Veela Magic

Chapter 7: Sirens Rising

Sirens rising, across the sky

Tears my heart out every time

* * * * * * * * * * *

It was morning. A pale stream of light shone through the blinds, stroking Cho's sleeping form with soft fingers of brightness. Fleur watched from the bed opposite as Cho's eyelashes were touched with gold and the shadow of her outflung arm was given a dark, perfect clarity.

Cho turned over as the light hit her eyes, those suntouched eyelashes fluttering and her hair moving in silky black tendrils over her pillow. Fleur heard the sleeping girl mutter something, and smiled.

Fleur felt... content. There were many hours to go before breakfast was served, and for that time, she could just sit here quietly and watch Cho. Perhaps she and Cho wouldn't even go to breakfast. They could stay here in their room and the world could forget about them for a little while longer.

For a moment, Cho's eyelids widened, revealing a brown, slanted luminescence that was heavy and seductive with sleep.

She's so beautiful, Fleur thought, staring at her. That's our weapon - that she is beautiful.

Fleur didn't like to think like that, to sully Cho with war and fighting men and deceit. But she had dragged Cho into this murky world herself, and now she had to help her survive there.

Illusions never lasted long, anyway. It was safer never to let them develop at all.

Fleur sighed, and reached over to touch Cho's cheek. "You need to wake up, chérie," she said softly.

Cho's eyes snapped open. "Fleur? I was having such a lovely dream..." She peered about her, wincing at the light. Then she smiled. "It's good to see you."

"We have some time before breakfast," Fleur said, reluctantly. "We have been very busy, this past week, and we haven't had much time to talk... I think we should discuss our progress."

"Well... I've been spending a lot of time with Harry. I even started kissing him," Cho said with a grimace.

"You... did?" Fleur said, trying to keep her voice unmoved.

"I did what you said - I tried to get him to the point where at every turn, he's afraid he might lose me. I told him it was very hard for me to trust anybody right now."

Cho glanced up, pain evident in her eyes. "That part was true, anyway. I don't trust anybody. Nobody but you, that is."

Much as she tried to, Fleur couldn't bring herself to smile at this. It was what she wanted to hear, yes - Cho had no idea how much she wanted to hear it. But Fleur knew herself only too well, and she knew that she would use all the trust Cho had in her, to lead her along the same path she had condemned herself to, back on that hazy day in August when he had approached her for the first time.

So she questioned her further. "Did it work?"

"Oh, yes. He promised me he'd do anything so that I'd trust him, and I told him that what I needed most of all was for him to trust me. He was so upset, I'd say he's going to tell me everything he knows in future."

Cho sat back and stretched her arms out languorously. "I kissed him then. I didn't want to. It felt... well, to kiss another boy, so soon after Cedric... I felt as if I was degrading his memory.

"But it's important to give Harry something, to make sure he does what we want. And after all, Cedric's the reason I'm doing all this with you. I think he'd understand... don't you?"

Fleur swallowed. Then she said firmly, "Yes. He would."

Cho looked relieved. "What have you been doing, Fleur?" she asked. "You mentioned the Head Boy, and Harry talks about you and Ron a lot. Ron seems to have completely fallen for you, if what Harry says is true. Has he given you any important information?"

"Our Master wants us to take things very slowly with Harry and Ron," Fleur answered, "so I haven't pressed him yet. But I had better luck with Professor Lupin."

"Lupin?" Cho sounded shocked. "You... with a teacher?"

"You knew we would have to... use our influence with anybody who might have information about defences," Fleur reminded her gently.

"I suppose," Cho said, a brief shadow passing over her eyes. "It just takes some getting used to. Well, what did he tell you? I hope it was worth it."

"It certainly was. Lupin told me that Professor Snape is a double agent."

"Snape?" Cho asked, surprised. "Do you think he's an important spy?"

"Oh, almost certainly. Dumbledore must trust him a great deal, and I can't imagine that the Headmaster would have an opportunity to put more than one or two spies in Voldemort's camp. To have a Hogwarts teacher there... he probably relies on Snape for the majority of his information."

Cho propped herself up on one arm. "So, what are going to do with this new information?"

"We'll pass it on," Fleur said slowly. She didn't want to go into more details.

"Oh." And after a moment: "When?"

Fleur took a deep breath. "Tonight. Right after your Quidditch game, if it goes on for long."

Cho smiled. "You know, I'd almost forgotten I had Quidditch today. Harry hasn't mentioned it, either - I think he's worried he'll beat me and I'll get upset."

