Chapter 322: An Unsettling Meeting

Disclaimer:

Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 322: An Unsettling Meeting

Six days later

It was thirty minutes past midnight. The halls of the castle were dimly lit with the help of a few magical torches.

Everyone was fast asleep by now, or at least almost everyone...a certain woman was in a hurry to arrive at a late meeting.

The silence was constantly being cut by the incessant noises produced by her new shoes hitting the stone floor.

Most would find the sound very irritating, but she quite liked it and so she never bothered with any sound-dampening charms.

All of a sudden, she heard a loud hiss next to her as she was about to take another turn.

"Ah!" Madame Umbridge jumped one foot in the air and almost lost her balance from the unexpected noise.

When she looked down, she found herself staring at an ugly cat with disgustingly dirty hair and a pair of piercing orange eyes.

"What is this thing doing here?..." Her high-pitched voice resounded all over the place.

She then heard hurried steps approaching while the cat stared at her with a pair of disturbingly orange eyes.

"Oh… Miss Umbridge, it's you!" The janitor appeared in a rush from around the corner. He was gasping heavily for air after finally catching up to his cat.

"Mister Filch… of course." Umbridge scowled. She should have remembered that this ugly creature belonged to this ugly man. But perhaps her mind was trying to protect her from such memories after all.

"Your pet startled me." She gave the man a look of displeasure and waited for his apology.

"I'm very sorry, Madam Umbridge!" Which he immediately offered.

"I-I thought Miss Norris had found some students sneaking around at night for…you know... they do that very often and t-."

"I dont want the details!, that is stricly forbidden!. " She screeched.

"Of course, yes!. I-I will allow such acts in my halls..." Filch said with passion.

'These are not you halls...you...dimwit.' Thats what she wanted to say.

"Well...going back to the topic. I am obviously not a student." She really disliked this man and had planned to get rid of him as soon as possible. But he just so happened to be useful… for now, at least.

"So you can go back to patrol 'your' halls, and do it properly this time."

"Yes… ehmm…" He picked up his cat from the floor.

"Still...it's a bit late to be wandering the halls though…" He glanced at her for a possible explanation.

Umbridge's frown deepened. Now she was being questioned by this lowly individual.

"A woman of my status and caliber has many obligations. Rest can be a luxury sometimes. Now, if you don't mind, I have some business to attend to."

"Ah… yes… uhm…" He fumbled with the words.

She did not even let him finish his mumbling before turning around and walking away, leaving the nervous janitor behind.

She was already anxious, and now she was also furious, thanks to that buffoon.

'I'll get him back for that. Perhaps I'll make that cat of his... disappear.'

Umbridge did her best to calm herself before reaching 'that person's' room.

Talking alone with Mister Rookwood always made her feel uneasy, to say the least.

In public, Rookwood is a quiet man with a personality as interesting as a rock.

But during the few private conversations they had, he seemed to become a completely different person.

His eyes turned more lively and his demeanor suddenly switched.

Umbridge was, of course, very curious about this but she did not dare to ask. She had been told very clearly that, at least for the duration of the mission, Mister Rookwood was going to be acting as her superior.

She would receive any new instructions directly from him, and any reports would also have to be delivered to Rookwood in person.

Tonight, she had a very important report…

'Okay… here we go.' Umbridge stood before the door until she got up the courage to knock.

"Enter."

Just by the tone alone, Umbridge could tell that Rookwood was in his alternate persona.

She opened the door and went inside. The bedroom had even less light than the corridor, with only a couple of candles doing all the heavy work to light the place.

Rookwood was sitting in front of a small circular table that had been set up at the center of the small room.

An empty chair was on the other side and Rookwood made a gesture for her to sit.

"Well?... How did it go?" He asked with a tone that gave her goosebumps.

Her intuition told her that if she were to give this man some bad news… something terrible would happen to her.

Luckily, that was not the case. Umbridge tried her best to form a smile and pretend to be calm while she sat down.

"It was a complete success, Mister Rookwood. I followed all your instructions to the letter."

"Give me the details." He demanded.

"Yes… ehm… I took a piece of parchment with Longbottom's name on it. One that had been written by him, as you instructed."

He nodded. "Continue."

"I used the Confundus Charm on the Goblet to make it believe there was a fourth school after bypassing the protections set by the Headmaster."

"Did you encounter any problems?" He asked.

"Not at all!" She lied. Umbridge had never been skilled in practical magic and it took her many tries to get the spell right.

"You will definitely see the boy's name coming out of the Goblet of Fire tomorrow night."

Rookwood's eyes seemed to shine with a red light for a moment.

"Excellent…. If it all goes according to plan, you will be generously rewarded… by our Lord. But do not forget that failure… will not be tolerated." His gaze pierced her.

Umbridge's face went a shade paler.

"Y-Yes! Of course!"

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