Secrets

Chapter 12

Friday, the day of the eagerly anticipated Quidditch match arrived without further incident. The school was buzzing with excitement from the moment the first over-enthusiastic teenagers leapt out of bed at six in the morning.

The few classes that were due to take place before lunch happened with the barest semblance of order and attentiveness; except Snape´s classes of course. A keenly honed survival instinct on the part of the students assured that Snape was not unduly provoked, even on a day such as this -especially on a day such as this!

Iris´s classes were not quite as successful. Her reputation for strictness had not yet had the time to surpass the sheer terror that Snape managed to inspire in his students. She had been surprised by that fact that she had even had to deduct points from Hufflepuff that day.

With the match due to take place in the early afternoon, all the rest of Friday afternoon´s classes had been cancelled, the last one taking place just before lunch; towards which Harry and Ron made their way, whilst discussing the upcoming game.

`How´re you feeling, Harry? We´ll beat them, won´t we?´

`Well, we´re definitely going to try!´

`Oh, come on! That´s no way to talk, two hours before the game!´

`Ok, ok! We´ll beat them! If only for the sake of seeing Malfoy´s face at the end of it!´ Harry said with a smirk.

`Damn right!´

They made their way to the Gryffindor table and sat down.

`Where´s Hermione?´ Harry asked.

`She´s coming. I think she just popped into the library for a minute. Wanted to check out a book, or something.´

Harry groaned.

`Why doesn´t that surprise me! I mean, today, of all days, you´d have thought that she´d forget homework for five minutes. You know, I remember when she used to be really keen on Quidditch. What´s happened to her lately?´

Ron shrugged.

`Dunno. I think it happens to most girls as they grow up. They lose interest in sports. Don´t ask me why! I don´t know!´

Harry shook his head incomprehensibly and prepared to tuck into lunch, when a very familiar voice behind him made him turn.

`Good luck today, Potter,´ Snape´s quiet sneer made Ron´s head snap up, too. `I think you´ll need it,´ Snape added with a faint smirk.

Harry looked up at him silently, clenching his teeth in an effort to abstain from answering, fear of Snape having long ago been replaced by undisguised loathing.

`You´re very confident of your House´s abilities, aren´t you?´ Raveneye´s silky voice joined in from somewhere behind Snape. `I personally think Gryffindor will give you a run for your money, today,´ she added as she appeared at Snape´s side. `Now, leave Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley in peace, Severus. I thought you were taking me to lunch!´

Snape didn´t even turn to look at her, but continued smirking at Harry, smugly.

`What Gryffindor can do remains to be seen,´ he said in the end and allowed Raveneye to take him by the arm and lead him purposefully away, at the last moment just turning to smile at her shrewdly, as they made their way up to the teachers´ table. Raveneye´s melodious laughter carried back to where Harry was sitting, as Snape leaned over and whispered something in her ear. She had looked up at him then, her eyes gleaming brilliantly and locking onto his, while Snape smiled back warmly and winked at her.

Harry felt his jaw slacken, as he gazed up after them. He was suddenly feeling slightly light-headed, as if he was hallucinating. Mouth still hanging open in shocked disbelief, he finally turned slowly to look at Ron.

`Wha´... what was that?´ he whispered to Ron.

`What? That was Snape being his usual charming self.´

`No... I mean... what was that... you know, with Raveneye?´

`Oh. You mean you haven´t noticed before? They´re, well... you know... ahem...´

Harry continued staring at Ron incomprehensibly.

`You know!´ Ron said desperately. This wasn´t the sort of thing he was used to discussing with Harry, and he was having trouble finding the words. Harry´s blank gazed forced him to try again. `They´re...seeing each other, you know, er... "socially", so to speak.´

Several seconds of stunned silence ensued, as Harry´s mind tried to process the incoming information.

`Snape and Raveneye?´ he almost cried in the end.

`Sshhh!!´ said Ron, frantically. `Keep it down, will you?! It´s not exactly something that has been published in the social column of the Daily Prophet, if you know what I mean! You want them to hear you?!´

`Well, I mean, it´s not as if they´re being very discreet about it, is it?´ said Harry indignantly.

`Are you joking? You hadn´t noticed anything out of the ordinary happening, until just now; and if I hadn´t been here to tell you, you still wouldn´t have had a clue what was going on. I wouldn´t have noticed anything either, if it wasn´t for Hermione. I call that being discreet! If the only person that can figure out something´s up is Hermione, then that´s discreet, mate! Anyway, I doubt they´d be too keen on us discussing their social habits, do you? So, keep it down!´

`Ok, ok!´ said Harry placatingly. `Point taken. When did this happen, anyway?´

Ron shrugged.

`I don´t know. We figured out -well, Hermione figured out -something was up just after Christmas.´

`What?!´ said Harry.

`Yeah, it´s been a while! I told you, they´ve been keeping it quiet. I really don´t think anyone else´s noticed.´

`Geez!´ Harry breathed. He was still having trouble with the concept.

`What´s up?´ Hermione´s voice piped up behind them.

`Oh, nothing. Harry here just realised what´s going on with Snape and Raveneye,´ said Ron casually.

`About time too!´ said Hermione as she sat down beside them. `What did they do, start kissing in front of him?´

`Practically!´ said Harry indignantly. `You could have said, you know; rather than waiting for me to witness something like that, to find out!´

`I had said! Repeatedly! I have been saying since November! But do you listen? No! No one ever listens to me!´ Hermione complained ferociously.

`Ok, ok! I admit that you had said something to that effect. But then you stopped going on about it, so I just assumed that you had realised you had been wrong!´

`Well, that just goes to show how assumptions are dangerous and often misleading! I really don´t know how you can not have noticed. It´s plain as daylight!´

`Well, now it was!´ said Harry. `Besides, somehow I couldn´t imagine Snape actually... you know... liking someone -or anyone liking him, for that matter!´

`Prejudice does cloud judgment, doesn´t it? They seem to like each other just fine, apparently. Even though I would say that the term "like" is probably a huge understatement!´ said Hermione casually as she skewered a roast potato.

