before replying, "That might be possible, I'd have to go and talk to the floo maintenance people to check but I think we could do it. Of course we'd have to wait until I'd proved what this guy was up to as it's not exactly something we can do surreptitiously."
"Well why don't we head down to the floo office and find out if this is possible?" Remus said eagerly.
She nodded and stood up, "Alright, let's give it a try."
They walked through the ministry in a fairly cold silence, Druscilla was annoyed with Remus though, unlike others at the ministry, she was able to put this aside at least temporarily and work with him on something more important than their squabbling.
As they approached the door to the Department of Magical Transportation: Floo Division, the minister's junior assistant's secretary came through it. She swept past them with a brilliant though rather vacant smile, which Druscilla returned with a scowl and muttered viciously, "Probably got lost again, looking for a bathroom to reapply her make-up!"
Remus frowned at her, "Are you always this aggressively jealous towards attractive women who are younger than you?"
She jerked her head suddenly in his direction looking angry and defiant and also a little hurt, as though Remus had exposed a vulnerability she'd rather have kept to herself. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response!"
Remus almost regretted what he'd said and, by way of an apology, let the subject drop.
Druscilla stormed ahead into the department and marched right up to the desk where an elderly wizard was sat writing something in a large book. She cleared her throat in a manner that demanded attention and, when she didn't get it, slammed her hand onto the book forcing the man to look up in annoyance. Upon seeing who it was though Remus noticed he either didn't bother or didn't dare to protest and simply allowed her to continue.
"I need some information about the uses of the floo system within the ministry," Druscilla was clearly not in the mood to exchange pleasantries.
"I'm afraid I can't give out information of people's movements and communications to anyone but the Minister himself or to Mr Meadows his junior assistant," the grey haired wizard replied solemnly.
"Very convenient!" Druscilla muttered under her breath. She forced a friendly smile onto her face and continued, "I don't want that sort of information, I want to know about the system itself."
"What do you want to know?"
"Every time someone uses the floo system within the building, whether it's for purposes of travel or communication, you know about it in this department, yes?"
He nodded.
"And is it possible, by using a particular fireplace, to trace where communications have been going to and from?" she asked, hope showing in her dark eyes.
The man thought for a moment, "It's possible, difficult though and I don't think we've got anyone working here who could do it on their own."
"But it can be done?" she pressed.
"Yes, if you find people capable of doing it. Why do you ask? Floo communications are logged anyway."
"Oh, I was just curious," she bluffed, "Have there been any obvious discrepancies in the logs lately?"
"Of course not!" the man seemed insulted by the idea. "This is the ministry of magic! We do not make mistakes!"
Remus held back the urge to laugh and noted that Druscilla was holding back what looked like the urge to groan in despair.
"I wasn't thinking about mistakes," Druscilla frowned, "I was thinking of someone falsifying records!"
He shook his head, "They'd have to get in here to do that and we'd notice, there's always someone down here at the desk and you can't modify the records without knowing the exact spells anyway and they're known only to those who work here."
She frowned, clearly this was news to her. "How long has this been common practice in the ministry?"
"Oh not long," the man said, "Only about the last fifty years, we worked on an honour system before then. I suppose to you though that's a long time, you'd only have been a little baby back then but I remember it…"
He seemed about to go into a prolonged reminiscence when Druscilla snapped in frustration, "I wasn't even born fifty years ago, thank you very much!" Her age had clearly become a touchy issue that day.
The man carried on without paying her any attention, "I remember everything that happened then as if it were yesterday but lately I can't even remember what happened this morning, come to think of it I can't even remember what I was doing before you showed up down here. You're the first people to come down here for a long time."
Druscilla was about to tell him to shut up when she stopped short, "But one of the secretaries was here a moment ago."
He frowned, "Were they? I don't remember."
"Young, blonde, pretty!" Druscilla tried to jog his memory.
"Oh yes," he nodded slowly, "That'd be the secretary to the minister's young assistant."
She nodded, "Yeah, that's the one."
He frowned, "My memory never used to be like this you know."
