Harry paced, his hands in his pockets and his eyes focused on the few steps ahead of him until he came to a wall. In the confined space, his loops were short, but he didn't pay it any mind. His thoughts were far beyond these four walls.
"Harry," Hermione said from across the room, "please, Moody said to be patient. He'll be reach out to us when he can, I am sure of it."
He didn't respond. It was the same conversation they had had on repeat for the past few hours. Every time he tried to sit down and study, research or do anything he had found himself standing again and thinking after very little time passed. Patience was not his ally today.
It wasn't as though he had nothing to get done. Even without marching orders from Dumbledore, the pair had come up with a number of plans, and those certainly needed more details and thinking. But, as fast as his mind was whirring, he could not focus on any of those particular ideas. Every third or fourth turn, his eyes would shoot a glare over at the rolled up newspaper on the tea table.
Harry did not need a refresher to remember the headline: Harry Potter: Tower Terrorist? Rita was at it again, and her speculative piece rambled for a full three pages, hinting and insinuating as much. It was amazing how much she could imply without referring to anything but wild stories and guesses. Whoever was pulling the strings for the Prophet had lobbed Voldemort a fine gift. Even the smallest shreds of doubt could divide the Wizarding world just that little bit more. Harry didn't believe sullying his name would make a huge difference, but it could bother some people. Maybe he was being ridiculous.
"That woman," Hermione muttered to herself, noticing where he was looking. She shook her head. "Don't let her get to you, Harry. She's not worth your time. You know how she gets with everyone. Any chance she has to make a dig at someone, she does."
"Yeah," Harry said, sure of it, but it still bothered him.
Hermione went back to her reading, idly flipping pages, sometimes more than one at a time. Harry stood watching for a moment, but then his feet began pacing again, pulling him onward. There were too many problems and no solutions, so far. He felt like they had been spinning on a large wheel without going anywhere.
"Harry?" Hermione said after a silent moment.
"Yes?" he asked, not pausing his pacing.
"Why do you suppose they told us the barrier focus was at the Clock Tower?" she asked.
"I dunno," he said, shrugging as he walked. "Maybe they could trap people there easily."
"Hmm," Hermione muttered, not sounding convinced.
Harry stopped, looking over at her. "You think it's something else?" he asked.
"Maybe," Hermione replied. "I mean, it's a pretty big landmark. Loads of Muggles go see it. Wouldn't it be easier to trap someone in a more… secluded place?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah," he replied. "You've got a point. Maybe it was just attractive as it is high up. We'd be expecting something like that… a tower that could spread the magical signal around."
"Height shouldn't really matter, should it?" Hermione asked. "If it's a sufficiently powerful magical object, it could project the barrier anywhere. Well, nearby, anyway. I still don't know how it can reach that far."
"It could be the central point," Harry said, sure he was repeating himself, "and there are hubs out around the coast to push it further out."
Hermione nodded, absently. "But maybe then it is somewhere central…"
"It would make sense," Harry said. "But London is hardly the centre of -"
"Yes, but it is where the Ministry is," Hermione replied. "With the travel restrictions, keeping it close would be important. It would be less conspicuous."
"Unless the travel restrictions are meant to help keep people from noticing other people travelling out to it," Harry countered.
"I think it would need to be a pretty busy Wizarding area," Hermione said. "You obscure an object best with a Transparency spell if you don't move it."
"So, what?" Harry suggested. "Diagon Alley? St. Mungo's? The Ministry itself?"
"Likely the Ministry," Hermione replied, looking over at him. "No one would look in plain sight. For all we know, there's an office dedicated to the magical object. With the many levels in the Ministry and workers restricted to their departments, you could hide it amongst a small group without most of the Ministry knowing."
"And the Ministry is under You-Know-Who's control anyway," Harry reasoned.
"Maybe…" Hermione said, looking distant. She shook her head. "Yes, I mean, they seem to have the Minister and all."
"That still puts us about as far from finding it as we were," Harry said, groaning. "We can hardly just stroll into the Ministry openly."
"We can't," Hermione agreed, looking askance, both uncertain and cleverly at the same time. "But maybe… maybe we can find someone who can."
"Mr. Weasley is sticking his neck out enough being a part of the Order," Harry protested.
"Not him," she replied, laughing. "I'd never want to get him in trouble."
Then, she gave Harry an odd smile, and stood.
"This is mental," Harry said, half an hour later, following Hermione down a crowded London street.
"Noted," Hermione said. "But it's the only way I can think of. And we don't have to get anywhere near the Ministry."
"I don't think this is much better…" Harry said, looking up at the sign.
Daily Agriculture Industry London Yammer
Preparing Rural Owners for Profitable Harvests and the Environment of Tomorrow
"That is the most dull sounding paper ever," Hermione said with a wink and a laugh.
"Hermione," Harry said, stopping her. "Are you alright? You never jump into something like this… It's the sort of thing you tell me off for doing. This isn't because of the article, right?"
"Harry," she said. "We were ready to go into the Tower to take care of the barrier already."
"But we had a plan, and the twins…" Harry protested. "For all we know, there are Ministry officials visiting who might arrest us on the spot."
"We're not even going in," Hermione said. "Just trying to get her attention."
"How could we do that without going inside?" he asked. "You never explained that part."
She strolled over to the door, stopping a young man who was on his way in.
"Excuse me," she said, looking more tentative than she ever did.
"Yes?" he asked, looking at her with a squinting eye.
"If Miss Skeeter is in," Hermione said, holding a slip of parchment out to him. "Some-some one g-gave me a n-n-note for h-her."
