Chapter Eleven: The Plan (which will most definitely go awry)

We spent most of the day planning our route of attack, with a surprising amount of help from Bob.

"A former master once used the tunnels to hide in for some time." He had explained. "While I never saw all of the tunnels, I did see enough to assist,"

We had used a spell that allowed him to maneuver an everlast ink quill around on the pages, and after the first page resulted in a very well drawn nude woman in a highly suggestive pose, he got on mapping out what he remembered, leaving certain areas blank.

"What's there?" Ronald asked, pointing to one of the larger blank locations.

"I just told you." Bob snipped. "I don't know, wasn't taken there and wasn't let off my chain, so to speak, to explore on my own. Not that there's many hot ladies down in those tunnels anyway." He added as a barely audible mumble.

In the time it took for the map to be drawn and for a general plan to be made, a few other members of the Order of the Phoenix showed up in time to join us in our rescue attempt.

First, to the glee of Ron, Teddy, and Molly, came Arthur and Bill Weasley. The elder of the two greeted the children with much enthusiasm while Bill came directly to me.

"Commander Dresden, I assume." He held out his hand. I took it and had a rather firm handshake with the man, noting his scarred face and a stern look in his eye.

I nodded before I spoke. "You must be Viccys father."

His jaw tensed as he nodded, a fire flaring in his expression. "I'm getting my daughter back. Besides, you might need someone who specifically deals with curses in those tunnels."

"Good." I tried to smile but it felt awkward so I dropped it. "You can handle any wards and curses we come across then, just make sure you stay alive."

He didn't smile so much as snarl in much the same way I'd assume a dragon would before kidnapping a lonely princess. "Oh, I intend to live. Though don't expect me to hold back against Fenrir."

"I expect you to not do anything rash or emotional." I pointed out. "I need to get your daughter, you, and everyone else home who comes with us."

He thought for a moment before nodding and going over by Ron. Their father, Arthur, came over to introduce himself next. "Greetings. Arthur Weasley." He smiled, though it looked rehearsed more than honest. "Wife is staying home with the grandkids, says she's to old for this." He rolled his shoulders and looked around. "For that matter I might be to, eh?"

I glanced to the kids hugging their uncle. "I think you'll do best here, in case this whole adventure ends up being a trap to lure us away from the school."

He pointed at me in approval. "Sounds like a solid plan. Who else will be here?"

"Minerva, Hagrid, and Neville to start. We'll see who else shows up."

My head snapped up as two women strode through the door. One had frizzy, reddish brown hair that was pulled back in an attempt to restrain the mass in a ponytail. The other was slimmer, and her blazing red was pulled up into a nice, tight bun.

Ron went over to greet them, complaining about how they should be at home with the kids.

"It's fine." The smaller of the two answered. "Granny Molly is watching them."

"Besides," the other added, "you two can't go off on an adventure without me and NOT get hurt."

"Harry did just fine in the Chamber of Secrets." Ron argued.

The two women looked at each other and held back a fit of laughter. "Harry almost died in the Chamber." They said at once.

About then is when I appeared over Rons shoulder. "You two must be Hermione and Ginny, nice to meet you both."

They both grew serious and shook my hand. "When are we leaving?" Hermione asked.

"As soon as my apprentice, Molly Carpenter, arrives with anything we can use to stop Fenrir."

"Do we know when that would be?" Ginny asked.

I shook my head. "Sadly, no. I'm not sure how much worth Odin puts on the life of a single girl."

The two shared another look before watching me as if I was insane. "You sent someone else to negotiate with ODIN the Allfather on your behalf?" Hermione finally spoke.

I shrugged. "Didn't have much of a choice. Why don't you two go over and question the skull on any information he might have glanced over." They started walking past me, I called to them again. "Oh, don't be afraid to toss him across the room, just don't hit anything fragile."

Another "that man is insane" glance and they walked over and leaned in to talk to the skull, not surprised at all once he started talking back.

