Chapter Eleven: Plans in Motion
September 8th
8:23am
Hogwarts. Scotland
Harry
The room of requirement was quickly becoming his favourite place in Hogwarts. Even though he did all of his training, study and correspondence there, it never failed to amaze him when it bent to his will. The security of knowing no one was able to come in unless they were in the know or invited in made him feel much better about calling Sirius and the others from inside.
The mirror was invaluable for this purpose, instantaneous communication in the magical world was a rare thing and to be in control of one of the few devices that allowed it afforded a significant advantage. In light of his meeting with Dumbledore, he needed someone to investigate Wool's orphanage for any clues about Voldemort's horcruxes, as well as relay all of the relevant information he received for the others.
With Remus' help, they had discovered that enlarging the mirror was safe and wouldn't tamper with the runes. So at times like this when both he and Daphne were in the call, they would enlarge it enough so that they could both easily see it and as the room for a stand. Having sent a cryptic letter to Damien, Harry ensured he'd be at the chateau so that they could do the same enlargement trick and have a meeting.
Daphne and Harry sat down in large armchairs with the mirror in front of them and Harry called to the mirror, "Sirius!"
The mirror's blank surface transitioned into the meeting room he had come to know very well. At the table was Sirius, Remus and Damien who were waiting patiently for Harry and Daphne to connect.
"Morning everyone," Harry greeted and received what could only be described as noncommittal grunts from the three older men. "Right since you lot are so chipper I'm happy to bring you some good news. I believe I've made some breakthroughs in learning the location of more horcruxes and how to find out how many he has."
They're tired eyes widened and Remus exclaimed, "That's great news! What can you tell us?"
"I can tell you that the depths of Voldemort's desecration are deeper than we thought. Tom Riddle was a masochist all the way back to before he entered Hogwarts. He attended Wool's Orphanage in London between 1926 and 1937 and continued to return there for the holidays of Hogwarts. There may not be a correlation to the Horcruxes but I want you to investigate Damien, your resources in muggle world are much more considerable than ours."
"Wool's Orphanage you say?" he asked as he prepared to write the name down on a piece of parchment.
"Yes," Harry replied. "Furthermore the identity of two of the Horcruxes has also been revealed, Salazar Slytherin's locket and Helga Hufflepuff's cup."
"The founders…" Remus murmured, deep in thought.
"The items you seek are long thought lost Harry, no one has seen Salazar's locket in centuries," Sirius exclaimed.
"Voldemort has," Daphne interjected, "and he's made them Horcruxes. We've started to recognise a pattern, he's drawn to things he feels close to. The diary and the ring of his forebears are simple, his 'achievements' are represented here, of long magical lineage and intricate spell work but this is where the theory becomes looser."
"Tom Riddle, as many of us have come to do as well, recognised Hogwarts as a second home. The orphanage represented a place of inferiority which emasculated him every time he returned. Thus any link to the founders would be cherished enough by Riddle to be a useful conduit of evil for Voldemort," Harry continued.
"Even so, as Sirius said, no one other than Voldemort has seen these artefacts," Remus reiterated. "Right now our only lead is the orphanage."
Harry nodded, "you're right, I still felt it was important to let you all know. Five minds is much more powerful than two and if something should happen to us it would be best to have others knowing what we do."
The three men at the chateau indicated their approval before Damien spoke up, "is it possible that a horcrux may be present at the orphanage itself?"
"I doubt it," Harry replied. "The orphanage was a reminder of his time in captivity. So far, the Horcruxes are comparable to trophies; the ring at the site of his triumph over this family and the diary given to Lucius, a powerful young pureblood bent at his feet. You follow?"
"Yes I believe I do," Damien replied and scribbled on his parchment.
"Okay good, investigate the orphanage as soon as possible, if we can generate some leads from this then we'll be well on track to finding another horcrux," Harry spoke, trying not to sound too hopeful. "Harry and Daphne out." The large mirror shimmered and the image of the room of requirement fizzled out to leave only a normal mirror floating i\at the end of the table.
"Well," Damien remarked, "I suppose I should free up tomorrow afternoon."
"Would you like some back up? In case there is a horcrux or some kind of magical defense?" Remus asked politely. The likelihood of the horcrux being there was low according to Harry but you could never be too careful with Voldemort.
"Oh there's no need for that Remus," Damien declined. "Besides I never said I'd be going alone."
September 9th
4:34pm
Wool's Orphanage, London
Damien Greengrass
"Should I hold your hand this way or your arm instead?" Johanna asked nervously as she switched the way she held her husband several times over.
