Cloak and Dagger

Fact One: My parents were obsessed with figuring out the Statute of Secrecy and what it meant for them.

Fact Two: They suddenly stopped caring at the end of last year.

Fact Three: They kept stealing glances at you at the train station.

Conclusion: You know more than you let on.

Here's a little more to know that might help: real Death Eaters wouldn't call themselves "New" Death Eaters, because they're a cult, and everyone else is too afraid of them to try copying them. That means someone who knows for a fact that Voldemort is dead is behind this. He came back to life before, but there's something in Hogwarts that knows how. It calls itself Slytherin, and it knows for a fact that Voldemort is really dead this time. It can't leave, so it needs someone in the outside world to manage things on its behalf.

It wants me dead.

I'm a fugitive, which only helps it get to me faster. Who said I had something to do with the "New Death Eaters"?

Keep this in mind, and never ever go inside Hogwarts again.

Oh, and the Centaurs think a war is coming.

Good luck.

From the time Sarah had received Hermione's letter, it'd been shaping up to be a good day. She'd gone into work reinvigorated, with new information at her fingertips. In a few paragraphs, Hermione had connected Slytherin, Umbridge, and the "New Death Eaters". Among other things, Sarah was already figuring out what position in ESIS she could offer Hermione. Her parents wouldn't approve, but they'd have the world's problems sorted in a week with Hermione on their staff.

When she arrived at work, Eric gave her another piece of good news.

"We've got word that there was another attack, but this time, there's a survivor," Eric said. "She's a Muggle, which means—"

"If the Ministry gets to her first, we're in trouble," Sarah said. "I'll find her immediately. Have our friend in the Ministry—"

"He's already running interference," Eric said.

Sarah handed him the letter as they walked to her office at a quick pace. There was no time to lose.

"Anything else?" she asked.

Eric nodded. In lieu of a folder, he simply told her.

"Word from the Ministry is that they've just received word that Aurora Lux tried to access a vault in Gringotts."

Sarah stopped walking and stared at him.

"Aurora Lux?"

Eric nodded.

"That's all we've got, probably because that's all the Ministry's got. Goblins aren't exactly friendly, unless there's something in it for them. In this case, they're expecting a reward for apprehending her."

Sarah gathered what she needed to return to the field. If "Aurora Lux" had been captured, that meant Hermione was back in London (which also explained from where she'd sent the letter). Unfortunately, there was little Sarah could do for her, but knowing Hermione, it wasn't going to be a problem.

"She'll have to fend for herself. We've got to get to the survivor soon. What's her name?"

��Cassandra Smith."

Sarah slung a pack over her shoulder.

"Right. I'll talk to this Ms. Smith. You get on the radio and send me any information you get when you get it."

Eric faked shock.

"I'm hurt that you think you need to tell me that, Boss."

At Hogwarts, Ginny, Ron, Sally-Anne, and Harry had all received summons to Professor McGonagall's office. When they arrived, they found Professor McGonagall herself waiting for them outside.

"One at a time," she said. "Ms. Perks, you're first. Do not talk to one another through any means."

Ginny looked to the others for some explanation. What was that supposed to mean? Did that mean they couldn't talk through the network?

They weren't supervised while waiting, but both boys kept shushing her whenever she tried asking a question. After a few minutes, Harry caught her attention and mouthed "Ministry".

Ginny caught his meaning without him explaining. The Ministry was finally questioning them about Hermione and Luna. She fidgeted in her seat. The Ministry didn't know about her and Macnair, did they?

Panic set inside her. What if they did? What if they arrested her? No, they couldn't know. Only her family and friends knew about it. No one blamed her for it. She had killed him, which was wrong, but there hadn't been a choice.

Sally-Anne came down with Professor McGonagall, who sent Sally-Anne away. After watching her leave, she turned to Ron and brought him up.

Ginny started shaking in her seat. No matter how hard she tried to calm herself down, nothing she did stopped her heart from pounding. Nothing stopped her from trembling. This was it; she was going to Azkaban.

A warm hand wrapped itself around hers. She gasped, and looked up at Harry. He smiled at her so warmly she nearly started crying. He believed in her; so long as he was around, nothing would happen to her.

