Chapter 509: Two Meetings
Chapter 509: Two Meetings
The shops in Diagon Alley were much quieter than usual.
"This is quite normal, if your shop had rows of Death Eaters' photos posted at the entrance..." Madam Malkin said as she measured Felix's size.
Felix enjoyed the enthusiastic service at the robe shop. He glanced at the wanted posters and various large purple announcements in the window, finding her words quite reasonable. Outside, the passersby hurried along, moving in small groups with clear destinations. After making their purchases, they would quickly leave through the public Floo network.
After leaving the shop, he walked into Castle Galleon with a vanilla ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, spending the entire day there.
"The principle behind the Thief-Repelling Falls is very complex. The key lies in the mixture of seventeen alchemical materials and various magical spells. Some obscure aspects might involve unique goblin magic. I checked, and the technology for the Thief-Repelling Falls appeared during the honeymoon period between wizards and goblins."
"You are absolutely right, Mr. Hep", a Ministry of Magic employee assigned to the task said. "The goblins were so nefarious, they held back during the exchange!" The short, plump wizard said angrily.
"But you didn't notice either", Fred whispered to George in the crowd.
The group then divided the work, each taking on their respective tasks. Creme was right; the research wizards in the company were incredibly efficient. The few Ministry of Magic employees present were amazed, finding their knowledge of the Thief-Repelling Falls rapidly understood and absorbed, as if they were dealing with a single entity with dozens of brains.
By the end of the day, the researchers from Future World Company had caught up to the Ministry's previous progress, successfully reproducing the ratios of three alchemical materials.
"I'll be staying at the old house tonight", Felix told Fred and George Weasley. They were in a room on the top floor of Castle Galleon, sparsely decorated and resembling an empty office, with a fireplace connected to the Black Family Manor.
If Tonks and Sirius connected the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix, then Remus Lupin connected the Future World Company, led by Felix, with the Order of the Phoenix. To some extent, Fred, George, and Penelope also played similar roles.
Percy took a while to arrive, showing up half an hour later than expected.
"Madam Bones is overworking you", Penelope said disapprovingly.
"The department is severely understaffed", Percy said cheerfully, "but it's my chance to shine." He hurriedly rolled up a few documents and stuffed them into his large pocket. He then stepped through the fireplace, just in time for a hot meal.
Mrs. Weasley welcomed Penelope warmly.
"We came back too late yesterday, not only was Harry's birthday party canceled, but I didn't get much chance to talk to you."
"Mom, there will be plenty of time later", Percy mumbled.
"But the first few times are the most important", Mrs. Weasley said sternly.
At the dinner table, Bill Weasley was discussing his new job.
"At first, it wasn't easy to adjust. It's all office work, much less exciting than before, but the benefit is that I have more time to help the Order of the Phoenix... and my colleagues are a group of old gentlemen with a slow pace of life." He mimicked his colleagues, passing the ketchup bottle to Harry, who sat next to him, but moving it at a snail's pace.
Everyone around the table burst into laughter. Harry accidentally met Ginny's eyes, and her wide grin immediately closed, her movements with the knife and fork becoming more graceful. "That's right, Ginny's imitation is the best", Bill Weasley praised loudly.
Hermione chuckled.
“What’s so funny?” Ron asked, looking at her in confusion.
“Nothing,” Hermione said quickly, turning to Harry. Harry’s face suddenly felt very hot, though he wasn’t sure why.
Dinner consisted of stew, syrup fruit pie, and vegetable soup. Felix quickly set down his utensils before Mrs. Weasley could serve him more, so her attention turned to Penelope.
“Is the food not to your liking, dear?”
“Oh, no,” Penelope replied, only to find her bowl immediately filled.
Sirius arrived late, just as everyone was finishing up and chatting. He sat down at the empty spot and wolfed down the remaining food.
“The interrogations are only a third done,” he said, gulping down the last of his soup. “Thanks, Molly, could you fill it up again? Everyone claims they were under the Imperius Curse, but Amelia isn’t letting them off easily, especially Mcnair and Lestrange. They both have criminal records.”
Felix knew that Mcnair was considered the ringleader of the disturbance at the Quidditch World Cup, and Lestrange was a confirmed Death Eater who had spent over a decade in Azkaban before escaping just a few days ago. It would be a miracle if Madam Bones let them go.
Sirius quickly finished a rolled-up pie, sighed contentedly, and slowed down his eating.
Ron watched him with wide eyes, as if he were watching an interesting TV show.
“By the way, Sirius,” Felix asked, “I heard that a Silencio member was injured?”
“Really?” Sirius looked up from his bowl.
“His name is Bode,” Felix reminded him.