"Darling, I do not believe you will break the statute of secrecy by the way you hold my arm," Damien said, amused at his wife's fussing. It was not often, or ever, that Johanna would venture into the muggle world and it was starting to become increasingly obvious why.
"But I don't know their customs, I could be doing something rude or too forward for public viewing," she continued.
"I assure you, there is little difference between muggle customs to that of our own," Damien said earnestly before coming to a stop on the sidewalk and turning to the building on his right. "You must stop fretting, we are here."
The destination was that of Wool's Orphanage in east London. The odd one out on the street, surrounded by tall office buildings and lively hospitality services. This building was oddly square shaped and featured high metal fences with spikes adorning the top. The walls and roof were nearly entirely stripped of paint leaving patches of dirty old colour here and there.
'If I were to pick a place where Voldemort grew up, this would certainly be a contender,' Damien mused.
"I can't believe kids grew up in this place, who would be cruel enough to place them here?" Johanna asked.
"Who indeed," Damien replied quietly. "You know your part?"
She rolled her eyes, "yes yes, all this lying and acting, I'm no spy Damien and you're no James Bound or whoever from that muggle moving picture."
"It's James Bond and no we're not but we must be good actors for the moment so bring out that despair ridden niece and let's get this over with."
Johanna sighed but did as she was asked, her ability to fake cry would come in handy if she needed to dial it up a notch but there was more she could do presently. She subtly flicked her wand in her sleeve and her clothes downgraded several economical classes until she was noticeably shabby. Her hair also followed suit going from straight and blonde to unkempt curly dark brown hair. With a final dissatisfied look to her husband she marched into the grounds of the orphanage with haste.
'Let us hope this works, a con this flimsy has no right to but it must,' Damien thought as he followed her into the building. The older woman at the front desk looked thoroughly bored sitting behind a small wooden desk and she hadn't noticed their entrance, giving them the ability to look around for a moment. Inside the orphanage was much nicer than the outside would suggest but still characterised their financial situation as dire. The wallpaper was clearly maintained but still exceedingly old and the floorboards at their feet would creek loudly at the slightest shift of weight.
It was one of those creaks that alerted the worker to their presence. "Good afternoon Sir, Madame," she greeted in surprise. "What can we do for you?"
Damien stepped in front of his wife up to the front desk, "Hello, my name is Damien Fitzgerald and I'm from Scotland Yard specifically missing persons," he said as he flashed a fake badge in her face quickly. "I need to see the records for young men that came through here between 1924 and 1940."
"May I ask why?" she asked, slightly taken aback.
"You may," Damien pulled a piece of paper from the inside of his coat and handed it to the woman who took and held it at length to read it. "I'm working a case to help this woman here find her mother's brother who disappeared shortly after he was born. We have reason to believe that the boy passed through your orphanage sometime between the aforementioned dates. Right there in your hand is a warrant to peruse your records for any sign of the boy."
The old matron was taken aback at the speed and confidence Damien attached to his lies that she hadn't even formulated a response before Johanna jumped in. "Please Ma'am, my ma' searched for him to no end and it's my solemn wish that I can bring some closure to a dying woman."
The woman, having been overwhelmed by the double act, grew visibly flustered and it took several moments of her switching her gaze between Damien and Johanna before she eventually spoke. "I… I suppose I could allow you access to the archives."
Damien smiled, "thank you, do you need a moment or could we go right now?"
The woman scoffed, "you two are the first visitors we've had in two months, we can go now."
With that said, she beckoned them to follow her as she shuffled down a hallway lined with old paintings and images of previous and current staff. She turned right at the end of the hallway and led them into a dimly lit corridor which had but one door at the end of it labelled archives. The room was incredibly cramped even though it had several aisles thanks to the high shelves full to the brim with folders in boxes. Damien had to cover his mouth in an effort to defend himself from the dust that their footsteps kicked up as they followed their lead through the room. The social worker walked halfway down an aisle and stopped, pulling a box labelled 1900 - 1949 from the shelf which brought another wave of dust into their faces.
"I believe this is what you were after, the records should detail appearances, medical history and the exact dates they arrived," she said as she handed the box to Damien before turning to Johanna. "I hope this helps you find whoever you're looking for, good luck."
The woman withdrew from the room and presumably returned to the reception. Damien rummaged through the box he was given to look for a more specific timeframe but found the contents to be in no discernible order.
"Whoever packed these away had no regard for future readers, there's no way we could go through this in one day let alone an afternoon," Damien lamented. He knew going through all of the mess in his hands was going to be a monotonous job no matter how necessary.
