9. Use all your well-learned politesse
Eacharn Nethery was frustrated. Oddly it was not the usual issues that were causing this particular bout of frustration. Of course those issues would make solving this problem an exercise in creative manpower management.
Necessary ignorance kept his sources from providing the precise information needed to draw accurate conclusions. The Nomás Dikaiós Hodós requirement for secrecy, born from the homicidal persecution of the early times, became an impediment to moving the Path forward much more often than he thought essential. Again, he found himself whispering the Travelers' Truth that active participation did not always result in perceived forward movement. The detailed future was occluded but the fact of the coming conflict was certain.
After the death of his father at the hands of the black ones, he had supported the light in whatever way the Travelers would allow. Others in the organization didn't agree that the Path was best served by assisting the opposition of Voldemort. They thought a single leader could be compelled to turn this nation in a Path-friendly direction. An established subservient population would allow implementing changes more quickly than a free one. Some even advocated assisting in world domination with Nomás Dikaiós Hodós woven into the bureaucracy.
Eacharn supported the Path's leaders who were of the opinion that Nomás Dikaiós Hodós should be in opposition to Voldemort for the twofold reason that the death of so much talent would be wasteful and would result in limited resources for the Path. He supported the light but the deadlock among the Travelers meant approval to provide help came with extreme restrictions. No direct contact. All assistance should be provided in small, seemingly unrelated, bits that under no circumstances could be traced back to the organization. The clues he had provided to lead the old headmaster to the cave were necessarily subtle. A chance meeting with a former orphan and the original 1878 geology survey of the coastline had been enough to push the aged wizard to the right conclusion. It was unfortunate that Dumbledore was murdered and Regulus Black had already removed the locket.
These mishaps weren't without profit, however. They lead to the three. The trio of soul killers predicted so long ago. The current British Mobad ascended to his position by pointing out to the Nomás Dikaiós Hodós Central Committee the alignment of the three to the prophecy. Eacharn was promoted for his part in providing the appropriate data.
Since the utterance of the prophecy, there have been many candidates put forth as fulfillment. Other regions discounted the match of these British young people to the predictions of old. The greatest opponent was the Indonesian Mobad who claimed that they had identified the trio, consisting of a husband and wife along with her younger brother in Vietnam. Those three were breeding a species of dementor that was more powerful at longer distances. The Indonesians had even identified the fourth as a young wizard who assisted them and was the brother's lover. The British representatives still had not traced the predicted fourth in this country. No particular person was correctly aligned with the three in England, yet. Central Committee refused overt action on any of the suspected soul killers until a determination could be made on their exact identity. For now, Britain's Travelers could only monitor the three through whatever assets were available. That meant using members who were not aware of the whole knowledge.
Eacharn was coordinating this effort and it was far from comprehensive. Two years ago, they had no one in Hogwarts. Such a poor amount of information was obtained on Granger that her instability was almost overlooked. The few and conflicting reports from their Hogsmeade assets suggested that she was attacked a number of times but that was highly unlikely. Her name was overheard in connection with an Auror operation involving attacks at Hogwart's but the Traveler in the Law Enforcement offices was not allowed access to the particulars of that mission. The quickly suppressed rumor was that the brunette witch imagined those encounters. After Granger graduated, she showed no overt indications of psychological issues. Still, Eacharn maintains in his reports that she is mentally troubled.
Setting up the monitoring of the other two was severely hampered by their paranoia. Potter would report to Magical Law Enforcement anyone he saw following or observing him more than three times in a week. They would then find themselves under overt observation and Eacharn had to discontinue their operation. It took many months to coordinate a minimally consistent observation team.
Weasley was somewhat easier to watch, but he still found them out occasionally. He simply warned the assets away from him for the first year. Luckily, he thought they were simply hero-worshiping stalkers or reporters. Then Granger left Hogwarts and everything changed. Those assigned to her were inconspicuous in her parents' muggle neighborhood and strategic magical places. However, their lack of training and necessary ignorance of the whole plan left most of the observers prone to make mistakes and Weasley found them. He was not as understanding as before. Several underwent prosecution. Some required hospital visits when they ignored his warning to stay away from her. That left one at the Ministry in a nearby department to watch her and a squib neighbor who had become friends with the elder Grangers. Eacharn had thought it was a stroke of luck to have the Lovegood woman admitted to the mental ward. One of their newer disciples worked there and she agreed to watch Granger and send reports. Of course she agreed; the chaos must be fought against. That the other two-thirds of the trio visited often was also fortuitous.
