The Secret War | Dramione

Chapter 3

The list of the fallen were reported the following day. Two Aurors, three muggles and Hannah's parents had been killed. Several more were injured, and were sent to St. Mungo's Hospital.

The Hogwarts Guard, in their yellow uniforms, spread through the halls and corridors of Hogwarts like a massive flood. Filch was affronted by their presence. His prime function at the school had been to harass students, and now there was a whole army to do it for him. His life's purpose suddenly taken away, he let Peeves reign free, taking delight when the poltergeist dumped buckets of cold water on members of the Guard at random.

In the Slytherin common room, Draco opened a letter from his father. It was written in code. A seemingly harmless note to the outward eye, contained a secret message.

The Guard had been reading all the mail coming into Hogwarts, intercepting owls and breaking seals, stopping at nothing to catch anyone who might be communicating with Voldemort or his followers.

The note informed him that Pansy had been given a special assignment. Draco continued reading, trying to figure out exactly what she was required to do. The more he read, the angrier he became. He couldn't believe her family was letting her handle such an important mission. There was no way she was up to the task. He had to talk her out of it, or convince her to let him do it himself.

He burned the note and went to find her.

In the Gryffindor common room, Hermione was decoding a note of her own. It was in the form of a poem. Over the summer Dumbledore had informed her that she'd receive several messages throughout the year. The messages contained assignments, sent anonymously by members of the Order, Harry or Dumbledore himself. 

Hermione took note of every third letter in the first 5 stanzas, and every two in the last three.

She deciphered the message. The note confirmed that Pansy Parkinson was delivering a letter from her father to a member of the Hogwarts Guard...a John Murdoch. Apparently the Order suspected thatMurdoch was working for the Death Eaters. 

Hermione continued reading. The note stated that it was vital that Pansy's message never reach its destination, or the consequences would be devastating. 

Dumbledore had told Hermione that she'd never receive the full details of the Order's operations, only the most necessary information, for her own security and that of those involved. The lack of insight made her uneasy, but she trusted Dumbledore, and tried not to dwell on what she wasn't told.

Hermione reached for her class schedule. She and Pansy were both in Professor Sinistra's Astronomy class. If Pansy hoped to deliver the message at noon, she'd probably do it right after the lesson was over.

Hermione made her way to the Astronomy Tower, determined to get a hold of the note. 

The class consisted mainly of Ravenclaws, a handful of Gryffindors, one Hufflepuff and two Slytherins—Pansy and Malfoy. Malfoy received top marks in the class, while Pansy barely scraped by. Hermione suspected Pansy had joined the class to keep an eye on Draco. She'd caught him kissing a very pretty Ravenclaw after class the previous year, and had made a scene so terrible, the teachers were required to intervene.

Hermione took a seat next to Neville, and focused her attention on Professor Sinistra.

The professor had clear blue eyes and red-gold hair that was pulled back into an elegant braid.

She cleared her throat and addressed the class. "For those of you who are new, welcome to the study of the planets and the stars. This year we will explore distant galaxies...found in the furthest reaches of the universe." She paused. "Galaxies that muggles can only dream of exploring."