She suddenly gave him a sympathetic smile and patted his arm, "I'm sure it'll be alright. Thank you for your help."
Once outside Remus turned to her, "What do you make of that?"
"His memory's got me interested. It sounds to me," she hesitated, "Like someone's been messing with his memory. He could just be a confused old man but that's not the impression I got of him. And I'm very interested to hear that the only people with access to those records outside of the department are Fudge and his junior assistant, rather convenient for Mr Meadows if he is our spy."
Remus nodded, "Yes I thought that sounded suspicious. You think he's capable of obliviating that man's memory?"
"If he's working for Voldemort he's got brains, the Dark Lord, from what I hear, does not tolerate fools for long, so very probably. Besides, to get through the ministry's employment agency you have to be bright. I think we've not only got our man, we've got how he's operating as well. "
"If we're right," Remus warned her, "We don't know for certain that it's him, though I admit the evidence doesn't look good."
"We're right," Druscilla insisted, "I'm sure of it. As soon as I can I'm going to try that spell."
"You don't know what it is," Remus said flatly.
She waved her hand in a vague manner, "That's what I employ Percy for, finding out the very few things that I don't already know. Unfortunately I'm going to need to wait until I've got something approaching real evidence before I can do anything with his fireplace."
"You'll keep looking then?"
She nodded grimly, "Oh yes. I don't give in and this security leak can't be allowed to get any worse."
Remus nodded in understanding, "Well I should be going, you will let Percy look out that information on Voldemort's possible location?"
"Yes I will, but I still think you should get Dumbledore to have someone follow Stephen Meadows!"
"Druscilla, if you want the Minister's assistant followed, prove he's done something and then I'm sure the aurors will follow him for you."
"Remus…!"
"Goodbye, Druscilla," Remus smiled at her and walked away leaving her spluttering out the rest of her protest to an empty corridor.
XXXXXXX
Ron had spent the day wondering what the evening would have in store for himself, Harry and Hermione. Harry's determination to follow Malfoy wherever he was going that night had not waned in the least and so Ron was left to stress about how to explain to his mother whatever trouble they were bound to end up in.
Dinner was a noisy affair that night, with the school having mostly recovered from the shock of the deaths at the end of summer. Lavender and the others who had died were mentioned less and less except by those who had really known them. Even Seamus and Parvati were seeming more like their old selves. For almost a fortnight there had been no more news of deaths or destruction or even of ministry stupidity and so the general atmosphere of the school had much improved.
Ron however was glad when dinner was over and he and Harry could return to the common room and wait for the time when Hermione finished in the library and met them to start the night's insanity.
Curfew for the sixth years was at nine thirty so at ten to nine Hermione returned to the common room, stowed her books and bag in her dormitory and joined Ron in following Harry down to the dungeons. What they had over heard of the Slytherins' arrangements was that Malfoy and Parkinson would be leaving half an hour prior to curfew, so the three Gryffindors made sure they were hidden by the invisibility cloak, near to the entrance of the Slytherin common room, by five to nine.
They didn't have more than a minute to wait before the two Slytherins appeared, dressed in everyday clothes and warm winter cloaks.
"Why are they in their cloaks?" Hermione hissed.
Harry shrugged, "Hurry up, they could easily lose us in the castle if we lose sight of them."
The three Gryffindors shuffled along underneath the cloak as best they could without making too much noise in the fast emptying corridors. Draco and Pansy were walking quickly with the attitude that they had every right to be going where they were going. Ron knew that attitude, it was the one best adopted when heading somewhere you weren't supposed to be.
Much to the surprise of Ron, Harry and Hermione, despite their outdoor clothes, the two Slytherins didn't head outside but went up to the fifth floor and along to the corridor containing the statue of the one eyed witch. Draco drew his wand and tapped the statue, whispering the password and he and Pansy disappeared inside the passage, stifling laughter. The statue closed behind them.
"Where the hell are they going?" Ron was completely bewildered by the turn of events.
Harry shrugged, "Must be going to Hogsmeade."
