Hermione's Twin ⇒ Fred Weasley

Ch. 34: Thieves & Threats

Ch.34: Thieves & Threats

Author's Note: Jut did some future chapter counting and... the end is near you guys! D: It came so quickly :( but it's still a few chappies off - and there is a lot of drama still to come!! xxJess

     A week had passed since the last tournament and things have been getting... dark.

     If that makes any sense.

     Hogwarts walls had been buzzing with the excitement of the upcoming Valentine's Day, but underneath there was a tension, but not from the students. From the teachers.

     It was really beginning to unnerve Jenna, Lana, and I.

     The other students we'd brought it up to just laughed it off and tell us the teachers were only getting harsh because the end of term is right around the corner, yet something just didn't feel right.

     Jenna, Lana, and I sat around the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room during lunch, when hardly anyone else was around.

       "You know who I think it is — the one causing the tension?" Jenna sighed, curling into a small ball by the fireplace, clasping her hands around her knees. "Maybe it's that Snape professor. He gives me the creeps sometimes."

     "Nah," Lana shook her head, "I'll bet you a million dollars that it is Mad-eye." She sipped from a mug of Butter-beer. "You all know he's started teaching us on the Imperious Curse again. Why would he? And plus he's been using it on students, not only is that most likely not normal, but it's probably illegal."

      I watched the flames from the fireplace, eyes glazed over as my mind jumped from theory to theory. "I think you're right, Lana," I spoke slowly, soft and sure. "Something just isn't right with him. If Dumbledore knew — if the Ministry knew... He could be sent to Azkaban for this..." My voice trailed off, before I tacked on: "Right?"

   We all fell silent, just looking at each other with unknowing eyes.

     There was only one way to know if Mad-eye was a bad guy or not. We had to get evidence and bring it to Dumbledore.

     I inhaled sharply and tore my eyes off the flames, stomach churning. "Come on you guys, don't you think it's a little odd that an old Auror is using the Imperious Curse on students?"

   "Of course," Jenna immediately bit back, big grey eyes wide, "but, maybe we only think it's weird because we aren't used to the customs of the Ministry of Magic. We've always been under the rules of American magic laws... there could be huge differences we never knew about." Jenna sighed and reached out a hand towards the fireplace to warm up.

      "True. Maybe we should just... keep an eye on him and see if he's been up to anything suspicious." My voice was solid and firm, and I added a nod at the end as a confirmation, earning an agreeing one from Lana and Jenna too.

      Resolved, I jumped off the couch with a yawn. "I'm gonna go grab some soup in the Great Hall, you guys want to join?"

       "Nah," Lana shook her head. "Jenna and I are going to study for the Charms exam tomorrow. Not all of us are gifted in magic, Elle." Lana glared at me playfully and stretched, setting her mug down on an oak coffee table and grabbing a long roll of parchment.

      "Alrighty then..." I shrugged and crawled through the portrait hole. As I wandered through the stone corridors, I found myself walking past an open cupboard. I couldn't help but peek inside the curiously open door way.