`You mean, you think they... love each other?!´ Harry asked in blatant disbelief and more than a hint of disgust in his voice.

Hermione turned and shot him a withering look.

`Would you like me to remind you that I have been right about this since day one?´

`But, that´s simply... well, not possible!´ Harry cried.

Hermione turned back to her potato.

`Whatever you say.´

Harry turned desperately to Ron for support.

`Come on Ron, you don´t think that´s possible, do you?´

Ron shrugged, uncomfortably.

`Well, I mean... I don´t know... She has been right about this since the beginning... I wouldn´t have thought it possible either, but... well, they do look pretty close, don´t they?´

Harry stared at Ron in amazement.

`You too?!´ he breathed. `I don´t believe this!´

`Sorry!´ said Ron.

`Oh God! And to think that I quite liked Raveneye! Now I´ll have to re-evaluate my opinion of her!´ said Harry despairingly.

`Whatever for?´ asked Hermione in utter incomprehension.

`Well, I mean, if she likes Snape that much, there must be something seriously wrong with her, mustn´t there? Like, evilness, for example!´

Hermione snorted.

`Right! So, it never occurred to you that, since she can "like" him -as you put it -that much, there might actually be something about him worth "liking"?´

`Of course not! Have you seen any evidence of that, in all the years we have been here?´

Hermione and Ron suddenly developed an inexplicable fascination with their food, heads lowered, and eyes fixed firmly down on the plate in front of them.

`Well, he did save your life in our first year here?´ Hermione said offhandedly, `as I´m tired of reminding you.´

`That´s it? That´s all you can say? That was five years ago!´

Harry saw Ron shoot a furtive glance in Hermione´s direction, and Hermione give him a warning glare in return.

`Ok, that´s it! You two know something and you´re not telling me, don´t you? Go on! Spit it out! I want to know! What is it? What have you two been up to? You´ve been up to something for the past four months! I know you have! Now tell me!´

Hermione and Ron looked at each other.

`No we haven´t,´ said Hermione looking back down at her food again. `You´re imagining things!´

`No! I´m not! You´ve been up to something, and I want to know what!´

`Hermione!´ Ron said pleadingly.

She glared at him again.

`Come on Hermione!´ Ron insisted.

`You think this is a good time to go into this?!´ Hermione finally erupted. `Now? Less than two hours before a Quidditch match?´

`So you have been up to something!!´ Harry exclaimed triumphantly. `I don´t care if the world is going to explode in two hours, I want to know what you´ve been up to, and I want to know now!´

Hermione looked at Ron again, then she sighed and set her fork down slowly.

`Go on, Hermione,´ Ron urged her on gently.

She frowned, and pursed her lips in thought for a moment, and then she sighed again.

`Ok. But not here. Come with me,´ she said and got up from the table, Ron immediately rising to follow her, with Harry jumping up excitedly after them.

`Be warned, however,´ Hermione added, as the three of them made their way out of the Great Hall. `We don´t have time now for much more than a summary of the situation. You will get all the details after the game, ok?´

`Ok!´ said Harry happily.

*

In the Public Gallery of the Houses of Parliament, Aidan sat pretending to take notes on a remarkably boring discussion on the many ailments of the public transportation system. A couple of seats to his right sat Phaedra, in full muggle attire that Aidan had to admit suited her wonderfully. There was something to be said about tight-fitting black jeans, equally skin-tight black t-shirt and a leather, biker jacket -black, of course; oh, and let us not forget the appropriate black boots. She had a press card hanging round her neck and was also trying to look interested in the note-taking she was pretending to be involved in. Felix was somewhere outside, patrolling; i.e. being fed and petted by the tourists and the more soft-hearted of the various MPs´ chauffeurs.

Aidan occasionally scanned the full length of the Public Galleries, making sure that he knew exactly where all the Aurors that Iole had recently managed to recruit from the Ministry were. There was one, at the far corner, lurking in the shadows; a wiry, tall man, with thinning grey hair, in his fifties. Aidan made a mental note to stay well clear of him, if anything ever happened. He looked dangerous. A truly amiable looking, plump woman in her late thirties, was sitting somewhere to his far left. That was number two, and Aidan knew too well to be fooled by her harmless appearance. There were three more Aurors outside; a woman and another two men. He had seen them when he had come in that morning. Felix was keeping an eye on those.

Iole had done well. Managing to extract, probably by force -or at least with the assistance of various, colourful threats -five Aurors from the Ministry´s employ was impressive. She wouldn´t be able to keep them for long, however. Everything came with a caveat, and in this case it was that the five Aurors would return to the Ministry within a week. Apparently, Fudge didn´t particularly care whether they were of any actual use to the Department of Mysteries, or not. Aidan just hoped that, if anything were to happen, it would happen while they had five Aurors for back-up, and not the moment the Aurors left. Preferably, of course, nothing whatsoever would happen and all this was nothing more than just a massive waste of time.

*

The expression, on Harry´s face, when Hermione had finished talking, about half an hour later, was -for a lack of a better word -priceless. His jaw has hanging so low that Hermione couldn´t help but start imagining scenes in muggle cartoons where people´s jaws drop to the floor like rocks. She had to hurriedly dispel the caricature image from her mind to stop herself from sniggering; somehow she deemed that wouldn´t have been proper. The humour of the situation seemed to have completely passed Ron by, for some reason, and he was looking terribly concerned, his eyebrows drawn together in a worried frown.

`Harry?´ he asked, as they stood huddled together in a secluded corner of Hogwarts grounds, whispering intently. `Harry, are you ok?´

`Er...´

`Don´t be stupid, Ron. Of course he´s ok!´ said Hermione impatiently. `He´s just a bit surprised.´

`Er...´

`A bit surprised?!´ Ron said in disbelief. `He looks apoplectic!´

`Er...´

`Well, to be fair, it was quite a lot to take in. I told you this wasn´t the right time to tell him!´

`I can´t believe it took you so long to tell me in the first place!´ Harry suddenly erupted. `What were you two waiting for, anyway?´

`Well, erm... the right time,´ said Ron timidly. `Somehow, it never seemed like the right time to tell you.´

`We just didn´t want to upset you!´ said Hermione. `You know, we thought that constant talk about you-know-who, and stuff, would have been, well, upsetting!´

`Well, yeah! It would have been upsetting, but didn´t you think that I might have preferred to know all these things, rather than spend all this time thinking I´ve got a Death Eater for a Potions teacher?´

`Well... you do... technically!´ said Ron, grimacing in embarrassment. `It´s just that, well, he´s not really evil. At least we don´t think so.´

Hermione glared coldly at Ron.

