perverse-idyll (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
perverse-idyll.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2011-08-30 10:30 am
perverse-idyll.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2011-08-30 10:30 am
Entry tags:
Being Expendable by redsnake05 (R)
Fandom: HARRY POTTER
Pairing: Minerva McGonagall/Alastor Moody
Length: 12,990
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
redsnake05
Author Website: redsnake's master list of pairings and fics
Why this must be read:
This is a tense, utterly absorbing fic, set during WWII, the era of Grindelwald's rise to power, a time when McGonagall and Moody were young, their names unknown, their courage untested. Dumbledore recruits them for a secret spying mission. Minerva has been working at Bletchley Park, so she's adept at passing as a Muggle, and Alastor is a newly fledged Auror licensed to kill. The pair travel by train and stay in Muggle pensions, passing as husband and wife, forced to refrain from using magic because it risks announcing their presence to Grindelwald's agents. The mood is gritty, subdued, constantly on edge, like an espionage novel.
Minerva exhibits nerve and intelligence throughout, and she's absolutely convincing as a younger version of the no-nonsense academic we meet at Hogwarts. She and Alastor are extremely competent, isolated, and utterly dependent on each other as they maneuver closer to their goal. As the danger increases, so does their unspoken sexual attraction. They witness cruelty and violence, enduring Muggle wartime privation and encounters with coldblooded murderers. Neither one quails when faced with the costs of resisting evil, butredsnake05 makes the terror of it very real. I love how magic is woven into a recognizable landscape of human strife and suffering, and how the decency of these two characters prevails. There's also a shrewd portrait of a younger Dumbledore, already in training as the ultimate chessmaster for the side of good.
A fascinating read in the company of two appealing, unsung heroes of war.
~~*~~
"You said you had something to discuss?" she asked. Best to get straight to business. She would still have the long train ride home when this was done, and her veneer was as brittle as a bombed Muggle building. She would not care to have it slip with these two men.
"Indeed," said Dumbledore, betraying no surprise. "It concerns Grindelwald and the long-range weapons he is developing. His power has not diminished, and I fear that he may soon have the capacity to strike at Wizarding and Muggle communities in England."
"I understand that the Ministry does not believe that these so-called weapons are as dangerous as you are implying," said Minerva.
"The Ministry is a bunch of spineless toads," said Moody. "They would turn themselves over with their bellies up, if they could see profit in it."
Minerva smiled faintly. This man had no reserve, but he'd also not disputed the Ministry's claim. "That does not mean that they are wrong about the long-range weapons," she said.
"I believe they are wrong," said Dumbledore. "And have convinced them to send someone to find out the truth."
"Oh?" asked Minerva. She pasted on her most innocent look, not even glancing at Moody as he chuckled. Dumbledore smiled, studiedly benign and too old for his face.
"You will be pleased to hear that the Ministry has agreed that you would be a suitable person to send."
"Agreed?" Minerva replied, lacing her repetition of Dumbledore's words with scathing disbelief. "Last I heard, the Wizengamot was still of the opinion that women were unfit for duties in the War. That's why I spend my days - and nights, when the messages are recalcitrant - doing Muggle mathematics and aiding in the defence of the Muggle populace."
"The Ministry is also blind," said Moody, breaking in. "You're no fool, and you have to know that Albus here is stretching the truth. He's never been one for telling it straight. The truth is, Dumbledore has only the vaguest of permissions, and plans to tell the Ministry the bare minimum they need."
"Miss McGonagall is indeed no fool," agreed Dumbledore, as suave as if he hadn't just tried to persuade her without the necessary truths. She was glad she'd learned to be untrusting, and stifled the small bitterness she felt over Dumbledore's lack of honesty. It was a common flaw, one that she'd seen time and again amongst the men she worked with. Time would tell if he could be dealt with. She smiled at him, careful not to let her teeth show, and turned to Moody.
"And your role in this, ah, adventure of dubious standing, Mr Moody?" she asked.
Being Expendable
Pairing: Minerva McGonagall/Alastor Moody
Length: 12,990
Author on LJ:
redsnake05Author Website: redsnake's master list of pairings and fics
Why this must be read:
This is a tense, utterly absorbing fic, set during WWII, the era of Grindelwald's rise to power, a time when McGonagall and Moody were young, their names unknown, their courage untested. Dumbledore recruits them for a secret spying mission. Minerva has been working at Bletchley Park, so she's adept at passing as a Muggle, and Alastor is a newly fledged Auror licensed to kill. The pair travel by train and stay in Muggle pensions, passing as husband and wife, forced to refrain from using magic because it risks announcing their presence to Grindelwald's agents. The mood is gritty, subdued, constantly on edge, like an espionage novel.
Minerva exhibits nerve and intelligence throughout, and she's absolutely convincing as a younger version of the no-nonsense academic we meet at Hogwarts. She and Alastor are extremely competent, isolated, and utterly dependent on each other as they maneuver closer to their goal. As the danger increases, so does their unspoken sexual attraction. They witness cruelty and violence, enduring Muggle wartime privation and encounters with coldblooded murderers. Neither one quails when faced with the costs of resisting evil, but
redsnake05 makes the terror of it very real. I love how magic is woven into a recognizable landscape of human strife and suffering, and how the decency of these two characters prevails. There's also a shrewd portrait of a younger Dumbledore, already in training as the ultimate chessmaster for the side of good.A fascinating read in the company of two appealing, unsung heroes of war.
"You said you had something to discuss?" she asked. Best to get straight to business. She would still have the long train ride home when this was done, and her veneer was as brittle as a bombed Muggle building. She would not care to have it slip with these two men.
"Indeed," said Dumbledore, betraying no surprise. "It concerns Grindelwald and the long-range weapons he is developing. His power has not diminished, and I fear that he may soon have the capacity to strike at Wizarding and Muggle communities in England."
"I understand that the Ministry does not believe that these so-called weapons are as dangerous as you are implying," said Minerva.
"The Ministry is a bunch of spineless toads," said Moody. "They would turn themselves over with their bellies up, if they could see profit in it."
Minerva smiled faintly. This man had no reserve, but he'd also not disputed the Ministry's claim. "That does not mean that they are wrong about the long-range weapons," she said.
"I believe they are wrong," said Dumbledore. "And have convinced them to send someone to find out the truth."
"Oh?" asked Minerva. She pasted on her most innocent look, not even glancing at Moody as he chuckled. Dumbledore smiled, studiedly benign and too old for his face.
"You will be pleased to hear that the Ministry has agreed that you would be a suitable person to send."
"Agreed?" Minerva replied, lacing her repetition of Dumbledore's words with scathing disbelief. "Last I heard, the Wizengamot was still of the opinion that women were unfit for duties in the War. That's why I spend my days - and nights, when the messages are recalcitrant - doing Muggle mathematics and aiding in the defence of the Muggle populace."
"The Ministry is also blind," said Moody, breaking in. "You're no fool, and you have to know that Albus here is stretching the truth. He's never been one for telling it straight. The truth is, Dumbledore has only the vaguest of permissions, and plans to tell the Ministry the bare minimum they need."
"Miss McGonagall is indeed no fool," agreed Dumbledore, as suave as if he hadn't just tried to persuade her without the necessary truths. She was glad she'd learned to be untrusting, and stifled the small bitterness she felt over Dumbledore's lack of honesty. It was a common flaw, one that she'd seen time and again amongst the men she worked with. Time would tell if he could be dealt with. She smiled at him, careful not to let her teeth show, and turned to Moody.
"And your role in this, ah, adventure of dubious standing, Mr Moody?" she asked.
Being Expendable