"And will you?"

"Get upset? Fleur, winning at Quidditch means nothing to me anymore. It hurt to play - especially against the Hufflepuffs... oh Fleur, you know."

She did.

"But now it's just a meaningless game. There are far more important things to do. Although I do want to beat Harry today. Cedric did it, before, and it ripped Harry up. And now I know how to defeat Harry, and hurt him more than Cedric ever could."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It was a slushy, miserable November afternoon, and Draco was trudging through the Quidditch field to the Slytherin stands. He didn't want to be here. He knew he should be concentrating on the game, finding weakness in the Gryffindor strategy for the all-important Slytherin-Gryffindor match, and making sure Cho Chang didn't have any new tricks up her sleeve for next week's game against Ravenclaw. But he found himself wishing, as he stared at the dirty grey clouds that looked ready to spit rain down on him at any moment, that he could go back to the school and be alone somewhere - in his room, in the library, anywhere.

He didn't want to have to see Harry Potter. He didn't want to have to devise new and terrifying strategies against his old enemy - the strategies his father's peremptory note demanded of him.

A minute or so after Draco reached his seat, Madam Hooch's whistle blew, and the teams were off.

Despite himself, Draco found himself being interested in the game. The new Ravenclaw Beater was working out excellently, and even the admittedly talented Gryffindor Chasers were having difficulty getting past her. Finnigan looked a bit nervous about being the only new player on the Gryffindor team, but he was doing a fairly decent job of keeping the Quaffle out of the goal. The Weasley twins were trying a new tactic of staying close to one another and pelting the same person with two Bludgers at once - a tactic that was having mixed results, as Potter was evidently discovering. He kept having to swerve his broom out of the way when the Ravenclaw tailing him got targeted, and looked none too happy about it.

Potter.

Draco forced himself to ignore Potter. Concentrate on the Quaffle, the hoops, the Beaters, the Chasers, and this could be just another game. Quietly root for Ravenclaw, as he usually did, hoping that any team could beat Gryffindor. Appreciate the strategies, the goals, and the occasional outbreak of interesting violence. Forget that the life of the boy who was skilfully cleaving through the sky hung on the thread of Draco's indecision.

Draco craned his neck. Actually, Potter wasn't being so skilled today. Chang was circling below him, moving in ever-widening arcs in search of the Snitch. It wasn't a particularly good method of searching, but the flare of her robes and hair certainly seemed to be attracting Potter's attention. Draco brought his Omnioculars to bear on the couple - yes, Potter's eyes were riveted on her. The idiot! This was the oldest trick in the book for girls on the Slytherin team, and frankly, Draco was surprised Chang thought she was attractive enough to pull it off. Not that Potter seemed particularly discerning at the moment. He was staring at the opposing Seeker as if he'd never seen legs on a girl before. Classic besotted mooncalf attitude - Draco could see Potter's flushed face, his lips slightly parted and his eyes bright. His Firebolt was slowly descending towards Chang, who flirtatiously moved a few feet lower.

Any minute now he's going to drool right on that skinny Ravenclaw's head.

The opposite end of the pitch erupted in cheers as the new Gryffindor captain scored, putting Gryffindor sixty points ahead of Ravenclaw. None of his teammates appeared to notice Potter's breathless pursuit of Chang as she weaved through the air below him. If Draco didn't know Ravenclaws better, he'd say she was straddling her broom rather more enthusiastically than was necessary. Potter's eyes followed every movement of her body.

Chang rose suddenly, until she was right in front of Potter. She reached out and held the trailing sleeve of his red Quidditch robe, and he stretched out to stroke the hand that lay along her broom. Draco couldn't be sure, but she seemed to be talking to him. He stared - in a perfect cliché, Draco noted sourly - deeply into her eyes. She leaned backwards, as if the wind had buffeted her, and the pair swung around until Potter was directly facing the Slytherin stands.

And there it was, clear in Draco's line of vision - the Snitch, hovering off to one side of the pitch and glowing like a dragon's eye. Draco felt like shouting, "It's right behind you, Potter, you blind idiot! Can't you rip your eyes away from the stupid girl for one bloody second?" But he kept quiet, and just stared angrily.

Chang had obviously already seen the Snitch; her broom shot over and around the befuddled Potter more quickly than Draco had thought a Comet Two Sixty could move. He groaned.

The Snitch flashed golden, and then disappeared in Chang's small fist. The game was over.

