The Raid
London, MSO office
By early afternoon the following Wednesday, Anderson had the result of Green's first mission. It was a highly revealing result, but it didn't match at all with what he had learned from Wilkinson. Anderson put the fingertips of both hands together and reflected in concentration. Then he sent for Saunders.
"Saunders," he said to him. "You will immediately go to Hogwarts and submit our agent there to an Imperius test."
Hogwarts, Great Hall
It was about half past six when Albus said goodbye to the other Incorruptibles and Scorpius after dinner.
"I'm going to the Room of Requirement to meet Rose there."
"I seeeee," grinned Julian smugly, "alone with Rose in the Room of Requirement ..."
"Not what you're thinking!" snapped Albus angrily but couldn't avoid flushing. "We just wanna be alone because we don't want the Gryffindors to look askance at her just because of me."
The others laughed.
"Don't let him bother you, Albus," said Arabella placatingly. "Give her a hello from all of us."
"Thank you, I'll do so!"
"But first, please give me the Marauder's Map," Roy asked him. "I need to go to our secret room again."
Albus gave him the map and then headed for the stairs leading upstairs, while the others continued their way to the basement.
Hogwarts, Room of Requirement
In front of the Room of Requirement, Rose was already waiting for him. Albus applied the Calorate Charm to make sure no one was around, watching carefully for small points of light emanating from the low body warmth of insects. Wilkinson was under Ares' Imperius curse, but you never knew for sure.
The coast was clear, the two children entered the Room of Requirement, where a large sofa invited them to make themselves comfortable.
"Here you can really breathe freely," said Rose, throwing herself onto the sofa.
"Can you?" grinned Albus. "Doesn't my presence worry you at all? After all, I am one of Slytherin's leading Death Eaters!"
She giggled. "It's exciting, isn't it?" she breathed coquettishly. "I think even if you were, I'd ... well, I'm sure a black Death Eater cloak would look really stylish on you!"
Now they were cracking jokes and having fun. The Room of Requirement was like beyond this world. Here, there was no crazy Hermione, no MSO, no curses, no Azkaban, no executioners. Here they took a holiday from reality, the world was locked out.
Still.
Hogwarts, Hagrid's hut
Victoire and James were going to spend the evening at Hagrid's to escape the constant hostility in the Gryffindor common room.
Hagrid offered them some of his home-baked biscuits, which they kindly refused – Hagrid's cooking and baking skills were notorious at Hogwarts, his biscuits being nicknamed "rock cakes".
"My goodness," said the giant sadly as he put two large jugs of pumpkin juice on the table for them instead, "who'd have thought that our Hermione and our Harry ...", – he sobbed and pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket that could have served as a tablecloth elsewhere -, "that they would one day become deadly enemies? Our bright Hermione ... what's got into her?" He interrupted himself with a trumpet-like snort.
"A curse," James replied curtly. "A curse has got into her."
"Really think so?" asked Hagrid, his eyes wide with tears.
"We know," Victoire replied in James' place.
"But that's terrible," Hagrid was horrified, his eyes filling with tears again. "You've got to save her!"
"That's exactly what my dad tried to do, it got him to Azkaban."
"Oh that's why he was at the Ministry! I've been racking my brains what Harry was really doing there ..."
"And that's why whoever is controlling Hermione wants to kill him. He's not to have a second chance to save her."
"But there must be something to be done about it ..." muttered Hagrid.
Victoire tried to cheer him up: "Don't worry Hagrid, the Wizengamot isn't controlled by Hermione, I'm sure they'll acquit him."
She avoided mentioning that her family, far from relying on an acquittal, was preparing Harry's release, in collaboration with the Incorruptibles. Hagrid's talent for blabbing at the most inopportune moment was at least as notorious as his rock cakes. To distract him, she asked:
"Don't you have some new magical creatures to look forward to?"
At the prospect of moving on to his favourite topic, Hagrid's face visibly brightened.
"Oh yeah," he beamed, "I've got ..." He interrupted himself. "Oops, why is it getting so cold?"
