I have returned! Actually, I'm in Argentina again and I wrote this on the plane.
I watched Cinderella too... Loved it. Robb was alive so that pretty much made the film for me before it even began...
Anyway, enjoy! Don't forget to please review!
"Have you seen this?" Draco dropped down in an armchair by her side, throwing a bright coloured magazine down on the coffee table in front of them.
Anna didn't look up from her book, already expecting his reaction. "Yes, I have. Bought one as soon as Uncle told me Umbridge wanted it banned."
"I suppose you're proud of your little charity case, then?" Her cousin sneered. "He even names father!"
"I know, Draco, I know." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But it's the Quibbler, and it's an article written by Rita Skeeter. Half the people don't believe what she writes, let alone when she writes it in there."
"But they do! I've already seen some students whispering about it behind my back!" Draco retorted, making a gesture around his shoulders.
"So?" She finally put it down. "Listen, nothing in there is proven. And even if it were, everyone's going to find out about Uncle anyway, as long as he gets everything ready at the ministry it's fine."
"And if he gets arrested?" Draco's voice was low and he was looking at her with worried eyes.
"This won't do that. As long as he isn't caught with a Death Eater mask on he won't get arrested, and if that happens... Do you think I wouldn't get him out of Azkaban as soon as possible? I'd beg the Dark Lord if I had to." Anna assured him, placing a soothing hand on his own. "I promise, uncle Lucius will be fine even if that were to happen."
For a second he didn't meet her eyes, but then nodded slightly and stood. "I have to meet Umbridge for tea, anything you want to know in particular?"
"Just press her buttons on the whole defense group business, or on the teachers on probation. Wait, first Trelawney and then Harry's group. If she doesn't get her away on the whole firing people thing she'll get even more desperate and determined to hurt Dumbledore." Anna corrected herself.
"You got it." He nodded and took off, joining Pansy where she'd stood waiting by the exit of the Common Room.
Anna watched him go and sighed, pressing a finger to her temple.
"What's the matter?" Theo's voice sounded from behind her as his fingers started rubbing circles on her neck.
"Draco's worried, as he should be." She huffed, letting her head fall forwards and closing her eyes. "This Quibbler thing is small now, but once he comes out of hiding everyone will read it and believe it. Uncle's movements won't just be impaired, he could get arrested. We've seen what Azkaban does to people."
"Yeah." Theo admitted. "But he won't be in there for fourteen years, just one at the most."
"Still, it's not something I am at all comfortable with letting happen... and with that thing at the Department of Mysteries coming up- You know as well as I do that the probabilities of them not being caught are very low."
Her boyfriend hummed in agreement. "But the fact that they're being sent on that assignment tells us one thing."
"Which is?"
"The Dark Lord is getting desperate for a way to kill Potter."
Daphne pursed her lips as she leaned against one of the pillars watching the scene play out. She had a front row seat as the members of the Inquisitorial Squad had cleared out a path for her through the crowd. Not that she needed to see it to know what was going on, but Anna wanted someone to come and watch Umbridge and her reactions directly. A grand show like this had Draco and Pansy busy coordinating the Squad, Blaise taking advantage of the empty hallways to talk to his little spies and Anna and Theo holed up in the Dungeons with Greg and Vince as guards. So that left her to come and watch the whole debacle unfold.
The blond girl's manicured nails dug in slightly deeper into her arms as she watched the old Divination teacher scramble to pick up her belongings, which had been unceremoniously thrown on the floor by Umbridge. The member of the Squad had been careful to levitate her trunks and everything else safely down, but their efforts had been in vain as the toad had simply blasted it all to the sides. Now the green clad teens were busy trying to stop themselves and others from stepping forwards to help.
It wasn't about liking the woman, it was mere human compassion. She didn't deserve this humiliation, she didn't deserve the crawling she was doing now, no matter how bad she might be at Seeing or how much sherry she might drink in class.
Daphne's eyes narrowed for a second as she saw Potter push his way through the crowd to stand beside a few of his Gryffindor year-mates, but she quickly turned back to where Trelawney was yelling. No matter how negative her feelings might be towards him, what he did and thought was of importance to their cause and so she forced herself to stay out of his eyesight lest she might be forced to interact with him and be... civil.
The owlish teacher's wild brown curls -streaked with silver as they were- sprung out from under a colourful beaded shawl and hid almost the entirety of her face. What they could see from among her hair and large glasses was reddened skin, wether from the alcohol or the yelling or the crying no one could tell.
"No!" The woman's shrill voice could be heard. "No! This cannot be happening! It cannot; I refuse to accept it!"
