The Veil of Memories

Chapter 12

Hunters and Prey

"Luna!" cried Ginny. "Wh - what did you do?"

"Oh, the effect will only be temporary," replied Luna breezily. "I found it in - "

This time Luna did not miss the sharp cutting motion of Ginny's finger over her lips. She looked slightly confused until another voice entered the conversation.

"Ten points from Ravenclaw," said Umbridge sweetly, as though passing the time of day. "Is this another one of your experiments, Miss Lovegood?"

"Oh, yes," said Luna. "You see - "

"Luna was trying out a new - a new, er, fainting charm," Ginny said very quickly.

"Indeed, Miss Weasley," said Umbridge, smiling brightly. "Then she seems to have succeeded. But may I ask for what purpose?"

"Er - "

"You see, Professor," Luna broke in. "Hogwarts has been taken over by aliens. They look just like us but they're really not. This fainting curse has rendered Ronald here temporarily immune to their influence. It's a drastic measure but we're running out of other options."

Ginny drew in a deep breath as Umbridge raised her eyebrows.

"I see. And does this anti-possession charm have a counter-curse?"

"Oh, yes, I was just about to administer it but first I have to run a few tests." Luna held out her wand again. "It will only take - "

"Perhaps we'd better take him up to the hospital wing right away," Ginny broke in. "I think the experiment may have gone wrong, Luna."

"Wrong? No, it's going perfectly. All I need to do - "

It was Umbridge who broke in this time.

"I think Miss Weasley might be right. I thought I told you before about practicing your experiments, Miss Lovegood?"

Luna's face suddenly clouded over.

"Yes, Professor," she said, lowering her head.

"And I'm sure you wouldn't want another round of detentions, would you? I can't help but notice your scar has faded, dear."

Luna quickly withdrew her right wrist.

"Are you sure you don't need another reminder?"

"Quite sure," Luna replied darkly.

"That's good. Now, you and Miss Weasley will go immediately with Mr. Weasley to the hospital wing to get this curse of yours undone. And I expect to hear a very positive report from Madam Pomfrey or I might be forced to re-consider my leniency."

Luna nodded, her head still lowered. She cast a levitation charm on Ron who remained unconscious.

Umbridge next turned to Ginny who looked back at her as defiantly as she dared. She felt her cheeks burning brightly. Umbridge returned her gaze only very briefly but it was enough to confirm what Ginny had feared: she had not dismissed the incident as lightly as she had appeared to.

"Let's go, Luna," said Ginny quickly, turning her head away from Umbridge.

Ginny helped Luna guide the unconscious Ron away from the Great Hall, ignoring the guffaws coming from the Slytherin table and the strange looks they were getting from the other students. Once they had reached the stairs, however, the crowds thinned out until finally they were alone.

Ginny pointed her wand at Ron.

"Accelio."

Ron's oddly floating body took on a sudden burst of speed. Ginny and Luna had to trot to keep up with him and maintain their wand link.

"Hey!" said Luna. "What did you do that for? It won't do him any good if he bumps into the wall! And where are you going? The hospital wing's - "

Ginny swung around to look back at Luna, trying hard to conceal her murderous feelings.

"We're not going to the hospital wing!" she hissed.

"Why are you whispering? Umbridge isn't following us, you know. It's not her way. She'll be talking by floo with Madam - "

"Sssh! Umbridge isn't the only one who could be watching us!" Ginny replied in a whisper, her eyes darting around the floors and the corners.

"Who else - oh." Luna's face cleared. "I see, Umbridge is in league with the aliens! I should have suspected it, really. But I don't think they'll be crawling around on the floor. And I still don't see where we're going."

Ginny stopped and swung around to face Luna, then quickly ran back up the stairs as Ron's unconscious body continued to speed ahead of them.

"We're going to your room, Luna. And we've got to get there and back to the hospital wing before Umbridge or anyone else finds we've gone missing!"

"Oh, I thought this route seemed familiar. But why are we going there?"

"Did you have something to demonstrate to me or not? And do you really have a way to revive my brother?"

