Traitor

"Now that that is out of the way," Harry said in a serious tone. "Why don't we have a little chat about what really happened here today."

Albus nodded. He looked worried as well. 

"First off, I am a little insulted that you actually thought I was a traitor," Dawson said. "Why on earth would I do something like this?"

"I'm sorry," Rose said quickly.

"We didn't know what your motive was," Albus added. "We were baffled when you refused to take our concerns about Sam and Tom seriously, and we were determined to keep investigating that anyway, no matter what you said."

"Yes, that was the point. But why make the leap from "Dawson doesn't believe us" to "Dawson is a traitor?"" Harry asked. 

"Well, we saw him leaving the Ministry via the Floo network. That in itself was unusual, since you normally stay in the Ministry unless there was another operation going on, and we knew that you had no missions at this time. And the fact that you used the Floo network and not just Apparated made us wonder where you were going."

Dawson laughed. "Ah, you discovered that you could use the same fireplace to follow me? Very few people actually know that is possible."

If Rose and Albus had had better poker faces, they could perhaps have pretended that that was what they had done. Unfortunately, Harry saw their surprised looks. 

"So, that is not what you did. How did you find him then? Or was it Sam you followed? You clearly never went to the shop, like you said you were going to do."

"The Trackers," Albus said reluctantly. "We checked the Tracker to see where he was and decided that it wouldn't take us a lot of time to just go and see what he was doing. It was only when Rose then realised where we were that the suspicion really started to rise."

"I think the reason we were so good at sneaking here, and following you, was that I have been here before. I visited Sam here a few days ago, and I suspected that Sam hid something in this house, since he was reluctant to let me in."

"Yeah, there were several Aurors in here preparing the house when you suddenly came knocking," Sam added from the corner. "I panicked, though I didn't know that you were the same person who would later have to sneak in here."

"Trackers? Ingenious. I still haven't gotten used to the fact that we have those, but I suppose you two, more than most, would consider that as an option. So, I must have really shocked you with my little spiel in that café then." Dawson looked much happier now. It seemed he had accepted their story.

"None of us really took the time to stop and ask why. Especially not after we saw Scorpius' note saying he would go here and meet you. Maybe we should have tried to tell someone, but our main thought was to find Scorpius and warn him before he went to meet with Tom again."

"That is understandable. I must say, that was an added twist I had not imagined, but it makes this whole thing a much larger test."

"To me," Harry said, "It showed that you are able to keep your head calm even when faced with traumatic events. You didn't freeze at the sight of Scorpius in chains or hesitate to break in because he was in danger. And as the committee said, you also didn't run in headfirst, as some would have done."

"I seem to recall a young "someone" doing that some twenty-ish years ago," Dawson said with a grin. Harry's grimace made it clear that it was meant as a poke at him. Albus barely held back a smile. 

"Anyway, let us not dwell on the past anymore. Let's get home. I think there are a few people there that are very anxious to hear how it all went." Harry said with a smile. 

"Just one question," Albus said. "How was this supposed to work? We would go to the shop, and somehow learn that this was just a test? What then would be the point of your little display in the café?"

"No, in the shop you would have found a clue that would make you search the booth Dawson was sitting in. That would have told you it was just a test. Scorpius sent a message home in case you didn't catch the hint in the shop. If any of us had seen you out here, Dawson would hurry to the café. You caught him as he was setting things up, so we had to send Sam there in a hurry instead."

"Though, you have a point, finding the clue that this was just a test would sort of negate the point of having Malfoy in chains, but I thought the visual still wouldn't hurt." Dawson added. "As Potter rightly said, it showed that you were able to work past that sight, which could be traumatic for you." 

"I honestly didn't even stop to think about it," Rose said. "I was just so focused on the danger; I blocked out everything else."

"And that alone shows how much you've grown. The ability to keep calm no matter the circumstances is one of the most important qualities of an Auror." 

Albus smiled. He had also worried slightly that Rose would crumble if confronted by chains or similar things again, but she had worked hard to overcome it. She had even managed to spend a night in chains at the Ministry, as part of her training, to prove that she could still fight after an uncomfortable night. After that night, Albus had been sure that Rose would pass her test. That was also the day she beat Dawson in a duel. She used her pain and bad experiences and fuelled it into efficiency. He suspected she had that from her mother. 

"Anyway, I won't keep you any longer," Dawson said. "I am sure the Minister especially is waiting eagerly to hear the results of tonight's events."

"My mother knows it is today as well?" Rose asked. "I thought it wasn't until Monday." 

"Of course, she knows. Your mother knows practically everything, haven't you noticed?" Dawson replied with a glint in his eyes. Rose gave a weak smile in return. Albus just laughed. 

"It wasn't supposed to be until Monday, but the way things worked, with Tom being arrested by mistake much earlier than planned, we decided to let things flow naturally. One more week wouldn't have changed the result much I think." Harry said. 

As the group moved up the stairs, Sam and Rose made up the rear. 

"Is this something you do often, Sam?"

"You could say that. We apparently fit a type. This is among the more serious scenarios I've made though, mostly it is training regular personnel, or prison guards."

"You can tell me all about it on Saturday, if you are still up for that." Rose said. 

"Absolutely!" Sam said with a smile. "I want to hear what you have been up to as well. What you can say, anyway."

They said goodbye to Sam, Tom, and Dawson outside and headed towards the woods. 

"I suspect everyone is at home eagerly waiting to hear how you've done," Harry said. "Let's not keep them waiting any longer than necessary."

"Give me 5 minutes, I'll see if James is able to join us," Scorpius said.