Chapter Fourteen

Combat Reconnaissance

For the fifth time that day, Jane crossed the school park. Even though she was shaking all over and her body was stiff, she was trying to get to the castle as fast as possible. Her legs, however, did not hold that opinion, for she soon staggered and splashed down in the snow, cursing.

She lay motionless for at least ten minutes. Apparently, the tension and the cold had taken their toll and now she couldn't even stand up. If this had happened in a Muggle book, she told herself, it wouldn't be long before someone walked by and helped her to her feet, if not even carry her to the castle. Unfortunately, her life was far from literature and there wasn't a soul to be seen around. Even the castle lights didn't reach that far. It was cold, dark and windy.

Jane sighed and moved her stiff limbs. She rested her hand on the ground and immediately regretted it – a handful of icy snow entered her sleeve and chilled her frozen skin even more. After a long series of cursing and spinning, she finally managed to support herself on the ground with two hands, then with her knee, and finally stood up, rolled in snow like a polar bear.

Walking much more slowly, she headed towards the lights of the castle. If her biological clock wasn't lying to her, it was already supper time. She would give a quick report to the headmaster and then warm up and eat along with her colleagues.

When she was almost at the castle gate, she narrowly missed Professor Hagrid, who was also coming for dinner from his cottage at the other end of the park.

'Hello, Professor,' she greeted him. 'How are you?'

'Ah, Miss Undead, 'ello!' Hagrid was the only teacher who addressed her by her last name. 'Well, I'm fine, how else could I be... And why 're you so white, as 'f you've been lying in the snow?'

'I slipped and fell. There's a frozen puddle almost next to the outer gates and I couldn't see it in the dark,' Jane lied. She didn't think it wise to go into explanations about her task before him, and she was a little ashamed of her adventure in the snow earlier. So she decided to divert the conversation to something more innocent. 'Can you tell me what time it is?'

Hagrid stopped and began rummaging through his pockets for his watch. He turned them over for two minutes straight, during which time he managed to pull out a handful of owl food, a bunch of keys, and an empty tea packet, but the watch never appeared.

'I 'ust have forgotten it,' said the teacher at last. 'However, by the time I 'as on my way here, it 'as almost time for supper.'

'Thanks,' Jane nodded, though the information wasn't all that helpful. They were practically at the front doors of the castle, which Hagrid opened and with a stiff gentlemanly gesture invited her to go in first.

'May I ask you a favour, Professor?" she said after they were already warm inside.

'You're welcome,' Hagrid replied, his voice echoing in the Entrance Hall.

'Can you look inside for Professor Dumbledore?' Jane pointed at the Great Hall. 'I have something to discuss with him.'

'Right away,' said the huge professor and headed with a heavy step towards the dining hall.

Jane was left alone in the middle of the Entrance Hall, sticking out like a carrot in a field. She was just checking if the headmaster was already coming down the stairs when he saw him – Snape was just emerging from the shadow of a column, graceful as a cat. He had evidently been waiting for her, for he wasn't surprised at all by her presence, but merely looked her up and down in no particular hurry, and then grinned his wickedly smug smile. She looked at herself, for the first time since she went out that evening, and shuddered – there were mud and straws on her clothes, her shoes left muddy prints on the ground, and melted muddy snow dripped from her cloak. For the second time, she looked so miserably in Snape's presence, and like last time, she didn't particularly like it.

She looked at him defensively and started to walk towards the Great Hall, but he stopped her with his gaze. He was close enough to try to apply Legilimency to her. He looked into her eyes, his black eyes meeting her brown ones with determination, and began searching her mind. He obviously knew what he was looking for as he headed straight for tonight's events. However, Jane was not about to give in easily. This report was intended for Dumbledore and he would be the first to receive it.

In that case, the easiest thing would be to instil some fiction in his mind and let him deal with it as he saw fit. But she was tired enough, and her own mind – too crowded with information, to risk with something fictional. And at the same moment, she thought of Sirius. He had irritated her, he had behaved outrageously, and now the memory of him would serve as an invasive manoeuvre. Jane knew from experience that men, whether they loved or hated a woman, would not at all like the thought of seeing her with another man. Since the rumour had gotten around anyway, she didn't hesitate to show it to him.