"You didn't realize this was coming?" Umbridge sounded as sweet as ever -sticky, gooey, sickeningly sweet- over the loud murmurs of the crowd. "Incapable though you are of predicting even tomorrow's weather, you must surely have realized that your pitiful performance during my inspections, and lack of any improvement, would make it inevitable that you would be sacked?"
"You c-can't sack me!" Trelawney howled, her voice almost painful to hear. "I've b-been here for sixteen years! H- Hogwarts is my home!"
Daphne gritted her teeth, looking away. That was longer than she'd even been alive, damn it. This was... cruel. The least Umbridge could have done was treat her with a bit of respect, but -looking back at the pink horror now- it was clearly visible that nobody would be getting any amount of respect from her. Particularly not when the glee in her eyes was visible from across the courtyard.
"It was your home." The High Inquisitor corrected, her smile widening as she saw the older woman sink to her knees, sobbing. "Until an hour ago, when the Minister for Magic countersigned your Order of Dismissal. Now, kindly remove yourself from this Hall. You're embarrassing us."
A ripple of anger visibly passed through the crowd and the members of the Inquisitorial Squad braced themselves to stop any approaching students even as they themselves could barely hide the glares they were shooting at Umbridge over their shoulders. The fact that the woman stayed standing where she was, watching Trelawney crumble further into a shaking and quivering mess, only helped to anger them even more.
Daphne felt her fists clench. It wasn't just the fact that it was just shameful to treat the descendant of such a famous Seer like this, it also wasn't the fact that it was discourteous to fire an employee in such a fashion, neither was it the fact that it was disgusting to take pleasure from such a harmless person's pain and suffering. It was all of that together that angered them, and their anger united the students much more now. The uniting factor was that Umbridge, an outsider in Hogwarts School, was tormenting and humiliating a -maybe not necessarily respected but definitely acknowledged and long time- member of their community. Every single part of that equation made the toad's demise more and more inevitable.
Good.
Suddenly Professor McGonagall had strode her way through the crowd and was kneeling by Trelawney's side, comforting her and offering her a handkerchief.
"There, there, Sybill. Calm down, blow your nose on this. It's not as bad as you think, you're not going to have to leave Hogwarts." The stern teacher's voice was gentle and betrayed an awful lot of years of living by the other's side.
"Oh, really, Professor McGonagall?" Umbridge's voice turned cold and menacing, making more than half the student population reach for their wands. If the woman drew her wand at the Gryffindor Head of House she was done for. "And your authority for that statement is?"
"That would be mine."
The deep but kind voice sounded from the back of the courtyard, making all the students scramble out of the way. Daphne watched with raised eyebrows as Millicent -a member of the Squad- forcibly kept a younger Hufflepuff from getting anywhere near the Greengrass. Not that she was complaining, but it seemed a bit much.
Dumbledore walked slowly towards the two kneeling women, expression so grave that not even his bright robes could alleviate the situation. He wasn't looking at Umbridge, having completely dismissed her as soon as Trelawney was visible. The old man gently placed a hand on the faux-Seer's back, trying to soothe the remaining hiccups from her.
"Yours, Professor Dumbledore?" Umbridge's astounded voice sounded through the respectful silence and she proceeded to force out a tinkling laugh. "I'm afraid you do not understand the position. I have here-" She pulled out a scroll from her robes, everything in it -including the loopholes- having been ordered by Annabelle. "an Order of Dismissal signed by myself and the Minister for Magic. Under the terms of Educational Decree number twenty three, the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts has the power to inspect, place upon probation and sack any teacher she -that is to say I- feel is not performing under the standards required by the Ministry of Magic. I have decided that Professor Trelawney is not up to scratch, thus I have dismissed her."
Dumbledore, to the students' surprise, never looked up from his fussing over Trelawney and the gentle smile never fell from his face.
"You are quite right, of course, Professor Umbridge. As High Inquisitor you have every right to dismiss my teachers. You do not, however, have the authority to send them from the castle. I'm afraid-" He made a small graceful movement with his hand towards the rest of the scattered objects and a few of the students hurried forwards to pick them up, placing them in the opened trunks quickly and then rushing back behind the ranks of Inquisitorial Squad members. "that the power to do that still resides with the Headmaster, and it is my wish that Professor Trelawney continue to live at Hogwarts."
At this a few dispersed students let out low cheers, having the clear approval of their peers, but Trelawney herself let out one last hiccup laced with a bitter laugh.