“Bode,” Sirius thought, speaking slowly. “I think I remember... There was some kind of accident, and he was sent to St. Mungo’s for treatment. I was too busy yesterday to pay attention to such minor details. What’s the matter?” he asked, sensing something was off.
“We’ll discuss it at the meeting,” Felix replied briefly.
Sirius seemed thoughtful. After spending a month with Amelia Bones, his instincts had become much sharper, and he immediately realized this might not be a coincidence. Harry, Ron, and Hermione also looked intrigued.
“That name sounds familiar,” Ron muttered.
“We met him at the Quidditch World Cup camp,” Hermione whispered. “He works at the Department of Mysteries, right?”
Harry also remembered.
“Wait a minute.” He almost immediately connected this to Voldemort, looking at Mr. Weasley. “You told us that the work at the Department of Mysteries is highly classified.”
“Yes—”
Mr. Weasley looked shocked, but Harry was thinking hard.
“This means Voldemort wants something inside! Or some information! And Bode is either a Death Eater spy or under a curse!”
“Children—” Mr. Weasley hesitated.
“It’s fine, Arthur,” Sirius said. “Let’s see what they can deduce. I can share their thoughts with Amelia— I mean, even if we stop them, they’ll still discuss it in private. We might as well listen and maybe get some useful ideas.”
Harry glanced gratefully at his godfather. “Um.”
“What exactly does Bode do?” Hermione asked. Sirius frowned. “I’m not entirely sure—”
“Which department does he work in? The Department of Time, the Hall of Prophecy, the Department of Thought, the Department of Space, or the Room of the Veil?” Hermione asked again, nearly making Sirius bite his tongue.
“How do you know all this!?”
This time, it was Hermione's turn to be stumped. She cast a furtive glance at Felix. "I—oh—I guess, in some book?"
"The Department of Mysteries never leaks information", Mr. Weasley said solemnly.
"She probably saw it in the Nicolas Flamel files", Felix explained. "I gave them to her at the end of last year. There's so much information, and I haven't read every single book. Nearly Headless Nick might have mentioned it in one of his notes."
Professors can be so deceptive...
Hermione blinked, putting on a "that's it" expression.
Sirius and Mr. Weasley were suddenly enlightened.
"Nicolas Flamel... no wonder, that makes sense", Mr. Weasley said. Since the Beauxbatons students stayed at Hogwarts for the entire year last year, it was no longer a secret that Felix had inherited all of Nicolas Flamel's estate.
At one point, the newspapers had extensively covered the story.
"I heard Fleur mention it", Bill said suddenly, "You're also a trustee of Beauxbatons."
"Fleur?" Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins exclaimed in unison.
"What's going on?" Mrs. Weasley asked, "Did I get it wrong? Wasn't she one of the Beauxbatons champions? A French girl?"
"She's my new colleague, she just started a few days ago. I promised to help her with her English... you know how boring office work can be", Bill shrugged and said, "I really hope this war ends soon."
"That's not up to us", Ron muttered, "The Dark Lord isn't going to surrender willingly... by the way, Harry, why did Headmaster Dumbledore call you today?"
"Dumbledore came during the day?" Felix asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yeah, but he didn't say much. He took Harry away for the whole day. Harry didn't return much earlier than the rest of us", Ron said.
The adults looked at Harry.
"Can you tell us?" Mr. Weasley asked tactfully, "If Headmaster Dumbledore asked you to keep it a secret, then you shouldn't tell anyone."
"Um, I'm not sure", Harry said with a blank expression. "We didn't really do anything. Headmaster Dumbledore took me to an old friend's house for afternoon tea. We ate a lot of pineapple chunks. Headmaster Dumbledore also suggested that the old friend move to a safer place..."
"Who did you visit? Do you remember the name?" Felix asked.
"Horace Slughorn", Harry thought for a moment and said.
"Professor Slughorn?" Mr. Weasley exclaimed, looking at the others' reactions, he explained, "He used to teach us, Molly and me. He's an excellent Potions Master. I guess that's why we can't let him join the other side?"
After dinner, the adults went to a room for a meeting, and the children sat in the living room, discontent. "At least I'm here with you", Penelope said, scratching Crookshanks' chin, the cat lying comfortably on her lap.
...
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, in an ancient building. The overgrown flower beds, neglected and thorny, cast twisted shadows in the darkness. The area was desolate and uninhabited.
A foraging insect, not learning from its companions, flew straight into the ancient castle. It climbed up the ancient, weathered walls and onto the house's beam, its compound eyes surveying the solemn and oppressive crowd below in the dim light.
"Hisss."
The insect was instantly incinerated by a sudden force.
Severus Snape was attending a Death Eaters meeting.
(End of Chapter)
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