It was one of these reports that became the cause of Eachart's frustration. It had single simple line describing one of Lovegood's delusions, or so he thought. He had summarized that week's report, included the originals and provided them to the Mobad's assistant to compile the British report for the Nomás Dikaiós Hodós central committee. The original reports were also sent as part of that document. Eacharn now knew that the reports were thoroughly scrutinized and suddenly things were not so simple. The healer was to meet him at this café to talk about her observations.
She was late.
Eacharn looked at the central committee's 'request' again.
/-/-/-/-/ -/-/-/-/
Herbology Master Genu Huetja
Nomás Dikaiós Hodós Central
Office of Political Influence
Charms Master Patel Cheswick
Mobad, Nomás Dikaiós Hodós, UK
Mobad Cheswick,
It has come to my attention that someone under your observation has knowledge of an event planned for September of 2001. This should not be possible as the arrangements were kept in the strictest secrecy. The plan is already in motion and would be difficult to stop without raising the suspicions of magical authorities within the United States or the Afghan-Pakistan conglomerate. The importance of the event requires that our organization prevent interference with what we have started. The instability in the Middle East region is essential to setting the non-magical governments into a position amenable to our cause and influence. As you well know, our organization still depends on minimally detectable influence due to our small numbers in the magical and non-magical populations.
You must provide a complete account of the information this person has on the events planned for New York City and whether any other events are known to be occurring on that date. If at all possible, the extent of the breach of our security is to be determined and eliminated, if it is enough to threaten our plans. I am aware that the unbelievers who may be privy to this information are high profile persons in the magical society of the United Kingdom. Simply removing them is risky for the secrecy of our organization. Instead, you must find a way to increase their skepticism of the information they have on these events. Exposure of our organization is not an option. I am supported in this by a supermajority of the Nomás Dikaiós Hodós central committee.
I envy you in your task of moving the Path forward and the opportunities its successful completion will afford you.
Ever respectfully,
Genu Huetja
/-/-/-/-/ -/-/-/-/
"Hello, I was directed to you by the host when I checked in."
Eacharn stood. "Healer O'Dwyer, Eacharn Nethery; pleased to meet you finally. Your reports on Miss Granger have been very helpful."
"She seems quite nice; she is brilliant, and organized with very high ideals. Have you decided if she will be approached to become a Traveler?"
"Ah, your excitement seems to be overriding your control a bit. It is our control over ourselves that overcomes chaos and moves our personal Path forward."
"It is through control of our personal Paths that the Human Path moves forward." She smiled as she replied with the Fourth Truth.
"Excellent, excellent. You're well versed for a new disciple of only seven months. Most don't advance to beyond the Third Truth for a year or longer."
"Thank you. Of course the first three are given right at the beginning, after all. My self-control was originally honed in my healer training. Still, some of the testing and exercises revealed my limitations and pushed me much further."
"The chaos within life is a constant test of control for self and group." He smiled at her as he waved for the server.
Beth's eyes sparkled with interest. "Is that another truth?"
Eacharn laughed and wagged his finger at her. "That, my dear, is a secret. Eagerness unbounded is another loss of control."
"Oh, of course." The healer entwined her fingers on the table top and drew a cleansing breath to calm herself. "So Eacharn, what is this meeting about?"
The Scottish wizard held up his hand to her as a young muggle woman approached.
"May I take your order?" she said.
Beth quickly picked up the menu card lying on the table in front of her.
Eacharn turned to the waitress. "Yes. A medium caramel iced coffee with cream and sugar and an orange-cranberry scone and some butter to go with it, please."
The woman turned to Beth. "And for you?"
"One of your 'eye-opener' hot teas; milk and sugar on the side. The blueberry scone is more my speed. I'll have that with orange marmalade, please."
"It will be my pleasure."
Eacharn reached up and touched the server's elbow. When she turned toward him he passed her a twenty-pound note. "Our meeting here is open ended and I don't want to cause problems, but we may be here a while, so….for any tips you might miss."
Her eyes widened. "Yes sir. Thank you." She walked away.
