Chapter 38: Scouting the shack and baiting the bee
For disclaimer and author notes please see chapter 1.
1989-04-04 17:00 UTC, location unknown
Hobby of course popped straight to Nick and Penny's home. He was still somewhat dazed, but on the whole, it wasn't too bad. Breaking the body bind with elf magic had worked, but had taken a lot out of him, and that had come from his wizard side. As Nick had explained way back in the beginning of his adventures here, his wizard side was basically feeding magic to his elf side.
Nick let Penny assure herself that Hobby was mostly OK, just winded, and then he changed his concerned expression to a smirk.
"Looks like that place did have defences against elves, huh?"
"No. Well, not defences, and definitely not from Voldemort."
The two marauders were also there, and it took only a few seconds for them to catch on.
"Let me guess: Dumbledore added a ward for any and all magic? And you tripped it somehow, and got blasted away?"
"Well, not quite. Dumbledore only added a warning ward - all it could do, and did do, was send him a warning that some magic was being used here".
He took another sip of water.
"And so he landed up there - no idea when exactly. I was concentrating on my elf persona, because the wizard one was getting a very strong compulsion to just go away - so strong that I could not resist it. But Dumbledore apparently could, because he was well past the point where I was forced to suppress my wizard persona when he caught up with me. Man that guy is powerful!"
"But...?", said Remus, sensing something more was coming.
"But because he is indeed so powerful, he constantly, consistently, underestimates other people. He assumed nothing would be able to touch him, and so ended up triggering the first layer of defence - a violent pushback to a position about twenty feet away. I suspect the target would have been one of the rocks surrounding the property haphazardly - hit it at the right speed and inclination, and you'd probably die.", said Hobby.
"So, to be precise, you're saying-"
"-I tripped Dumbledore's warning ward, and he tripped Voldemort's defensive ward. And somehow - maybe because I was closer? physically smaller? not expecting it? - whatever the reason, I got hit harder and thrown further."
"Oh and one more thing", he continued. "Dumbledore thinks I am Voldemort's elf".
"What!", exclaimed Sirius. "What made him think that Riddle would even have elves?"
"Who knows how his brain works? Although why wouldn't Riddle have elves? All the purebloods he rules over do - and it's a matter of prestige how many you have and how servile they are - so why would he not do the same, and even up the ante over his minions?"
There was a short spell of silence at that; no one really had an answer. Sure it was well known that Voldemort thought elves were vermin or some such low-life, but he had definitely countenanced all his followers having them.
"I think Dumbledore realised that he tripped Voldemort's ward, could see that you were closer but did not trip it, and just drew the wrong conclusion", said Penny after a few moments of thought.
Hobby looked at her askance. "You know, that's very likely the right answer! He would not imagine that a lowly elf could get past a ward that he himself could not bypass, therefore the elf must belong to Voldemort".
"Hey Hobby, didn't you tell Dumbles, when we warned him off legilimencing the kids, that he could call you if he wanted to talk to the Phantom? Now you'll not be able to go to him if he calls!", said Sirius.
"I never told him the elf would appear. I told him he could call the elf, but the elf would convey the message to his master and his master would appear!"
"Oh very nice. I wonder, though, if he will get suspicious after some time, and realise that you and the Phantom-". He paused reflectively, then, "naah, way too out of this world there; no wizard in his right mind would imagine that."
"With reason, Sirius", said Nick. "This is actually impossible, and in this special case only happened because of something totally, as you put it, 'out of this world'!"
After Hobby had recovered, they had a light dinner before they split. Sirius went back to Kithurst Close, Remus to his flat and his work (even if it was a bit late, he felt he could get some paperwork done in peace and quiet), and Hobby went off to his bedroom to rest some more, and maybe even get to bed early. Tomorrow they would have to discuss next steps.
1989-04-05 10:00 UTC, location unknown
"I wish we had Bill Weasley here", muttered Hobby, more to himself than out loud. Then, seeing the question in the others' eyes, he said "Arthur's Weasley's eldest. Curse-breaker for Gringotts at the time I joined Hogwarts. Very cool guy, very capable too. He's in his final year at Hogwarts right now, so... not yet!"
Nick smiled at his little friend. "Well, neither Penny nor I have ever done any curse breaking, but we can guess much of what's required, naturally. And while we may not be able to break the curses, we should at least be able to reconnoitre in relative safety and come back and discuss how to attack them."