James dashed to one of the windows facing the Forbidden Forest. In the twilight, he could just make out figures in black cloaks under large hoods moving about with strange flowing movements beyond the nearby boundary of the school grounds. He turned to the other two, pale as a sheet.
"Dementors," he whispered.
London, Potter home
"I am just coming from Azkaban," Greengrass started the conversation at the same time, having just sat down on Ginny's sofa, "I have at last been able to speak to your husband there and I'm supposed to say hello to you from him. He wasn't allowed to give me a letter to you, but he said you'd know what he would like to tell you anyway." Ginny smiled, and so did the lawyer.
"Fortunately, it seems he was not tortured," Greengrass added.
"I suppose he's stuck to the line of admitting everything he can't deny anyway," Ginny commented. "They didn't have to torture anything out of him. I just wonder why it took so long."
It was already 7th February, four weeks since the arrest.
"Indeed, that's interesting," Greengrass said, "there are rumours that the Minister's health is not the best. She's said to have suffered circulation collapses, migraine attacks and even a stomach ulcer. According to those rumours, Professor Healman is practically every day in the Ministry's guest house, where she has been staying lately."
Ginny perked up her ears. "Symptoms of this kind often arise when something hits someone's soul. I'm happy for Hermione. This means that her soul is still alive and is fighting with all its energy against the intruder's plans."
"You really believe in this curse?" the lawyer asked doubtfully.
"That's not a question of belief," Ginny replied coolly. "How much longer before the start of the trial?"
"About three weeks, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement assured me that she will inform me immediately as soon as the exact date is set."
"Will Susan Bones herself be the Prosecutor?"
"That's what we have to assume, otherwise she would practically have to resign from her position. I'm supposed to tell you personally and confidentially that you can count on a fair trial as far as the Prosecution is concerned."
"But not as far as the judge, Hermione, is concerned?", Ginny inquired.
The lawyer nodded. "She said that by not saying it."
"I wish it was already now," sighed Ginny, "I long to see Harry at last, and be it only as a prisoner in court."
The lawyer cleared his throat. "I'm afraid ..." he began cautiously.
"What?"
"The public is largely excluded; it is practically only represented by the Daily Prophet. The relatives are also excluded."
"What?" yelled Ginny. "And that's what they call a fair trial?"
"Miss Bones sincerely regrets. It's a direct instruction from the Minister."
"Hermione doesn't miss any dirty trick," Ginny stated gloomily. "What are our chances? I need to know exactly, for I have made all the preparations to free Harry from Azkaban, and I don't know if we will have time after a guilty verdict. If we get him out before, we would probably have to go underground for a long time, but even that would be better than ... I will only postpone the action if I can be reasonably sure of an acquittal. So please, no comforting promises!"
Greengrass gave her a winning smile. "Fortunately, I don't need to resort to promises. Together with the Malfoy family, I have moved heaven and earth. They have exerted discreet influence, sometimes through third parties. The Wizengamot has seventy-eight members, over sixty of whom, knowing the evidence against your husband, have already been won over. And as for the rest, it's by no means sure that they will vote guilty."
"Despite Hermione's press campaign, you have a majority for acquittal?" marvelled Ginny.
"The press is influencing the crowd, we are influencing elites," the lawyer proudly replied. "In some ways, the campaign has actually played right into our hands. The opponent has boiled up the issue to such an extent that no one, not even the members of the Gamot, could avoid forming an opinion at this early stage. They are very concerned about the development the Magic State is taking under this Minister's leadership. Accordingly, they were open to our arguments."
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Just for arguments?"
The lawyer grinned mischievously. "For most of them, arguments were enough. For the few that needed more than that, we lobbied with additional means."
"What means?" asked Ginny.
"I think," the lawyer said, his grin widening, "you sleep better if you don't know exactly."
At that moment, with a deafening crash, the front door was burst open and six Aurors rushed straight into the living room. Their leader pointed his wand at Ginny, who was sitting there like paralysed.
"Magical Security! Are you Ginevra Molly Potter, née Weasley?"
Ginny nodded.
"You are under arrest!"
London, MSO office
"Ah, how lovely that you managed to come, Arthur!"
Cesar Anderson was in a brilliant mood when he received Arthur Weasley as if he were a dear friend arriving for a party.
