Disclaimer: JK Rowling has had several really bad ideas, but she had a really good idea first, so she's still in charge.


Chapter 15: A Really Bad Idea

Corban Yaxley strode up to the gates of Riddle Manor with both arms raised, his wand in his right hand and his bare left arm showing the Dark Mark, giving him passage through the wards. His position in the Court (as they called it in private) was much improved since he had first returned to the Dark Lord, owing to his corresponding position in the Ministry, though it was always precarious with their Master.

He entered the main hall at Riddle Manor and bowed to the Dark Lord before taking his place with the other Death Eaters. A few other stragglers came in after him, and the meeting began. As usual when there wasn't a major operation going on, it began with the most local matters first—the affairs of the Death Eaters themselves, resource procurement, if any, recruitment efforts, and so on.

"Tonight, we have some special entertainment," the Dark Lord said after some routine reports. Many of the Death Eaters perked up. "Special entertainment" often meant torturing muggles or mudbloods, but tonight, it was different. "There is one of our number who was absolutely pitiful with his spellwork—who was recruited for his other skills. Naturally, this gap in his education had to be corrected. Alas, he will never be a great duellist, but tonight, he has finally been deemed competent enough with a wand to join our ranks, and as proof, he will demonstrate by duelling for us here."

"What?!" someone yelped from the far side of the room.

"Lockhart, please step forward."

No one moved for a moment until Yaxley heard a grunt of somebody being shoved, and Gilderoy Lockhart stumbled into the middle of the hall. He wore no mask (masks were optional for the Azkaban escapees), but he already looked out of his element in the all-black Death Eater robes. His hair was long and messy, but he still had his perfect teeth, somehow.

"Oh, o-of course, my Lord," Lockhart said, nervously tapping his fingertips together. "Who'll I be duelling, then?"

"I think we've found a suitable opponent for you," the Dark Lord said smugly.

He gestured to the back, and Barty Crouch came out, leading a young woman with black hair by the hand—a girl, really. She only looked about twenty. She was wearing a blindfold, though Yaxley could guess that might be for show. It was possible she was already a Death Eater who had not shown her face.) When they reached the centre of the room, Yaxley could just hear Crouch whisper, "You stand before the Dark Lord." The woman immediately knelt down.

"Rise," the Dark Lord said.

She did, and Barty removed her blindfold. Lockhart grew pale when he saw her face. "You?" he said.

"Hello, Gilderoy," she said in what seemed an attempt at a sultry tone. "We have some unfinished business."

"Luisa Murks is here tonight as a special guest," the Dark Lord said. "It was she, three years ago, who led to Lockhart's arrest. " A few people sniggered, remembering the reason Lockhart was arrested. "I thought this would be a good test of his abilities, considering that she thoroughly defeated him the last time they met."

Lockhart watched Luisa nervously. "You…you aren't still mad about last time are you?" he asked.

"You were going to wipe my memory," Luisa said, glaring at him.

"Well, can you blame me? Look where I ended up!"

"Arsehole! You weren't even that good."

Lockhart suddenly became indignant: "Hey, now! You were the one who wanted to go in the broom cupboard. If you'd come back to my quarters, I sure as hell would've shown you a good time."

Most of the room chuckled, and Lockhart looked around briefly as if remembering where he was, but he didn't back down.

"I think this'll be a very good duel," Crouch said. "Take your positions." Luisa got into a duelling stance. Lockhart just stared. "Duel on three," Crouch continued, and Lockhart hurriedly got into his stance.

"Five galleons on the little girl," Avery said behind Yaxley.

"One…two—"

"Rictusempra!" Luisa shouted. Since when did Death Eaters have to fight fair?

Lockhart parried her hex, though, and fought back. He was sloppy, but he could hold his own. Luisa seemed surprised by this, but it only made her fight harder. Crouch hadn't set up duelling wards, something else Death Eaters didn't often bother with, so several bystanders cast Shield Charms to block wayward spells. Lockhart really had come a long way from someone who barely knew which end of a wand to hold, and Luisa probably hadn't practised much since she graduated. It was close. Suddenly, there was a loud bang and a flash that momentarily blinded the audience. When the dust cleared, Luisa was sprawled flat on her back, and her wand clattered to the side of the room.

