A Jail Can Have Many Walls – chapter 2 

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            Alistor Moody walked down the street in his own indomitable fashion; Clunk, Thunk, Clunk, Thunk.  There were times when he cursed the misfortune that had left him with this 'damn' leg which made it nigh on impossible for him to sneak up on anybody.  The incident that had lost him his eye however had allowed him to acquire a rather useful tool though.  He let his magical eyeball roll around in its socket ensuring, once again that he wasn't being followed.  Reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief he found the sweet shop order form that had arrived by owl around an hour ago, much to his surprise.  The mail had not been sent from Honeydukes though, of that he was sure as this was the signal alerting him that one or more members of the Order needed to meet with him urgently.  So he had left his home and after apparating through his usual four random spot routine he had arrived in London to meet who, he was not sure in this weeks designated spot, a busy inn not far from the Ministry it's self.  He pushed open the door to the smoky haunt and he was glad that it took him a minute to even locate someone he thought he might be who he was there to meet.

"Time for a Fox's Glacier?"  He asked gruffly sitting down across from the individual half hidden in the shadows while he silently cursed Albus for yet another ridiculous code phrase.

"I've always preferred Pan drops."  Came the required reply as Arthur Weasley leaned forward just enough to reveal some of his features.  "We have a problem."

"Yes, we do indeed.  You need another drink."  Alistor replied quickly calling over one of the waitresses and dealt with it.  "Now what were you saying?"  He asked taking a swig from his hip flask and ignoring the glares he got from the young woman as she bustled off into the busy pre-lunch crowd.

"Minerva's disappeared."  The other man put succinctly.

"Of her own volition?  Knowing Tabby she would have been climbing the walls in there already."

"Doubtful.  I don't think she was in a fit state to be climbing anything."  He realised that this comment did not mean that the other man had taken his previous statement literally but only that it said something about the Deputy Headmistress's health.

"Start from the beginning, what I've heard has been pretty patchy.  I know Umbridge and her cronies were trying to 'remove' Hagrid then Tabby tried to intercept them but having let her damn temper get the better of her she was caught off guard."  He had always thought that Minerva would have made a stunning auror if it had not been for her fierce Celtic temper that often got the better of her.

"That fits what I've heard."  Arthur confirmed.  "Poppy had her transferred to St Mungo's."  He continued.  Alistor had been a little concerned by this but knew that the medi-witch would always do what she deemed best for her patients.  "Anyway Molly spoke to the Gruesome Twosome last night and asked them to go visit.  Well they went this morning only to be told that she had been spirited away earlier in today."

"Do we know whom by?"  He asked his anxiety missing another notch.

"The boys spoke to a trainee they knew from school and she seemed to think that two men who turned up were official.  She didn't know where they had had her taken but… it seemed fairly certain that the staff hadn't been keen on the removal of their patient quite yet."  He could tell that the other man certainly felt he was understating the situation. 

"Have you contacted the school?  She could have been transferred back there or into a more secure location so that Dolores Umbridge can feel safe in her bed tonight."  He added with a derisive snort.

"We thought it best to try to ensure that we didn't attract anymore attention to the situation."   The other man answered and the former Auror had to agree.  With all the mail being screened and the flu networks being monitored, communications with the castle had been difficult.  "Molly met with Poppy yesterday so there wasn't even… it might have looked somewhat…" He nodded and Arthur didn't bother to finish his sentence.  Alistor made another survey of the room with his magical eye while he thought.  He knew that they had to rule out the possibility that Minerva had been returned to the school but he didn't think it likely – the 'High Inquisitor' was far too paranoid to allow the return of someone she deemed a threat if she didn't have to.  Where she, or Fudge would have taken her though he wasn't sure.  It was times like this that he really missed Albus's incredible insight.  He sent Arthur away realising that he must have been away from his post for sometime now, asking him to contact all the members he could, telling them to congregate at HQ as soon as they could.

            Several hours later he was again walking down a road with that irritatingly distinctive Clunk, Thunk, Clunk, Thunk.  This time however he was in muggle London with a bowler hat pulled down firmly over his magical eyeball and trousers and a sports jacket replacing his usual robe.  He walked quickly but still paid his surroundings due attention.  Having already apparated to four separate locations, walked a short distance than disapperated again his journey much longer than he would have wished it before he had arrived in the heavily wooded area around half a mile from Grimmauld Place.  He had spent the time since his encounter with Arthur Weasley doing what he could to gather information about what had happened earlier that day in St Mungo's without raising too many antennae.  In the end however it had been Kingsly Shackelbolt who had overheard two of the young and horrifically pompous aurors discussing the 'special' assignment they had been chosen for and completed that morning.  Alistor Moody had been angry before.  Many people would claim that he was constantly angry and bitter, and he would admit that they weren't far wrong, but this – this was different.

"Oh Alistair!"  Came Molly's greeting as the door to number eleven swung open.  Before he began to climb the steps.  "He's here!"  She called back inside.  He refrained from telling her off for opening the door before she could be sure that he was actually who she supposed.

"Quieten down would you?"  He did grunt though, as he made his way past her and into the dark hall beyond.