Arthur frowned. Anderson was someone he normally had nothing to do with – and didn't want to. He had also not come to his office voluntarily, but in compliance with an official order.
"Please have a seat, my dear Arthur," Anderson said in a honeyed tone, apparently unembarrassed by the fact that he sounded like a second-rate ham. "You're a big fan of Muggle technology, aren't you?"
Arthur nodded, slightly confused.
"So, I think you'll be interested in what I am going to show you. For you ought to know that the Magical Security Office considers itself to be the spearhead of technological innovation in the wizarding world!"
He put a laptop on the table, flipped it open and booted it up. Arthur's interest was immediately captured.
"Does it work here?" he wondered. "We don't have any electricity."
"The colleagues at MI-5 regularly provide me with freshly charged batteries."
Arthur Weasley didn't know what MI-5 was, but since Anderson obviously credited him with knowing, he didn't want to embarrass himself, and unlike most wizards, he at least had an idea of what a battery was.
"Well, but electronics can't work in a magical environment," he objected expertly.
"Normally not," Anderson shifted, "but the collaboration between our Department of Magical Technology and their Muggle colleagues is beginning to bear fruit" – which is not overpaid with a few vials of Polyjuice and Veritaserum, he thought, but didn't say. "We have developed protective spells that shield electronic devices from magical interference. They are not quite perfect yet, as you will see in a moment, but it's enough for this laptop, at least in offline mode. Running a WiFi network and any kind of data transmission are still impossible in the ministry, but we are working on that, either."
With the computer now ready for use, Anderson pulled an invisibleobject out of the drawer, which after a "Disinvisibilis" turned out to be a thumb-sized black plastic case that popped open when Anderson operated a spring mechanism, revealing a small device that Muggles would probably have mistaken for a USB stick, at least it had a corresponding plug, which Anderson now inserted into the USB port of his computer.
"This device," he explained to the fascinated Arthur, "is secured by the same protective spell as the computer."
"And what kind of device is that?"
"It's used for sound recording and, because of the protection spell, it works in all magically secured premises, so for example here in the Ministry, with a few improvements perhaps also at Hogwarts, but in any case in magically secured offices, so for example," he added as if quoting a random example, "at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. You had taken time off this morning, Arthur?"
"Indeed," Arthur confirmed in a low voice. He began to suspect what Anderson was getting at.
"I understand," Anderson said seemingly friendly, but with a spiteful undertone. "You want to be with your family sometimes, don't you? Especially when one family member is in Azkaban ... It's just a pity that you didn't invite the Minister, your daughter-in-law would certainly have been very interested in your conversation. Never mind, we informed her anyway."
Arthur scowled at his counterpart, without dampening his mood.
"The record isn't quite complete," Anderson continued, "unfortunately a few parts are covered by noise – as I told you, our protective spells aren't yet fully developed – but I don't want to withhold the crucial passage from you."
After a mouse click, Arthur heard his own voice from the laptop:
"Just to keep track: Apart from the eight of us, who else will take part in the rescue operation?"
"James and Victoire..." Ginny was heard replying.
"No one should enter Azkaban," George objected, "who doesn't master a Patronus."
"They do, and I think they're both very talented," Ginny replied.
"And the Incorruptibles are really joining in?" That was Ron's voice. "I still can't believe Harry will be freed by Slytherins."
"Albus is also a Slytherin and they are his friends, they promised to help him and they will keep their word."
"And they are really all able to conjure a Patronus?" Charlie asked.
"All six of them: Roy and Arabella MacAllister, Lestrange, Macnair, Malagan – and Albus, of course."
"Albus too?" marvelled Fleur.
"Albus too." You could almost hear Ginny beaming with pride.
"And he's really supposed to join?" asked Bill doubtfully. "He is mature for his age, but still only eleven."
"It's about his father, and against the Dementors we need every Patronus ..."
Anderson stopped the tape because the record was covered by noise again.
"Well?" asked Arthur Weasley defiantly. "Did we break any law?"
"You're planning to."
"That's not the same thing."
"Oh yes, it is," Anderson replied. "Since you probably don't know the current state of law, I'm going inform you about it."
