The next morning, Blake woke up earlier than most, and made his way to the Owlery. Just as he'd hoped, the latest edition of the Prophet was in his Owl-hole.
FUDGE RESIGNS AFTER BLAKE RENSHAW DENOUNCEMENT, AMELIA BONES TAKES OVER IN EMERGENCY VOTE BY UNANIMOUS DECISION
Blake grinned widely.
UMBRIDGE ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF CHILD ABUSE; DUMBLEDORE TO BE REINSTATED
ARTHUR WEASLEY ATTACKED AT THE DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES; ORDER OF THE PHOENIX REMOVED FROM PROHIBITED LIST
His smile faltered. Attacked? Does that mean he's actively going for the prophecy now?
Blake's mind was heavily distracted throughout the day, half-heartedly smiling and trying his best to be polite with the many people that were approaching him in corridors and at meals, thanking him for standing up to Fudge and putting the nail in the coffin.
What's Dumbledore going to do now? What's Bones going to do now? he thought as he made his way up to the Room of Requirement. Come to think of it, he hadn't seen Harry throughout the day - or Ron, or Hermione, or any of the Weasleys. Gone for a visit, huh?
He opened the door to the Room of Requirement, and was met with a surprise.
"You got here before me?"
"Just wanted to see how early you actually got here," Susan replied, smirking. "You come here 5 minutes early on purpose, just to get here before me, don't you?"
"Yeah," he said. "Anyway, anything new?"
She snorted.
"Aside from the fact that you managed to get Fudge to resign, get Umbridge arrested, get the Order unbanned and Dumbledore cleared of charges within a 10 minute long interview? No, nothing's new."
"It was always the plan," Blake shrugged. "When's Umbridge's trial by the way?"
"Next Friday," she replied. "Everyone involved is going to have to come. Should get an OWL from Rufus soon."
Her expression grew more serious.
"My aunt wants to say thank you. To quote her, 'she couldn't have done it better herself'. She also wants to meet you after the trial on Friday - informally, of course."
"She doesn't have to thank me," Blake said with a small smile. "It's a mutual benefit. Besides, we need a good leader, and I needed protection from my family. D'you know what her plan for Dumbledore and the Order is?"
"Vaguely," Susan sighed. "But Dumbledore's a smart old bastard. She knows she'll be left out of the loop in some things, but she wants them to work as closely together as possible, without him taking full control. Her main concern is civilian casualties - she doesn't want a repeat of the last War."
Blake nodded in agreement. "Ok, then. What's the plan with Voldemort's attacks on the Department of Mysteries?"
"She's just going to increase Auror presence around it. The thing is though, it needs to be Potter or You-Know-Who themselves that collect it - no one else can."
"What?" Blake said sharply. "I didn't know that." Susan shrugged.
"What I don't get is why he doesn't just come get it himself," she said. "He could easily use the Imperius Curse to let himself in, kill anyone in his way, then do it."
Blake laughed. "I think you're forgetting someone important, Susan."
"Who? Dumbledore? If he's fast enough, sure, but how would he know?"
"That's why the Order members have been protecting the prophecy - if there's an attack, they'll alert him. Well, that and the fact that it's a good distraction tactic."
"Huh? What d'you mean?" Susan asked, confused.
"The Order guarding the prophecy is like a signal to Voldemort," Blake explained. "He's thinking that if Dumbledore's guarding it, it must be important, and he's obviously going to make a move for it. Dumbledore's basically keeping his focus on the prophecy, rather than on other things like building an army or attacking people."
"But it's not like Voldemort would flat out be unable to take the prophecy by force," Susan countered. "If he came himself - especially now, with the best of his forces - they could easily break through, get the prophecy and leave, faster than Dumbledore could get there."
Blake smirked.
"You would be right, except for one thing."
"What?"
"He's a coward," Blake said simply. "Think about it. Voldemort never fights unless he's sure he's going to win, or he has to. He knows Dumbledore knows what his plans are by now. Why would he attack when there's still a chance that Dumbledore could foil them?"
"But he's You-Know-Who! He wouldn't die, so-"
"He wants the prophecy," Blake interrupted. "He doesn't want to risk it. At so many points this year, he could've made a move for the prophecy, but he hasn't. He could've tried to infiltrate the Ministry himself, but he hasn't. Why is that?"
Susan couldn't answer.
"It's because he's a coward. Deep down, in his mind, he knows that he's not truly the greatest. As long as it's feasible that Dumbledore shows up, he'll never act."
The Hufflepuff girl considered his words for a moment, before shrugging.
"You're probably right, but I guess we'll see."
She got up and stretched her arms up.
"Anyway, I'll see you around."
Blake waved as she left, before opening his bag, getting ready to start his and Daphne's work on Astoria's cure.
To be honest, we're getting closer and closer, he thought. We just need that final ingredient - we've tracked down and tested almost everything. All we need is phoenix tears.
The door opened as Blake was setting up the final cauldron, and Daphne walked in, setting her bag down gently.
"Hi," Blake greeted her with a smile. She didn't respond or smile back as she unpacked her notes.
Ok, then…
"Did you meet with Bones again?" she asked suddenly.
"Yeah," he said. "Y'know, after the whole-"
"She seemed happy on the way out," Daphne remarked casually. "I saw her in the hallways."
Blake felt a tinge of frustration as he tried to keep his cool.
"What am I meant to do with that information?" he asked.
"I was just wondering what you two could've been doing in here that left her so happy," she replied, apparently being very concentrated on her empty cauldron.
"We were talking about what happened yesterday," Blake said, annoyance beginning to creep into his voice.
"Right," Daphne said dryly. "Always talking about important things, aren't you?"
"Yes, we are!"
"Every single time you meet, twice or thrice a week, even when nothing happens?"
"As I've already explained," he said, gripping his quill tightly, "we have to meet just in case there's an update from either side."
"Very important," Daphne agreed sarcastically.
"Y'know what?" Blake said, slamming his quill down onto the desk and turning towards Daphne. "What's it to you?"
"It's nothing to me," Daphne snapped back, facing him equally.
"Then why do you keep commenting on it, huh? What's it to you if me and Susan meet a lot? In fact, even if we were doing something, what's it to you?"
"I told you, I don't care!"
"Good," Blake said, through gritted teeth. "Because you're the one that said-"
"And you're the one that thought-"
"And I apologised, and tried to be upfront, and what did you say?"
Daphne opened her mouth to reply, but Blake cut her off.
"That's right - you said you don't want to be together. What was it? 'I don't think we're good for each other', right?"
Daphne was quiet for a second, and Blake's mind flashed back to their conversation in the summer…
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