My beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. They helped a lot.
Chapter 49: The Kidnapping
Magical Quarter, Portland, Free Republic of Maine and Vermont, January 6th, 2006
"According to these letters, Martin owns a building on the main street," Harry said. "He's got a shop - Rosengarten acquired most of his furniture from him."
"He doesn't sell just furniture, though," Dumbledore commented.
"Hardly." Ron shook his head. "He also sold Rosengarten most of his medical supplies."
"Probably without paying the tariffs," Hermione said. "The Free Republic imposes a substantial tariff on potions and potions ingredients." At the looks this received, she added: "I read up on the country before we travelled here."
"That's probably a way of keeping control of the population - by making it harder for independent Healers to operate," Luna suggested. "Those who cannot afford to pay the higher rates due to the tariffs need to go to the government-owned clinic."
"Or it was originally implemented to protect the business of the clinic." Hermione scoffed.
Luna nodded. "At the request of the owners of the clinic, I suppose."
"Regardless of the reason, the tariffs exist - we would have to check Mr Rosengarten's books to find out if he was a customer of a smuggling business," Dumbledore interjected. "If he kept books in the first place, of course."
"And if he entered the correct figures," Ron added.
"Exactly. It would give us some leverage on the man - although I don't believe that it would hold up in court," the old man said.
"Or what passes for a court here." Hermione sighed. "I'm sure that Mr Martin has friends in high places."
"He'll have made enemies as well," Dumbledore pointed out, "though we lack sufficient intel to exploit that."
"So what can we do?" Hermione asked. "Going and asking Martin whether he's seen Rosengarten doesn't seem like a viable course of action. Unless we were to use Veritaserum - but that's quite a drastic step to take. And if he isn't involved in the kidnapping..."
...then they'd make an enemy out of him for no gain. Ron nodded.
Not to mention that kidnapping a suspected leader of a smuggling organisation wouldn't be easy to begin with. Not impossible, but difficult - and dangerous - enough. Especially since they were in a foreign country and didn't know the lay of the land. And since they were dealing with wizards, of course. On the other hand, they had almost managed to kidnap Kirikov in a similar situation… But they had also almost been killed.
"It is indeed a dilemma," Dumbledore said. "If he is the one behind the kidnapping, then simply asking him a few questions will put him on his guard and endanger us as well as Mr Rosengarten. If he isn't involved, then doing so might still alert the kidnappers, should they have a spy in his organisation or have put him under surveillance. However, if he is behind the kidnapping, then striking at him will gain us the element of surprise. But, if he isn't, we'll make a possibly powerful enemy - and we might alienate Mr Rosengarten for attacking his friend."
"Do you think that Martin is behind the kidnapping?" Ron asked.
"If he isn't, wouldn't he be investigating his friend's disappearance?" Dumbledore tilted his head. "I'm not convinced, though. Mr Martin should be more experienced with such matters than to act as the letter we received seems to indicate. However, that may also be deliberate misdirection. If we had more time, we could investigate him before committing ourselves. But with Mr Rosengarten in danger, I think we'll have to make a decision soon, possibly without sufficient information."
"You mean we'll have to trust our gut," Luna said.
Moody had said that trusting your gut was a last resort - usually reserved for decisions in the middle of combat - and should be based on years of experience.
"Not yet. I think we should see if we can get ahold of some of Mr Martin's employees or business associates and ask them a few questions," Dumbledore replied. "Preferably someone who likes to drink, so a few missing minutes won't appear suspect."
"So, we need to spy on Martin!" wizarding Luna piped up with a smile.
She looked so eager, Ron couldn't help suspecting that she had been hoping for such a turn of events.
"Indeed. I took the liberty of bringing a few tools with me that might be of help," Dumbledore told them.
"Spy gadgets?" Luna asked, in the same tone her counterpart had used.
"I am retired, but the Phoenix Gruppe is also active in the electronic surveillance market."
Of course.