"No- no, I'll g-go, Dumbledore!" She held up a hand which swayed slightly, doing a very good job of undermining the strength in her voice. "I sh-shall leave Hogwarts and seek my f-fortune elsewhere."
"No." Dumbledore's voice lost a bit of its pleasant tone, making one of Daphne's eyebrows rise. "It is my wish that you stay here."
He wasn't known for losing his composure, no matter how slightly. Even if Trelawney were his friend he wouldn't force her to stay, but seeing how Trelawney called him by his last name they weren't actually friends. He was very persistent in keeping her there, more than Anna might have anticipated. Why?
"Might I ask you to escort Sybill back upstairs, Professor McGonagall?" The old man's voice resumed every degree of kindness it's had at the start, the change was almost unnoticeable.
"Of course." McGonagall nodded. "Up you get, Sybill."
From the crowd, Professor Sprout hurried forwards to take Trelawney's other arm and together they guided her past Umbridge's frozen figure. Professor Flitwick wasn't far behind, stepping forwards and levitating the trunks in front of him and after them.
"And what-" Umbridge began, struggling to reign in her temper at the bemused expression Dumbledore was wearing. "are you going to do with her once I appoint a new Divination teacher who needs her lodgings?"
"Oh, that won't be a problem." Dumbledore answered warmly. "You see, I already found us a new Divination teacher and he will prefer lodgings on the ground floor."
"You've found-?" Umbridge began shrilly. "You've- Might I remind you, Dumbledore, that under Educational Decree number twenty two-"
"The Ministry has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if -and only if- the Headmaster is unable to find one." Dumbledore nodded calmly. "And I am happy to say that in this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you-?"
From outside the courtyard hooves could be heard coming closer, making the students that were still standing close to the doors retreat. Murmurs rose up at through the darkening haze a figure emerged; a centaur. His skin was tanned and matched the soft brown fur of his lower half, silver hair falling loosely over his back and bright blue eyes shining with something akin to apprehension at being in a castle full of humans.
"This is Firenze." Dumbledore announced jovially. "I think you'll find him suitable."
Daphne didn't know wether to burst out laughing of firmly plant her palm on her face.
Harry frowned in confusion as he watched the Slytherin table over dinner. Ever since Valentine's Day he'd been getting more and more uncomfortable around Anna. Not uncomfortable as in something was off, uncomfortable as he felt that something should be off but wasn't. Which was confusing but also wasn't. Somehow. So since then he'd been watching her and the ones around her and what he saw didn't relieve his worries at all.
He'd always thought that Malfoy was the tough guy, the bloke in charge, the one all the snakes listened to, and mostly that was true. Just not when she was there. When she was there they automatically turned to her, even if they corrected themselves almost immediately. Malfoy did it too. They waited for her to dismiss them to leave, for her to greet them to talk. If she frowned they grew quiet. Some of them could barely stop themselves from bowing for Merlin's sakes!
It wasn't like Voldemort behaved, though. With him everything was about fear, with her it was about... respect, it seemed. Mutual respect as far as he could tell too, but she was still very much in charge. She looked at them... possessively, was it? Maybe. Though it also looked sort of aloof from where he was standing.
Though lately he hadn't been standing very close. In fact, he'd steered clear from her and her friends ever since his botched date with Cho. If felt like the safer thing to do.. He'd noticed that Fred and George didn't glare at her anymore. They didn't even look at her but the Inquisitorial Squad went out of their way to make things easier for them. He'd seen Crabbe and Goyle literally escort them away from the site of one of their pranks as Umbridge approached from the other side. If the gargoyle pair did something, Malfoy was behind it, and behind Malfoy was Anna, now he knew.
Damn it. How had he missed that? How had he not seen that the only way that Malfoy would let his best friend be friends with him was if he had no say over it? How had he not realized that the only way she could have acted however she liked -stepping in for Neville, chastising Malfoy, being friends with him- was if there was no on to tell her not to?
Something had to be behind that. There had to be a reason as to why the house in which respect and friendship were the hardest to earn was practically licking her feet.
He stabbed some of his food viciously, earning curious looks from Ron and Hermione.
"You alright, mate?" Ron whispered over to him, leaning closer.
"It's just- she- Anna's been lying to me." Harry bit out.
"About what?" Hermione asked him, concerned frown emerging.
"About- something, everything, I'm not sure." He shook his head. "Something just doesn't add up."
It was silent for a small second before he looked up at them, expecting to see shocked faces but just finding resigned ones.
"Am I missing something?" He groaned.
"Nothing, it's just-" Hermione licked her lips. "We tried to tell you before, you just never really seemed open to the idea. What's changed?"
