A Cloud Before the Moon

Chapter 10

As the young woman marched deliberately down the hall with a scowl on her face, anyone who stood in her way quickly moved aside. She rapped abruptly on a large ornate wooden door, and threw it open without waiting for a welcome. A short balding man, impeccably dressed, sat at the desk of an immaculate office, staring at her in astonishment.

She spoke a bit too loudly, clearly trying to control her temper. "Sir, I do not understand the meaning of this!" She held out a small parchment, which she held clenched in her fist.

The man stood up. "Miss Forrester, this is highly irregular! You must go through proper channels."

She cut him off. "Mr. - CRUTCH!" she hissed. "This memo comes from YOU! So, I need your explanation!"

He clucked his tongue disapprovingly. However, he could not ignore the look of intense indignation in the girl's steely blue eyes, and after all, she was his hardest worker. "What is it, Forrester? As you know, I'm very busy right now."

"Well, Mr. Crotch... "

"Crouch."

"I'll try to remember that," she responded earnestly, and continued. "Your memo says that Lucius Malfoy has been cleared of all charges and all records of his investigation are to be expunged."

"That is correct, Forrester."

"Faraday. FARADAY!"

"What's that?"

She sighed. "I've spent the past six months working day and night to put together the evidence against Malfoy. My office is overflowing with piles of parchment, deposition transcripts, witness statements . . . and there's not even going to be an arrest?"

"Perhaps you should discuss this matter with your immediate superior."

In exasperation she shouted, "But the memo came from YOU!!!"

He looked at her sternly. "Really, Forrester, there's no reason for such hostility. Perhaps you need a holiday."

"I don't need a holiday - I need an explanation!"

He regarded her in an officious manner. "We've reviewed the evidence, and considered Mr. Malfoy's exemplary record, and the Ministry has concluded that further action is not justified."

Letha stared at him angrily. "No further action is justified? What do you need, a signed confession?"

"Young lady, I don't doubt that you've put in long hours on this matter, as we all have. Believe me, your work is appreciated. However, you are a mere neophyte, and others are more experienced than you." She opened her mouth to speak, but he silenced her with a warning finger. "Now I have some new matters for you to work on." He reached into a cabinet behind him, thumbed through a neat stack of files, and handed two of them to her. "I assure you, Forrester, we are all extremely eager to make appropriate charges. I am sure these assignments will prove far more satisfactory to someone as enthusiastic as you." He sat back down and looked at his desk. "Good day." She had been summarily dismissed.

Letha realized she was not going to accomplish anything with Crouch. 'Exemplary record', indeed! Clutching the two new files, she headed back to her office. As she walked, she glanced at the top file. When she read the name on it, she nearly walked into a wall. She popped into the office next to hers. The door was open, and she stood in the doorway. "Good morning, George," she said with forced cheerfulness.

George Bailey glanced up from his work and looked at her appreciatively. Silhouetted in the doorframe was a harried-looking young woman, quite attractive though garbed in a rather shapeless mud-colored robe. She wore her golden-brown hair bunched in its usual ponytail, and apparently had neither the time nor inclination to bother making herself up. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" George asked.

"I'd like to ask you a little favor."

"Certainly, anything," he said.

"I need any information you have on someone named Severus Snape."

He walked over to her. "Why?" he teased. "Is he a rival for my affection?"

She responded impatiently. "Hardly. It's my latest assignment."

"I'll see if I have anything," he said. He added, "If you'll go out with me Saturday night."

"I'm afraid," she said regretfully, "that I'll be spending Saturday night with my pal Severus, here."

George shook his head. "Is there ever a time when you're NOT busy? Can't you take a little free time? We could have a little fun."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure I'll be having loads of fun with this jerk," she snapped. And it was true - getting Severus Snape shut up for life in Azkaban would make up - or almost make up - for Lucius Malfoy slipping away. She looked at the name on the other file. "Oh - and George? I also need whatever you have on this other loser - Sirius Black."

George stared at her. "You've got that case? Well, that's a non-starter."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Don't you read the Daily Prophet?

"I avoid filthying my hands with that rag most of the time. And I've been busy with the Malfoy assignment, for all that accomplished."

"Sirius Black is the loony who helped You-Know-Who kill his friends the Potters and then massacred a dozen Muggles while he knocked off one of his other school chums." He looked at her with concern. "You be careful around that one. He's really bad."

"They're all really bad. It's our job to get them locked away, and that's just what I intend to do with these two." Then she sighed. "If anyone will listen to me. See you later." She left George's office and returned to her own, shoving aside a pile of parchment so she could get to her desk. She was feeling more cheerful; Snape was going to wish he'd never been born.