Harry and Sean were up at first light the next morning. They packed Sean's duffle bag with some blankets and some food that the monastery provided for them. They filled a pair of canteens with water and dressed in their black pants and tank tops. Sean got his weapons and strapped them all onto his body as he had when they left the Burrow. Harry got his wand and put it in the pocket of his own "monk robe" as he and Sean would be traveling in those.
Sean had two things to do at the monastery before they left. The first was to write his last note to Bill and the Order of the Phoenix. He sat down and wrote:
Bill and the Order of the Phoenix:
The boy's training is complete, and he has surpassed all expectations. I will make this brief, as we will be leaving as soon as I am done with this and have armed the boy. We are going to track down Snape and LeStrange, we plan on lulling them into a false sense of security, then eliminating them and infiltrating the opening feast. It is our hope that we will catch the Dark Lord off guard and by surprise at the feast. This will be our last communication before the battle. Look after Regal, and we hope that we will have your trust as you do ours.
Your friend and comrade,
SeanPS I have received special permission to bring in three of the best werewolf hunters in the Order to help you in the battle at the school. They will be arriving from Scotland in time for the battle, Harry has given me a time and place…wait for them, they will not disappoint. Tell Lupin to keep out of this since I cannot guarantee they won't kill him inadvertently or on purpose.
Sean finished his note and tied it to Regal's leg before giving him some food and with a shout of "Imigh!" sending him off.
"Come with me" Sean said to Harry who obeyed him dutifully.
Sean took Harry to the trophy case he had noticed the day he arrived at the monastery. Sean found an item in the case and presented it to Harry.
"Do you know anything about Greek mythology?" Sean asked.
"A little" Harry answered.
"Do you know who Theseus was?" Harry nodded in answer.
"Several centuries ago," Sean began explaining to Harry, "a Knight of the Order completed a mission in Greece that was very appreciated by the Greek people and leaders. In gratitude, they gave him this…the sword of Theseus."
Harry took the sword and removed it from it's sheathe to look at it. The blade was at least 24 inches long, and the hilt was rounded and thick.
"It's sharp" Harry said with surprise.
"It never gets dull," Sean said "the sword is said to be magical, and the Sagart is allowing a true wizard to wield it for the coming battle…a gesture of confidence and goodwill."
"I will take it with honor" Harry said with a strong voice as he put the sword back in it's sheathe, which was of the belt type, and wrapped it around his waist under the robe. They were now fully armed and ready to go.
"Dumbledore put the same protection on this monastery as he did for Hogwarts, so we will have to go outside to apparate" Sean said to Harry, who nodded in understanding.
They went outside, Sean told Harry to apparate to the Burrow to begin with, and that they would track them from there.
The journey was instant, and when they arrived Sean immediately made his way to where the temporary stables had been. He was confused as to how a tree had gotten there, but quickly focused on the mission at hand and was relieved to find that the tracks of the horses were still visible to his trained eye. Sean also found two other sets of tracks…human tracks.
"They were here," Sean said to Harry who was a short distance from him. "And they followed our trail," he continued as he looked down the road.
"Could you apparate us to where we cast off?" Sean asked Harry.
"Sure" Harry said with a monotone that sounded like Sean's but with an English accent instead of an Irish one.
Sean grabbed Harry's arm again and in an instant the two of them were back where they had cast off. Sean looked for tracks, but found none.
"This is a difficulty," Sean began loud enough so Harry could hear, "I don't see their tracks here, and it is unlikely that they lost our trail…do you have any thoughts?"
Harry was only slightly taken aback by Sean's requesting his input; his mind began to formulate possible explanations.
"They probably either followed our trail to Godric's Hollow or figured that I would go there," Harry paused after this and thought on it some more, "maybe they didn't bother looking from there."
"That's a very real possibility" Sean said, "I need you to apparate us about two miles outside of Godric's Hollow."
"Yes master" Harry said with respect.
They arrived and Sean explained his plan to Harry. "I will need you to give me a description of the Death Eaters we are tracking. I will see if I can find them or get a reliable lead as to where they are. We will be using you as bait long enough for them to send the word to Voldemort, then you and I will act."
"I understand" Harry said, he then undid his sheathe and put the sword of Theseus into Sean's duffle.
"Stay here" Sean said, "I will go on ahead, and if you are not here when I get back, I will know that they have taken you and I'll track you."
Sean made his way into town and got a similar welcome to the last time he came in. He explored for about an hour and found nothing. He next asked around, repeating Harry's description and telling them that the people he was looking for were dangerous murderers and needed to be apprehended. Eventually, he got a lead, a local shopkeeper informed him that the two of them had been through and were staying at a local inn. Sean came back to Harry and told him what he had discovered.
"You need to go in alone, they won't kill you. Leave the bag here with me, change into your old clothes (Harry had packed them into the bag), and go inside the town. I will follow about ten minutes behind, start to fight only after they've sent the owl. That will be my signal to come and fight, if they apparate away somewhere I will be in the tavern and you need to come and get me as fast as you can and double back to where they take you. When we fight, you will take Snape and I will take the woman."
Harry changed his clothes and then made his way back into Godric's Hollow. He remembered the last time he had come in here, and his hair long flowing hair and slim muscular build reminded him of how much he had changed since then. His mind was clear and focused, but he decided not to empty it so that Snape or anyone else could tell that he was there. Sean was making his way into town and Harry thought that now was the time to spring the trap. He made his way toward the inn Sean told him Snape and Bellatrix were staying in.LeStrange had been sitting next to the window and had spotted Harry coming into Godric's Hollow.
"Severus," she said to the figure in the other part of their room, "you were right Severus, he is coming back."
Snape moved beside Bella at the window to see Harry making his way into the town.
"I told you Bella," Snape began, "the boy's emotions and feelings are his downfall." They noticed him making his way toward the inn, and Snape began giving Bella instructions.
"Bella, go and pay the innkeeper to avoid drawing attention, then we will grab Potter and apparate back some to send the message to Lord Voldemort."
Bella smiled an evil smile with glee and then went to do as Severus had instructed.
As Harry approached the door he felt a pair of hands grab each of his arms and then he felt himself being whisked away. He next found himself in an area of woodland facing the most dangerous minions of his worst enemy.
"We meet again Potter" Snape said in his usual sinister voice.
Harry decided to play dumb and drew his wand, "what are you two doing here?"
"We are on orders from the Dark Lord to personally escort you to the opening feast this year" Bellatrix answered with venom in her voice.
As she spoke, she conjured up strong cords to bind Harry. He pretended to struggle against the binds and try to squirm free as Snape shouted "Silencio!" and made Harry unable to speak.
"We did it Severus" Bella said ecstatically, "We had best send the Dark Lord his message."
"How right you are Bella" Snape responded coldly with a smirk on his face as he was sensing the desperation running through Harry's mind.
Harry, knowing Snape's abilities with illegumency, was desperately trying to maintain the façade of being desperate and afraid. He still did this as he saw Snape write the message and send it off with the owl Bella had been holding. After the owl was off, Harry knew that he only had to wait now. Snape and LeStrange had both gone to sleep; neither of them suspected Harry would be a threat now that he was restrained. After they had dozed off, Harry would show them how wrong they were.