Chapter 2 : Growing Danger and Spies
The sun had just set over the mountains that overlooked Hogwarts. Birds were returning to their nest for the night and many animals hid as the creatures of the night started to come out of hiding. The inside of the castle was dark except for the entranceway and a small room just above the gate.
Dumbledore called for Remus Lupin and Severus Snape to discuss the matters that he just heard earlier that day. Snape apparated just a second before Lupin arrived through the fireplace. Snape looked Lupin up and down coldly as Lupin dusted his clothes off the soot.
"Sorry, my chimney is due for a clean," said Lupin as he picked some rubble out of his light brown hair. Satisfied with his appearance, Lupin turned to Dumbledore, "So, pray do tell what caused us…"He glanced at Snape who was coldly crossing his arms, "...to be called here at this hour."
Dumbledore walked out from behind his desk and spoke in a grave tone, "I want you two to see what the muggles are up to."
Lupin almost snickered and Snape had to bite back a sarcastic comment. Seeing that Snape wasn't going to talk first, Lupin spoke with disbelief, "It's not really our job to spy on muggles. Isn't that the ministry's specialty?"
Dumbledore nodded, "I think the ministry has a lot on their hands at the moment. They foresee a potential threat towards the wizards that reside in muggle territory."
Snape grumbled behind his black hair that hung the sides of his face, "Is this about the Potter boy?"
Looking a bit annoyed toward the Slytherin, Dumbledore shook his head, "This is for all of our students that have gone back for the summer, Snape, so I suggest you stop assuming that I only care to protect one child."
Lupin watched as Snape bowed his head in understanding but he could still see the annoyance in his eyes.
"May I ask where or what we will be looking for?" asked Lupin.
"There is a research facility in London that I wish for you two to infiltrate. I discovered some forms of magic when illuminating from that building." Dumbledore eyed the two of them and tossed Snape a portkey. "You must not be seen or remembered. Use the Obliviate spell to fix your mishaps."
Lupin glanced over to Snape who in return, offered for him to grab hold of the enchanted chalice.
"Let's get this over with." droned Snape.
Wind was heard from a far off distance. Their surroundings quickly crumpled past them as they travelled through the portkey. Landing in a dark alley, Lupin fell on his face in a wet, muddy puddle. Snape, however, used a levitation spell to catch himself from getting the same fate as Lupin. Getting up Lupin glared up at the potions professor.
"Wouldn't have been a whole lot to catch me as well." spuddled Lupin as he pulled out his wand to clean his soaked attire.
Snape retorted back, "Being part beast, I would think you would enjoy a quick romp in the mud."
"Bringing that up again are we?" said Lupin, who was a bit unnerved at being called a beast. Being a werewolf was as hard as it was without others rubbing it into his face all the time. Then he reminded himself that it was Snape he was talking to and dismissed it. "Nevermind, let's get to business, shall we?"
Snape scowled and wrapped his black cloak around him more tightly to deter the rain that was beginning to come down. He answered in a less humorous tone, "Yes, lets."
The two walked out onto an empty street and started toward a big building. It stood at seven stories high and about a whole block wide. The majority of the building's lights were on despite it being eleven o'clock at night. All the other office buildings around it were pitch black save for one or two security lights at the front entrances.
Getting closer to the big lab building, Lupin looked back at Snape who was behind him. Looking at Snape's long robes, Lupin commented, "You do not even remotely look like a muggle. How do you expect to sneak inside without being pointed out?"
Snape looked down at his robes then at Lupin. His face turned into a deep scowl, "I'm not changing if that's what you're hinting towards." He then walked past Lupin and continued, "If I were planning on being seen I would have made the consideration."
Pulling out his wand, Snape vanished by apparition without breaking his stride. Lupin fumbled with his wand, "Why that no good son of a.." and he too was gone.
They both appeared in an empty, dark laboratory. The light from the hallway was bright as it shone into the room. The two wizards ducked behind a countertop when they saw a man walking past the door. Once the man was gone, they ran out from behind their desks and hid against the wall beside the door.
Snape quietly opened the door with his wand at the ready. The door wasn't locked which was good for them since a lock opening spell could be loud. Snape looked down the hallway and saw another dark room. He lifted his wand and apparated.
Lupin pursed his lips. The hallway was empty so he could just run over to the next room. He pulled out his wand and did a light spell so the tip of his wand had a little light. Stepping out into the hallway, he ran over to the room with his wand held high. Once he entered the room Snape pulled him down behind a cabinet.
"Are you insane!? They have cameras in the hallways." Snape whispered harshly. Lupin only smiled.
"Knew there would be. I did a little Lumos spell to block out the cameras." He tapped at his wand to stop the light. "Only one thing I learnt from Muggle relation class. Muggle cameras can't record magic. They just go all fuzzy."
"The headmaster got all fuzzy picking you for this mission," whispered Snape under his breath, enough so that Lupin heard.
Lupin peaked around the counter to see that the doorknob was starting to turn.
"Keep quiet!" Lupin whispered as he ducked smaller behind the desk.