"They might not work inside warded areas," Hermione told him. "Electronics have trouble in such environments."
"If they don't, we won't have lost anything," Dumbledore replied. "And few people never step outside for a smoke or just to get some fresh air. Especially criminals."
That was true, in Ron's experience. But he'd reserve judgement until they had results.
"Now this is familiar," Harry commented as he set up the bulky camera in what had once been a living room. "Surveillance before a raid."
Ron snorted. "Yes. But we usually had better gear than this." He held up another antiquated-looking camera.
"It can't be helped," Hermione told him. "This building isn't warded any more, but the whole street is under several enchantments to keep the muggles from discovering it."
And that rendered almost all of Dumbledore's spy tools useless. Ron had been looking forward to using a laser microphone. Extendable ears just weren't the same. They looked a little silly. Like a children's toy. And to use them, they had to get far too close to the target building for Ron's taste.
"On the other hand, half the buildings being abandoned makes it easy to set up," Harry said. "No nosy neighbours bothering the new tenants, either."
Ron chuckled. "Or trying to seduce the handsome new neighbour."
"Oh, stuff it!" Harry snapped back.
Hermione raised her eyebrows at them, and Ron explained: "During one of our first surveillance jobs, a young woman took a fancy to Harry. And our bloke here was too polite to tell her off, so she thought he was just shy. Almost ruined the whole investigation." In hindsight, it was rather funny, of course.
Harry scoffed. "Do we have to talk about that club again?"
"No," Ron replied at once.
"Club?" Hermione asked with a half-smile.
"Just an old case," Ron told her. An embarrassing old case he'd rather forget.
"Ah."
Harry was grinning again. "So… the camera's set up."
Ron sighed. They'd have to sort through the pictures without a computer. Moody would be amused - the old man liked to grumble about computers. "Let's hope that some of Martin's minions do use the doors to his building."
"I would expect them to, actually," Hermione said. "He'll have his building warded against Apparition, of course, and I don't think he'll want to let the local Floo Network Authority know who's visiting him."
"Good point," Ron conceded. Still, letting your accomplices walk in and out? Any competent police force would know the extent of the man's network in short order. Although the Republic might not have a competent police force.
And they didn't have enough time to do a proper surveillance job, anyway. The kidnappers would send the next owl soon.
"Alright, let's use the ears before we head to the second building and set up surveillance on Martin's back door," Ron said.
"Alright." Hermione stuck her hand into her bag and pulled out a mass of flesh-coloured things.
Ron sighed - the twins' counterparts had made their creations look like actual ears. He should've expected that. "I wish we could just use a crossbow to shoot them at the windows," he said.
"The impact would alert the people inside," Harry said at once.
"Or float them over," Ron said.
"The building's wards won't allow that," Hermione told them. "Even banishing the ears will be a little tricky."
Ron frowned again as she straddled a broom, then proceeded to disillusion the ears, then the broom and herself. A moment later, he heard her steps as she left the room - she'd take to the air in the caved-in room to the back.
"She'll be fine," Harry said.
"I know," Ron replied. Hermione just had to fly close to Martin's building and banish the ears to the windows from a few yards away, tops. Easy.
But he still worried as he picked up his assault rifle, checked the magazine and took up position at the window.
Just in case something went wrong.
But nothing did - after five minutes, he heard a knock on the window, followed by her voice. "Ron? I've got the ears here."
He couldn't see them, or her, of course. But she could see him. So he held out his hand, and she placed the stalks of the ears into it before flying off and entering the house from the back.
"Let's hope this works," Ron said. Putting the different stalks into the frames they had prepared was a little tricky, what with them being invisible, but he managed before Hermione joined them.
"Invisible magic bugs." Harry chuckled. "And? do they work?"
Ron put his ear to the first end. Nothing. But that could just mean that no one was currently talking in that particular room.
"Usually, people trust the protections on buildings," Hermione said. "So the ears sticking directly to the windows should be inside the privacy wards. But if they are paranoid and use privacy charms inside…"
"Well, they aren't," Harry told them with a grin, tapping the third frame. "I can hear someone talking here."