He spoke to Beth. "She will be back within ten minutes with our order. I want to understand Miss Granger's interaction with the mental patient she is visiting. Please spend this time organizing your recall of all the conversations you heard from June 29th to the present. I believe there was a particular delusion that Miss Lovegood had which became the focal point of their meetings. I am interested in how Miss Granger handled the direction that delusion was taking and the level of control she had over the situation. I do not want your interpretation of her actions. Please stay with recitations of the conversations and categorization of emotions exhibited. We will talk after our food is on the table."
She didn't reply since it was not required. Eacharn leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
Eleven minutes later the waitress placed his scone in front of him and he opened his eyes to smile at her. The rest of the order was distributed and organized. Eacharn thanked the server and dismissed her by looking over at Beth. She left them.
He spoke as he removed a notepad and pen from his pocket, "Mrs. O'Dwyer?"
"Well, there were only three meetings from June 29th to the one two days ago. So…"
"Beth," he spoke softly, "Please give me what I requested. Editorial comments are neither needed nor wanted. Control…only provide that which fulfills the need. Also, this is not a formal interrogation. Please enjoy your tea and scone as you provide the information requested." He smiled at her. "I guarantee, I will not forgo consuming this delicious coffee simply because this is a business meeting"
The healer smiled back, picking up her scone. "I will…and thank you for the guidance. June 29th, Luna spoke of some buildings in a photograph of the New York skyline. She said she remembered them collapsing from airplanes striking them. According to her memory, terrorists had taken over the airplanes and purposely flew them into the buildings. She remembered it from 10 years ago when she was a child. Luna did not specify the political or religious alignment of the terrorists and Hermione did not ask or speculate. Luna seemed upset and frightened. Hermione expressed skepticism at first but was willing to investigate when Luna promised to provide predictions that would occur sooner."
"Did Luna claim to be a seer?"
"The conversations I heard did not include speculations in that direction. That is all I have from June 29th concerning the attack on the buildings. I did hear them discussing Hermione's connection with Luna. Hermione expressed her love for Luna and described that they had been lovers before the accident that put Luna in St. Mungos. Luna did not remember this and expressed that she was not inclined to be Hermione's lover."
"This may be relevant if it influences Miss Granger's reaction to Miss Lovegood's delusion. For now, concentrate on anything involving the delusion itself."
Beth watched him write, catching a glimpse of odd symbols on the paper, before she continued.
"On July 6th, I was busy with…"; she paused at his stare. "Luna spoke of a muggle child, a girl, who was kidnapped and killed a month before Luna's birthday. When she expressed her wish that she'd accepted her memories earlier to save the girl, Hermione stated that the buildings were more important and they had to find a way to convince the Americans. They were both quite distressed at the girl's death but Hermione pushed Luna to move beyond it. Hermione said she would check "these predictions" this week.
"When is Luna's birthday?"
"February 13th. But they spoke as if the little girl's fate wasn't known yet."
"Miss Lovegood's problem is centered around her memories, as your reports stated. In fact, she originally thought she was someone else. Do you know that person's birthday?"
"I do not."
"You heard nothing of the other predictions?"
"I did not, but I saw Hermione reading a small parchment when she was leaving the ward."
"The killing of the muggle girl appears to be prediction by Miss Lovegood. Miss Granger also has more predictions from her. My first thoughts are that Miss Granger is supporting Miss Lovegood in her claims. The expression of strong emotions by both of them suggests Miss Granger is accepting the claims as true. It is possible that she is controlling the situation in this manner so that a psychological breakthrough can occur. Tell me about July 13th."
"They did not speak about the buildings or the predictions at any time I was within earshot. Luna was very distressed about something and required consoling by Hermione most of the night. The only thing possibly related to it was Hermione saying that she hopes 'it doesn't happen but everything points to the truth of it.' I didn't include that in my report, because I didn't see the predictions as anything except a false memory by Luna."
"You have again provided extraneous information. Do not let your excitement about a potential new disciple influence your responses. I recommended your promotion to the Fourth Truth based on the exemplary organization you have developed in your reports and the high praise from your mentor. Was I mistaken?"
"I am not in a position to judge your decision, nor your view of my readiness. I am concerned that the concentration on Hermione's response to a particular manifestation of Luna's illness is more about the prediction of the destroyed buildings than Hermione's fitness for the Traveler discipline."
Eacharn noted the concern on the healer's face and returned it with a grim expression.
