Once more, My beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. They helped a lot.
Chapter 48: The Ruined Country
Magical Quarter, Portland, Free Republic of Maine and Vermont, January 5th, 2006
"You're a Dumbledore?" Rosengarten asked, narrowing his eyes.
Dumbledore inclined his head.
"His brother supposedly died in the war," the Healer went on.
Privately, Ron wondered if that had been news in the rest of the world. If it hadn't been, it would be another sign that Rosengarten might be a British expat.
"I'm not his brother. I'm not closely related to the famous Dumbledore, but I am a Dumbledore. I don't want publicity - but I need a skilled, discreet Healer to treat my and my partner's ailments." Dumbledore smiled. "As I said, perfectly legal."
Rosengarten scoffed. "So legal that you want to obliviate me afterwards."
"That's to protect others."
For a moment, both old men looked at each other in silence. Dumbledore, smiling politely. Rosengarten, frowning deeply.
"And if I refuse?" the Healer finally asked.
"Then that's it, and we go looking for another Healer. If we wanted to force you to help us, we wouldn't have asked in the first place," Dumbledore told him.
And because, Ron thought, only Hermione and wizarding Luna would be able to magically compel the Healer. Able, but unwilling, to do so.
Rosengarten glanced at the money again. "For that amount of money, you could have the country's hospital reserved for your private use. Probably any country's hospital."
"I could," Dumbledore said. "But it would draw attention I would rather avoid and endanger people dear to me."
Rosengarten pressed his lips together and stared at the former spymaster for a few more seconds. "I want double the money. Half in advance."
"Done." Dumbledore beamed at the Healer, who was obviously surprised - perhaps even shocked - at the quick agreement. "It doesn't pay, if you'll excuse my pun, to haggle with Healers if you have the means," the old man added. "How soon can you leave for, say, a week?"
"To Britain, I suppose?" Was the old wizard tensing up?
"Yes. We'll handle transport," Dumbledore said. "We'll avoid customs, though."
"Good. I need three days." After a moment, the Healer added: "You don't seem concerned about me cutting and running with the money."
"Why would I?" Dumbledore asked in return. "The mere fact that you're working here means you care for this town more than you care for money. If you ran, you wouldn't be able to help the town - or the people." With a toothy grin, he added: "And doing so would put them at risk, since the bounty hunters I would send after you would likely begin their search here."
"I see." Rosengarten scoffed and shook his head, and Ron had the impression that the Healer was, despite his attempt to downplay it, quite affected by the threat.
"We'll be in contact in three days, then," Dumbledore said. "If anyone asks, you would do well to say you already cured my cough, else certain elements in town might get too curious for their own good - and yours."
Hermione cleared her throat. "You should also make it clear that you didn't go with us - we've been using the story that we're about to go hunting Big Foots as a cover."
Rosengarten winced. "That's bound to ruffle some feathers. And if I disappear for a week, some might assume I did join you. Especially if I return with a fortune."
"The hint that your past caught up with you and you had to deal with it in Britain should suffice," Dumbledore said.
Rosengarten flinched. "How did you…?"
"It was obvious that you're from Britain, originally, and that you kept your past a secret." Dumbledore pointed at the picture on the wall. "I recognised the boarding school."
"But that's…" Rosengarten pressed his lips together.
"It was destroyed in the Second World War, was it not? A stray bombing attack."
"Yes," the Healer replied. "You're surprisingly well informed about a muggle school in England."
"Indeed." Dumbledore smiled widely.
Rosengarten nodded, not asking further questions, and they left his office.
Ron looked around, hand near his holster, as soon as they stepped out into the alley. Once bitten, twice shy. He didn't spot an ambush, though.
"No disillusioned people nearby," Hermione whispered.
But Ron was well aware that they could be hiding in the buildings. "Let's go," he said.
"Indeed," Dumbledore, behind them, agreed. "We got what we came for."
Hermione glanced left and right, then started to head away from the main alley.
"Shouldn't we head in the other direction?" Sirius asked.
"We're just looking for some privacy," she replied.
"Ah."