That was enough. Snape was confused at first, then got angry and completely lost his mental connection with her. Apparently, he wasn't used to interacting with women this way and didn't know what to do because he didn't attempt to repeat the exercise. At that time Hagrid came out of the Great Hall and called out:

''s not here.'

'I'm going to look for him upstairs,' she replied and he nodded.

Snape brushed past her in a particularly dismissive manner, which made Jane even angrier. She waited for him to reach the door of the Great Hall and headed for the staircase.

Already steaming, she climbed the two floors to the headmaster's office and tapped her wand on the stone gargoyle. Professor Dumbledore came out of the side door and invited her inside. Together they climbed the moving stairs that looked like an escalator in a Muggle store and entered his office.

'Well, Jane, report.' The headmaster smiled. 'You can even sit down before that.'

He waved his wand at a chair that helpfully pulled up from its place behind the small table. The teacher sat down and said, 'The news is quite disturbing, Headmaster. I think it's best to see for yourself.'

'Yeah, I guess you're right,' he replied thoughtfully. 'Observation has always been a better method than retelling. Although I usually use both.'

The last needed no explanation – what could be easier than for the principal to observe the reporter's mind while listening to the report? So Jane just leaned back in her chair and looked into his eyes. The pictures came to life one by one in her mind, and before she knew it, she was already relaying a detailed account of her actions from the day before.

'Interesting personal experiences,' Professor Dumbledore commented after watching the final confrontation with Professor Snape. 'I hope I haven't given you a headache.'

'Even if my head aches, it isn't because of you,' Jane smiled, though she felt like a kitten at the veterinarian's office. The principal's methods were unconventional and rarely anyone could predict his next move.

'Your female colleagues have behaved quite unpleasantly. Do you want me to speak to them?'

'There's no need,' she interrupted impatiently.

'Dora and Remus are a lovely couple…'

'Professor, are we not going to talk about Lucius Malfoy and the Dark Lord's plans?' She was irritated by his childish curiosity about the little things in her memories.

'Well, if you feel like discussing them.'

'It looks pretty serious to me. They could take over Hogsmeade as early as tomorrow.'

'Yes, they could.' The professor rubbed his beard. 'Do you want tea?'

'Professor?'

'Calm down Janie, just because they can doesn't mean they will. At least not tomorrow,' he mumbled under his breath. 'Ten men, actually twelve, can't take over an entire wizarding village in one night.'

Professor Dumbledore walked over to the shelf where he kept his teapot amongst all kinds of trinkets and brought it to the table. He tapped it with his stick and after a while, it began boiling. Apparently, the old man was old-fashioned and liked to make his own tea.

'Tomorrow's operation will be, as I believe it is called in the proper terminology, combat reconnaissance. Their goal is to see what forces we have while doing as much damage as possible.'

'How are you so sure that Lucius told the whole truth before me? Or even that he knows it?'

The headmaster was silent and sipping loudly his tea.

'Do you have more spies?', was the next logical question.

'Look, Jane,' he answered very carefully, 'do you play Wizard's Chess?'

She shook her head.

'A pity. Everything is best understood through the Chess analogy. But I think you've seen enough Chess games to understand me. You see, in Chess, every piece has a certain role that it plays. And the most important thing is that a piece, for example, an officer like you, shouldn't know what the other officers are doing, neither the rooks nor even the pawns.'

The professor was definitely flattering her, in her own eyes Jane was more of a pawn. True, with every chance of becoming an officer, but first she had to get to the other side of the board.

'What would you say to Tom Riddle also known as Lord Voldemort and his men if they caught you and questioned you?'

'Of course, I wouldn't say anything.'

'It's nonsense and you know it. Especially if you like life, as I suppose everyone does. They have Veritaserum, not to mention torture, and eventually they will get everything out of you, as they should.'

'What does that have to do with my question, Professor?'