Luna's eyes brightened. "Oh, yes. And you'll be so surprised when you find out."

"I can't wait."

***

Hermione screamed.

"Hermione," began the guard. "Please don't - "

Hermione screamed again.

"Hermione!" hissed Harry. "Don't! They'll be down on us in an instant!"

"They won't actually," muttered the guard. "I've put a silencing charm on the door, but we still haven't got much - "

"Harry!" cried Hermione. "He just - how did he just - there was no one there!"

"I - I don't know, Hermione," said Harry, putting a cautious hand on her shoulder. "But I think we should at least - "

But Hermione had broken away from his grip and reached for the handle of the door. She pulled on it frantically but it wouldn't open.

"And a locking charm," added the guard. "But, Hermione, please don't panic."

"Don't panic! Don't panic?"

Hermione gritted her teeth and walked in front of Harry, her fists half-raised.

"I can fight you, you know! I've learned to defend myself at this school. A - and - and against boys nearly as big as you!"

But Harry stepped in front of Hermione and dragged her back behind him protectively.

"Who are you?" he demanded to the guard. "What do you want?"

"I told you, Harry. My name is Sirius Black. I am your godfather."

"I don't have a godfather!"

The guard sighed. "Harry, I know this is going to difficult for you to believe but you've got to trust me. I - "

"No! Why should I trust you? You've locked us in here against our will! You've - "

Harry stopped talking as the guard reached into the back pocket of his trousers and produced a long wooden stick. He felt Hermione tense behind him but both of them seemed incapable of moving. They did nothing but watch as the guard aimed the stick at a point just to Harry's left, flicked it in the air and said:

"Alohomora."

There was a sharp clicking sound and the door opened slowly.

Harry slowly eased back, his eyes not leaving the guard. A grunt of protest from Hermione told him they had reached the wall.

The guard displayed a toothy grin which did little to endear him to either of them. But there was a strange twinkle in his eye that almost made him seem like the rogue uncle neither of them had.

"Go on then, Harry," he said. "Why don't you leave? I'm not stopping you. You wouldn't want to keep Sister Barnes waiting, now would you?"

"Harry!" cried Hermione, finding her voice again. "He must be with them! Or else how could he have a remote control for that door?"

"This isn't a remote control, Hermione," said the guard carefully. "This is a wand."

"Harry, this is mad. He's trying to trick us! Harry, let's go!"

But Harry did not move. He continued to stare mesmerized at the guard who looked back and forth between him and Hermione.

"Am I really mad, Hermione?" he said, with an expression that suggested madness was far from an unreasonable suggestion. "Did you read the diary I gave back to you?"

"I never wrote in any diary!"

"But I'm afraid you did. You just don't remember."

"I don't - " Hermione hesitated for a brief moment. "I don't - o - of course I would remember I thing like that."

"But I'm afraid your memory has been altered."

It was Harry who spoke.

"Prove it."

"Harry - no!" Hermione hissed in his ear. "There's the door! We have to get out of here!"

The guard's face broke into another Cheshire-cat smile.

"What an excellent suggestion, Harry."

He flipped the stick over in his hand and handed the handle end to Hermione who slid out from behind Harry and moved over to the door.

"I'm not touching that. It's some kind of shock stick."

But before Hermione could protest, Harry himself reached out and snatched the stick from the guard, then dropped it immediately.

"See!" cried Hermione as the guard continued to smile. "Harry, are you - "

"I'm all right," said Harry. "It's - it's not a shock stick, I think. But it - it vibrated." He looked up at the guard who nodded in apparent encouragement.

There was another long moment of silence.

"Are you going to pick it up, Hermione?" asked the guard, still with a smile that was more devious than inviting. "It won't hurt you, I promise."

"I don't care about your promises."

"Very well, then."

The guard folded his arms and continued to watch the stick which sat innocently against one of the cardboard vegetable boxes where it had rolled after Harry had dropped it. Harry and Hermione both stared at the stick but neither made a move for it. Yet neither chose to make for the door either. They continued to stare at the guard who looked back at them. His stance was relaxed but Harry did not fail to notice a vein throbbing sharply in his neck. He could not help but feel that the guard was only feigning patience and perhaps that was not all he was feigning.

