"The Ministry will have fallen by this Sunday, my lord and then we can search all the order houses for Potter." Yaxley finished his report with some useful news. Something that would make him happy. But the dark lord's expression remained unimpressed.
With Lucius' wand cracking he was more concerned about searching for a new wand that would work against The Boy who Lived. And the search for the elder wand was going nowhere. He always seemed on the edge of his patience. We had no idea who he would cruciate next just to get out of his boredom or take out his frustration.
"If he escapes it will become difficult to trace him. With his seventeenth birthday past him he doesn't carry the restrictions of the Trace anymore." Dad countered.
"As far as we know he is at one of the seven houses that we flew to. The chances of him being at Tonks' place is least as he wouldn't prefer to stay there after being chased by your own presence, my lord. The Burrow; however is the most obvious option, it is the most secure. I checked the spells on all of those houses. The ones on the Burrow are strongest." I brought more information to the table. But he still looked unimpressed.
"What about Grimmauld place?" Bellatrix butted in.
"The place is under Fidelius charm. But, I don't think they would risk it. Plus there hasn't been much activity in or around that place." I replied.
"What if the Burrow is just a clever decoy?" someone else questioned.
"They already have six clever decoys. I doubt they need more." I smirked back in reply at his ignorance.
"My lord our best bet is to wait till this Sunday and ambush all seven probable houses at the same time." Yaxley butted in.
"I think we should concentrate our efforts on the Burrow." I muttered audible enough in the silence at the table.
"How can you say that with so much guarantee?" someone asked. I shrugged.
"I would say it's gut instinct if it wasn't actually a well calculated guess." I muttered.
"Even if well calculated it's still a guess." Yaxley argued back "My lord, I think we should divide our forces equally on all seven houses. He could be in any one of those."
I shrugged and decided to shut my mouth for the rest of the discussion which took place. Why would I want to express my opinion if it wasn't valued!
"Even if you say so Yaxley, I think I agree with Shine. The Burrow is the new headquarters for the Order and the enchantments are stronger than on the other houses. We will concentrate forces on the Burrow." the dark lord hissed thoughtfully in his cold voice. Yaxley looked betrayed, his expression turning aghast. I smirked at him cutting out the desire to childishly stick out my tongue at him.
Bellatrix cackled. "My niece has more brains than you ever had Yaxley! Her guess is most definitely right if the Dark lord thinks so."
Blood rose to his cheeks and ears. He turned to her with a very flustered face.
"Sure she has. She was there for both of your turns when the higher powers gave us brains while you were busy playing with your hair." he retorted. Everyone chuckled. Her eyes grew wide and she breathed heavily.
"How dare you insult me, you piece of scum!" she screamed. He merely smirked at her and turned to the dark lord. She pulled out her wand, standing up to hex him.
"That's enough Bellatrix. Sit down and put your wand in." he commanded coolly in a bored voice. She looked at her lord, looking disappointed about the way he dismissed her. Her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.
"But-" she muttered sitting back down.
"How do you plan on assassinating Scrimegour?" the dark lord ignored her turning to Rookwood.
“We have planted decoys all around him. I have imperiused most of the auror force around him. Some of the strongest are protecting the muggle Prime minister. And that leaves him very undefended.” he replied.
The plan sounded pretty good. But the low growl in Bellatrix's throat was disconcerting. She was still glaring at Yaxley. I shook my head at the childish antics of Death eaters. These people were some of the most immature adults I have known and yet they were expected to win one of the biggest wars wizardkind had fought in the history of magic. I looked down and let a slight sneer slip onto my face. Fat chance, Voldemort.
I stifled a yawn lest he decide that as a huge crime and cruciate me again today. The effects of two days before still hadn't completely worn off. I still had muscle twitching and spasms. But maybe, it was just dehydration. I shrugged involuntarily and looked up to see Nagini slithering across the table and a shudder ran down my spine. The face of Charity Burbage our old Muggle studies professor flashed in my mind. Her pleas for help echoed in my ears and my palms became sweaty. The thud as she fell on the table, dead. Her being dragged off in one fast swoop by Nagini for dinner.
I clenched the table tighter and breathed in and out. In and out. The monotonous drone of Dad contributing to tonight's discussion brought me out of my reverie. I guess I should be thankful everyday to the higher powers for not letting me or Dad meet that fate yet. The rest of the discussion droned on without any contributions from me and some more contributions from Dad.