The door opened and the light turned on. The sound of a cart being pushed into the room and a singular pair of footsteps was heard on the other side of the counter. Snape slowly grabbed his wand from his pocket, ready to apparate but he then had an idea.
Getting up from out of his hiding place, Snape stood up pointing his wand at the muggle. Lupin made a bunch of protesting noises from his hiding spot beside him as he tried to pull Snape back down.
"Do you work here?" Snape said in his bored manner. The young man turned toward Snape's voice, a bit startled. Upon seeing Snape's appearance and wand, the man stumbled back toward the door.
"How did you get in here? I'll call security!" The muggle tried to open the door but was stopped by a silent Colloportus spell quickly conjured by the dark wizard. The man looked terrified.
"What do you want of me?" He shuddered as Snape began to walk from behind the counter.
"Who do you work for?" demanded Snape.
"Dr. William Hansen," said the muggle. "I have been part of his study for a few months now."
"What does he study?"
The young man was quiet but responded quickly as Snape pointed his wand toward him with more meaning. "Unnatural Science or Contra Naturam!"
Snape looked from his wand to the muggle. "You do realize I am threatening you with nothing more than a stick?" The man gulped and muttered to himself. Snape continued, "So you have seen one of these before?"
The white-faced muggle replied, "Part of my study works with one of those. The damage they cause is unbelievable, like nothing I've ever seen…" It was as if a memory was flashing before his eyes. Snape heard enough.
"Stupify!" The man was down on the ground, stunned. Snape walked up to him as Lupin started to stand up from behind the counter. "Obliviate."
Snape turned his wand counterclockwise as he erased the muggle's memory of the incident. Content with his work he took the key card that hung from the man's jacket.
"There," Snape said to Lupin as he himself took the man's tablet, "we will find the main lab quicker if we split up." He tossed the card to Lupin.
Lupin took the man and laid him down more comfortably on the ground. Snape flicked his wand to apparate without a word to Lupin. Lupin quickly turned off the lights with a lift of his own wand and glanced out into the corridor.
"Lumos" he whispered to his wand. It returned to its small glow. Lifting his wand, he ran out into the bright corridor, ducking inside doorways at any sound. Making his way over to a room that had a heavy-duty door, Lupin pulled out the key card and scanned it on a keypad by the door.
The door opened and Lupin sneaked into the darkroom. Shutting the door behind him, He started to look around. The room had many pistol-shaped weapons that were stacked on every countertop. Wires hung loosely from most of them save for one. The one gun had a metal casing around it and looked to be the finished project.
"Blimey!" whispered Lupin to himself as he picked up the gun and ammo. "Curious about how this thing fires." Aiming it at the floor after loading it, he decided to give it a go. At worst, it would make a loud noise. Picking up his wand, on the other hand, he cast a spell that made a sound barrier just to be safe. Turning his attention back on the weapon he gave the trigger a pull.
Lupin closed his eyes since the recall was quite strong and the firing was a loud pop. Slowly opening his eyes to see if he did any damage, he was surprised to see that the floor was perfectly fine except for a small circular object that was embedded in the middle of the floor.
"Curious.." Lupin whispered as he bent down to take a closer look. He reached out to pick up the bullet. Once he had the bullet in his hand he started to feel a bit dizzy. Grabbing hold of a desk for support, he started to feel his legs cave below him.
In a flash of darkness, Snape stood in front of Lupin and rushed over at the sight of him. Taking the bullet out of Lupin's hand, Snape tossed it to the other side of the room. Lupin started to feel a bit better but he had a pounding headache. Snape opened a small vial of purple liquid and held it by Lupin's mouth for him to drink.
He took it gratefully and sputtered, "By Merlin, what was that?" Lupin watched as Snape circled the bullet with caution.
"A bullet that can knock our kind out but, however, is useless on muggles." Snape held up another gun that he pulled from his cloak and put it down on the table.
"How do you know this?" asked Remus.
"I found a room just like this one. A muggle came into the room while I was examining the weapon so I shot him," explained Severus. Lupin looked at him with disgust.
"You shot a muggle."
"Yes, he wasn't injured or knocked out so I had to stupify him to erase his memories."
Lupin shook his head. "You make me sick..." He then looked at the empty vial of poison repellent in his hand. "and healthy. Why did you have this with you?"
"For emergencies, like this one," said Snape as he ducked down from noises coming from the door. A group of people walked past, talking over each other. Snape took one of the guns and put it in his cloak.
"We must now take our leave. Are you well enough to apparate, Lupin?"
Lupin nodded. Snape gave a nod back and quickly disappeared out of the room. Lupin, however, had other plans. Taking hold of his wand, he went out into the hallway to follow the group of scientists.
Hedwig gave a soft coo as the rain poured against the bedroom window. Harry was lying in his small bed with his wand close in hand. It has been two days since he got back from school and he has already been working to exhaustion from the mounted pile of chores. He hid his wand in Hedwig's cage from the start so it wouldn't be locked up with his textbooks and homework. It was all under the stairs, locked up in the small cabinet that he knew too well.
He could hear his uncle watching the late-night news through his locked bedroom door. An eruption of astoundment came from downstairs.
