Order Only: Mysteries

[alt_sirius]

Listen. Remus and I took ourselves on a jaunt last night.

We thought, with the school pretty nearly empty, we could dash in and hide a book in the library stacks. Then when they're back, Fred and George could 'find' the book and use it to work on Occlumency. And boys, if you happened to share some of it with your other friends, well, that would be just fine.

We got up to Hogwarts and used the second-floor tunnel (the one that opens up under the portrait of Maghnus the Munificent) and we were on our way to the library when we saw a door about to open. So we hid.

I'm still not sure I want to contemplate why a witch would be leaving your quarters, Snape, at that hour. But off she went and she wasn't even retching. So maybe you weren't in and she was trying to spy on you. Or 'Milland' as the case may be.

Well, obviously we had to follow her to find out her game. We kept a safe distance and she led us into an office - Alecto Carrow's, but it wasn't Alecto Carrow we were following. But she let herself in and immediately got on the Floo to make a call.

We had to lurk in the corridor - in fact the one time Remus tried creeping closer he nearly got caught - so we could only catch a few phrases. They were dead interesting phrases, though:

'I need more time' (for what?)
'You've no idea the paranoia around here'
'They all support Minerva even if she's a drunkard' (Sorry, Minerva!)
'No, I don't know who's poisoned Alecto' (emphasis mine)


So. Yes, we did something on our own; it was dangerous; we're well chagrined we didn't seek permission or let anyone know. We thought you'd all rather maintain plausible deniability.

The important thing is: You've got a spy at Hogwarts. A female, anyway. Doing something to undermine you, Minerva.

And someone's poisoning Alecto Carrow. Is it too much to hope they'll succeed? Kill the Secret Keeper and that ends the Fidelius. We could get to Terry.

Of course, perhaps whomever's working on her is thinking just that. But who? DogStar? Not sure they'd care about one little muggleborn teenager. Crimson Company? They have a completely different agenda, it's all about reassignment of wealth with them. Merlin knows the Carrows have enough enemies between them, it could be anyone.

And I also find it singularly interesting that our resident spy at Hogwarts, the one who went there on his own authority precisely because he could be so useful, either didn't know any of this - or didn't bother to tell us. Which was it, Severus?

Comments

[alt_pomona]

All right, thinking through.

I know Septima's staying much of the holidays (sheer bloody-mindedness, trying to get a student to standard.) And Hooch has been around, muttering about getting some good distance flying in. (She has been in a snippy mood recently, though I put that up to the lack of Quidditch this year.)

I try not to pay attention to Carpenter or to Acton, truth be told. They're both vocally loyal, and Acton far beyond that.

Bathsheba, I'm less sure of. She keeps to herself, quite a bit. But she did mention some sort of consulting visit, if I overheard correctly last Friday. (Aurora's on better terms with her than I am, I admit, and I wasn't paying much attention.)

[alt_sirius]

Sorry. We had to take a kip before facing customers.

She had a cloak on, so she might have come from outside or just used it to conceal herself better. (Which means it doesn't rule out your Professor Siz, sorry to say. She could've popped back from London, same as we did.)

As for physical description: Brown hair. I think it was brown. Could have been dirty blonde, it was hard to tell in the torchlight.

Average height and build, I'd say. Not heavy. Moved pretty quickly.

Could have been anyone of those except Babbling. She's much shorter than the figure we saw.

[alt_pomona]

Aurora's the blondest of the bunch, so that's one thing. You're right that build doesn't rule out much.

As to the travel - well, I don't think apparition at distance would be her preference this week, she's that worn out. And I know she hates flooing with a passion. Not impossible, I admit, but unlikely.

I will ask, when I've an excuse. I was thinking of writing after this camp visit trip, and sound her out about what they actually got shown.

[alt_macnair]

Could be Hooch. Her hair's close enough to brown, and she moves quick.

[alt_poppy]

That rules out Irma Pince, then. She's wiry enough and can move quickly, though with a very particular gate, but her hair is quite definitely grey.

And besides, you surely checked that she was safe in her rooms before you broke into her library. Except, no, you didn't actually go to the library, did you?

And Wilhelmina doesn't colour her hair, either, though hers is salt and pepper, so I suppose in the dark the silver might not show. Pomona's right, though, I believe Wilhelmina is with the Bones for the holidays.

You haven't said about the voice, though, have you? Carpenter and Acton's voices are on the high side, Babbling's voice is lower. Hooch's voice is quite resonant, even when she speaks quietly, though one rarely hears her speaking quietly.

What would lead this person to use Alecto Carrow's fire for the call, though? Carpenter could easily have used her own without worrying anyone would overhear her: her rooms are high in her own tower, away from the rest of us.

Vector. We're forgetting her. And she might need to use another Floo, as she has at least one student sticking close to her this holiday. If she wished to make a dodgy call like the one you described, that is.