They could leave now, Harry thought. Leave while the door was still open. They could go back. At least they'd be safe in the school. Maybe they'd even -

The buzzer rang loudly signaling the end of kitchen clean-up. Frantic footsteps resounded against the floor above them. The students were lining up. The nuns would be inspecting them for a shirt left askew - or a stolen knife. And they weren't even there.

Without thinking about what he was doing, Harry reached out for the wand but stopped as Hermione made a move for it herself at the same time. Before he knew what was happening, the wand was in her hand. She looked back up at the guard with a very odd look her face. Defiance? Determination? No, there was something else there, something underneath, struggling to emerge even as Hermione fought to repress it. It was a look Harry had never remembered seeing before yet it now seemed perfectly natural. A moment later, he realized it was hope.

Still no one spoke. Harry's heart pounded as he heard the raucous shrill of Sister Barnes' muffled but unmistakable voice. A minute later she would notice they weren't there. Then she would start searching and it wouldn't be long before they were found.

The guard reached into the pocket of his jacket. Did he have another stick there? Or some other kind of weapon? Harry's eyes widened. He moved toward Hermione. The guard's hand came out in a closed fist. Harry held his hands out to shove Hermione away from danger when the fist opened and several small pebbles fell to the ground.

Harry stopped just as Hermione gasped and then reached out her hand to arrest his forward movement.

"Hermione, what - "

"Don't touch me, Harry. It's all right. Just move away."

"But, what - "

"Do as I say!"

Hermione's face held none of the incredulity and resistance that had framed her features less than a minute before. Instead, she stared mesmerized at the pebbles on the floor as though she had never seen anything like them before.

The sound of Sister Barnes' voice grew louder. It was followed closely by determined footsteps. Footsteps coming fast in their direction.

"Hermione," said Harry. "We - "

But he broke off again as a tears started to form in Hermione's eyes and roll down her cheeks. He looked over at the guard and was startled to find that if appearances could be believed, then his eyes were watering, too. The footsteps were coming closer now. He knew that both Hermione and the guard must have heard but they continued to stand there as though they had all the time in the world. Harry knew they had to leave fast but it seemed that he, too, could only watch as tears rolled down Hermione's cheeks in time with his fast-beating heart.

"You know what to do, Hermione," said the guard finally, his voice now laden with emotion. "I know you've read that diary. I know you've read it many times. I didn't see but I know you did; I know you, Hermione. I know your curiosity; I know your dreams. And I know you know the spell."

Hermione did not respond. Her gaze returned to the pebbles. The wand flicked in her hand. Harry's jaw dropped as the pebbles started to dance in a circle along the floor, slowly at first, then faster and faster, then so fast that Harry could not tell one from the other.

The guard laughed. "Yes, Hermione! Yes! See what you can do with a real wand?"

The pebbles continued to buzz as Harry heard the door to the pantry open. The footsteps stopped for a brief moment but then marched on until they pounded to the foot of their own door.

"Accio," said the guard suddenly.

Hermione let out a small gasp as the stick flew out of her hand and back into the guard's.

"They've found you," he said quickly. "We'll have to find a new place next week. Don't look for me. I'll find you."

The door opened. Harry and Hermione swung around to find Sister Barnes staring at them.

"What in the name of our holy Saint Brutus is going on in here?"

"We - " Hermione began desperately, swinging her head back around to the guard.

But no one was there.

***

"Don't your housemates notice anything?" said Ginny panting, as they levitated Ron awkwardly down the wooden staircase to the bottom of Luna's "trunk."

"Well, I expect they're used to it by now."

"Used to it?"

"Yes, didn't you hear Umbridge? I think Ronald will be my seventh experiment of the year. Most of them are my own housemates. Of course, I've used Neville once or twice. I developed a test to check for aliens, you see. Well, it's no good just trying it out on one and not the others, is it? I mean, there might be variations. I suppose I must remember to stop doing it in the Great Hall, though. I really don't want to go to another detention."

