Chapter 11 - Raids
Doug, Emily, Harry and Hermione arrived at Riddle Manor very early on Saturday morning. They made a careful search of the property for Frank Bryce, who they had learned, was the current caretaker of the Riddle property. It didn't take long, as Harry used Voldemort's memories of the Manor to learn Bryce's daily schedule. Bryce was quickly Stunned, then Hermione dosed him with a variation of Dreamless Sleep that would result in him awakening later, none the wiser and believing that he had simply fallen asleep on the job.
It took a while to access the Disillusioned closet that contained the bulk of the Riddle Manor stash. Once they located it, Doug got down to the business of confirming Harry's list of the wards and protections they would have to conquer in order to gain access to Voldemort's cache of ill-gotten valuables.
"There are twelve layers of wards protecting this closet. Two of them are blood wards, plus five of the wards appear to be foreign in origin. Exactly as described in your list, Harry."
"Can you teach Harry that detection spell? At least some of the protections are likely to involve Parselmouth magic, so we'll need Harry to translate for the rest of us," Hermione explained.
Doug quickly taught Harry the spell and made him practice it several times until he had it down pat. When Doug and Harry looked like they were ready for a break, Hermione approached them with another thought.
"Why don't you list out the wards we've already gone through, so we can double-check to make sure nothing was missed?""
"Okay." Harry stretched and turned to Doug. "Do you want to go first or should I?"
"I think you should go first, Harry," Doug replied. "If you make a mistake, it can be blamed on your inexperience. If I make a mistake, I look like a blundering idiot with his head up his bum."
Harry grinned. "Okay, the first ward is a simple Muggle-repelling ward."
"Agreed."
"Can we leave that one in place? As wizards, that one won't affect us at all, right?"
"Sorry, but we have to take down that ward in order to gain access to the other layers of wards underneath it. No shortcuts allowed, I'm afraid."
"Alright, I see your point. So how do we go about removing it?"
"The simplest way would be to have a Muggle to repeatedly walk into the ward until the ward collapsed from overuse. But, in this case, that isn't an option. That action would trip the other wards and we would all die very messily. Instead, we will have to bombard it with magical energy, forcing the ward to inflate like a balloon. That's where our friend the Muggle caretaker comes in. Once the ward has contact with him, Mr. Bryce will be like the pin that causes our ward balloon to literally pop.
"Okay, why don't Emily and I take care of this simple ward while you guys make a list of the other wards, along with some suggestions on how to dismantle them?"
Emily demonstrated to Hermione how to expand the ward and the two witches had eradicated it within mere minutes.
"Next one, people?"
"Next up is a notice-me-not ward."
"A simple Finite should take care of that one."
"Third ward is the first blood ward. That one will kill anything or anyone that attempts to pass through it."
"To get rid of that one, you need to use blood to draw the rune symbol of life on a stone, then slide it into the ward line."
"Fourth one is a decay ward. If you're not very careful, it will cause your entire body to rapidly decay and you'll die a most painful death."
"You need to find the stones that make up the ward's boundary and destroy them."
"Fifth one is a fire ward. It will cause your body to burst into flames and you'll instantly burn to death."
"You need to inscribe an ice rune on that one to cancel it out."
"Sixth ward wakes up a horde of Inferi."
"Damn, I missed that one. That makes it a total of twelve instead of eleven wards."
"So how do we get past that one?"
"You need to find the rune markings that make up the ward's boundary and scratch them out."
"Seventh ward causes paralysis to anyone attempting to access the closet. That one's done in Parselmouth, too."
"A simple Finite spoken in Parselmouth should do the trick. "
"Eighth is a Crucio ward, also in Parselmouth."
"We have to expand the ward until it bursts. That one could be quite tricky. See, you'll need to actually be hit by the Crucio, yet maintain your concentration despite the pain in order to keep expanding the ward. Otherwise, the pain will drive you irreversibly insane. Game over."
"The ninth ward causes all spells to rebound on the attacker and is also done in Parselmouth."
"We will have to use a shield spell to surround the area around the ward, thereby limiting the amount of magic it can absorb. Then you keep casting spells directly at the ward until it overloads and collapses from the strain."
"The tenth is particularly nasty and is also done in Parselmouth. For all intents and purposes, it's an Avada Kedavra blood ward."
