I am well aware of the nature of our opponents. You forget that two decades ago I was one of the paranoid, secretive lot working to safeguard the advances I had made. (As to that, it occurs to me that since my cover has well and truly been blown, there are a number of curses and useful support spells that I may now teach you without raising uncomfortable questions: Miss Perks reminded me several months ago that my potions are still in use among the Death Eaters, and I do not doubt that my charms and curses are, as well. We will simply need to be careful that the children do not learn them in such a way as to raise questions, as many of them are quite distinctive.)
I suppose it is the discussion of Azkaban, this week, that has me in such a strop. For all that I have told you nearly everything of my late, lamented career as Albus's double agent, I was still vague about the circumstances under which I was commended there: the Dark Lord told me He wished to bait Albus into staging a breakout, that having been rescued from durance vile it should quiet the last of Albus's doubts about my true loyalties; it was His plan, or so He told me, that He would arrange just enough weakness in Azkaban's defenses to allow Albus and the Order to stage a rescue. For all I believed — and still do believe — He had not realised in which direction my true double-agenthood ran, my techniques of shielding my mind meant it took far too long for the Dementors to eat away the hope that in that, at least, He had not been lying.
Part of me wishes to champion the idea of an assault on the fortress immediately — no one ought be forced to spend one more day in there than we can help — and part of me, the small and petty part I do not wish to acknowledge, wants to know why Lucius Malfoy is worth freeing while I was not.
…It appears I have not forgiven Albus as much as I told you that I have. My apologies; I do not mean to make you into my agony aunt unprompted. (Do not, under any circumstance, apologise to me again. That none of you knew the arrangements Albus and I had made is in no way your fault; we kept it secret for a reason.)
I have been working under the assumption that it is the obscure solution, rather than the obscure materials — for the very reason you name, that they did not have any trouble waking a collection at short notice. Perhaps it is time to re-examine my entire collection of premises from the very beginning.
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branchandroot
Re: Private message to Alice
Date: 2014-12-08 07:36 am (UTC)I suppose it is the discussion of Azkaban, this week, that has me in such a strop. For all that I have told you nearly everything of my late, lamented career as Albus's double agent, I was still vague about the circumstances under which I was commended there: the Dark Lord told me He wished to bait Albus into staging a breakout, that having been rescued from durance vile it should quiet the last of Albus's doubts about my true loyalties; it was His plan, or so He told me, that He would arrange just enough weakness in Azkaban's defenses to allow Albus and the Order to stage a rescue. For all I believed — and still do believe — He had not realised in which direction my true double-agenthood ran, my techniques of shielding my mind meant it took far too long for the Dementors to eat away the hope that in that, at least, He had not been lying.
Part of me wishes to champion the idea of an assault on the fortress immediately — no one ought be forced to spend one more day in there than we can help — and part of me, the small and petty part I do not wish to acknowledge, wants to know why Lucius Malfoy is worth freeing while I was not.
…It appears I have not forgiven Albus as much as I told you that I have. My apologies; I do not mean to make you into my agony aunt unprompted. (Do not, under any circumstance, apologise to me again. That none of you knew the arrangements Albus and I had made is in no way your fault; we kept it secret for a reason.)
I have been working under the assumption that it is the obscure solution, rather than the obscure materials — for the very reason you name, that they did not have any trouble waking a collection at short notice. Perhaps it is time to re-examine my entire collection of premises from the very beginning.