"For those of you that don't know what we're talking about," Harry said, gesturing to Daphne, Tracy, Padma and himself, "Over the summer, an information broker of mine overheard a plot being set up by Lucius Malfoy to take over the school, by using an artifact to open the Chamber of Secrets.
Of course, nothing happened when we came back, so naturally we dismissed it, thinking Lord Malfoy may have canceled the scheme after the events of the summer," he explained, referring to Sirius' release.
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"You have a spy?" Tonks said, tone tinged with disbelief. In contrast, Penny just seemed to accept it, as if it was expected, or she was just used to such things.
"An information broker, not a spy. My source overheard at least part of the plot, since Professor Snape was discussing it with the Headmaster, so they could make preparations to counter it. So yes, the Headmaster knows about it and has for some time."
"And naturally Lord Malfoy has covered his tracks. His involvement is just rumors, so even if it went wrong he wouldn't get stuck holding the wand," Blaise said, speaking for the first time.
"Indeed, this is a power play set into motion by Lord Malfoy so he can take control of Hogwarts under the pretext of guarding the school," he added, getting a nod from the boy, who understood what was unfolding.
Harry looked around, seeing he had all their eyes except Daphne's, who was clearly listening but looking away, trying to hide the fact. "The artifact was given to Lord Malfoy by his former master, Lord Voldemort, from what my information broker heard," he said, getting a collective flinch from everyone in the room, besides Penny, at mentioning the former Dark Lord. "Lord Voldemort was the last known heir of the Slytherin line, but the thing that's bothering me about this is if it was an artifact, there would have to be someone inside the school to activate it, or position it depending on how it works, but the writing on the wall said 'Enemies of the heir, beware.' That implies that there is a person involved, even more so if they waited for Halloween before activating it, to create more fear."
"It makes sense with the Aurors arriving and being posted around the school, that whoever is responsible may have delayed their plans. Since they would suddenly have to find a means to avoid the detection of the Aurors. Then there are the new Dark Arts detectors Mad-Eye installed all over the place before he was taken out. So maybe it took the individual behind it longer to activate the artifact safely, without risking being caught doing so," Penny offered.
"I agree," Padma supported. "You're just about to attack, but suddenly half a dozen new pieces arrive on the board, upsetting whatever plans you've made. You would have to regroup and come up with a new plan. But there is another option none of us considered," she hinted, but shifted nervously as everyone's attention was locked on her even more intensely. "The artifact could have needed time to charge before it could be used. That could be why it's only just opened."
"It's possible..." Blaise said slowly before Penny could speak. "I know of several charmed objects at my own home that need time to gather magic before they can be used."
Smiling deviously, Tonks added her own piece to the discussion. "It would explain why Mad-Eye Moody was taken out first. He was head of security with several decades of experience dealing with Dark Arts. Then with that magical eye of his, he could see and detect things a normal person never could. So if you were plotting to unleash an attack on the school from within, it makes sense to disable him. The only one who could be more dangerous would be the Headmaster, but he would be a far harder target since he's rarely out of his office. Most of the day-to-day running of the school is done by Professor McGonagall in his place."
"Makes sense," Padma added. "If you can't take out the king, take out his commanders. The rest of the Aurors assigned around the school are newbies. I've talked to a couple of them. Most of them only left the training academy this summer. This is their first proper assignment."
"Oh great..." Harry grumbled none too quietly, getting a round of chuckles and amused looks.
"The question is, what are we going to do about it in either case? You originally told us to help keep us safe," Daphne said.
"How do you want to play this?" he asked the room, already knowing he was going to get involved even if the rest didn't.
"Why play at all? It doesn't affect most of us," Blaise said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Only Muggleborns." He finished, causing Penny to shift uneasily, since she was the only Muggleborn there, while several of his friends sent questioning looks at the boy, none more so than Daphne.
"Blaise, if it hasn't occurred to you yet, I have several friends who are first-generation witches and wizards, like Penny here. You may be safe, but remember this—Mad-Eye was a Pureblood. That means Draco's nonsense about Muggleborns being the only targets is just that, nonsense. If you're an obstacle, you will be attacked, no matter what. What's to stop the heir from attacking you? You can sit on the sidelines and do nothing, but don't expect any of the rewards that come with it," Harry stated, annoyed at the Slytherin's dismissal of Muggleborns, sending a questioning look at Daphne.
"Well, I'll help even if Blaise here doesn't," Daphne said. "Lord Malfoy's been throwing his weight around for years. If this gives me a means to help knock the Malfoys down a couple of notches, I'll take it. Draco is insufferable enough already."