"This makes that ward especially tough to defeat. Theoretically, we'll need to use blood to write the counter-spell in Parselmouth. Problem is, of course, that there is no counter for Avada Kedavra. So we'll have to think creatively to get past that one. Next?"
"Eleventh ward is also in Parselmouth and summons the Inferi."
"Voldemort was obviously hoping that some of the attackers would have died, forcing the survivors to battle their dead friends," Emily said, with a shudder of pure disgust.
"We do the same as with the sixth ward. But since you're much closer to the end, the markings will be really hard to find."
"Twelfth ward is an insanity curse."
"Identical process to the Crucio ward."
"That's all I've got," Harry added, unnecessarily.
"Well, there was one additional ward, on the door frame itself. It's a slow-acting killing curse that mimics the effects of a poison. You would need a seriously talented curse-breaker to get rid of the curse itself, there is no potion out there that will touch it. To get rid of this ward, we'll need to destroy the door frame, taking care not to touch it."
"About how long do you think this will take?" Hermione wondered aloud.
"All of today, at the very least." Doug replies.
"What if I told you we have a way of doing it much faster and easier than what you've just described?"
"I say I'll not risk our lives on maybes, Hermione." Doug declared.
"There won't be any risk to us. Just a few other things, I promise."
Doug's eyes narrowed at the little witch. "Exactly what are you planning, young lady?"
"We conjure a load of harmless snakes to overwhelm most of the wards. The wards that we can't overwhelm with snakes, we'll just use chickens instead."
"That might actually work." Doug said, excitedly.
"Why hasn't anyone thought of this before?" Emily wondered.
"I don't know, maybe because everyone always tries to use Imperio to get the animals to do what they want, but wards generally don't react favorably to Unforgiveables of any kind. People who have tried it in the past have been driven to insanity and the animals simply explode, poor devils. That is why they use magical techniques."
Harry watched Douglas intently for a moment. "So, what do you think? Are we going to try it?"
"Yes, why not? The risk to our persons are minimal. Wait here, you lot, while Emily and I go fetch us some chickens."
As soon as Doug and Emily returned, they all got busy using the conjured snakes and chickens to take down all the wards protecting the closet. Once the wards were down, they had made a huge mess and created enough roasted chicken to feed an army. It had taken them only a few hours to accomplish and their treasure-hunting team was none the worse for wear.
When they were finally able to open the closet, they stepped into a huge, magically-expanded room loaded with money and priceless valuables beyond their wildest dreams. It was like walking into a bank vault at Gringott's There were huge piles of gold, stacks of Muggle money, piles of intricately-carved wands and holsters, loads of untraceable Portkeys, gold and silver valuables (probably stolen from the homes of Muggle Death Eater victims), Dark objects, shelves and shelves of rare potions and potions ingredients, rare books and grimoires, and many other items that boggled the mind.
"Merlin's flaming beard! This is one hell of an amazing hoard. So what is my cut of all this," Doug asked, eyes alight with the thrill of discovery.
"We were thinking of ten percent for you, Doug, as you were expected to carry out the lion's share of this job, while Emily should get five percent for her help with the research and preparation for the raid. The Outcast organisation will get fifteen percent to help fund the new school. There will be strings attached for such a grant, by the way. Harry and I worked this all out with my parents while we were still in the planning stages of this raid."
"I think I deserve more, at least fifteen percent, I think my input in the operation is worth well more than a measley ten," Doug countered."I'll have you know I about drove myself nuts with worry about what could've easily happened here," he added.
"You can always get zero. Let me remind you that it was Harry who took on Voldemort himself in order to find the locations of these stockpiles and what was used to protect them in the first place. And it was me who did the bulk of the research, in addition to coming up with ways to get us past all those wards, without which we would either be dead or still spinning our wheels," Hermione pointed out.
"It was me who discovered and identified that curse on the door frame that Harry knew nothing about. I should definitely get a bonus for that one."
"If you want more, Doug, you can always do the next raid all by yourself," Hermione informed him, smiling sweetly.
"Okay, fine. Ten percent it is." Doug said, defeated. He didn't dare push too hard for fear of losing a job he truly enjoyed, with mates he enjoyed working with, for once.
"Now that that's all settled, can we please get back to work? Doug, your job is to indentify and separate any Dark objects for special handling. Emily, do you mind going to my parents house to tell them that we were successful and that we're all alright? Harry and I will handle the job of cleaning up the huge mess we made getting past all those wards," Hermione declared, leaving no room for further debate.
