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Chapter 16 – Puppet

Elijah watched Albus and Nicholas expectantly, his barely disguised eagerness to hear the details of the trap evident.

"We kept thinking how amazingly lucky it had been that Levi was holding that compass, and that he had spent enough time working with it that it registered his innocence," Nicholas said. "We discussed it at length, once Minerva had returned safely to us."

"The compass is a powerfully magical artifact, created by Merlin himself," Albus told Elijah. "Naturally, the Ministry was angry that it had been removed from the Department of Mysteries, and they had no intention of letting it out of their sight again." In fact it was a valuable prognosticator of the holder's innocence or guilt, if the holder had fine-tuned it to himself. Albus was not sure why the Department of Mysteries was researching the exquisite silver compass, though if they ever determined how to use it effectively on a regular basis, it might be the perfect way to adjudicate those accused of a crime. It was also said to seek out evil, though no one had ever proven whether that was myth or fact.

Elijah nodded enthusiastically, pressing his mouth together so tightly that his lips appeared to pale; it made Albus wonder if the man was forcing himself to remain silent. It was something Albus had seen Minerva McGonnagall do on several occasions, and she had once stated that was her motive. Minerva had worn that expression on the March evening when they had sat pouring over events that had taken place earlier in the day.

"Imagine!" Nicholas had said, eyes bright as he considered the compass, once the girl's whole story had been relayed. "That close to an artifact of Merlin himself. Oh, what I wouldn't give to examine it! It must be a marvelous working. In all my studies, I've never seen the spell to create it, though I imagine it could be done."

"New project?" Perenelle had questioned with one thin eyebrow raised. She looked slightly amused at the thought as she sat in the porch swing, brushing her long white hair. It had been an unusually mild day and it was the first warm enough night for the elderly couple to sit out on their porch – something they dearly loved to do. Albus, Lorelei, Minerva and Nate had joined them. Howard Dawlish had stayed in London, taking advantage of the Ministry escort to visit family he had not seen in many months. Hagrid was safely back at Hogwarts, being overseen by Ogg.

"My dear, you are far too confident with regard to my skills," Nicholas had teased, patting his wife's hand affectionately.

"I doubt that," Albus had remarked. "You are an extraordinary wizard, Nicholas. If there is anyone capable of figuring out the compass, it is you." He was the only person in recorded history to figure out how to make the philosopher's stone, though legend suggested it had existed before that.

Lorelei snorted slightly, "Present company excluded?" she asked, eyeing him. She was seated in a carved wooden rocker adjacent to the porch swing, and directly across from where Minerva was perched on the railing. The two women grinned at one another, before Lorelei returned her gaze to her magical knitting, a hobby she had picked up from Perenelle. Albus could remember thinking at the time that the pattern must have been incorrectly spelled; the project she was working on resembled the toe of a sock, though it looked too small even for Lolly. In retrospect, it had been a foolish assumption.

Minerva had folded her arms across her chest as she glanced up at the night sky. "It would be a very handy thing to have – that compass. I wish you could make another, or at least something similar, able to track Grindelwald's spells and record them. After all this time, I'm beginning to wonder if the Ministry will ever catch him." Perhaps it had been only a passing comment, though Albus' mind had suddenly clicked and he had begun to believe something just as effective was possible, provided Grindelwald had it on his person.

"Imagine," Albus had suggested, "If one could charm an object so that it did record each use of magic aimed at another human being. It might be able to then emit an echo similar to that of Prior Incantato, divulging Grindelwald's activities." His mind instantly began to process possible enchantments to achieve that end.

"The charmed object would have to be on his person though, and how would you ever convince him to wear a magically spelled item?" Nicholas had responded, leaning forward slightly and causing the swing to cease its motion. Albus recognized the signs as Nicholas, too, began to pore over possibilities. He knew then that they would attempt to create something.

That was when the expression had touched Minerva's face – her mouth pinned in a thin, pale line as she listened. She'd remained abnormally quiet while Albus and Nicholas discussed the theory of such a magical working, later admitting that she was afraid she'd halt their creative flow. Nate had thrown in his own ideas and Lorelei and Perenelle made little jokes about how unlikely they were to see either man in the coming weeks.