A cry of dismay rose from the Gryffindor stands, but the Ravenclaws' cheers drowned them out. Lee Jordan was stunned at the result, but tried to make the best of it. "And Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker, has caught the Snitch in a surprise victory for Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaw team has not won a single game against Gryffindor for seven years, and with the excellent lead the Gryffindor Chasers had secured, it had seemed that the house of Godric Gryffindor himself would triumph yet again in this game."

Many Gryffindors were looking at Potter reproachfully, but he just smiled shyly at Chang, and joined in the applause for Ravenclaw's win. It made Draco grind his teeth to see Potter so... henpecked.

"Wasn't that brilliant?" said Blaise Zabini enthusiastically, nudging Draco in the arm.

"What?"

"That! Gryffindor don't have a chance now. If Ravenclaw beat them this time, surely you'll run rings around Potter when we play them, right?"

Draco had managed to forget about that, somehow. He tried to sound enthusiastic. "Yeah, sure. Of course, they only lost this time because Ravenclaw cheated so much."

Blaise looked puzzled. "They did?"

"Didn't you see Chang? She..." Draco collected his thoughts. "I saw a few manoeuvres out there that weren't legal."

Blaise smiled. "Whatever cheating Ravenclaw can do, we can do better. I suppose you'll get a chance to test that next week, won't you?"

Suddenly, Draco smiled back, a slow, lazy smile that glittered with mischief. "That's right. I'm going to run rings around Cho Chang next weekend, no matter what tricks she thinks she has up her sleeve."

* * * * * * * * * * *

Hermione walked away from the Quidditch pitch, quickening her pace somewhat as the rain began to fall. She looked around for Ron, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. Harry, of course, had stuck to Cho's side like a leech right after the game, congratulating her despite a certain wistful look in his eyes. Hermione wasn't sure if he even cared that he'd lost, and for Harry, Quidditch victories had always meant so much. It wasn't like him at all, and that worried her more than she could say.

Perhaps Ron was with Harry - or more accurately, with Fleur. Despite their apparent lack of similarities, it seemed that Fleur and Cho had become best friends after Fleur's arrival at Hogwarts. Now that they'd teamed up with the most famous pair of best friends in Gryffindor, of course, it made for an absolutely lovely social arrangement.

Just plain irritating, really.

A rivulet of dirty rain had managed to work its way under Hermione's collar, and her shoes were definitely getting muddy. She grimaced, and pulled her bright scarf tighter around her throat. Why on earth did she bother attending these Quidditch games? Harry didn't seem to care anymore, Ron stuck to Fleur the whole time, and all Hermione could do there was read a book, or chat to Neville, and try not to catch cold.

"Lonely, Granger? You look like a drowned rat."

She whirled at the sound of Draco Malfoy's sneering voice.

"You're looking pretty miserable yourself," she shot back. The rain had plastered Malfoy's hair to his face, and his green scarf was just a sodden lump thrown over his shoulder.

"Miserable? After seeing Gryffindor lose so spectacularly? Never."

"Maybe if Ravenclaw have improved so much, you'll lose to them next week," retorted Hermione. She had the satisfaction of seeing Malfoy's lip twist in disgust at this - obviously, she'd hit a nerve.

"Chang might beat Potter by pulling the simpering maiden act, but it's not going to work on me," Malfoy said.

"Pulling the what?" Hermione didn't know what he was talking about.

"You mean you didn't see?" Malfoy asked, exasperated. He shook his head. "Granger, you are supposed to be the smartest of the bunch - not that that's difficult."

"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" she asked levelly.

"I should think it's pretty obvious. Potter's got a girlfriend, and now he's completely lost whatever wits he ever possessed. All Chang had to do was bat her eyes at him a few times, and he threw the game away."

"Harry wouldn't do that," Hermione objected.

Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "Really? You just ask the rest of the team. They know exactly what happened, and they're hopping mad about it. It was a pathetic display."

"You don't sound too happy about it yourself," Hermione remarked shrewdly.

"Oh, I am. Slytherin are sure to win the Quidditch Cup now."

Hermione felt like punching him again, but resisted the urge. "Harry's going to trample all over you at the Gryffindor-Slytherin game, and you know it." She tried to convince herself that Harry would be up to it. "I think you'll get all the challenge you're used to there."

Malfoy looked smug. "I enjoy a challenge, Granger. What I'm going to enjoy even more is beating Chang into the ground next weekend. She's going to learn just how humiliating it is to play a real Quidditch match."

