Escape ↣ Harmione

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter 35 - Remus comes clean

It was two days after Garrick's arrival that Minerva received an owl from Albus, it was waiting for her in the morning before she left to see to her house guest. She took the message with her, oversaw Folly's tending, ran her diagnostic reports and discussed with Folly what they could do next. Her stocks of potions were running out, and she really didn't want to have to find out how much she had forgotten about brewing potions. A meeting, though, meant Albus had news, which meant Severus would be back. He hadn't been in touch, and she tried not to imagine what might have befallen him to keep him away from Garrick when he knew Garrick needed his help. That man would be the death of her she was sure.

She arrived at the headquarters and joined the growing numbers in the kitchen. Molly was once again holding court, dishing out tea, mothering everyone that came within range. She stayed out of range and found a chair to sit on. The twins sat across from her grinning widely clearly pleased with themselves over something. Severus wasn't present. Remus and Tonks came in together and sat down, Kingsley was in conversation with Alastor. She exchanged nods with other members as they trickled in and chatted amongst themselves. Albus was late. When he swept in, ten minutes after the time on the note he was in full grandfather twinkle mode, something had gone well then. Severus slunk in behind him moving to a corner where he could observe. She let her eyes follow him looking for any signs of injury. Finding none, she turned her attention back to Albus who was jovially greeting people.

"Could we move this along?" Severus sneered from his corner.

Alastor turned instantly, as if on cue at the sound of his voice. "What's the matter Snape?" he spat. "Your Death Eater chums missing you? Didn't kill enough people when you went to break them all out of prison?"

Severus sneered at the man but said nothing. Albus drew the attention back to him by clearing his throat. "We are not here to discuss the events at Azkaban. Severus has assured me that he did not know of Lord Voldemort's plans beforehand." He gazed around the room, satisfied at what he apparently saw he smiled.

In her newly acquired awareness, she watched the room react to what Albus had said. There were those that accepted it, just put it out of their minds and focused on what Albus was saying. But there were those like Alastor, whose suspicion never wavered. Who stared at Severus with deep misgiving if not open hostility. How Albus thought that this was settled was beyond her.

"We have some excellent news!" he was saying jovially, twinkling merrily at the crowd gathered around the table. Minerva stared back unmoved feeling like an outsider, wondering what he was hiding, wondering when she had lost her faith in him. Was this a true state of mind or simply a reaction to everything she had recently discovered and experienced?

A whisper went around the table, a growing sense of excitement and her stomach dropped. Had Albus actually found them? A bag appeared next to him, and the whisper of excitement from the Order members was suddenly tinged with disappointment and then a growing level of curiosity.

"We have now a way of communicating with each other should the need arise. These have been specially made for the Order. Kingsley if you would explain please."

Kingsley looked up. "Yes of course. Fred and George approached me with them, and of course, I agreed that we should use them. The compacts," he held up one of the folding compacts "Work as a regular ladies compact, however saying the name of the Order member you wish to contact into the top mirror will cause the corresponding mirror to heat. To answer the call you only have to open the compact the callers face will appear in the top half on yours, and your face will appear in the top half on theirs. For those who don't wish to carry one, there is a range of wrist watches instead. They also heat up when being contacted and by pushing the dial on the side you activate and cancel the call. The person trying to communicate with you appears on the watch face. Obviously, these have a smaller image so aren't as useful for surveillance. They are quite effective though and mean that if anyone gets into trouble, they can call for help instantly. If you are in dire need, Fred and George assure me that saying S.O.S. will call all the devices at once, ensuring that someone will be able to answer and get aid. I believe Albus has a theory about how such a call should be answered, which he will run through."