As soon as they turned the next corner, Hermione grabbed Ron and Sirius's hands. A moment later, they appeared in the hotel room, followed by the two Lunas and Dumbledore.
Portland, Maine, United States of America, Wizarding World, January 5th, 2006
"...and Healer Rosengarten has accepted the offer, but he needs three days to get ready for the trip," Hermione finished her summary.
"So… we've got three days to kill in Portland?" Ginny asked.
"Yes," Hermione confirmed.
"And we're believed to be poachers and so might become the target of the Native American shamans," Harry added.
"That's unlikely," wizarding Luna said. "And they won't find us here in the muggle world, anyway."
"They might go after Mr Rosengarten, though," Hermione pointed out. "Or try to use him as bait to get to us."
Ron nodded. Judging by what he knew of magic, there were a number of ways they could use the old Healer. Like the Imperius Curse.
"If they do come after Mr Rosengarten," Dumbledore said, "they will likely interrogate him - and find out that we aren't actually poachers."
"They might not believe that," Sirius retorted. "Fanatical natives tend to be, well, fanatical."
Ron frowned. Sirius was adamant about having rejected his family's more questionable views, but sometimes, he managed to show that he wasn't quite as different from his ancestors as he liked to claim.
"They lost half their lands to the European wizards before the Statute of Secrecy was implemented and they managed to stop them," Hermione retorted. "It's quite understandable that they take a dim view of poachers encroaching on their homelands."
"Without going into the historical reasons for the current political situation," Ron cut in, "we still need to be prepared for a potential attack or trap."
"We could keep an eye on the Healer in secret," Harry suggested.
"I fear he might misunderstand that, should he find out." Dumbledore shook his head. "Besides, he isn't exactly inexperienced."
Ron was about to mention that experience as a Healer didn't mean that Mr Rosengarten had any experience in fending off assassins and spies, but then he reconsidered. "You think he's more than a Healer."
"I am reasonably certain that he was more than merely a Healer," Dumbledore replied. "A mere Healer wouldn't hide his past as much as Mr Rosengarten does."
"You sound like a veritable Sherlock Holmes," Sirius commented. "Would you care to explain how you deduced that?"
"Elementary," Dumbledore replied, a rare grin on his face. "He took care to hide his origin in Britain. The picture of his school wouldn't have been easily identified as British, the school having been bombed in the war. He also went to great lengths to hide or lose his accent."
"That comes naturally if you live somewhere for a few decades," Sirius retorted.
Dumbledore nodded in acknowledgement. "But in that case, the locals would have known he was British - and would have mentioned it to us."
"He could've moved to Portland from another town," Sirius pointed out.
"He might have - but the wizarding world seems to be much smaller than our own world. Moving from one town to the next - if there are two towns in the first place - wouldn't grant the sort of anonymity it does in our own country."
"He could've come from another American enclave, though," Hermione spoke up.
"Possibly, yes. But if we take into account what you've told us about the history of the East Coast's magical community, and what we saw in Portland's magical quarter, that would also indicate that he has some experience in navigating dangerous waters, so to speak." Dumbledore smiled again. "I'm not a hundred per cent certain, of course, but I am betting quite some money on being correct about Mr Rosengarten."
Well, the old man could afford it. As one of the two owners of the Phoenix Gruppe, he could probably buy up half the wizarding East Coast without using all his cash reserves... Ron blinked. Why hadn't he thought about this before? No, why hadn't Hermione considered this?
"So, if we're not watching over the Healer," Ginny said, "then we still have three days to kill. In Portland. And we have to watch out for magic assassins."
Ron knew that his sister would have been far more enthusiastic if they were in New York, assassins or not.
"Indeed," Dumbledore said. "We'll have to be a little cautious, but it shouldn't keep us from exploring the city."
"As much as there is to explore," Ginny commented.
"Oh, I'm sure we can fill three days," Sirius said. "The food's supposed to be the best in the country."
"Oh!" Both Lunas perked up in an almost eerie synchrony.
As did Dumbledore - though Ron was sure that the old man had been aware of that fact before they had started their trip.