Ron smiled at Hermione, who beamed at him. Yes! "Alright," he told Harry, "you listen to them while we go and bug the other side."
"OK." Harry sat down in front of the frames. "Don't take too long - if they start talking in two rooms at the same time, I'll need help."
"I should've brought some magical recording equipment," Hermione said.
"Like wax discs?" Ron joked as they mounted her broom.
"Not quite. There are ways to make records," she replied as the broom and then Ron himself faded from view, "but most are very limited, like the Omnioculars. But Professor McGonagall used a phonograph when she taught us how to dance for the Yule Ball in my fourth year." She faded from view as well.
"Gramophones?" He had been joking. "They use gramophones while they can store video magically?"
"Yes." With his arms around her waist, he felt her shrug, then the boom lifted off, and they were on their way to the second building they had picked out.
"...pass me the Tribune Magique."
"I haven't finished it yet."
"You've left it on the side table for the last five minutes!"
"I was just taking a break."
"So keep taking a break. I'll be done in five minutes."
"You don't even speak French."
"That's exactly why I'll be done quickly."
Hermione sighed. "This is so banal… An hour of inane talk without anything worthwhile."
"That's ninety-five per cent of every surveillance job," Ron told her.
"I wouldn't claim that the discussions we've heard so far were entirely useless," Dumbledore cut in. "Every conversation we overhear gives us more insight into Martin's organisation."
"All we really need is to know whether they kidnapped Mr Rosengarten and where they're keeping him prisoner," Hermione replied. "Whether or not some of Martin's minions speak French isn't knowledge we'll need."
"Unless we suddenly do," Dumbledore told her with a sly smile.
Hermione was about to ask what situation would require them to know such information when Ron heard a new voice asking about the owl. "Shhhhh!" he hissed and put his head closer to the extendable ear. "Someone mentioned an owl."
He saw Hermione freeze for a moment and Dumbledore's smile widen a little more.
"Isn't it in its cage?"
"I wouldn't be asking you if she were in her cage."
"Then she's probably out hunting."
"What? Why did you let her out?"
"We always let your owls out in the evening. On your orders."
"But she isn't my owl, you dolts! I acquired her just to deliver this note since I can't send it with my own owl!"
"We didn't know that."
"Aren't owls supposed to know when you want to send a letter?"
"They're owls, not Seers."
"Or Legilimenses."
"Merde!"
"So we'll soon know if they are the kidnappers," Dumbledore said.
"Let's hope no one's watching her wing her way towards us," Ron replied. He didn't fancy getting ambushed instead of ambushing the enemy.
"Unlikely - it's already dark outside," Hermione told them. "We'll have to hope they send the owl to you," she added with a nod to Dumbledore. "If they don't, then I'll have to check with Ginny and Sirius at the motel room."
Better her than him, Ron thought - neither his sister nor Harry's godfather had been happy to remain behind and hold down the fort. And they had made that perfectly clear. But among the muggles in their group, they had the least experience with surveillance.
Ron was almost happy about the Muggle-Repelling Charms covering the entrances to the Magical Quarter - otherwise, Ginny and Sirius probably would have joined them anyway. And that wouldn't have been safe for them. Or for anyone. Perhaps…
The sight of an owl entering the room interrupted his thoughts. Jackpot!, he thought as the bird made a beeline for Dumbledore.
The old man waited until Hermione had cast a few spells to check the letter before he took it and opened it. Ron saw his eyebrows twitch for a moment. "As expected - they demand that we drop off the gold at a designated place, after which Mr Rosengaten will be released."
Ron chuckled. "Do they think anyone will fall for that?"
"I doubt that," Dumbledore replied. "And, in light of Mr Martin's apparent success in his chosen profession, I think this is a deliberate misdirection. We're supposed to underestimate him."
