In honor of July 4th here in the states, here's chapter a bit early...Enjoy.
Chapter 6: The Deception in the Mirror.
******************Malfoy Castle, Somewhere in Southern England*********
July 20, 2012
"Bariss, do you have any further information on Potter's little spy?" Lucius Malfoy asked the short Death Eater trailing in his and his wife's wake. Xavier Hamilton was further trailing the trio, his head down as befitted the apprentice of the Dark Lord. Lucius and Narcissa were walking arm in arm down a dark stone corridor from the room that so resembled a throne room, if throne rooms normally had shackles and torture implements mounted to the walls for ruler to enjoy, "entertaining" with.
Bariss was a small man, balding with a slight limp. He had once been compared to Pettigrew until Bariss had crucio'ed the offending young Death Eater. But despite that, the comparison was apt. Bariss had also once been on the side of the angels, before submitting to the dark. He had been an Unspeakable before the Ministry had learned of his affiliation in the aftermath of Voldemort's death, but he had escaped just moments before the Aurors raided his apartment. Now he served as Malfoy's majordomo, coordinating attacks on the muggles and wizards alike. He looked up at Malfoy, "A bit sire, she has a son by the blood-traitor Longbottom. If you will remember our...allies performed the soul-rendering curse on him at Hogsmeade."
"Ah, yes...they do so run together...can we get the son, or perhaps the traitor Longbottom? We need to fully break her, and she is resistant to the Imperious." Lucius responded thoughtfully, "I have been able to keep her reporting under the Imperious, but we will need additional leverage to fully control her." Lucius raised his wife's hand to his lips as she stepped to the side.
Bariss thought for a moment, "I do not know, my lord." Eventually he shrugged, "it will be difficult, the children are well defended normally, and we are not sure where Potter has hidden his casualties. And as to your long term goal...the potion is ready, the special caldron has been acquired and configured as you specified."
"Excellent..." Lucius smiled, he turned to his minion, and his pale gray eyes lit with an inner, red fire. "We will make the fools react like puppets on a string, make them defeat themselves." He laughed darkly, "Potter and his little bitch think themselves invincible; they will learn that they have spawned their own defeat." A dark, hollow laugh echoed from four throats.
************************Hogwarts*******************************
Several hundred miles away, the golden trio of Hogwarts was walking down a deserted corridor. It was still weeks until the students, and even the majority of the staff returned from their summer hols. Sunlight danced in the hall from the great windows facing the courtyard. Harry looked over at Ron as the three of them exited the DADA wing and stopped, elbows propped on the railing of the bridge spanning between the towers. "I'm worried Harry." Ron pronounced suddenly as he watched several of the school owls swooping around the castle. "I was the one that took that latest status report from Ginny and she just didn't look the same. Something was wrong."
Harry sighed, "Ron...I don't know what to say, she's alive, if I knew where she was, we would have already raided the place. But unless she triggers the beacon..." Harry shrugged as he absently glanced down at his joined hands.
Hermione's eyes flicked over to his, "we could try a locating spell, but, it probably wont work. We've tried over the years, with Death Eaters we've let escape..."
Ron looked at his best friends. His eyes were haunted. "Damn it though, we can't let this go much longer." He turned his back on the vista of the castle, "She was just supposed to be under a short amount of time. Even with the extended polyjuice formula, she will run out about ten days after the QWC." Ron rung his hands, "maybe we shouldn't go to the world cup..."
Hermione glanced over at Harry, her eyebrow arched up. "I never thought I'd see the day that Ronald Weasley would try to turn down World Cup seats." Ron started to snarl a response, but Hermione cut him off, "I know Ron, I know." Hermione said consolingly, "but we almost have to go, now. You were the one who told everyone we were guests of Arthur. If we don't go, then some of the Death Eaters might put two and two together and wonder where Ginny is, and that could blow her cover even faster."
"Its just not the same, Hermione." Ron objected, "She should be there too."
Harry sighed, "I know Ron" He glanced down at his watch, a enchanted self winding one that Hermione had given him for his birthday several years ago. He checked the date and frowned. "Ok, Ron, here's how we play it. She has a week until the QWC, and ten days after that. If she hasn't contacted us by then and requested extraction..." He looked meaningfully at Hermione and Ron; "we get her out, what ever it takes...even if we have to blow cover and tear the damn country apart to find her. The bastards don't get our family, ever." Ron nodded and walked off, his hands in his pockets.
Harry turned back to the view of the grounds. He let out a small, tired sound as Hermione settled into his side. Harry pulled her closer and kissed her cheek. Mione, he's right, we shouldn't have put her this deep under. He looked down the corridor after his brother, he really was opposed to me assigning her this...It's all my fault if something happens, I...