He pulled a sheet of parchment out of the drawer and read aloud:
"Emergency Decree of 7th February 2018 supplementing the Emergency Decree for the Protection of the Magical State of 10th January 2018:
For the purposes of the Emergency Decree for the Protection of the Magical State, a High Traitor shall be deemed to be anyone who (1) undertakes to conceal or free or otherwise remove from the reach of the criminal prosecution authorities a person who has committed one of the crimes referred to in the above Emergency Decree, or is accused by the competent authorities of such a crime and is wanted or detained or imprisoned for that reason, or (2) is planning or instigating or aiding and abetting such an act."
Anderson let a meaningful pause follow.
"This rule also applies retroactively to 1st January. I'm afraid, Arthur, you and your family have a problem."
Hogwarts, Hagrid's hut
In one leap, Victoire was at the opposite window, which faced the school.
"Come here!" she called. "There are at least fifty people flying on brooms towards the school! Aurors, as far as I can see!"
James and Hagrid hurried to her. The aurors split their formation: The larger group flew to the main door of the castle, blew it open and flew straight in with the brooms, while the smaller one ...
"They're heading towards Gryffindor Tower!" exclaimed James. "What are they going to do there?"
"Probably arrest us," Victoire replied gloomily. "Or do you know any other Gryffindors the Aurors might be interested in? We have to leave at once!"
"How?" cried James. "It's swarming with Aurors and Dementors out there!"
"There are no Aurors here around the hut," Victoire replied in remarkably cold blood. "And as for the Dementors ..."
She drew her wand.
"Expecto Patronum!" Immediatelya silver lioness appeared.
Now James also regained his presence of mind. He also conjured his Patronus, a stag.
"Bye, Hagrid," he called, then they both rushed out and followed their Patroni to the nearby Forbidden Forest. In a panic, the Dementors dashed away.
"We have to Disapparate at once! But first ..." gasped Victoire. "The Incorruptibles are probably in the Slytherin common room!" she instructed her lioness. "You've to warn them!"
With a mighty leap, her Patronus set off. Victoire took her cousin by the hand.
"Where are going?" asked James in a desperate voice.
"Trust me," Victoire replied and turned. In a split second, they were both gone.
Hogwarts, Slytherin floor
While Arabella, Ares, Julian and Orpheus entered the common room, Scorpius stopped in front of it to talk to Bernie, whom he happened to meet with his broom because Bernie was leaving to fly a little despite the falling darkness. As neither of them was in a hurry, they got chatting and talking shop about Slytherin's chances in the next Quidditch match against the Ravenclaws, which was to take place on the following Saturday. Since he could fly himself, Bernie had become a Quidditch fan and expert. He secretly dreamed of one day being selected for the Slytherin house team.
Their lively discussion was abruptly interrupted when about two dozen Aurors, recognisable by their blue cloaks, rushed in on their brooms and jumped off at the door of the Slytherin room.
"You two!" barked one of the Aurors, who seemed to be in charge of the operation. "Are you Slytherins?"
When the two boys nodded in fright, the Auror pointed his wand at Cassiopeia and commanded:
"Open up!"
"With respect, sir," Scorpius replied politely, while Bernie discreetly made off with his broom, "I'm not allowed to."
"You are not only allowed to, but commanded!" the Auror yelled at him.
"I am sorry, sir," Scorpius replied coolly, though his knees were trembling, "it is forbidden to grant unauthorised persons access to the common room."
At that very moment, he registered something bright and silvery that shot past them in a flash and seemed to disappear through the closed entrance in the common room. The Auror, completely focused on Scorpius, seemed not to notice.
"Boy, you don't know who you're dealing with, do you?" he roared even louder.
"Indeed, sir, you haven't introduced yourself so far," replied Scorpius, who had recognised the Patronus as such and was trying to play for time. "However, please allow me to do so." He made a slight bow. "Scorpius Malfoy, Slytherin student."
"Saunders, Magical Security!" snapped the Auror. "Now you open that entrance, or I'll open it myself with a blasting spell!"
"Sir, this stone slab has withstood a Fiendfyre, I don't think you can blow it up."
