Chapter 26:
Guilty
An owl arrived the next morning at breakfast, with a letter from Ruthless.
Dear Teddy, With that mess over, the office is having a party just now. We've dismantled Sam's cubicle and moved it to an entirely different place, so no one is stuck with that particular ghost. Anthony Goldstein isn't really celebrating, since Sam was his apprentice, but we're trying to cheer him up. It's not his fault, after all. Ginny and the kids showed up and made a great show of bullying Harry into taking the holiday he promised, now that this is over. James, of course, makes a great show of everything, and had the whole place laughing, Harry included, about a melodrama where he's neglected and begging in the street for some kind stranger to take him on a holiday, since his father never does, and so on. I understand they're going to the Cloaked Isles. He said you didn't want to go, which I thinks confirms that you're mad. Sun! For two weeks! Of course, Ginny and Lily will come back as walking freckles, if their skin's anything like mine (and it looks it), but wouldn't that be great anyway? I'd like to go somewhere sunny, once I get some gold saved. He'd have gone without the bullying, of course. He promised, and everything's pretty calm. I was worried about those nutters with the signs, but they seem to have wandered off to whatever Crazy-land they call home. I saw some of them in Diagon Alley with new signs protesting a Moonhowlers' song. Something about the lyrics being mean-spirited. It wasn't clear, but whatever it is, they're off on a new tangent, which seems pretty harmless. More power to them. All that worry for nothing! I've visited your grandmother at Borgin and Burke's. You never told me how much she knew about dark artifacts. And I didn't realize she'd patched things up with her sister. Lucius and Narcissa were both there. It was a little disturbing, if you'd like the truth of it, but she was as wonderful as ever. I find that I rather miss having Maurice to drop in on at all hours, though I doubt he'd believe you if you told him. All of which is to tell you that I'm fine, your grandmother is amusingly satisfied, the Division is well under control, and your godfather's biggest problem is likely to be a sunburn. Which means that you can now take your N.E.W.T.s in peace. Maddie Apcarne sends good luck to you. I won't bother. You're brilliant; you'll do perfectly well. Love,
I had the distinct pleasure of slamming the cell door on Sam at Azkaban. I hope the bastard hears that sound in his dreams for the next eighty years. As a means of mental Healing, I highly recommend it.
Ruthless
Teddy read it twice, looking for any clues that things weren't as good as she was saying they were. He didn't like the sudden silence from Sam's fan club-they didn't seem the type for it-but Ruthless would be in a better position to judge that than he was. Even more telling was Uncle Harry taking a holiday. He needed one, but he wouldn't have left if he thought something might go wrong.
"Good news?" Victoire asked.
"Uncle Harry's going on holiday," he offered.
"The ancients prophesied that would happen one day," she said, buttering her toast. "I think it's supposed to immediately precede a total eclipse, the apocalypse, and you not worrying needlessly about things anymore, though personally, I'm a doubter."
He stuck out his tongue at her. She rolled her eyes and got out her O.W.L. review materials. Each book was bedecked with color-coded tags, and she carried a box of notecards that she seemed to be quizzing herself on. Teddy offered to quiz her instead, but she told him he ought to be about his own work.
The N.E.W.T. examiners arrived the next day. There was no need to appropriate the Great Hall for fifteen students, so most of Teddy's written examinations were in the antechamber. History of Magic turned out to be a good deal simpler than Binns' class had been, with very few specific dates on the goblin wars, and more theoretical questions about cause and effect. This was much closer to Teddy's own tastes, and to the way he remembered history, and he thought he did rather well. Theoretical exams in Charms, Defense, Divination, and Potions were harder, but he was confident. Practical exams were slated for the following week, and Teddy met with his friends on Saturday to get as much practice as they could at anything and everything.
"Do you suppose they'll try to Curse us in Defense?" Maurice asked. "Would they be allowed? They didn't in O.W.L.s, but could they in N.E.W.T.s?"
"Just you, Burke," Corky said, casting random Charms that Honoria was reading to him out of a stack of all the books they'd used for the past seven years. A candlestick grew legs and did a pirouette. He frowned at it. "Why is there a Charm for that? Who said, 'I really want my candles to do ballet'?"
"Maybe someone made it for a show," Donzo suggested.
Jane Hunter looked up from a potion she was trying to brew from memory (it didn't look right to Teddy) and said, "More likely, it was someone's mum trying to keep the house quiet while she got her work done." She sniffed the potion and wrinkled her nose. "All right, Lupin, I can see you dying to jump in. What did I do?"
Teddy checked her ingredients and went over her work. "I think your armadillo bile didn't dry enough before you put it in."
