Brave [2]

Chapter 39

We're tense as we head down the stairs after Narcissa and Lucius, worried about what they might say. I might see the future, but it's not what people think. Things could happen between the visions, Harry could still get hurt, I could accidentally give myself away. I need to play this right, but I'm not sure how. In the long run, this could go very differently to what I have planned.

But for now, I just pause for a moment outside the room, remembering my Occlumency and plastering a cocky smirk on my face. Hanging around Draco and the Weasley twins are good for something, after all. The moment we step inside I can see some of the Death Eaters muttering, the lightest smile on Voldemort's face at Lucius's bedraggled appearance. Clearly the Malfoys aren't very high in his books at the moment.

Sev isn't here yet, but I know he will be. From the look of it lots of the Death Eaters have been called, and the only reason I can tell is because Wormtail is cowering in the corner, and if the meeting wasn't important then he wouldn't be here.

Then my gaze goes to the woman hanging from an invisible thread over the end of the table, and one glance at Draco shows that's the first thing he noticed. He recognises her, too: the Muggle Studies professor at Hogwarts. I did an O.W.L. in Muggle Studies, but Draco didn't. I'm surprised he even knows who she is, although maybe it's just the thought of a person here that frightens him. And while I'd appeal to the Dark Lord, claiming she could be an asset, I know there's no hope. My gut churns.

After we all take our seats, there's only one significantly empty one near the Dark Lord, and silence falls on us as we wait. The ticking of the clock is the only thing showing the passing of time, and I lean an elbow on the table and lean my chin on a fist, feigning nonchalance.

Draco's lips are pursed beside me and I carefully reach out under the table, touching his fingers. He freezes for a moment, eyes widening slightly, but after a moment he seems to relax the tiniest bit as he takes my hand, realising who it is. No one else notices.

"Severus." Voldemort's voice cuts through the silence, bringing me back to the present, and I take notice of my professor at the top of the stairs. His eyes trail over Professor Burbage, then to the Dark Lord. "I was beginning to worry you'd lost your way. Come, we've saved you a seat." If Snape's feeling any hesitation, he doesn't show it, walking over to the vacant chair and sitting down. "You bring news, I trust."

"It will happen next Saturday," Severus replies in his calm, fluid voice, hands clasping on the table in typical fashion. I know what he's talking about almost instantly. "At nightfall."

"I've heard differently, my Lord," one of the other Death Eaters say. Yaxley, I think, although I never bothered to learn anyone's names. "Dawlish, the Auror, has let slip that the Potter boy will not be moved until the 30th of this month. The day before he turns seventeen."

"This is a false trail," Severus cuts in almost boredly, seeming slightly irritated. "The Auror office no longer plays any part in the protection of Harry Potter. Those closest to him think that we have infiltrated the Ministry."

"Well, they got that right, didn't they?" one of the Death Eaters beside me gives a wheezy chuckle, and a few of them start laughing. I just roll my eyes – boys are so immature.

Voldemort turns his attention to the man sitting on the other end of the table, and I recognise him from a vision. I did tell Voldemort last year that they'd Imperius Pius Thicknesse and get him to be Minister for Magic. It's only a matter of time before the latter happens. "What say you, Pius?"

Pius is silent for a moment, contemplating. "One hears many things, my Lord. But whether the truth is among them, is not clear."

A scoffing laugh escapes Voldemort's lips, something that makes me want to shiver in disgust. "Spoken like a true politican. You will, I think, prove most useful, Pius."