Light in the Darkness

Chapter 49

Most of her job included reading some of the older books that have been in the department of mysteries for almost 400 years and organizing them into categories.

The Minister was getting progressively more paranoid and frenzied about destroying Dumbledore and Harry Potter, she no longer had to whisper instructions in his ear.

His panic had even spread to the other ministry workers that also believed whole-heartedly that Dumbledore and Harry were lying about the Dark Lord. The Daily Prophet slandered the two so harshly, everyone in the Wizarding World began to hold a high distaste for Dumbledore, of course with exception to the die-hard Dumbledore supporters.

She also spent time in the prophecy department, trying to find a pattern to how they were sorted. She had no luck, they all seemed random. All of the crystal balls on row 97 looked the same and she couldn't spend too much time reading all the tags without being noticed.

At night, a member from the Order would stand guard, making it virtually impossible to go after hours. She could always stun the Order member, but she didn't know if they had some line of communication that would cause all hell to break loose on her if she attacked the guard.

When she woke up, she got ready for her day and left to the Ministry. Marietta smiled and handed her a few books she had to read for the day. Adelaide looked curiously at the book on the top of the pile titled,

Dementors, Cloaked Angels of Death

Adelaide read it, completely enraptured by the theory of how they worked and where they drew their power to literally suck the happiness and life out of someone. It covered the Patronus charm as well. It was one of the most fascinating things she had ever read. She recalled the time in her third year when she briefly encountered the Dementor on the train.

She then found a curious part of the book that was covered in a black ink clearly blocking out almost a whole page of words. She looked around, making sure no one was near her and she casted a silent Revelio.

The black ink shook slightly, but stayed put. Adelaide recalled the spell her brother used to reveal the letter her parents sent two years ago. She quickly pulled out her wand and whispered the incantation. Immediately, the black ink faded off and there explained how one can harness the Dementors and use them. Adelaide's heart almost exploded with relief. The Dark Lord would be very pleased with this information. She quickly restored the spell to cover the words and put the book in the Death Department Library.

As she entered the Malfoy Manor she nervously walked into Lucius's study. He looked up, slightly annoyed, "Yes Adelaide?".

"I found an interesting bit of information while looking at the restricted texts in the Department of Mysteries." she nervously pulled on her sleeves, beginning to second guess herself for telling him.

He leaned back in his chair, motioning her to take a seat. "What is this information?"

Adelaide shifted into the seat and cleared her throat, "I found out how the Ministry controls the Dementors."

Lucius stood up quickly and leaned towards her, "You know how to control the dementors?" he whispered, his eyes growing large with excitement.

She nodded, the guilt beginning to creep up her throat.

"Summon the Dark Lord. Now." he demanded.

She had never summoned the Dark Lord before, after her dreams she never wanted to see him again. However, if she told him this information, he might not hurt her and give her more time to complete her task.

She took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeve, looking up at Lucius cautiously. He shook his head and impatiently waved his hands, "Go ahead."

She held her breath and pressed down on her Dark Mark, it beginning to squirm. She could see the sky darken outside and in a whispy, black smoke the Dark Lord stood in their presence.

Adelaide quickly stood up and bowed. Lucius started for her, "My Lord, I apologize for calling without notice, but Adelaide has come across a very important piece of information."

Voldemort snapped his head towards her, staring deeply into her soul, "Yes?"

Adelaide suddenly found herself struggling to speak. She kept seeing flashes of him cackling as Nagini struck her over and over again, leaving her a bloody mess on the floor, gasping for air.

"I've found out how the Ministry controls the Dementors."

The Dark Lord's eyes grew large and a smile crossed his face, "Tell me."

She explained everything she had read from the book and by the end of it, he laughed ominously. "Adelaide Burke, you have proven yet again that you are a valuable resource to me." and like that he disapparated from the office.

Lucius smiled down at Adelaide, it was strange seeing him smile. "This is tremendous. With the Dementors, the Dark Lord will be unstoppable."

A pit of darkness sat in her throat, if the girl she was two years ago saw what she had just done she would've pitched herself off the Astronomy Tower. She had just given the Dark Lord a huge advantage and possibly traded the lives of hundreds of innocent people for her own life.

"Excuse me." Adelaide flatly stated before quickly leaving the study and running upstairs to her room.

What did you do Adelaide? What did you do?

She stared at herself in the mirror, the girl who looked back at her was not someone she recognized. Her eyes were empty, cold, selfish. She quickly rinsed her face with cold water trying to somehow wipe off the shame that she felt coat every inch of her body. A surge of anger went through her and the mirror shattered into a million pieces.

Draco came running in, "Addie? Are you ok?"

She whispered, "Not now Draco."

He stopped in his tracks as he assessed the scene. "What happened?"

She turned around and yelled, "I said not now Draco! "

The force of her anger pushed him back, making him fall. A slight twinge of fear crossed his eyes as he looked up at her, "Ok..I'm sorry."

She ran her fingers through her hair, "no..no, I'm sorry.."

She walked over to him and helped him off the floor, plopping onto her bed. He sat down next to her.

"I found out how the Ministry controls Dementors."

Draco looked at her confused.

She sighed, "And I just told the Dark Lord and your father."

Draco grabbed her hand, "Isn't that a good thing Addie? He'll back off of you for now."

She covered her face, "No, no it's not a good thing." She stood up and began pacing, "How many people did I just kill just to buy myself some time." her voice shaking, the realization of her actions pressing down on her conscious.

Draco got up and cupped her face, "You can't think that way Addie."

Addie sighed and began to protest, but Draco interfered, "I'm serious Addie. Screw everyone else. You need to protect yourself. I know it sounds harsh, but you can't be trading the possibility of hurting someone for your definite safety. You did the right thing."

She nodded at him, trying to hold her tears in. She didn't do the right thing, she did the selfish, cowardly thing. She could feel the darkness in her growing each day she lied to the Minister, wrote a piece criticizing Dumbledore in the Daily Prophet, smiled and charmed a Ministry worker, or navigated through the Prophecy Department. She was slowly becoming the person she despised. She was slowly becoming a loyal Death Eater.