"They're called the Order of the Phoenix," Hermione explained softly. It was the middle of the night, following the fight in the department of mysteries. All of the students found after the fight were sent directly back to Hogwarts by a few members of this Order. They were then placed into Madam Pomphrey's exceptional care, upon whom she gave nothing but the strictest rules of what we as her patients were to do.
Nothing.
Meaning, that when Sam was trying her best to get out of the bed assigned to her, demanding to know what my father could possibly do to my brother, Pomphrey wrote Sam off as experiencing delirium and quickly knocked her out with a very strong sleeping potion.
The fumes of which could make anyone drowsy.
Everyone else took Sam's experience as understanding enough not to test Madam Pomphrey further. So in the end, everyone waited patiently for their appropriate care and did not argue when she decided that none of us were to leave the hospital wing until the following morning.
We all really didn't need to take up all her beds for the night, seeing as even my sprain wasn't worth a full night's supervision. But I was grateful for an excuse to not walk into Slytherin common room. Especially now knowing just how many children amongst my house are related to the death eaters we fought hours prior.
"And they work for Dumbledore?" I asked in a similar whisper, turning to look at Hermione. She was tucked into the bed next to me and had been out cold throughout most of the fight. But when Pomphrey attended to her, she was able to counter the curse that had depressed Hermione's breathing, making her wake up right as the rest of us were catering off to sleep.
But I couldn't sleep, and I had no wish to either. So I waited it out as Pomphrey did her last rounds before turning to Hermione who had just as many questions as I did.
"Not necessarily, though they do listen a great deal to him," Hermione explained readily. "Their headquarters had been Sirius's house for the longest time. Now that he's dead-"
"You probably shouldn't be telling me this, Hermione." I saw Hermione turn to face me out of the corner of my eye as I purposefully looked away and curled further into the lush blankets around me.
"Don't make the mistake of blaming yourself for your father's actions," Hermione warned, cutting right to the point. I refused to look at her but I managed to gulp down the growing fear anyway.
"That doesn't mean I might still be of use to my father in the future," I replied steadily. Hermione didn't respond right away which hurt more than I had realized. I had hoped she would have denied it right away. Instead she sighed.
"Perhaps, but that shouldn't cause any of us to exile you. You want to help, and that's what's important."
"Hermione, if you have seen the way my father manipulated my brother and I earlier. The way he got my brother to go after him, and me... he knows how close my siblings and I are to one another. If he's managed to use one of us to follow in him, others may follow..."
"You wouldn't join the death eaters, Ava-"
"No, of course not! But that doesn't mean I won't protect my brother if the need arises either," I confided, turning finally to look back at Hermione. She was looking at me with pity but there was nothing negative about it.
"As you should," she agreed without hesitancy.
There was a pause where the room was just filled with the sounds of deep breathing form heavy sleepers and rustling sheets. But then Hermione went on.
"You really had no idea about your father?"
I slowly shook my head, feeling stupid for admitting to that much.
"It sounds preposterous," I replied back slowly. "I mean, I barely see him even when I am home, but growing up, my father was never in my eyes a violent man prone to pure blood mentality. I just don't understand how-"
The moment I said it, I knew exactly how it started. It was like my subconscious had finally yelled at me enough to get me to double take on a key detail of information.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, unable to hide her curiosity. "Your face just changed. What are you thinking?" I bit my lip as I looked back to the blanket I had wrapped around my fingers.
"The Malfoys. They've always had a history with the You-Know-Who..." Hermione sighed again.
"Yes, and I'm afraid Draco's father has done a fair bit more within this last year alone for You-Know-Who. Or so the Order has reason to believe." I turned in my bed so fast, the noise disrupted Ella, who shifted soundlessly in the bed next to me. We waited until she had gone back to her low snores before I said what was on my mind.
"What do you know?"
Hermione regarded me carefully before dropping her gaze from me.
"Ava, I know you and Draco have history and this might not be the best-"
"I don't care. I need to know what my father has gotten himself into. What his supposed friend has done."
"Very well," Hermione gave in, sitting up in bed. She turned to face me with her jaw set. "There were two different cases that Harry, Ron and I have been watching for a while now. You see the department of mysteries is known for their secrets obviously. It comes in the name. And in order for the death eaters to have known enough about the department, they would have had to have learned from someone working there. Do you remember a news article that came up in the Daily Prophet back in January? About a Mr. Bode?"
I shook my head and Hermione went on.
"He was strangled in his bed by a Devil Snare plant. But, what was so odd about it was how he didn't die at home. He was recovering at St. Mungo's from an attack done at his home."
"He worked for the Department?" I asked, sensing where this was going. She nodded.
"But, the reason I link this with Lucius was by pure coincidence on my part. Harry, Ron and I went to visit Mr. Weasley over Christmas break when he recovered from that snake attack and we saw the plant get delivered. It was sent by one of Malfoy's elves."
"He couldn't possibly be so sloppy as to send his own elf to deliver the killing stroke," I thought aloud and I watched as Hermione nodded solemnly.
"The plant had disappeared following Bode's death. And any recollection of the plant's origins came from the toxins released in Bode's body during the autopsy report."
"What's the second case you mentioned?" I asked, needing to hear more..
"A man named Sturgis. He was caught trying to enter the Department of Mysteries one night. He worked for the order but was never given right to walk down there at night. You see, there had been a subsequent attack weeks prior. A snake attack to be exact-"
"Mr. Weasley," I recalled, turning to Hermione. She nodded solemnly.
