Location: Hogwarts Headmaster’s Office. Evening. Present: A. Dumbledore, B. Bode.
DUMBLEDORE: Well. Off to a clean enough start, eh?
BODE: Indeed. Quite clean.
DUMBLEDORE: I didn’t get eyes on the boy until he came into the Hall. All went well on the train?
BODE: As far as I could see, yes. He met the Weasleys, as expected. The meeting went much better than the Malfoys’.
DUMBLEDORE: Yes, yes. We should have expected. See if you can send Arthur a bit of a Christmas bonus. Lord knows the poor dolt needs it.
BODE: I, er, will see what I can do. So – the boy went to Gryffindor?
DUMBLEDORE: Yes, yes. Though he’s got quite an unimpressive lot surrounding him, I daresay. We’ll have to work overtime, I fear, if we expect to see much out of him. I had to do unspeakable things to tide Flitwick over and nab one from Ravenclaw just to ensure the boy has someone to keep him from failing out. All the devil would give me was a muggle-born – some supposed prodigy out of Oxfordshire, maths champion or some such twiddle. The others – all I could get was a Weasley, another muggle-born straight from the Brixton gutter, an Irish, the Longbottom boy –
BODE: I thought he was a squib.
DUMBLEDORE: As did I. We had to let him in, though, in the end – Augusta raised a considerable hell. Demanded he get Gryffindor. I tried my best to hide him in Hufflepuff. Legacy, you know. But overall, quite a year, quite a year.
BODE: Well. Yes. It will be quite a year. And the, er, target is back?
DUMBLEDORE: Oh yes. God, if the one-year curse keeps up and the hires get worse, I fear for our reputation. The man is worthless. Criminal and worthless.
BODE: That will work to our advantage, yes?
DUMBLEDORE: Oh yes, indeed. Yes.
BODE: Is the – dog – dogs? – in place?
DUMBLEDORE: Yes. Hagrid had it installed yesterday.
BODE: Any odd questions?
DUMBLEDORE: No, none yet. McGonagall assured it’s licensed, afterall. Send Macnair a Christmas bonus too, if you would. But the staff understand. They undestand what they ought to. They know as much as I’d like them to. Dear Broderick, I must say I’m feeling rather cocksure. I believe this operation is going quite as much to plan as we could imagine.
BODE: Well, we have some time to see. I’m monitoring the muggle papers – they haven’t discovered the, er, weapon, yet, either. Once they do – it will only be a matter of time.
DUMBLEDORE: Oh yes, the weapon. Yes. That is why – yes. [Pause.] Well, if that’s all, Broderick, I believe I’m off to bed. Quite a day, after all. Quite a day.
[Pause.]
BODE: There’s something else I wanted to – alert you to.
DUMBLEDORE: Yes?
BODE: I noticed yesterday that the file – the Cassius file – at the Department – someone had it checked out.
DUMBLEDORE: Hmm. Not unusual, is it? Someone within the Department, I’m sure?
BODE: Yes. Yes. I just – thought you ought to know.
[Pause. Dumbledore sighs.]
DUMBLEDORE: Continue to, er, monitor the situation. For the time being, I see no cause for concern. The file is, redacted, yes?
BODE: Yes, yes. I’m unconcerned. It’s just – not a title you hear often these days.
DUMBLEDORE: No. No indeed. No.
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THE PENSIEVE PAPERS 