Piece By Piece

Chapter Sixteen: What We Learned

      Dora was reluctant to leave Sirius' side when Harry called the meeting, as it seemed everyone was, but he assured all of them that whatever Hermione had just found out was more important now that he was safe. So she, Remus, James, and Lily all slowly followed Harry and Hermione out of the infirmary; but she quickly noticed that Regulus had stayed behind. Dora stood in the doorway and called out to him. 

      "Reg," She said. 

      Regulus looked up from where he was staring into space. "I- I'd rather stay."

      Dora knew that Regulus' time in Malfoy Manor was valuable to them. "I know you do," She said, "But you of all people are gonna be really helpful to us right now. Let's go."

      Regulus didn't move. Instead Sirius lifted a weak arm and attempted to swat his brother. "Go, idiot," He said. "You weren't at Malfoy Manor to save me; you went to get info. Go give them the damn info!"

      Regulus sighed and ruffled his brother's hair as he stood up. Dora turned away from the infirmary and began to jog down the hallway to catch up with the rest of the group. Regulus was soon at her side. 

      Thanks to their collective nervous speedwalking the seven of them were in the conference room within five minutes. And thanks to Harry calling the meeting as they walked, everyone else who needed to be there was already in the room when they arrived. Dora took a seat between Regulus and Remus; and the meeting began seconds later.

      "So," Hermione began, "First and foremost: a huge congratulations to Regulus, Harry, and Ron for their incredible work at Malfoy Manor both today and over the last week. What you three accomplished required great discipline and skills. So thank you."

      A small round of applause erupted amongst those in the room; but Hermione quelled it quickly. "That being said," She continued, "There is now much to discuss." She began to separate the stack of papers into a few piles. "Before I tell you what these documents say, Regulus; anything you'd like to report?"

      Regulus shifted in his seat. "Well," He began, "We know that, for now, Bellatrix and Lucius are running things. I also found out that they do have... inner circles. Some people get to know the top secret plans and the rest are just footsoldiers." Regulus paused and pulled out his notebook. "They've also got a lot of people living at the Manor. Most of them work for the Death Eaters but some are just... families with the same shitty morals. And... Pettigrew is kind of big there."

      Dora heard a snap from the other side of the table. James had broken the pencil he was holding cleanly in half. He looked like he was trying to keep calm, but Dora could see that he wanted to flip the table over. She looked around; clearly everyone else seemed to feel the same way. 

      "I had to tell you guys," Regulus said apologetically. "I mean, he's no Bellatrix, but they trust him enough for him to be in that inner circle."

      "Funny," Remus said dryly, "Y'know if I were Bellatrix maybe I'd recognize his history of treachery and not tell him my deepest darkest secrets. Just a thought."

      Regulus sighed. "At any rate, it looks like they'll want to increase patrols if they haven't already. That'll probably mean also cracking down on anything they see as remotely rebellious. And that's pretty much it... I wasn't able to get much more before this morning. Sorry."

      "Don't be," Harry said. "All of that helps."

      Regulus nodded and slumped in his chair. Dora looked at him with worried eyes; she wondered if this mission was all it took to finally break him.