Order of the Hidden Dragon

Rose had been suspicious of the book the Knocker had left for them, but she hadn't expected it to lead back to the very group Albus had joined! Had the Knocker moved because he knew he had been tracked? How could he know that? Rose didn't know much about computers; she had no idea what was and wasn't possible.

Albus seemed to trust Sophia and Mary unquestioningly. What had they done to deserve his loyalty? She wanted to talk to Albus about this alone, but he seemed determined to stick with the two women. Like he had to prove to them that he was on their side. He had even placed himself in front of Sophia when she refused to give herself up. Rose didn't regret the Stinging Jinx, but she should perhaps have tried to make them come without restraints. If she had known the full story, maybe they could have tried to clear this up without even taking them to the Ministry. There was no way they would be able to keep this a secret.

If she looked at this from Sophia's perspective, she understood why she didn't want to help them again. She didn't have to help them the first time, and now it had led to her, and all her friends, being arrested. It was still frustrating though. If they had only mentioned the name of their organisation, Rose might have been able to prevent the raid from happening in the first place. She shouldn't blame them for this though, Harry should have waited and seen what they were dealing with. The constant raiding in the last few weeks had made them all impatient.

She managed to find Scorpius, who looked just as worried as she felt.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Why do we still hold these people? We didn't find anything."

"It's a long story. Please, does the name Cormac McLaggen mean anything to you? Why would my mother react strangely when she heard that name?"

"Cormac McLaggen? What does he have to do with this?"

"He is one of them. He also claims to be their leader, though some of them don't want that. Who is he?"

"Cormac McLaggen is a year older than your parents. He tried out for Keeper at the same time as your father. Hermione went on a date with him once, pretty much only to make Ron jealous. He was also the Keeper when Ron was poisoned and ended up knocking Harry out with a Bludger, resulting in them losing the match. He is from the sort of old Ministry family that had a lot of connections. Half of his family was acquainted with Horace Slughorn, and he was expecting a successful career in the Ministry. That obviously didn't happen."

Oh dear. That explained a lot. Why her mother couldn't interrogate him, why Harry wouldn't like him and why McLaggen was so against the Ministry. But would that really still sting so many years later?

"Are you going to tell me what is happening now?"

"I don't know. I need to find my mother. Did you see where she went?"

"She's in Harry's office."

Rose knocked and was met with Harry and Hermione clearly having the sort of argument that Rose would usually try to steer clear of. But this time, she felt she had to try and be the voice of reason.

"Whatever is going on here, I doubt any of these people have anything to do with Yang."

"I agree," Hermione said. "But the main question is how the Knocker, we really need to find his real name, even knew the name of their organisation to begin with. It doesn't sound like these people go around and use that term."

"I like Albus' theory that someone else has adopted the name and they are the ones we really have all that intel on."

"Either way, it seems the only person who can answer this could be McLaggen." Her mother grimaced again. "I was really hoping I would never have to see him again."

"Why, what has he done? Is it just from what happened when you were at school?"

Her mother seemed surprised she knew about that. Then she shook her head.

"No, though I don't doubt he thinks it is. McLaggen is the kind of person that feels the world owes him something. He has tried many times to get a job in the Ministry. I know Kingsley offered him several options, but he turned them all down, as he wanted a post similar to what his father held, in upper management. When he was finally given a post he was satisfied with, he completely botched it and made a mess of a very simple situation, nearly leading to a conflict with MACUSA. He was promptly fired and has since then tried numerous other jobs, some in relation to the Ministry, some not. If you heard how he behaved at school, he hasn't changed much. He still thinks he knows everything, despite numerous occasions showing he does not."

"He's not going to volunteer any information, if he knows we need it." Harry says. "You know he blames the two of us in particular for his failures."

"I know. But someone needs to interrogate him, and none of the other Auror's would know how to ask the right questions."

"I can do it," Rose said at once. It was what she came here to ask for anyway. "He might know who I am, or he might not, but either way, I know enough to be able to provoke him into giving us the information we need."

Neither Harry nor Hermione liked the idea, but they both eventually agreed. Harry set it up so that the two other people in the cell with him were also set to be interviewed by two other Aurors, making it look like this was routine.

"McLaggen, is it? You're next on my list. I am Malfoy and will conduct your interview," Rose said in her best impression of a bored, monotonous tone. She led him into the nearest interrogation room and sat down.

"Okay, I have already been told a lot about this group from others, and I really don't need to hear it again. Can you try to keep it short, yet tell me what your role in this group is? What is your field of study, or what do you contribute?"

McLaggen and Rose talked a bit back and forth, but to her annoyance, he didn't give any opening to ask him about his previous failures. He knew he was right, that the arrest was a mistake. He also said he recognised some of the names on the list but wouldn't admit that he was the one who recommended them. Nor did he admit that they modified the memories of those they didn't admit to their group. He probably feared that that was illegal. Rose wasn't entirely sure if it was, but what she really wanted to know what happened to the ones they let go. Of course, McLaggen claimed he didn't know that.

"We are not responsible for what happens to the people after we escort them out of our base," he said. "If some hurt has come to some of them, I wouldn't know. I'm not in contact with any of them."

Rose didn't have any proof that he was lying, so she moved on to the other thing she needed to ask about.

"Then there is the matter of Albus Potter."

"What about him?" McLaggen seemed to pretend to be indifferent, but to Rose it was clear he didn't like to be reminded of Albus.

"How did he end up with your group? How long has he been a member?"

"Not very long. He only came into our hideout about a week ago."

"Were you the one who decided to allow him to stay?"

"Yes." McLaggen clearly thought this would be a point in his favour.

"Did he explain his current situation to you before you made that decision?"

"He said he needed a place to hide. That he had killed an Auror and was on the run."

"And despite that, you allowed him to hide with you?"

McLaggen saw the trouble too late. Rose asked if any of the other members were also hiding from the Ministry and that seemed to be the trigger.

"You would know that better than me. You get to work here, unlike me. Didn't your mother ever mention who I am?"

That was exactly what Rose had hoped he would say. She feigned ignorance, and McLaggen spent the next 15 minutes rambling about several instances where he felt he had saved either her mother, Harry or the entire Ministry from some scandal. Even if Rose hadn't heard the main points from her mother before this, it was clear to her that McLaggen was delusional.

"… And all because I accidentally hit him with a Bludger once he has held it against me ever since."

"Mr. McLaggen, how is this at all relevant to the matter at hand? I am trying to ascertain whether this group has anything to do with our missing Auror, and what you have done with Albus Potter. I don't see how your personal experiences have anything to do with that."

"It's just another point to show how Granger and Potter are working against me. I knew they would come and arrest these people sooner or later. I didn't want to admit Albus Potter, as I feared it was a trap, and I was right. How else would you know how to find us?"

"I assure you, Mr. McLaggen, we didn't know Albus Potter was even there. I don't have the precise details of how we knew where the base was, but from what I understand it wasn't a big secret. What I need to know is whether you know where anyone you have turned away could be hiding. We suspect that someone else using your name is the reason for our concern."

"Is that the excuse you are going with? Will you keep all of us locked up, because someone else uses our name?"

"I doubt it will come to that. If there is nothing else you want to add, we can end the interview here."

Rose hadn't gained what she hoped, but the least she could give Sophia and Mary the recording of this interview so they could use it against McLaggen if they needed it. If the two women ever spoke to her again. McLaggen kept grumbling as she led him back to his holding cell. She hoped she never had to listen to his ramblings again. How could anyone take him seriously?