Harry shrugged. "I don't know. The way we felt at the beginning... the sudden friendship and familiarity is just ebbing away. I don't know how to explain it."
"Don't stay up." Anna pecked Theo on the lips before stepping out of the Common Room.
In the dark dungeon she pulled the hood of her black cloak over her head, the fur tickling her skin slightly. With a short glance around her she grabbed the sides of her long cloak and walked off into the dark hallways.
There was no reason for her to hide her tapping strides as the Slytherin Prefects and the Inquisitorial Squad had been assigned to clearing every single hall in the castle that night. Anna didn't want to skulk around if she didn't have to, the castle was practically hers nowadays. The only thing she needed to do was keep her face hidden from the portraits that might possibly wake up. Possibly, but not probably. Really, this was all much scarier when she was younger.
Anna drew her wand as she stepped out onto the grass fields behind the castle and swiftly paralyzed the Whomping Willow. She carefully stepped down among the roots, careful not to break her ankles. Sure, she might have chosen more practical shoes but these were just pretty.
Without lighting her wand she continued on her way through the long tunnel until she got to the basement of the deserted house. The rotting wood on the floor reeked and the soft wind out on the plains made the thin walls creak and chilled the cold rooms even further. She didn't mind though, her cloak was warm enough and, if everything went well, she wouldn't be here too long.
The girl pursed her lips slightly as she climbed the dubious flight of stairs, running a hand over the broken balustrade and another over the ripped wallpaper. Down the hall, a dim light could be seen from under a door and she could only hope that the windows had been blocked off. There was no need to publicize the meeting that was about to take place. Then again, she wouldn't be having this meeting at all if thought he'd be thick enough to not block the windows. Even Greg and Vince know better.
Stowing her wand away again, she gently pushed the door open and stepped into the room. The wallpaper was ripped to pieces, half the furniture had fallen apart and there were cobwebs covering all of the ceiling. There was a bunch of candles floating in a corner though, right next to where two armchairs were placed, clearly having been brought by the figure in the other corner of the room. It was inspecting a bottle of what seemed to be wine. Two glasses were placed on an only slightly decayed table to the side.
The figure turned, revealing a male in his late teens. His dark hair had grown slightly since the last time she saw him and now hung over his forehead, framing his pale face. Heavy eyebrows accented his light eyes and thin lips hid the teeth she knew were slightly too large. Overall he was handsome though, she supposed. Not her type, but that was also neither here nor there.
"Marcus." She smiled, swiping her hood back. "It wonderful to see you."
"The pleasure is all mine, my Lady." He smiled politely striding forwards and taking one of her hands in his and placing a kiss on her knuckles. "If I may be so bold...?"
"Please, Marcus. We're old friends. Anna is just fine." She held his hand between both her own. "No need to be all formal here."
"Well then, Anna. I was about to comment on how much you've grown." He motioned for them to take a seat and guided her there. "I didn't get a chance to see you at the Christmas Ball."
She chuckled. "Yes, I believe I left early as I was indisposed. You got there late, I assume?"
"I did indeed. The Minister kept me working late." He shrugged. "Though I suppose I should be grateful. Since Umbridge was assigned here -by you, I might add- I've basically been doing most of her job. Sure, it's my first year working there but I'm the Senior Undersecretary's junior secretary. I answer directly to the Minister in her absence. It's a good place to be."
"I'm sure." She smiled, taking a seat and accepting the glass of wine he handed her. "You've been well then, I suppose? How about your parents?"
"Oh, I've been great. The job is getting easier and easier. It's just a matter of finding out what people would want in return for doing what you need, or sometimes what they don't want." He chuckled. "My parents are well. Mother is currently in the States, visiting my great-aunt, but she hopes to return soon. I believe she's planning to arrange a marriage for me, though I really can't find it in me to care."
"Never much one for romance, were you Marcus?" Anna took a sip of her wine. "Courteous as they come but no interest in dating. How about your father? Happy with the changing regime?"
"Overjoyed." Marcus smirked. "Took to it like a duck to water, I must admit. He always was good at following orders. I think that of the two traits that should have made him a Slytherin he was all cunning and no ambition."
"Making him very valuable to my Godfather." She nodded. "How about you? What are your thoughts?"
At that he grew quiet, looking into his glass with a slight curve to his lips before looking up at her with a solemn expression.
"I'm not too happy with it."
"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows. Now that was a surprise. Not that he'd feel that way, but that he'd actually come out with it. "And you're telling me, of all people?"
"I am." He nodded. "Being with the Dark Lord is good on the short term, won't be killed in my bed and all, but it's not good in the long term. I'm going to end up in Azkaban if this goes on."