                               ****************
(Vega's p.o.v.)

I looked out the window at the canopy raised for the wedding. All the preparations were done and the guests would soon start arriving. I looked at my pale blue dress on the bed and at Ginny dressed in her dull gold bridesmaid dress.
“C'mon Vega! What are looking at?” she turned to me catching me just blankly looking out yet again.
“I- nothing.” I mutter back lifting the dress in my hands and feeling the soft silky fabric. Tonks didn't have to get this for me. She didn't have to spend that much on me. It was obviously very costly.
Me and her had always been on good terms. I was shocked even though pleasantly but only mildly when she announced she and Remus would be getting married. I mean Moony deserved to ne happy and they loved each other. Just because he had this furry little problem didn't mean he didn't deserve to be loved.
And Tonks didn't need to impress me with such costly gifts. I was already impressed by her persistence all last year when she was trying to convince Remus to marry her. I was already impressed that she could look past his furry little problem, something that the Ministry couldn't do. I already liked her more than enough that she would go against social norms for her love. While I couldn't even bear to express my love anymore just because we were on opposite sides of the war.
Everytime I looked at Bill and Fleur I wished he would be here with me. Supporting me in my decisions instead of going against me. I missed Adrian but he would never betray Shine. They claimed they were best friends but I doubt it. I bet they were more than just that.
“Vega!” Ginny exclaimed yet again. “Seriously what's wrong?”
“Nothing.” I replied even when I was sure my eyes staring at the small red box containing the ashes of Shine's last letter spoke differently.
“Did she contact you or something?” she asked. I froze, the muscles in my back going stiff. I shook my head a bit too quickly for it to be true. She sat down, her dress flaring beautifully under her. Her black lace gloves with the same pattern as the applique design of the dress climbing up from mid calf made her look elegant.
“She did, didn't she? What did she say? Did she threaten you? Is she trying to get you on their side? Do you want to join the Death eaters?” she pushed me for answers very gently, as quietly as she could. She rested her gloved hand on mine, made me look at her. I tried to look away but she firmly held my chin.
“Tell me. You know you can trust me. I trust you.” she whispered. Her words merely triggered another memory.
I trust you. Shine had said the same. She trusted me. And for some stupid reason I couldn't bear to betray her. She was still my sister. And I trusted her back. I couldn't tell Ginny that she had warned me. She had already told me that today something major would happen. She had warned me so I would occlude my mind.
She had already told me so I would be prepared. She had said she would try to be present but she couldn't guarantee anything. So it would be best if I was careful. I wanted to tell Ginny. But I couldn't. She would tell everyone. The information would reach the Ministry. And Shine would be caught. I didn't want her dead. I didn't want to lose my only sister. I loved her. I stared back defiantly at Ginny. She couldn't know.
“It's nothing.” I replied trying to keep my voice firm and confident but not sounding rude. She frowned. I removed her hand from my chin and got up easily towering over her.
“I am only a little distracted.” I added my hair covering my face as I picked up my dress and turned to the full length mirror holding it in front of me. Gorgeous. Shine would be so jealous...

                              ***************

(Shine's p.o.v)

“Shine Snape, you will lead at the Burrow; since it is your theory Potter will be present there. And if he indeed is there, I want you to ensure he doesn't escape.” the dark lord hissed in a voice audible for everyone, coming up straight in my face. I stood with my chin up facing him as he came within inches of my nose.
“Is that understood?” he barked suddenly. I nodded a yes.
“Yes, my lord.” I replied confidently.
“And if you fail...” he whispered, only audible to me this time. He grabbed my left hand, pulled back my sleeve and touched his wand to the dark mark. A sharp pain shot through my body, it's center concentrated in my head somewhere. I bit my lip so hard to avoid screaming that I tasted blood.
“If you fail, you know the consequences. You know very well the dark lord doesn't forgive. But I have made an exception in your case and I expect you to remember I will not again.” he hissed in my ear before walking away to Yaxley. My heart thudded in my chest. If I failed I would be cruciated, that was for sure. Again, maybe that was the only solution.
Yaxley described how they would put a taboo on the dark lord's name, a step that would allow us to track the Order members.
Smart! I mean it's impressive that this brilliant idea was the brainchild of his tiny brain. Maybe be just wasn't as stupid as he looked. The dark lord turned to Dad.
“And you Severus. You will not risk yourself tonight. Tomorrow Crabbe and Malfoy will ensure you will be made the new headmaster. I believe you are strong enough to handle the school....” he informed. My heart skipped a beat at the slight question he added in his last sentence.
“Yes, my lord. I will make sure you are not disappointed in my abilities.” he replied holding the dark lord's gaze firmly.
“You have not yet given me any reason to doubt them unlike many others before you.” the dark lord continued thoughtfully. “However, I would like you to appoint the Carrow siblings in your staff. Amycus and Alerts would assist you in your tasks should you need any help.”
“Yes, my lord.” he replied a little stiffly, only momentarily letting the confusion play up on his face.
“Today's meeting is over. You are all dismissed.” he announced. “You have exactly an hour. Provide me with good news.”