An hour later, they were 'sight-seeing' according to Ginny. Or 'maintaining our cover as tourists', as Dumbledore called it. What they actually were doing was sampling pretty much every dessert from every food stand and café in the centre of Portland. At least they had finally picked a café with decent seats.
"Oh… this ice cream is great!" Luna gushed.
"Not quite as good as Fortescue's best, though," her counterpart replied.
"Try it with this cake. Divine," Dumbledore declared, holding up a forkful of hot cake dripping with melting ice cream.
"If I do, I'll have to skip supper," Hermione commented rather drily.
"And that would be a crime - there's this restaurant specialising in lobster that we need to try out!" Sirius held up one of the half a dozen guides he had bought.
"I think I don't need magic to guess that the first thing Rosengarten will tell you will be 'stop eating so many sweets'," Harry told Dumbledore with a snort.
"I expect that there are specialised spells to deal with that," Dumbledore retorted. "Although a little more exercise wouldn't go amiss, I feel. Now that I can once again move without pain."
"I don't know any such spell," Hermione said. "You might need to have regular and frequent visits from a Healer if you plan on keeping this up."
"It would certainly be worth it," Dumbledore told her with a smile.
The two Lunas agreed emphatically, if not verbally - they were still devouring their own desserts.
"It would also require you to hire a trustworthy Healer on a permanent basis," Hermione retorted.
"Which is an obvious long-term goal." Dumbledore tilted his head a little. "Unless you plan to completely abandon the portal, it will need a substantial and well-supplied force to keep it secure."
And a Healer would be part of that - and they would still have enough time to treat Dumbledore and Grindelwald. Would they also, perhaps, treat selected friends and contacts of the two old men? Ron wouldn't put it past them.
Hermione grudgingly acknowledged the point with a sharp nod and focused on her own, far less sugary, fruit dessert.
One order wasn't enough, though, for the Lunas and Dumbledore to finish 'trying out' the café to their satisfaction, and as the rest of the group went to explore the dessert selection, Ron leaned over to Hermione. "Say…"
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if you considered letting Dumbledore finance the prison reforms. He should be able to easily cover the money needed to replace the Dementors."
"He could probably buy half the Wizengamot's votes," she said. "Which is why I would prefer to look into alternative solutions, first."
"Ah." He nodded - he had expected that. Hermione hated owing people - or breaking an agreement. Otherwise, they wouldn't be here.
"There's also the question of sustainability," she went on. "Most of the costs will be recurring costs. Salaries for skilled guards and for curse-breakers to maintain the wards. I don't want to see the abolishment of the Dementors reverted for fiscal reasons."
He wanted to tell her that that wouldn't happen - but governments, including and, perhaps, especially British governments, did not always follow the most rational course of action when it came to their finances. Or anything else. So he nodded in agreement.
"I would still choose to do that, though, before I let things continue as they currently are." Hermione frowned.
"Even if Dumbledore and Grindelwald end up controlling the country?" Ron quickly checked with a glance that the others were still picking desserts and waiting for their turn at the register.
"They wouldn't. They're muggles," she stated. "Sooner or later, their influence would wane."
Ron wasn't quite as convinced, but the others were headed back now. "So, what plans did you come up with already?"
Judging by the deep frown that appeared on her face, she hadn't yet come up with a good plan.
"How do other countries handle their criminals?" he asked instead.
"Most use prisons protected by strong wards that prevent magical travel or people using magic on the walls or doors," she said. "And guards, of course. Dangerous and powerful prisoners are often kept under observation at all times, to prevent them from attempting anything."
"That sounds like a simple solution," he commented.
"It only appears to be simple," she corrected him. "Preparing wards strong enough to achieve that is very difficult. Most wizarding prisons are old - their wards grew in strength over time. Also, wards need to be updated regularly as new spells are developed. The older and stronger such protections are, the more difficult it is to modify them. The Department of Mysteries would likely need to delegate a number of their staff to that task."
"But it would be possible?"
"If you're willing to spend the money needed."
And both of them were aware that the Minister wasn't willing.
"You really should try the hot vanilla cakes," wizarding Luna announced as the rest of the group returned to the table. "It's worth skipping dinner."