"How do you suppose that?" She smirked. "And you do realise just who you're talking to, right?"
"I do, very well. In fact, I think I'm one of the few people who actually know exactly who you are." Marcus countered with a frown. "There's no way he'll win and you know that. He didn't the first time and he won't now. And even if he did, I don't fancy bowing down to him and killing people for the rest of my life. That's just the work of savages and, quite frankly, beneath me."
They were both silent.
"I am the goddaughter of the Dark Lord, I am the daughter and niece of some of his most fierce followers, and you tell me you're not one hundred percent devoted to him?" Anna shook her head. "That's a foolish move."
"It might be if those were your defining factors, but they're not." He argued. Then he swallowed and nodded, licking his lips before continuing. "In my sixth year I stayed up late studying. Charms are a delicate matter and my magic had always been more about power than subtlety. I wasn't alone that night, some others opted to join me, but that's neither here nor there as they have nothing to do with how the story progresses, other that they did not see what I saw.
All of a sudden, while we were studying, the entrance to the Common Room opened and a girl stumbled in. She was barely conscious, covered in cuts and scrapes and bruises. Blood was pouring from her open wounds and she was crying, holding on to the wall for support. I caught her before she fell and I took her to her friends so they could take care of her." Marcus looked her dead in the eyes and Anna felt her mouth go dry. "This girl was one of the most cunning children I'd met, so much so that to this day I haven't figured out what her ambition is, but I know she has one. This girl who, by definition of her house, should value her own safety before someone else's, gave as explanation for her actions only the outcome."
"I saved uncle Lucius." Anna recalled.
"Indeed." He nodded. "Your uncle could figure out how to protect himself, I'm sure, but you did it anyway." He cleared his throat. "The next year your cousin was hurt by Granger and she ended up in the hospital wing along with Weasley and Potter. Now, those two would definitely have ended up there, as per their usual shenanigans, but she never would have. That was your doing. You went after her even when it would hurt your cousin's pride... because not doing so would hurt yours."
She snorted. "I don't know about that, Marcus-"
"Yes, you do." He grimaced. "That's why I'm admitting this all to you. Because there is no way I'll believe that you are happy or even remotely neutral in bowing and obeying, not to anyone, least of all to someone who poses such a threat for your and yours' safety and happiness. No matter what they might think, you will not accept having to bow and lower yourself to this person's whims, you will not accept the way your family will be reduced from renowned political power to right hand of a lunatic. No, this isn't for you and I've gotten to know you too well in the last four years to think any different."
"You seem to have given this a fair bit of thought." Anna acknowledged. "And for that I'll reward you by telling you one thing; I won't ask you to make and Unbreakable Vow to not tell anyone about this. That's because the consequence of you breaking it, death, is not nearly comparable to what I'll subject you to should you speak of this matter so someone of... questionable allegiance."
For a second something passed through his eyes, surprise maybe at actually being threatened, but he quickly lowered his head respectfully. "I wouldn't dare."
"Good." She huffed and took another sip. "I wasn't planning on speaking of that matter, but I suppose it saves me the trouble of figuring you out. Now as to why I'd invited you here. I am working on a project to take over the Ministry of Magic."
A loud noise sounded from beside her and she looked only to find Marcus shaking in his seat, having chocked on his wine in his surprise.
"What?" She demanded.
"Nothing, it's just... You're fifteen and planning to take over the government. That's something, alright." Marcus chuckled. "But go on, I'm listening."
With pursed lips she kept talking. "The person who's been taking care of most business for me while I'm here has been uncle Lucius. However, there is a project coming on that he has to do for the Dark Lord which will in all probability get him arrested. Should that happen I need someone to continue his work, someone who is close to the Minister and overall widespread in the Ministry."
"Me."
"You." Anna nodded.
"And... what has he got until now?" He asked. What he was getting in return was quite obvious now. Protection, from the Dark Lord now and from 'justice' later. A good deal for those interested above all in surviving. Not just surviving either, surviving with style.
"My plan was that as soon as the Ministry recognises that the Dark Lord is back, Fudge will be out of a job. It'll take maybe a year to completely take over the government but the first step, our way in, is through the elections." She began. "We need our own candidate. Our candidate can't be pureblood, can't be high in our particular social ladder. We will all be looked at with suspicion if he or she is actually one of us, never mind the fact that they'll never be elected. Also, our candidate can't win."