Bob was only thrown across the room a measly five times before he got the point and focused. Terrain variations, the different levels of tunnels, and notes as to where good places to apply traps or wait in ambush were added.

I was feeling rather good about the team we were assembling, even getting the urge to shout AVENGERS ASSEMBLE, but we were still missing Molly and a way to stop the enraged werewolf for good.

All that was left was to wait for Molly.

Time passed, and plans were made, overanalyzed, dropped, and reformed. We had a general idea of what we needed to do, and where we needed to enter.

House Elves brought in food now and again, paying special attention to Hermione, and I found myself remaining next to Mouse and wishing Murphey was here.

We all jumped when the fireplace almost exploded in a sudden, dark flame and a raven burst out. She cawed once, dropped a letter in my hands, and vanished once again into the flames.

The small crowd before me eyed me and the letter I know held.

Steadily I opened it and read the contents.

"Dresden,

You must be careful with whom you send on your errands. As such I am sending young Margret Carpenter, whom you so call Molly, back empty handed.

That being said, I do not deny your trade of a favor in place of a weapon for which to fight this foe of us both.

I expect you to pick it up, once I am so able to fetch it. Understand that this will take time, as dealing with the Great Fenris himself is involved.

I will send word once I am ready for you, once it arrives come swiftly, for you know I am not a patient man.

Donar Vadderung."

I repeated the words aloud, finishing as Molly appeared in the fireplace surrounded by a flash of green light.

I could feel Bills glower becoming worse as I finished the letter and set it on the table with the maps.

"We can't just let her sit there." He was barely holding in his rage.

"William," Minerva spoke, "it would appear we have little choice. It was made obvious that rushing in now, without a way to control, kill, or otherwise restrain Fenrir, that this would be a suicide mission."

"If he bites her…" He started.

"Then we have potions and other procedures in place to make sure she can remain in control." She retorted. "And besides, there is always the chance that, should Fenrir be killed, that she may be cured of the bastardization of the werewolf curse."

He calmed, but only slightly. More like he just stopped arguing.

Minerva turned to face me. "Commander, you were needed in Oklahoma and Chicago within the next few days, were you not?"

I nodded. "Yea, a high end client of mine is hiring me again, probably something about his son, and Vadderungs office is in Chicago as well, so I'd have to go there to pick up whatever he has in store."

"Then go." She said, indicating the fireplace. "You are aware of how we connect our fireplaces to create shortcuts through the paths of the Never Never?"

"Vaguely." I responded, scratching the back of my head.

"Then I will give you and your spirit instructions on how to connect yours. Your apprentice and myself will take care of Mouse and Mister. Potter and William will alternate on your classes."

"Why me?" Bill asked.

"Because you are one of the finest curse-breakers our world has to offer." She barely turned to look at him. "The students may need to protect themselves from a curse in the battles to come."

"You think this is a trap?" I noted. Most of us thought the same, that Fenrir stationed Viccy and some of his higher ups to lead us away so he would have the castle cleared of enemies. So he could come in and "recruit" as many children as he saw fit.

"Of course, Commander, anyone who thinks otherwise would be a fool."

I noticed Ron look away from her and cough. Hermione gave him a slight shove on the shoulder. I cleared my throat before speaking again. "Arthur, decide with Minerva who you want on your team to guard the castle. Keep in mind you will have all the professors and the defensive system on your side as well. Everyone else will come with us. Potter or Ron, I want either the two of you or your wives to stay here on the team. Two here, two with me."

I looked around the room, lingering on Bill who was staring at the maps, fuming. "I'll return as soon as I have word from Vadderung to collect his weapon. I don't know what it is, so Hermione, I want you in charge of coming up with scenarios and different plans. Might be something we need to get close to use, could be something we can shoot him from orbit with. We don't know yet."

"I'll get right on it." She said softly.

"Good. Now, if you can I need you guys to get pistols or other firearms. I'm willing to bet Fenrir hasn't planned for those in his defenses as none of you have ever used them in battle. Get some, get used to them."