"Then I'll put the Imperius on you!" warned Saunders, pointing his wand at Scorpius.
"It would be quite sufficient if you could prove your authorisation, that is, identify yourself and show your search warrant."
While Scorpius was fighting for every single second outside, all the Slytherins in the common room leapt up to their feet as Victoire's silvery lioness leapt through the closed entrance and came to a halt on her four paws in front of the Incorruptibles' table.
"Several dozen Aurors have entered the school," the lioness called out in a bright voice. "The area is surrounded by Dementors! Looks like a raid! You have to leave immediately!"
The Patronus dissolved. While their classmates looked confused, the Incorruptibles drew their wands.
"Turn invisible and go to the secret room," Ares murmured to the others. "If we run into Aurors, we knock them out with Stunners!"
The four made themselves invisible and rushed to the door, led by Ares.
Scorpius' idea of pinning Saunders down to a correct course of action was in itself perfect. Saunders had still been trained by Harry – he couldn't help it: He pulled out his ID and fumbled for the search warrant when the door to the common room was flung open from the inside.
"Stupefy!" someone shouted. The Stunning Spell bounced off Saunders' magical armour, but the flash of red light had given away Ares' position. Saunders reacted immediately:
"Stupefy!"
Ares was heard going down in the doorway. The Auror jumped beside the door, pulled out a flashbang grenade – a gift from MI-5 – and threw it into the common room, where the bright flash and the bang paralysed everyone for several seconds. Saunders fired a series of Disinvisibilis spells into the common room in a fanned pattern – and silently, because spells can be thought faster than they can be spoken – knocking Arabella, Julian and Orpheus down with Stunning Spells as they became visible.
Saunders looked into dozens of terrified students' faces. After a quick glance at the Incorruptibles lying motionless on the floor, he called into the room:
"Where are MacAllister and Potter?"
Patricia recovered first.
"We don't know, sir!"
Saunders fixed her sharply: "You don't want to say it, do you?"
"That's not at issue, sir. We can't say because we don't know! Nevertheless, I will make sure that the Head of Hogwarts Affairs – who happens to be my grandfather – will report your scandalous behaviour to the Minister in person!"
"Go ahead and do that," Saunders grinned, "you'll secure me a medal."
He turned to a few of his men: "Tie them up and take them off the grounds. From there immediately to Azkaban. The others are searching the rooms."
With "Incarcerus" the prisoners were tied up and taken out. When the Aurors put them over their brooms as over donkey's backs and tied them there once more, Saunders heard a familiar voice thunder:
"What's going on?"
McGonagall sat behind Bernie, who had alerted her, on his Muggle broom. She jumped off – remarkably light-footed for her advanced age – and barked furiously at Saunders:
"Saunders, are you the head of operations here?"
"Yes Professor."
The Auror, who had been so self-confident so far, suddenly seemed to shrink. Like most Aurors, he was a Gryffindor, and although he had left Hogwarts a long time ago, McGonagall was still a person of respect for him, as she was for all alumni.
"What are you doing here?"
"We are executing arrest warrants, ma'am!"
"Against whom?"
"Against ..." He cleared his throat. "Roy and Arabella MacAllister, Julian Lestrange, Orpheus Malagan, Ares Macnair, Albus and James Potter and Victoire Weasley. These two latter are currently being arrested in Gryffindor Tower. Roy MacAllister and Albus Potter are still being searched for."
"Saunders, have you taken leave of your senses? You are here at HOGWARTS! Without my permission, you are not even allowed to enter the grounds, let alone execute arrest warrants!"
"You are wrong, Professor. Not only am I allowed to, I have to!" Saunders squared his shoulders. He had a lot of respect for McGonagall, but was afraid of Hermione. "The Minister's latest Emergency decree leaves me no scope of discretion."
The Headmistress glowered at him: "Of course! Once again, one of those fabulous Emergency decrees! And the idea of not carrying out such an order doesn't even occur to you, does it?"
"For what reason should I?"
"For a thousand reasons!" thundered McGonagall. "If only because the Minister is out of her mind! She has half her family arrested!"