They had determined a lot of what they felt would be needed to make the spell successful right there on that porch, and the final ingredient had been recommended by Minerva herself. "Will you be brewing an incognus potion to coat the charm and hide its true nature from Grindelwald then?"

Albus had looked up at her and smiled. "That would be a fine addition," he stated.

"Brilliant!" Nate had praised.

"Incognus potions have a ghastly smell," Lorelei had observed. "I hope you will not impose that concoction on Perenelle's lovely home."

Nicholas had chuckled slightly. "That's why she has me keep my laboratory in another city, Lorelei. Have I never told you that when Perenelle and I met, I had strange, greasy fur growing on the walls of my home? It's been so many years now I can't even tell you what experiment went awry. I do remember the fur though and that she stubbornly refused experimentation within our home." He had patted her hand again at that point.

Perenelle leaned forward toward Lorelei as if confiding a secret, her eyes twinkling. "Remember that, my dear. The key to a happy marriage is keeping your man's magical accidents in another geographical location."

Most of the group had laughed and Albus had watched Lorelei glance at the engagement ring on her hand. She had wanted to wait to be married until her family was released from Grindelwald's spell, though the plan had been revised later for another reason. Now barely two weeks from the date in which they were to be married, she had been killed. He felt the sorrow build in him again and he was too weary to hold it off much longer.

"So you found a way to charm something to reveal the spells used against another person," Elijah remarked. "Clever. I assume it is something he's wearing or which he regularly has with him."

Albus looked up at Elijah, for the first time that evening actually searching the auror's eyes. He had been so consumed by grief that he had not realized all the signs he was seeing, until he suddenly became aware that he could not read Elijah, despite the fact that Elijah was not an adept occlumens. On past meetings with Elijah, Albus had always been able to read him. It had been a foolish mistake. And though whoever was controlling him had played the part well, it was just that -- play acting.

Albus reached for his wand hurriedly, just as Nicholas opened his mouth to speak. It seemed strange to cast the silencing spell against his oldest friend, but it was necessary. Turning his wand at Elijah, a second too late, he was met by a blasting spell that knocked him off his feet and propelled Nicholas into the ancient bar.

A flick of Albus' wand sent a shot of fiery rope at Elijah, even as he transfigured Elijah's chair to make it mobile and attack Elijah from the other side. Elijah spun, disapparating from his spot and reappearing behind the magically protected bar, leaving him free to blast the others with his wand while providing him the ancient furnishing to duck behind.

Albus countered spell after spell, the urgency of the fight driving his grief temporarily from his mind. He kept looking around for Grindelwald, expecting the elder wizard to appear to finish him. Elijah had not been able to discover what item had been spelled, though Albus imagined that Grindelwald would just replace every item he wore. It made it that much more imperative that Albus just finish the evil man, and deal with the repercussions later.

Elijah began to employ dark spells the likes of which Albus had only read about. Between himself and Nicholas they managed to block most of them, however they were thwarted from apparating behind Elijah. It seemed almost strange to think that one man could fend off two highly talented wizards, and yet, there it was. Albus supposed that it was exacerbated by injury, shock, and exhaustion.

Nicholas tried once more to disapparate, only to be hit with a powerful jinx that left a gash in his shoulder and knocked his feet out from under him. He stood shakily and was hit full force with a purple blast of light before Albus could intervene. Enraged, Albus attacked, momentarily forgetting that Elijah was being forced to do what he was doing. Only when the bone-splintering hex met its mark, severing and shattering Elijah's leg mid-thigh, did Albus come to his senses. By then it was too late to undo what he'd done. Elijah hung limp in midair for a moment, a puppet having been released by the puppeteer. He cried in excruciating pain as his own personality returned, and then he collapsed against the hard wood floor. Albus lifted the firewhiskey glass, tilting his wand at it and murmuring, "Portus". He levitated Nicholas and lowered him next to Elijah. Then he crouched between both, clutching two wrists in one hand just before the portkey pulled the whole group to St. Mungos.