`Neither does Raveneye, or Dumbledore, or McGonagall, or your brothers, for that matter.´

`Well, yes. Neither do they.´

`And I can´t believe you got your brothers into this too, and didn´t tell me about it!´ Harry exclaimed again.

`We needed their help,´ said Hermione calmly. `It´s not like we planned for it to happen this way!´

`So where are they now then?´

Hermione and Ron looked at each other.

`Don´t know. It was their turn to do all the listening this morning, whenever they were not in class. They´re probably lurking in the secret closet, waiting for Snape to show up in his office. It´s our turn after the game,´ Ron said uneasily, looking at Hermione again. `We arranged it this way so we could spend all morning with you, and have lunch and stuff, and then watch the game... you know, since you´re playing today and everything.´

Harry was still having trouble believing his ears. He couldn´t get his head around how Ron and Hermione could have kept all this from him for months on end. That was not to say that he didn´t understand why they hadn´t told him, but he was still too shocked to be able to process all this information clearly. He would have to think about all this seriously. Hermione had been right, yet again; an hour before the Quidditch match was not the right time to be told all this.

`So you still don´t know what´s up with Raveneye then?´ Harry asked suddenly, as one question after the other started popping up, unbidden to his mind. There were so many things he knew he wanted to ask, if only he were given the time to think about all this.

Ron shook his head vigorously.

`No idea!´

Harry turned to look questioningly at Hermione.

`Sorry. No.´

`Oh well, I guess that´s something that we´ll have to find out in the future then, isn´t it?´ said Harry meaningfully, stressing the preposition `we´ just a little more than was strictly necessary.

`I guess so!´ said Ron, with a wide, beaming grin on his face. He was relieved beyond words that he wouldn´t have to lie to Harry any more -and that, after all that, Harry was obviously still talking to him.

`Indeed. It is definitely the next item on our list of questions that need answering,´ Hermione also agreed with a shrewd little smile. `For now though, you had better try and forget we ever had this conversation, and try to concentrate on the game instead. It´s on in an hour, you know!´

`Yes, yes, I know!´ Harry agreed. `What I don´t know is how I´m going to manage to concentrate now!... How many Dementors did you say Snape and Raveneye ran into outside Hogwarts, again?´

`We didn´t. That comes under the many details that we said we´d discuss later,´ said Hermione severely. `Now stop this!´

`Ok, ok!´ said Harry, raising his hands in resignation.

`I say, Harry, you´re taking this remarkably well, though!´ said Ron happily.

`Well?! That´s just because I haven´t had the chance to think about it all yet! Don´t worry, I´ll get around to cracking your thick scull for all this sneaking around and lying for months on end, soon enough!´ said Harry fiercely, but he knew that his friends had only had the best possible intentions. Ron grinned sheepishly at him.

At two o´clock in the afternoon, with the Quidditch match about to begin, the entire school had congregated in the arena, the colours of all four Houses flying proudly from banners all around the pitch, the students cheering and shouting manically and the two teams waiting for the doors leading out to the pitch to open so they could fly out into the bright, crisp air.

The Gryffindors very quickly noticed that Professor McGonagall was not sitting in their box, as she always did, which struck them as immensely unusual and provoked a loud ripple of puzzled whispers as the news spread amongst them and was quickly discussed. McGonagall was obsessed with Quidditch. It wasn´t like her to miss a game, let alone one as important for Gryffindor as this one. With no other explanation forthcoming, most of the Gryffindor students concluded that she must have been sitting with Dumbledore -for reasons as yet indecipherable. That was a reasonably logical explanation, and under the circumstances was enough to satisfy the Gryffindors´ curiosity. Only Ron and Hermione looked at each other with something less than conviction, when that theory of McGonagall´s possible whereabouts reached their ears.

Looking around carefully for any sign of McGonagall, Ron and Hermione eventually realised that Gryffindor were not the only ones that seemed to be missing a Head of House. Slytherin seemed just as perplexed as Gryffindor by the absence of Snape from their midst. Ron and Hermione looked at each other again, and then simultaneously back to the teachers´ box where Dumbledore always sat. They looked very closely and came to the conclusion that McGonagall was not there. Snape, however, was. Without even realising it, Ron and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. He was sitting next to Professor Sprout, high up in the very back of the stalls, with the most commanding view of the playing field and the surrounding Hogwarts grounds. That was unusual. He always tended to sit reasonably near Dumbledore, whenever he wasn´t with his own House. And there was something else slightly odd that niggled at the back of Ron and Hermione´s mind and that, for a moment, they couldn´t put their finger on.

`Raveneye´s not with him!´ Hermione suddenly realised.

`Oh yeah!´ said Ron, realising what it was that had been bothering him about that picture. `That´s odd... Isn´t it?´

Hermione nodded. Snape and Raveneye seemed to have been spending practically every free moment together, over the past couple of months, and she had definitely been at the last Quidditch match, even though they hadn´t been sitting together since Snape had sat in his House´s box, as usual. Now that Snape was in the teachers´ box, Raveneye wasn´t there. Yes, that definitely qualified as odd.

`What do you think is going on?´

`Don´t know,´ said Hermione, apparently absorbed with looking around the arena in deep fascination. `Is that a crow sitting on top of that Slytherin standard over there?´

`Where?´

`There! Just there; do you see it?´ said Hermione pointing at the very far end of the stadium.

Ron squinted at the extremely distant black dot.

`Guess so... Can´t really tell from this distance. Why? -OH!´ he exclaimed suddenly and turned to look at Hermione wide-eyed, as the penny dropped. `You think it´s... you know?!´ he concluded meaningfully.