The crowd gasped. Lockhart swaggered over to her and stood over her. "Not so bad now, am I?" he said.

"That was…impressive." Luisa agreed breathlessly. "…What was that about your quarters again?"

Yaxley groaned and rubbed his forehead. Why was it that half the Death Eaters turned out to be deviants?

Fortunately, the Dark Lord moved on. "Yaxley, your report from the Ministry?" he ordered once things were cleaned up.

He walked to the middle of the hall and bowed. "My Lord, as I have said, the Minister has grown increasingly paranoid since the attacks of Boxing Day. This is a disadvantage in that he has become more cautious and isolated from our influence. He still trusts Dumbledore implicitly, so even Malfoy is having trouble reaching him. However, it is also an advantage because we can use it to drive a wedge between Fudge and his potential allies—Bones and Scrimgeour. I have already planted several rumours and documents to suggest to Fudge that Scrimgeour is after his job.

"A sound strategy," was the reply. "With Scrimgeour, it might well be true. And what of Amelia Bones. She is the Ministry's greatest source of strength. She is ultimately responsible for the current security measures. While she remains the Director of Magical Law Enforcement, taking the Ministry will be…difficult."

"Naturally, Master. But Fudge has another weakness: Dolores Umbridge, his Senior Undersecretary. She is an outspoken critic of mudbloods and half-breeds. I was able to speak with her in secrecy, and I am confident that she is sympathetic to our cause. She affects loyalty, of course, but she knows which way the wind is blowing. Umbridge is in a far better position to sabotage the Ministry than the Auror office. She has access to virtually all of the Ministry's paperwork. If a few critical pieces of Bones' paperwork should go missing, it would hinder her greatly."

"Interesting. Yes, I think that will do quite nicely, if you have bound Umbridge to her word properly," the Dark Lord warned. Yaxley nodded. "However, we must begin moving our people into place. We will need many agents under the Imperius Curse close to the Minister when we make our move."

"I have already begun identifying candidates, my Lord," he replied.

He nodded. After a few more questions about his work, he dismissed him and turned to the next order of business: "Fenrir Greyback, step forward." The head werewolf among their forces took the floor, also sans mask (and Mark), but still looking out of place in ill-fitting Death Eater robes. "What is the status of the wolf packs?"

Greyback grunted in acknowledgement. Everyone had long since learnt to tolerate him being uncouth. "I don't think we'll be losing any more wolves to the Ministry or that dog, Lupin. Unfortunately, their false promises and gilded cages have drawn in too many of us. Only those who see the truth are still with me. I have barely a third the forces I did before. Until I can make some more…"

"Yes, an unfortunate development," the Dark Lord said.

"You said you'd get me Wolfsbane Potion," the werewolf growled, sparking whispers about his impudence, but the Dark Lord remained relaxed.

"Indeed, and yet, it is a difficult potion to acquire even for us. Snape, you are capable of brewing the potion. What is you assessment for how to procure enough for Greyback's needs?"

Snape stepped forward, looking as cool and collected as ever despite the pressure. "I'm afraid there is virtually no hope of producing Wolfsbane Potion in bulk, my Lord," he said. "Several ingredients are rare and must be imported. The supplies are watched too closely to acquire large amounts, through legitimate means or otherwise."

The Dark Lord nodded and turned to another Death Eater: "Malfoy, do you agree with Snape's assessment?"

"Um—it would depend what he means by 'large amounts,' but generally yes," he replied.

"And what about making just enough of the potion for Greyback and perhaps one or two others?"

"In general, it is likely possible," Snape said. "For me personally, unlikely. Dumbledore trusts me, but he doesn't trust anyone enough to give me leeway to brew it—not after the attack on Hogwarts."

Yaxley wasn't convinced that was true, but he also knew it was in the Dark Lord's interest to string Greyback along, so Snape was playing his part. Letting the werewolf population grow unchecked was a bad long-term move.

"Very well," the Dark Lord said. "Malfoy, see about acquiring the ingredients, and ask your contacts about someone who can brew the potion without being noticed. Snape, you will render what assistance you can without tipping off Dumbledore. Greyback, I will ensure you receive a course of the potion before the next full moon so that you can go and…recruit. I trust you will be more careful about your targets than last time."