As Malfoy stalked off towards the school, Hermione reflected that for once, he seemed more interested in beating Cho than Harry. She would have thought that the Slytherin Seeker would approve of cheating. Especially when it was against Gryffindor.

Then again, perhaps Malfoy was so arrogant he thought that only Slytherins had a right to cheat. He certainly enjoyed his reputation as the worst cheater in Hogwarts - Hermione had had to endure enough tirades from Ron on the subject of Malfoy's blatantly illegal moves on the Quidditch pitch.

But had Cho really deliberately tried to distract Harry during the match? Hermione bit her lip. If she had, she was underhanded and unfair, and had no business expecting Harry to care about her so much. Harry deserved somebody who - who would challenge him, yes, but respect the sense of integrity that was so uniquely him.

Maybe Malfoy was just making up stories, possibly to try to separate Harry from the girl who made him happy. Hermione didn't trust Malfoy as far as she could throw him, and it was exactly the sort of thing he would do. Then again... Harry had lost the match, a match he should have easily won. Hermione had soaked up a lot of Quidditch knowledge over the years, and she knew that Cho Chang, while a decent player, had little or no hope of beating Harry in a fair game.

Well, maybe she'd decided to level the playing field. And if Cho would do that to Harry, then Hermione wasn't going to stand for it. She was going to find a way to make Harry see the truth about his girlfriend.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Harry was sitting in the Ravenclaw common room, smiling nervously. He'd never been in the common room of another House before - well, unless you counted that time he'd Polyjuiced himself into Goyle in second year so that he could talk to Draco Malfoy - and he felt a bit uncomfortable. The room was full of celebrating Ravenclaws, most of whom looked very surprised to see him there. Eagle flags with a blue background hung on every wall, and the air was alive with the crackle of Fizzing Whizzbees.

A girl waved to him from across the room. "Hi, Harry!" At first he thought it was Padma Patil, but as she came closer to him, he realised it was Parvati.

"Parvati! Hi," said Harry. It was good to see another Gryffindor in the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Padma invited me to join the celebrations. Actually, I think she's just using the opportunity to rub it in that Ravenclaw beat us - but hey, I like a party anyway!"

"I suppose so," Harry murmured.

Parvati looked faintly concerned. "Look, Harry - you're not too upset, are you? I mean, you're a brilliant player and all that, but everybody has to lose sometime. When was the last time you lost a Quidditch match?"

"Third year," said Harry slowly. Cedric.

"Well, there you go! Nobody's perfect. So you just chalk it up to experience, remember that you're still the best Seeker in the school, and enjoy the party!"

"Maybe I should," said Harry, brightening a bit.

"Well, I'm off to mingle. Would you believe Terry Boot still can't tell the difference between Padma and me?" She winked. "I'm planning to teach him how very soon, though."

Harry grinned. "You do that."

"I see you're involved in your own little campaign to improve inter-house relations?" Parvati asked archly.

"What? Oh," said Harry, as Cho returned from across the room to sit very close to him. She was still wearing her blue Quidditch robes, but she'd freed her long dark hair from the tie that had held it up during the match. Her eyes were bright with happiness.

Parvati made her way across the crowded room in search of Terry Boot, and Harry and Cho were left alone.

"Cho," Harry said hesitantly. "I don't really - "

He was interrupted by the reedy voice of Professor Flitwick. "Miss Chang! I rarely leave my office when such festivities are in progress outside, as you know, but I simply had to come and congratulate you on your stunning success! Ravenclaw House is proud of you tonight."

Cho smiled. "Thank you very much, Professor."

Flitwick turned to Harry. "And Mister Potter! What good grace you have, to come all the way here to congratulate your opponent."

"Er," said Harry, "I'm actually... well, yes, of course." He didn't feel like talking to teachers about his personal life.

Professor Flitwick's eyes twinkled as he looked at Harry and Cho. "I'll just leave you two lovebird Seekers to it then, shall I?"

Harry blushed furiously. Cho just laughed.

"You were saying something, Harry?" Cho stroked his eyebrow thoughtfully with her forefinger.

Harry decided not to say how uncomfortable he was here. He'd had his own victory celebrations many times before, and Cho deserved one. And if she wanted him here with her... if he was important to her, and it was making her happy... then why should he ruin her evening, just because he wished he'd won the match?

"You look lovely," Harry said. He couldn't think of anything else to say on the spur of the moment, and after all... it was true.

"Well done, Cho," said a soft voice nearby. Harry jumped, startled.