Thankfully, using magic made the cleanup process go much more quickly and easily. When Emily returned from her errand, she helped Harry and Hermione by delivering the boxes of freshly-cooked chicken to a grateful nearby homeless shelter. When she returned from her delivery, Emily accompanied Harry and Hermione to check on Doug's progress.
"How are things going with the Dark object detail?"
"Okay, but it's fairly slow going. I've already cleared some of the cursed items, but this place is huge. I'll be busy for quite a while yet."
"While you're busy dealing with that, the rest of us are going to start packing up the money and checked valuables into the trunks so that we can start moving it out as soon as possible."
"Sounds good to me. You should start in that corner and work towards me, I've already sorted that section. When I finish up with the cursed items, I'll come over and help you guys with the packing."
"I've been thinking about something... Since Remus should be coming to my place sometime this afternoon, I believe that we should postpone the orphanage raid until later tonight. Both because Harry and would like to avoid seeing Remus and so that there will be someone home to collect the money he owes us. I'm thinking that you and Harry should make an attempt on the Leaky Cauldron stash after you're finished with this batch of cursed objects. Emily and I will finish packing up the rest of this, then we'll join you at the Leaky Cauldron. That is, unless you feel the need for someone to hold your hand while you're doing the curse-breaking?" Hermione asked, innocently.
Doug made a face, but agreed. "Fine."
He walked off, continuously muttering under his breath while he worked on clearing out the cursed items. After an hour of work he was finally done and called Harry over.
"Time for us to go," Doug announced. "We will see you at the Leaky Cauldron a bit later, yeah?"
Harry slipped on his invisibility cloak and Doug swiftly packed up his curse-breaking gear. They Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, where Doug paid for the room they wanted and ordered a hearty meal for two to be sent to the room. As soon as Doug closed the door, Harry tossed off his invisibility cloak. Harry was just about to start examining the wards when Doug suddenly stopped him.
"Whoa, Harry, we need to rest and recharge our batteries before we tackle the wards for this job," Doug told him. Then he proceeded to stretch out to take a catnap on the bed..
Harry shook his head, then got busy clearing the area around the stash and made himself comfortable in one of the armchairs by the door. A bit later, Doug and Harry were just finishing their meal when Hermione and Emily arrived.
"We just finished up the prep on this job," Doug told the pair of witches before winking mischievously at Harry.
"Why don't you get started while we get a little something to eat, we're both famished," Hermione commented, a roll of her eyes clearly indicating that she didn't believe Doug for one second.
The Leaky Cauldron stash had only five wards protecting it and they were down for the count by the time Emily and Hermione had finished eating. This stash turned out to contain only 10,000 galleons and 10,000 British pounds sterling, a few fake identities and a spare wand. The spare wand they found suited Harry much better than the wand he had been using as his alternate, so he decided to keep it for himself. Emily periodically popped in to check with the Grangers to find out whether Remus had come and gone yet, borrowing Harry's invisibility cloak to make sure she remained unseen.
To keep themselves busy while waiting for Remus's visit to end, Emily read while Hermione, Harry and Doug planned their meeting with Rita Skeeter for the next day. It was decided that Hermione would either disguise herself or hide under Harry's invisibility cloak with Doug to the meeting. The meeting was going to be at the Leaky Cauldron and they decided to rent the same room for an additional day for that purpose.
It was almost dinnertime when Remus finally left the Granger home. They immediately Apparated back home, much to the relief of an anxious Doug and Emma. This time, they all left together for the orphanage, first making a brief stop at a nearby restaurant to pick up the special dinner package the Grangers had pre-ordered to serve the children and staff. Dan had also hired a large van to transport them all along with the food and toys.
After everything was packed up and they were on their way to the orphanage, Harry couldn't contain his curiosity any longer.
"How did the meeting with Remus go?"
"It went fine. We talked for a while and he gave us most of the money he owed," Emma replied.
"What did you guys talk about?"
"You mostly. He wanted to know how we met you."
"What did you tell him?"
"We said Hermione had met you in Muggle school, that you had been friends for a long time, that one day she brought you home with her and that's how we met."
"Do you think Remus believed you?"
"I'm pretty sure he did. After all, it was the truth, just not all of it. Anyway, he wanted to give his side of his story to you."
"What was his justification for trying to steal from me?"
