Chapter 38 - Assignment

[dazzledfirestar.livejournal.com]

This is the deep breath before the plunge ladies.

Title: The Mary Sue Virus
Chapter Title: Assignment
Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: 18+
Warnings: Graphic Sexual situations, Oral, Angst
Disclaimer: The recognizable characters in this work of fiction and the world it is set in are the property of J.K Rowling and Warner Bros. Pictures. The original characters are the property of Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, Madapple and Polywolly, and are not to be used without the permission of those individuals. I am not making any money from this and it is purely a flight of fancy for the purpose of entertainment.

 

Rowena hurried down the stairs from Ravenclaw tower toward the entrance hall. Just as she reached the last landing she saw Issobell coming up from the dungeon with a strange grin on her face. “What’s up?”

 

Issobell snapped out of her trance. “Nothing.” The flush on her cheeks gave her away. “I just got some mail.” The two girls headed in the direction of the headmaster’s office. When they reached the gargoyle they looked at each other for a minute. “You want to take this one?” Issobell grinned.

 

“Ice Mice.” Rowena spoke the password. Both girls seemed a little nervous. After all, this was the first time they had officially been called to the Dumbledore’s office, and they weren’t sure what to expect. Rowena knocked on the heavy oak door at the top of the stairs and heard something that sounded like an invitation in. They made their way toward the desk near the back of the room. “Professor, we need to talk to you,” Rowena took a deep breath, trying to muster some courage, “about the Order of the Phoenix.”

 

“So you’ve heard from your friends then?” Dumbledore’s expression was unreadable.

 

“Friends?” Rowena’s brow crinkled.

 

“Yes, both Miss Haverty and Miss Ironmonger have volunteered their services to the Order.” The headmaster sat staring as the girls looked surprised.

 

“That makes more sense… I thought he’d just misprinted…” Issobell spoke almost to herself. When she realized that both Dumbledore and Rowena were staring at her now she tried to explain. “I received a letter from… a friend.”

 

“Professor Snape?” Dumbledore cut her off.

 

Her eyes grew wide for a moment. She knew there was no point in trying to deny it. “Yes. He said he’d watch out for my friends. I knew about Azalea.” Her cheeks grew a little red. “I overheard the two of you talking about her this morning.” Dumbledore’s eyebrows raised a little.

 

“And she wrote me, telling me she’d be back Sunday.” Rowena stated, trying to get the focus of the conversation back to the topic they’d come here to discuss. “We just kind of put the pieces together from there.” She waited for some kind of reaction from the headmaster and when none appeared, she continued. “Professor, we want to help.”

 

“I have no doubt of that, Miss Crystal.” Dumbledore finally stood and began pacing. “However I think it is a little late to involve you in the bit of action that Miss Haverty and Miss Ironmonger are currently embroiled in.” When Issobell opened her mouth to protest, he raised his hand to stop her. “I am not saying you wouldn’t be able to help, just that your friends were in the right place at the right time.” He looked a little haggard for a moment. “Hopefully they will not regret that later on.” He moved back toward the desk. “I do have something I need done, but it is much less proactive than I think you are hoping for.” He picked up a piece of parchment and studied it for a moment. “I need some research done.”

 

“Research?” Issobell almost groaned. She couldn’t help but think about how happy Snape would be if he knew she’d been sent to the library to save the world. “Our friends are risking their lives and you want us to do research?”

 

He looked over his glasses at her. “I think, Miss Widdershins that this is the better of the two assignments and I think Severus would agree with me, and I wouldn’t worry. I am sure that before this all comes to an end, whatever that end, each member of the Order will be risking their lives.”

 

Issobell flushed a little and suddenly found her shoes to be the most interesting things to look at in the room. Rowena however was a little more eager about their assignment. “What is it you need us to look for, Sir?”

 

He handed her the scrape of parchment. “The death eaters have requested that these products be provided to them. This is the complete list, and I want to know what they could be doing with all of this.” He sat back behind his desk.

 

Rowena’s brow crinkled again. “Sir… umm… don’t take this the wrong way, but if you can’t figure it out, what makes you think we can?”

 

He chuckled softly. “I have every faith in both of your abilities Miss Crystal. The two of you are the best people for this job.” He wrote something down quickly on another scrap of parchment. “Give that to Madam Pince. She’ll direct you to the best place to start.” With that the two girls turned and left the office.

 

“This sucks.” Issobell tried her best not to pout.

 

Rowena started to read over the list. “I don’t know… there’s some pretty interesting stuff on here. I’m kind of curious as to what they’re up to now.”

 

“Curious or not, I still think Azalea and Hyacinth got the far more exciting deal.” The girls turned toward the library.

 

Rowena frowned again. “Maybe.” She didn’t want to think about what Dumbledore had said. That he hoped they wouldn’t regret being at the right place at the right time… Rowena was starting to hope the same thing.

**********************************************************
 

Azalea sipped happily at her coffee and sighed. “I love the man dearly, but that doesn’t mean I have to love his coffee.”

 

Hyacinth laughed and looked down at the seemingly endless pile of bags that surrounded them. They had been shopping most of the day and were now just sitting down for a late lunch before returning to the house. They had gotten everything they had needed to look the part at the death eater’s meeting. After lunch they’d go back and discuss the plan in more detail with George and Oliver. She felt a bit like a knot was tightening in her stomach. “How bad do you think it will get?”

 

“The coffee?” Azalea rolled her eyes. “The gods only know.”

 

“No, the meeting.” Hyacinth watched as the smile faded from her friends face.

 

“I don’t know.” Azalea sighed and ran her finger around the rim of her mug. “But we all know the deal.” She swallowed another mouthful of the hot liquid. They all knew that whatever happened, there was no refusal and no turning back once they reached Malfoy Manor. Both women got lost in their own thoughts for a moment before Azalea spoke again. “Just hope we don’t get caught.”