Hermione frowned. "Are you sure? Sirius said that the restaurant he's picked is famous for its lobster. You might discover that dinner might be worth skipping a third dessert."
Wizarding Luna blinked for a moment, apparently considering the question. Then she smiled. "In that case, we'll have to go back there tomorrow!"
"Speaking of things being worth it," Sirius cut in, "what were you discussing so earnestly instead of indulging in a little buffet raiding?"
"Ways to reform Azkaban. Especially alternatives to the use of Dementors," Hermione replied - technically correctly. "I abhor the thought that Wizarding Britain is systematically torturing prisoners for financial reasons. They might still be struggling to rebuild the country after the war, but we have to draw the line at torture."
Luna nodded. "Indeed. Once you legalise torture, you open the floodgates of human rights violations, as the USA proved in the War of Terror."
"War on Terror," Sirius corrected her.
"It's a war of terror," she retorted. "And Britain's party to those crimes."
Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Well, the Americans would probably not stoop to using torture if they had access to magical means of ferreting out the truth. They don't torture people to save money - although the American prison system might qualify, depending on your definition of torture."
Ron saw Luna close her mouth and frown at the old man. Apparently, Dumbledore had pre-empted her argument. Before she could think of another, he spoke up: "Are there other magical creatures that could serve as guards? Preferably creatures that are easy and cheap to keep and handle?"
Wizarding Luna wrinkled her forehead with the spoon stuck in her mouth as she pondered the question. Ron saw her swallow, then nod and pull the spoon out. "In the past, the Scandinavians tried to use trolls as guards."
"Trolls?" Hermione gasped. "How did they keep them from eating the prisoners?"
"That was the problem they couldn't solve," wizarding Luna told her.
"Ah." Hermione wasn't the only one who looked a little queasy at that. That was only natural, of course, for someone who had been attacked by a troll as a child.
"It must have made feeding them cheap, though," Sirius said with a chuckle. No one else laughed, though.
"Very funny, Sirius," Harry told him in a flat voice.
"Bah! Gallows humour is a British tradition," Sirius retorted.
"That wasn't gallows humour," Hermione said. "In any case, the problem is finding a cheap but effective way to keep prisoners from escaping. Without petrifying them, or obliviating them or letting them sleep through their sentence," she added. "If they can sleep through their sentence, it's either no punishment - since for them, no time will seem to have passed - or effectively a death sentence since they won't ever wake up again."
"Ah." Harry looked pensive.
"What about hiring cheap labour?" Dumbledore asked.
"Wizards and witches skilled enough to guard dark wizards and repel attempts to free them by third parties aren't cheap no matter where you hire," Hermione told him. "And even with heavily warded cells and their wands confiscated, you still need to keep an eye on magical prisoners or they might manage a feat of wandless magic of some sort that allowed them to escape."
Dumbledore rubbed his beard. "A fascinating challenge, I think. I shall take some time to ponder this some more."
"I bet you escaped from a few prisons yourself," Sirius said.
Dumbledore inclined his head with a small smile but didn't comment.
Portland, Maine, United States of America, Wizarding World, January 6th, 2006
"Could you pass me the toast?" Hermione asked in their tent's kitchen. "And the sausages, too, please."
"Here," Ron replied as he handed her a plate and a basket of toast. And ignored the groans from the Lunas, who had overeaten last evening, but refused to admit it. Well, they were up already, at least - everyone else was still asleep. Or, perhaps, in Ginny and Harry's case, 'busy'.
"Luna? Want some pudding?" Hermione held up the bowl with the black pudding.
"Uh…"
"Ack."
Ron shook his head. Hermione was obviously enjoying this. He wondered if she had done the same to his counterpart when the wizard had a hangover. Probably, he thought - she could be quite vindictive when she wanted. "Tea anyone?"
"Yes!" "Yes!"
He filled two cups for them, then pushed the sugar bowl in their direction. That caused more groaning, but the two still put enough sugar into their teas to turn it into syrup. He sighed with a wry grin and was about to comment to Hermione when he realised that she wasn't watching - she was listening to something, but he couldn't hear anything.