Tracy suddenly spoke up, "And my mother is a Muggleborn witch too, so I'll help as well. So unless you want to help, why don't you get out of here?" the smaller Slytherin stated, showing a surprising amount of confidence. "It's bad enough I have to put up with all the blood status crap in the common room. I don't want it here. I'm sure everyone else here will agree with me," she said heatedly, letting her mask fall.
"You staying or leaving? You can't refuse to make a cake and then expect a slice later," Harry said firmly, making it clear if he left, he wouldn't be getting back in.
"Fine, I'll stay," the boy spat.
"Now that that's been taken care of," he said, sending Blaise a look, which was ignored since the boy was too busy sulking. "We need to think of how we're going to deal with this so we can play it to our advantage, or at least prevent Lord Malfoy from profiting from it."
"Recover the artifact, or uncover the agent who is directing the attacks," Daphne said to the room, pointedly not looking at Blaise.
"The simplest route, most of the time, is the most effective one. Less chance of things backfiring, rather than having to deal with the whole cloaks and daggers," Tonks added.
"Well, I think we need to research it first," Harry said, adding his own piece, getting a snort from Blaise. "We don't know enough, and we need to remove possibilities. In addition, we need to watch for any off behavior around the school. I don't think Draco is the agent, but can you three keep an eye on him anyway?" he requested, looking at the Slytherin trio.
"Sure, we'll keep an eye on him. You know, keep friends close and enemies closer thing. The rest of the house may be more difficult, but most of them just ignore second years, so we should be able to watch for anything amiss," Tracy said. "But there are around 50 of us. No matter how much we try, we'll never be able to keep track of all our housemates."
"That's fine, it's the same for everyone," he assured her, already knowing that it would be a tall order. "I'll get in contact with my information broker and see if they can find anything of use," he stated, already having the report in his trunk provided by Rita. "Penny and Padma, fancy joining me in the library to see if we can't find any records, or knowledge on the Chamber of Secrets that's been missed?" he asked his fellow Ravens, getting a couple of nods, though he personally doubted he would find anything useful.
Turning his attention to his cousin, who seemed to be waiting eagerly for her own tasks, he asked, "Tonks, can you keep an eye on the Puffs? The Prefects as well, since the 7th years have a lot more freedom of movement than most students do."
"Sure, no one ever expects a Puff," she said with good humor. "Frankly, I think I got the easiest task here. Puffs stick together," she stated—one of the house's unwritten rules. "If there's an issue with a Puff, most of the house will know of it. We all look out for one another, so we will know pretty quickly if it's a badger."
"Good. Likewise, those of us in Ravenclaw will keep an eye on things. I expect that Longbottom will get involved somehow. He was the one who found Mad-Eye, as well as the message," he stated.
"Granger is already in the library scanning books and shelves for anything on the Chamber," Tracy admitted. "No doubt they'll take it upon themselves to play heroes just like last year," she added, reminding everyone of the previous year and how Gryffindor House had almost stolen the House Cup.
"What about Gryffindor then, who'll watch them?" Blaise questioned, pointing out a hole all of them already knew, clearly trying to gain back some status he had lost so quickly earlier.
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Not much we can do really," he reluctantly admitted to the group. "Hopefully, with Neville and his friends taking up the mystery, they'll watch for anything odd in their own house. Of course, they're naturally going to zoom in on Draco, since he was there when Moody was found," he said, remembering Neville, Dean, Seamus, and Ron all believing Draco was responsible as they left Transfiguration yesterday.
"Oh great, we're the bad guys again," Tracy said melodramatically as the room shared amused looks.
"I'll talk to my sister," Padma spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "Maybe she can help, and if I say it's a rumor, that will get Lavender started, and she'll have it around the school in no time."
"It could work," Daphne nodded. "Be careful what you say, though," she quickly added sternly.
Harry smiled at the different ideas, happy that the group was diverse enough to work so well. "Okay, we've got plans for how to deal with the lions," he said proudly. "Worst case, we can always discreetly drop them a hint an owl with bits of information which could direct their attentions in the right direction, rather than chasing pointless shadows."
"Are you sure that's wise?" Daphne said skeptically.
"No, but it's an option if needs be. They don't need to know it's from us. In a couple years' time, when it's all sorted, it could be used to gain a favor or two," he said, laying out the long-term benefits.
"We just have to give the information to the right person, who will remember the favor. Not someone like Ron he's far too big-headed to ever accept help from anyone. Same goes for Neville. Maybe Granger, since she's a first-generation and appears to be level-headed, and I'm sure she will remember this."
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