When Michelle emerges from the Burrow with Ginny and Molly, Amanda is surprised and annoyed to see her carefully designed 'boost coat' / witch cloak has been replaced. But she can say nothing.
Annoyed Amanda commands "Michelle, get the tunes…it is a long drive."
Molly says "Can you drive our car?"
"Sure. If you want me to."
"I don't drive it, just Arthur…"
"Works for me. Do you want to call shotgun?"
Molly looks confused. Michelle, arriving with a case of cassette tapes explains "Front passenger seat… sometimes called the death seat."
"Ginny and I will ride in the back."
Michelle says "Shotgun" and goes to the car opening the right front door only to look confused.
Amanda grins. "Planning to drive?" Michelle sheepishly goes to the door where she would normally find the driver's seat.
Molly tells the other two Old Ones that they are welcome to stay at the house and help themselves to food in the kitchen.
They pull out onto the road and Michelle rummages for a tape to play. She selects one and then looks for the tape deck. Not seeing one, she tries the button on the top of the dashboard but nothing happens. "Where is the tape deck?" she asks Molly.
"What is a tape deck?"
Amanda hits the brakes hard as she is cutoff by a driver coming out of a side road. Amanda grumbles "What am I? Invisible?"
"As a matter of fact, dear, we are invisible."
"When did that happen?"
"When Michelle pressed the invisibility booster."
"That button that didn't do anything? That, I thought, didn't do anything?"
"Yes." Ginny states.
"Important safety note, Michelle don't push any buttons unless you know what they do. It is important for the driver to know if she's invisible." Amanda lectures. "I'd like to be seen."
Michelle points at the button and Ginny eagerly nods. Michelle returns them to visible status.
As the car climbs a hill, Amanda shifts to overdrive. As the vehicle reaches the peak of the hill it continues to climb. Amanda is shocked when she feels the wheels leave the ground and horrified as the climb continues.
"Muggles aren't used to seeing a car flying…" Molly points out.
"Michelle! What did you do?"
"Nothing! I swear!"
"You shifted to the flying gear." Molly says patting Amanda on the shoulder.
Amanda downshifts and the car returns to the road surface. Amanda takes a breath and lets it out slowly.
"Arthur usually flies invisible… We could get there a lot faster that way."
"I don't know how to fly! I'm not a pilot."
"Neither is Arthur."
"Michelle… Hit the button…" Amanda cautiously commands. Michelle nods and presses the invisibility booster as Amanda shifts to the flying gear. Her eyes wide open in concentration, Amanda begins to experiment and gains a feel for how to control the unusual vehicle. Giving it more throttle causes it to speed up and climb, giving it less causes it to slow and descend, the steering wheel causes it to turn and bank in coordinated turns. Fairly quickly, she is comfortable and is enjoying the experience.
A frightening thought suddenly occurs to Amanda that there could be lots of flying invisible cars and even trucks out there. "Do all… people like you have cars like this? There could be hundreds of them out there!" She says peering carefully for any anomalies that may reveal their presence.
"No dear. Just us. Arthur got a special permit."
"Thank goodness." Amanda breathes a sigh of relief.
Dumbledore has summoned Sir Nick to his office. The ghost has no need of passwords as he drifts through the walls. As Nick arrives Dumbledore looks slowly up from his desk. Upon the desk is the letter which Nick received. Dumbledore slides and turns the document slowly and wordlessly toward the ghost. Then the professor sits slowly back into his chair and waits.
After a long awkward silence Sir Nicholas says "I can't go. He needs me… I am pleased for the invitation…"
"That isn't an invitation. That is a summons."
"He values loyalty. He'll understand."
"Instead of joining the Hunt you may end up its quarry. Our friend doesn't need that much of a distraction."
"But that young woman…"
"Will be helped… by me…"
"You will…?
"I will."
"Do you know what to do?"
"Trust me… This old wizard still knows how to distract a couple of muggles." Dumbledore says with a slight, but mischievous, grin.
Adam and Hermione arrive. Hermione is keeping a stiff upper lip in the manner of her countrymen. But Adam can sense her terror, not for the class but for the memories flooding unbidden into her mind.
"Miss Granger… Try not to think about it… No, that's not possible… But know that anybody who might want to harm you will have to get through me. To get through me, they would need to stand toe to toe with me. To do that, they will need to be willing to die… and nobody… on this planet… could possibly want to harm you that much."
Hermione ponders.
Adam continues. "Yea that you walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death you shall fear no evil, because your friend is the meanest son of a bitch in the valley." Slowly a smile comes over Adams face, eventually it spreads slightly to Hermione's. "Good to go?" Hermione nods.
"By the way, you haven't made anyone…or any…thing… from another planet angry…have you? Please, please say no."
Hermione shakes her head.
"Well, that's a relief."
Hermione laughs.
Amanda, driving the car visible and on the ground, crosses Westminster Bridge and turns right at a large statue of a woman with a spear riding in a chariot with two younger women. Molly and Ginny have seen it many times but never thought anything about it. Amanda nods toward it. "Did Ceirdwyn mention her?"
Molly looks surprised. "Who?"
"Boadicea." Amanda glances in the rearview mirror and sees Molly and Ginny looking confused. "Boadicea… queen of the Iceni…"
Molly and Ginny become excited.
"She burned Londinium to the ground after it was abandoned. She killed or tortured to death something like seventy-five thousand Romans and their allies."
Ginny pales. "Mummy, Mummy did we leave two murderers alone in our house?"
Dumbledore meets with Professor Snape. Snape reports "Someone, nearly certainly the Old One Cassandra, approached our shelter during the night and we did not notice until we saw the tracks in the morning."
Dumbledore nods. "She was last seen by the Wizarding World about seven hundred fifty years ago. From what Adam has said, she's about three thousand years old. She seems to have formed a bond with young Mr. Longbottom. I don't know whether I should be hopeful or fearful for that to have happened."
"A boy that age is very impressionable."
"Very true Severus."
"Do you believe Adam witnessed Jesus preaching?"
"I do. I also believe that he witnessed far more. A man like him would not give everything at the beginning. He would do enough to entice."
"Did he offer more in return for aid?"
"No. He would know that we would know there would be more. He says some things, but never all."
"He is dangerous." Snape says.
"Of that, there is no doubt. The question is, to whom is he dangerous."
