The Master of Death

Chapter23: A Different Point of View

Lucius stared at the door where Potter had been standing a second ago. It shouldn't have been possible for the boy to disapparate. He was only fifteen and even then, there were wards to prevent intruders from leaving. Slowly he lowered his wand. But had Potter really disapparated? He had vanished in a swirl of darkness. For a moment it had seemed like the shadows in Lucius' office had been growing, creeping over the floor till they reached their peak just before Potter was gone. And then, nothing.
Everything looked like before and the room was once more dominated by the golden light shining through the windows.
Lucius' fingers traced the carved pattern on his tumbler, which he had gripped so tightly. He could pretend that this whole affair was a hallucination of his overworked mind. Let the evidence disappear and never speak of it again...
He stared at the second glass on his desk and the accursed locket. Innocently it reflected the light of the afternoon sun, spots of it dancing on the walls. As if this thing hadn't just made his life much more difficult. He would rather be told to tame a dragon than dealing with this. But Lucius – unlike the Minister – had never been a man of ignorance. He downed his glass and stood up. It was time to speak to his wife.

At the same time, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office, surrounded by his many strange and delicate devices, which to the untrained eye might appear like a waste of space. The portraits of his predecessors watched him seemingly disinterested. He looked at an instrument on his desk similar to a clock, but instead of pointers, it possessed nine circles, which moved at various speeds around the middle.
Ten minutes had passed. It wouldn't take much longer for him to arrive. The headmaster hummed amused when his look fell onto the letter which was lying next to his other notes. The Minister had once more not been able to hold back and had written him concerning - as Cornelius had put it so nicely - "a necessary distribution regarding power inside the school" as well as "the end of his presumptuous way of leading Hogwarts" and "habits of meddling in affairs that weren't of his concern".

But Albus amused humming soon turned into a sigh.

No, this wasn't really a laughing matter. While Cornelius sending Dolores Umbridge to work - or rather spy - in Hogwarts was a problem, it was a trifle in comparison to the threat out there. The ignorance of the Minister regarding Voldemort's return didn't do much to improve the situation.
The headmaster sighed once more. He could already feel another migraine approaching.

There had been traces of Death Eaters moving in the south. But that had been two months ago. Now it was quiet. Too quiet for Albus' liking. Since Bertha Jorkins kidnapping last summer there hadn't been any other mysterious disappearances. At least none that he was aware of. The only thing Albus could be sure of was that Voldemort was still focused on acquiring the Prophecy.
And Death Eaters were gaining influence inside the ministry with every new member infiltrating the Wizengamot. Now it was no longer only Lucius Malfoy using his connection to the Minister who they had to deal with. It had been predictable, certain even, that Voldemort would try to strengthen his influence inside the ministry, but it had happened much faster than Albus had anticipated. And it worried him.
Unfortunately, that wasn't all of it. There were still other things. Things he couldn't explain but troubled him further. Like the disappearance of the elder wand in August. And maybe the most worrisome thing of all-

The sound of a knocking on the door interrupted Albus' string of thoughts and he raised his head. "Come on in."

The door opened and the man he had been waiting for entered. "Severus," Dumbledore said his eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

"Headmaster," the professor replied, reciprocating the greeting with an unreadable expression. Albus had long given up on brushing his mind against Severus' to pick up on the thoughts floating on the surface. Severus was a master occlumens. He could hide his mind just as well, as he could prevent his true thoughts from showing on his face.