"He says he really didn't mean for that to happen. Remus told us that he has always admired and trusted the headmaster ever since he was willing to stick his neck out so that Remus could go to Hogwarts. He said that Dumbledore has proven his worth to him many times over by helping him out when he was down on his luck, even when no one else would. That is why when Dumbledore told him not to contact you, Harry, he agreed to do so. It was also why Remus approached Dumbledore with his concerns about the people you were associating with to handle the preparing and sale of the Basilisk parts. Dumbledore said he was willing to personally handle it himself, claiming that if you were associating with unsavoury people, then it was his duty to deny them the funds to continue their work. When Remus tried to retrieve the Basilisk parts after your letter, Dumbledore claimed that he gave the Basilisk parts to Professor Snape in order to determine their origin. Professor Snape used some of the parts in his potions without his authorisation. He is hoping to rebuild your trust by repaying the amount that was lost. Professor Snape can not afford to pay and Dumbledore flatly refused, saying that Professor Snape used the parts, so it's his responsibility."
" So how much did he pay and how much does he owe?" Harry asked.
"He gave us 300,000 galleons and he owes about 40,000 more," Emma replied.
"How in the world did Snape manage to use 50,000 galleons worth of Basilisk parts?" Harry exclaimed.
"I don't have a clue, but I still say you should be careful around Remus. I think you should leave any further interaction with him to either Sirius or us. He is just too much of a follower and trusts Dumbledore entirely too much to see his shortcomings. He doesn't even want to try, I think."
"I was not planning to," Harry admitted. "I'm too afraid I would lose my temper with him."
"Oh! Here's something that might lighten your mood a bit, Harry. I heard that Snape is in the infirmary... Turns out the git was bitten and severely infected by the Cerebus, just like we planned. This means no Potions class with him next week. Not to mention that the potions he started with the Basilisk parts will surely spoil and be completely worthless," Hermione added with a smirk.
"That does make me feel loads better. Next time I see him, I will make sure he will forgets everything he learned from the Basilisk parts and destroys any potions he might have made with them," Harry said cheerfully.
"I'll do you one better, Harry. I was thinking of slipping Snape a potion that causes dementia. It'll be a slow-acting potion with no cure, I found in one of the rare potion books he got for us. This way his talents won't be available to be used by the enemy and it'll surely be blamed on the infection from the Cerebus bite."
"That is just beautiful," Harry said happily.
"Just imagine, next year, when Ashley starts publishing the discoveries he made. The dementia will make it next to impossible for him to publish his discoveries before Ashley does. He won't be able to remember enough of the details to support and justify his work."
"Snape will be tearing out his hair with frustration. That would be so good to see."
When they arrived at the orphanage, Hermione, Harry, Emily and Doug snuck off to tackle the raid while Emma and Dan started unpacking the food and toys from the truck. The couple felt like Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus as they went into the orphanage with all the goodies they had brought. They were met inside by orphanage staff, who were delighted to help them move all the food and packages inside.
As soon as they opened one bag of toys they were overwhelmed with excited orphans. The children quickly appeared from everywhere as soon as they laid eyes on the toys. Then everyone sat down to a delicious dinner, including Dan and Emma. Halfway through the meal, Harry, Hermione, Emily and Doug knocked on the door of the orphanage, having successfully looted the stash that Voldemort had hidden there. Unfortunately, this had turned out to be another limited stash, just like the one at the Leaky Cauldron, with exactly the same assortment of items.
When Dan and Emma saw Hermione enter, they sighed in relief and began actually enjoying their meal and the company. At the end of the meal, the head of the orphanage stood up.
"I will like to thank the Granger family for their generosity in providing this wonderful meal and all the toys. Please give them a round of applause to express your appreciation."
When everyone started clapping, Dan and Doug both stood up and bowed to the crowd.
"I believe you said you also wished to also give the orphanage a donation to help with the upkeep of our organisation?"
"Yes, Harry, do you mind bringing me the briefcase from the van?"
Harry got the keys for the van from Dan and retrieved the leather briefcase he had brought along. Harry handed the brief case to Dan, who passed it to the orphanage administrator with a small bow.
The administrator nearly fainted when she opened the case to find tens of thousands of pounds, British sterling. Harry passed Dan another large envelope with the 10,000 British Pounds Sterling they had just liberated from the Voldemort stash. Doug had to be convinced to give up this amount. After the head of the orphanage recovered, the Grangers were thanked again and they all left very happy with all they had accomplished.