`Well... she´s not here, is she? Strangely, there´s a crow sitting atop a Slytherin standard... Have you ever seen a crow do that before, during a game? Usually they don´t like being around crowds of this size, do they?´

`Yeah, but why?´ Ron asked. He could see Hermione´s logic, but was failing to see the motivation behind Raveneye watching the game through her crow´s eyes.

`Well, I don´t know. Maybe she´s... I don´t know, standing guard, or something. Keeping an eye on the grounds.´

`But why?´ Ron insisted. `She hasn´t done that at any of the previous games, has she? So, why now?´

Hermione shrugged.

`Dunno! Maybe Dumbledore knows something we don´t.´

`Like what?´

`Dunno; something that would warrant extra security at the game. Bet you that´s why Snape´s sitting way up there in the stalls too; to keep an eye on the grounds. Which is also probably the reason McGonagall´s not here either. Bet you there´s a small tabby cat patrolling the grounds as we speak!´

Ron grimaced in disbelief.

`You are slightly paranoid, aren´t you? I mean, if Dumbledore thought there was some kind of risk, surely he´d cancel the game, wouldn´t he?´

`Well, I guess so. But what if he´s not sure whether there´s a risk or not. That would warrant extra security, wouldn´t it?´

`I don´t know. If I wasn´t sure whether there was a risk or not, I´d cancel the game anyway.´

`And you´d have the whole school in an uproar and close to panic, wouldn´t you?´

`No you wouldn´t! Well, an uproar, maybe; but not panic, surely!´

`Strange times provoke strange reactions. I wouldn´t think a panic unlikely.´

The last part of Hermione´s sentence was drowned by the enormous roar and the cheers that went up from the crowd as Madame Hooch walked out onto the pitch, and the two teams flew out to form a rough, hovering circle above her. The game was about to begin.

As Ron jumped up from his seat and joined in the cheering and the clapping along with the rest of the school, Hermione continued watching the distant figure of the crow as it dove off the standard like a fighter plane, then soared upwards again, circled the arena once and then flapped languidly away, in a perfectly straight line as only crows do, flying over the Gryffindor box first, then the Slytherins and finally the teachers´ stands, until it became nothing more than a dark speck marring the perfect blue of the sky.

`Was that one yours?´ Professor Sprout asked casually, looking back down again, after the crow had streaked by overhead.

`No,´ said Snape, his eyes too leaving the retreating black shape. `That was Maeve.´

`Ah. Is Iris-?´

`-Yes,´ Snape cut the question short.

Professor Sprout nodded sagely.

*

`Phaedra?´

`What?´

`Do you have any idea how long this is going to go on for?´

`PM´s not expecting to get home before ten, tonight. Why?´

`Just wondering.´

`Bored, are you?´

`Beyond description!´

`You could always just leave. I´m the one that´s stuck here!´

`Nah. Have to report to my "friends" what they´ve been talking about here this week; and the times at which everyone comes and goes.´

`You could just make it all up.´

`I could. And believe me, I have; repeatedly. There´s no reason for them to get accurate information, you know!´

`Very true. So, how do you decide when you´re going to tell them the truth and when you´re going to make it all up?´

`I toss a coin!´

Phaedra sniggered.

`Stop that! You´re making me look like a twat!´

`Serve you right too! See how you like it!´

More telepathic sniggering reached Aidan.

`Ok, ok. Can´t you just be serious for a moment?´

`Ok. Seriously: I just make sure that there´s enough truth in whatever I tell them that they don´t get suspicious, just in case they have someone else out here too, that I don´t know about, double checking everything I report.´

`See? Now that was a coherent, serious, intelligent answer! I knew you could do it if you tried!´

It was Aidan´s turn to chuckle inanely.

`Thank you for the vote of confidence.´

`No problem.´

`Have you noticed the Aurors changed shifts after lunch?´

`Indeed I have. Seems that the scary, middle-aged bloke´s gone to stalk the grounds instead -bet Felix´s happy!´

`Not that his replacement´s any less frightening!´

`No. She´s not, is she?´

The woman Aidan was referring to seemed to be roughly around Iole´s age, with greying, short, dark hair and very cold-looking pale blue eyes. She was tall, slim and hawkish and looked unnaturally calm. In fact, calm didn´t even begin to describe the sort of frigid self-possession she exuded.

`I can´t decide whether I´m glad they don´t know we´re here, or whether I´d be happier if they knew we shouldn´t be shot at!´

`Phaedra, trust me, if anything happens, it wouldn´t make any difference even if they knew. They tend to be rather single-minded, Aurors!... It´s our problem to get out of their way!´

`Thank you! That makes me feel so much better!´

`You´re welcome! Anyway, you can console yourself with the knowledge that at least you´re not wearing black, hooded robes!´

`Uh huh! Right. That would make all the difference if this lot spotted me trying to smuggle the PM out of here!´

`Well, just think that it could have been worse. At least now there´s a chance you´d pass as a Muggle.´

`Like that´s going to stop them!´

`Erm, well, yes; probably not!´

`Why couldn´t Iole just have sent more Lunariors here? Why did she have to get Aurors for this job?´

`There´s not enough of us to go around. Don´t forget, we´re supposed to be the "elite"!´

Aidan physically heard Phaedra choke on laughter she didn´t quite manage to control.

`Oh Merlin! What a thought! That inspires me with confidence, that does!´

Aidan lowered his head to hide the smirk threatening his composure.

`You´ll get used to it!´ he managed to transmit along with his chuckles. `The main thing is to act as if you believe it.´

*

The Quidditch game began badly for Gryffindor. Slytherin scored almost immediately and looked like they would continue in the same vein for the rest of the match. The only hope for Gryffindor was Harry catching the ever-elusive snitch -up till now, he hadn´t even been able to spot it, let alone chase it. Slytherin House were close to some sort of frenzy from sheer elation.

Ron sneaked a look in Snape´s direction.

`The bastard´s looking so smug it makes me want to punch him!´ he murmured irritably. Hermione followed Ron´s gaze, observed Snape closely for a moment, and then turned back to Ron.