Ginny was very glad Luna couldn't see the expression on her face as they continued to descend into the room.

Luna charmed on the lights and they managed to get Ron into her desk chair.

"Now," said Luna, taking out her wand from behind her ear again. "I think this will work."

"You think?"

"Well, I can't be sure, of course. It is the first time I've tried it. Mind you, I did try something a bit similar my third - "

"Luna, we have to hurry! Umbridge will be on to Madam Pomfrey and she'll know we're up to something!"

"Oh, yes, I suppose so. Now, please be quiet, Ginny. I have to concentrate."

Luna missed the expression of incredulity on Ginny's face as she closed her eyes and aimed her wand out at Ron. She mumbled for a good minute and a half as Ginny watched intently only to open her eyes again and declare "no, that's not right. I'll have to start again" as Ginny fumed silently beside her. After yet another unsuccessful attempt, Luna picked up a large black book from her desk with an emaciated white skull on the front cover which Ginny was heartened to notice did not look like an alien. She opened the book and fumbled through it, letting out a small cry of triumph as she found the correct page. She then kept one eye open at the words and the other eye closed. After finishing a page-long incantation, a red flash of light once again emitted from her wand and struck Ron just below his left shoulder. His eyes opened immediately.

"There you are!" said Luna brightly. "It worked! I knew that if I - "

"Ron, are you all right?" asked Ginny urgently, ignoring Luna.

Ron stared wide-eyed up at the ceiling for a moment. Ginny anxiously shook his shoulder. He didn't move for a moment but when Ginny shook him a second time, his eyes slowly turned to hers.

"Wh - where am I?" Ron demanded. "Wh - what happened?"

"Luna knocked you out. Can you sit up?"

Ron looked at his sister properly and recoiled.

"Who the devil are you?" he demanded. "What's going on? What is this place?"

Ginny swung her head abruptly back to Luna.

"Luna, what did you - "

Ginny's voice trailed off as she saw that Luna was now standing with her wand still in her right hand but a small glass ball in her left. It fit just into the palm of her hand. A soft red light emitted from its center. It looked oddly familiar to Ginny, though she couldn't immediately place it.

"What's that?" asked Ginny.

Luna looked up at her, the red light casting odd shadows over her face. There was an unusually serious look on her face as she said:

"Ronald's memories."

***

"It could have been done magnetically, I suppose."

"What?"

Hermione hadn't spoken for so long that Harry found himself both surprised and inattentive when he finally heard her voice.

"The wand moving the stones on the floor. There must be some kind of magnetic charge in the stick."

"But - but Hermione, you - you said - well, I mean, the way you - well, it seemed like you believed him at the time."

Hermione sighed and didn't respond for a moment. Harry looked up at the statue of St. Brutus on the wall of the Room of Quiet Repose in which they were now sitting nervously. It looked slightly askance as though peering at them. There was always the horrible feeling that someone was watching you at St. Brutus's. That feeling seemed to only get worse now that, from the point of view of the nuns, they were doing something quite horrible. Harry looked at the door that led out to the corridor and down to Snape's office. He wondered what Snape would think if he knew what they had been doing. Perhaps, Harry reflected nervously, he already did.

"Oh, Harry, don't you understand?" replied Hermione, shaking Harry away from his thoughts a second time. "I want to believe. I want so much to believe."

Harry looked at his best friend in concern as her eyes started to water over again but Hermione forced the tears back this time.

"That diary," she continued, the Adam's apple bobbing up and down in her throat as she swallowed hard. "In the diary, it said that we moved around pebbles with sticks all the time. I - I - he was right, Harry. I had read it. Of course, I'd read it dozens of times. And I knew exactly how to do the spell - if it is a spell."

"But Hermione, I suppose it must be. I mean - you did it, didn't you, and magnets don't really work very well on pebbles, do they?"

"Maybe they weren't really pebbles. Maybe he made it to look like they were. And - and then he cooked up that diary so I'd think I moved the pebbles before and then when I moved them now, I'd have to believe him."