"Ah, let me guess," he said, laughing. "Someone would like an autograph?"
Hermione blushed, looking down, and not saying anything. Harry watched from a few steps away in surprise. He'd never seen Hermione that tongue-tied and flustered. She was full of surprises today.
"Alright," the man said, laughing. "I'll pass it to her. You wait out here and if she signs it, I'll bring it back."
"Th-thank you," she said, timidly.
The man took the note from her with a wry grin, slipping into the building shaking his head and chuckling. Hermione walked back to where Harry was, and took his arm. She strolled briskly, taking him to the corner, and waited. The young man did not come back, but several minutes later, Harry saw a very disheveled Rita Skeeter come running out of the building, turning to the corner, seeing them and sprinting down the way.
"What is the meaning of this, girl?" she demanded, looking furious. "What kind of emergency is-" Then, as she reached them, her eyes widened in shock. "You?"
"Come walk with us," Hermione said, gesturing down the cross road. "We just want to talk."
"As if I'd come into some trap," the woman balked. "I've been sought after when I put out a news article people didn't like before, you know."
"We just want to talk," Harry repeated Hermione, hoping it gave her words weight. "Would we risk someone finding us to mess with you? We've got enough to worry about."
Rita looked between them, seeming to weigh something in her mind. She pulled out her wand, holding it at her side, and then nodded for them to move ahead. Rita walked slightly behind them, making sure they were both in her sight. Harry shrugged, looking at Hermione and walked.
"You two are in a lot of trouble," she muttered. "And mad as a hatter to boot."
"We do what we must," Harry managed, trying not to laugh at the odd situation.
"What do you want?" she asked. "If it's to stop writing articles, you can forget it. No one will believe you, whatever you think you have on me."
Hermione sighed. "It's not about your writing, odious as that may be," she said. "We are asking you to find something for us…"
"Me?" Rita said, laughing out loud. "I'm hardly a niffler, am I?"
"No one said you are," Hermione said, sniffing. "But you can go places we cannot, where few could."
"What could you two possibly be after?" Rita asked. "Other than one way tickets to Azkaban."
"There's something hidden - we believe in the Ministry of Magic - creating that barrier keeping everyone in England and everyone else out. We're asking you to help us find it," Harry said, seeing Hermione nod, but frown.
"Direct at last," Rita said, appraising Harry with her eyes. "I do admire directness. But you're insane."
"We don't want you to do anything with it," Hermione jumped in. "Just let us know if you can find it, or where it might be."
"The whole flaming Ministry'd know if I was skulking in the deepest reaches," Rita scoffed. "I am well known."
"But you know how to ask in a way that would not sound like you were asking," Harry said. "You are a well known reporter, aren't you?"
"Look," she said, stopping in the middle of the walk. "Even if I could find it - and I am not very certain I could - what's in it for me? I'm to stick out my neck for you lot and likely find myself beside you in a cell in Azkaban out of the goodness of my heart?"
"How about an exclusive interview with us?" Hermione offered.
Harry raised his right eyebrow, not sure what to think.
"No market for that," Rita said, curtly. "You're no one and his word is dung in the Prophet right now. And don't even think about threatening me. No one will believe your word against mine."
"It hadn't crossed my mind," Hermione said.
"Is there anything we could give you that would be of interest?" Harry asked, racking his brain.
"That is the question of a man without anything to offer," Rita said, laughing. "You're wasting my time."
"No!" Hermione said as the woman turned. "We can… create a spell for you. We have made created new spells before. If there's anything you've wanted to do but have no spell for…"
Rita stopped, frowning. "Intriguing…" she muttered. "How can I be sure you will deliver?"
"Ask us for a spell," Hermione said. "We'll create it, show you the spell, but not tell you how it works… until you let us know what we are looking for."
Rita stood there, looking off down the road, her wand had been deposited in her pocket at some point. Harry wasn't sure if she had done it on purpose or forgotten she had had it out in the first place for a reason. After a while, she looked at the pair of them, her eyes lit up.
"Too many people," Rita began, her smirk a bit annoyed, "have worked out how to shield conversations of … interest. It's tough enough being a journalist when people waffle on whether to tell you things, but when so many take measures to make it difficult…"
"You'd like a spell to get around Imperturbable Charms?" Harry asked.
Rita shrugged. "A girl's gotta eat," she replied. "But if it's too hard…"
"We'll do it," Hermione said, a fierce smile on her face.
Rita smirked, looking sure they wouldn't. "Show me the charm, and I'll think about helping you lot out. No promises that I can find what you're looking for. For all I know, it may not even be in the Ministry… whatever it is."
"Thank you," Hermione said, nodding. "We'll return when we have the spell."
"Send an owl next time," Rita said. "And say … 'Petunia has a story.' I'll meet you outside the flower shop two blocks down from the Prophet. No more sending senior reporters in with silly fan girl stories. There are far too many interested in flagging their tongues, as it is."
"Thank you," Harry said. "We'll let you know."
Rita shook her head, laughing as she walked off as at some private joke. The pair watched her head back, but she didn't regard them once on the way back.
"Can we trust her not to show up with a dozen Ministry officials when we owl?" Harry asked.
"We need to know where that barrier focus is," Hermione said, voice set, determined. "Besides, being able to get through an Imperturbable Charm could be useful to us, too."
Harry sighed. "Sometimes, I think the twins have gotten to you a bit too much," he said.
"Like you're any better, Harry Potter," she said, laughing. "Come on, we have a spell to design."