LIONHEART ❃ george weasley

034 | mystery gang

Albany crept across the classroom with her wand drawn, mindful of floorboards she knew would creak underfoot. There was warm light coming through the cracks in the door to Moody's office, and she could hear muffled voices behind it. She nodded to Merlin, too nervous to speak in fear that she would be caught.

Merlin looked grim. "Be careful, Albany," he advised, and then faded away. She didn't blame him for being wary around Moody; who knew how much his magical eye could see.

Her pace was painfully slow as she climbed the stairs to the office. She paused outside the door, biting her cheek anxiously as she debated her options. How was she going to do this? What was she going to do?

"Wait, stop!" Carly cried out from inside.

Albany made up her mind immediately, heart racing, and threw open the door. She pointed her wand straight at Moody, where he sat behind his desk, staring dully back at her as his magical eye went haywire.

"I know it's you, drop the act!" Albany shouted, stepping slowly closer. Her wand hand trembled lightly, but she kept it pointed firmly at the professor, heart pounding so loud he could probably hear it. "I know what you did - now what did you do to... Carly...?"

Carly was seated opposite Mad-Eye, in a chair so tall it had hidden her from view at first. However, now she was staring at Albany in confusion, glasses propped up on top of her head, as she had been reading.

"There was a - er - paragraph back a few pages, professor, you flicked past it," she had been saying as Albany charged in; now all three of the room's occupants had fallen silent, frozen and staring at each other.

"Usually we knock before entering, Bronwen," Moody said gruffly, and returned to the book he and Carly had open, moving back a few pages as she had pointed out.

"I - what?" Albany was lost for words, eyes darting between the two and the stack of old books on the desk. Her wand hand slowly lowered, adrenaline draining away. "What's going on?"

"Are you okay, Albany?" Carly asked politely, looking concerned.

Albany had lost the ability to string a sentence together, mouth opening and closing wordlessly while her mind drew a blank. "I - I thought-"

"We were just discussing your friend, Mr Weasley," Moody informed her gruffly, a narrowed glance thrown her way. "Perhaps you know something of the situation you would like to share?"

"I - no," Albany stammered, and turned her gaze on Carly, caught between disbelief and concern. "Are you - you're safe? Why did he take you here?"

Carly's eyebrows furrowed in bemusement. "Of course I am safe," she assured the girl, reluctant in her confusion. She paused. "Are you?"

Albany felt embarrassment rising to colour her cheeks, the heat of it unbearable. "Yeah," she responded meekly.

"Miss Dubois approached me," Moody clarified, though didn't look up from his book this time. "She had questions, and I offered to show her some of my books. See if I could give her answers."

"I think dark magic was used on George," Carly explained, face grim. "One of my spells - er, it detects magic, but I couldn't, um, figure out what magic it was."

Albany blinked. "At - at the table?"

Carly nodded, smiling brightly. "Oui, I was going to talk to Madame Maxime, but then I thought your professor was an Auror, and he will know more."

"Oh," Albany mumbled, very quietly. Her face felt as though it were on fire - she couldn't have been more wrong.

But if not Moody, who?