"This is silly," Ron said ten minutes later when they judged the two Slytherins far enough away that they could follow them down the passage without detection. "Why are we still following them?"
"They've probably already got the potions ingredient and are meeting someone to hand it over!" Harry argued.
"Right," Ron said doubtfully, "That'll be it."
They left the cloak at the start of the passage, knowing that they would be unable to catch up with the other students if they couldn't move fast.
They reached Honeydukes and clambered out of the trapdoor.
"What now?" Hermione asked, "The shop'll be locked up for the night, how do we get out?"
Ron glanced around, "Up there." He pointed to a small window in the top of the wall, partly open with a pile of boxes beneath it. It was clearly how the Slytherins had exited the building.
Once outside they instantly regretted not having cloaks, it was a cold night and they were quite unprepared for the temperature drop. Harry stared down the street in both directions and urged the others in the direction away from the school, "They're down there."
Straining his eyes, Ron could just see two figures in the distance. Draco and Pansy seemed in no hurry at all and as they drew a little closer to them they could be heard talking and laughing. He frowned, something didn't seem right or rather nothing seemed wrong; surely if they were going to meet Death Eaters they wouldn't be behaving so nonchalantly. Eventually the two of them disappeared inside a building that Ron recognised as the Hogshead, the seedier of the village's two taverns.
The three Gryffindors waited a moment before carrying on towards the tavern, they hadn't dared get too close to the two Slytherins for fear of being seen. Deciding however that enough was enough Ron put a hand on Hermione's arm and pulled her back as they reached the tavern. "This is ridiculous, Hermione! Can't you see that? Harry's blinded by his desperation to do something, but you should be able to see that this is a wild goose chase."
"Why is that exactly?" She did not respond well to his challenge, "We don't know what they're up to!"
"Hermione, they are a couple of teenagers, they're not Death Eaters and I still have difficulty believing that Malfoy, no matter how much of an evil little prat he can be, is actively working for You-Know-Who right under Dumbledore's nose!"
"Ron, he's a Slytherin!"
"And Pettigrew was a Gryffindor! What difference does it make to what I've been saying?" Ron sighed in frustration suddenly sick to death of the whole thing, "I'm going back to the school before we get into trouble! You can follow me or not, I don't care."
Hermione watched him stride away, his long legs taking him quickly out of her sight. Shaking her head, she turned to Harry who was surreptitiously checking through the windows of the Hogs Head.
Harry looked round for his friends and saw only Hermione, "Where's Ron?"
"Gone back to the school, we had a bit of an argument, he thought this was ridiculous."
Harry looked surprised then fixed his attention back on the pub. The two of them approached another window and saw Draco and Pansy sat at a table, drinks in front of them that were definitely not butterbeer and sat so close that, with their matching black cloaks, it was hard to tell where one ended and the other began. As the two Gryffindors watched, Draco leaned in and kissed his girlfriend, his hand caressing her slightly rumpled hair.
"Ok," Hermione pulled a face, "That I don't need to see!"
Harry was forced to agree with her.
"And I don't need to see Hogwarts students out of school without permission." The two of them whirled around to see Professor Snape, looking angry. "Do you have some sort of explanation for this?" he growled at them.
"We followed Malfoy and Parkinson, they're in there!" Harry blurted out, determined Snape would listen before simply carting them back to school. Snape looked through the window Harry pointed at. "Well aren't you going to go and get them?"
This did not seem to have been the thing to say, Severus Snape was very clearly not going to take orders from Harry Potter of all people. "If you think I'm wandering in on that, Potter, you are much mistaken! I will deal with Mr Malfoy and Miss Parkinson when they return to the school, which is what you will do right now!"
"But they're in league with Voldemort!" Harry said in desperation.
Snape's expression became even more furious, something that only a moment before Harry would have thought impossible, "Keep your voice down!" he grabbed Harry's arm and forcibly dragged him in the direction of the school, Hermione hurrying after them. "You do not yell accusations like that in public!" he hissed. "And when we get back to school you had better have a very good reason for making accusations of that nature at all!"
