Til The End

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"Til The End

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"Yes, Charisse Weston is the informant. I see that you know her." Cecilia Bode said evenly. Cho's eyes bulged.

"She... she became a DEATH EATER?!" Cho choked, "She... she was never accepted by her family... that her father is a Death Eater I am perfectly willing to believe... but CHARISSE?!"

Cecilia Bode cleared her throat, "Yes, she became a Death Eater. But, she received her Dark Mark for the purpose of becoming an informant. She is the mole. By entering the circle and gaining their trust, by making herself acceptable to her family members, she has received access to information previously unavailable to us. Without someone like her who was able to attend those gatherings and get information for them, the Aurors would never have been able to prevent the deaths of the families of those Muggleborn Hogwarts students. This, of course, is a highly perilous chore, but Miss Weston came and volunteered for it immediately after her graduation. Moreover, she had the recommendation of someone acting on behalf of Albus Dumbledore himself."

Cho nodded slowly, "I see. Well, I'm not going to become the same type of informant as she is, obviously. So, would you please tell me what sort of missions I shall be going on?"

Bode tapped her fingers together thoughtfully. "I do not want you to start out prowling about Death Eater gatherings right off. That would not be wise... you are not one of them, and moreover, Miss Weston has provided us with information that the Dark Lord has with him at all times a deadly, venomous snake. You, since you are a warm-blooded animal in your transformation, would likely be devoured by the serpent. Therefore, the mission that I shall assign you for now will be somewhat easier, but no less important. You shall be our informant for the actions of future Death Eaters."

"Oh?"

Bode smiled, "Our records indicate that you had been Head Girl in your day. I assume, therefore, that you are quite familiar with Hogwarts School, its environs, and its students."

"Of course," Cho replied.

"So, you shall go back to Hogwarts, in your Animagus form. You shall be given to a Slytherin student as a present. The Slytherin student shall take you as a familiar, and in that position, you would be able to gain information on his or her peers, especially those who will be graduating next year. Who is planning to join the ranks of the Death Eaters, and who will not. Children, when they are amongst others of their kind, will say a lot. During the daytime, when the student who is your 'owner' has classes, you will be able to prowl out of the castle and into the forest, where you will be able to transform back into your human form, and Apparate here with any information that you have learnt. Of course, you must make sure to be back at Hogwarts in the evenings, in your Animagus form, in the Slytherin Common Room."

"Er... what about my flat? I had just purchased a flat in London... and my flat-mate will wonder if I am never home."

"Oh, that has been worked out. In the first place, you do not start until Christmastime. In the second place, you should definitely still keep your flat in your name, because then, no one shall suspect that the cat is you in disguise. We shall be sure that your flat-mate and you shall be compensated for any additional expenses incurred."

Cho nodded slowly. The plan was starting to make sense to her. "I understand. And... how exactly will I be given away, and to whom?" She hoped that whoever the student she would be given to, would be at least kind to animals.

"That shall be worked out. Rest assured, though, we shall not give you to someone who would endanger you in your cat form. Not all Slytherin students are cruel and malicious and evil, you know." Bode smiled at her. Cho smiled back.

"I suppose not," she conceded. True. There were types like Nott and others, who would not hesitate to torture Muggleborns and innocent little animals alike. But then, it would not be fair to automatically assume that all Slytherins are evil. A certain Carl Warrington came to mind: the former Head Boy was rough, purposely irritating, cocky and impertinent; Cho still did not understand how Charisse had put up with the git for a year without breaking a plate over his head during some feast or another, but she was fairly sure that he was not viciously cruel. However, she was not certain that being the familiar of someone like him would be exactly easy, either.

"We are still working on the plan, but shall inform you of more developments when they are made." Cecilia Bode stated evenly as she stood up, "For now, you shall simply help organize and categorize information. Follow me." She walked out of her office, and Cho followed behind her. They walked down a corridor, and into a room where several pensieves sat in a row against the wall.

"Each pensieve belongs to one of the staff. Whenever he or she receives any information that he or she deems valid, that information will be deposited within his or her pensieve. For now, your job shall be to organize the information, see what is related."

Cho nodded. Easy enough. The difficult work would come later.

* * *

Three weeks afterwards, while she was in the middle of sifting through a particularly full pensieve, the door to the room opened, and Cho heard light footsteps before a soft voice called out her name in surprise.

She turned around, and saw a tall, very elegantly robed witch. "Charisse!"

Charisse nodded and smiled, "Yes, it's me. It's nice to see you again, Cho. How have you been?"

"Fine... fine," Cho answered quickly, looking at the other woman. She could see that the Westons must be very wealthy indeed, for Charisse, now favored by her father, wore an ethereal, flattering and very expensive-looking robe of light silvery stuff, fashionably laced with midnight blue cords, the light, gossamer cloak pinned with a brooch shaped like a sapphire rose. "You look posh."

