Professor McGonagall and Madam Pince apparated into Kilmartin village before dawn in the best semblance of muggle clothing they could muster - pant suits, good walking shoes and light coats. Though the village square was deserted, they kept their hands in their pockets clutching their wands. It took them only a few minutes to find their lodgings, the Kilmartin Hotel. The bed and breakfast establishment was a whitewashed, two story building with an aura of easy welcome about it. It was situated in the heart of the village and so was deemed an ideal choice for a base camp.

The night clerk greeted them cheerfully. "Good morning, ladies, me name's Jamie. Are you here for rooms?"

Minerva smiled back happy to hear a genuine Scottish brogue again. She pulled out a muggle credit card from her purse. "Yes, do you have a suite available?"

"Yes, I do." Jamie turned the register book to a new page. "If you could sign in here. I'll get your keys."

Minerva and Irma signed the register both listing their home addresses as Hogwarts Academy in the Highlands. Jamie deposited two sets of keys on the counter. "If you give me the keys to your car, I can unload your luggage."

Irma and Minerva exchanged sideways glances. Irma answered for both of them. "That's quite all right. We were ... were escorted here by a relative." She held up her own overnight bag. "We travel light as you can see."

"Of course. If you would follow me, I'll take you to your rooms. This way please."

Minerva and Irma followed Jamie up the staircase. Their room was unusually roomy with a bedroom with two twin beds, a bath and a spacious sitting room.

Stoking a new fire in the hearth, Jamie asked, "You must be tired having such an early journey. Would you like breakfast sent up? The kitchens are closed yet but I can manage some tea, toast and preserves."

Minerva laid her bag on the sofa and was discreetly studying the room. "If you could, that sounds wonderful. We skipped breakfast, you see."

Jamie left with assurances of returning with breakfast shortly. Irma laid out her notes on the desk in the sitting room.

Minerva peered out the window. She surveyed the surrounding buildings. "The church is across the street and Kilmartin House is right next to it."

"We have a few hours until they open." Irma experimented with the ballpoint pen and pad of paper she found on the desk. One could not very well use a quill in public. She drew a few squiggles on the pad getting used to holding the pen.

As she stood by the window, Minerva's hand subconsciously stroked the pendant. "I also see a pub, an apothecary and a stationers."

"Oh, good. I'm going to buy several of these, uh, pens you lent me. Much smoother than a quill and no ink blots to be careful about."

"Don't get spoiled. They won't work at school."

"Pity." Irma stopped doodling. "Will the ink disappear?"

"Not if it's on parchment." Minerva sat on the sofa removing her shoes. She laid back and closed her eyes.

"Hmm, what other loopholes are there in the anti-muggle spell at Hogwarts? Yes, I am assuming there are other ways around it," said Irma. "I am also assuming that you know them all."

Minerva laughed softly. "I blundered into most of them I assure you. All accidental I swear."

Irma uncapped the red gel pen. "Look at that line. So bold. A bit much I think."

Eased of some of her earlier tension, Minerva summoned a duvet from a bed. She covered her cold legs. ""Irma, thank you for coming. Your company is appreciated."

"Tosh! Anything I can do to help, I'll do." Irma looked up from her doodling. "Minerva, I get the impression that we are racing against time."

"Your impression is correct."

"How much time do we have?"

"We don't have a definite time period. It is better to say that we are in need of as much information as we can find before something else happens."

"What could happen?"

"Are you familiar with the theory of inter-dimensional time displacement?"

"I understand the mechanics and theories behind strands and knots and how certain rules apply to them."

"Albus and I concur that the baron's resurrection is or was extraordinary. It must be unplanned as far as actual events. So, it is a factor that is affecting or could affect our strand, our time period." Minerva covered her eyes with her forearm. "If we are to do the least damage to time, we must curtail our actions to a very small window or portion of the strand. I calculate that space to be a week at most. Whatever effect the baron's resurrection will have on our time will or should be revealed soon, if the rules are correct that is."

"If? If they are correct?"

"Nothing is perfect. Albus explained to me that prophecies have a way of disturbing or changing the knots on a strand. It is one reason why the true nature of prophecies are known only to a few people at a time. As for the rules, Albus says to treat them as guidelines not absolutes."