Yaxley could guess the strategy himself. Greyback would be allowed to build up his numbers over the next three months, just enough to serve as shock troops. Once the Ministry fell he would have to be put on the outs. Maybe give equal rights for werewolves—wizard werewolves, that is—but only so long as they agreed to be caged on the full moon, and hang what Greyback said. True, that hadn't worked well for the Ministry, but the Ministry hadn't been willing to just kill him. It would help that Greyback's recruits would probably be mostly muggles. If he tried to do it in a wizard area, he wouldn't get so many—or he'd end up dead, which…would be an acceptable trade-off.

Of course, all of that hinged on the attack on the Ministry working. If they had to extend their partnership with Greyback much past then, things would become strained.

"Dolohov, your report from Durmstrang?" the Dark Lord said.

Dolohov looked like a new man compared with when he'd been broken out of Azkaban. Instead of the usual robes, he was richly dressed in furs as Karkaroff had been, although for tonight, his furs were all in black. "My Lord, the preparations at Durmstrang are going well. I have recruited several seventh-year students whom I trust as overseers, and construction is proceeding apace. We will be ready ahead of schedule."

"Good. Good. And the Scandinavian Ministry?"

"They will not interfere. Of that I am certain. When the British Ministry falls, they will be the first to declare an alliance with the new regime."

"Excellent. You have done well. But—Germany will be the pivot on the Continent. Durmstrang is mostly German. When they see where her loyalty lies, they will attempt to suborn Scandinavia. We must ensure Germany does not stand against us."

And Yaxley was lost. He was privy to the details of the plans against the Ministry, but he had no idea what Dolohov was up to at Durmstrang—certainly not what they were constructing. That was as it should be, but it still made him nervous, planning without knowing the full operation.

Dolohov's face fell at the question. He thought for a minute, but then, he looked up and looked the Dark Lord resolutely in the eyes. "There's one obvious way, my Lord, but we would need to move up the attack a few days. How important is it that we move on the solstice?"

"Not terribly. How many days will you need to implement that one?"

He thought a moment longer. "I could do it in two days without much trouble."

"Make it three then. We can't afford any mistakes. Inform me if there are any further complications."

Dolohov bowed and returned to his place.

"And finally, Rowle," the Dark Lord said. "What news from the east?"

The large man stepped forward, bearing a scroll. "A new letter for you, my Lord, from Lord Jugashvili," he announced.

The Dark Lord took the scroll and read it through. No one was quite sure what was going on with Rowle, but the Dark Lord certainly thought it important. "Interesting," he concluded. "Malfoy, you will make preparations for another distinguished guest this summer. Lord Jugashvili wishes to inspect the ancient Celtic sites in exchange for his services. Rowle, remain after the meeting. I will send a reply agreeing to his terms. This should do very well. If all goes well, it will be a good way to counter Amelia Bones—and that fossil, Madam Fan.


Little did Voldemort know that that same night, Albus Dumbledore was holding a meeting of his own, immediately after the Death Eater meeting—though this one did not involve the full Order of the Phoenix. This meeting was specifically about Voldemort's horcruxes and involved only those who knew about them, save Horace Slughorn: Harry and his family, Sirius, Remus, Edward Grayson, and Severus Snape. Snape entered the room at the last minute, straight from the Death Eater meeting, and they were set to begin.

"It is as we feared, Albus," Snape told them. "The Dark Lord plans to make his move in the third week of June. Unfortunately, I don't know any more details than before. He's keeping tight-lipped, but Dolohov is to make a move at Durmstrang at the same time. He seems to believe he can fell Britain, Scandinavia, and Germany in one stroke."

"Germany?" Sirius said. "Did we know he has anything going on in Germany?"

"No," said Dumbledore, "though acting through Durmstrang, it is conceivable."

"I have more to report, but that can be done in private," Snape added.

"Third week of June," Remus mused. "That's only three months away."

"Then we've got to stop him before then!" Emma said.

Dumbledore nodded solemnly: "If at all possible, Mrs. Granger. Unfortunately, there remains a very significant obstacle."