"What? Isn't that the whole point? To get our candidate elected?" He argued. "Surely-"
"Oh, think about it Marcus." Anna waved her hand. "A candidate who has no big reputation in the light -because we can't hope to actually get them or our side or to get close enough to them to imperio them- will never win an election after the news about the Dark Lord being back breaks out. Should he win, everyone will know it was fixed and nothing will get done.
"Our man will come in second and will have no problem going on in his daily life after losing; 'his happiness depends on helping his community' after all. But-" She smiled. "Once everything is brought into place, about a year later, once all our people in the Ministry are ready, once a larger break-out from Azkaban is prepared, once we have planned out all the steps we want the Ministry to take, we kill the new Minister. Who, by all accounts, we predict will be Rufus Scrimegour."
"Ugh, that bloke." Marcus waved a hand. "Yes, I don't doubt people will elect him if they're in a frenzy and he presents. Steady chap, extremely just, smart, head of the Auror Department."
"Indeed." She nodded. "Once he's dead, our candidate will be forced to take his place, as stated in the law passed in 1832 by the Department of Law and Legislation and the Wizengamot when they were faced with a slight conundrum as to what to do when their Minister was killed by dragonpox and they were in such dire circumstances that they couldn't have another election just yet. The idea was that the runner up would rule until things were calm enough to host a new election."
"But in this case, there won't be a new election. Not while he lives." He added.
"Just so." Anna agreed. "What I want from you is to continue coordinating the advancement of our candidate and the higher placements of others... who I would prefer to be of your persuasions, if you understand me. I would prefer them to be on my side rather that on Dumbledore's or his."
"Your side." Marcus raised his eyebrows. "And which side is that?"
"The middle-ground." Anna shrugged. "The one who bows now because it must, for its own safety and profit, but is slowly pumping its venom into an ankle and patiently waiting for it to reach the heart."
"Oh, that I can do." He nodded. "The younger generations are the ones most bummed about this whole ordeal, they'll jump at the chance. I can get you people for this, I can get people for you who you can rely on when you need them to do something for your side without them attracting any attention to themselves. People who will have no difficulty in pretending to be on his side and who will have no problem in leaving the people on the sinking ship to their own devices."
"Even if they're family?" She demanded. "How will you deal with the fact that while you end up safe and pardoned, your parents will end up in Azkaban?"
"Come now. We both know that if they can't bribe or talk their way of punishment again -which in fact I don't see them actually being able to do again- they'll probably grab a whole bunch of gold and disappear to somewhere warm and relaxed." Marcus swirled the wine around in his glass. "My parents are grown-ups. While I love them and all, if they don't realize along the way that they're on the way to destroying themselves I can't help them. No matter how much I might want to, I won't force them into anything even if it saves them."
"I see." Anna placed a gentle hand on his forearm. "I hope all your prospective candidates for allies are as... resolute in this as you."
He shrugged. "I'll make sure they are. You'll forgive me if I do indeed make them make an Unbreakable Vow."
"Oh, that's fine." She smiled. "I'll make sure to catch you up on what we've been doing sometime soon so you can cooperate. You'll start working with the twins as soon as they get out of Hogwarts."
"The twins?"
"The Weasley twins." She told him, patting his hand gently at his astounded face. "We needed people with light reputations for the slightly larger project I'll tell you about at some other time. Now, the Ministry."
"Right. What are the specifics?"
"Go to uncle Lucius. Don't let anyone see you. He'll tell you all you need to know about our candidate and the steps we must take from here."
"Who's the candidate?"
"His name is Pius Thicknesse, I believe you may have seen him around. I'll have to imperio him so also make sure to set up a meeting between him and me as soon as possible. By force, if you have to."
"I don't understand. How did you-"
Blaise hushed her, placing an elegant finger on her lips and crowding slightly closer. "Now, Marietta, keep your voice down. We wouldn't want anyone to find us, would we?"
The girl, who was one year older but still shorter with flat shoes, nodded, pressed up against the wall and looking at him with wide doe eyes. Her honey curls fell in waves around her shoulders and made her slender face look skinnier than it was. Not that she wasn't skinny. Blaise got the sick feeling that if he wanted to, he could easily overpower her. In fact, crowing her up against the wall and pressing so close to her was almost too much, even for him, but he didn't let it show.
"Listen." He whispered, tone of voice more than slightly condescending as he cupped her face gently with his hands and placed his face a bit too close. If anyone were to see them, they would most certainly misunderstand and rush to tell Daphne. Not that she'd misunderstand. "I know you've got a small problem now, so let me make things a bit easier. You either go the day of the next meeting, next week, to Umbridge and tell her everything except who's in this little group you're in, or I'll have your mother fired. I'll have her fired for so many reasons she'll end up working as a shop keeper for one of Wiseacre's other shops on the countryside. So you can either choose your little friends' illicit activities or your mother's future. Is it a difficult choice now, Marietta?"
