Gathering A Search Party

While Harry was flying towards his primary objective, there was going to be quite the buzz about him a quarter way around the world.

Shortly after contacting Miss Figg, Dumbledore sat back at his office desk, where he unrolled another sheet of parchment.

He dipped a handsome scarlet quill into a nearby bottle of ink, before running it across the top.

"Take this down, my little friend," he requested.

The quill became hard in his hand and once he let go, it levitated above the parchment. As Dumbledore cleared his throat and opened his mouth, the tip of the quill pressed against the parchment and started scribbling,

To my dearest friends and most loyal followers,

I apologize for sending this through the Floo Network and on such short notice. But if you are reading this letter, it must occur to you that I am in dire need of your assistance.

In light of events that have occurred at Hogwarts over the past two years, I must call in extra forces, thus, my letters are to be expected. However, this situation does not involve filling posts of teaching.

Many of you have joined me in the fight against You-Know-Who. Some of you I call upon for the first time, but have connections to the others I seek. Also, some of you specialize in defensive positions for the Ministry of Magic

For all of these reasons, this endeavor requires all your involvement and dedication.

I have just received word that Harry Potter has left our country of Great Britain, by way of a letter sent to Molly Weasley. After consulting my devices, I've found the protection placed on him remains. His whereabouts, however, are uncertain due to his discreet writings.

Also, any additional information provided to me by Arabella Figg has been limited.

I call you to a meeting so we may establish a search party to try and locate him. We meet tomorrow at the Hog's Head at eleven o'clock in the morning.

Please try to make as discreet an entrance as possible; we must not attract attention from any other tavern patrons.

Yours sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore.

As Dumbledore concluded, the quill fell limp and the parchment rolled up. He unrolled another and dipped the quill back into ink, before running it across again.

"Take these down, as well, my friend," he whispered.

He let the quill go and it prodded the top of the parchment as he cleared his throat.

The quill wrote,

Minerva McGonagall
Rubeus Hagrid
Severus Snape
Arthur and Molly Weasley
Arabella Figg
Amelia Bones
Alastor Moody
Nymphadora Tonks
Remus Lupin

As the quill fell limp again, Dumbledore pulled out a stack of envelopes and a stack of parchment sheets.

He pulled out a plum-coloured quill and ran it over the list before pressing it to the first envelope.

"Address each one, according to this list, my accomplice," he requested.

When the quill pressed down, it transcribed the name, Minerva McGonagall. One by one, each envelope levitated from the stack, got addressed, and added into a new pile.

Once completed, Dumbledore rolled up the list and brought the letter over to the stack of sheets.

He ran the limp quill across the letter before pressing it to the first sheet in the stack.

"Now, my accomplice," he continued. "Print one of these on every sheet."

The quill levitated to the parchment stack and began scribbling repeatedly. This took longer, given the amount of words needed to actually write a letter.

As each letter was completed, it levitated into a new stack to the left. Once the quill fell limp, Dumbledore opened his desk drawer, which held numerous other quills of varying sizes and colors.

He placed the plum quill in the drawer before picking up his wand.

He gave it a wave, as each letter levitated and folded up into three sections. Afterwards, an envelope levitated and opened to allow the letter in. When finally stuffed, each envelope was laid across the desk, one by one.

With another wave, Dumbledore formed a spot of purple wax on the tip of each envelope flap. From another drawer in his desk, he removed a golden sealing stamp with an ebony handle. Waving his wand again, the seal pressed against each spot of wax, leaving a large letter "H" and the four Hogwarts animals; a lion, a badger, an eagle, and a snake.

Only one more wave later, did all the seals harden and were finally ready for sending. Dumbledore gathered them in another stack and laid them on his mantel.

When watching the windows to his tower from the outside, they would have been flashing green. Unfortunately, any professors or staff staying on Hogwarts' grounds were too busy to notice.

Fortunately, there were only three at the moment;

In a small study whose windows overlooked the Quidditch grounds, a tall, sprightly looking old woman sat at a mahogany desk. Her black hair in a tight bun, covered by a pointed hat cocked off to the side.

Her expression was prim, framed by a pair of rectangular glasses, her figure covered in emerald green robes. She appeared to be reviewing a set of parchments herself until she was interrupted by a roar of flames.