Ron frowned. That was bad news - most kidnappers would aim to make the victim's family believe they were dealing with a professional, not an amateur, so they would pay the ransom and trust the kidnappers to hold up their side of the deal. If they wanted to be underestimated and knew about their cover… "It's a trap."
"Indeed," Dumbledore agreed with a toothy smile. "They are after something more than just the ransom."
"Could they be working with the Tribal Nations?" Hermione asked.
"If they interrogated Rosengarten, they'd know that's just a cover," Ron pointed out.
"But the shamans wouldn't know that," she retorted. "Martin might be planning to kill us for a reward or favour from them."
"Quite likely," Dumbledore said. "But Mr Martin might be merely hedging his bets. I think he wants, as the saying goes, to milk this opportunity for everything he can get - the ransom, information about our actual goals, a reward from the Tribal Nations and perhaps he's planning to frame us as spies for Québec as well…"
"What a nice man," Ron commented.
"Indeed. But now that we know that he's behind this, we can conduct our search for Mr Rosengarten a bit more directly."
Ah.
"And how do we do that?" Hermione asked. "Go after Martin directly?"
"If the opportunity presents itself, yes. However, our goal is to save Mr Rosengarten. Anything else is of secondary importance," Dumbledore told her. "I do believe, however, that we should discuss this with the others."
Oh, right. Harry would be mad if they tried to make such decisions without him, and Ginny and Sirius… Ron winced. Although… "Someone needs to keep listening in, though. Two of us, actually."
"Indeed." Dumbledore nodded. "We should wait until Mr Martin has gone to sleep so we won't miss out on potential intelligence."
"When do the kidnappers expect the money to be dropped off? And where?" Hermione asked.
"Tomorrow before six pm, and in the ruins of a manor - Pillbury Manor to be exact," Dumbledore replied. "I'm planning to drop off a response to Mr Martin's demands, requiring proof that Mr Rosengarten is alive and unharmed."
"They might send us his ear or finger as 'proof'," Ron pointed out.
"That is a risk, indeed, but it's one we have to take. Sending Mr Martin a letter would show our hand and provoke a much harsher reaction, I think."
Right. Ron nodded. "So… we've got a few more hours to spend listening to criminals banter. Or what they take for banter."
"I believe so, although Mr Martin might be a man who likes to go to bed early and rise early in the morning," Dumbledore said.
Unlikely, Ron thought. The kind of business in which the man was involved was usually conducted after dark.
"I'll inform the others," Hermione said, raising her wand. A moment later, she disapparated.
Ron turned to study the house. If this were a normal building, not a magical one, he'd know exactly how to storm it. Or how to sneak inside. With magic in play, though… He sighed.
"The principles remain the same," Dumbledore commented, as if he had read Ron's mind. "Just the tools are different compared to your previous missions."
Ron had played enough D&D games to know that the old spymaster wasn't entirely correct. Magic changed the rules. Most importantly, you needed magic to deal with magic. And in this case, they were facing experienced wizards, not Russian thugs. Martin's men wouldn't panic when faced with a spell or potion. They would expect that.
But would they expect non-magical attacks?
Portland, Maine, United States of America, Wizarding World, January 7th, 2006
"We should grab one of the thugs and interrogate them," Sirius said. "Find out where they are holding Rosengarten and then storm the place."
"If we can kidnap one of Mr Martin's accomplices, we can use Polyjuice Potion to impersonate them and infiltrate the building," Hermione retorted.
"Won't they be expecting that?" Luna asked.
"They will have taken precautions," Hermione admitted, "but unless someone made a breakthrough during my absence, the only known countermeasure for Polyjuice Potion is the Thief's Downfall, and I doubt that Mr Martin has access to it - the goblins fiercely protect their secrets."
"There'll be passwords, though," Ron said. "We've heard some of them."
"If we can use Veritaserum on a thug, we'll know the passwords." Hermione wasn't letting go of her plan.
"And this time your plan should work," wizarding Luna said with a smile.