They started making preparations - no time like the present - with the help of Sirius and Hobby. Hobby gave them the general layout, while Sirius called Kreacher and asked him to get as many books on obscure dark curses as he could from the Black library. For, despite their actual age, and consequent wisdom, the Flamels had mostly stayed away from dark magic. In many ways they had led a somewhat charmed life, and very likely Hobby had brought more excitement - and danger - to their lives than they had ever seen in the last couple of centuries.
Penny and Sirius set about classifying the books and the curses within them, discarding those that did not appear to be very amenable to adding into a ward. For example, spells that needed to be aimed properly were probably not much good, except in doorways and such. Wide area spells were more likely to be of use here.
Over the next few days, they had a decent list, and they started to plan for the actual trip to the shack.
But there was one problem. Dumbledore needed to be distracted so he would not land up again and make a mess of things.
Luckily for them, they had a well-wisher, so Sirius set about to charm her into helping. They had to discuss in detail how far he could go in informing her of the necessity, and what information was sacrosanct and could not be revealed at any cost.
1989-04-06 17:00 UTC, Hogwarts
"Good evening, Minerva! I trust you are well?", said Sirius as he entered her office.
She rose to greet him warmly, allowing him to take her hands in his and clasp them. "Thank you for not calling me Minnie!", she smiled back. Honestly, she didn't mind it, but it was a running joke and a matter of teasing between them, ever since the days - was it already three years ago - that he had started teasing her with that nickname.
They sat down, she behind her modest but clean and uncluttered desk, he in a chair in front. "I feel like I'm back in detention. Or at least discussing it!", he said, laughing. "Might go the other way and start calling you 'professor' again. 'Professor Minnie' - that's a nice name!"
She smiled, while making up a tea set and pouring two cups. "Now that you brought it up, let me say that I do have a couple of students coming in just for that kind of discussion in thirty minutes, so - while I do enjoy the banter - you need to tell me what's the matter".
Minerva was not quite as close to Harry and Sirius as her friend Amelia was, due to Sirius being in the auror corps in days gone by, and more recent events throwing them together. Nor was she even as close as Augusta - due to the Phantom's actions against the Lestranges and Crouch junior, and said Phantom's closeness to Harry - Augusta had been warming to Sirius and Remus (though she had yet to agree to visit them in their muggle residence).
But she was still close enough to be kept abreast of the unusual family's life events. She had not gone to them when the kidnapping had happened, but that was because the problem was resolved even before she had heard of it. She had gone to visit later, as a gesture of her friendship and - though she would not admit it - her love, somewhat like that of a slightly distant aunt, for Sirius and Remus. Besides, Lily and James were some of her favourite students, and Harry had enough troubles looming that she wanted to make sure he understood she was on his side. As much as a child at that age could understand that, anyway.
"Well, the short version is this: we need Dumbledore kept away from his office for a good two to three hours, anytime during the daytime over the next few days."
She was quite surprised to hear that, drawing, naturally, a somewhat wrong conclusion. Sirius realised that, and hastened to explain.
"Oh no, I want nothing to do with his office, and neither I nor Remus will be anywhere near here. What we want to do is make sure he... well let me explain from the beginning", he said.
She nodded.
"There are a lot of things I am not permitted to tell you, for most of those secrets are not mine to tell. But one thing that affects all of us, and - at least to people I trust - I have insisted on the right to inform them, is this: Voldemort is not dead."
Luckily, Minerva did not have the knee-jerk reaction - fear - that that name appeared to bring to most wizarding folk. She was well known as a formidable fighter in her own right, not just as Dumbledore's deputy and a transfiguration master. Sirius did not really know how much of a part she had played in the last war - it was certainly not overt - but it was suspected she had some hand in some of the wins the light side had had, though in what precise manner, was unknown.
"Dumbledore always reminded us that no body was found".
"Precisely. Much as I am wary of Dumbledore's intentions, even morality, and do not agree with him on so many things, in this matter we are in full agreement!"
"We?", she questioned.
"Well, mostly just Remus, myself, and... umm, don't take this the wrong way, but the Phantom".
"Why would I take it the wrong way. Augusta has nothing but praise for him", she smiled.
"So anyway, there is an artefact, hidden in a property that Voldemort owns - probably inherited from his muggle father - that we need to retrieve and destroy", said Sirius. (The muggle father bit was misdirection, in case this leaked it would lead to the wrong place).
"Dumbledore has known of the possibility that such an artefact exists, ever since Halloween 1981, but he has not done anything about it. Worse, he has added his own warning wards to the place, in order to catch - and presumably stop - anyone else from doing something about it", said Sirius heatedly.