'We'll get there. How do you think I should proceed, knowing that every agent of mine captured by the enemy means loss of information from the Order?'

Jane fell silent. She had the nagging feeling that there was a trick in this question.

'Well, if you don't want to admit it, I'll tell you. I have to make sure that none of my agents learn anything important. Don't frown, this increases the chances of survival for all of you if you are captured.'

'Does that mean if I get caught I have to tell them everything I know?'

'Oh, yeah. Everyone else is instructed, but I somehow missed you. Sorry, I've been very busy lately, and I've started forgetting.'

'So you're telling me I shouldn't ask you about the information we have?'

'I'm afraid so.'

Jane got angry. She wanted to know more so that she could navigate this mess, but it turned out that she had no right. Still, there was one thing she could ask about.

'Then what about Professor Snape's strange behaviour?'

'Huh, Severus? He's just jealous, don't pay him any mind.'

'Are you saying that this task was really his? It doesn't add up at all.'

The headmaster sighed.

'You and Severus are so insistent on finding out more about each other that I don't know what to do with you anymore. I'll just tell you this, too many people know it anyway. Yes, Severus is a double agent. So nimble that quite a few of them question his loyalty to both sides. But I believe him, and that's all you'll get from me on the matter. As for the task, it was his, but he's now out of favour. Don't ask me what he did, it has nothing to do with you. So I had to send someone clean.'

'I see,' Jane nodded, though there were still unresolved questions. 'And what are we going to do tomorrow?'

'Ah, yes – about tomorrow. Eat well and get some sleep.' Dumbledore smiled. 'This is very important. Be here at four in the afternoon for the briefing. I'll make sure to inform the others. Don't worry, they won't learn anything about us, even in combat.

Associate Professor Undead lay in her bed, tossing and turning restlessly. "Eat and sleep," the headmaster had said, but it didn't seem that easy at all. With her throat constricted, she had barely managed to eat a bit of stew – when she was finally at the table, she found that she didn't feel like eating at all. At least no one was picking on her – Professor Snape pretended not to notice her, and so did the women at the table, so the only close table neighbour that still spoke to her, apart from the headmaster, was Professor Flitwick. However, he remained silent throughout the supper and, excusing himself with his headache, left the dining room early.

So now Jane lay stroking Murray and thinking. She was thinking about the evening, about what awaited her tomorrow, and about her uncertain life in general. She didn't mean to argue with her colleagues, it just happened that way. Whether it was because she underestimated them or because of the long time spent alone, the young woman found that it wasn't so easy for her to get along with people anymore. True, she could apply Legilimency, but it was usually a one-sided process, barring the rare occasions when two Legilimenses communicated through their special abilities. And there was another thing – Jane never quite trusted what she saw in other people's minds – it was usually a mess, full of silly thoughts about their next meal and the delusions they tried so hard to believe in. To bring order to all this chaos, the Legilimens had to use his skills actively, and this was where the others were starting to get suspicious.

Jane had grown weaned on normal communication and it showed. She felt alone and isolated, even though she was in a castle full of other people. "Once the students come here I will feel more normal," she thought. She couldn't stay in bed anymore, so she got up and started rummaging through the cupboards for the calming potion that was left from the last time Lily and the boys had visited her.

After downing a solid dose of it, she mumbled a feverish, "Glory to Merlin for the potions" and settled back into her bed, where she soon fell fast asleep.

The annoying alarm clock woke her up at nine o'clock the next day. She felt more rested than the night before and even managed to eat. After breakfast, she had a little talk with Aurora. Her friend was also worried about the upcoming fight in the afternoon. Professor Dumbledore had apparently told everyone to prepare themselves mentally. At some point, Jane remembered about the straw Death Eaters tucked away in a cupboard in the Defense Against the Dark Arts office and suggested they go exercise. Aurora liked the idea and the two of them spent an hour or so in the office fighting the effigies that periodically leaked straw.