"The horcruxes," Harry said.

"The horcruxes," Dumbledore agreed.

"Not to mention killing the bastard himself," said Sirius.

Grayson cleared his throat. "Okay, then," he said. "We have a much shorter path to defeating Voldemort than we might have, but there are still some critical gaps in it." He gestured, and a piece of chalk rose and scribbled notes on a blackboard tucked in one corner of Dumbledore's office. "Voldemort has two horcruxes left: his pet snake, and the cup of Helga Hufflepuff."

"And obviously, if we go after the snake, we'll tip him off, so we have to figure out where the cup is first," Harry said.

"And fast," Hermione added. "If he takes over the Ministry before we can get to it, we'll have no chance."

"Do we have anything on it?" Dan asked. "We don't know where it is. We don't know who has it, if he didn't hide it in a hole somewhere…"

Dumbledore shook his head. "I think we can rule that last out, Mr. Granger," he said. "Voldemort's weakness is his ego. He did not relegate pieces of his own precious soul to 'hiding them in a hole somewhere.' He hid them in symbolically important locations to him: his family's home, the place where he most exerted his power as a child, Hogwarts, and one of his most trusted followers."

Sirius's eyes widened. "Now, hold on," he said. He rose and moved over to the blackboard to add to the notes. "That could be something, there. If he gave one to Lucy, I'd bet good money he gave one to Bella, too."

"A distinct possibility, yes," Dumbledore said, "but we cannot be certain. Bellatrix would not have had as many resources to hide a horcrux as Lucius. He may have been an outlier."

"It's worth considering, though," Remus said. "If he gave the cup to Bellatrix, where would she have put it?"

"Well, not in a hole somewhere," Sirius replied. "Though I suppose she might've built a shrine to him somewhere or something. But I don't think so. Bella may be crazy, but she's a practical one. It wouldn't surprise me if she just stuck it in her Gringotts vault."

"Gringotts!" Hermione exclaimed. "That can't be right. Voldemort wouldn't go for that."

Harry shook his head. "No, think about it, Hermione. Gringotts would make perfect sense: active security around the clock that you only have to pay an account fee for. Even if Voldemort doesn't like the goblins, he knows they're really good at what they do."

He trailed off in thought, but Sirius added, "And ditto for Bellatrix. Plus, they'd never bow to a Ministry request to search the vaults."

"Except Voldemort already got past their security once, remember?" Hermione retorted. "When he went after the Philosopher's Stone."

"Except that was a low security area," Dumbledore said. "The vault had already been emptied. The idea has merit."

Dan frowned. "But if it is in Gringotts, how can we get it?" he asked. "If Voldemort couldn't rob it, I don't see how we can, and I don't imagine the goblins would react well if we tried."

"Pfft," Sirius scoffed. "Probably get ourselves killed. Might start another war…Hm…family lines could do it. I think I could still get access to her vault—or rather Andi could…but that's only if the inheritances work out. We'd have to kill Rabastan, then Rodolphus, then her—in that order."

"Let's worry about that when we're sure that's where it is," Grayson said. "We need to cover all options. Albus, are you sure you've found all the likely hiding spots from Voldemort's life?"

"As sure as I can be, Edward," Dumbledore answered. "In one respect, the fact that Voldemort grew up an orphan works in our favour. There are few places he visited in his youth that would hold meaning for him. His former orphanage has been torn down, which it would not have been if he were protecting it, and he never spent significant time anywhere else but Hogwarts and a simple apartment before he began travelling the world."

"What about Borgin & Burkes?" Harry asked.

"I checked there as well, unlikely though it was, but it was not there. It would have been too risky for him. For better or worse, the Bellatrix theory has more of a ring of truth to it than any others available to us."

"Which still leaves us with no way to get it," Remus sighed. He got up and started pacing the room. "We don't even knew if that's where she put it. Oh, I don't know…"

As they rambled on, searching for a solution, Harry was deep in thought. He'd gotten a notion when Gringotts was first mentioned. He turned it over in mind a few times, and finally, he came out and said it: "Um, guys? I have a really bad idea."

"What?"

"What if we do something to scare Voldemort into moving the horcrux and intercept him when he does?"