It was Fleur. She stood, pale and slender, beside the couch Harry and Cho were sitting on, and there was a curious look in her blue eyes. She repeated, "Well done, Cho. You'll make us all very proud."

Cho reached out and clasped Fleur's hand briefly, her face solemn and contemplative.

Then Fleur melted into the crowd, and Cho turned to Harry again. "Now, Harry," she said, her voice bright, "where were we, exactly?"

Slowly, Harry drew close to Cho's upturned face, and kissed her. She nestled herself more firmly close to him and stroked his face, all the while returning his kiss with equal vigour. He felt all his cares about the Quidditch match melt into the warmth of her lips, and as he kissed her more deeply, his eyes closed and he felt that he and Cho were the only two people in the world...

There was a commotion at the door. Harry's eyes flew open, and he and Cho snapped apart.

A cluster of Ravenclaws at the door was blocking Harry's view, but he heard a familiar voice say, "Panicky little swots, aren't you? I'm surprised you managed to throw a party at all. Aren't you worried your grades will slip?"

Draco Malfoy. Of course.

The crowds parted reluctantly, and Malfoy sauntered through. Like most of the students in the room, he was black-robed, but his immaculately knotted Slytherin tie and pale blond hair marked him out immediately. It was impossible to ignore Draco Malfoy, Harry reflected, no matter how much you might want to.

Malfoy made a beeline for their couch. "Well, well, Chang," he sneered. "I see you know how to celebrate a victory. Not just beating your opponent, but humiliating him afterwards? I must say, I'm impressed."

"What do you think you're saying, Malfoy?" Harry asked hotly. "What right do you have to come in here and insult Cho?"

Malfoy gave him a long look. "Insult her? I'm congratulating her, Potter. It was you I insulted - or didn't you notice?"

Harry stood up and tightened his hands into fists. "Take that back, Malfoy," he said from behind clenched teeth, "or I'll -"

"Or you'll what, Potter?" Malfoy sounded amused. "Set your girlfriend on me? Times were, you had the backbone to fight me yourself. You cared about winning."

"I still do," Harry said deliberately, and then thrust his fist at Malfoy's face.

The room gave a collective gasp as Malfoy caught Harry's wrist an inch from his face. "No luck, Potter," said Malfoy softly, his cold eyes glittering. "I'm still too fast for you. And all you're good for now is praising the one who beats you."

Harry snarled, and was about to try to hit him again, but then he felt a warm hand on his arm, restraining him.

"Please, Harry," Cho said pleadingly, "sit down. Don't listen to Malfoy. Sit down with me."

Reluctantly, Harry did so, sinking onto the couch.

"Well done, Chang," Malfoy said mockingly. "I look forward to our match next weekend."

"Thank you, Malfoy," Cho said - sweetly enough, but with a hint of steel to her voice. "Now please go away."

Malfoy glared at her for a moment, and then his eyes flickered over Harry with a look somewhere between pity and contempt. He turned, and left the common room without a word.

"Shame he went so soon," Harry heard Padma say to her twin in an undertone. "They don't make them like that in Ravenclaw."

Parvati giggled. "Oh, I rather think they do."

The two dark heads bent closer together in gossip, and Harry tried to concentrate on Cho again. But... he just couldn't relax here any more.

He stood up. "It's been a long day, and I'm very tired. I'll see you tomorrow?"

She nodded, a questioning look in her eyes, but Harry hurried to leave before she could say any more. He wanted to go back to his own common room, and talk to Ron and Hermione, and forget about complicated stuff for a while.

And he knew that he would miss Cho as soon as he got there, but without knowing quite why, he left anyway.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Shortly after Harry left, Fleur came to sit beside Cho. "It's time," she said quietly. Cho nodded, her heart in her mouth, and slipped out of the common room with Fleur.

Fleur led her towards the Hogwarts main door. Cho crept along softly, trying to keep to the shadows. If anyone were to see her, and to know where she was going, she would be taken by the Aurors and sent to Azkaban. Maybe they wouldn't even bother with a trial...

And maybe she wouldn't even be lucky enough to get Azkaban.

A small sound of fear escaped Cho's mouth, and Fleur turned to embrace her. It wasn't until then that Cho realised she was shivering violently.

"What are you two doing here?" a voice exclaimed harshly.

Cho nearly jumped out of her skin, but Fleur seemed unruffled. She advanced slowly on the boy - a Gryffindor prefect, Cho saw - with a sensuousness that took Cho's breath away.

"Looking for you," Fleur murmured against the boy's neck, brushing his chest with her hair and moving her fingers softly down his back.