Glancing behind, she saw a blazing green curtain in her fireplace as a sealed envelope popped through. She stood up and flipped the envelope over, finding it addressed Minerva McGonagall.

Down in the school's dungeons, in a dimly-lit room, an unhealthily thin, sallow-skinned man was climbing a ladder on wheels. He was draped in long, black robes, not unlike a vampire. His uneven teeth protruding from curling lips seemed to help that description as well.

His shoulder-length, greasy black hair, however, did not, and neither did his hooked nose, nor his dark, sunken in eyes. Although he could have used some grooming, he seemed to move healthily.

He climbed the ladder with relative ease as he searched through shelves, lined with unusual-looking jars. They were filled with strange-looking plants or animal gizzards floating in unpleasantly coloured liquids.

He kept taking inventory until he too was interrupted by a wail in the back of the room; there stood another mahogany desk where more of those jars rested. Behind it was another fireplace with a green gust pouring out like a cold winter wind.

Another sealed envelope blew through the room until one of the corners hit him in the side of the head. He growled as he flipped the envelope over to find it addressed Severus Snape.

On the end of Hogwarts' grounds stood a small wooden hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, where dwelled the creatures native to the Scottish Higlands; centaurs, unicorns, and giant acromantulas were all responsible for keeping Hogwarts' students at bay.

Inside the hut were numerous hams and pheasants hanging from the ceiling. In the corner stood a massive bed with an overstretched patchwork quilt spread across it. Sitting on the bed, knitting a pink scarf the size of an inflatable dancing tube, was a man about twice the size of the average one.

His hands were the size of dustbin lids, his face covered with a shaggy, black beard and mane, framing a pair of dark, beetle-like eyes. His back was covered by an exceptionally large moleskin overcoat with pockets everywhere.

He kept to his knitting until his ears caught wind of a metallic rattling; a quaking copper kettle was hanging over a fireplace at the other end of the room. Getting closer, his eyes caught wind of the green curtain familiar to all who use the Floo network.

The rattling stopped as another sealed envelope flew out and hit the kettle, making it ring like a cymbal. The seemingly giant man pinched up the small envelope, as if a smaller man were picking up an insect, and flipped it over to find it addressed Rubeus Hagrid.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles further south, in a torn up declining chair near a fireplace sat a tall, pale, line-faced man with a thin, light brown mustache. His hair was also light brown, with flecks of gray here and there. He wore dirty brown robes that were darned in a number of places.

On a small table next to the recliner was a glass filled with a red liquid containing yellow bubbles which released smoke upon hitting the surface. Sitting next to the glass was a black bottle with a scarlet label, which read Firewhisky.

The man reached for his glass, but the smoke bursting from his drink was interrupted by the green flames pouring out of his fireplace. He straightened himself up expectantly, but was surprised to see an envelope pop out with a Hogwarts seal.

He leaned upward, scratching his mustache, as he hadn't received anything from Hogwarts in years; not since his seventh year, in fact.

As the flames died out, he got up and flipped the envelope to the other side, which read Remus Lupin. Scratching his mustache, Lupin sank back into the chair and tore it open. Unfolding the letter, he reached for his glass again, but hesitated at the fourth paragraph.

Lupin kept reading and once he finished, he folded the letter back up and dropped it on the chairside table, though it landed in his glass.

Above the fireplace was another flowerpot which Lupin removed, scooping out a handful of the familiar sparkling, green floo powder. He threw his powder into the fireplace, shouting,

"Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts!"

Another green wall of flames emerged and Lupin stuck his head in, getting the view of a silver-haired man in purple robes working on the other side.

"Professor Dumbledore!" he shouted.

"Remus Lupin, my dear boy!" Dumbledore cried. "How wonderful to see you again! Do call me Albus, though, seeing that I haven't been your professor in fifteen years!"

"Merlin, has it really been that long?" Lupin pondered.

"That is has, my boy," Dumbledore confirmed. "How have you been during these times?"

"Well, you know, it's the same old problems," Lupin replied, as if it were no great deal. "I've at least been able to scrounge up something amounting to a home."

"So I see," Dumbledore mused. "I trust you've read my letter concerning young Harry."

"Yes," he gasped. "Though to be frank, I was quite surprised to get it."

