EXIT

7. ONXY BLACK

7. ONXY BLACK

At the weekends there are only voluntary training sessions at Camp Black, which means I have a little more leisure time. However, I spend most of it on drafting blueprints of some Death Eater hideouts and recalling the security measures in place.

That's exactly why I stop by the command centre (as I've come to secretly call Potter's personal briefing room in the atrium) on my way to breakfast on Sunday. His "In!" comes shortly after my knock and I open the door.

The countless flip charts, mug shots and handwritten notes on the walls distract me, so I'm already halfway across the room before I even realize Potter isn't alone.

She is here, too.

Granger sits in one of the chairs, her combat boots resting on the parchment-cluttered surface of the large, circular conference table, her fingers thrumming on her thigh to a beat only she knows. I stop dead in my tracks and quickly glance from her to Potter and back again.

She turns her head (presumably to see who dared to disturb her private audience) and when she spots me, she swings her legs off the table and jumps lithely to her feet. As she marches past me, I deliberately fix my gaze on a random spot just above Potter's left shoulder. After she talked so much shit during the last combat training session, I'm far less inclined to heed Blaise's warnings and act subservient towards her, but there are more important things than revenge right now.

The door slams shut behind her and I let out the breath I was unconsciously holding.

Potter cups his chin in one hand and thoughtfully taps his lower lip with the appendant index finger.

"Didn't mean to disturb," I apologize half-heartedly, dropping the blueprints onto the table unbidden. When it comes to Potter, that's the maximum civility I can bring myself to. "These are the layouts of Malfoy Manor, a Death Eater safe house near Sheffield and a smaller hideout near Bristol. The latter would be the first to consider when it comes to capturing some human guinea pigs for Lovegood."

The words come out more brusquely than I intended, but Potter doesn't seem to mind. He just takes a quick look at the parchments before flicking his wand, levitating them over to the wall and magically sticking them next to the other plans and papers.

"We'll talk about a possible target when we're ready," he replies calmly.

I raise an eyebrow in astonishment. We will talk about it?

"Currently we are still busy defending the villages we protect. There were two more attacks last night, and at the same time. Not on Hogsmeade, mind you." Potter gives me an unmistakable look. "We won't start planning a counterattack until the situation has calmed down a bit."

So the Dark Lord must be pretty angry.

Multiple attacks in quick succession usually happen for a reason. Also, I don't know anything about this plan, so it must have been drawn up in the last few weeks — when I was already gone.

While some of the Death Eaters are definitely unpredictable (my own aunt is a shining example), their pushes into the rebel areas normally have a purpose. They either want to achieve something, punish the Resistance for something, or think it wise to invade a certain location for other strategic reasons. Attacking three different magical villages, even two of them in a single night, seems pretty shambolic to me, especially since the Dark Lord must have given his permission for it, otherwise it would never have happened.

For a brief moment I simply digest the information, clenching my hands into fists.

"It has something to do with my disappearance," I then deduce, but Potter shrugs.