Charisse made a face, "I've just come from a luncheon. My nominal job is working as a secretary for Ms. Bode. And, because I am a Weston, I can come and go as I please. In any case, the luncheon was quite... interesting, to say the least. Father has been trying to find a suitable family for me to marry into. Of course, I told him that I am not yet ready, but... well... Besides, any 'suitable' family would mean..." she trailed off. She did not need to finish her statement for Cho to understand that any fellow with an unmarked arm would be deemed unsuitable for bridegroom material.

"I see," Cho said softly, "Which are the lucky blokes being suggested?"

"Among others, Hector Nott and Erasmus Parkinson."

"I'm very sorry," Cho said in all seriousness.

Charisse rolled her eyes slightly, "So am I... Say, I've not been able to see you in such a very long time! We've both got work, I need to put down my information, and you need to sort... but would you like to have tea with me in the afternoon after we're done? I'll come and find you at about a quarter to five."

"Sure, that will be fine," Cho answered quickly. Charisse gave her a wan smile, and walked towards her pensieve, drawing her thoughts from her mind and placing them into the pensieve. She gave Cho a nod, and quickly walked out, diaphanous robes billowing behind her.

* * *

Three and a half hours later, Charisse did indeed come to fetch Cho. "Are you about finished?"

"Yes, I've just filed the last one for today," Cho replied, "Where are we going, the Leaky Cauldron?"

Charisse shook her head, "No, it might not be wise. Certain parties might see you with me and come to certain conclusions." She meant, of course, certain Death Eaters, who knew that Cho's family was firmly on the Light Side, would be suspicious if one of their kind was seen consorting with her. Cho nodded.

"All right, then where shall we go?"

"Oh, do not worry, I know of this place. Although..." Charisse looked at Cho thoughtfully, then took out her wand. A few turns of the wrist, and Cho's sensible, serviceable black robes had been replaced by a pearlescent, delicate garment of pristine white satin with sheer sleeves and cloak shot through with golden threads. Another wave of the wand, and Cho's wristwatch was transfigured into a jade bracelet. "And your hair..." The braid was changed into an elegant knot pinned with a jade hairpin matching the bracelet, and Charisse finally stood back, satisfied.

"Er... what was the purpose of the Cinderella transformation?" Cho asked, bemused, looking down at herself.

"The specific nature of the place that we're going to. Now, Apparate with me to Knockturn Alley."

Cho's eyebrows raised to her hairline, but she did as she was told.

She was not familiar with Knockturn Alley, having been strictly forbidden from entering it since childhood. Once, only once, had she ever set foot in the place, and that was when her father had to make a detour there from Diagon Alley her 5^th year to purchase an exorcism kit to get rid of a pesky poltergeist that had made his way into the Chang home. Cho remembered wizards in dark robes, dimly lit shops and the sinister feeling of being watched by hostile eyes. Now, she wondered to herself exactly where in this place would Charisse be taking her, and how would the place possibly be safer than the much-friendlier Leaky Cauldron.

Charisse seemed to develop a new persona when she entered Knockturn Alley. She held her head up high, and walked in a mincing gait, an affected, supercilious expression on her face. Now and then, a witch or wizard would greet her, and she would answer the salutations with a cool nod. Cho followed her, looking neither right nor left, and soon, they reached a rather unassuming little building at the end of the street. Charisse walked up to the door, and Cho followed. As soon as she took a look inside, her eyebrows shot up once again in surprise.

A wizard in impeccable black robes stood at the door. "Ah, Miss Weston, a pleasure. How are you today?"

"In excellent form, thank you," Charisse said in a cool, cultured voice, "A table for two, in a private room, if you please."

The wizard nodded slowly, then his eyes turned to Cho. "And who is this with you? I have never seen her here before."

"She is my guest." Charisse emphasized the last word, laying on the snobby ice-princess attitude with a trowel. The wizard was silent for a moment, then walked into the establishment, gesturing for the two to follow him.

Despite the small, inconspicuous exterior of the place, the interior shone with sparkling chandeliers and polished ebony tables. A wood-nymph dressed in a moss-green tunic, her long, loose hair twined with ivy, led them up a winding marble staircase to a private room, and Charisse, after thanking her coolly and handing her a handful of galleons, walked in after Cho and shut the door. Then, she cast a silencing charm and sat down at the table.

"No one would dare to listen in upon conversations here. Private rooms are exactly that...private. But a silencing charm is a safeguard. We shall be undisturbed; we simply call out what we want to the menu." Charisse explained to Cho, "I assume that you know very well what it is that I am, that I do..."