`I admit that his expression might be capable of provoking some sort of instinctual aggression, but let´s try and stay calm, shall we? Just keep reminding yourself that, despite his countless faults, he´s really alright.´

`I´m trying to, but finding it unusually difficult at the minute!´

`Well, keep trying.´

Ron growled quietly to himself and continued cursing under his breath as he watched Slytherin score yet again and an enormous cheer rose up from the Slytherin stands.

`I hate Slytherin so deeply, I don´t think I have the words to describe it,´ Ron snarled finally.

`I hope this profound hatred does not arise solely from their current display of superiority on the Quidditch pitch,´ Hermione said acidly.

`It doesn´t, but right now, it´s not helping any, either!´

Hermione rolled her eyes discreetly and said nothing. The country was on the verge of a full scale war with the forces of evil, and Ron was being irritable because Gryffindor were losing a game of Quidditch... Boys! She shook her head and sighed, and looked back up at Harry´s distant, scarlet and gold figure. She didn´t notice the rather flustered looking figure come running out of the school´s main entrance in the direction of the Quidditch pitch, flimsy, multicoloured shawl, robes, countless bright beads and red hair fluttering in the wind behind it. It looked not unlike a glittering, buzzing insect, and people did start to notice it as soon as it reached the stands, for no other reason than the fact that it was simply unheard of. Sibyll Trelawney had never appeared at a Quidditch game in living memory.

As she clambered gracelessly up the stands in Dumbledore´s direction, obviously trying to speak simultaneously but failing to do so because she was panting so heavily, people started falling quiet and turning to look at the scene in puzzled concern. Dumbledore rose from his seat, ready to start making his way towards her, as a hush started spreading around the stadium. And suddenly, Snape jumped to his feet too, spinning round to look towards the school.

`Headmaster!´ Sibyll Trelawney gasped between pants.

Then Hermione heard it. It must have been what had made Snape turn too, because it was a high-pitched -very audible, all of a sudden -whining sound, not unlike a siren.

`I have a bad feeling about this!´ Ron whispered to Hermione worriedly.

`Me too,´ she replied stiffly, and promptly looked up at the sky, along with practically every other soul in the stadium, as the screeching, persistent, penetrating crowing coming from a circling black shape reached their ears. The crow fluttered around Dumbledore´s head once, whilst continuing to screech loudly, and then took off again, in a perfectly straight line, heading due south.

Ron and Hermione saw Snape look down at Dumbledore, who nodded at him imperceptibly, without so much as a word, and then Dumbledore turned back to Sibyll Trelawney.

`Sibyll, this is very important. Did you see the needle? Which direction was it pointing at?´ Dumbledore asked Trelawney quietly.

`It kept changing...´ Trelawney panted. `It kept swinging from due north, to due south.´

`Alright. Thank you, Sibyll´

`Look, Raveneye is flying over!´ Ron exclaimed, tugging at Hermione´s sleeve. Hermione looked over in the direction Ron was pointing at and the school and, sure enough, saw Raveneye´s unmistakeable figure leaning low over her broom and flying towards the Quidditch pitch at a simply incredible speed.

Dumbledore turned back to the pitch and noticed that Madame Hooch had already stopped the game. She was hovering, on her broom, somewhere near the teachers´ box, looking straight at him and obviously waiting for instructions. All Dumbledore did was nod at her, as if in some sort of pre-arranged code, and she flew off immediately to usher the two teams down and back into the dressing rooms. Suddenly, Dumbledore´s voice boomed across the playing field, sounding as if it was coming from a loud speaker in dolby surround stereo.

`I´m afraid we´re going to have to postpone the rest of the game, so will the Prefects please lead their Houses back into the school, in a quiet and orderly fashion...´ Dumbledore continued speaking, but Ron and Hermione were not really listening. They were looking up at Snape in whose hand too a broom had appeared now, as if out of nowhere, just as Raveneye was slowing down slightly above the teachers´ box and looking a bit like an excitable racing horse being cruelly reined in, in the middle of a race. Ron, who knew about things like this, couldn´t help but notice that what Snape was leaping onto was an exceptionally expensive broom; a broom that only serious flyers would ever contemplate forking out the cash for -a bit like Raveneye´s broom, now that he looked a bit closer at it. Snape had hardly stepped onto his broom and he was in the air, his and Raveneye´s twin black figures streaking off in the direction the crow had disappeared a moment earlier.

`Damn! I´ve never seen him fly before! He´s good!´ Ron whispered. `Somehow, I didn´t have him down as the flying type. If I hadn´t seen this, I´d never have believed it... Not that he´s got anything over Raveneye, mind you!´

`Ron, for Merlin´s sake, something is seriously wrong here, and you´re contemplating Snape´s flying skills?!´ Hermione exclaimed in exasperation. `That´s the Dementor alarm going off! Can´t you hear it?!´

`I´m not deaf, Hermione. `Course I can hear it. I just don´t know what you expect me to do about it.´

`I expect you to be serious, and concentrate, for once!´

`I am concentrating. I´m keeping an eye on what everyone´s doing. For example, did you notice that Madame Hooch just flew off after them?!´ he asked meaningfully.

`Yes, I did!´ said Hermione as they followed the rest of the Gryffindors filing anxiously down the stadium steps, on their way back to the school. `What I want you to think about, however, is how we´re going to manage to escape this lot and go to our little hiding place!´ she added in a low, urgent whisper.

Ron spun around to stare at her.

`You´re not serious?!´ he whispered back.

`Of course I´m serious! God only knows when they´re going to let us out of Gryffindor tower again, and I want to be there when Snape comes back, to find out what happened. That means getting there now!´

`What about Harry?´

`If we can´t find him before we reach the tower, he´ll just have to wait for us to get back -he´ll figure out where we are if he doesn´t see us. We can´t risk going into the tower and coming back out again. It might not be possible. He´ll be safe as houses, anyway. Dumbledore will see to that. Looks like he was well prepared for an emergency like this anyway, so I´m sure there´s some sort of plan in place for Harry´s protection, as well.´

`I can´t believe how utterly mad you are. You border on the fanatic sometimes, if I may say so,´ Ron said quietly as they trotted up the steps of the school´s Main Entrance. `I also can´t believe that I always go along with your insane plans!´

`You know you want to really!´ Hermione grinned grimly at him. `Besides, see? Dumbledore is coming back into the school with us. As long as he´s in the building, no one´s going to even contemplate attacking this place. You should be worrying about the people going out there, to face those things, not us in here!´

*

`Phaedra? Did you hear that?´

Phaedra looked up carefully from the note-taking she was pretending to be involved in and listened thoughtfully.