"You're wrong again, ma'am," replied Saunders, who this time couldn't help grinning. "She has her whole family arrested. With the exception of her daughter Rose and, of course, Percy Weasley."
He gestured to the Aurors, who were already sitting on their brooms, and they flew off with the prisoners.
No one paid any attention as Scorpius and Bernie moved away inconspicuously, then jumped on Bernie's broom and took off.
"This will lose you your position, Saunders."
"I doubt that, Professor. It would lose me my position if I didn't."
The Aurors who had been searching the Slytherin rooms now also stepped out into the corridor.
"Nothing, sir. Potter and MacAllister must be somewhere else."
"Search the entire building!"
"Do you have at least a search warrant?", MacGonagall barked at him.
"Of course, ma'am. Issued by the Head of Magical Security, confirmed by the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, countersigned by the Minister in person. Is that enough?"
Hogwarts, the Incorruptible's secret room
Unaware of all this, Roy was brooding in his laboratory over a few mirrors that he wanted to convert into magic mirrors. In itself, magic mirrors, with the help of which two people could maintain contact with each other, were nothing new. Roy, however, pursued the idea of not only magically linking two mirrors with each other, but also leaving it up to the users to decide which mirror they wanted to contact. So he was practically developing magic mobile phones for video calls. It was tricky, but the method he had in mind seemed promising.
Roy hated being disturbed while doing such work, so he turned around extremely gruffly when he heard the wall open behind him. Reflexively, he drew his wand, but lowered it.
"Scorpius!" he groaned as Scorpius closed the wall behind him and Bernie. "What are you doing here? And how do you get to bring Bernie? You know very well that our secret room ..."
"No time now!", Scorpius interrupted him. "The Aurors have arrested all the Incorruptibles! Plus, probably James and Victoire. You and Albus are the only ones they're still searching for."
"All the Inc ..." Roy turned white as a sheet. "Arabella too?"
"Arabella too, I'm afraid," Scorpius replied in a low voice.
Roy leapt to his feet and tried to rush out, but Scorpius and Bernie threw themselves in his path, trying to hold him back.
"Roy, that's no use!" cried Scorpius in despair. "They've already got them off the grounds on their brooms and have orders to take them to Azkaban immediately, I heard! You can't help Arabella, you're just running straight into them!"
They gasped when Roy stopped. Holding the burly teenager had been a real feat for the two petite first-years.
"Azkaban ..." whispered Roy. He was trembling.
Scorpius continued: "There's a huge pack of Aurors searching all over the house for you and Albus. I suggest I go to the Room of Requirement and ..."
"No," said Roy, slowly regaining his presence of mind. "We're doing it differently."
Hogwarts, Room of Requirement
"What else did you actually practise in your group apart from Stunners?", Rose demanded.
"Anything and everything," said Albus. "Invisibility spells, Apparating, Memory spells ..."
"Apparating? And Memory spells?" she asked incredulously. "That's N.E.W.T. level, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," Albus confirmed, not without pride.
"And you were able to keep up with the others? They're much older than you!"
"It's all a question of talent. OK, it took me longer than the others and I had to practise a lot more. But I managed to do them all in the end, and I was even the first to have the Patronus!"
"Patronus?" Roselooked at him doubtfully. Apparently, she was wondering if he was pulling her leg.
Albus could not resist the temptation to impress his girlfriend.
"Patronus," he confirmed emphatically casually and drew his wand. "Expecto Patronum!"
Rose let out a sharp cry as Albus' snake wriggled on the floor, lighting up the entire Room of Requirement.
When Albus noticed the look she gave him, something in him purred. Now stay cool, always act like it's the most normal thing in the world ...
However, before Albus could fully savour Rose's admiration, a second Patronus appeared.
A Bear.
"Arabella, Julian, Orpheus and Ares have been arrested, James and Victoire probably too. There is a manhunt for both of us. We have to leave at once!" Don't go through the house, there are Aurors everywhere. Ask the Room of Requirement to open an exit for you directly into our secret room. Don't waste time!"
The bear disappeared. After a moment of shock, Albus let his cobra disappear too and called out loudly and in focused manner:
"I wish for an exit to the secret room of the Incorruptibles!"