"There's an owl at the window of our room," she said.
Oh. "Were you expecting any mail?"
She shook her head.
"It could be a trap," Ron said.
"Or one of my friends sent a letter."
"From Britain? By owl?" That was… well, the RSPCA would have something to say about that.
"Hedwig, Harry's owl, is a very special bird."
"Ah." He stood and checked his gun. Constant vigilance.
Hermione led the way upstairs, wand drawn, but he was right behind her. And the Lunas followed him - after informing the others.
The owl pecking at the window wasn't a snowy owl. Ron didn't recognise the species - but he spotted the letter tied to its leg. A post owl.
Hermione cast a few spells Ron didn't recognise before she let the owl inside. A few more spells followed before she cut the letter off with yet another spell and levitated it towards her. She didn't touch it, though, but used her wand to open it.
Then she cursed. "Someone's kidnapped Healer Rosengarten."
"What?" Ron blurted out.
"It's a ransom note," she told him. With a flick of her wand, the floating parchment turned to face him, and he could read it himself.
"They want as much gold as Dumbledore paid upfront," Hermione said as he skimmed the note. "They'll contact us again."
"And then they'll demand yet more gold. I know how these hoodlums think."
That was Dumbledore's voice! Ron turned around and saw that the old man was climbing up the stairs. He was wearing a dressing gown - had he come up straight from bed? It didn't matter. "You suspect a trap?" Ron asked.
"I wouldn't put it past a kidnapper." Dumbledore inclined his head.
"Some kidnappers do play straight," Ron pointed out. "They wouldn't get any ransom from future kidnappings if they didn't stick to a deal."
"Indeed. But I don't think that these are professional kidnappers, so to speak," Dumbledore replied.
"Greedy thugs thinking this is an opportunity?"
"They could be shaman agents, too, trying to drain us of our funds for our supposed hunting trip. Or to use Rosengarten as bait for an ambush," Hermione said.
"They would've interrogated Mr Rosengarten, wouldn't they?" Dumbledore retorted.
"If they have access to Veritaserum. It's a little tricky to brew and restricted in most countries."
"Spies would've been provided with it, I believe - I certainly would have given my own men such a tool for their missions. Especially since the serum is already known to everyone, and, therefore, the risk of providing the enemy with it is nonexistent." Dumbledore shook his head. "No, this seems merely motivated by greed, nothing else."
It did sound plausible, in Ron's opinion. "So, what do we do?" If paying the ransom wouldn't save the Healer, then that left only two choices: To cut their losses and run, or...
"We rescue him, of course." Dumbledore smiled. "It would be craven to leave him to his fate since without us, he wouldn't have been kidnapped."
That sounded noble, but Ron couldn't help thinking that it would also prevent Dumbledore from having to find another Healer. And if Rosengarten wasn't safe in Portland any more, he might be more willing to be hired on a permanent basis…
"We need to find him to save him, first," Hermione pointed out. "That's easier said than done. The kidnappers might not be professionals, but they will have experience in hiding from the law - or bounty hunters. The owl is an official post owl - it won't be able to find them since we don't have their names. And if we did, they would likely be warded against that."
"We could shrink ourselves and hide with the ransom," Luna proposed. "Then grow back to our real size as soon as we are in their hideout."
Ron frowned - he wasn't overly fond of the tactic. Not any more. "Wouldn't they be prepared for such a plan?"
"If they're smart, they'll apparate to a secondary site and sort things out there - only taking the gold and leaving any bags - before returning home," Hermione explained. "But I doubt they'll expect us to hand over the money without Rosengarten being present."
"Indeed. They might try to order us to drop the gold off at a certain place, but they have to be aware that we're not Rosengarten's family, nor would we be aware of their reputation. Which is why I believe that they'll try an ambush at whatever location they want us to leave the gold," Dumbledore said.
"Unless they have a reputation as 'honest' kidnappers and we're merely unaware of it," Ron pointed out.
"That is a possibility as well. We should investigate," Dumbledore acknowledged. "Although I would've expected Mr Rosengarten to comment on the risk of being kidnapped, were it common knowledge that there are kidnappers at large in the area."