Remus turned around. Sirius tilted his head in dog-like confusion. Everyone was staring at him.

"You know," he said, "if we faked a move on Gringotts to tip him off that we're hunting them…"

"You're right, Harry. That's a really bad idea," Hermione told him.

"Sorry, but she's right," Sirius agreed. "How would we ever get the snake, then? If we scare him like that, he'll lock it in a bubble or something, and we'll never get our hands on it."

"Well, what does it matter if we can't ever find the cup?" Harry insisted. "It can't be any harder getting through whatever he does to protect the snake than it will be to kill Voldemort himself."

Hermione shook her head vigorously: "Harry, by that logic, why don't we just kill Voldemort now—? Actually, why not? It took him thirteen years to come back before. It would buy us some time to find it."

"That won't work, Granger," Snape said. "Not when they can call La Pantera to come back and resurrect him again. The Death Eaters will not fold so easily this time now that there are other Dark Mages they can call upon. We can only stop the Dark Lord with a decisive victory that he cannot return from. That will make the Dark Mark vanish and leave them unable to coordinate, with their morale broken."

Now, Sirius was the one pacing the room like an anxious dog. "There's got to be another way to find it," he said. "Can we get anything from the Seers, Albus?"

"Scrying is harder than simple divination," Dumbledore said, "and easier to detect or interfere with, as with Legilimency. I can ask them to try, but the odds are not great."

"Well, do it anyway!"

"Padfoot, easy," Remus muttered.

"If we're going for bad ideas, what if capture Voldemort alive?" Hermione suggested. "Do we have someplace that can hold him?"

"No."

"Yes."

"Maybe."

Everyone stopped and looked at each other. When the 'yes' and 'no' votes, Grayson and Snape, didn't speak, Dumbledore took the lead: "Nurmengard Castle has successfully held Gellert Grindelwald for the past fifty years. Its wards are strong enough to hold Voldemort. However, at the end, Grindelwald did not have any followers organised enough to break him out, while Voldemort does."

"And there's the fact that I don't want Voldemort and Grindelwald in the same country no matter what prison they're in," Grayson added.

Dan took a deep breath and summarised the situation: "Which brings us back to the cup. Okay, let's try to thinks about it a different way. We need to find it sooner or later, right? What circumstances give us the best chance of actually finding it?"

"Well, if it's in Gringotts…" Sirius said. "How about this? We kill Voldemort and the snake, capture Bellatrix, and force her to get it out of her vault."

Remus rubbed his chin. "That…might work, Sirius. Might still be a hard sell with the goblins. What if we catch Bellatrix and get her declared incompetent?"

"Ooh, good one. They'd have to give her family access then."

"Except it's a lot of work to get to that point," Harry pointed out. "And what if it's not in Gringotts?"

"If it's not, your idea might not work at all, Harry," Hermione said.

"But will any others?"

And that was the real problem, wasn't it? Nothing looked like it would work. Dumbledore had done a good job with a few horcruxes, but the trail had gone completely cold. Sirius sat back down in defeat, and no one seemed to know what to say.

Eventually, Grayson spoke. "Continued detective work with no more leads," he said absently. "Try to scry where it is…Or get Voldemort to show us himself, and all on a three-month time limit. You know, Mr. Potter, maybe your idea isn't so crazy."

"We at least need to try scrying first," Sirius said.

"Indeed, we will," Dumbledore agreed. "However, its efficacy is uncertain, and our detective work has got us nowhere in the past eight months. While the idea is risky, it may yet be the best option we have. Severus, what is your assessment?"

Snape gave something that resembled a shrug. "I cannot refute the logic, Albus," he said. "If we are truly so desperate for options, we may have no other choice."

"Can you give Voldemort a tip to suggest we are hunting his horcruxes?"

"I can certainly plant the suggestion. Whether he will take the bait is a different matter. The Dark Lord would have to believe you have an idea of where to look for them. He no doubt believes his hiding places are too ingenious even for you. Not to mention that I'm not supposed to know about his horcruxes, myself. And even if it does work, it will surely only work once, and it might expose my true alignment."