"What am I meant to do about that in a timed examination?"
"That's what Charms are for," Tinny said. "Just use one of the drying charms."
"One of the light ones," Teddy agreed. "It's not best practices, but if they give you the wrong armadillo bile, you have to do something. I doubt they'll give you one this finicky with the clock ticking, though."
He spent the next hour with Laura, going over Divination methods. Since neither of them had bothered with tea leaves since third year, they both suspected this might be expected of them, and quaffed enough tea for six people each. Corky finally made them stop when he noted that they were speaking too quickly for anyone to understand a prediction. He didn't get to sleep until nearly three, and that was only after a very long flight out over the Forbidden Forest, during which his feathers got quite soaked by a spring rainstorm.
The next morning, he had a letter from the Potter children, showing the family in summer clothes (Aunt Ginny looked quite pretty in a blue flowered robe), standing in front of a wizard who was dressed in a Neddy the Kneazle costume, pretending to examine Lily's ear for clues. They all looked quite happy. James said that Martian and Checkmate ought to come to the Cloaked Islands for their next adventure. He seemed quite keen to have them stuck there through one of the periodic fluctuations in the Cloaking Charm, which made it necessary to come and go without magic for a while. He'd apparently had a ride in a sailboat, and was now fascinated with all things nautical.
Divination was the first practical exam, and it was in Firenze's classroom. To his surprise, the examiner was Mr. Croaker from the Department.
Teddy had to demonstrate the knowledge of general interpretation in several disciplines, then choose which he would use in given situations. He expected to be asked for a vision, but Croaker laughed. "How would I mark you on a vision? We wouldn't know until well after today whether or not it came true, would we?"
"Er..."
"I know, I know. That's in O.W.L.s. It's mainly used to weed out the fakes, if you want the truth. It's more important that you know which tools you'd use." He closed his notebook and said, "Mr. Lupin, you've had ample opportunity to demonstrate that you have the gift for this. I shall give you an Outstanding, but I should like to talk to you privately before I do so."
"Have I done something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing like that." Croaker smiled. "I assure you, we have great faith in your abilities. My concern is as someone who's worked with a great many Seers. Do you understand the limitations of Divinatory magic?"
"There was an essay on the written section, about fluctuations in time, and-"
"Do you understand, Mr. Lupin, that you can't always do anything about what you've Seen?"
Teddy thought about it, then nodded. "I understand," he said, "but that doesn't mean I'm free not to try."
"Don't you mean, 'not free to try'?"
"Not at all."
Croaker smiled again. "Ah. I see. Well, I haven't had a Gryffindor Unspeakable in my tenure at the Department. This should be interesting." He stood and offered his hand.
Teddy shook it.
Examinations went on.
Potions was the most technically difficult of the practical examinations. While Teddy had been right that they refrained from asking for the brewing of complicated potions from memory, the actual process had been one that he hadn't foreseen at all-they asked for the identification of ten potions by testing with available materials, with a recitation of their ingredients, and-in the case of four poisons-their proper antidotes. There'd been a little class work on the subject of identification, but not a lot; the examiner said it was because this proved they understood how to apply theory, rather than simply memorize procedures and ingredients. Teddy felt he succeeded at the test, but it seemed unfair, in retrospect.
Charms turned out to be chaotic. Rather than drill the charms they'd learned, as it had been in O.W.L.s, they were told to achieve particular effects. Since several charms had very similar results, there could have been any number of right answers. Teddy was comfortable with this, but Joe Palmer had a meltdown, and it took most of the week for vines to stop growing out of the walls. Transfiguration was more straightforward, and everyone did well.
To his utter shock, Ron Weasley was the examiner in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Harry usually does it," he said when he noticed the look on Teddy's face. "He was going to come back long enough to do it this year, but-"
"Holiday," Teddy said.
"Well, yeah. And there's a storm, so he's stuck there. Besides, he might play favorites in this class." Ron grinned. "I think you'll like this test. Harry designed it from something his favorite Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher did once."
Ron led the seventh year Defense students to the Quidditch pitch, instructing them to wait in the locker room while each took the examination. Teddy was fourth, and when his turn came, Ron signaled to him to come out.
Instead of the open Quidditch pitch, there was a stone wall with a heavy wooden door in it, blocking the way.
"Am I storming the castle?"
"Sort of," Ron said. "Don't worry, it's not a maze." He smiled. "It's just an obstacle course. All you have to do is get through to the other side."
"Without dying."
"Right, Teddy, every year, Harry tries to kill a few N.E.W.T. students. Everyone needs a hobby." Ron rolled his eyes. "Nothing's actually deadly. If you can't handle something, the test stops."