"You are the only friend left of the Potters," Dumbledore explained. "Yet you were always a great help to them, especially during a Voldemort's time."

"But all these years, with Lily, James, and all my other friends gone," Remus interjected. "I haven't even seen Harry."

"You know perfectly well I've kept him out of reach for all these years," Dumbledore reminded him. "And for good reason?"

"Right," Lupin exhaled, nodding his head.

"While we're on the subject, there is also another matter I wish to discuss with you personally," Dumbledore added. "It's Hogwarts business. Will you be able to make the meeting tomorrow?"

"Of course," Lupin confirmed. "Eleven O'Clock at the Hog's Head."

"Thank you, Remus," Dumbledore acknowledged.

"Anytime Albus," Remus replied.

After Lupin removed his head from the flames, he glanced at the mantel above the fireplace. Resting atop was a moving photograph of three animals; a stag, a large black dog, and a fat gray rat with a pointed nose.

On the photograph, transcribed in gold, read,

To Moony,

A Very Happy 21st Birthday.

With Love from Your Friends,
James "Prongs" Potter
Sirius "Padfoot" Black
Peter "Wormtail" Pettigrew.

Lupin grinned bittersweetly at memories of friends he'd lost before taking the photograph down and stuffing it in his pocket.

The following day, Dumbledore was waiting inside a run-down looking pub with nearly opaque windows. He sat on a bench at several pushed together tables with a fireplace behind and a rickety, wooden staircase off to the right.

Already sitting with him were Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, Hagrid, Arthur and Molly, Miss Figg, along with three others, all with nametags in their spots;

The first was a square-jawed woman with close-cropped gray hair and a monocle. Her nametag read Amelia Bones.

The second was a gristly, gray haired man with a scar-covered face. A chunk of nose was missing and his right leg was wooden, with a clawed foot. But most striking about him were two completely different eyes; a small, dark one on the right, and a larger, popping out, electric blue eye on the right that moved all on its own. His nametag read Alastor Moody.

The third was a young witch who looked liked she'd only recently finished at Hogwarts. Her pale, heart-shaped face and dark, twinkling eyes were framed by a spiky, bubblegum-pink bob. Her nametag read Nymphadora Tonks, which she was rolling her eyes at.

One other person on Dumbledore's list had not arrived yet and one who had was looking rather bitter.

"Headmaster," he grumbled. "May we please get on with this already? Some of us have lives we'd like to return to, thank you very much."

"Patience, Severus," Dumbledore insisted. "He should be arriving any minute, now."

The fireplace behind them turned green and through the flames tumbled none other than Remus Lupin.

"Ah, Remus, perfect timing," Dumbledore welcomed pulling Remus towards the table. "Have a seat across from Ms. Tonks."

"Wotcher," Tonks whispered as she flashed Lupin a brief smile.

"We can save the charming first encounters for later, Nymphadora," growled Moody, whose larger eye focused on her intensely.

"Don't... call me... Nymphadora," Tonks hissed. "It's Tonks, Mad-Eye. How many times must I tell you?"

"Headmaster," Snape insisted.

"Welcome everyone to the first meeting of this search party," Dumbledore began. "It seems that most of you already are acquainted with one another, so..."

"So let's get right to the point, shall we?!" Moody suggested.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. "As you are all aware, Harry Potter has written in about his unannounced absence this weekend. Luckily, Arabella Figg has provided me with further details..."

"...being that he'll be somewhere west of Costa Rica," Miss Figg finished.

A chorus of worried chatter erupted across the table, mostly from the three other Hogwarts professors and the four new people, before Dumbledore held up his hands to silence them.

"Clearly he would be invited over such a matter," Snape drawled, pointing at Lupin.

"Severus!" Mcagonagall scolded.

"Now Minerva," Dumbledore chided. "Perhaps Severus can tell us why I invited him here."

"I'd rather not," Snape murmured.

"Very well then, back to business." Dumbledore dismissed.

He removed another parchment, about the size of the tabletop, and unrolled it to reveal a world map with moving ocean waves and illustrated creatures running about the continents.

A couple of oversized hands ran their fingers across to Romania, where illustrated dragons were breathing fire, and then to Borneo, where drawn acromantulas were crawling out of the ground.

"Seriously misun'rstood creatures, dragons are," Hagrid wept. "And spiders."