"'This time'?" Harry asked.
"Oh, in my first year, everyone wondered who was behind the attacks at Hogwarts, and Hermione brewed Polyjuice Potion to let Harry and Ron impersonate Crabbe and Goyle in order to spy on Malfoy," wizarding Luna said. "Hermione would've gone as well, but she had a potions mishap."
"It wasn't a potions mishap - I accidentally used cat hair instead of human hair for my potion."
"You turned into a cat?" Ginny blurted out.
"No, I turned into a sort of hybrid creature - I had fur, cat ears and eyes, whiskers and a tail." Hermione shuddered. "And I was stuck like that for weeks."
Ron nodded, though he couldn't help feeling curious about how Hermione had looked.
"Wow." Luna whistled. "Furries would love that."
"Muggles would love a lot of magic," Hermione said, "but the Statute of Secrecy prohibits using magic on muggles."
"Not in our world," Luna said.
"It might not be illegal, but it would draw a lot of attention. A hell of a lot of attention," Ron told her. "The kind of attention that makes the Russian attacks look like jokes."
"Yes," Hermione agreed. "We can't expose magic, or we'd be hounded for the rest of our lives."
"I concur. Just hiding the portal will require a significant effort. As will convincing Her Majesty's Government that the new spatial manipulation technology they were promised turned out not to be feasible after all," Dumbledore said.
Hermione winced but didn't retort.
"In any case, I think sending in someone by themselves, even if disguised, is too dangerous," the old spymaster went on. "As much as I appreciate undercover work, I think this situation requires a more direct tactic."
Magical Quarter, Portland, Free Republic of Maine and Vermont, January 7th, 2006
Ron heard the sound of Apparition behind him and grabbed his rifle as he turned around - just in case. But it was Hermione, with Dumbledore. As expected.
"We've dropped off our answer," Dumbledore said. "Quite impressive ruins, to be honest - the manor must have been a sight to see when it was whole. Such a shame it was destroyed."
"We destroyed older manors in our war." Hermione pressed her lips together for a moment. She was probably remembering Malfoy Manor.
Ron reached out and wrapped his arm around her waist.
"The necessities of war." Dumbledore sighed. "I'm very familiar with them." He nodded at Ron. "Have you seen any prospective targets?"
"No." Ron shook his head and released Hermione. "Nor did I hear anything interesting. But it's still afternoon."
"And our enemies are more likely to skulk around at night," the old man replied. "Not to mention that they won't expect our answer until the evening."
"They didn't have anyone watching the ruins - we checked," Hermione said. "And kidnapping one of Martin's minions will warn him."
"Indeed. We should first wait and see if we manage to overhear his reaction to our missive." Dumbledore inclined his head. "With a little luck, we might gather valuable information without exposing ourselves."
They hadn't had much luck, lately, so perhaps they were due some. Ron wasn't optimistic, though. "Let's hope so," he said anyway.
Six pm. And nothing of value had been overheard. It really was like a typical surveillance job. Boring. Well, they also hadn't overheard Martin's men planning an ambush, so that was something. Not much, though.
Ron sighed as he finished his cookie, then put the wrappings together with the other remains of his meal and handed it to Hermione, who stashed it in her bag.
"We really need to find a way to extend the extendable ears," he said. "Or, even better, to record their results." That way they could've been together with the others.
Hermione frowned - not at him, but likely at herself.
Ron winced. He hadn't meant it as criticism - he had just been complaining, as usual during a surveillance job. It wasn't her fault that the shops in muggle Portland didn't stock antique recorders.
"Well, even with magic, you cannot work miracles. Proper tools require time to be developed. In the past, missions have failed, sometimes spectacularly, due to equipment that hadn't been properly constructed or tested," Dumbledore added. "As they are, the ears work as advertised."
"We'll still have to develop improved versions - if only to deal with our problems in your world," Hermione said.
"Indeed."
Yes, they had to… Ron blinked and held up his hand. "Something's happening."
