INTERLUDE VIII

It was a strange day when an Acolyte of Lord Voldemort felt gratitude towards an Auror, but Vanessa couldn't deny it.

In her experience, it wasn't out of the question for her goals to align with the Auror Corps, but it was a rare enough occurrence that she knew to saviour the sensation when it happened. Doubly so when The Boy-Who-Lived himself was part of the arresting team that brought an end to almost a year's worth of headaches.

Now if only Elissa Corner's bastard hadn't been involved, Vanessa thought darkly as she stepped into the meeting room hidden within Nix.

"My son," Elissa boasted to the room at large. "Without any rearing or input from me, knows to enact his mother's will. Tell me that's not blood showing true!" There was a smattering of laughter from the few sycophants that guarded the doors. Those around the table, her apprentice, Hillard, and the Dark Lord's most recent Acolyte included, failed to crack a smile.

For her part, Vanessa had to squash the urge to inform the self-righteous cow that she wouldn't know parenting even if a Mother's Day card slapped her across the face. Her eyes met Vincent Lancer's from where he was lounging at the other end of the table and they shared a rare commiserating look. They were both tired of having to deal with Elissa every day.

It was customary amongst the Acolytes to allow the host to bring the meeting to order. If the meeting was conducted on neutral ground, then the longest serving of them was to assume control. As Vanessa was the owner of the establishment and held the longest service record, this was both her duty and privilege.

Instead, the greenest of them assumed control of the meeting before Vanessa could even take her seat at the head of the table. "Now that we're all present-" he paused as if to shame her- "and your threat has been dealt with-" he added in a tone that doubted the Vampire had been much of a threat at all- "Let us begin this meeting."

"What do you have to tell me about the New Year's operation?" Vanessa asked once she was seated. She framed her question as though the new Acolyte was meant to report directly to her.

Much to her irritation, he remained professional. Not even a flicker of annoyance crossed his face. "Everything is moving exactly as our Lord predicted it would," he informed the room at large. "As you should be aware, Potter managed to pull through the Preliminary Rounds, proving both his strength and usefulness to our master."

"But he lost," Vincent said bluntly. "Against that creature. He lost." Again, it was rare for them to be on the same side, and while Vanessa wanted to take advantage of it, the Hillard boy spoke before she could.

"Master Lancer," he said lowly, his voice carrying a veneer of put-upon respect. "Potter is strong. Even as a First Year, he was strong. I once made the mistake of underestimating him, and it cost me my cover at Hogwarts." The warning in his voice was clear. Vanessa half expected Vincent to lash out at being publicly corrected, but Elissa spoke before he could get the chance.

"I trust your judgement," Elissa said to the room at large. Vincent sank into his seat, petulantly.

"Whatever." He had been the only one displeased by the report of the Vampire's capture. It meant he'd signed himself up for an assignment he was overqualified for without the kill he wanted to get out of it.

"As long as Potter manages to win the Championship, our Lord's plan will succeed," the spy said as though he hadn't been interrupted. "While it won't be a total loss should someone else win-"

"-it will have the best results if it is Potter." Vanessa and Elissa finished, having heard Renata Cushing use this exact phrasing several times over the last year and a half.

"Will my agents have a difficult time infiltrating?" Vanessa asked the spy abruptly.

Not caught off guard in the least, he answered swiftly. "Not at all." He paused before adding, "Provided they're the competent sort."

If he wasn't of equal standing to her, she would have struck him dead for such an insinuation. "They are," she said coldly.

"Good," the spy nodded. "Then we just have to settle on targets and how to separate them from the pack. Especially the boy." Elissa answered swiftly with the first of many excellent strategies (Vanessa hated to admit that, even to herself) which led to a back-and-forth between her and the spy.

Vanessa could already tell this was going to last hours. She sat back in her seat, sighing internally as she did so. She just wanted five minutes to feel superior on her property. Was that too much to ask?