"I knew it!" The big bellowest shouts carried around the house. Harry heard the TV being turned up. It was enough for him to hear it through his door.
"...evening, the discovery of a secret group of people was found out a few months ago. The Hanson organization of scientists from around the world discovered the phenomenon that 'magic' may be real. Spying on us during everyday life, they think that these superior humans may be a threat to mankind itself. Works to undermine this group that they are now calling 'wizards', will be in effect tomorrow…"
"...if you see anything strange. Notify your nearest outpost eminently. We are trying to eliminate the threat as quickly as we can. Thank you. In other news…" The TV shut off and Mr. Dursley called for his wife. Murmurs were heard but Harry couldn't make them out.
Hiding more under the covers he hid his wand under his pillow. Thoughts raced through his mind as he thought about what this will mean for him and his friends. He dismissed those thoughts and put hope into letting the ministry of magic figure it out. It would be fine in the morning.
Harry then dozed off to sleep, lulled by the patter of rain against the glass pane.
Lupin passed many rooms filled with guns, armour, and large weaponry as he followed the group of scientists, always a hallway behind. He had his wand up high as he padded quickly to the next bend the group took. They finally entered a room with a security guard in front of it. Lupin quietly slipped into an empty room beside it.
"Amplify," whispered Lupin as he touched his wand against the wall. He put his ear up close to the wand to hear what was being said in the room.
A man's gruff low voice was heard through the wall.
"The launch begins tomorrow. I hope you are all ready to start working more than 12 hours a day."- a short pause- "You all know how long it has taken us to achieve this. I have discussed with the prime minister and other world leaders and they have given us permission to begin."
A female voice spoke next, "The holding cells and restraints are all in order, and many more weapons are being made as we speak."
Lupin scoffed, thinking about the pile of unfinished weapons he saw on the way here. Then again, Snape probably took out the few scientists that were doing that job. He turned his attention back to the room.
"Good." A gravely, but a deep voice came from the far end of the room. "This magic society will not know what is coming. It will be quite a hit to them if we catch the children first, with them being back for summer and all."
Pressing his ear closer to hear the man, Lupin gasped. The man continued, "I heard from my private intell that the most powerful of their species resides inside that school, castle, whatever you want to call it. If we get the kids, we get their strongest."
Hearing a throat being cleared from across the room, Lupin adjusted his wand.
"Kind of risky if you ask me." A soft female voice spoke up.
"In what way? It's always going to have some risk to it." The deep voice said.
"I know but there is just something wrong with taking children hostage. It's too late to go back now, which I understand." Her voice sounded sad and laced with regret.
"War is messy. It is better for us to have the upper hand, even if the tactics are like this." said the other female voice that had a bit of nasal to it.
He heard a fist hit a table, "You all know what you signed up for and are my trusted advisors, don't make me question it." commanded the gritty, deep voice. "We are in agreement?"
"Yes sir!" The whole room echoed.
Lupin pulled his wand away from the wall and stumbled toward the door. He heard people walk by and refrained from opening it.
I need to find the leader, thought Lupin as he scanned the people from his hiding spot from under the door's window. After everyone passed, he stepped out of the door and into the hallway, holding up his wand for the cameras. With the guard not at his post, Lupin walked past the room and saw a tall man bending down at a desk, looking at some papers.
Studying him with focused concentration, Lupin kept walking. Once he was past the room, he did a quick apparition out of the lab and into the dark alley. Snape was there, tapping his foot and seething with annoyance that was louder then words.
"Where were you galavanting about?" Snape asked in a monotonous tone.
"Eavesdropping, on the scientists." Lupin pointed at his head, "Got it all in here."
Snape scowled, "What else was there to learn? They plan to attack wizards."
"The children," said Lupin.
"What?"
"The children are the first targets. They think to capture the students will lead them to some of the stronger wizards." Lupin shook his head as if the words coming from his own mouth nipped him like fire.
"So they do have a brain." Snape half-heartedly joked, "We must tell Dumbledore what we found so we can make up a plan for a counterattack."Snape reached for the portkey in his pocket and held it out to Lupin, who took it with a shaking hand. The rain malted away as the world crumbled around them and they found themselves back in Dumbledore's office.
"Lemon drop?" offered Dumbledore as he gestured the soaked wizards to a bowl of golden candy. Lupin ignored the offer and ran towards the desk, his hair dripping droplets as he spoke.
"They plan to attack the children first! They have weapons, "- Snape through the gun on the desk- "... and armour that can go against our magic. We have to do something!" Lupin finished by putting his wand to his head and pulling out a golden string of memory. "Here is a record of my encounter with the meeting, including a view of the man in charge."
Lupin put the string into a glass vial and handed it to Dumbledore, who nodded with gratitude.
"I hope you came up with some sort of plan to retrieve the children, headmaster," said Snape as he brought out his wand to dry his robs.
Dumbledore nodded, "It isn't foolproof but its the best I can offer. Right now, I want you two to retrieve every professor and wizard who is willing to help with the cause. We will meet after the ministry's meeting tomorrow."
The two gave a quick nod and both did an apparition out of the office, leaving Dumbledore as he started to examine the gun.