"But why, Hermione? It doesn't make sense!"

Hermione shook her head.

"I don't know, Harry. But just because we don't know, it doesn't mean there isn't some kind of reason."

Harry didn't say anything. After a moment's pause, Hermione spoke again.

"How do you suppose he knew I'd read the diary?"

"I don't know, Hermione. He said he knew you would and he was right, I suppose."

"Maybe he's following me. Maybe he's watching me all the time even when - oh, Harry, I don't like this at all! Maybe we should really tell Snape!"

"You still don't really think we should do that, Hermione, do you?"

There was another pause.

"No," said Hermione, very quietly.

"He said he knew how curious you would be."

Hermione smiled ironically. "Well, he was right about that."

"Maybe he does know you, Hermione."

"But Harry, you know that's not possible."

"I know it's not possible to make pebbles move on the floor with a wooden stick."

Hermione didn't answer right away. Then she asked carefully:

"Harry, b - but what do you think of him? He said he was your godfather."

Harry knitted his brow and looked down at his hands. He didn't answer right away and Hermione quickly regretted the question but then he said, his face clearing slightly:

"Well, I suppose that bit must be wrong, mustn't it?"

He looked up at Hermione and though his eyes remained dry, she could see deep pain within them. The feeling was so clear it almost dazzled her. She realized that, like her, Harry wanted very desperately to believe this strange man. And he was horribly afraid of what he would feel if he chose to trust him in error.

Hermione wanted to say something encouraging but she wasn't sure what that would be. She suddenly regretted having spent so much of the conversation casting doubts.

She was spared the effort, however, when the inner door of the room opened with a sharp click. Both she and Harry swung their heads up to find themselves greeted with the malicious smile of Sister Barnes.

"I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting," she said. "I did try to explain to the headmaster that I had probably walked in on a lover's quarrel but he does insist on seeing you. I really can't think why."

***

"What?" Ginny exclaimed.

Luna ignored her. Still looking very methodical, she looked up from her ball at Ronald.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"What do you mean 'what is my name?' I'm the one who should be asking questions! Where am I? Who are you people?"

"Ron, we're - " Ginny began but Luna held up a hand to cut her off.

"We're not answering any questions until you do," said Luna, as though the whole thing was Ron's fault. "This can be either slow or it can be fast. It's all up to you."

"It had better be fast, Luna!" Ginny interjected again. "We're - "

Luna didn't need to silence Ginny this time; she managed to stop herself but still sighed in exasperation.

"My name's Artie," said Ron. "Artie Finch. Now who are you?"

Ginny took a step back, her eyes wide as she saw that Ron did not seem to be joking. A small, slightly devious smile played itself across Luna's lips but it faded quickly as she went on in a business-like tone:

"Thank you, Artie, and what do you do?"

"What do I do?"

"Yes, how do you make your living?"

Ron paused for a moment, looking very puzzled. The look on his face reminded him of the way Harry had hesitated when Sirius had asked him how he had rescued him his third year if not for Hermione. Luna seemed about to ask again when he said:

"I - I - I'm a salesman." His face cleared as he seemed to decide he had settled on the right answer. "I run a kiosk. I sell newspapers, sweets, that sort of thing a - at Kings' Cross Station in London. But we're not in London! Where are we? I've answered your questions, so now I want mine answered! And why does she keep calling me Ron?" He pointed an accusatory finger at Ginny.

"Thank you," was Luna's only reply. Before either Ron or Ginny could interject again, she aimed her wand at Ron again, closed her eyes, and muttered a short spell. The red light from the glass ball which she still held in her other hand dimmed. Now that she concentrated, Ginny thought she could see a very thin red line emitting from the ball and moving in Ron's direction but it was almost imperceptible and she was sure she would not have noticed anything had she not been looking straight at the ball. Ron looked curiously at Luna for a moment, but then his eyes went wide again and his head fell back against the head of the chair. His unconscious lanky frame sank further down in the chair and Ginny had to rush over to hold the chair's arms and prevent him from sliding off.