"Order members have known for awhile that You-Know-Who has been after this prophecy. They never said it to us as they never wanted us to be part of the order. We're still in school. But Harry started getting nightmares where he could see in You-Know-Who's mind. And well, one night, he saw Mr. Weasley get attacked. By a snake either controlled by You-Know-Who or otherwise connected to him..."
Whatever Hermione was on about, it was nothing to the extent that I had previously thought possible. Hermione eyed my reaction accordingly but when I made no comment, she continued.
"The order had sent people out to monitor the entrance in case death eaters tried to sneek in, and after Mr. Weasley's attack, they realized they needed to be better prepared. Or so is my guess. They still haven't told us anything but it all fits you see-"
"So Sturgis," I lead on. Hermione nodded, getting back on track.
"Sturgis was believed to be placed under the imperio curse. He was found by the ministry trying to break into the department and was subsequently placed in Azkaban."
"Another target made by Lucius?" I inquired back. She shrugged.
"It's a guess. All I know is Sturgis works under fellows of the Malfoy family. Of the death eaters I heard by name today, he seems to be the best fit."
I released a long breath before sinking back into my pillows.
"Was this too much? Should I have waited to tell you?" I shook my head slowly.
"No, Hermione. I'm just tired now."
Hermione didn't respond at first but rather than continue on in our discussion, she simply curled back in her own bed and released a final sigh before adding, "Goodnight then."
"Goodnight."
It was the next morning and Madam Pomphrey had let us all go after quick checks from all of us. She paused over me a beat longer than I deemed necessary but I knew that she knew that I had no intention of staying another night in the hospital wing. So she let me go, alongside Sam.
"He's kidnapped then," Sam announced as we walked past the great hall where laughter and the usual morning chatter of a lazy Saturday erupted around us. "Your father kidnapped him."
"Lower your voice, Sam. There's no need for the dramatics," I replied back tensely as I neared the door leading to the stairs. Sam released a scoff before running up next to me as I pulled open the door.
"I don't think I'm being dramatic at all. Your father was dueling him. And then he grabbed him and up and left in thin air."
"Yes," I said, growing tired of the loops this conversation was taking. "But Sam, there's nothing more we can do at this moment."
"You could run away!" Sam exclaimed loudly, as we descended the steps.
"Run away? Who's running away?" I froze as I peered over the banister of the stairs. Nott was grinning from ear to ear at the bottom with a quizzical glimmer in his eyes at the sight of me. And next to him, seeming just as pensive over the overheard comment, was Draco.
"None of your business," Sam snapped, taking the lead down the rest of the stairs. I followed along slowly, not sure whether to make eye contact with Nott's questionable stare or Draco's.
"I don't know about that," Nott continued, with his usual line of mischief. "You were talking rather loudly and running away is a serious matter." He looked to me with a little too much certainty in his gaze before adding, "Wouldn't want to upset the parents more than you already have, now would you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I snapped, stopping short a few steps above Nott. Even so, I was just above eye level from him. He smirked openly at me, relieving the tension he had no doubt built on purpose.
"Woah, no need to get feisty. I just alluded to all the fun you have with Umbridge last night. And us. If it were my parents, they wouldn't know what to do with me, they'd be so angry."
"Your parents already don't know what to do with you, Nott," Draco commented slyly taking a step up so that he was standing to the side on the step between Nott and myself. He glanced at me expectantly but I made no comment.
"Well then," Sam said, filling the empty space. "Good thing Umbridge is a thing of the past. We have nothing to worry about now."
"Is that so?" Nott countered, turning on Sam. She didn't give him the decency to look away from him, nor to back down. Sam just starred at Nott without breaking.
"Now that you mention it, are you so sure you parents would react so poorly if you had defected Umbridge? Or would they congratulate you on sticking to an obviously cruel regime?"
"Oh ho hoo," Nott reacted with a laugh. He turned to Draco with a raised brow, but his friend remained coolly composed. I hated how I immediately thought of his father and how he too had a habit of maintaining a cool composure.
"What's got you all tied up in knots, Spencer? If it's a new habit of yours I might just stick around to hear more of it."
"You disgust me," Sam recoiled and Nott reacted with a cold smile that retreated deep into his eyes. It was the same sickly calculated look he had when he gagged me.
"Don't you two have some place to be?" I cut in. Draco was regarding me quietly while Nott merely snickered.
"Fine then, Ava. Act unhappy to see me." Nott stepped up and around me on the same step before looking down at me from his stance. "I know you like the attention. Right, Draco?" The bastard had the audacity to look back at his friend who was regarding the entire situation with a very controlled poker face.
"Are we done here? I think we're done here," Sam stated with growing agitation. "Ava, let's go."
I took another step down, avoiding Nott and subsequently Draco until I felt his hand brush my forearm.
I stopped.
"Go find Blaise," Draco said, looking at Nott without room for argument. Sam on the other hand was glancing at me questionably. But I had a feeling I knew where this was leading and I wanted answers. So I gave Sam the smallest shake of the head.
She rolled her eyes but didn't say anything before stalking off to the common room while Nott scoffed openly at the pair of us.
"Unbelievable. Fine. I'll go see bloody Blaise with his dark roast."
As Nott stomped up the stairs in a pitiful fashion resembling a child having a tantrum, Draco walked over to one of the open classroom doors and turned back to me. Sensing the invite, I followed him in.
-
Hello there,
I ended up breaking this chapter into two simply because it was over 5000 words and Wattpad doesn't usually appreciate long chapters like that (granted in a normal book, chapters go way past 5000 words but oh well)
So to keep myself true to my word, I'll be posting tomorrow with the next part just to keep all this info fresh in your minds.
See you tomorrow!
-WG-