She looked down, tears threatening to spill from her eyes, and shook her head slowly. "N- no. I'll do it." A pause. "Tuesday."
"Good." Blaise smiled slight, but it wasn't a kind smile. "And I don't have to tell you what'll happen if you tell anyone about me, do I?"
"No, Blaise." She licked her lips, letting him raise her chin with a finger. "I won't tell a soul."
"And you'll still be part of my eyes and ears in Ravenclaw House. You'll soon see that beside this little threat-" He waved a hand as if what he'd done were nothing, as if it weren't cruel and invasive. "I can also reward those who help me. Now, you're helping me. A reward will follow soon enough."
Obediently, Marietta nodded.
Before striding off, Blaise placed a kiss on her cheek. "That's my girl."
Now, Blaise wasn't a bad person per sé, he just had no qualms in doing bad things every once in a while. If you want a mole, you have to dig it up and for that you need to get your hands dirty. Wiping his lips slightly with the back of his hand he ignored the slightly nausea his little act had caused him. Control is everything in these situations. The more he intimidated the other, the better.
"You've got to be kidding us, Anna." Fred frowned, looking from the girl sitting across from them to the other girl beside her and the two baboons in the back. "You're crashing the D- our defense group? Why?"
"Because while learning to defend yourselves might be the best thing for you at the moment, I need to get Dumbledore out of the castle." She shrugged. "Only Harry will get caught, you know, and even then nothing will happen to him."
"I'm really starting to doubt this whole 'I care about him too' thing you've been spouting all this time." George huffed, but he knew now, after weeks of working with her, that nothing Anna did was without reason. "Let's say we do this. Hypothetically speaking, how would things go?"
"Well, Umbridge will ambush you in wherever you've been hiding all this time. With the Inquisitorial Squad." Anna pointed at Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle behind her. "The Squad will be ordered by me to ensure the escape of all members except Harry, who will be caught by Draco. You will pretend to stay behind to make sure everyone gets out but in reality you'll stay behind to plant something that incriminates Dumbledore. Pansy will make sure Umbridge doesn't catch you and Greg and Vince will escort you back to the Gryffindor Common room."
"Something to incriminate Dumbledore?" The twins looked at each other. "What do you mean?"
Anna shrugged. "Once Harry is caught the Minister and Umbridge will be more than excited to expel him. Dumbledore will be desperate to make sure he isn't. If we place something with Dumbledore's name in the meeting place for this defense group, it'll appear as if it were his plan all along. Then they'll kick him out and let Harry stay."
For a second Fred and George thought hard, staring at each other in deep concentration, before Fred's eyes lit up. "Dumbledore's A- mph!"
George had covered his mouth up in a hurry. "Don't say it, stupid. Remember Hermione jinxed it?"
"Right, yeah." The older looked at his brother sheepishly before turning back to her. "Sorry about that, Anna. Let's see if we can talk around it..."
"There's a-
"-list-"
"-of all names-"
"-with the name of-"
"-the group itself-"
"-on top-"
"-that has-"
"-Dumbledore in it."
The nodded at each other. By only saying parts of each sentence, each of which went in a roundabout way around the actual fact, they managed to not get caught in the jinx. They didn't know what it would do, but knowing Hermione it wouldn't be pretty.
"That's not good." Anna frowned. "I mean, it's good but also bad. You can's have the list there, she can't find it."
"Alright, we'll get it out before we leave." George nodded. "And how about a banner?"
"Yeah with... the name written on it in red and gold letters!" Fred nodded. "Nothing subtle about that! Umbridge will find it immediately and we can pretend it was meant for celebration."
"Celebration of what?" Anna asked, an amused smile on her face.
"Next-"
"-class we're-"
"-practicing-"
"-Patronusses."
"Oh, well. What an unpleasant way to end a class about happy thoughts." Pansy scoffed, biting the head of a chocolate frog. When she'd swallowed she offered the large box of chocolate frog boxes to the twins. "Want one?"
Anna was sitting up in bed, wand lit up only enough for her to read the book on her lap. Her curls were loose and hanging over her slender shoulders which only had the spaghetti straps of her sleeping camisole over them. She was biting her lip in concentration as she clutched the fur blanket to herself with her free hand.
Suddenly she felt fingers tracing circles just under the hem of her shirt and she turned to the side of the bed -it wasn't a small bed, nothing in Slytherin was small- to look at where Theo had his eyes only slightly cracked open.