"And so do my marks on it."
"Exactly. Tame, compared to some of your other years." He held up a watch. "Your time begins now."
Teddy headed for the heavy door, meaning to open it, then realized that would be a foolish way to start. He tested it first for trace magic, and of course, it had been cursed. He checked over his shoulder, and saw Ron watching him impassively.
He broke the curse on the door and went in.
He found himself in a walled garden. There were a few easily recognizable threats here at the gate-poisonous plants, an eager hinkypunk, other easily avoidable dangers. Looking down the path, Teddy could see that it became more dangerous as it went; he guessed that he would progress through the various years of his education, though he didn't take it for granted that everything would be in order.
He barely heard the rustling in the bush in time to see the Red Cap run out at him. He hadn't seen a single one since his second year, though in first year, the grounds had still been infested. He pointed his wand and called out, "Exsicco!"
The Red Cap's cap burst into flames, drying the blood that ran down around its ears. It fell to the ground and disintegrated.
Something bumped against Teddy's leg. He looked down and saw the hinkypunk, looking up at him rather forlornly. It hopped a few hops toward what looked like a swamp. Teddy shook his head. The hinkypunk hopped away.
He braced himself and went further in.
The threats became more frequent, and Teddy found himself habitually using the detection spells to find trace curses. In the middle of the garden, a moat stretched entirely across the pitch, and he was forced to swim and deal with a handful of water demons. On the far side, after drying himself off, he had to break a curse on a necklace before it destroyed the mannequin it had been placed on, physically fight off a charmed suit of armor, and get through a wall of twisting, thorny vines that were blocking the way. (He tried transforming into a hawk to get past this, but it was nearly disastrous, as the vines reached up for him, and he barely got away.) He stopped trying for shortcuts and did the proper spells to open an arch in the wall.
He came out on the other side of them and found Ron, wand raised.
There were no dueling club rituals; the curses came flying, nonverbal, out of nowhere, and all Teddy could do was react-Shield Charms, counter-curses, whatever he could think of. Ron didn't budge.
Finally, Teddy managed to hit him with a simple leg-locker, something so far under the level of what he was doing that he didn't block it. Teddy leapt into the air, transformed to get better height, and landed on top of the last wall. Ron aimed his wand, but Teddy blasted him backward.
Ron smiled, raised his wand again, and said, "Finite incantatem totalis." He stood and held out his hand.
Teddy flew down and transformed again, then shook it. "Do I pass, or do I need to open the door here?"
"The door's safe," Ron said. "You're clear. And with the best time so far. Congratulations, Teddy."
"Thanks."
"You're sure you don't want to join the Auror Division?"
Teddy rolled his eyes, shook his head, and left the obstacle course.
It was the last of Teddy's exams, and technically, he could have gone out the front gate and not come back. He had no desire to do that before the leaving ceremony, though. Instead, he spent warm days by the lake, walking along the rocks, looking up at the castle. He went to Hagrid's and helped with the hippogriffs (Roger and Donzo had their exam on Friday, the last of the practical N.E.W.T.s, so they were there quite a bit, working on the other animals). He flew with Dapple, and even took Victoire for a flight. She couldn't take a long flight, she said, as the O.W.L.s were in full swing now, but it seemed to make her happy, and he liked the feel of having her behind him, her arms around him, and her cheek resting against his back. He might have kissed her when they got down-and he reminded himself later that it was probably just as well that he hadn't-except that Story and some of her other friends were waiting for her, and they had a lot of work to do.
The fifth years' O.W.L.s had to be staggered over most of the month, which was one of the reasons the N.E.W.T.s had been rather early-the huge classes that Victoire was in tended to dominate the school's culture. As the seventh years wound down from their own exams and prepared to leave for good, an almost holy hush seemed to settle on Teddy's life. He packed his room slowly and carefully. It would be James's next year (provided he was in Gryffindor, of course, but Teddy didn't think that was really in doubt), and he used the time afforded to him to hide the Keys to the Castle and a few other choice items. The Marauder's Map, he would find a way to give James directly; he wouldn't risk it getting lost. He still wasn't sure exactly how he was going to let it go.
"You'll do it, though," Sirius told him from the portrait, obviously irritated. "What bloody good will it do you outside Hogwarts?"
"I know, but-"
"But nothing," Dad said. "We created it. The Weasley twins saved it. Harry brought it back to us. You brought it back to life. Now, it's James's turn to do something, if he wants to."
"It'll mean giving him your wand, too."
"You knew that when you bound them together."
