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Sitting on a comfortable chair, Gilderoy Lockhart savoured his glass of wine in the warmth of the July sun on the glass of his comfortable mansion. With two floors and a large propriety, he congratulated himself to have bought this former propriety of the McKinnon family. The price had been extravagant, but while it was about sixteen miles away from the centre of Oxford the calm and the beauty of the place were without equal. Muggle repulsive Charms helped though, as did Space Expansion wards.
Over his head, the sky was a perfect blue so rarely seen in England and the large park around his home was bristling with various shades of green. Really a perfect time to be outside and profit from the superb weather.
A loud 'POP!' out of the wards announced the arrival of the visitor he had waited for the better part of the morning.
"Well?" Lockhart asked.
"See by yourself." Replied his interlocutor, sending him the edition of the Daily Prophet of today. Unfolding it, Gilderoy Lockhart did not miss a flamboyant picture in front of him in the first page, along with the major headline: "Lockhart accepts DADA's post at Hogwarts!".
Gilderoy smiled. "So Dumbledore has taken the bait? Excellent."
"For all his experience and influence his politics, the great Albus Dumbledore has many weaknesses which can be exploited in certain occasions." Replied the other man in an ironic tone. "Not showing him any respect is in general a good way to rile him up."
"I'm so glad you find it amusing, Jones." Said Lockhart. "It's not you who will be next to him ten months of the year!"
Curbing his head in mockery, Hendryk Jones let a small smile come to his lips. It did not fool Gilderoy Lockhart, though. Fifth in the hierarchy of the Magical Intelligence Bureau (more commonly known as the MIB), Jones was responsible of all the official and secret operations made by the Union of the Magical American States (or UMAS) in Europe. He was Lockhart's chief... and a very dangerous man, as several dozen rogue wizards languishing in the Americans prisons could have very vigorously attested.
"In all seriousness, Gilderoy, I know this mission can be incredibly risky." Admitted Jones. "It's likely your cover identity will be one of a fraud and a liar by the end of Hogwarts school year. Our informers have already signs Dumbledore will move in this direction. Not immediately perhaps, but by February or March he will address the British Wizengamot on the issue."
"Him destroying my cover persona doesn't bother me." Admitted Lockhart. "In fact, I would be ready to thank him for this! I always disliked writing this nonsense about magical creatures, perfuming like a woman every day and spending a quarter of the book money in beauty products! I'm more worried about him deciding to resort to a direct magical offensive and finding me tied up in his office waiting for his pet Death Eater to administer Veritaserum."
Gilderoy knew his turn had been considerably bitterer towards the end, but he didn't really care. Having been sorted in 1975 in Ravenclaw as a half-blood student, he had been more often than not on the receiving end of the curses of several pure-blood Slytherins and their friends, including one Severus Snape. The fact that so many of his former tormentors had then gone growing the ranks of the Death Eaters, committing slaughters and massacres for their horrible ideology had convinced him fleeing to America was the best solution. That so many of these killers had then gone away without any trial had convinced him Magical Britain was a place which it was best to stay away.
"I understand. And yes, before you say otherwise, your American citizenship may be not enough to protect you if you're taken. "Said Jones."But there will be portkeys in several secret locations around Hogwarts and Hogsmeade if things turn badly. I know it might not be enough, but..."
"That's already a lot." Thanked him Lockhart. "Has there been any modifications in my mission orders?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." Told Jones. Noticing Gilderoy was not at ease, the MIB agent quickly added: "Not in the major points. Your goals are still to infiltrate Hogwarts and figure the real state of the school. I must insist: the real one, Gilderoy. Most of the paperwork and the academic achievements which arrive to the ICW services are so badly filled and altered it has probably no relation with reality. We need to know the real level of Hogwarts students and the atmosphere inside the school. We need a reliable person to give us knowledge of the events Albus Dumbledore passes each year under the table with his great friend the Minister Cornelius Fudge."
"Understood." Said calmly Lockhart. He had been formed to accomplish this kind of missions, after all, and he would hide in plain sight the totality of the time. "And the secondary objectives?"
"Find the ward stones and the most accurate plans of the castle you can. Observe but do not try to act against the most obvious extremists factions of the school."
"And the change in orders?"
"We would like you to take an Aura Reader with you at Hogwarts." Lockhart blinked at that. He really had not seen this one coming, not at all.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I am." Was it a tone of regret in Jones voice?
Gilderoy Lockhart paused to think about it. In itself, an Aura Reader was not a dangerous artefact or any kind of enchantment used for nefarious purpose. Conceived by the mutual efforts of French, Italian and American magical prodigies, it was a fairly recent development which allowed its owner to estimate and record the potential power of a witch, a wizard or any type of magical being able to generate a magical aura. It did not work well for the beings who had not their magic under control (like young children), but over the age of ten, the results approached a success-rate of 99% in correctly estimating the raw magical power of someone.