The others fell silent and moved closer.
"...got it?"
"Mr Martin! There was no gold. Just a letter!"
"As expected."
"Really?"
"People who play these kinds of games wouldn't fall for such a simple ploy."
Ron heard the man, presumably Martin, laugh.
"Let's see what they wrote. Open it."
"Yes, Mr Martin."
Ron grimaced. If they had cursed the letter, that would've been one minion less.
"Uh… "We're not going to pay without proof that you have Mr Rosengarten and that he's still alive and in good health'."
"'In good health'? One would almost suspect that they are only interested in dear Abraham's services and not in his person."
The rest of the thugs laughed at the weak joke.
"Well, it seems we need to provide some proof of my good friend's continued existence."
"Should I go get him?"
"Not yet, Chris. Let me think about this a little longer. I'll call when I need you."
"Yes, Mr Martin."
So, this 'Chris' knew where Rosengarten was being held. Ron nodded. Now if only they knew what the man looked like...
"Interesting. Mr Martin might be having second thoughts about his response," Dumbledore said. "I would have expected him to have already planned his next action - unless, despite his claims, he was surprised by our refusal to pay a ransom. Which is rather unlikely." He chuckled. "Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be in the habit of talking to himself when planning."
Ron flashed a small smile at that - planning for your enemies to make mistakes was rarely a good idea.
"All we need is this 'Chris'," Hermione said. "We should be able to recognise his voice."
"Then we should hope that he is eating out - preferably in a chatty mood."
She scowled at the implied criticism, but Ron had to agree with the old spymaster - the chance of kidnapping this 'Chris' wasn't very high. "We might do better just kidnapping a thug at the first opportunity." He didn't think that only 'Chris' would know where Rosengarten was held.
"But if we grab the wrong thug, Martin will be warned, and we won't know where Rosengarten is," Hermione retorted.
"That is a risk that we have to take, in my opinion," Dumbledore said. "I don't expect many of Mr Martin's employees to have the evening off, anyway - not in the middle of a kidnapping."
Hermione pressed her lips together and huffed, but didn't offer any counter-argument.
"I think it would be best if all of us were present, in case we need to act swiftly," Dumbledore went on.
"I'll fetch them." Hermione disapparated without waiting for an answer or acknowledgement.
Dumbledore sighed softly.
Ron ignored it. Hermione hated losing an argument a little too much, but Ron wouldn't start talking behind her back about her with Dumbledore.
A moment later, she reappeared, together with Sirius and Ginny. The older man was grinning. "Finally!"
"We need to kidnap one of Martin's thugs first," Ron told him.
"Bah. What for?"
"Storming the building without sufficient intel about our objective wouldn't be advisable, in my opinion and experience," Dumbledore told him.
"Well, in my experience, storming a building generally works very well. Once you have taken it, you can search it at leisure," Sirius replied with a sigh.
"We can't take our time," Hermione said. "If we take too long, the Republic's soldiers will arrive. And we don't want to fight them," she added when Sirius opened his mouth.
"Bah."
Ron suppressed a grin.
"So, more waiting," Ginny said. "But at least we'll be helping." She looked round. "Harry's with the Lunas?"
Ron nodded, even though he knew the question was rhetorical - Ginny knew how they were split up for this.
"Not for much longer, though," Hermione said. "We'll need to get ready for a kidnapping."
Ron softly chuckled. If Luna were here, she'd have called it a counter-kidnapping.
Ron kept a grip on the taser in his pocket as he followed the wizard - not Chris, as far as he could tell - through the street. The absence of a crowd made it a little harder than usual - in London, people would be filling the street at this time of the evening - but the small size of the Magical Quarter compensated for that, as the odds of people going in the same direction were much higher.
But being spotted would also put him in much greater danger. Criminals in London couldn't turn you into a pig - or worse. A taser and a pistol weren't much to fight a wizard. Especially one you wanted to capture alive and "reasonably unhurt", as Moody would call it, to interrogate.
