My beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. They helped a lot.
Chapter 50: The Raid
Portland, Maine, United States of America, Wizarding World, January 7th, 2006
Ron saw Hermione shake her head and took a step towards her.
"Sorry," she said. "I just remembered another attack on a farmhouse. It... didn't end well."
"Ah." Another flashback to the war, then. There wasn't much he could do to help her with that. Certainly not now. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine," she replied. "Let's get the others."
She disapparated a moment later.
It didn't take her long to return with Harry, Sirius and the Lunas.
"Alright. There's no time to waste. I'll deal with the wards on the house - the fact that Ron could see the house means that there isn't a Muggle-Repelling Charm on it, or that we appeared inside its area of effect," Hermione said while everyone got their gear and weapons ready. "I believe it's the latter since I don't see Mr Martin skimping on protection from muggles for a safe house. Keeping it secret would suffice to keep it safe from wizards thanks to the low numbers of wizards and witches, but muggles would notice and wonder about a derelict farmhouse. Especially if the chimney is in use."
Ah. That explained why Ron had been able to see it.
"I presume you expect further defences, though." Dumbledore inclined his head.
"At the very least there should be an Anti-Apparation Jinx on the house. Otherwise, Kelnut could've apparated directly into the building."
"And spells to keep out animals," wizarding Luna added with a nod. "That sort of thug doesn't like animals and won't want to share their home with them."
"Yes," Hermione said. "But those won't stop us unless we planned to send mice and cats at them. Which we won't."
"Cats can be vicious," wizarding Luna retorted.
"But we wouldn't want to risk them getting hurt."
Ron cleared his throat. "Isn't dealing with those sorts of wards very dangerous? How old are they?"
"I don't think the farmhouse's wards are old enough to cause difficulties," Hermione retorted. "That would require centuries."
Ron nodded - the house hadn't looked old enough. Less than a century, in his estimate, but he wasn't an expert on American architecture.
"In any case, should the wards turn out to be too strong, I'll notice that quickly, and then we'll have to reconsider our plans," Hermione said.
"Such as blowing our way into the house?" Sirius asked.
"There will be spells reinforcing the walls, windows and doors," she replied. "And any force sufficient to breach the walls will threaten anyone inside."
"Won't they keep Rosengarten in the basement?" Kelnut had said that's what they were doing.
"We can't count on that. They might have changed their procedures."
"We should be able to find a location that minimises the risk of hurting Mr Rosengarten," Dumbledore added. "I don't think they'll keep a hostage in their living room."
"And Extension Charms should also reduce the danger," wizarding Luna said.
"And we have to hurry," Harry cut in. "The longer we take, the higher the chance that Martin hears that Kelnut's gone missing."
Sirius grinned. "So… it looks like we'll have to use my plan."
"Only if the protections are too strong to be dismantled quickly," Hermione told him with a frown.
"Let's go, then!" Ginny said.
Hermione sighed but nodded and reached out to Ron and wizarding Luna. "We'll be right back for the rest of you."
Another disturbing sensation later, Ron was back in the field, dropping on the ground at once and aiming his rifle at the house - just in case. Two popping sounds announced Hermione and Luna's departure.
The house did look old, and the farm implements, as well as the barn nearby, looked derelict, but the house proper was in good shape with all its windows intact and a whole, undamaged roof - something a passerby or hiker might notice. And there was a faint trail of smoke rising from the chimney.
Harry, Sirius, Luna and Ginny arrived and joined him on the ground together with Hermione while wizarding Luna went to fetch Dumbledore.
"Spread out and take cover!" Ron told them. He looked at Harry, who nodded at him before moving so Luna and Ginny would be between them.
Just in case.
"I've got the machine gun," Sirius said. "I'll set up in the ravine there. Hermione?"
She nodded. "We're inside a Muggle-Repelling Charm - and not an old one."
"I meant: can you come with me and get me my gear?"
"Of course." The two moved over to the spot he'd indicated just as wizarding Luna reappeared with Dumbledore.
"I'll disillusion myself and move closer," Hermione told them in a low voice. "Hold your fire."
"Alright," Ron whispered.