After a late lunch, the two of them went back to their rooms to get ready for the briefing and the trip to Hogsmeade. Jane put on her thick robe and sat for a while on her bed, brooding, considering the situation. Then she got up with a sigh, and taking her coat and travelling cloak, left the room. She was nervous, and rightfully so – after all, one of her biggest fears over the past few years had been coming face-to-face with the Death Eaters. And the fact that she was doing it of her own free will didn't ease her mind.

She went to the principal's office at half past three, she hadn't been early for anything in a long time. On her way, she saw Professors Sprout and Vector, who pretended not to notice her, but exchanged a few unflattering words about her once they decided she was out of earshot. "Old harpies," Jane thought angrily and hurried over to the gargoyle outside the headmaster's office, where she waited, leaning against the wall.

The corridor on the second floor was particularly deserted, which automatically surrendered her to her own unhappy thoughts. Perhaps ten minutes later, Professor McGonagall arrived, also early for the briefing. For some reason, she decided to speak to Jane instead of pretending not to see her and said coolly but politely, 'Hello, Associate Professor Undead. How are you?'

'Fine, thank you, Professor. And you?', Jane replied just as politely, probing the surface of her mind. There wasn't much there though, obviously, Professor McGonagall was very composed.

'I'm fine too, but that's not the point. Look, Jane, I heard some very unpleasant rumours about you at breakfast.' Jane tried to cut her off, but Minerva raised her hand. 'I know they're not true, and that makes me very angry. Some of our female colleagues obviously have no other job than to invent and spread gossip.'

Minerva pursed her lips in a displeased grimace, but then seemed to calm down. 'I'm not going to judge you for what you're doing,' she said at last, raising his hands and sighing. 'You're old enough to know what you're getting yourself into. At least you act honestly and don't engage in scheming behind other people's backs. But I'm going to have to ask you and the girls to make up. We won't be able to complete the mission if our brains are busy pitting us against each other.'

'I was ready to make up the other day,' Jane protested but quickly shut up because she didn't want to sound like a disgruntled little girl. Then in turn she sighed and asked, 'And what does the mission ultimately consist of?'

'Didn't Professor Dumbledore tell you anything yesterday?', Minerva wondered and Jane shook her head. 'Albus and his secrecy. We indeed have to keep some things secret, but he sometimes overdoes it.'

And she briefed her on what they would have to do that evening – to patrol the village an hour before Lucius Malfoy's appointed meeting, report as soon as they saw the Death Eaters, and push them out of Hogsmeade with minimal effort. Without knowing why, this made Jane relax. Having some information about the upcoming events was a lot better than the information hole she was in until now.

Suddenly she felt better. Minerva was already talking to her, she knew what she was going to be up against, and soon she made up with her other two colleagues, though not very willingly. Then Professor Dumbledore came along with several other members of the Order and invited the already assembled teachers to enter his office. Jane couldn't help but admire his choice of personnel – it included the Aurors Dora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, the former teacher Remus Lupin, several current Hogwarts teachers – Aurora, Minerva, Sprout, Vector and Flitwick, the double agent Snape, but also the practically useless Mandungus Fletcher, who would probably hide somewhere almost immediately, and Hagrid, who didn't even have a wand. They generally gave the appearance of a haphazardly assembled staff made up mostly of Hogwarts teachers, but Associate Professor Undead knew that they were carefully selected to get the job done while not giving away much about the Order, and that made her admire the skilful work of the headmaster.

Professor Dumbledore announced what Minerva had already said and proceeded to fill them in with the details – who would take what section, what the signal would be, and the specific plan of advancement on the map of Hogsmeade.

There was just one small problem – when Jane asked if they could use the unforgivable curses, Professor Dumbledore looked at her like he'd smelled rotten sauerkraut, said that some things cost too much, and that was the end of the discussion. Jane barely managed to hide her surprise – what, haven't they killed anyone so far? And what did they do with the captured adversaries, since their return to prison meant that they would reappear in England in a week at the latest?

The Order of the Phoenix looked more and more like a children's playground and less and less like a fighting organization. Even the action plan for Hogsmeade was not right – the intruders had to be chased away, but the headmaster wanted them to stay alive, every single one of them. Although the eventual removal of Lucius and his friend while no one was looking seemed to make far more sense.