Cho nodded, "Yes, Ms. Bode told me the first day that I was here. Er...do you mind if I ask you a rather impertinent question?"

"Go on, I don't mind."

"Well... I thought that your father disapproved of how you'd turned out, different from the rest of your family and all..." Cho paused, unsure of how exactly to continue, "Well, how could you convince them that you... you were on their side?"

Charisse shuddered slightly, "Do you know how exactly one becomes a Death Eater?"

Cho shook her head. Charisse nodded slowly, "Well, you know, not any witch or wizard can enter the circle. There's a... process. One must prove his or her... faith to the Dark Lord before he or she can get the Mark. Generally, the Initiation Ceremony would involve eliminating a Muggle or Muggleborn. The method to do so, of course, would be up to the person receiving the Mark."

Cho paled slightly. "And...what did...you do?" Was Charisse actually capable of KILLING someone in cold blood, even for the sake of the greater good? She felt a chill race up her spine.

"You remember potions lessons?"

"I try not to, but why?" Cho quipped.

"You know, of course, that Hemlock is one of the most poisonous substances known today?"

"Yes..." Hemlock was infamous and deadly. The essence of the plant was one of the most basic, yet most toxic draughts known to man. Even Muggles used it for deadly purposes.

~FLASHBACK~

Shadowy figures Apparated into the graveyard. A tall, thin, eerie man in black robes, eyes glowing like red-hot coals beneath his dark hood stood with his back against a tall marble headstone. Three other figures, similarly shrouded in black, stood in a rough semicircle in front of the ruby-eyed apparition. One was short and plump, a metallic silver hand gleaming in the sliver of moonlight. Another was tall and upright, dark hair barely visible under his hood, a look of cold cruelty on his aristocratic face. The third was slender, and the figure enveloped in the cloak was a feminine one. Her face was entirely blank.

A low, snakelike hiss emanated from the red-eyed apparition's mouth, "It is time."

The other two men donned their masks, stark white in the murky moonlight. A soft pop, and yet another man, this one with silvery blond hair, carrying in his arms a struggling girl of about seven years old, Apparated to the spot. Unceremoniously, the child was dropped to the ground.

"Miss Weston." The hypnotic hiss called the name of the woman, and she stepped forward slowly.

"Your method of choice?" The woman held out a glass vial filled with some sort of potion.

"Hemlock. Purified essence of Hemlock, my Lord," she said in an expressionless voice. The snakelike voice gave a low laugh.

"Very good. Simple, yet effective. Get on with it!"

The woman walked over to where the child was lying on the ground, struggling in the invisible bonds that she had been placed in, and quickly, inexorably, poured the contents of the vial down the girl's throat. The girl coughed, sputtered, and started shivering. Soft moans filled the air like gusts of chilling wind. The men watched with maniacal glee shining in their eyes, and the Dark Lord took out his wand. Pointing it at the exposed forearm of the young woman, he muttered an incantation. A flash of green light, and the mark of a skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth appeared on the pale, smooth skin. The woman closed her eyes for a moment, and close by, the child gave a small cry of fright.

"My Lord, she is vociferous. Shall I quiet her?"

The Dark Lord gave a movement indicating consent, and the woman rapidly put her hand over the nose and mouth of the child. Invisible to all eyes around her, a capsule of Strychnine passed from where it had been concealed in the woman's hand into the mouth of the child. Weakly, as the Hemlock's chilling effect raced up her body, she swallowed the little pill. Strychnine was poison. Lethally toxic, no less so than the vial of Hemlock that she had been forced to drink. But the woman who had poisoned her knew something unique about the two deadly toxins. Like fire and water, two potentially destructive forces could cancel each other out.

The black-robed men Disapparated as soon as the child had quieted and stilled, and the woman remained a moment longer. Changing a nearby pebble into a Portkey, she cast a Memory charm on the child, and put the Portkey into her tiny hands. The child would be found in her bed, peacefully asleep and unharmed, the next morning. The woman took one last look at the scene around her, and the blackened mark upon her arm, before she, too, Disapparated from the graveyard.

~END FLASHBACK~

"...And that is how..." Charisse concluded her story. Cho, her coq au vin forgotten and cold, looked at her, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"W-who was the girl, do you know?" she asked softly. Charisse shrugged and let out a soft sigh.

"Just some random Muggle child... Lucius Malfoy enchanted a shiny toy into a Portkey to his manor, and... " the blonde girl's face suddenly hardened into an expression that Cho had never seen her wear, "This is why I do it. I've lived with this all my life. I've seen this. And now, finally, I can do something about it."

Cho smiled at her wanly, a new respect for the older girl in her eyes, "Roger, and now you."

"Well, Ravenclaws must stick together, no?" Charisse smiled back at her. Cho nodded.

"True enough."

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