"He'll remember everything when he wakes," said Luna before Ginny could ask anything.

"Everything?"

"Well." Luna smiled. "Everything except what happened to him after he first went unconscious. That we'll keep to ourselves - for the time being, at least." Luna held up the ball again. By the dim light of the small lantern on Luna's desk, Ginny could still see a faint tint of red inside.

"And this will work with anyone?" she asked.

Luna nodded, still admiring the ball.

"But how did you get that ball?"

"I conjured it. It explains it all here." Luna pointed down to the spell book which was still open on her desk. "It's a very powerful charm. No wonder the Ministry wanted to keep it a secret. You could use it on a whole lot of people, you know, and it gets more advanced. You can spread it over a wide field. Useful book, this. Tells you everything. Funny - it wasn't even in the alien section."

Ginny could scarcely conceal her excitement. She grabbed onto Luna's arm.

"Luna, do you know what this means? You've found it! This is how they're doing it - the memory charms!"

"Oh, I should think the aliens would have their own technology," replied Luna. "I expect all this is somewhat primitive to them."

Ginny ignored her comment. "All we have to do is find the other one of this!" She pointed to Luna's glass ball. "That's what Professor Darden must have kept in that box of his."

"Who?"

"The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher when Hagrid was a student. He was the one who invented the spell."

"Oh, but how are we going to find it then?"

Ginny's enthusiasm diminished. "I'm not sure," she confessed. "I suppose it could be anywhere really."

"Well, it would have to be somewhere in the castle," ventured Luna, "unless they've found a way to expand the range. It can't be done from very far away. And then, of course, anyone intelligent enough to learn all these spells would probably use a concealment charm."

Ginny felt her spirits sinking lower. They still had no idea how to find the real glass ball, or whatever it was that was being used in its place. And even if they did, it would only be the first step toward getting everyone's memories back and finding Harry and the Muggle-borns. But, Ginny tried to remind herself, it was a start and perhaps Luna's magical library concealed even more clues.

"Luna, no one can get in or out of this trunk, right?"

"I shouldn't think so. Not unless they could apparate and that's not possible inside Hogwarts. Did you know?"

"There aren't any holes in your trunk?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"It's an old trunk but it's as tight as a drum, I assure you."

"So not even a rat could get in," mused Ginny, half to herself.

"A rat? No, I shouldn't think so. Besides, even he did manage to find his way, I'm sure Shakespeare would have him for supper."

***

Umbridge walked into the Room of Requirement to find it pitch black and apparently empty. She was about to turn around to leave, muttering disconcertedly to herself but as she did so, the outer door closed in front of her.

"Penny for your thoughts, Dolores," said a voice that Umbridge could not place before she realized that Draco Malfoy's typical lazy drawl now seemed to have changed into a hiss-like whisper. Umbridge shuddered. It was just like talking to a snake. So this was how Voldemort had sounded.

"I have a report for you," she replied, with a slight quiver and then added, not without some obvious effort, "my Lord."

There was a shuffling of robes as Umbridge sensed Malfoy sit up straighter in his unseen chair.

"Very good, Dolores," he said. "I see you've remembered that fear and pain are the greatest of teachers."

"Is it necessary to conduct this conversation in darkness?" asked Umbridge apprehensively.

"Darkness suits my purpose, Dolores. Were it not so, the Room would make it otherwise. It always provides. But now, I think you have something more substantial to tell me. If not, then I have other matters that require my attention. My patience is not unlimited."

Umbridge swallowed nervously, grateful that Malfoy could not see the fearful expression on her face.

"I am concerned, my Lord. There was an incident in the Great Hall this morning. The Lovegood girl and the Weasley girl seemed to be conducting some form of experiment. Lovegood cast a spell on the Weasley boy and he fell unconscious onto the floor."

There was an uncomfortable lull in the conversation.

"That is all?" said Malfoy finally.

"Y - yes," came the nervous reply. "I took points from Ravenclaw and ordered them to take Weasley to the hospital wing."

"And did they?"

"Yes."

"And?"

