Chapter Six: The Pieces of the Puzzle
"Harry," said Ginny, entering his study, "I thought Kaelyn was supposed to come round. Its quarter nine…"
"She's probably just catching up on work. She still had a lot to tackle this afternoon, she'll come," he assured her.
"Well, thank her when she does, I'm off to bed," she said kissing her husband goodnight.
The next morning he was awoken by the floo in his study going off (Ginny was going to kill him!).
"Ron, he greeted, "what's up, mate?"
"Can I come through?" he asked, face grim.
"Sure!" said Harry. "Should I get Ginny?" he asked as his friend stepped through.
"No," said Ron shaking his head. "Officially, I was never here."
With that Harry realized that this was not Ron he was speaking to, it was Phantom.
"What's wrong Ron? You know I'm on leave and Ginny will—"
"Kaelyn didn't show up for work this morning, and no one has heard from her all day. I sent Thomas to check on her and he said the flat has been locked down."
"Maybe she's gone after Severus, and didn't have time to tell anyone. Maybe he—"
"Draco was due back two days ago, and intel says he and Blaise never made it to their last contact point."
"Maybe they caught something good and can't reveal themselves."
"Something's not right Harry. Kaelyn wouldn't do this. She'd tell someone she was leaving."
"Ron…"
"I'm not asking you to be on the clock. She's your sister. Go visit her and see if something's amiss. I'll handle Ginny. No one in the Department knows. I told them Kaelyn was working something for me."
"If my ass gets chewed, I'm taking yours," said Harry.
It took Harry an hour and a half, and Sirius' lock kit, to get into Kaelyns flat and dismantle the wards. Everything was in pristine condition, as though she had never made it home. No keys, no purse, no shoes, no note. Nothing out of the ordinary. Harry checked every room for signs of life, but found nothing. Just as he was about to leave he felt a shimmer of magic come from the living room. Turning around he saw a clear crystal ball sitting on the coffee table that hadn't been there before. He paused as it flashed gold, and suddenly he was in a memory.
Blaise standing before the fireplace looking distant and cold. Kaelyn approaching him cautiously, wand raised. Blaise saying something and Kaelyn slowly lowering her wand. A flash of emotion, then emptiness. More talking. 'The Master' in a cold voice. Imperius. More curses flying. Kaelyn hiding. Talking. Reasoning. Buying time. But she hadn't activated her wards. Why? 'We have something precious to you.'" And then there was an astral projection of Kaelyn standing in the middle of the scene. She had been creating a Memory Orb. She had left a clue.
"Draco has been captured. He is most likely dead. Go and check on father. Blaise is under someone else's control. They know that James has arrived. This is not random; it is something far more personal. I've gone to meet 'The Master'. Do not try and follow me."
And with that the living room returned to normal.
Harry flew to the apparition point and was yelling for Ron as soon as he reached his walkway.
"Get everyone to this Ministry now! If they're out on assignment, bring them in. Summon Remus and Severus. Get your father. Tell Shacklebolt they have taken Calla and Storm. Contact Bill, I want the strongest wards he can summon, they know about Jamie. I'm off leave until my sister is found; I'll deal with the consequences later. Start looking for intel on 'The Master'. I have someone I need to speak with. I'll meet you in the briefing."
An hour later Harry came bursting into the meeting.
"What do you know?" he demanded.
"Harry, you cannot be here. You are on leave for five more weeks," said Shacklebolt half-heartedly.
"Then remove me," Harry snarled.
"I can write you up for insubordination…"
"Yes. Then you will have to file the paperwork, it will sit on Madam Bones desk for 72 hours, at which time she will set a review date for a week away, to which I will postpone my 3 allotted times siting family issues, and by that time, my leave is over. You forget my wife is the one who filer all that paperwork."
"I hate you."
"You need me."
"I do," conceded Kingsley.
"If you babies are quite done," sneered Severus.
"Sorry, Father," said Harry.
"What do we have?" asked Sirius.
"A memory orb she concealed in her living room. Blaise under the Imperius. Draco taken. Kaelyn missing. A threat on Jamie from 'The Master'. I didn't find anything else, except her flat was locked down," said Harry.
"Did you bring the orb?" asked Remus.
"I did," Harry replied. "Blaise will be stood in front of the floo, and Kaelyn will move from in front of him, to behind her couch. I can't remember if the scenery recorded or not." Harry said, sitting the orb down and activating it to play.
"Anyone read lips?" Shacklebolt asked. "It would be helpful to understand what was said."
"Play it again," requested Remus.