"The bloo-", she caught herself in time. "Why?", she asked instead.
"Who knows? I suspect he thinks any attempt to retrieve the item would warn Voldemort and hasten his resurrection, or whatever it is is the next step in the so-called Dark Lord's game plan. Though how long he thinks that stalemate will continue, is not clear. We, however, have Harry to think of, and we're not going to sit on our arses waiting for the bad guys to take the first step!"
He had no reason to like Dumbledore, as was well known anyway, so he did not feel any reluctance to be upfront about his opinion of Dumbledore's possible motives.
"Sounds plausible. I suppose the warning is tied to some artefact in his office, and you want to make sure he does not see it in time?"
"Or at all. I believe - and again I can't tell you how I know - but once the intrusion passes, the artefact reverts to its quiet state, with not even a hint that you had missed an alarm, so to speak. A flawed design, of course, but that's Albus - brilliant, but flawed."
"When do you want to do this?"
"When would cause the least amount of suspicion?"
"Well, there is the quidditch final on Saturday afternoon. At 1 pm - directly after lunch. He does not attend all the matches, but the final he has never missed. And then, this is Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw - both houses have good teams and it's bound to be exciting".
"Has he been spending more time in his office these days?"
"Now that you mention it, I think he has. I can't be sure but it feels like it".
"Then he might, this time, skip the match. You'll need to figure out some way to make sure he attends, and signal me. Equally important, if he insists on staying in his office, you need to let me know too", he said. Then he sighed. "Sometimes I regret that he lost his other two positions", he said wryly. "This would have been much easier done during a Wizengamot meeting or an ICW shindig!"
She nodded. It was true that Albus was spending a lot more time in the school than he used to. That gave her an idea. "He has been spending all his time cooped up in the office; if he does not attend the match I will remind him this is his only job now, and if the head cannot attend the final I will - under my authority - cancel it, citing that the head has no time for school matters".
"Can you do that? I mean legally?"
She shrugged. "Not sure; it's a bit of a gray area when the head is merely unwilling, not unable, to do the job. But don't worry - he won't let it get to resolution; the threat is good enough".
"However", she continued, "he must not know that you are here, and we have met. That will certainly set him thinking, and I don't want him making any connections. I am glad you came by my flue; you should leave the same way. Now, before my students arrive".
1989-04-08 13:10 UTC, Gaunt shack, Little Hangleton
Just after 1pm the next Saturday, as arranged, Sirius got a patronus message from Minerva, saying "the bumblebee has been forced to accompany the tabby". Looks like she we slowly picking up a sense of humour of her own!
Nick and Penny, getting a nod from Sirius, immediately portkeyed to the Gaunt shack.
They went right through the area that Hobby had indicated had Dumbledore's warning wards. They didn't bother disabling them - by the time he went back to his office they'd be long gone.
They then circled carefully around the offensive wards within. Nick took a shrunken broomstick out of his pocket, restored it to normal size, and made a wide circular sweep - staying about 15 feet from the ground all through.
It took them a long time to finish their job here. Voldemort was decidedly a very clever individual, and had left nothing to chance. Every time they thought they saw a chink in the defense, they'd realise shortly after that it was misdirection, and would lead the attacker into a possibly fatal situation very quickly.
All in all, they spent a good hour or more on this; it was coming up on half-past two when they decided to head home, after one final run through, at a slightly lower height, with both together on the broom.
1989-04-08 13:35 UTC, Hogwarts quidditch pitch
Hobby cursed Charlie Weasley in his mind - possibly the first time he had ever cursed the quidditch skills of a Gryffindor. Barely twenty minutes after the game had started, and the Gryffindor seeker had the snitch in hand.
This was bad. Minerva would not be able to hold off the old goat for anywhere near long enough to give Nick and Penny time.
Worse, they had been very careful to keep Nick and Penny completely hidden all this time, and even Dumbledore had not suspected they were even in Britain. If he caught the signal and went to the Gaunt shack, that would be blown apart too, and a lot of other secrets (such as who had made the imperius potion that got Snape relieved of his Hogwarts position) would become clear. He was not really worried for the Flamel's safety, if it really came down to that, but he could still make things very difficult - he still had enough support to re-open all the deaths that had happened.