"We're in the dinning room."  She told him, far more subdued than she had been before.  "The kitchen's a little…busy at the moment."  This didn't come as a great surprise to him.  In all the many years that he had known Molly Weasley she had always turned to cooking when she was upset or concerned about something.  It was a habit that had ensured that they had always been well feed before any major operation.

"Desert?"  He asked allowing himself to be distracted a little.

"Summer pudding with whipped cream – your favourite."  He nodded but suppressed a smile at her shrewd observances.  She was one of the few people whose cooking he would actually eat.  They soon arrived at the rather spectacular Black family dinning room.  In accordance with the rest of the house the room was draped in heavy, dark materials but someone had opened the blinds letting the early-afternoon sunshine flood into the room.  Around the spectacular mahogany table that ran along the centre of the room sat an unusual combination, not entirely representative of the usual group.  Sirius and Lupin were sitting at the near end in deep discussion with the Weasley twins sitting opposite them.  Tonks was apparently only half listening to the conversation as she morphed her hand in and out of a shape that looked surprisingly like the nimble, powerful and deceptively delicate ones that belonged to Minerva.

"Any news?"  Asked Lupin, looking up as soon as he entered.

"We haven't had any luck at all – no one's talking."  Tonks added as Molly sat down next to her.

"Well that's not quite true."  He told them.  "I've just spoken to Kingsley and he was fortunate enough to overhear Rupert Kendal have a rather interesting discussion with Findlay Mountroy."  The younger auror pretended to spit on the floor next to her chair.  The older woman frowned slightly at this but said nothing as he continued.  "I have to agree with you on that one they're both so full of themselves it's impossible and so far up Cornelius Fudge's…" He coughed a little as Molly's frowned deepened.  "It's unpleasant.  That was probably why they were picked for the job."

"What job?"  Asked Sirius, his frustration clearly showing.

"At about midnight last night, Fudge and Umbridge signed official papers for the arrest of one Minerva Anne McGonagall."  There were a series of sharp intakes of breath.

"What were the charges?"  Lupin asked his large blue eyes staring straight at him.

"Aiding and abetting two known criminals wanted for arrest."  He began.

"No house points for guessing who they are."  Fred interrupted.

"Obstruction of Justice.  Obstruction of the Hogwarts High Inquisitor.  Attempted Treason and attempted actual bodily harm to the High Inquisitor and other ministry officials."  There was a moment's stunned silence.

"She Hadn't Even Drawn Her Wand!!!!"  George pointed out with barely constrained malice.  Alistair assumed that they had heard the whole story from their brother and the others by now.

"And it's not as if their weren't any witnesses!"  Molly added.

"And if Umbridge is going to have Professor McGonagall charged with obstruction of the High Inquisitor then she's going to have to charge pretty much everyone in the castle except her bleeding 'squads'" Fred added.

"Where have they sent her?"  Sirius asked quietly.

"I spoke to a friend who works in the holding cells and he said that she wasn't anywhere in the complex."  Tonks added with conviction.

"Well he was right.  She wasn't taken to the holding wing."

"The prison hospital?"  Molly asked hopefully.

"Not quite.  They sent her to Azkaban."  This silence was even more oppressive than the last.

"Please tell me that was a Very bad joke."  The werewolf asked, his eyes now fixed on the table in front of him but Alistair really wouldn't have been surprised to see his hackles rise and the young man start to growl.

"Do I usually joke?"  He asked them.

"Oh, Merlin."  Molly said quietly lifting her apron up to her face as she began to cry.  Tonks put an arm around her, as she looked up to him her eyes showing confusion at what had happened.  It wasn't usual for any prisoner to be placed straight into the maximum-security prison without at least some kind of a trial, at least not since the end of the last war.

"The dementors are still in place?"  This was George.  He nodded in reply.

"Under normal circumstances, I have no doubt that she has the power to walk out of there almost as easily as Dumbledore could,"  He began acutely aware of his wording.

"She does have the advantage of being able to transform."  Sirius added quietly, speaking for the first time since the mention of his former home.

"But after what happened!  They pulled her out of a hospital-bed for Circe's sake!  She could barely hold herself up never mind go through that and….oh…"  Molly slowed her flood of words and although he had to admit that he wouldn't have put it quite like that she had hit the nail more-or-less on the head.  Minerva could never be put down for long.  If she was told she was going to be out of action for a week, two days later she would be up and about by sheer force of will, usually complaining that she wasn't being allowed to do anything.  But no matter how much quicker she would recover from her injuries than your average witch or wizard, they were talking weeks not days in this case.  He also knew what kind of affect that the morbid creatures who found their home there, had on people.  Had on her. The twins went to comfort their mother but soon she sniffed a little, seeming to pull herself back together and muttered something to do with turning down an oven and bustled out of the room.  Before she did though, she looked up and caught his eye.  Neither one of them said anything but in the instant that they both stopped, he saw the weight of knowledge behind her eyes and was certain she could read his face just as well.  There were aspects to today's events that he was sure only they were aware of and it was a truth that laid heavily upon his world-weary heart.