"Interesting," the headmaster muttered to himself. "Anything else?"
"No," Pomona replied, as the rest of the staff shook their heads as well, signalling that they too had nothing further to share.
...
"Hmm, why was Madam Bones here the other night?" Lockhart asked the room from his seat at the end of the table, indicating his place in the leadership of the school, next to the overly large reinforced seat normally used by Hagrid. Of course, Hagrid wasn't aware of it, and probably didn't care much about rank even if he did.
"She didn't say, but I believe there has been a breakthrough in the case concerning Pettigrew," Filius offered back from his small chair near the head of the table, opposite him.
"That's good," Lockhart agreed, with a smile that appeared to be as false as the man himself. The staff meeting lasted another quarter of an hour before they cleared up the remaining issues, as the headmaster both answered and asked questions of his own.
"I believe that is all for tonight, my friends," Albus declared, ending the meeting, as he quickly moved to make his escape before anyone noticed. "Severus, please stay behind," he mentally groaned.
'What does he want now?' he wondered as his gut twisted, his finely tuned survival senses stirring. None of this showed on his face, however. "How can I be of assistance, Headmaster?" he enquired evenly, his voice level and flat as the room emptied.
"Thank you for pointing out the issue with the love potions; you played your part just as I hoped you would," the aged wizard expressed with a grin, as he sensed a new plot brewing in the elder wizard's mind.
"You knew of Lockhart's planned request?" he sneered.
"Of course," the headmaster beamed. "There is little that I don't know about, but it did give me some ideas," he boasted to Severus with a sly smile. "You didn't think all those wards erected over Christmas were strictly detection and security wards, did you?" He suppressed a shiver running down his spine at this, feeling like he was caught in a hungry spider's web.
He decided not to answer the headmaster's question. "So you know what Madam Bones wanted to discuss with Mr. Potter then?" Severus asked.
"Yes, I'll tell you in due course," the aged wizard voiced.
"Not even a hint?" his interest spiking.
"No," the aged wizard replied, with mischief in his eyes that reminded him far too much of Sirius Black.
...
( Ravenclaw Tower )
Silently watching the unfolding staff meeting through the charmed glass of the grandfather clock, his hands ran through Shadow's midnight black fur, the magical cat purring in pleasure under his touch. "How interesting," Harry muttered, making mental note that the headmaster was monitoring him through the staff, meaning that he would have to be far more careful than he already was. It also meant that the staff couldn't be trusted with any sensitive information, since they might feel obliged to report it to the headmaster.
He continued dutifully listening to Professor Lockhart's proposal for the Valentine's Day celebrations and the following exchange amongst the professors, carefully noting each person's stated opinions and attitudes to better understand each of them. All these observations were going into his mental file on them, for possible later use. You never know when it might prove useful.
He was just about to cut the link to the enchanted glass, which had allowed him to spy on the staff meeting in the Headmaster's office, when the headmaster suddenly asked for Snape to stay behind. Listening to the private exchange between Professor Snape and the Headmaster, once again he was taken by surprise at the headmaster's cunning.
He couldn't help but feel like a fly, surrounded by spider webs; one misstep and he could be caught. It was not a feeling that he liked as he looked around his room, his private sanctuary, wondering if the headmaster was spying on him at that very moment.
"How does one break the webs he can't see?" he asked aloud as he put away the piece of enchanted glass, before looking over at the dressing table mirror, a smile appearing on his face.
'Spiders eat insects and flies, so why not ask my own beetle?' But first he had to inform Madam Bones that somehow the aged wizard knew what they had privately discussed, all without revealing his source.
He considered the problem for a second, before deciding to check on the other magically charmed spy glasses that he had placed around the school, to see if they were still working effectively. So far he had managed to set his spy glasses in half a dozen rooms, most of them being the teachers' offices that he had managed to gain access to during a nighttime stroll.
In addition, he had also managed to get three set up in the Ravenclaw common room, allowing him to monitor his housemates without leaving the comfort of his dorm room. Naturally, this was just the first phase of his plan, the first few lines of his information web, more of a proof of concept really. Soon, all of his rivals would be under his watchful eye.
...
( Malfoy Manor )
Lucius Malfoy lowered himself into his sumptuous desk chair as he silently considered whether to support Madam Umbridge's recent proposal on new werewolf legislation. If it had been proposed even just a year ago, he would have instantly supported it, but now he had to be more careful; his available resources and owed favours were not what they once were. Sadly, if he did not vocally support it, Lord Nott certainly would, costing him more influence within the pureblood ranks.
Hearing the soft pop of a house elf appear, he looked over at the pathetic creature dressed in an old tea rag, who was dutifully placing a silver tea tray onto his desk, containing the morning paper and his daily correspondence. However, an unmarked letter caught his immediate attention, since it was from one of his agents or one of his informers that he had strategically placed around Britain.
Like always, he reached for his heirloom letter opener. It was enchanted to detect curses and spells laced into any letters he opened, just in case the extensive manor wards designed for that very purpose somehow failed to detect them. This was the same letter opener his father had used before him, and the one he expected his son to use after him long into the distant future. With the Malfoy crest engraved proudly on the handle, the beautiful silver knife easily cut the heavy envelope open.
Throwing the envelope into a nearby bin and unfolding the yellow parchment carefully, he saw one of the distinctive codes he and his informers used for passing such sensitive messages between them. The triangles and runes and circles were all in complex, incomprehensible designs, with numbers added here and there, placed seemingly at random around the parchment rim.
Getting up from his comfortable chair whilst pulling his dressing gown tighter, he walked quickly across the study to access a small chest, hidden carefully away behind bookshelves lining the far wall. Elegantly flicking his wand, the beautifully crafted chest unlocked before he carefully opened the lid, revealing dozens of random items he had gathered.
Most people would assume that these were merely harmless knick-knacks and items of sentimental value, but they actually served a far different purpose to him; each one was the magical code key linked to one or two of his informers or agents, allowing him to encode and decode messages sent to and from them quickly and efficiently.
Finding the earthy brown pebble necessary for decoding the magical message, he pressed it against the enchanted parchment before pressing his wand against it again. "Unreval Occulta," he muttered, moving his wand in concentric circles before making an X through the centre.
He was once again impressed at Severus' creativity in the art of spell creation, at being able to invent and perfect such a useful spell.
The seemingly random and meaningless text quickly shifted, rearranging itself to reveal the secret message contained within...
..
..
Dear Royal Turkey Cooker,
Mummer Bear visited Hogwarts and met with Terminally Ill Patient. It is believed she was there to discuss business involving Nibbles, but cannot confirm this information. Sleeping Willow has indeed been removed, but is expected to be replanted at the beginning of the spring term.
Nagging Wife is still gagged, and Grandfather Clock is still out of time. Sweet Candy is a go.
Thank you for the Candy provided; hopefully it will prove to be as tasty as you say.
From
The Doctor
...
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