He resisted the urge to glance up. Hermione was flying above them, disillusioned - and out of range of the detection spells that could still reveal her presence. Even if he looked up he wouldn't be able to see her.
But she would be able to see him and know he was trying to look for her.
He shook his head and looked round. The burly man in front of him had entered a shop. No one else was between him and the thug. There was a couple a little way behind him, walking slowly in the same direction. They would be the only witnesses - could he risk it? If the thug went into a tavern, it would be far harder to kidnap him without causing a ruckus and Martin finding out immediately.
Ah, well - time to roll the dice and play distraction. He turned around and walked towards the couple. "Excuse me!" he called out from five yards away. "I'm looking for a bookstore. Could you help me?" As he stepped closer, he pulled out a large map of muggle Portland, unfolded it and held it up to distract them as he circled round them until they had turned their backs to the thug. "I think I got lost."
"What's this?" the man asked.
"A map. Of Portland," he said with a smile. "I think I got lost."
"That's…" The woman frowned. "Muggle Portland?"
"Yes?" Ron smiled. "I couldn't find a map of just the Magical Quarter, you see…" And he didn't want them to realise he was a muggle and obliviate him.
"But… this map doesn't show the Magical Quarter."
"Well, that's why I got lost, I think." He kept smiling at them.
Behind them, the thug suddenly collapsed, struck by a red spell. A moment later, the stunned wizard disappeared - Hermione had cast a Disillusionment Charm.
By the time the couple finally managed to give him directions to the bookstore, Hermione had had ample time to disapparate with the stunned thug.
Ron really wanted enchanted glasses or a visor which would let him spot invisible people - you couldn't really defend against what you couldn't see. And he didn't like only serving as a distraction, either.
Regardless, it was now time to withdraw. He walked towards the bookstore, turning into a side alley before he reached it. It looked empty, but...
"I'm here," he heard Hermione's voice. A moment later, he felt her hand grip his.
And then he felt as if he were being compressed and shot through a narrow pipe as she apparated with him.
He shook his head as soon as he reappeared in their motel. He'd never get used to that sensation. It explained - apart from the difficulty, of course - why wizards used the Floo Network and brooms to travel. Or Portkeys.
Hermione faded into view next to him. "He's down in the trunk."
He nodded in return. "Let's go, then." They didn't have much time to lose, and even with Veritaserum, a rushed interrogation was a bad idea.
Downstairs, the entrance hall of the tent had been turned into an impromptu interrogation room. The thug was tied to a chair but still stunned.
"No plastic sheets covering the floor?" Ron asked.
"He wouldn't make the association," Hermione replied with a frown. "And with Veritaserum, we don't need to scare him, anyway."
"It would've been funny, though," Ron replied.
She frowned some more. "We're on a tight timetable. Without me, the others won't be able to retreat in a timely manner, should they be discovered."
"I trust that Mr Potter and Mr Black will be able to hold out until Miss Lovegood has dropped off Luna and returned to them," Dumbledore said. "However, we should do what we can to avoid such a situation. Which, in this case, means expediting our interrogation."
"Yes," Hermione said. She let three drops fall on his tongue, then woke him up with a flick of her wand.
"...and do you know where Mr Rosengarten, the kidnapped Healer, is being held?"
"Yes."
"Where is he being held?"
"In a safe house."
"Where is the safe house?"
"An old house in the countryside."
Ron suppressed a sigh. That wasn't very helpful. "Can you mark the location on a map?"
"I don't know."
Ron clenched his teeth. 'Dumb criminal' was not an insult, but a factual description in this case. Barry Kelnut, as the man had said was his name, had a very limited mind.
"It seems magical transportation has some drawbacks - at least for us. They work out to Mr Martin's advantage," Dumbledore commented.
"If I knew Legilimency I could read his mind and Apparate there," Hermione muttered.
"If wishes were horses…" Dumbledore shrugged. "Let's see if he can mark the house's location."