"If we investigate, we should focus on his contacts - those he was trusting to keep him safe. Others might have known that we were looking for a Healer, but not that we wanted to hire him. And they wouldn't have been aware of how much money he'd already received," Ron pointed out.
"That's certainly a valid assumption. Although Mr Rosengarten might have been the victim of a robbery, where the criminals didn't expect to acquire as much gold as they did - and, when confronted with the small fortune, then decided to see if there was more from where this had come," Dumbledore said. "Sometimes, it's not a clever plan, but merely luck - or, in this case, bad luck."
"That's possible as well," Ron admitted. He certainly had seen arrests fail because of bad luck. "Either way, we need to investigate the issue. Without drawing attention to ourselves, though."
"Yes." The last thing they needed was more trouble with the locals and a forewarned group of kidnappers.
Magical Quarter, Portland, Free Republic of Maine and Vermont, January 6th, 2006
"I would prefer to disillusion us," Hermione said in a low voice as they approached the side alley where Rosengarten's practice was located. "And yes, I'm aware that you wouldn't be able to see where the rest of us are. It still feels wrong to approach in the open like this."
Ron shared the feeling, but he knew this was necessary. "We need to check Rosengarten's office for clues," he replied. "And disguises work even against that see invisibility spell."
"Human-presence-revealing Charm," she corrected him with a frown.
"Yes, that one." If she were able to cast that on others, then Disillusionment Charms would have been great. Or Invisibility Cloaks. But if they were attacked, Ron would prefer to know where his friends were. Friendly fire wasn't, as Sirius used to say.
"We look completely different," wizarding Luna said. "They won't suspect us."
"Until we break into Rosengarten's office," Hermione retorted as they entered the side alley.
"Well, if they spot us, we switch to Plan B," Luna said.
"Also known as Plan Bait," Harry added.
"Exactly."
Despite the cloak Hermione wore and the rest of her disguise, Ron knew she tensed up - her shoulders twitched. She didn't like Plan B. Well, he didn't like it, either. At least Ginny and Sirius weren't with them, despite their protests - but neither Luna nor Hermione could apparate with more than two others, and bringing all of them was simply too dangerous. "Let's hope we don't get attacked," he said.
"And let's hope we find a few clues," Dumbledore added. With a long, grey beard and grey robes, he looked like a stereotypical wizard. If he had a staff, he'd look like Gandalf the Grey.
But real wizards didn't use staves. They used wands. A pity, really.
He grinned at his own thoughts as they reached the practice and looked around. He couldn't spot anyone observing the entrance. Of course, that didn't have to mean anything.
"The spells on the door haven't been broken," Hermione whispered. "Whoever kidnapped him didn't do it here - or they were invited inside."
"Or they were expert Curse-Breakers and snuck past the wards," wizarding Luna added.
"I don't think expert Curse-Breakers would stoop to kidnapping," Hermione objected.
"They're already robbing graves for goblin gold, aren't they?"
"Let's get inside," Hemione said, apparently ignoring the comment as she knocked on the door. "If anyone's watching us, we're just customers of his."
"Patients," Harry added.
"That, too, is needed," wizarding Luna said.
As expected, the door didn't open, nor did the animated snake appear. "Plan break-in it is, then," Harry said.
"Yes." Hermione led the group away, then down a small alley that let them double back to the house.
But they still needed to break in. And neither Hermione nor wizarding Luna were trained Curse-Breakers. The door didn't leave gaps that would let a shrunken person slip through, either.
Ron glanced at Harry. "Window or roof?"
His friend studied the roof - what they could see from the ground - and then the windows before nodding. "Windows."
"They'll be protected as well."
"Yes, but probably not with as much sophistication as the doors," Dumbledore interjected. "Probably impervious to most tools, but I doubt that the windows are locked with as many defences."
"Climbing up to the first floor will draw attention," Hermione pointed out.
Ron grinned. "Which is why we'll be flying - disillusioned."
"I thought you didn't want me to cast a Disillusionment Charm on you."