Professor McGonagall and Ron returned. Once again, she waited for him to leave, then brought Harry up. He released her hand and smiled at her one more time before disappearing up the spiral staircase. That left her all alone, in complete silence. Alone to contemplate what would happen to her.

She struggled to keep herself composed, to not be afraid. Harry believed in her; she couldn't let him down.

A few minutes later, Harry and Professor McGonagall returned. Harry smiled at her one more time before leaving. Once he'd gone, McGonagall brought her up the staircase.

As Ginny walked around the staircase, the other two occupants of the room came into view. The first person she saw was a woman she didn't recognize, scribbling down notes on a piece of parchment. Sitting at McGonagall's desk was none other than Rufus Scrimgeour.

Ginny kept her face neutral. She made herself be brave, like Harry and Sally-Anne were before her.

"Ms. Weasley, we'd like to talk to you about your friends Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood," Scrimgeour said. "Take a seat, please."

Ginny sat down in the chair provided to her. She looked up at him. It took every ounce of focus she had to keep from breaking.

"I don't know anything," she said. "They won't talk to us."

"So your friends said," Scrimgeour said. "I find it hard to believe that they'd leave you four completely in the dark."

It stung a little to be reminded of that. She'd been friends with Hermione and Luna since she'd started at Hogwarts. She'd idolized Hermione for the longest time. Luna had been her only friend in her year until she'd left. Now they were off in the world, doing something without her. They'd left her behind.

"I really don't know anything."

Scrimgeour glared at her, giving her the same look of disdain Malfoy had given her for years.

"That's not what your friends told me."

Ginny frowned and stole a glance at Professor McGonagall. She'd built herself up to her full height, and was glaring menacingly at Scrimgeour. Given another minute, Ginny was sure McGonagall was going to turn the Minister of Magic into a newt.

"We know a lot about you kids," Scrimgeour continued. "The previous administration had its eye on all of you for years. Then of course, Madame Umbridge took over Hogwarts and you all fought her at every turn. Your authority issues are quite obvious."

"Umbridge tortured Hermione right in front of us!" Ginny said. "She's had it in for Hermione ever since then! Maybe you should be looking into her!"

Ginny didn't know where she'd found the courage to say that, but she was sure her brother at least would've been proud of her.

Scrimgeour didn't appear phased by her comment.

"As I said, authority issues. But none of that compares to what we know about you, Ms. Weasley. You tried to kill your own brother."

Ginny shifted in her seat. She could still see it in her mind. The light of the explosion, threatening to kill Harry and Ron. Sally-Anne running in, nearly getting herself killed in the process. The smoke clearing and a red bolt lancing towards her. What if McGonagall hadn't stopped her? Would she have killed them? Would she have stopped?

"Attempted murder is quite a big deal, Ms. Weasley, especially for someone of your age. As far as the Ministry is concerned, you've never been held accountable for your actions."

McGonagall looked like she was about to strangle him. She held her place, not saying a word. Why wasn't she sticking up for Ginny?

Maybe I'm not worth defending.

"I'm sure we can come to an understanding," Scrimgeour said. "You won't be punished for your crimes, but you can tell us everything you know about Granger and Lovegood."

Ginny looked up at him.

"I don't know anything."

His expression hardly changed.

"Such a waste. If you change your mind, you know how to find us."

With that, McGonagall escorted Ginny out of the office. She didn't say a word, even then.

Ginny walked down the corridor, heading back towards Gryffindor Tower. She had tried to kill Ron and Harry. Her last three friends, and she would've killed them all.

A hand grabbed her and hauled her down a corridor. She froze, but relaxed when the arm pulled her into a hug.

"Skyeyes," she whispered, putting her arms around him. "I'm sorry."

"We don't know anything," he said. "The Ministry can't make us talk, because we don't know anything."

She nodded, her face buried in his chest.

"Ron and Sally-Anne are outside," he said. "Come on."

He took her hand and led her outside to where the others were waiting. When Sally-Anne saw her, she ran over and threw her arms around Ginny.

"It's alright," Sally-Anne whispered. "Whatever they told you, it's alright."

How did they all know what the Ministry had said?

"What'd you tell them?" Ron asked.

"Nothing. I… I don't know anything."