Honestly, Harry...Hermione snapped, not every thing is your fault. Ginny is a professional; she knew what she was getting into.
Harry gave a small nod, Yeah...I know; it's just that I don't want to be the one to cause Elliot to loose both his parents. He ran his free hand through his hair, absently brushing it from his forehead.
Hermione hugged him, one-armed. I know, love. It will be okay.
Harry knew she was just trying to reassure him, even though they both knew all too well that there were no guarantees in their line of work. Gracing her with a tight, half-smile he nodded silently. They both knew what the real chances were for Ginny if she was revealed. If nothing else, Lucius Malfoy had learned from the mistakes of his former master. He killed traitors and spies instantly and efficiently, at least for the most part he did not let his own twisted desires get in the way of his security, unless there was an overriding benefit to letting them live, however briefly, the string of agents that had fallen to the newest Dark Lord had only been eclipsed by his former master, and Voldemort had had more time to play with.
Harry and Hermione stood together motionless, silent in thoughts and speech for almost ten minutes. Conversation was not really necessary for them any longer, unless there was actually something to say. With a soft groan, Hermione decided there was. Harry?
Yeah, Love? Harry whispered back as a pair of thestrals rounded the spire of Gryffindor Tower. Next to him, Hermione stepped back and faced him, standing far enough apart that she could see his eyes, his reactions. Harry looked a silent question at her, she shook her head briskly as she bit her lower lip and looked away. Harry waited.
Finally she met his eyes again. An odd look filled her chocolate pools, as she glanced away again. Harry knew she had something she wanted to say, but didn't know how to broach the subject. He knew from the way she held her head that she had uncovered some obscure fact that was destined to cause them, difficulty. You remember the very end of the duel with Voldemort? Hermione finally inquired, pointlessly. She knew quite well his nightmares, his memories, and how the two were quite often one and the same. They were hers as well.
Yeah.
Poppy brought it up...Harry, neither of us have really aged since we were eighteen, twenty.
That's funny I seem to remember a couple of kids who would dispute that. Harry retorted, humorously. But deep inside he knew she was right. There was something, different about the two of them. Watching Ron, even at twenty-five and a wizard, he took just that little bit longer to recover from a sprint, or an injury. Ok, Hermione, spill.
Honestly, I never thought about it either...not until Poppy said something. She paced over to the other side of the bridge. Absently she flicked her wrist and a cup of coffee appeared; not that she was probably thirsty or needed the caffeine, Harry knew, but to bide time. She took a sip. So I did some research... she grinned as she felt him grin behind her, shush you...her grin faded. At first I thought it was due to your relationship to Dumbledore and that it probably rubbed off on me through the blood bonding, but the effect is too pronounced for just that. Harry, I've seen the spells that bastard was using to stay alive...the only reason we beat him in the end was that he bypassed his own protections when he used your blood for his rebirth, and that by then we were bound by blood as well.
See I knew there was a reason I kept you around, that was your idea I believe. Harry thought as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She turned in his arms and flipped the half-full cup into the air. Harry flicked his fingers and it vanished before it hit the ground. Her arms came around his waist in turn as she rested her head on his shoulder.
Hermione kissed his shoulder softly; I combined that with the message Godric left for us. I believe that through some freak set of spells and circumstances and our powers, Tom Riddle gave us what he had been looking for all along...
For another minute, Harry's eyes grew distant, until they returned to her. Ok...some other gift from the bastard. Harry turned and kissed her, their lips finding each other in a melancholy kiss. I sorta knew something was going on...what are we going to tell our friends, heck our sprogs when their dates show up at the door and their mum looks their age?
Good genes? Hermione shot back, and they both chuckled softly for an instant. I don't know love, I could be wrong. We should probably wait and see. Maybe Ron won't curse us out again for holding out on him. They both knew she didn't think she was wrong, despite what she might pretend, and for Harry, it had been a long time since Harry had questioned anything she had done research on.
It's not so bad...we can just have Luna shag him, that what got him over it the last time. Hermione snorted as she squeezed his waist tighter. Whatever happens Mione, we'll get through it, ok? She nodded, and taking a deep breath, she extracted herself from his arms and grabbing his hand once again, she lead him back into the castle proper.
*********************Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts********************
Albus Dumbledore was once again fighting the current bane of his existence, paperwork. The activities of the world's foremost site for the primary education for wizards and witches were never ending. Piles of parchments crossed his desk every day, ranging from detention forms, and academic reports, to expenses for housing magical creatures to proposals for raises for the paid part of the house elf staff. He had pawned off a great deal of the mundane chores on Minerva McGonagall during the seven years of Harry's tenure here as a student, as he had claimed, rightly, that he had other vital tasks to perform. The day after Harry and Hermione's wedding she had marched into his office and ceremoniously dropped about a half ton of paperwork on his desk. She hadn't quite grinned as she had left.