I walked over to Minerva. "I need to go gather a couple items from my room, can you teach the process to Bob while I gather them?"

"Of course, Commander, move swiftly."

I nodded and turned towards the door, calling "Grasshopper, with me." over my shoulder.

Molly ran up and joined me as I left the office and sulked to my room. The children didn't so much as avoid me as just weren't out in the hall. Though it was getting late it was by no means dinner time nor curfew. Ghosts floated around, whispering to each other of another threat to the castle.

We rounded the corner to a floating bundle of sticks. I managed to duck one being thrown at me, accompanied by manic laughter, but just barely.

"Peeves!" Molly scolded. She sounded a little bit like her mom, Charity, which frightened me a tad bit. "Now is NOT the time."

The jester ghost appeared, as pale blue as a patronus, the bundle in the crook of an arm. "Now is ALWAYS the time!" He responded.

"Hogwarts is in danger." Molly pointed a finger at him. "We need to ensure that the enemy is properly pranked when they show up!"

He stopped and thought a moment, tapping his pointed nose with a finger. Suddenly he vanished, the sticks clattering to the ground under where he had been.

I gave Molly a sideways glance, questioning what just happened.

She shrugged. "Peeves, gotta know how to treat him to get what you want. Not that hard to figure out, really, just need to offer a good chance at jokes." We continued along the way to the apartments. "What do you need from your room anyway?"

"My staff, blasting rod, and such. I left them there as an excuse to let you get something to eat before we charged in."

"Awww, so sweet." She batted her eyelashes.

"Don't get used to it kid." I gave her a teasing shove. "I'm not going to let you run into danger on an empty stomach."

"Surprised you'd let me go at all."

I took a deep breath as we went down the stairs, watching others shift around us. "Your one woman rave could prove handy during our exit. No one else can pull it off quite like you."

She giggled, but remained quiet.

A few minutes later we arrived, I gathered my gear, and we headed back to the Headmistress's Office.

"Boss, why did you want me to come with you?" She finally asked.

"First, because you don't get lost in here as easily as I do. Second, I want you to keep an eye on things. I'm not sure what River Shoulders wants, but whenever I get involved with his son it usually means someone is trying to kill him. If I don't return they'll need a wizard of our caliber to guide them. Plus, you might be able to hide out here and stay safe from the Wardens if that does happen."

She looked away from me, her demeanor having calmed. "I don't think that'll happen." She said softly.

"It is a possibility." I sighed. "And besides, you know my lesson plans so until I return I need you to help keep Potter and Weasley on track while also letting them teach that which they know best."

"Another good point." She admitted as we gave the gargoyle the password and ducked through. "I'll miss you, so hurry back and show up in one piece."

"You can snuggle Mister while I'm away."

"I'll make sure to hug Mouse as well." She added.

I went over to where the big dog lay, sleeping, under the watchful eye of the only man who ever made me feel small, Sasquatch not included.

"Don'tcha worry now, we'll take good care of yer boy." Hagrid said, though he didn't smile.

"He's right." Neville agreed. "Mouse is in good hands, couldn't be better."

I gave the pooch a small hug, being careful not to squeeze too hard. His tail thumped softly in his sleep against the table he rested upon. "I'll be back soon, you hold on." I whispered to him.

I straightened and looked at the two by me. "Thank you both. Hopefully he'll be up and causing trouble by the time I return."

They both smiled then and nodded.

Minerva came up next to me, handing me Bob and a satchel of green powder. There was a bucket filled with the same powder next to the fireplace.

"Bob has the directions on how to hook up your fireplace to our shortcut system. To use it just toss some of the powder down and say exactly where you want to go with an image of it in your head. You'll be taken to the nearest fireplace that is a part of the network to where you intended to arrive."

"Sounds simple enough."

She nodded. "Stay safe, and return with haste."

"I will."

With that I took my skull and items, tossed down some powder thinking of my home, and simply said "Chicago."

Insert Bigfoot on Campus by Jim Butcher