Year Six - Chapter Fifteen

The pens scribbled on the homework. I quietly gave my best, but my mind was elsewhere. I was starting to wonder what was the point of it all. What was the point of exams, when the Dark Lord was behind the corner? What was the point of an Outstanding, when Death Eaters would soon pop up and overrun the Ministry? And if this didn't happen, then what was the point of it all, when there was a literal Narcissa-Voldemort just biding her time, and I knew not what the others had planned to counter her?

What did Dumbledore expect me to do, join the Quidditch team?

"It sucks not knowing what others are doing, uh? Being kept in the dark from potentially dangerous situations is really a horrible thing, isn't it?" Amanda drawled with an extremely amused expression, while I simply huffed and shook my head ever so slightly.

"Yeah, and then you get to hear everything after the deed is done, and you can't help but wonder if he's pulling your leg or not, and if he isn't just what kind of madness has taken over him to do something so stupidly senseless alone," Wayne quipped, adding some more coal to the fire.

"Let's not forget that in his preaching for the safety of others, he is never contemplated, so for once when the tables are turned, he's angry someone stole his foolishness and die-hard ideas," Megan finished with a wise nod.

"You should all put up a comedic skit," I grumbled under my breath. "You're so funny I can hardly breathe."

There was a chorus of giggles.

My eyes furrowed as a thought reached my mind. "Christmas is coming."

The trio that had the misfortune of trying to make a living out of poorly thought out comedic skits didn't speak at first, and thus allowed me to finish my thoughts. "Since it would be preposterous otherwise, and extremely dangerous if nothing was done," I kept muttering, "Then...it will happen at the start of the Christmas vacation. The twenty-three is when the students are allowed to leave on the Hogwarts' train. If something needs to happen, it will happen on that day."

"What happens? You charge straight ahead against a horde of dragons?" Amanda asked.

"If only they did Apparition lessons earlier," I grumbled. I bit down on my knuckles lightly, mulling over a few solutions. "Though I could take a Thestral, those are quite fast," and kind of similar to horses, all things considered. Perhaps there was a way to reach wherever Malfoy Manor was on that day, and-

"What happens on the twenty-third of December, Shade?" Wayne asked.

"There might be protective wards. I've got little more than a month to study how to pass through those," I continued, quietly standing up while rubbing my chin, glancing at the rows upon rows of library books, "Yoh, fluttering darling books, anything to break into highly protected manors?"

As I asked that, a few books furiously fluttered down from the top shelves, a couple more shrieked from the Restricted Section, announcing that there were quite the ways. "I see," I said as I pried open one of the books at random. "How to guard one's house and the charms to avoid being locked out, by Oopsie Forgottiekey," I snickered at the name. "That would-"

Something sharply poked my buttocks, and made me wince and jump, turning abruptly to stare at the origin of the stinging hex. Megan had her wand out, and pointed at me. She smiled, "Hogwarts to Shade, please explain."

"Oh, it's nothing-"

"Nothing we should concern ourselves about because it's extremely dangerous, spoken in a certain hypocrite way by someone who's attempting to pry what others are keeping a secret from him since it's extremely dangerous in turn," Amanda said, chirping it out. She had her wand out too. "Stinging hexes will be forthcoming until an answer is given, Shade."

I turned towards Wayne, who had his own wand out to complete the trio of dunderheads. "Madame Pince might have our hides, but she will never keep us from protecting our friend from himself," he spoke, valorously holding his chin up.

I sighed, and sat back down, book still in hand. "I need to infiltrate a highly protected manor, which I believe is where a great evil lurks."

"Why do you need to do that?" Amanda asked.

"Because otherwise other, inexperienced people will attempt that and they might fail," I answered.

"So, it's Shade's inane arrogance at thinking he must save everyone at his own expense going to the front once more," Megan acquiesced, nodding all the while. "Not surprising, I think."

"What I find interesting is that he still hasn't said which manor he needs to infiltrate, or whom he's supposed to save by doing so," Wayne quipped. "Meaning he isn't going to change his mind, though he's willing to parlay."

"Since when are you three doctors in Shadeology?" I muttered, huffing as I flipped a page of the book in my hands.

"Since we unfortunately decided as a group to befriend you with the power of chocolate, Beater bats and bubbling personality," Megan said. "Aren't you one lucky boy?"

I exhaled, slowly but for a long time, and my eyes rolled upwards as my neck bent to stare at the ceiling of the library. "Yes," I muttered in the end. "Quite the lucky boy indeed, but you will pry the truth out of my cold, dead hands."

"Let's see," Wayne hummed, "Now, since we're speaking of your friends, I guess it's got to be Harry Potter and his gang that's involved in something troublesome, since you protected him from ex-Death Eaters, and I guess it's an Ex-Death Eater's manor you need to infiltrate?"

"Oh, does this mean you want to infiltrate the other Death Eater's manor? It was that Macnair, right? He was ousted and is still on the run-" Amanda continued, adding the two plus two and reaching a round ten for an answer.

"He didn't strike me as the type to have a manor," Megan said, "He was the Ministry's executioner, no, if Shade says manor, it's got to be someone rich, someone with Death Eaters tendency, and thus a Pureblood with a seat in the Wizengamot."

"I see," Wayne said. "Well, I suppose it would be one of the usual suspects in Slytherin then, unless we need to consider other, unlikely suspects? There's a reason he's saying infiltration and not outright assault."

"Maybe he doesn't have proof and needs to find it? Oh! Something like a secret Agent Bond spy-thing," Amanda quipped, quite cheerfully.

Both of my eyebrows were at the top of my forehead by then. "You three," I said in a mutter, "I-I don't know what to say."

"And here Shade goes again, with his incredibly arrogant belief that only he has a brain and everyone around him has a rock, and some sawdust, to fill the space in their skulls," Megan giggled as she whispered that. "Really, Shade," she shook her head gently, "Being a Puff doesn't mean being dumb."

"Yeah," Amanda rolled her eyes. "I keep on telling him that but does he listen? No, he doesn't listen. Why doesn't he listen? 'Cause he's got his grandstanding white knight tendencies to uphold."

I spluttered. I grumbled. My arms crossed in front of my chest as I huffed and then muttered under my breath a set of very poignant disbelieving sentences and words. Then, I relented.

"I can't go into the details because it's a serious issue, one which concerns someone else very deeply," I said in the end. "But if you have suggestions on how I could possibly infiltrate a manor, I'd welcome them."

"Get invited in," Megan said, quite simply. "Just take an aging potion and show up like a Ministry Official checking on some rumors about misuse of magic on muggles. They're bound to let you in whether or not that's true, and you can just knock them unconscious once you're past their outer wards."

"Or make a ruckus somewhere in the manor and then tiptoe in from the other side," Amanda suggested. "Use a broomstick and fly down from the sky."

"Bring them a gift and mention you want to join in their evil, secret plans," Wayne said in the end. "Because you seek power and purity of blood and whatever else rocks their boat. Then you feign agreement and leave afterwards with the information needed to defeat them later."

I sighed.

I pulled out a blank parchment, and a quill. "Keep the suggestions coming," I said. "Let's see what else we can find out."

By the time we finished our brainstorming session, I had a new perspective on my friends.

It was the wary kind of perspective, admittedly...

...but I was glad they were on my side, and not the enemy's.