When the boy pulled back, a look of dazed ecstasy in his eyes, Fleur said, "Now, you'll just be on your way, won't you?"

"Yes... of course..." the prefect said, staring at her with a pitiful longing.

As they turned the next corner, Cho heard the boy's voice call out hesitantly after them: "You're so beautiful... I think - I think I love you."

A fleeting grimace passed over Fleur's shadowy face, and Cho reached out and gripped her hand. She continued to hold it as they crossed the grounds, the wind wailing through the trees and tangling their hair together into a curtain of darkness and light.

They climbed the stairs, and entered a musty storage room, piled high with boxes. An old fireplace lay half-concealed in one corner. Cho stared at it with undisguised fear, unable to tear her eyes away from it. She knew what was coming.

"Ignis," Fleur said, fast and loud, as if she had spent the evening steeling herself up to say that one word and was afraid she might not be able to say it if she waited another second.

Flames leapt up from the grate, and shadows swirled among them to form the cruel face Cho had only been able to imagine before. As the blood-red eyes became visible and surveyed the two girls with an icy intelligence, Cho flinched and tried instinctively to take her hand from Fleur's, but Fleur gripped it even tighter. Together they faced the Dark Lord.

"Our newest recruit has joined us, I see," said Voldemort, his voice rasping on Cho's ears. "Is she to your liking, Mademoiselle?"

Fleur, diffident for the first time in the year and more Cho had known her, said, "She is performing excellently, Master. I have every faith in her."

Struck dumb with apprehension as she was, Cho still felt a stab of pride at Fleur's words. She knew she wasn't a Veela. She knew Fleur was far more beautiful than she could ever hope to be, and that she had the strength to do things Cho couldn't even bring herself to think about yet - but Fleur believed in her. Cho swallowed, and looked the fearful image in the fire full in the face. She promised herself that from now on, she would do her utmost to share Fleur's burden.

"Come closer, Miss Chang," Voldemort said to her. Cho saw his gaze flick down to her fierce handclasp with Fleur, and she resolutely disengaged her hand and stepped forward. She would prove that she could stand unafraid and alone.

"You are the beloved of Harry Potter?"

"Yes."

"You will feign love for him, gaining his confidence and learning his secrets?"

"Yes."

"You will use all your talents of seduction, granting his every desire if necessary?"

Cho faltered, and Fleur, sensing her distress, stepped forward. "Master, I have gained information which is vital that I impart to you at once. The entire war depends upon it."

Voldemort shot her a look of cold disdain, and fixed his eyes once more on Cho. "Mademoiselle, I will speak with you when I have finished with your little friend. Now, be silent."

Cho heard Fleur's sudden intake of breath.

"You will sacrifice your body to Harry Potter and your soul to me?"

Cho's teeth chattered once, and then she spoke firmly. "Yes."

Voldemort twisted his mouth into a hideous semblance of a smile. "Excellent. Now, Mademoiselle, you may make your report to me."

Fleur cleared her throat. "I have uncovered a spy among your Death Eaters, Master. He is Severus Snape, the Hogwarts Potions master."

Voldemort hissed: an unearthly sound that sent shivers down Cho's spine. She stepped back to Fleur's side.

"Severus Snape? This would be a disaster. What is your evidence?" he snapped suddenly. "Prove it to me!"

Fleur's voice didn't waver once. "I seduced the Transfiguration teacher, one who is in Dumbledore's confidence. He assured me it was true. Believe me, Master, he wanted to tell me the truth."

"Mademoiselle; you forget that beauty is not all that I require of you. A modicum of intelligence is also necessary." Voldemort's voice turned cruel. "Severus Snape is my spy in Hogwarts. Do you know what makes for the most successful of spies? Men who make themselves indispensable to the enemy, forcing him to let them in on his most secret of counsels.

"Dumbledore and his pet wolf believe Severus to be their spy, yes. They believe this because I want them to."

"Are you sure this does not warrant further investigation, Master?" Fleur asked calmly. Her knuckles were white and her body taut with tension; Cho could see the effort her stillness was costing her.

"I will contact you if I deem it necessary," Voldemort answered sharply. "But for now, I have an important task for you to carry out."

Fleur looked drained, so Cho answered for her. "Tell us, and we will carry it out, Master."

"There is a Slytherin of Veela blood whom you are to recruit. He has already received instructions warning him that the time has come for him to play his part in the war; you are to contact and instruct him.

"I trust you know Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, my most trusted Death Eater?"