He needed a distraction, and it had to be a really big one. Something that would occupy the headmaster for some time. And he had to do this without being able to say anything to Minerva - she was sitting right next to Dumbledore, and a patronus message had very little privacy at the end-point; it was only the message transport that was secure from eavesdropping. So if Sirius said anything to Minerva, Dumbledore would hear it.
He thought quickly. He popped to Sirius, and they planned out what to do.
1989-04-08 13:40 UTC, Hogwarts quidditch pitch
Minerva blanched when she saw the ghostly shape of a grim approaching her. He is not supposed to contact me so openly! Does he not realise Albus is sitting right next to me, she thought.
Still, there was nothing to be done. The patronus could not be stopped - one reason why it never amounted to much during the war, actually, because it was simply too dangerous to use when people were spying or staking out a place.
Of course, she did not know about Hobby, and that Sirius knew the match was over.
The grim stopped in front of her, and - in Sirius's voice - said "Minerva, I need to see you in your office urgently. It's about Harry's school choices in a couple of years - I'll explain when we meet. A private meeting would be most appreciated".
She gasped in relief. Since he had not mentioned anything about this when they had met only a couple of days ago, clearly this was a ruse of some sort. Feeling more confident, she pulled out her wand, and sent back a patronus "I'll be in my office in five minutes, feel free to floo in anytime after that". She then turned to Dumbledore, and said "I'll see you at dinner, Albus", and turned to walk away.
"Wait Minerva. I will accompany you, with your permission, to your office. I will make no secret of the fact that I am greatly interested in hearing what Sirius has to say".
"Sirius asked for a private meeting, and I intend to honor that, Albus!", she snapped back.
"Nevertheless, anything regarding student admissions is a formal Hogwarts affair, and I have a right to be involved."
"Not when the child is not yet a Hogwarts student, and if you persist in interfering, may never be one", she said calmly.
Dumbledore felt a cold chill run down his spine. He needed Harry here in order to figure out what to do with the scar, test how it reacted to Voldemort's wraith, and only then would he have enough data to determine if Harry could live, or had to die. Harry going to some other school would kill all those plans dead.
He decided to be a little more conciliatory. "Minerva, I promise I will not try to push my views on Sirius, and to only listen to what he has to say", he said.
Minerva stared at him for a good long while, then nodded briefly. Once.
Then she turned around and headed up the path to the school.
1989-04-08 14:15 UTC, Deputy's offices
They had now been waiting for Sirius for more than 20 minutes. Minerva seemed cool and relaxed, sipping her afternoon tea lazily, while flipping through an old copy of "ACM Transactions in Transfiguration" (ACM was the American College of Magic, which was pretty much the place for serious research in most magical subjects. The other one was the IEEE - Incantations, Elixirs, and Enchantments: Edited - a journal that was a bit younger, and not linked to a specific college or university).
As soon as they had entered her office, she bade Dumbledore make himself comfortable, and indicated she needed to "freshen up" - universal female code for "I need to go to the bathroom". Dumbledore, whatever else he may be, was a perfect gentleman in these matters, and thought nothing of this.
Once she was in her quarters, she silenced the room (unnecessary - Hogwarts did respect the privacy of its staff - but no harm done). Then she sent a patronus to Sirius.
"What are you up to? Albus is waiting in my office; I could not shake him! By the way the match is over!"
Sirius replied a few seconds later.
"I know. Hence the subterfuge to keep Dumbledore in your office, while appearing to not want him there. Go back and I will send a patronus to you which he will also hear".
"OK"
Shortly after she came back, she got a patronus from Sirius.
"Will be there within the next few minutes. Am trying to contact the Phantom, since he also wanted to speak to you, again, privately. As soon as I can find him, we will come by. Don't go anywhere - that man is hard to find, and we may not get another chance to speak to him and take his advice".
That was a rather long message for a patronus, and consequently was spoken very fast. Of course Minerva knew all this was probably nonsense, but now Albus would absolutely not budge from her room in case her visitors came in while he was gone. He was trapped, except he thought he was the one trapping them.
And so they waited.
After about ten more minutes, they got another patronus from Sirius. "Deepest apologies, can't make it today. Unable to contact Phantom, but I promise you we will meet at your convenience shortly."
Evidently they had done what they needed to do which needed to be hidden from Albus.
Dumbledore gave a deep sigh, masking a disgruntled look in a sad face, and made his goodbyes. He had wasted too much time waiting for Black, time he could have spent watching for any other intrusions to the Gaunt shack.
No matter, he had tweaked the alarm to require a manual reset after it went off - even if he was too late, he'd at least know if someone had been there.