"Indeed," Dumbledore murmured, brushing Hagrid's hand away. "Well, if this map is correct, Mr. Potter will be in this vicinity for the weekend."

He gestured to Costa Rica, which, despite its small size on the map, was crawling with shimmering-coloured salamanders.

"Well Albus," McGonagall interjected. "If your map is correct, there is nothing west of Costa Rica."

"But you see, Minerva," Dumbledore implored. "That is why they call it a 'Search' party."

"You mean scour the ocean?" Madam Bones cried. "In the presence of muggle ships?!"

"What about aeroplanes?" Arthur suggested. "Muggles flying in them might spot us on broomsticks."

"Muggles have discovered a way to fly?" Madam Bones queried. "What did you say it was called? Aero-what?"

"Never mind broomsticks," Molly dismissed. "Be thankful they've not spotted Ford Anglias in the sky."

"Yes Molly," Madam Bones replied. "We all remember what happened last summer."

"It happened twice, just so you know," Molly pointed out, gesturing to her husband. "Arthur's enchanted car was flown by his sons to Surrey and back. All the while, talking of bars on Harry's window."

"So it wasn't just a rumour!" Miss Figg gasped.

"The others became silent and glanced at Miss Figg, who glanced back at Dumbledore with her mouth closed.

"You knew, Arabella?" Molly questioned. "I thought all that was just an excuse from my sons to weasel themselves out of trouble."

"I suppose I shouldn't let it surprise me," McGonagall speculated. "Plenty of gossip is traded around the halls of Hogwarts, namely a supposed run-in Potter had with Hagrid and a dragon."

"If I may, Professor," Hagrid interrupted. "But them great prunes, the Dursleys, moved him 'o some rock in the middle o' the ocean when I brought 'im 'is firs' letter."

"You brought Potter his first letter, Hagrid?" MgGonagall gasped.

"Well, 'e wasn't respondin' teh the ones we sent 'im," Hagrid explained.

"It seems Harry's nature not to," Arthur commented. "My sons have written to him all last year, and received no reply."

"You know..." McGonagall slowly interjected. "I've double checked my record book for magical births and I've found some particularly odd addresses..."

"Enough, please." Dumbledore ordered, raising his hands. "Plenty of talk is traded in Hogwarts over recent events, Mr. Potter's making or not. That will determine his location, regardless of whether the trace activates."

The others glanced back and forth at each other, still chattering, before their better judgement turned their heads back to Dumbledore.

"Now, I propose we split into two parties," he suggested. "Hogwarts professors on the left, Ministry employees on the right."

Dumbledore remained in his seat, while those who weren't already at their respective sides of the table stood up and switched places.

"Perfect," he congratulated. "Now, we have only forty-eight hours to locate Harry in miles of ocean. I want to thank you all for coming on his behalf, especially you, Remus."

"Lily and James were some of my dearest friends," Lupin cried. "This was one of the last pictures we took together."

Lupin pulled out his signed photograph and handed it to Dumbledore, who eyed it with interest.

"Was James an animagus?" Dumbledore asked.

"So were Sirius and Peter, before it happened." Remus confirmed. "They used it to help me with my werewolf transformations."

"Did someone bring up my favorite cousin?" Tonks piped up.

Lupin grinned awkwardly, before passing the photograph to Tonks, who sat across from him.

"Oh Sirius," she whispered. "Why'd you have to go and get yourself locked up?"

"Nympha..." Arthur began. "Tonks, may I see that photograph?"

Tonks handed the photograph to Mr. Weasley, who was sitting next to her.

"Funny." Arthur pondered. "Pettigrew's form looks just like my son Ron's rat. Except for the missing toe."

"Are you sure about this?" Dumbledore queried.

"Positive." Arthur confirmed. "He actually used to be Percy's before he handed him down."

"In that case, I think a serious investigation is in order," Dumbledore concluded. "Madam Bones, it seems there may have been a serious miscarriage in justice."

Arthur handed Madam Bones the photograph and pulled her aside, as Dumbledore took on Lupin, being eyed by Tonks.

"In the meantime, Remus," he began. "We have a post open at Hogwarts, which you should be very interested in."

Tonks may have had her eyes on Lupin, but their MacGuffin, a quarter way across the world, had something much more interesting to see.