Ron laid out his map, but the thug only stared at it, looking confused.
"Unless you have a magical means to compel him to help us, I do not think that this will work."
Hermione sighed again. "It's tricky, but a False Memory Charm might convince him that Mr Martin just ordered him to fetch Mr Rosengarten. But I would have to convince him to take me with him - and even in disguise, that will complicate things. A Confundus Charm would facilitate matters, but he might not manage to apparate under its effects."
"Can you convince him that you're a new employee he's supposed to show around?" Ron asked.
Hermione frowned, then nodded. "I think that might be the best option."
"Then let us try it. The longer we wait, the greater the chance that Mr Martin discovers the absence of our guest here. And in that case he might order his men to move Mr Rosengarten."
Hermione nodded - a little reluctantly, in Ron's opinion - and aimed her wand at the thug's head before moving it in a complicated pattern while muttering something he didn't catch.
After a few minutes had passed, Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, shoulders slumping as she lowered her wand. "Done. Let's hope it worked." She turned to look at Ron. "I made him think you're a new employee as well."
He smiled at that.
"I'll be in my room, then," Dumbledore said, "so as not to confuse our unwitting guide. I assume you'll stun him again, once you've confirmed the location?"
"Yes. We'll return and fetch everyone else."
"Good." The old man stepped out with a nod to both of them.
Hermione took a deep breath. "So… let's administer the counteragent."
And hope the spells took, Ron thought as Hermione untied Kelnut and made him drink from a vial.
The man blinked several times. "Ugh…"
"Barry?" Hermione asked.
"What?"
"Aren't you supposed to take us to the prisoner so we can feed him tomorrow?" she asked.
"What?"
"You said you'd apparate us there so we can make the trip tomorrow."
More blinking. "I did?"
"Yes," Hermione inclined her head. "Mr Martin's orders. Have you been drinking?"
"Uh… no?"
Ron cleared his throat. "So, mind apparating us now?"
"Uh… alright."
They had to grab his hand and arm, but he managed to draw his wand. Ron held his breath - he remembered what Hermione had told him about splinching.
They reappeared in a small field - or a large garden - near a decrepit-looking old farmhouse.
Hermione's wand rose, and Kelnut fell, stunned. Ron dropped to the ground as well, followed by Hermione - it wouldn't do to be seen by anyone in the house.
A moment later, all of them were back in the tent, where a smiling Dumbledore greeted them.
"Were you successful?"
Hermione didn't answer right away, so Ron did. "Yes, we were. Let's get the others so we can assault the place."
"There's the house," Harry whispered as he slid down a little further into the ditch in which they were hiding. "Just where it's supposed to be."
"But shouldn't there be guards?" Ron asked, fiddling with his Omnioculars.
"The Snatchers might not have bothered setting guards and trusted their secrecy instead," she suggested.
"Damn stupid of them," Ron commented, crawling a little further up and making her suppress the urge to pull him back. "But I don't see any."
"They might be inside the house," Harry said. "Hiding to catch us by surprise."
That was a worrying possibility. But they had to get into the house to free the prisoners the Snatchers had taken there for 'interrogation'. One of them was a muggleborn spellcrafter - and they needed her help to deal with the protections on one of the Horcruxes. They had been lucky the Snatchers hadn't taken her to the Ministry right away.
"I need to get closer to check the wards on the house," she told her friends.
"Right. Take my Cloak," Harry said.
That would protect her against the Human-presence-revealing Charm. She nodded, took his Cloak, and covered herself with it. Then she climbed up and walked towards the house - carefully. She didn't want to walk into a trap.
There were no traps, though. And the protections on the house were… lacklustre. They wouldn't even need to call Bill for this. Hermione smiled grimly as she drew her wand and started to unravel the house's defences.
An hour later, they entered the house, wands drawn, and caught the Snatchers sleeping. Three of them were dead before they realised they were under attack. The other three were killed while trying to grab their wands.
Two minutes after that, they found the prisoners' bodies.