"Yeah. I know." He sat down on his bed and scooped Checkmate up from the pillow (she gave him a dirty look, as she'd been asleep). "I'll do it. I have to find the right way, though. I mean, there really should be some sort of ritual..."
As he'd expected, Sirius took this theme and ran with it, suggesting ever more elaborate ways that the Map could be passed. Teddy let him talk the subject down.
Uncle Harry had been due back three days ago, but the shielding on the Cloaked Islands was still being troublesome. The longest day of the year came, and most of the school (Victoire's year being a notable exception) was done. There was a cheerful atmosphere over everything, and the school was celebrating the long stretch of sunlight with an ongoing feast in the Great Hall. It was nine o'clock and still quite light out, and Teddy was playing chess with Donzo. Nothing was further from his mind than the Ministry of Magic, Sam Cresswell, or his mad followers.
The preternatural lull ended with the doors of the Great Hall crashing open.
Ruthless, looking pale and furious, called, "Professor Longbottom! Robards!" She looked around. "Lupin and McCormack, you too."
"What is it?" Teddy asked, running to her.
"We're not entirely sure." She gave him a small, nervous smile. "Let's not alarm the younger students, all right? That's why I didn't send my Patronus with a message. I Flooed to the Headmistress's office."
His heart beating wildly, Teddy waited for the others, and followed her out. Professor Longbottom opened up a classroom and let them in, closing the door behind him.
"What's happening, Scrimgeour? Has Cresswell escaped?"
"No," Ruthless said. "The first thing I did was call Azkaban. The guards said he was behaving himself. A model prisoner. No visitors."
"Then what?"
Ruthless took a deep breath and said, "The Ministry's been Sealed."
"What?" Robards looked aghast. "What do you mean?"
"Exits, entrances. They did it at the change of shift-I was late, or I'd be there, too. No one can get in or out."
"We need to go!" Professor Longbottom said.
"No!" Ruthless held up her hand. "Wait." She raised her wand, and Teddy had a brief glimpse of her fox Patronus before it disappeared with a message. "There are a lot of talented witches and wizards inside the Ministry working on this," she said. "They've been working since six, and I've been helping them, but they're more worried about other things. They're not in any danger, or at least that's what Ron says. They need us to-"
The fireplace sprang to life, the flames bright green. Hermione Weasley's head appeared among them. "Neville," she said. "Gawain-and Teddy and Donzo. Good call, Ruth."
"Are you safe?" Professor Longbottom asked.
"As far as we can tell," Hermione told him. "We have food, air, and nothing is coming for us. But we're trapped."
"What about the Floo?" Robards asked. "If you can-"
"Trust me, we've tried to get all the way through," Hermione said. "And I don't trust this connection to stay open long at all."
"What's happening?" Donzo asked. "Is this Cresswell?"
Hermione nodded. "Just before we sent Ruth off, we had a Howler in the lobby. It said that the longest daylight was going to... shine in the last corners or something absurd like that. There would be justice for the guilty."
"How many of the guilty?" Teddy asked.
"I don't know." Hermione looked around suddenly and said, "The connection's been detected. I have to go. Get to them."
The fire went out; Hermione disappeared.
"I'll get to Malfoy Manor," Robards said. "That's an obvious one."
"Go," Ruthless said. Robards disappeared through the fireplace. Ruthless looked at the others. "I have a list of people who were released. I don't know if it's exhaustive of all the people they hate, or-"
"Phillips," Donzo said.
"Geoffrey?"
Donzo nodded. "He gets all their rubbish by owl post. He'll know who they hate."
"Get him," Ruthless said.
Donzo sent his Patronus.
"Phillips will come for that?" Professor Longbottom asked skeptically.
"I sent it to Franklin," Donzo said. "He'll drag him kicking and screaming if necessary."
"Is anyone on Rita Skeeter?" Teddy asked.
"No, not yet."
"I am," Professor Longbottom said. "I'll get to the Prophet offices. They're all tied up in it."
"Good, go," Ruthless said.
Longbottom swept out.
The door burst open. Teddy turned, expecting to see Franklin and Geoff, but instead, it was Maurice. He ran to Donzo. "What the hell is going on?" he asked. "I was with Driscoll, he's getting Phillips-"
"Cresswell's people," Ruthless said.
Maurice stopped, blinked at her, and said, "They took the special protections off the shop when Cresswell went to Azkaban."
This hung in the air for less than a second, but in that second, everything seemed to come crystal clear. Teddy felt the world freeze, a single face coming into his mind with the force of a blow to the head.
"Granny," he whispered.
"Go now," Ruthless said. "I have to wait for Phillips and whatever he has, but I'll be there as soon as I can."