At about half past five, all of them finally left the castle and started for the village. Everyone had to patrol alone, so Jane was alert the whole time. She didn't even allow herself to blink, mostly out of fear that she might miss a Death Eater sneak up on her without noticing. An icy wind was blowing at the outskirts of the village, and she had to hold onto the brim of her winter hat to keep it from being blown away by the blizzard while keeping her wand at the ready, which proved to be an almost impossible task. At least she was glad for one thing – that Professor Snape's plot was all the way across the village, and that he couldn't see her now, shivering with fear and cold. It was strange to her, however, why she was thinking about him right now when she had more important things on her mind. Actually, it was suspicious why she thought of him at all, and so often.

'Why don't you like one man instead of several at once?', Minerva had asked her half-jokingly as they waited for the headmaster earlier in the afternoon.

'I'm sorry Minerva, it turns out I can't,' Jane had replied just as seriously. 'I can hate only one, but not like only one.'

'I think I can guess who you mean.' Her interlocutor raised an eyebrow.

'You and the whole school,' Jane said and they both laughed.

Fortunately for the young teacher, the wind soon became so strong that she had to focus all her efforts on casting a warming spell, which was of dubious use.

It was getting dark now and the gas lanterns around the village were giving off more light than the sun, so Jane slipped into the shadows and began walking around the darker areas. The most important thing was that she shouldn't be noticed.

Only ten minutes later, when it was almost completely dark, she could make out a few dim outlines at the other end of the street. Of course, it could have been some drunken company that decided to wander around the village to refresh themselves, but something about their behaviour made her stand on her toes. They each walked in a straight line and made surprisingly little noise, which was very unlikely for a large company going out a few days after the New Year. Indeed, as they approached, she recognized the man she had seen the night before with Lucius Malfoy. The morons had not even found it necessary to divide into two groups and on top of everything they were moving in a disorderly fashion without much looking around. The rumour that the Dark Lord employed mostly fools was apparently true.

The teacher hid in the shadow of a garden gate and waited for them to pass. After they rounded the corner, she pointed her wand at one of the men and whispered the incantation that caused nose bleeding. Its action was very similar to what happened to her when she was hit by a curse – a little blood would trickle at first, then it would become a stream, and finally, when nothing could stop it, the victim would fall to the ground and begin writhing in pain. This chap was clearly not going to be able to duel tonight.

Jane tried to curse two more men, but she couldn't aim properly from behind her cover and didn't think she managed to hit even one. She stopped further attempts and instead pointed the wand at her hand and shot out a beam of dark sparks. The effect couldn't be seen from outside, but it was felt – right now, every member of the Order taking part in the operation, including her, felt pain in his left palm, as if they had been doused with the special sparkler from Zonko's shop.

She waited a moment for the pain to pass and used her wand to write on the injured palm, "Bleeding Curse, one item." Professor Dumbledore would understand.

As the last Death Eater rounded the corner, Jane stepped out from behind the gate and began walking towards the post office along the detour. She managed to get there just as the Lord's delegation had arrived in front of it and Lucius was exchanging threats with the headmaster.

'You will see, Dumbledore, that very soon we will purge the entire village of your supporters,' threatened Lucius theatrically behind his mask.

'And you will lose valuable time that you could use in a much more needed place.'

'Would you be so kind as to inform us where we might best employ our efforts?', Malfoy asked with a slimy voice.

'I think you should ask your master about that,' Dumbledore replied meekly.

'Don't play tricks on us, we came here to take over the village and we won't leave before we beat you up,' the man from the night before called out of the blue.

'Boys, I think they sent you on a wild goose chase.' Lupin gave them a slightly exaggerated smile. 'The way you look to me, I don't think you'll even be able to find your way back.'

'Are you sure?' The other scowled, but the effect was drowned out by a powerful snorting sound. 'Riley, stop blowing your nose!'

'I can't, gov'ner, it leaks." The Order was already bursting with laughter.

'I will make you leak myself, but from somewhere else.'