"They tried turning everything that happened last year against me," Harry said. "Blamed me for Pettigrew. Said it'd be easier if I told them before they found out more."

"They…" Sally-Anne said, but her voice trailed off. Ron put his arms around her, and she held him tightly without saying another word.

"They tried to strike deals with all of us," Ron said. "Same tactic over and over. Blame us for something that wasn't our fault, then told us to give up Hermione and Luna in exchange for dropping any charges."

Harry put an arm around Ginny.

"Whatever they blamed you for," he said, "whatever the case, the woman you are now wouldn't have done those things."

With that, Ginny broke down and started sobbing. Harry held her close again, keeping her safe from anyone that would hurt her.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Is this about last year?" Harry asked. "You weren't in a good place."

"It was only a scratch anyway," Ron said. "Rose has probably done worse. Besides, you're my sister. It's not like I haven't tried to kill you before. You're just better at it than I am."

Sally-Anne stifled a laugh, and Ginny herself smiled a little.

"But… they were our friends," Ginny said. "Hermione and Luna. Now… what's going on? Why did they abandon us like that?"

Ron nodded towards the castle.

"Ever notice how every professor asks about them, but none of them seem to care that they're fugitives? Or how whenever you think about Rose or Neville inside the castle, the thought disappears?"

Ginny, who refused to let go of Harry, took her mind off trying to kill her friends and thought about the people that had killed her friend. For the first time in a while, she could see it clearly, but she still couldn't remember how she felt.

"I… I didn't feel anything!" she cried. "I'm—"

"Exactly like the rest of us," Harry said. "None of us felt anything. None of us can remember how we felt when we saw Voldemort or Neville die."

"I… I can't remember how I felt when Draco died. When… when Rose stabbed him, I felt nothing. Before she did, I was so proud of him, and after… I've never felt worse in my life. But it's like there's this gap in feeling things."

"Like the memories are only images," Ron said. "I… I think Hermione might be right. There's more to what happened than what we remember. I… It sounds mad, but…"

"I don't think Rose killed Neville," Harry said. "I think we've all been tricked into thinking she did."

Ginny kept one arm around Harry and turned her gaze to Sally-Anne and Ron. Sally-Anne looked upset still, but Ron was focused, serious, more so than she could remember seeing him be.

"Of course, Hermione will just say 'I told you so'."

"But…" Ginny tried to focus on seeing Neville die, but she could only remember the same thing over and over again. "Who could've done that?"

"I don't know," Ron said. "Once we go inside the castle, we might forget this conversation ever happened."

"Hold on," Sally-Anne said, "didn't Hermione refuse to go back inside after last year? When we were helping people get their things, she insisted on staying outside, but wouldn't say why."

Ginny thought back to it, and she remembered the same thing. She also remembered someone else not wanting to be inside the castle.

"Moon ran away," she said. "Remember, she just left. What if… what if her memories were being changed too?"

She looked around, thinking she must've been mad, but her friends were all nodding their heads.

"They always knew the most about Rose," Harry said. "I'm willing to bet she knew about it too. Maybe Neville did too."

"'It'?" Sally-Anne asked.

"It's something to do with the castle," Ron said. "The Basilisk lived there for centuries and no one knew about it. What if it's not the only thing living in the castle?"

Ginny looked back and forth between her friends. This all sounded so mad, but the pieces were falling into place. It made a frightening amount of sense.

"Winter Holiday starts next week," Sally-Anne said, "if… if being in the castle is messing with our heads, maybe we can figure out what to do then."

Ron shook his head.

"The moment we go back inside, I'm willing to bet we'll forget all of this. Or…"

"Or what?" Ginny asked.

"Well… Luna was afraid of something, right?"

That thought sent shivers down Ginny's spine. She'd started the day like any other. Now, there was possibly something living in the castle that could mess with their heads, and might have even scared Luna so much that she'd ran away. What if…

"What if it killed Neville?" Ginny asked.

She thought back to her fight with Rose in the Shrieking Shack. She hadn't drawn Crimson Thorn once, yet she kept using it that night when so many people had died. What if she hadn't used it at all?

"I think it's doing all this to keep itself a secret," Harry said. "That makes the most sense."