Maurice was already at the fireplace. He tossed in a Floo cube and cried "Borgin and Burke's!"
Teddy followed.
He spun through the emptiness between the Floos, the world between worlds, then felt himself snagged toward Knockturn Alley. He spun out of the fireplace into Borgin and Burke's.
There was a body on the floor.
"Granny!"
"No," Maurice said. "I don't recognize her. The merchandise protected itself."
Teddy came around. A string of pearls had wrapped itself around the woman's neck and strangled her.
"Where's Granny?"
"I don't know," Maurice said. "Mrs. Tonks! Andromeda!"
"Granny!"
There was no answer. A tea set sat on a table near the counter. It had been set for four. The teapot was overturned.
The Floo lit up and Donzo came through. "Teddy, Robards came back," he said. "Draco's wife and children were at the Manor. Robards got them out. But Draco and his parents were here."
"With Granny," Teddy said. "Oh, God, she was trying to reconcile with her sister." He stood up, burying his hands in his hair. Nothing seemed to be coming together. Nothing-
A distant crash of glass broke through the glistening silence in his head. Somewhere down Diagon Alley, someone was screaming, and someone else was laughing.
"They're still here," Maurice said, and ran out.
"Maurice, no!" Donzo yelled.
Teddy ran out after them.
Four witches were dragging a hag out of her shop. "Time for you to face real justice!" one of them cackled.
"Please, no!" the hag pleaded. "Help me! Help me! I never did nothing! Never sold them nothing! They hated me, too!"
The women grabbed her, and before Teddy could do anything, Disapparated.
Teddy stared after them.
"Teddy."
He didn't turn.
"Teddy, Maurice," Donzo said. "Look."
Teddy turned around.
Across the front of Borgin and Burke's, the word "GUILTY" had been painted with a splash of green paint.
With an angry swipe of his wand, Maurice erased it. "I'm not guilty of anything."
"Where is my grandmother?" Teddy asked.
Donzo bent down and picked something up off the ground. It seemed to be a handful of twigs... until he got close.
It was three shattered wands.
Teddy shook his head. One of them was Granny's. "No. Granny wouldn't let them take her wand. She's a strong witch. So is Narcissa. And Draco was there. She-"
"She was serving tea on a calm night," Maurice said. "The goddamned war is meant to be over." He raised his wand and uselessly cursed a cobblestone. It leapt into the air and exploded. "Teddy, I'm sorry, she wouldn't have been here if I hadn't come back to school, and I could've come back, I could've left days ago, I could've-"
"If you had, they'd have had just as good a chance of snatching her from Malfoy Manor," Donzo said. "We have to figure out where they're going."
"Azkaban."
They looked up.
Standing in the door of Borgin and Burke's was Geoffrey Phillips, flanked by Franklin Driscoll and Lizzie Richardson.
Teddy rushed him and grabbed him by the front of his wretched tee shirt. "What do you know?"
Geoff pulled away, wand drawn. "Let go of me, you idiot. I'm helping."
"Out of the goodness of your heart, I'm sure," Maurice said.
"I'm not going to let these stupid twits turn bigots into martyrs." Geoffrey looked down his nose. "They've been going on for ages in the newsletters about who really belongs in Azkaban. If you were trying to serve justice to the guilty, where would you take them?"
"The guards said things were all right there," Donzo said. "Ruthless talked to them."
"Which guards would those be?" Geoffrey asked, smiling faintly. "The ones who wrote these?" He tipped his wand, and a stack of newsletters appeared. One of them fluttered open to a long piece which Teddy didn't need to read-the headline was enough: "Justice Failed: An Insider's View of Soft Time At Azkaban."
"Bloody..." Donzo drew in his breath. "How in the hell are we going to get to Azkaban? We can't Apparate, and they'll be watching for broomsticks-and they'd take too long anyway-"
"Boats," Teddy said. "It's how Greyback's people got in."
"Oh, good," Maurice said. "If we start sailing now, we should make it by July."
"We're not going from here," Teddy said. "I have somewhere that's much closer. My island. I can Expand the boat, and we can get there quickly. We can-"
He was interrupted by a series of soft popping sounds.
In the street outside Borgin and Burke's, Corky Atkinson and Honoria Higgs appeared, followed by Brendan Lynch and Jane Hunter. Connie Deverill arrived with Joe Palmer, who stepped out of the way just in time for Tinny Gudgeon and Laura Chapman to appear. Finally, Roger Young, covered with hay, came into the circle.
Teddy stared at them.
Tinny stepped forward. "So, what are we doing?" she asked.