"Luckily, it only has to work once," Dumbledore said. "I have no wish to place you at greater risk, Severus—"

"And yet you continue to do so," he said. "But that is beside the point. I have resigned myself to the risk of my position. My concern is that I might lose it on a fruitless errand."

"Are we seriously thinking about going with this?" Sirius demanded. Harry started to protest, but he added, "Sorry, Harry, but this is a crazy risky plan even by my standards."

"If the scrying fails, we may have to risk everything on this turn," Dumbledore said. "We must destroy the horcruxes before Voldemort can act. Even if we stop his plans now, there is little to stop him trying again in a few months—unless we kill him first. Severus, I suggest you do not tell Voldemort it is specifically about the horcruxes. Just say that we are interested in Gringotts and possibly in getting something from Gringotts by less than legitimate means."

"And maybe warn the goblins in case he tries to use it against us," Remus added.

Grayson hummed to himself: "Yes, that could work. If the horcrux is in Gringotts, he'll put the pieces together himself. If I understand right, he'll have to send one of the Lestranges to get it out, and the goblins won't accept a disguise. It'll be an easy move to spot."

"And if it isn't in Gringotts, Grayson?" Snape demanded.

Harry answered him, though: "If it's not in Gringotts, he might still guess what we're up to and check on it. He'll be harder to follow, but we'll at least have something to go on."

"He'll check on all of them, you mean," Hermione pointed out. "If it's not in Gringotts, he won't know which one we're after."

"Oh. Yeah, and he'll find out that the others are already gone," Harry concluded. "Well, I guess it's not that much worse."

"On the other hand, if he doesn't react at all, we can be pretty sure it isn't at Gringotts," Remus said. "Or he's could be calling our bluff, but I doubt it. Or he's already got it with him, in which case we're screwed anyway, but we still haven't lost anything. It's not perfect—"

"That's an understatement," Snape grumbled.

"—but given how little time is left, then yes it might be our best option."

"I still don't like it," Sirius grumbled.

Dan shrugged: "What else can we do at this point?"

"I think we will need to try it," Dumbledore said. "We will have to set up a plan for surveillance of Gringotts. Voldemort will not want to appear, himself, but he likely will at the first sign of trouble. Our Seers will need to help us if we go forward with it. But I do believe it is doable."

"This isn't going to end well," Snape said.


"Oh, the Fates have not been kind, Professor Dumbledore," Professor Trelawney said when the Headmaster called the Seers before the group a week later. "We cannot see the cursed object clearly. Only that great pain will come to any who would seize it."

"Despite Madam Trelawney's penchant for the dramatic," Fan Tong said creakily, "I'm afraid she's right. The horcrux is a locus of great pain. It has not been easy for us. Little Qiu had a panic attack when we told her what a horcrux was." Cho nodded her agreement, looking pale. "And it hasn't improved from there."

"I apologise for the hardship," Dumbledore said. "It was necessary."

Sirius was agitated as before and looked even paler than Cho did. "What have you tried?" he asked. "Is there any—" He stopped and gave a hacking cough into a handkerchief. "Sorry—Is there any other way you can try."

"Sirius, are you alright?" Hermione asked.

"Grrr, think I might be getting the flu," he muttered. "So?"

Madam Fan explained, "The simplest way to find Voldemort's horcrux would be to locate Voldemort. As we know where he normally is, we can account for that and look for other detections. But we cannot do this too much, or he may notice. This method gave us a vague direction that would seem to indicate the general vicinity of Greater London."

Cho looked over at Harry. "Our scrying…it only told us the…the thing was in a dark place, but spacious. Not simply buried or in a small box or carrying case.

"Other methods of divining only pointed to You-Know-Who's presence being beneath the Earth." Trelawney said. "It hides itself from closer detection by the darkest of magics."

"All of that still fits with it being in Gringotts," Harry pointed out.

"It also fits with it being in a cave somewhere," Sirius countered. "Or a cellar." He stopped and sneezed. "Excuse me. Ugh. I still don't think it's a good idea to risk the whole game on tipping Voldemort off. Can't you get a better picture of it by moving closer or something?"