"Healer O'Dwyer, you show concern for Miss Granger as if you were her mentor. She is not a disciple and may never be asked to join us. Furthermore, if she were to be asked, she would not necessarily become your disciple. Others are observing her for us as well. I understand your strong desire to see a person of such obvious talent and notoriety be added to our fold. However, it is that very notoriety that demands a greater understanding of who she is before we can move forward with an invitation. Do not overstep or presume you have knowledge which you do not. While I appreciate your skills as an observer and reporter, I cannot allow these noted lapses in your control to go unreported. Your mentor shall receive a message detailing these. She will determine the type and extent of your retraining."
"Mr. Nethery, please accept my apologies for my neglect in my own training. I appreciate that you think highly enough of me to provide my mentor with the request that she administer required correction."
He softened at her contrite acceptance of his censure. "Beth, we are moving toward a determination of Miss Granger's compatibility with our order. There are some items in her past and some observations of her behavior now which lend themselves to further scrutiny. Rest assured her homosexual behaviors are not an issue in any way. Her understanding the need to direct her path and that of the human race and her capability to conform to our standards are the only things judged in this. However, for her they must be more thoroughly understood than the usual because her unique place in Britain's wizarding community will allow her significant influence over this society. Your patience is key to your reports remaining the valued asset that we have come to expect from you."
"Thank you, Mr. Nethery."
"You're welcome. Now I am asking for speculation on your part based on your interactions with Miss Granger and what you have observed of her interaction with Miss Lovegood. Is Miss Granger in control of the situation regarding the predictions or has she allowed the relationship with Miss Lovegood to dictate her reactions to the claims of a mental patient?"
"I believe that Hermione is in control of the situation. She has consistently guided Luna throughout the investigation of her memories and treatment of her behaviors. She has gained Luna's trust and dependence when it comes to decisions on treatment. I have no idea whether or not Hermione is investigating these predictions. I have no indication that she believes them to be true beyond her interactions with Luna. She has not mentioned them to me. What I do know is that her approach to Luna has not changed despite her apparent concern over the predictions. She continues her attempts to bring back Luna's true memories. As a mental health healer, I consider that action to be the greatest evidence that Hermione is only humoring Luna in her belief that a disaster is going to occur next year."
"Hermione has not lost sight of her goal despite the new direction Miss Lovegood's case has taken….in your opinion."
Beth folded her arms across her chest. "Hermione has remained steady on the course she has taken in bringing Luna Lovegood back to a normal state of mind."
With a slight upturn on the corners of his lips, Eacharn stood. "Mrs. O'Dwyer, I appreciate your candor and your recall of this invaluable information. I will include your opinion of Miss Granger's capabilities in my report this week. I hope you enjoyed your tea and scones, but I must be going. I will handle the bill on my way out. Good day to you."
"Good day, Eacharn. I hope to meet again soon."
Eacharn nodded and turned toward the host station. He waved their server to him and supplied enough muggle money to pay the bill and include a significant tip. As he reached the door, he looked back at their table to see Healer O'Dwyer gathering her belongings in preparation to leave. She had a calm, almost serene look on her face. He turned and exited the café.
Nothing was better except the fact that a security breach within Nomás Dikaiós Hodós was highly unlikely. Unfortunately, he didn't know how much Lovegood did know. She knew about the attack planned for the buildings and, based on the apparently correct predictions made on July 6th, she realized that her prediction for September of 2001 was also correct. Did she know that the Travelers are involved? Did she know that the Travelers planned the attack?
The extent of Lovegood's knowledge of events must be extracted from her. There were Travelers capable of Legilimency but entering a mentally ill person was risky. Also, there was the risk of exposure if the person under such a spell were to gain awareness of the Travelers during the process.
No, Eacharn will use hired labor for this. The hiring occurred through back alley transactions that didn't require knowledge of the persons paying for the job. Money was the only thing necessary. The people he had in mind were less concerned than the Travelers regarding the comfort of the person being questioned. They will need to remove Lovegood from St. Mungo's and employ the means necessary to determine Lovegood's source of information about the attacks and the extent of her knowledge. It would not be pleasant for her, but he cannot risk the Travelers in any way. His only concern was that she was the fourth that would join the trio in fulfillment of the prophecy.
As he walked to the local apparition point, he recited the Truth that pain for an individual is acceptable to move the Travelers along the Right Path. He hoped that Lovegood would survive this inquiry but accepted that her life was expendable in the face of gaining control of the chaos and winning the coming conflict. The world and human race were at stake.