`No. What was it?´

`I´m not sure. It sounded a bit like... I don´t know, a "pop",´ Aidan said silently.

`Are you sure?´

`No. I´m not. That´s why I´m asking you if you heard anything!´

Phaedra looked round at Aidan as casually as she could manage, her eyebrows drawing together in a questioning frown as soon as she met his gaze. He looked just as perplexed as she felt, only she was fairly certain there were also a couple of lines of apprehension creasing his brow. He leaned back in his chair slowly, and pretended to stretch his back, as he turned around to scan the length and breadth of the Public Galleries behind him and what he could see of the rest of the House of Commons. Nothing.

`Anything?´ Phaedra inquired.

`Not that I can see,´ he replied, the tone of his thoughts sounding decidedly unconvinced.

`Maybe I should go have a look around,´ Phaedra offered.

`No. You stay here and keep your eyes peeled. I´ll go.´

`Ok. But we´ll lose the connection if you move out of sight.´

`Can´t be helped. Just make sure to be ready, the moment you see me, the first thing you do is re-establish the connection. Ok? I´ll do the same.´

`Ok.´

Aidan rose from his chair as quietly and nonchalantly as he could manage, and walked out of the galleries. For all intents and purposes he looked the picture of innocence. Anyone bothering to look twice at him would have seen nothing more than a political correspondent that has spent one too many hours listening to inane arguments a five-year old could see through, and who is just stretching his legs before he has to go back to subject himself to yet more of the same.

He walked around the hallway outside the galleries once and then moved to the nearest window and peered outside at the grounds. Everything seemed normal. He was contemplating being really thorough and actually going downstairs for a good look around, when a familiar voice behind him made him jump.

`I thought you might be here.´

Aidan felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle.

`As guesses go, that one is not very impressive since this is where I´m supposed to be.´ He turned around slowly. `Although the reasons for your presence here are infinitely less obvious.´

Ireson smirked shrewdly at him.

`My dear Aidan, my reasons are exactly the same as yours. Business. I´m here on business. All will become clear, soon.´

`Soon?´

Ireson smirked again.

`Soon.´

Aidan´s eyes narrowed, as he looked Ireson up and down carefully. He was in impeccable Muggle attire, perfectly suited to the surroundings (pun intended). The suit he was wearing seemed tailor made, as were the shoes and tie. No one in the building would even look at him twice, except to admire the craftsmanship that seemed to have gone into his outfit.

`I never thought I´d see you in such an outfit,´ Aidan commented coldly, the corner of his mouth curling up slightly in a suspicion of a sneer. `What´s happening? If it wasn´t for that Muggle suit, I´d start worrying that I´m going to be in danger of getting shot at, any minute now.´

`What? This?!´ Ireson asked, gesturing at his outfit with exaggerated innocence. `Oh, this is nothing more than a little spell of mine. Works a charm! You really think I´d spend money on a Muggle outfit that I would have to wear for the grand total of five minutes?´

Aidan felt his stomach contract painfully. Five minutes. He had five minutes to warn the others -make that three, or four. Ireson was prone to exaggeration.

`So, are you going to tell me what is happening, or am I supposed to guess?´

`Well...´ Ireson seemed to be thinking about it. `I´m not sure whether you´re supposed to know, or not, but seeing as you´re going to find out soon enough, I might as well tell you and give you a head start at getting some cover. You´ll be fair game in that outfit you´re wearing -and somehow I don´t think that´s just an illusion. You´ve paid for that!´ He grinned wickedly at him.

`I have indeed!´ Aidan agreed, although he was referring to something entirely different. `SO?´

`Oh, there´s going to be some excitement here soon. The plan is to make it all as spectacular as possible. We would like as many people as possible to see what is happening -and of course as many of these useless Muggle politicians as possible to go down with their building. It´s a perfect little plan to pave the way for grander things, really. I mean, how many memories can the Ministry alter?´

`I see....´ said Aidan slowly. `Well, I´d better get my jacket then, and be on my way.´

`Good idea,´ Ireson nodded in patronising approval. `Although I think Lord Voldemort would also look favourably on you offering your assistance.´

Aidan stopped short in his tracks.

`Are you telling me to do something, Marcus?´

`Is there anything else you have been ordered to do round about now? I don´t see what else could be more thrilling than being a part of this exciting event.´

`Right.´

Aidan´s mind raced, furiously, thinking, trying to work out what his next move should be. He had to warn Phaedra and Felix, of course, but how would he do that without arousing suspicion? And he didn´t know exactly what to expect, and from where. How many Death Eaters were there about to show up? And what were they going to do? Ireson wasn´t being exactly enlightening.

`There´s only one thing; I think it would be a good idea for you to change into something more appropriate for the occasion,´ Ireson said smoothly.

Aidan turned to look at him.

`When?´

Ireson glanced at his gold pocket watch.

`Round about... now, I´d say,´ he said and let his wand slide out of his sleeve. `Finite Incantatem,´ he said, flicked his wand casually, and suddenly he was back in the usual black robes of a Death Eater.

He looked up at Aidan and smirked innocently again.

`Much better, wouldn´t you say? So, let´s see what you can do on the spur of the moment then, and if your formidable reputation in charms is anything to go by.´

Aidan´s lips parted in a terrifying grin that everyone who knew him would have recognised as the signal certifying that Ireson´s execution had just been decided and was only being staid temporarily until such a time as circumstances allowed. He let his wand slide out of his sleeve, still smiling coldly at Ireson, eyes gleaming dangerously, and twisted his head around slowly, so his necked cracked loudly.