"Agreed," Ron said. "That's probably why it's got the staff looking for Hermione."

"What about Umbridge?" Sally-Anne asked. "She's trying to find Hermione too."

"We don't know much about this thing. It could be working with Umbridge."

"What about the rest of the Ministry?" Harry asked, looking back at the castle. "What if it can do more than just change your memories?"

"We've got to work on Occlumency before we go back inside," Ron said. "This thing could—"

"Let's stop for a moment," Sally-Anne said. "This all sounds completely mad. I agree that something's wrong about last year, and when this is all added up, it fills in a lot of gaps, but we're talking about a giant conspiracy fueled by something that lives in Hogwarts that can affect peoples' thoughts."

"We can agree that there are memories we have that feel fake, right?" Ron asked.

"Sure."

"So what about Rose and Voldemort dying? Why do those feel fake?"

Ron paused, then asked the question that Ginny didn't even want to consider.

"Are they really dead?"

They all stood in silence and chewed on that. If the memories of Rose killing Neville were fake, then who killed Neville? Who killed Rose? Who killed Voldemort? And Malfoy? How many of them were really dead?

"We need to talk to Hermione," Ron said. "I know we don't all trust her, but something's going on, and she knows about it. I reckon that's why she hasn't said anything to us. That thing has been rooting through our memories looking for her. The staff keep asking us about them because it wants us to talk about them. It wants us to find them for it."

Ginny struggled to remember anything differently about last year, but she kept coming up with the same memories, the ones she now knew to be fake. What had happened to Neville? What about Hermione? She'd tried fighting Rose, but…

"What about Brain and Rose?" Ginny asked. "I… I always thought the world of Brain, but when she fought Rose, I… there was nothing."

Harry tightened his grip on her for a moment.

"Let's slow down," Sally-Anne said. "Is it possible that what we saw last year was so traumatic that it affected our heads? That our minds are trying to stop us from thinking about it?"

"Then why not when we're near the forest?" Ron asked.

"Because we're not immersed in it," Sally-Anne replied. "Everything that happened last year was in the castle, so inside we're right in the middle of it. If we try thinking about it, we're too close, and our minds try to protect us. I don't doubt that what's happening is possible, but we've got to consider the fact that none of us has gone through this before. Let's take a break for a moment before we all lose our minds over this."

Ginny looked to each of her friends, hoping Sally-Anne was right. She never wanted to think about what had happened to her in the Shrieking Shack. She couldn't stand to be near it anymore. They didn't have that option with the attack on Hogwarts. Everyone kept asking them about it, so they all had to keep remembering it. What if it all had been their minds trying to protect them? What if watching their friends die had been too traumatic for them?

"Maybe this is all mad," Ron said, taking out a piece of parchment. "But if it's not, I want to make sure we can still remember this. We'll never make it to the Owlery to send a letter, so I'm going to hide this in the forest. We'll all sign it so we all know the others agreed that something's wrong."

They all nodded in agreement. Ron passed the parchment around after he'd finished, and each of them signed it. Ginny was a little upset when Harry had to take his arm away to sign it.

Ron sealed the letter and hid it under a tree.

"Let's go to Hogsmeade today and shake this off," Harry said. "It's the last trip before the holiday, so it'll be fun."

They all agreed and started off towards Hogsmeade.

As they walked, Harry stayed by Ginny's side.

"Another thing," he whispered when they were behind Sally-Anne and Ron.

He brushed her hair back out of her face.

"You look prettier with your hair back."

She blushed and looked down, feeling like she was eleven years old again. Maybe something was happening, but when Harry smiled at her like that, it didn't matter.

"I don't. I'm—"

"You're you." He lifted his bangs and showed his scar. "I know a thing or two about being judged for a scar. There's more to you than just scars on your face."

With tears in her eyes, Ginny threw her arms around Harry again. For a moment, it was just the two of them. No matter what the Ministry did, he'd have her back. She promised herself then that she'd have his.

Sarah arrived at Cassandra Smith's house posing as a reporter. Without any questions, the woman let her into the small house. It was still a mess, with chairs overturned and pots smashed. A radio played somewhere, with a familiar voice speaking between the songs.