"In other words, we are working blind."

"Utterly."

At nine-thirty in the morning, Minerva and Irma positioned themselves at the door of Kilmartin Church. The churchyard had grave sites dating as far back as the 1300s. By their estimation, Juliana Pendry lived in the 1300s and died sometime in the early 1400s. If Juliana had lived in the area, the church records and the graves may yield critical clues. The vicar led them to the oldest grave markers which were housed in a mausoleum next to the church.

While the vicar was off studying what records he could find for any mention of the Pendry family, Minerva and Irma examined the markers intently. Discreetly, they would cast reveal spells to see if the markers had any hidden magical attributes.

A half hour later, Irma called out excitedly, "Minerva! I found something."

Minerva found the librarian making a quick copy on to parchment of the detailed engravings on a stone marker four meters in height. At the top was a fading engraving of a ship with a cross on its sails. She peered closer and could not find anything unusual about it.

Irma took her wand and pointed at a small drawing near the base of the marker. "Here, Minerva, do you see this symbol - three triangles one inside the other with a star outlined over them?"

"Yes, what does it mean?"

"It's the medieval symbol for a healer, a magical healer."

Minerva looked around them making sure they were unobserved.

Irma flicked her wand and cast her spell. "When I cast a reveal spell, it happened. Tell me if you recognize it."

The symbol glowed with a dim blue aura. The aura crept up the marker. Foreign words appeared on the marker in glowing blue script. Minerva watched entranced. She recognized some of the words. "It's in Gaelic, old Gaelic."

Irma cast a quick copy spell to transfer the script to her notepad. "Can you read any of it?"

"I'm not sure of my translation skills, Irma. From what I can tell it's a message."

"A message?"

"Yes, it refers to a location the ..." Minerva squinted then recoiled as if in shock. " ... the burial place of Juliana Pendry."

Irma gasped beside her. "Oh, my!"

"This marker was made by her son Andre de Sauvignon." The script was fading quickly. Minerva traced a strange drawing near the bottom - seven concentric circles and in the center was some kind of hollow indentation like a cup. "This symbol here represents the location somehow."

Irma peering over Minerva's shoulder focused on the symbol. "It's familiar. I've seen it before but where?"

Minerva looked around them. Her animagi-influenced hearing heard the vicar returning. She made to stand in front of the marker.

The vicar, Mr. Hilliard, bustled over. "I'm afraid, ladies, that our records show no entries for a surname of Pendry."

Minerva feigned disappointment. "I see. That's too bad but thank you for looking, Mr. Hilliard."

"I see you found one of our tourist magnets there." Mr. Hilliard motioned to the grave slab.

"Really?" exclaimed Irma.

"It's a bona fide marker made for a Knight Templar. See the galley and the Templar cross on it," Mr. Hilliard said. "We know that some Templars came from France. Perhaps sailing through Loch Sween until they reached here."

"I didn't know that. How interesting!" Irma said truly surprised.

"Kilmartin isn't as well known as other places in Templar history. A group of them stayed in this area in secret for seven or eight years after escaping from France. The last trace of them was just after Bannockburn when they fought alongside Robert the First."

"Last trace?"

"Yes, they disappeared. Reasons unknown. The prevailing theory is that they went to Roslyn and settled there instead." Mr. Hilliard provided.

Minerva asked, "Where were these markers found originally?"

"I don't know exactly. I believe they were originally in the graveyard here but they didn't mark actual graves. Local lore says that they were originally elsewhere. They were stored at the museum. And at some time in the last thirty years, the markers were brought to our church. About ten years ago, we had them brought inside the mausoleum for preservation purposes. We're having some construction work inside so we took them out again this week."

Minerva nodded imperceptibly to Irma. It was time to leave. Minerva shook hands with the vicar thanking him profusely for his aid. With renewed purpose, Minerva and Irma left the church headed for Kilmartin House which housed the local museum. Irma racked her brain trying to remember where she had seen the circular symbol before.

They had found Juliana Pendry and now the trail beckoned them onward final destination unknown.