"Are you a wizard or not, my love?" Johanna asked condescendingly. Damien grew confused for a second before realising there was a simple magical solution to such a dilemma.
"Accio Tom Riddle's file."
Nothing happened and Damien feared the worst had come to pass, the Dark Lord had beat them here and had taken or destroyed the file they sought. Damien's head hung low as he felt the ache of defeat throughout his body.
"I suppose that's that then?" Johanna asked, as she moved beside him and rubbed her dejected husbands back.
Damien sighed, "it seems that way, yes. Back to searching for centuries lost trinkets of even older dead wizards."
Damien lifted his head and returned the box to where they found it. They left the archives room and returned to their assigned roles. Johanna wore a large fake frown and slumped her shoulders whereas Damien was now the one rubbing her back in faux comfort. When they reached the reception room Damien solemnly shook his head towards the woman they had met.
"I'm sorry Madame, I wish we could have been more helpful," she consoled as she laid a hand on Johanna's.
Johanna smiled sadly and nodded, "no no, you did everything you could thank you very much."
"I'm not sure how much good it'll do but if you want to have another look you'll need to come back before next Monday but not on the weekend," she said sadly.
The emotion behind her words piqued Damien's interest as he asked, "why?"
"Well, by Monday, Wool's Orphanage will no longer exist. Someone bought the land and decided they wanted to build offices instead of house unfortunate children," she finished scathingly with as much malice a woman over eighty could manage. "We're taking the kids to the normal excursion spot as a last treat before the system gobbles them up and spits them out across the country."
Damien and Johanna shared a sad look before Johanna asked, "is it a nice place, the excursion?"
"Oh yes," the woman replied. "We take the kids camping on the coast and apart from an incident in the thirties it's gone completely smoothly every time."
"Incident?" Damien asked, surprised. "What kind of incident?"
The matron furrowed her eyebrows and cast her mind back decades. "It was the strangest thing, I was new to the orphanage back then but even I could tell that it wasn't just kid mischief. The trip was going well until we lost three of the children on the same day. One of them, a charming young boy, returned soon after with no injuries at all but the other two," she shuddered, "the other two returned with glassy eyes and extreme aches across their body, their throats were raw from screaming and they refused to speak to anyone for a month. It was like nothing I have ever seen even to this day, and as far as I know they never divulged what happened to them."
As terrible as the story was, Damien could feel the warm swell of hope rising in his chest, "I apologise if this is insensitive but do you remember their names and do you have any idea where I could find them?
"Their names?" she asked. "Why yes of course, I could never forget something like that, Amy Benson and Dennis Bishop. Last I heard they are married and live near Essex."
Damien committed the information to memory, 'it's not what we came for but the investigation continues at least.' He stepped forward and gently grasped the woman's hand, "thank you for your cooperation and I'm sorry that you're losing this place."
"Oh it's no worries dear, I only wish I could have offered more," she said sincerely as she stood to see them out.
"It's okay ma'am we can see ourselves out, take care," Johanna declared, eager to be gone from such a depressing environment.
Damien offered his pleasantries too and left the building with his wife who, as soon as she knew no one was watching, retransfigured her clothes back into the expensive outfit she had actually chosen.
"So," she began as they walked towards an alley they had arrived from, "it's not what you were after but still something?"
They reached the alley and Damien side-along-apparated Johanna with him back to Greengrass Manor before replying, "something that I think I can work with. Did you hear the way she described their injuries, what does that remind you of?"
Johanna thought about it more acutely, obviously the kids were tortured but Damien made it seem like she should know what caused it which narrowed the options down significantly. "Cruciatus?" she answered.
"Precisely," Damien confirmed excitedly. "Now, to find two muggles who carry what some of our distant family might consider a great honour." Seeing Johanna's confused look he smiled grimly and continued, "you still don't see it? They're Voldemort's first victims of course."
A/N: Alrighty, chapter eleven, I thought I'd have a lot more fun writing this one but because I know what comes next I'm much more excited for the next chapter. This chapter was further delayed because my partner and I moved house and it's the first time that we were primary lease holders so it was a fairly big step for us — which inevitably came with a lot of time and effort being stripped away for a week or so.
The Harry and Daphne informing the others was always planned but the way I wrote the Damien and Johanna part changed constantly. I either didn't like how the story would have to progress or their dialogue just didn't sit right. I got there in the end though and now I can move on to some action.
This Chapter's recommendation is pretty much anything written by Dorothea Greengrass, she's a well known name in the Haphne community and her work speaks for itself so go check her out of haven't already
Links to the Haphne Discord and my Twitch channel are in my profile.
Hope you all enjoyed :)