"Not when we're in a group. But I can crack a window by myself," he told her.
Not entirely by himself, he had to admit ten minutes later as he was hanging from the roof in front of the window - Hermione had countered the spell on the window that would have triggered an alarm. But the actual lock on the window itself? Easy. The pane was magically enchanted against breaking, the frame against drilling, but the gap in the frame let him slip in a thin tool through - and with that, he could flip open the latch. A little more difficult than busting a car with a hanger, but not much more difficult.
"Ta-da!" he muttered as the window slowly swung open.
"You've got it open?" Hermione asked in a whisper from above.
"Of course." He'd opened far more complex locks. Moody's training had been comprehensive.
"Alright. Don't move, I'm coming to check the room."
He didn't like her going first. But this wasn't a drug dealer's flat. This was the home of a wizard, and Ron couldn't deal with curses.
He didn't see her, but he could hear her climb down next to him. And he heard her wand move.
"It looks clear. No curses."
She sounded a little nervous, though. Unsure. He hesitated a moment, then nodded to himself. Better him than her. "Good."
Then he climbed inside.
"Ron!" he heard Hermione hiss behind him.
"You said it was clear," he replied, as nonchalantly as he could manage. "I trust you."
He heard her mutter something uncomplimentary under her breath as she followed him into the room.
"Rosengarten's bedroom," he commented as he pushed the window closed and looked around. Old-fashioned canopy bed, old-fashioned secretary desk, old-fashioned armoire… old-fashioned everything, and in many different styles.
"I'd never have guessed," Hermione shot back. "I was sure the bed was meant for patients."
He chuckled. "Fetch the others? Harry needs to see this as well." And his friend would be waiting with impatience.
"Don't leave the room," she said, then he saw the window open again, and he heard her clothes slide over the windowsill.
He had no intention of doing so - but he was still tempted. A little, at least. But braving a potentially cursed flat without magical help would be foolish in the extreme. If only there was a way to get some enchanted goggles that would let him detect magic…
He heard the tell-tale sound of apparition - disapparition in this case. Hermione had gone to fetch the others.
It didn't take her and Luna long to shuttle everyone to the roof and have them climb inside. At which point Hermione finally ended the Disillusionment Charms on everyone once they were out of sight from the street below, and they could start investigating the crime scene - if it was a crime scene.
It didn't look like one. The bed was perfectly made. The secretary desk was locked - but the lock didn't hold a candle to modern security locks, and Ron and Harry could crack those. "The stationery doesn't look like it was disturbed," Ron remarked.
"Just left as it was after finishing a letter, I'd say," Harry replied.
If it had been a notepad, they might have been able to read part of the letter by colouring the dents left by a pen. But with quills? No chance.
"He sealed it. It wasn't just a casual missive," Harry said.
"It could've been," Hermione corrected him. "Many wizards seal every letter, no matter how frivolous."
"Oh, yes. It also makes it harder to know if a letter is important before you open it," wizarding Luna added.
"Couldn't you repair a seal with magic?" Ron asked.
"The wax is enchanted against it," Hermione explained.
"As are the signet rings," wizarding Luna added.
"Ah." Ron should've expected that. Sealing a letter wouldn't make any sense if every wizard could duplicate or repair the seal. On the other hand, it didn't have to make sense if it was a tradition.
"Robes in the armoire," Harry reported. "And an old suit."
The thing looked almost threadbare. Was that by design? Or just a memento? They wouldn't be able to tell. "Let's check his office."
After a few spells cast to determine that Rosengarten hadn't been paranoid enough to trap the floor, they entered the office they had visited yesterday.
"No trace of combat," Harry said.
"Any damage could've been magically repaired," Ron pointed out.
"And cleaned up?" Harry didn't look convinced.
"If they want to erase traces, they'll likely go all the way," Ron said. "But it doesn't look like he was kidnapped here. The dust is all wrong for that."
"Dust?" wizarding Luna asked. "Ah, you're looking for tracks! Like when you're hunting Demiguises."
What the hell were Demiguises? "Sort of, yes," Ron told her. "The dust would've been disturbed if someone had fought, and it's not spread out evenly enough to have been tampered with afterwards."