And unfortunately, Hogwarts wasn't his only responsibility. He shoved a stack of papers over to one side to find a pile of cases to review, at least cursorily. His responsibilities as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot demanded no less. Most of them were minor cases, suits and such, cases that he honestly didn't really have time to look at closely, or the need. With a small sigh, he recognized that he should pay attention to the one on top however. He picked up the jet folder, marked conspicuously with the red "top secret" rating across the front. Dumbledore opened the folder and started to page through the documents. He frowned as he saw the photo of Pansy Parkinson. She would be tried in a closed session later this week. Hermione had not been kidding, Death Eaters were eligible for death, if their crimes had proven worthy. He looked at the notes stating that that the prosecution would seek the penalty in this case.
Pansy was far from the first of his former students to appear before him. Several had been executed, several others put into Azkaban for life and a few had gone free. Unfortunately he knew from sad experience that those that SG-1 brought in were probably going to achieve one of the first two categories. They seldom went after the minor players.
A knock interrupted his melancholy review. He looked up to find Mad-Eye Moody darkening his doorstep. He gave his old friend a bleak smile, "hello Alastor." Dumbledore waved at a chair, "have a seat. Drink?" Dumbledore inquired as a crystal decanter shimmered into existence. Moody nodded and poured himself a shot. "What brings you here?"
Mad-Eye scowled, "Preparations my friend. Are the contingency plans ready?" He leaned forward. His wood leg clunked on the floor as he moved, and his eye spun to cover the room. Above the pair of them, the gallery of portraits looked down curiously, each trying to act like they were asleep. Mad-Eye's eye finished his circuit of the room. "When are you going to tell them?" He asked suddenly, and something in his dark, beady natural eye stated that he wasn't talking about whatever mysterious thing he had just mentioned. Or rather not directly, in this case.
Dumbledore looked at his desk pensively, he took a sip of his drink before answering slowly. "I do not know. Sybil has no idea where she is any longer, not really. Tom destroyed her mind. I can not give much credence to anything she says."
"She's gotten two right Albus." Moody reminded him. He nodded to himself as he took another sip of his drink.
"Three actually, now." Dumbledore corrected him, gently, but did not elaborate. Whistling suddenly, he called Fawkes to him. Dumbledore petted the crimson bird absently as he considered Alastor's questions. And what to say exactly. "This last one, even if it is, is so vague that I can not perceive any course except the one we are on. As to your original question, yes I have prepared Grimmauld, Godric's Hollow and certain other, family locations. There will be a place to run, if needed."
"Albus, what exactly did Sybil say?"
Dumbledore sighed, "I did not hear it directly this time. She gave it to a nurse who was on duty in her ward. I did retrieve it from the nurse's mind however." Dumbledore looked at the old Auror over the tops of his old, half-moon spectacles. " I believe that her words were...Beware, a time of fire approaches, those thought safe will be assailed, those thought defeated will arise. A dark shadow will fall over the young ones. Shackles of blood will hold where those of iron would fail." Dumbledore shook his head. "She gave that right before Voldemort attacked the DA's family members, I did not hear about it until after that event, and until recently I thought that it did indeed refer to the events of those last few months, as everything more or less fit. Now..." He trailed off, frustration showing in his normally twinkling blue eyes.
"Bloody hell," Moody muttered, and stood. "Then, I will try to make preparations, however you know Arthur has refused many of my security measures." The frustration was quite evident in his voice as he spoke of his boss. "This would have been easier you know, if you had taken the damn job, I'm reasonably confident that you could probably defend yourself enough to get by." Dumbledore just nodded as he stood to leave, no reply was really necessary.
Mad-eye walked to the door, but just as he was reaching for the handle, he stopped and sighed. "Albus...Arthur has been a great Minister, but he never would sign off on all my requests. I understand his reasons and for the most part I agree with him, we can't sacrifice our liberties, but blimey... We exposed many traitors and spies in the years since Voldemort died, but all it takes is one we've missed. Lucius had all those years to plan, both the time since Riddle died, and the twelve years when he was plotting before then."
"I know" Dumbledore replied as Alastor left the room. "I know."
A/N: It's a bit early, but here it is. Finally the glow at the end of chapter 43 from Lions is resolved. Next chapter, Sirius Black, is not only back, but he's bringing a friend. Also, Harry's birthday, not much of a celebration, just what an old married couple can get up to, and S'mores...yes, S'mores.