`I think I´ll go for the full hog, if you don´t mind, and do this properly,´ he said silkily. He pointed his wand at his chest and whispered several words in Latin that, no matter how hard Ireson strained to hear, he couldn´t. There was a black blur that lasted for a moment, as if the material itself was twisting and changing, and the next minute Aidan was dressed in perfect, black, hooded, flowing robes.

Ireson smiled broadly in what seemed like satisfaction.

`Impressive. Transfiguration. Why go for the illusion, when you can have the real thing, hey?´

`Why indeed?´ Aidan said in perfect noncommittal. `So, what now?´

Ireson seemed to ignore Aidan´s question, and turned back to looking at his pocket watch instead, while Aidan contemplated the merits of killing Ireson then and there. Stunning him was too risky; he either had to kill him instantly and hope he still had time, in the panic and mayhem that would ensue to warn Phaedra -before one of the Aurors got him too -or he had to go along with Ireson for a few more minutes and hope for the best. It only took a couple of seconds for these thoughts to go through his mind, and he was leaning heavily towards just doing away with Ireson on the spot, when he realised that time had just ran out and he out of options.

A very discernible `pop´, accompanied by a sort of `whooshing´ sound, followed instantly by the first terrified screams came from the Commons Chamber.

`We´re on,´ said Ireson and pulled his hood over his head.

Aidan turned instantly and ran towards the Public Gallery, pulling his own hood over his head at the same time. As he ran, he heard more screams coming from the grounds outside, but tried not to think about that problem just yet; instead, he raised his wand and prayed to a varied assortment of deities, who seemed like they could come in handy at that particular juncture, that a) he wouldn´t have to kill any of the Aurors, or get killed by one, and b) that Phaedra was still alive and in her human form -otherwise he would have a quite a time trying to locate a spider the size of a fifty-pence coin, under fire -especially a dead spider. He had just reached the Public Gallery´s main door, when he was greeted by a scene that wouldn´t have been out of place in a muggle, high budget, fantasy film. For a split second, it seemed as if time had stopped and what he was seeing was a still, from some sort of bizarre tableau vivant. 

A pale blue, shimmering portal seemed to have opened in the middle of the Commons Chamber and black robed, hooded figures were pouring out of it, some of them having already made their way up the Gangway and behind the back benches, while others had Apparated upstairs onto the Public Galleries; the two Aurors had launched themselves into action, the amiable looking, plump woman he had been observing earlier was in the middle of hurling a particularly vicious, and unashamedly spectacular curse at the two closest Death Eaters, while the frightening woman with the blue eyes had already Apparated downstairs right in the midst of things and looked like she had just made another two Death Eaters spontaneously combust. A third Death Eater was in the process of bringing part of a wall down with the help of a rather dramatic explosion which at that precise moment was issuing from the tip of his wand, while several others were randomly killing the first people they could point their wands at, the sickening green light flashing simultaneously in five different locations in the Chamber. And in the centre of the tableau, a slender figure in black muggle clothing had just leapt between a Death Eater and the Prime Minister of Britain, and was pulling him down with her, just as an almighty explosion from the Death Eater´s wand was erupting an inch above their heads.

The frozen second was over the moment Aidan blinked again and, as time resumed its natural speedy course, he saw the amiable looking Auror turn her wand towards him, while two `ex´ Death Eaters were crumpling at her feet. Their eyes met, for a fraction of a second, and, if he had stayed around longer, he would have seen surprise in her gaze, as she realised that he wasn´t raising his wand to defend himself. Aidan didn´t know what sort of curse, or hex it was that she had just hurled at him, and frankly, he didn´t care; all he needed to know was where he wanted to be, as he dove away from her line of fire, dodging the curse, and Disapparating in mid-air.

He reappeared down in the Commons Chamber, virtually the same instant and less than a foot behind the Death Eater that had just unleashed a fireball in the Prime Minister and Phaedra´s direction. His wand was already raised and pointing at the man´s back.

`Stupefy,´ he said hurriedly but quietly, and the man collapsed at his feet. For the first time since he had been forced to wear this outfit, Aidan appreciated its practicality. One black-robed, hooded figure, was pretty much like another black-robed, hooded figure, and, in the midst of this sort of mayhem, he was reasonably sure that no one had noticed the switch. He was standing exactly where the other man had been less than a second ago and now all he had to do was catch Phaedra´s attention before she tried to kill him, too.

Sure enough, at that precise moment, as she was pulling herself to her feet, she spun around, wand at the ready and pointing at him.

`Phaedra!´ he shouted, just in time, as she had already opened her mouth and was probably about to blow him to smithereens. Her eyes widened for a moment and then she clamped her mouth shut, quickly.

`Shit!´ she breathed and immediately brought her wand to her ear. `Inaudio,´ Phaedra and Aidan whispered simultaneously.

`Quick! Grab him and run for it. I´ll be right behind you, probably hurling some spectacular curses just wide of the mark,´ Aidan thought urgently. `Quickly!´

Phaedra didn´t need to be told twice. She grabbed a rather shaky, and shell-shocked looking Prime Minister, hauled him to his feet and pulled him with her in the direction of the door, which seemed to be populated by a large number of Death Eaters whose job it was, it seemed, to stop anyone from leaving the room.

`And how do we get past them?´ Phaedra´s mind screamed at Aidan, as she ran. `Couldn´t you have fucking warned me, instead of taking the time to change for the occasion?!!´

`Didn´t have time. I ran into one of them in the corridor. You think this is a good time to have this conversation??!!! -Duck to the left; I´m sending something big your way!´

Phaedra instantly yanked the Prime Minister to one side, while still running, sidestepping bodies and rubble and exhibiting astonishingly precise precognition of exactly where the lightning bolt originating from somewhere behind her was going to strike.