"Once again, I'm Ralph O'Shale," Eric said in an Irish accent, "filling in for your regular host. Up next, we've got the great Mozart, so don't go anywhere."

"I'm sorry it's still such a mess," she said, fixing some of the chairs. "Those men came in, shouting something about 'He will rise again', and attacked me. I'm sorry to say I don't know much. I blacked out, I'm afraid."

Sarah nodded and wrote that down on her notepad. Pretending to be a reporter was always convenient; it gave a great excuse to take notes.

"Can I get you some tea?"

Sarah shook her head.

"No, but thank you for offering. Do the men say anything else? Do you know why they attacked you?"

"I'm afraid I don't."

Sarah smiled kindly. This woman seemed to be nothing more of a victim of unfortunate circumstances, but her instincts said there was something else going on. Something about this wasn't adding up. Why had they left her alive?

Worst of all was the information she'd received on her way to Smith's house, information that Rufus Scrimgeour had gone to Hogwarts earlier that morning. Not only did Sarah know it was a bad idea for the Minister of Magic to go inside Hogwarts, but she worried about what his business there was.

"How did they get in?" Sarah asked.

Smith frowned.

"I… I can't remember. I was making breakfast — I'm an early riser, always have been since I was a little girl — then they showed up. I didn't hear the door open or anything. They shouted at me, then… I can't remember anything else."

While Sarah met with Smith, Eric continued research of his own. He picked through the information they had on her, starting with the word of the attack.

While he did so, he was going over his set of CCTV footage tapes. He and a small team had broken them up among themselves, looking for anything that could help them.

Finally, in a video with a view of an alleyway, he found it.

As they'd learned, Magicals didn't understand how most technology worked. They were also arrogant enough that they didn't think it important, but Eric was looking at evidence to the contrary.

He ordered his team to investigate the alleyway, hoping he was wrong. After a minute, he got word that they'd found a body dumped in the alleyway.

Not just anyone's body.

Panic set in as he mobilized his team to descend on Smith's house. They were still in broad daylight, but there was a sense of urgency in his voice when he gave the command. They all knew to stay hidden, but move quickly.

Eric himself got on the radio.

"And now, we're going to take a break from music to listen to a classic."

Keeping her physical focus on Smith, Sarah listened to the radio. Switching to a classic meant a fairy tale, and it meant Eric had something for her.

"Our story this afternoon is Little Red Riding Hood."

Years of field work had trained Sarah never to reveal what she was thinking, either on her face or to anyone trying to get into her head. Wilfred and Eric were the only two people who could read her at all. When Eric announced Little Red Riding Hood — their code for an impostor — she was confident Smith didn't know she knew.

What happened next depended on Eric. He would've already informed their backup to move in, but she didn't know who this person sitting in front of her was. The Death Eaters were gone, so this was someone new. Although, she had her suspicions.

Sarah glanced at her watch.

"I must be going, Ms. Smith. Thank you for your hospitality."

She stood up from the table. Smith's eyes stayed on her.

"Leaving so soon, Mrs. Perks?"

One of the first rules Sarah had learned at ESIS was to never give her real name. Rule Two: Never trust anyone who knew more than you'd told them.

"I seem to be at a disadvantage," Sarah said, taking stock of her surroundings without moving her head. "You know my name, but I don't know yours."

When Smith smiled, Sarah knew exactly with whom she'd been speaking. She'd come to despise that smile, along with the obnoxious cough that always accompanied it.

"I think you know who I am, Mrs. Perks. I think you know far more than you let on. That's why I'm afraid you can't be allowed to leave."

Sarah heard the distinct pop of people apparating and knew she wasn't leaving. Her reinforcements wouldn't be close enough to stop them from taking her.

She raised her hands in surrender.

"Alright, Dolores," she said. "I suppose you win this round, but you should be careful. You're playing with forces you don't understand."

"I understand far more than a Muggle ever could."

The centaurs think a war is coming.

More pieces fell into place, and Sarah began to understand the rest of the plan.

"If you take me hostage, you're going to start a war."

Umbridge smiled.

"I know. And from the ashes of this ruined world, a better one will take its place."

Sarah knew she'd been beaten. As much as she hated it to be at Umbridge's hands, she wasn't entirely upset.

After all, there were contingencies in place for such eventualities.