Finding Severus

7. Detected

She was bored. There were voices and slamming doors down the hall, and the shuffling of feet, but the silence inside the D.E.W. office was deafening. There was absolutely nothing going on.

When she volunteered to watch the radar that picked up traces of magic from known Death Eaters, it had been because she wanted to help out. She had enough fighting during the war and was looking for some other way to assist. Harry had suggested she work in the newly established Death Eater Watch office, D.E.W. for short, and she gladly accepted. She didn't know how droll it would be. There wasn't as much activity as she thought there would be. Plus, there was a really strange Muggle device that she had to learn how to use to contact Harry should the radar go off. It was an important job and she knew that. She just thought that it would be more exciting.

The door to the office suddenly opened and she perked up immediately. Maybe someone needed her help with something. Kingsley Shacklebolt poked his head in.

"Everything okay in here, Ms. Lovegood?"

Luna smiled kindly. "Just fine."

"You can take a break in a bit. Everybody is coming back for lunch. I'll have someone keep your chair warm."

Her voice was just as soft and sweet as it always was. "Thank you, Minister." She kept her smile until he closed the door back and let out a long sigh. She would be happy to get up and move around a little. She was a bit hungry too. She hadn't realized it until Kinglsey mentioned lunch, but her stomach growled in anticipation of the event.

"I'll just have to keep my eyes on the radar until then," she said out loud.

It was strange. It was just a computer hooked to a magical database. The only ones registered were known Death Eaters and other persons of interest. So far, it had helped the Ministry take down several bad apples, including most of Voldemort's inner circle that had survived. Severus Snape and a few others were the only ones that hadn't caught yet. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, every Auror at the Ministry's disposal, and Neville Longbottom had been working tirelessly to bring them all to justice. Harry had been working harder than any of them, watching the radar at night when he thought no one was looking. She had seen him leaving from the office of a morning sometimes, but she hadn't said anything. If he wanted people to know, he would tell them himself. It was none of her business. Harry was a dear friend and she wouldn't dare do anything to cause him any more stress than he was already feeling.

A loud buzzing noise echoed through the room. Luna's eyes stretched wide in shock. She couldn't believe it. The radar was going off like crazy. It wasn't just one Death Eater this time, but three: the Shipley brothers and Severus Snape. There was a small map beneath them, showing their location to be near the edge of the Forbidden Forest. That had all just popped up on her screen. Her heart skipped a beat. Now this was excitement.

She picked up the tiny device Harry had given to her and went through the steps written on a post-it to the side to give him a call. She think he'd called it a cell phone. She would have much rather learned to use her Patronus to communicate, but Harry insisted she use the phone. She dialed the number and put it up to her ear. It made a ringing noise nearly six times in a row before she heard a click and then Harry's voice.

"Hello, Luna," he greeted her. "I take it we have someone?"

"Yes," she said, her voice filled with excitement. "Three. The Shipley brothers and Snape."

Harry's tone suddenly became urgent. "Where are they?"

She explained the location she saw on the map on the screen. "It just happened, so be careful and hurry."