She moved her wand and faded from view.
Ron took a deep breath. He hated waiting while she put herself in danger. But there was nothing he could do about it. Not right now, at least. He couldn't even watch her working on the wards. He had to trust that wizarding Luna would intervene if anything were to happen.
He gripped his rifle a bit more tightly and focused on the farmhouse. The half-moon was just bright enough to see it without night vision gear. From his position, he couldn't see through the dusty windows, but according to Kelnut, there were two guards in the house. Although as Dumbledore had said - schedules and plans changed, and any intelligence could be outdated the moment you got it. And they didn't know who'd be on guard, anyway - Kelnut hadn't remembered the actual schedule.
But they knew the sorts of wizards who made up Martin's gang: veterans of the war against Québec. Like Kelnut himself. Although unlike Kelnut, the guards in the house were unlikely to be taken by surprise. Ron wasn't looking forward to fighting wizards with actual combat experience. The wizards trying to ambush them in Knockturn Alley had been thugs - criminals used to holding up civilians. They hadn't been used to people fighting back.
He clenched his teeth. If they disillusioned themselves, he wouldn't be able to see them. If they cast a shield, it would stop his bullets - well, for a while, at least; Hermione had told them that shields didn't last forever and would shatter if enough force was applied to them. Still, all it would take for Ron to die would be for one spell to hit him…
How long was Hermione taking? Not that he wanted her to hurry, but the longer this took, the higher the risk of Rosengarten being moved - or the guards being reinforced. If not for the danger of distracting her at a crucial moment, he'd ask for an update.
He caught Ginny moving - crawling - towards him. "Sirius spotted movement in the living room," she reported as she passed him to inform the others.
That meant that at least one guard was up. So much for lazy criminals trusting their spells to alert them to intruders. It was bad enough that magic turned old glass panels into armoured glass.
He checked his watch - a mechanical model - to see how much time had passed since Hermione had moved forward. Not enough. Damn.
He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. This was like a normal case. He just had to wait until the signal was given to storm the building. He had done this before. Nothing to it.
But it wasn't a normal case. They were dealing with magic. And Hermione was risking her life dismantling the spells protecting the criminals. He shook his head and studied the house once more. It hadn't changed. Didn't the thugs come out for a smoke? Or did they smoke inside? Perhaps they could use an animal to lure them outside - would a fox raising havoc in the yard be enough? A caterwauling tomcat? Or would they just cast a spell to drown out the noise?
Breaching the door would probably be more effective. Perhaps…
A loud whistle interrupted his thoughts. That was the signal - the wards were down!
And Hermione faded into view - too close to the house, damn it!
A moment later, the wall between the door and the closest window disappeared in an explosion.
Ron jumped up and rushed forward. Hermione was moving to the side, and he changed direction towards her, keeping the muzzle of his rifle trained on the settling cloud. Something flashed and vanished in it - a spell! Then an explosion shook the house.
He reached Hermione a moment before she sent another spell into the cloud and passed her, crouching down at the wall next to the door. Which was shattered, he noticed now that the dust thrown up by the explosion was mostly gone.
Hermione joined him, followed by Harry. Ginny and the Lunas would be covering the rear of the house, and Sirius the other side of the living room with Dumbledore.
That left them to charge inside. Ron grabbed a flashbang, pulled the pin and threw it inside.
As soon as it went off, he jumped up and rushed inside, throwing himself into a combat roll. Something green passed over his head, and something red just missed him. He rolled over his shoulder, ignoring the debris digging into his back, and came up with his rifle aimed at a figure standing in the corner, turning towards him.
He kept going and hosed the man down with a long burst, but the bullets splashed against a barrier in the air - a shield. Then a red spell hit the barrier, and his next burst took the man down. Another spell missed him by inches - from someone stood in the doorway to the kitchen or whatever the next room was.
Ron dropped to the floor and wrenched his rifle around, but before he could fire, the man jumped to the side.
More shots followed, then he heard Harry's voice. "Got him."
Ron was already moving towards the kitchen. Next to the door, there was the trapdoor leading to the basement.
"Wait! Let me check for spells!" Hermione yelled, and Ron pulled up short.