"A - and he made a full recovery, though it seems he remembers nothing of the incident."

There was another pause.

"Do you normally permit your students to conduct these sorts of experiments, Dolores? Haven't you urged them to be on the lookout for traitors?"

"I do not, of course. But the Lovegood girl has made a habit of these sort of things. Twelve students went unconscious her fourth year, all with very similar symptoms to Mr. Weasley. In those days, she kept her experiments confined to her own house but now she seems to have expanded them to include the school at large. I doubt whether anyone would suspect her of being a traitor, though, a nuisance is more like it."

"And what do you think, Dolores?"

"I think that a group of house elves could pen the History of Magic in ten volumes before Miss Lovegood devised an experiment that threatened our plans in any way. It is not her I'm worried about. With respect - my Lord - the Weasley girl - Ginny - is much more clever - as I'm sure you'll agree. She will use all of her resources to find Potter and stop you."

There was another pause in the conversation. Umbridge felt her heart start to pound very fast. There was a shuffle of robes from somewhere near where she was fairly sure Malfoy was sitting. Was he reaching for his wand? Umbridge clenched her fist and braced herself for the unbearable pain of another Cruciatus Curse. And this time she would have no warning. She regretted ever having come to report anything, almost as much as she regretted ever having joined the Dark Lord. But it was too late for that now.

And just when Umbridge had almost hoped the curse would come and end the horrible agony of waiting, Malfoy spoke.

"I take your counsel, Dolores. You will keep a close eye on Ginny but do not let her catch you watching her. And above all, do not intervene. And strengthen your propaganda: that is what you do best, Dolores. Make sure all of the students understand that even the most seemingly harmless eccentrics can be dangerous if they are not watched and stopped. And make sure the Ravenclaws understand this - not just the Slytherins. They, too, must learn to take pride in their blood."

"As you wish, my Lord."

"You may go."

The door opened and Umbridge quickly exited. It closed again, but not before Malfoy smiled as, silhouetted in the doorway, Umbridge gave him a departing bow.

"Did you hear that, Wormtail?" he asked.

There was a soft whimper from the corner of the room that Malfoy took as an acknowledgement.

"I have an important task for you."

Malfoy heard Wormtail nervously approach the desk. A soft light came on in the room. Malfoy felt momentarily annoyed before remembering once again how much it pleased him to see the fear in the eyes of his servant.

Wormtail still did not respond but rubbed his hands together nervously.

"You must keep close watch on the Lovegood girl. There is a point at which something is so stupid that it begins to become intelligent. We cannot afford to reach that point. Then considering it is her." Malfoy paused. "She is closer than she realizes to what she seeks. We must take no chances."

Malfoy looked at Wormtail for his response and was disconcerted to find that his servant was looking back at him with non-plussed, somewhat bulging eyes.

"Did you not hear what I said, Wormtail?" said Malfoy edgily.

"Oh, oh, yes, my Lord, I heard," replied Wormtail anxiously, rubbing his hands together again. "Follow the Lovegood girl."

There was a faint look of apprehension in Wormtail's eyes but it was quickly gone. No doubt he feared the consequences should he fail. This pleased Malfoy and he blessed Wormtail with an ironic smile.

"There is one other thing you must do for me, too, Wormtail. It is very important. As you know, our plans grow nearer to completion. I still hope to turn all pure-bloods to our side before that time comes. However, that may not be possible and we cannot afford the luxury of waiting too long."

"Naturally, my Lord, when they begin to understand what you will bring them, surely they - "

"Silence, Wormtail. I had not finished. I need you to contact all remaining loyal Death Eaters who are not at work on the gateway and arrange for them to come to Hogwarts. Since we are now in control of the school, letting them in the front door should be an easy matter. They will remain in the original room. I will gather all those Slytherins I believe to be fully loyal to our cause and arrange for the older Death Eaters to train them."

"Train them f - for what, my Lord?"

Malfoy smiled again. "A contingency, Wormtail. A contingency. We must make very sure that if Lovegood somehow finds the memory device before our plans are complete, there will be no one left alive in this school to tell the tale."