"Indeed," Dumbledore said. "I doubt that Mr Rosengarten was kidnapped from here." He looked around. "We have to check the other rooms, of course, but - I think he would've met visitors here."
The living room, filled with more old, mismatched furniture showed no signs of combat either. There were stacks of books and newspapers, including, Ron noticed, the Daily Prophet and the Tribune Magique - but also the Times. "British muggleborn?" he asked.
"Or he just wants to appear to be a British muggleborn," Dumbledore said. "Although I doubt that - I think his reaction to my educated guesswork was genuine."
"If he wasn't kidnapped at home, then he was either kidnapped in an ambush on his way somewhere, or at his destination," Harry said.
"He would've been visiting a friend or contact," Ron went on, "to set up contingencies in case we were going to betray him."
"Obviously," Harry agreed. "He wouldn't have trusted a stranger. It has to have been a close acquaintance. Or a friend."
"Or someone he mistook for a friend," Luna added. "Greed can easily ruin a friendship - although in most such cases, there was no real friendship to begin with."
"Let's check the desk for his correspondence," Ron said. "If he trusted them, odds are, he'll have written to his contact before."
The desk had a number of secret compartments. That wasn't unusual, of course; some secretary desks came with half a dozen such compartments. They found a small bag of Galleons - British coins.
"Old ones," Hermione explained as she sorted them.
"None younger than the forties, I assume," Dumbledore said.
"You are correct," Hermione replied.
But the real find was the hidden drawer with the Extension Charm on it: a veritable archive of letters.
"He must have kept every letter he received." Hermione sounded impressed and a little envious.
"Well, the ones he received here, at least," Dumbledore said. "He didn't keep copies of his own correspondence."
"How sloppy," Harry commented with a grin.
"Nevertheless, we'll have to sort through the letters and see if we can discern who would be a likely recipient for his latest correspondence;" Dumbledore stated.
"Obviously," Ron agreed. "Let's start with the newest letters."
It took them half an hour to go through all the letters from last year, but they had a clear picture afterwards.
"It looks like Mr Rosengarten had regular, if not very frequent, correspondence about financial matters with a Mr Ralph Martin," Dumbledore said.
"And they talked about deliveries as well," Ron added. He was no wizard, nor an American, but he knew doublespeak when he saw it - Mr Rosengarten had been receiving smuggled goods.
Dumbledore nodded. "I think we should pay Mr Martin a visit. He might be the last person to have seen Mr Rosengarten."
"Or his kidnapper," Ron said.
"Indeed."
She saw the smoke as soon as she appeared at the edge of the forest. Then she saw the Dark Mark floating above it. And the green flames devouring the small hut.
Next to her, Ron cursed.
"We're too late," she said. The Death Eaters were already gone. Which meant the muggleborn family hiding in the hut were dead or captured. She hated herself for thinking it, but she hoped they were dead - prisoners of Voldemort's regime suffered a lot before they were killed, sometimes by being sacrificed in rituals or being fed to Dementors.
"We need to check," Harry insisted.
"Fiendfyre won't leave more than ashes," Ron retorted.
"Then we have to be quick," Harry told them.
"What if it's a trap?" Hermione asked. "If they captured the Jamesons, they might have found out that they called for help." Help that might've come in time if their contact in the Order had reached them faster. Or if Hermione and her friends hadn't been out searching for more information.
No, it wasn't their fault that they were late. Just… bad luck.
"Then we'll deal with them," Harry snapped.
"I'd rather just fly away," Ron said. "Although they can't have enough Death Eaters to stake out every house they attack."
"They only need to get lucky once," Hermione reminded them.
"We need to know if they've captured people," Harry said.
"Why? We can't free them," Ron told him. "Mate, I hate to say it - but we can't break them out of the Ministry cells."
"If the Order gives us the name of one of their spies…" Harry trailed off.
Hermione almost snorted. The Order wouldn't risk a spy - or Harry Potter - to save a muggleborn family. They couldn't afford to.
And, even though she loathed it, they were right not to do so.