As the memory played again, he spoke. "She didn't expect Blaise. She expresses concern for him. She's being watched. Don't tell the ministry. 'They' will kill what is precious to her. She asks why he is doing this. Who he really is. He calls her 'Calla'. Draco has been punished. She calls him 'il mio dolce'. She tells him to fight. He can't, they have his 'mi sorella'. She says no. They fight. She asks if Draco is dead. Says she would not recover his body. He calls her 'mi Belladonna'. They speak of James. 'Bambini'. She says she is nothing. Not a bargaining chip. Something about the glue that holds 'them' together, and 'glorious chaos'. And of course, the verbal message."
"So...what does it all mean?" asked Seamus Finnegan.
"It's a puzzle," said Ron. "And these are our pieces. Blaise is keyed into her wards; we all are. That's the ticket in. It's obvious he was under someone else's control; he was never good at fighting that particular curse. Of course don't tell the Ministry, we would stop them before they got started. What is precious to her that is missing?"
"Nothing," said Harry. "She keeps her circle small. We all know that."
"Why didn't we see her be taken?" asked Dean Thomas.
"She went willingly," said Harry, anguish crossing his face.
"Why" asked Remus. "She knows not to engage a hostile, unknown enemy."
"For Jamie. They threatened to come after him"
"That's ridiculous," said Terry Boot. "Why would she go with someone so inept?"
"Because the other day in her office we talked about family. What we fought for. She said I finally had everything I deserved; that she wouldn't see it torn apart."
"But they'd never get to him."
"They weren't supposed to be able to get to her," said Harry sadly.
"And they didn't wish to cause a scene," rasped Snape. "She denied James being born. If they had come after Harry straight on there would have been a scene…collateral damage…"
"And if they had come after Ginny, they would have been dead," finished Ron.
"Damage control," said Sirius. "That's the first thing you should be teaching the recruits, Boot."
"Where does Calla come from?" asked Arthur.
"Calla Lily," smiled Snape. "My beautiful, poisonous flower."
"Anyone catch the Italian?" asked Ron.
"Il mio dolce means 'my sweet'," said Harry. "Ginny ate a lot of weird Italian stuff and every other dish had dolce in it."
"What is 'mi sorella'?" asked Remus.
"My sister," supplied Sirius.
"Blaise didn't have a sister. His whore of a mother only forgot her potions once," snorted Boot.
"Isabella, Mr. Boot, is four. Blaise promised to take care of her if his mother would spare her life. He was wise in only telling a few of her existence. Her sire was a very cruel, very evil man."
"The point is they have his sister. That should narrow down leads considerably. Who knew?" asked Arthur.
"Myself, of course," offered Snape. "Draco, Kaelyn, Theodore Nott, Lady Zabini, obviously, and Pansy Parkinson."
"I did," said Harry.
"Anyone else?" asked Sirius, to which Severus shook his head.
"I didn't tell, and Kaelyn wouldn't. Pansy died right after she found out, so she would not have had the chance. Obviously father has kept silent. That leaves Draco and Nott, unless Lady Zabini told anyone before she was offed."
Severus shook his head again. "She swore a secrecy oath, and Blaise and Draco are brothers in all but blood. They would not betray the trust of one another."
"Greyback got Nott I thought," said Ron.
"No. I did. Two years back," said Sirius.
"Did her sire know?" asked Shacklebolt.
"He may have, but he perished shortly after she was conceived. He is not an issue," said Snape.
"Who was he?" inquired harry.
"Tom Riddle," Snape breathed. The entire room went deadly quiet.
"Tom Riddle?" asked Remus. "As in Lord Voldemort?"
"The same," rasped Snape.
"Did any of his followers know?" asked Finnegan.
"Not that are alive, if any at all. The Dark Lord had many consorts. She would have had to seek him out specifically for anyone to know. Blaise himself told me."
"So were back to square four. What else do we know?" asked Sirius.
Severus closed his eyes. Talking was beginning to hurt, but he had to know…Draco was just as much a son to him as Harry.
"Is Draco dead? Do we know?" Harry asked, his voice hard.
"He was punished, but alive I believe," supplied Remus.
"And Belladonna? Bambino?" asked Ron.
"Bambini…he calls her child," said Remus.
"Are you sure he wasn't referring to Jamie?" asked Shacklebolt.
Harry shook his head, "that's Bambino."
"Belladonna is a flower. Beautiful and deadly," mused Sirius, a sly smile on his face. "It is a nightshade, very dark and rich in color. In potions and poisons it causes muscular atrophy and is almost always fatal. In Italian it means 'beautiful woman'. Seems to be a reluctant nod to her power and skill."
"So how is it personal? To whom? I mean, we've only pissed off about 4,000 people…" trailed off Harry.
"We need to find 'The Master'," said Shacklebolt.
"We need to find Draco," interjected Snape.
"Where do we begin?" asked Sirius.
"At the end," said Ron.
