𝐃𝐑𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐔𝐒 2008

Snakes and Ladders (2/3)

Snakes and Ladders Part 2 of 3

Harry was wrapped securely around Draco’s arm, all his senses alert. Their perseverance, and Draco’s talent for persuasion, had finally paid off. Draco had proven his sincerity and devotion to the cause satisfactorily, and had been invited to a meeting of the “inner circle” of the Sons of Merlin. Robards had been particularly satisfied with their progress when they informed him, and was expecting a detailed report of the meeting.

Harry looked around, curious. They were in a dark overgrown garden belonging to a typical large overbearing country house. An emissary had been sent to Side-Along Apparate Draco to the secret location of tonight’s high-profile meeting. Harry flicked out his tongue, tasting the chilly night air and analysing their location. He tried to guess where they were, but to no avail. All he could tell was that they were now further north and there was a distant smell of the sea.

“This way, Mr Malfoy,” the bearded wizard informed Draco before starting down the garden path.

He led them all the way to the large square country house. It was built in roughly hewn country stone and had wide rectangular windows, which were all dark except for the western corner of the ground floor where they were headed. The wizard let them up a stone staircase to a large terrace. The soft murmur of voices could be heard from the interior, echoing out into the night through the open glass doors that lead onto the terrace. They followed the sound of the voices into a spacious and comfortable room containing a number of people seated around an ostentatious roaring fire on an assortment of sofas and armchairs.

The squat bearded wizard cleared his throat to gain the attention of the seated group. “Mr Malfoy,” he informed them, introducing Draco.

Harry studied the assembled wizards and lone witch. The witch was a regal looking middle-aged woman, perfectly coiffed and beautifully dressed with a string of pearls round her neck. She looked like someone’s elegant wife, but Harry was not fooled, he could see the spark of sharp intelligence glinting in her eyes and the shrewdness hidden in the twist of her mouth. He hoped Draco didn’t make the mistake of underestimating her, like too many men no doubt did.

Two of the seated wizards Harry recognised from the meetings at the manor. One was a young wizard barely in his twenties, a naïve young man blindly devoted to the cause, whose main virtue was the fact his father was a senior member of the Wizengamot. The other was an unremarkable wizard with a round face and a shiny bald patch who held a middle level position in the department of International Magical Co-operation.

Draco smiled pleasantly at all those assembled and performed a gallant bow in the direction of the sole lady. One of the unknown wizards stood up to greet him. The man was handsome but unassuming and shook Draco’s hand vigorously. “Welcome, Mr Malfoy.” His voice was pleasant and smooth. He introduced himself as Plato Beaufort before introducing the others.

None of the names were in the slightest familiar to Harry. He did note, however, that the serious looking gentleman with the moustache and the military bearing was a foreigner. From the slight shifts in Draco’s posture and heart rate, he could tell that most of the names meant something to his partner. That was just one of the many reasons why Draco was better equipped for this task than any of the Aurors they could have tried sending undercover in his place.

Draco took a seat on one of the sofas and a house-elf immediately brought him a brandy. Beaufort offered him a cigar and expressed his admiration of the blond’s familiar. Draco politely declined the cigar but couldn’t help preening in satisfaction as he showed off his brightly patterned – and highly poisonous – snake to the others. Harry tried, and failed, to roll his eyes in exasperation and flicked out his tongue in a hiss. He noticed that the foreigner remained as unmoving as a statue, whereas the other new faces were relatively successful in suppressing their instinctive flinches.