Immediately a wall opened. Albus and Rose slipped through and found themselves face to face with Roy, Scorpius and Bernie.
"How is that possible?" asked Albus.
"It was some kind of raid," Scorpius replied. "I saw it, our friends had no chance. And there's something else I have to tell you, Al ..." Scorpius' voice was reduced to almost a whisper.
"What, for God's sake?"
"The leader of those Aurors mentioned that Hermione had her whole family arrested, everyone except Rose and Percy Weasley. Which probably means ..."
Albus sank down onto one of the seat cushions. "... that my mum has been arrested, too."
The awkward silence was interrupted by Roy:
"Send her your Patronus, maybe it's not too late. Tell her to come here immediately."
Albus immediately conjured his Patronus again – and despite his worry for his mother, he couldn't help squinting again at Rose's reaction – and sent it off.
In the meantime, Roy hastily started to reduce and pocket the precious firebolts, the supplies of Polyjuice Potion and magical retardant capsules, the Darkness powder and the slings for it, the maps of Azkaban, the water clocks with the record of Hermione's monologue and the key to the Chamber of Secrets, and even the mirrors he had started experimenting with – who knows, he thought, what they may be good for. Then he reduced a number of books, first and foremost the Sulphangel book, pocketed them as well, along with some papers that Harry had left here for safety's sake, and put the bag with the basilisk fangs on his shoulder. When he thought he had gathered everything important, he magically made disappear the remaining parts of his laboratory and the entire furnishings of the secret room, including the seat cushions and even all fingerprints. If the Aurors managed to locate the room, nothing should prove a connection with the Incorruptibles, Harry or Ginny.
All this had taken barely two minutes and the room was literally swept clean when Albus' cobra reappeared:
"I was too late," the Patronus said to Albus. "Your mother has been arrested."
The patronus disappeared.
"Bad," Roy said, "but at least this way we know the state of affairs. We have to get out of here, we are no longer safe or able to act at Hogwarts. Besides, I' m afraid the Aurors will find this room if they try. Scorpius, will your family give us shelter?"
Scorpius threw out his chest. "Of course. And you can Apparate directly to the reception hall of the Manor."
"All right, thank you very much. Albus, we're Disapparating at once, but first check the Marauder's Map to see if our friends can get out of here unseen."
"Wait a minute!" objected Rose, looking determinedly at Albus. "I'm coming with you!"
"Me too," shouted Scorpius and Bernie at the same time.
Albus focused on his girlfriend: "Rose, it's getting dangerous ..."
"So what? How many times have we told each other that we are friends? Now it counts, or it's worth nothing!"
At that moment, Albus saw her differently than before, for now there was a flash of that steely something in her gaze that he had seen in his mother's. However, even more than his mother, she suddenly resembled her own. He had never been so struck by her similarity to Hermione, never been so aware of how much he liked it ...
Roy cut off his thoughts, for he became gruff: "Rose, don't talk nonsense! Friendship is not proven by such crazy decisions. The only first-year I need now is Al! The rest of you stay here!"
"Roy," Albus objected cautiously, without taking his eyes off Rose. "Of the sixteen people who were supposed to free my dad, only the two of us are still at large. We need all the help we can get!"
"Yes, but not by eleven-year-olds, one of whom can't even do magic!"
"Age," Scorpius pointed out, "is something we can change with Ageing potion, and for Bernie there is Magic Booster!"
"Besides, I'm also only eleven," Albus added.
"This is something completely different, it's about your father!"
"It's about my mother, too!" interjected Rose.
"Exactly," Roy countered. "If we take you with us, Hermione will claim we kidnapped her daughter, and the Muggle Prime Minister's son right along with her ..."
"Roy," cut Albus in, who by now had pulled out the Marauder's Map, "the Aurors are already here in the side corridor!"
Indeed, the Aurors could now be heard opening one room after another and walking along the walls as if searching for cavities with their wands.
"Take them all with you, Roy," Albus pleaded. "You can still send them back, if you want!"
There was no more time to reason. "Bernie, Scorpius, hold on to me, Rose, you go with Albus!" Dear God, make this the right decision!
A moment later they had Disapparated.