`Shit, Aidan, that was close! Can´t you widen the mark a touch?!´

`Has to look realistic. Do you want more of them after you?!´

`No. That lot at the door are quite enough, thank you!´

`Don´t worry, a concerted effort from the both of us should get them all. Aim something big at the two just right of your current path, and I´ll do the rest. - NOW!!´

Phaedra didn´t have time to think about it. She just raised her wand and shouted the first curse that came to her mind. An enormous ball of flame spewed forth from the tip of her wand, just as the two Death Eaters had raised their wands and opened their mouths. The fireball hit them both squarely, picking them off their feet and throwing them several feet back, where the two flaming, mangled figures landed on the ground with a rather nauseating thud. The next instant, a second lightning bolt emanating from Aidan´s wand sizzled barely an inch over Phaedra´s head and hit the beam supporting the wall above the door. Part of the wall exploded in a shower of bricks, wood and concrete and collapsed onto the remaining four Death Eaters.

Phaedra´s relieved laughter sounded in Aidan´s mind.

`I hope no one´s watching you right now, `cause they´ll think you´re the worst shot in Death Eater history!´

`Ask me if I care when we´re out of here and having coffee in Diagon Alley.´

`It´s a deal.´

`I´m going to hold you to that,´ Aidan warned silently, as he pretended to chase Phaedra and the Prime Minister, rather ineptly it would seem to any casual onlooker, over the newly converted rubble at the doorway and out of the Commons Chamber.

`Assuming we make it out of here in one piece, I think I´d be willing to buy you a cup of coffee to celebrate the fact that we´re still alive.´

`I would have thought that such a celebration would at least merit a dinner date!´

`Aidan, how about we conduct these negotiations after we´ve made it through what looks like a full-blown battle outside?´

`Isn´t there any other fucking way out of this building that won´t take us through "that"?´

`I hate to disappoint you, but it looks like "that" is happening pretty much everywhere.´

`Oh well, here goes nothing... Just remember, if I go down, you don´t stop. You keep running. Understand?!´

`... I understand...´ came Phaedra´s voice quietly, after a moment.

*

`Now!!´ Hermione hissed anxiously at Ron, and both of them ducked quickly behind the corner they were just about to pass. They watched silently as the rest of the Gryffindors made their way up towards Gryffindor tower. Somehow they had managed to end up at the very back of the long line of students being hurriedly led up to their common room and had waited as long as they thought they possibly could, just in case Harry or the twins caught up with them, but none of them had showed up. Apparently the Quidditch team had already made their way back upstairs, or they were still somewhere far behind them. Finally, they took what they considered to be their last chance, and slipped away from the group. When the last Gryffindor was finally out of sight, they snuck quietly out from their corner and ran as stealthily as they could manage towards their secret closet. They had to stop and hide a couple of times on the way, as they ran across first a Ravenclaw and then a Hufflepuff Prefect, roaming the hallways and making sure none of their flock had gone astray. When the door of the closet finally closed behind them, they both, simultaneously, exhaled in relief.

`God, that was close!´ breathed Ron.

`Yeah! But we made it. I just hope the twins have left the Earspy here and didn´t take it with them to the game, for some obscure reason.´

`Why on earth would they do that?!´

`I don´t know. They´re weird.´

`That they are,´ Ron had to agree with a shrug.

`Oh, no, it´s fine, it´s here; found it!´ Hermione exclaimed.

`Hurray for that,´ Ron moaned, but clamped his mouth shut very quickly as he saw Hermione´s look. `Ok, Ok. You´re right. We should know what´s going on, and it´s not as if anyone´s likely to find us here, even if the castle does get stormed. -Which of course is not going to happen because Dumbledore is here,´ he added hastily as he caught Hermione´s eye again.

`Exactly,´ she said meaningfully, and tapped the Earspy with her wand.

`We might have to wait quite a while for anything to happen though, you do know that, don´t you? I mean, it´s not likely that a whole bunch of Dementors are going to suddenly turn tail and run at the first sight of trouble, is it?´

`Of course, but still, it doesn´t hurt to have the thing turned on, does it?´

`I guess not...´ Ron started saying, but suddenly got interrupted by Hermione.

`Shhhhh!!!´ she said, waving frantically for him to stop talking. `I think I heard something!´

Ron froze and tried to listen so intently that it looked like his ears had actually swivelled around like a radar dish.

`There, I heard that too, now! Sounded like the door closing!´

`Yeah! Shut up, Ron!´

Both of them listened closely for a few more minutes, but all they could hear was some rather quiet moving around.

`Hermione, that doesn´t sound like just one person to me!´ Ron whispered urgently.

`No, it doesn´t,´ Hermione agreed.

They continued listening, and finally they were rewarded with something slightly more substantial than the sound of rustling robes and quiet footsteps. The sound of hushed voices emanated for the first time from the tiny Earspy.

`Can you hear what they´re saying? I can´t make out a thing!´ Ron complained.

`No. I can´t,´ said Hermione, but she had a puzzled, frowning look on her face, as if something was seriously bothering her about this whole scene. `They´re whispering. Why are they whispering? And who are they, anyway? There´s at least three people in that room.´

`I know! I think one of them is a woman, but it can´t be Raveneye, can it? We just saw her flying off. I guess she could have come back, with a bit of a stretch of the imagination, but if it´s her, why would she be whispering?´

`Why would any one of them be whispering? Besides, Ron, I don´t think either of the other two is Snape. I´ll be damned if I can tell what they´re talking about, but Snape´s not in that room, I tell you!

`No. You´re right. The one´s got a sort of whiny, high-pitched voice that´s completely wrong, and the other is sort of... I don´t know...too-´

`-Gruff?´ Hermione suggested.

`Yeah! That´s right! Gruff, that´s exactly the word,´ Ron exclaimed. `You know what? They remind me of something... Can´t put my finger on it, but both those voices remind me of something...´

Hermione shook her head.

`I don´t think they´re any of the teachers. But yes, they sound kind of familiar. I know those two voices, I know I do. It´s at the tip of my tongue, I swear!´

`Look, I don´t care! You need to hurry up, ok? We haven´t got all day!!´ the gruff sounding voice suddenly came through the Earspy loud and clear.

`We´re doing the best we can! We only need a few more minutes! These things take time!´ the high-pitched, whiny voice complained, a bit more quietly, and suddenly, the penny dropped for both Ron and Hermione. Their eyes widened slowly as realisation dawned on them, and they turned to stare at each other in speechless horror. They knew that voice...