'Nott, didn't I tell you yesterday to stop using names?', Lucius fumed, but quickly shut up, realizing his own mistake.

'I'm sorry, Lou…' Nott tried to explain himself, but his mouth was quickly shut by a silencing spell.

Jane watched this pleasant discord and mentally congratulated herself on the successful spell she cast earlier. She was standing a little to the side of the main groups, but she could see them both clearly. She looked to the headmaster for further instructions and he wordlessly instructed her to stand slightly behind Minerva.

'Enough of the chit-chat, Dumbledore,' Lucius said, regaining his composure, as he shifted his position.

'Well, then start moving.' Dumbledore spread his hands, palms up, as he smiled.

That was enough, apparently, the theatre had started irritating Lucius because he ordered, 'Chaps, get to work,' and he began giving instructions on who to deal with whom.

Soon the spells began flying to and fro, red and green sparks interspersed in the air, alternating with other colours. Jane was duelling some short and stocky Death Eater, but soon Professor Vector was done with her opponent, who lay fast asleep on the ground and transferred to Jane's. She in turn went to the other end of the fight and tackled another Death Eater who was probably female but she wasn't sure.

'Avada Kedavra!', the woman shouted at the very beginning of the fight, and the dazed Jane barely managed to jump to the side. She must have encountered some crazy killer.

'Incacerus!', Jane tried to bind her, but the woman immediately screamed 'Protego' and the spell was repelled. Jane tried more complex spells, this time making sure not to shout, but to speak them to herself, nevertheless the other witch pushed them away as well. Soon the initiative was entirely with the madwoman, who forced her more and more to step back. Good thing that Kingsley Shucklebolt was nearby and took the fight with her, nodding to Jane that she could retreat, for which she was grateful. She took a few steps away from the duel and looked around for a new opponent, still following the woman in front of Kingsley with the corner of her eye. She tried to use the killing curse a few more times, but the big negro was agile and well-trained and always managed to avoid it.

Jane finally let go of them and hurried away. She almost tripped over a Death Eater writhing on the ground, who didn't seem to be the one who bled in front of everyone. Indeed, something else might have hit him, but the effect of the curse looked suspiciously like the one she had used earlier, so Jane just smiled and, skipping him, continued on. The result was two nill in her favour. She soon found a new opponent against whom she had to harness all her strength to begin pushing him out according to the preliminary plan.

They fought like this for half an hour, maybe even a whole hour, slowly pushing the Death Eaters to the outskirts of the village. The Protego and Expeliarmus spells could be heard, occasionally some rarer ones or coloured sparks flew without any sound accompanying them. Several Death Eaters were already rolling on the ground behind the members of the Order, along with Professor Sprout, and Mandungus had disappeared into the ground.

Things were going well for Jane – she had just managed to stun the man and was looking around to see where she could be of use when she suddenly felt her nose run. Worriedly, she passed the back of her hand above her mouth and noticed in the dim lantern light that she had wiped something dark. She knew that soon her nose would run even more, and then she would crumple on the ground just like the two she hit with the curse, so she decided to fight while she still could. However, she had to let someone know that she was leaving the combat soon.

'Aurora!' she shouted at the woman duelling nearby, and she instantly turned around. 'Watch out, he's attacking you from the back!'

"Scudo," Jane thought and pointed her wand at Aurora just in time for the spell to shatter into the newly made shield.

As the two of them battled the Death Eater, Jane told Aurora that she expected to be sick soon and not be able to fight anymore. Aurora nodded and the two continued sending spells side by side. Jane then found another opponent but didn't get very far, trying to defeat him before collapsing. Blood was already streaming down her face and her legs were shaking, but she was forcing herself to hold on a little longer until she could stun him.

"Stupefy," Jane pointed her wand at him and the Death Eater, who clearly had slow reflexes, thumped to the ground like a ripe pear. She wiped away some of her blood with the sleeve of her robe and propped her forehead with her hand as the world began to darken more and more. She wanted to cry for help, to do something, but she couldn't because the next moment she just collapsed on the ground.