"Hey, sorry. Did I wake you?" She whispered, turning to him and pushing the book away.
He shook his head, still mostly asleep, and started sitting up. The blanket fell from his bare chest and she hurried to pull it back up for him. It wouldn't do for him to be getting cold, he got grouchy when that happened.
Anna and Theo slept together sometimes. Not slept together, she amended with a slight blush, they weren't there quite yet. As much as they might care about each other and as much as they might both agree that they were emotionally much more intimate than they considered mere sex to be -let's face it, you can have sex for lots of reasons other than love- they still hadn't actually... done it. It's not that they didn't want to, but they were prudent. They were at school, they were fifteen, they were in a war. This was neither the place nor time for carnal thoughts and actions, but that didn't mean that they didn't sometimes sleep in the same bed. When they wanted company, when they were feeling particularly stressed, when they wanted to spend more time together. It was therapeutic of sorts.
So she did this with Draco too sometimes, but less and less as they grew older. People might misunderstand, what with the history if incest in their family lines, and they were disinclined to give even the slightest hint of breath to such rumours. No. Besides, she had Theo and Draco had... lately taken a liking to Daphne's sister Astoria, to Daphne's chargin, so they both had other ways to cope with difficult moments nowadays.
With a clumsy hand, Theo grabbed the book and set it on a nightstand before turning to her completely.
"I've been thinking..."
"Oh, Merlin. Not thinking, Theo, whatever shall we do?" She chuckled, trying to bite down the slight nerves his thoughtful posture brought on.
He rolled his eyes but smiled slightly. "No, listen. It's important." He sighed and hesitated. "I- I need you to ask Rabastan to kill my father."
"What?" Anna let out a disbelieving scoff. "Theo you can't be serious. He's your-"
"He's my father, yes." He nodded. "But I've told you often enough that... that if I had the chance I'd kill him. I'd kill him for mother, for being such a spineless worm, for never treating me as he should treat his son, to just get him out of my life, to stop him from poisoning every type of familial feeling I might have now or later."
"Merlin, Theo. I know you've said it. But saying you want to do things and actually doing them are very different things." She shook her head. "Killing someone isn't-"
"I know, love." He hushed her, the difficulty of what he was trying to say barely hidden in his eyes. "But hear me out. There's more reasons to this, alright?"
"Alright." She allowed. "Go on."
"The Nott estate is large enough to house about five hundred people, using all rooms for at least four people to sleep in, living rooms, drawing rooms, play rooms, the ball room, etcetera." He started, soberly noting the facts. "My house is the best place we could use to hide muggleborns in. If we get rid of my father's part in the equation then the only people going to Nott Manor would be me and you and possibly our friends every once in a while. Nobody would notice if we put a Fidelius charm over the place as nobody who isn't one of us would want to got there as the Notts aren't the most sociable of families. The only problem is my father."
"Yes but-"
"There are other ways to get rid of him, yes." He agreed hurriedly. "But... it's either killing him or Azkaban. If he goes to Azkaban there's no way he'll die in just one year. He'll come back and find things and everything will be ruined. Killing him, on the other hand..."
The boy ran a hand through his tangled hair. "I'd do it myself, really I would, but I can't. The probability of him getting arrested before we get out of school is way too high, what with the Department of Mysteries thing. If he gets arrested then, I won't have a chance to kill him until we break him out and then I'll be suspected immediately by the other Death Eaters. It could end up with us being blown.
"Then again if he doesn't get arrested... well, we're the only ones living there, aren't we? All eyes will turn to me, there's no way the Ministry or the Dark Lord won't suspect me and again everything would be ruined. I just can't do it." He sighed. "It needs to happen when I'm at school, before the Department of Mysteries thing finishes."
Anna, who had been listening to his speech with growing sadness, pressed her forehead to his. "If I ask uncle Rabastan then it'd be best if he did it during the fight for the prophesy. What with the scuffle that will ensue, as Harry won't be giving in easily and they'll probably get back up from the Order, no one will be surprised if one killing spell misses and happens to land on someone else."
"That's what I was thinking." Theo was looking away but even in the dark she could see that his eyes were more moist than usual.
"Are you sure?" She asked him, placing her hands on his bare shoulders and making soothing motions with her fingers.
"Yes. It's the only way." His voice cracked a bit. "Besides... I hate him. I really hate him and I want him dead. So much. It's what I've wanted for so long... I want it still."
She didn't doubt it, even as she heard the sobs he tried to hide in her hair as she held the shaking boy in her arms.