XXXXXXX
Having left Hermione and Harry, Ron stormed right up to the school gates not caring that he might easily be seen by any teachers in the grounds when it was well past the curfew. He was storming up the path from the gates when a voice called out his name, "Ron!"
He turned quickly, thinking he'd been caught but saw that it was only Hagrid.
"Hi, Hagrid," he waved sheepishly, Hagrid might be their friend but he was still a member of staff and could still put Ron in detention for breaking the rules.
"Wha' are yeh doin' out at this time? An' where 'ave yeh been? I saw yeh comin' in though the gates!"
Ron grinned nervously, "Hogsmeade. It's a really long story, Hagrid. Are you going to report me?"
"Course not!" Hagrid exclaimed, "But yeh can come back to me hut and explain this long story o' yours over a nice cup of tea."
Ron grinned, "Thanks, Hagrid. You're great!"
"Yeah well," Hagrid looked pleased, "Don' tell yeh teachers I let yeh off!"
XXXXXXX
Neither Harry not Hermione dared to break the silence on the way back to the school and both followed the potions master without further protest. Upon reaching the school he ordered them both into his office and slammed the door.
"Why do you constantly flout all attempts to keep you safe, Potter?" he asked in a silky voice, "Do you have a strong wish to see your parents again, because that could be arranged." He twirled his wand idly in his fingers as he spoke.
Harry was shocked into silence.
"You continually break rules put in place to keep you and the other students safe! I am tired of you thinking yourself so far above rules that everyone else manages to keep to!"
"Malfoy and Parkinson clearly don't! What about their safety?" Harry exploded in indignation.
"Your imbecility amazes me, Potter, the people that would harm you have no interest in Mr Malfoy or Miss Parkinson! You are the main target of the Dark Lord, do you not understand what this means?!"
"But…!"
"Be quiet, Potter! I am taking fifty points each from Gryffindor for your and Miss Granger's behaviour and you will both serve detention with Mr Filch every night for the next three weeks! Let's see if you're still so keen on roaming around when you've spent hours every evening cleaning the castle!"
Hermione gasped in horror but knew better than to argue. Harry however was not done. "What about Malfoy and Parkinson?!"
"I will deal with them when they return to the school, I thought it best Potter that information of your tendency of wandering outside the school and its protection not reach the ears of those connected with the Dark Lord!"
"So you do believe they're connected with Voldemort!" Harry spoke triumphantly.
"Stop saying that name, Potter! And I was referring to their families not to them. That is not an accusation to throw about lightly and if you make it again, now or in any other context, I will dock so many points that your housemates will have no choice but to lynch you!"
Realising that Snape was in no humour to deal with his two most hated students, Harry settled into a sulky silence.
"Quite finished, Potter?" Snape raised an eyebrow. "I'll escort you back to your common room to prevent anymore detours taking place this evening." He swept from the office with Harry and Hermione trailing behind. Hermione was in shock at the number of detentions and Harry was fuming that Snape hadn't dragged back the Slytherins at the same time.
Once in the entrance hall they almost collided with Hagrid and Ron.
Snape glared at Ron, "What are you doing out of your common room at this time?"
"It was my fault, Professor!" Hagrid quickly put in. "I invited Ron fer a cuppa and I lost track o' the time. I'm just taking him back to his common room."
Snape looked as though he were going to pursue the matter then seemed to change his mind, "Fine, then you can escort these two as well," he gestured at Harry and Hermione, "Get them back where they belong!" He turned and stalked back to the dungeons leaving Hagrid looking confused and Ron trying not to smirk at Hermione.
"So you got caught?" Ron asked.
Harry nodded angrily, "We'll explain later."
Hagrid shook his head and hurried them up to the Gryffindor common room before bidding them goodnight and returning to his hut thinking that really the three young Gryffindors had quite the talent for trouble.
XXXXXXX
Once in a quiet corner of the common room, which was a long way from empty, Harry and Hermione exchanged stories with Ron, who was gracious enough not to say that he'd told them so. He did however question Harry's handling of the situation.
"Why didn't you tell Snape about your vision?"