Fan Tong shook her head: "It comes to the same thing." She made a gesture, and a scroll lifted off the table and flew to him. Harry thought something looked odd about it, but he couldn't place it. "Not all methods improve with a closer distance," she continued, "but that is beside the point. Look."

Sirius opened the scroll, and Remus and Harry both read over his shoulder. The message was short.

"Konstantin Jugashvili has hired his services to Voldemort," Remus read aloud. "He is watching your movements in particular and those of all of Voldemort's enemies. Exercise caution. I will send more if I learn more of what he is looking for. Signed, Yakov the Red. Merlin—is this trustworthy, Madam Fan?"

"It is," she replied. "I know of Yakov the Red. And I also know Jugashvili. He knows shamanic techniques stolen from all over Asia. Yakov took a great risk himself in sending this message to us. You can see it was not sent by conveentional means. We must heed its warning."

"Alas, I was afraid our advantage would not last long," Dumbledore said. "Voldemort will have been on the alert ever since Madam Fan came here. It is not surprising that he contracted help of his own."

"You mean Jugashvili can see what you're doing?" Hermione said is surprise. "Can he interfere with you, or—can he see what we're planning?"

"Yes and yes, and for the most part no, child," Madam Fan said. "Seeing the future is difficult, but is usually safe. Seeing distant or hidden things in the present is much more dangerous, and Jugashvili is one of the reasons it is dangerous. But he could no more hear our conversation from where he is than he could read your mind, and we can counter him from scrying us to some extent. But if we continue to search for this horcrux, focusing on it enough to find its exact location, he will assuredly notice that."

"Dammit! Ahgh," Sirius hacked. "He'd definitely tip off Voldemort then. Does anyone have an idea for what to do besides setting a damn trap?" He went into a coughing fit.

"Padfoot, I think maybe you should see a Healer about that," Remus said.

"I'm fine, Moony. It's just been a rough week."

Remus felt his forehead. Sirius slapped him away, but he said, "You have a fever. You should at least go home and rest."

"I can rest later," he grumbled. "This is more important."

"Sirius, we can handle this for now," Harry told him. "We have time before we have to do anything. Actually, Professor," he addressed Dumbledore, "If we do this plan, when do you think we should do it?"

"Hm," Dumbledore considered. "Easter holidays, I think. We may need to have you nearby, Harry—as a reserve, I assure you, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, but there is still the original prophecy to consider. If things go poorly, Harry may prove the edge we need."

"That's not too long," Sirius pointed out.

"We'll fill you in later," Remus insisted.

"I need to be there!"

"Dumbledore can handle it for now. And we can handle it if you need to sit this one out. Come on, I'll get you home and call Victoria."

Sirius muttered protests, but finally allowed Remus to escort him out of the room.

"I hope he's okay," Hermione said.

Harry shrugged. "He's a tough old dog," he said. "I'm sure he'll be fine. We need to figure out what to do."

"Yes, we do," their mum said. "I don't want you anywhere near this…"

They'd gone over the matter several times already, and they didn't seem to be any closer to a solution. Still, their parents conferred with each other again with Harry and Hermione offering what input they could. Harry insisted that he should be available for the raid, but received a cold response. Still, there didn't seemed to be many options left. With no leads and a very real risk that the horcrux would be inaccessible to them even if they did find it on their own, there wasn't much else to be done.

"Professor Dumbledore, we don't like this idea," Dan said at last, "and we especially don't like the idea of having Harry there. I'm tempted to forbid it on principle. But we may have to go with his plan for the horcrux. Unless you think you can learn where it is some other way…"

Dumbledore shook his head: "We could attempt to capture and interrogate a high-ranking Death Eater, but that is far from a certain thing. If we are wrong about Gringotts, it may be that only Voldemort himself knows where the horcrux is, and even if we are right, it still may be only him and Bellatrix."

Dan sighed. "Then maybe we should go ahead and try to figure out how to do this. Emma?"

She nodded. "If it's the only way."

"Look, Mum and Dad, I don't really like it either," Harry said, "but at this point, I think it might be the best option we've got."

Hermione shrugged: "I guess I don't have anything better, either."

"Very well," Dumbledore said gravely. "Let us consider the possible contingencies of trying to bait Voldemort into moving his horcrux himself…"