"Like he'd believe me!" Harry scoffed at the idea, "Besides, he's the last person I'd tell!"
"Well are you going to go to the headmaster?" Ron pressed.
"No. I'm not, it's pointless, Snape defends Malfoy too much and Dumbledore still trusts Snape for reasons unknown!" Harry looked sulky.
"I think you should tell him," Ron said.
"I told you, it's pointless." Harry's tone of voice suggested he wanted an end to the conversation and Ron reluctantly let it drop, feeling that Harry probably needed a night's sleep to calm down before he would speak to the headmaster about what he had seen. Despite his belief that Malfoy had nothing to do with Voldemort's plans, Ron had no trouble believing that Harry's vision was real and he hoped that he would indeed inform someone about it. His own loyalty to Harry had prevented him from giving Hagrid much by the way of an explanation and the giant had been forced to admit defeat and go without the 'long story' Ron had protested that it was.
XXXXXXX
Having been relieved by Hagrid of his duty of ensuring the Gryffindor students returned to their common room, Snape returned to his office and poured himself a strong cup of coffee. The evening had not been pleasant, he despised dealing with Granger and Potter and despaired of keeping the boy safe. Now he would have to wait for the return of his own students, who would undoubtedly not be back for some time, none of this put him in a good mood.
It was long gone midnight when Draco and Pansy arrived at the entrance to their common room, congratulating themselves on not having been caught and laughing as quietly as possible at their attempts to be quiet.
"And would you two like to tell me where you've been?" A soft voice from the shadows surprised them.
They turned as one to see their head of house looking at them in a mixture of annoyance and amusement, they were clearly rather the worse for wear.
"We were…" Draco trailed off.
"In an extra astronomy lesson," Pansy managed to suggest.
Snape was half impressed by the suggestion and the fact she still had the mental faculties necessary to make it, "I see," he said, "And when, Draco, did you take up astronomy?"
Draco looked blank, "Today?"
Snape snorted, "You were in Hogsmeade, in the Hogshead and are now quite clearly drunk."
"He really does know everything!" Pansy whispered, somewhat obviously, to Draco.
"How did you know?" Draco asked.
"As your girlfriend pointed out, I know everything."
The two students looked impressed.
"What were you doing breaking the school rules like that?"
Sensing danger, the two instantly began to apologise profusely and at the same time. Snape sighed heavily, "Shut up!"
They stood there expectantly, swaying slightly.
He handed them each a phial containing a potion. "Drink that or you will feel dreadful in the morning and I will not excuse you not being in classes. You will serve detention with me for the next three weeks and you will not complain about it, in return I will fail to mention this to the headmaster and refrain from informing your parents who I am sure would not be impressed by this behaviour. You will also never do anything of the sort ever again and I don't want either of you setting one foot out of line for the rest of the year! Do we understand each other?"
They nodded vigorously.
Snape sighed, "Go to bed."
They left quickly without a word, falling over each other as they passed through the entrance to their common room.
Snape found himself willing to let the issue drop with them, they were under a lot of pressure and he doubted either of them was enjoying life at home much at present. Draco was clearly missing his father and Pansy's parents were not usually that concerned with their daughter. Whereas Lucius and Narcissa were more concerned with Draco, the Parkinsons were far more concerned with the Dark Lord.
As he wandered back to his office, Snape wondered if anything other than a quick end to the war could prevent the young couple being caught up with the maniac their parents served. He doubted either one had the strength or inclination to break free, and he knew that if they tried the recriminations would be terrible. He had defended them so vigorously to Potter not because he doubted they would work for the Dark Lord but simply because he knew they could not do so without his knowledge. Snape would continue to defend all of his students as long as he could and hopefully thereby at least give some of them a chance to make a decision that would keep them alive and out of the war. Sighing again he tried to put the issue from his mind, his time to change Draco's direction, as he had long wished to do, was running out and he had an unpleasant feeling that he would be unable to do anything to save the boy.
XXXXXXX
Sorry again for the long wait for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed, tell me what you thought. Hope to update again before the weekend. :o)