Damn. He had almost forgotten!
He crouched down as she passed him and flicked her wand.
Harry stepped into the doorway, rifle in one hand, waving towards the others outside. "Come!" he yelled.
By the time Sirius - struggling with both a machine gun and a rocket launcher - reached the house, everyone else was inside, and Hermione had finished checking the trapdoor and the stairs beneath for curses.
Ron pushed past her, ignoring her gasp of protest as he flicked the flashlight on his rifle on and scanned the basement. "It's a dungeon," he muttered.
"A dungeon?" he heard Hermione ask, followed by: "No hidden persons."
He descended with his rifle ready to fire anyway. There was a sturdy-looking door with two openings that could be slid open - one right above the floor, one at head height. A cell. "That doesn't look like the work of amateurs," he commented.
"Nothing a spell couldn't do," Hermione replied. "Mr Rosengarten?"
No answer. Ron stepped up to the wall next to the door, reached over and opened the upper slit. No curse shot through the opening, nor did that door explode in a cloud of splinters.
He still checked with a mirror, but it was too dark inside the cell to make out anything. "I need some light," he said.
Hermione cast a spell that made the tip of her wand light up and held it next to his mirror - from the other side of the doorway.
And Ron could see that there was a figure on the floor of the cell. Rosengarten? "There's someone inside."
"Alohomora!"
The door unlocked, and Ron pulled it open, quickly using the flashlight to check the cell. The man looked like Rosengarten.
"There's no one else in there," Hermione said.
Ron was already moving, crouching down and reaching out to the Healer. Rosengarten didn't react.
"Stunned," Hermione said. "Or potioned. Rennervate!"
The old man stirred and groaned.
"Mr Rosegarten?" Hermione leaned forward a little.
"Who?"
"We're with Dumbledore. We're here to save you," she told him.
"What?"
"Can you walk?" Ron asked.
"Do you know where your wand is?" Hermione added.
"No… they took it..." he replied.
Tough. He'd have to buy a new one. "Let's get you out of here," Ron said, bending to help the man stand up.
"We've got Mr Rosengarten," Hermione announced. "Luna, get rid of the Anti-Apparition Jinx!"
"Alright!" A few seconds later, wizarding Luna added: "Uh…"
Ron drew a sharp breath and approached the stairs with Rosengarten leaning on him. He knew that Luna only used that sort of tone if something had gone terribly wrong.
"What?" Hermione snapped, rushing upstairs.
"There's more than one jinx," wizarding Luna said. "A lot more."
Hermione gasped. "Someone's trying to trap us here!"
Martin. "The guards must have alerted him!" Ron snapped. "Come on, Mr Rosengarten."
"Close the doors! Reinforce the walls!" Hermione yelled, followed by frantic spellcasting.
"Lights out!" Harry hissed.
"Do you see anyone?" Ron heard Sirius ask.
"No one," Harry replied.
"They must be disillusioned and staying outside the range of our charms," wizarding Luna added as Ron and Rosengarten reached the ground floor.
"We need to leave - they can keep recasting the Anti-Apparition and Anti-Portkey Jinxes faster than we can dispel them," Hermione said.
"They're just waiting for us to leave the house," Sirius retorted. "Probably waiting for reinforcements." He was kneeling at one window, peering out through the window, which must have been repaired with magic.
"It could be a bluff," Harry said. "There could be a single wizard out there, hoping we won't break out before more arrive."
"Mr Martin has had ample time to gather more than one thug," Dumbledore said. "Good evening, Mr Rosengarten. I apologise for the trouble we may have caused you."
"I shouldn't have trusted him," Rosengarten replied.
Hermione handed him two wands. "See if one of these works for you," she said.
"Thank you." He flicked one, then the other. The second time, it sparkled weakly. "Not the best match."
"Better than nothing," Hermione retorted. "We need to get out of here."
"Charging over an open field towards concealed positions is discouraged in the military," Sirius told her. "Since the Great War, to be exact."
"I don't think we will have to resort to that," Dumbledore pointed out.
"If they're out of range of our spells, we're out of range of their spells," wizarding Luna said. "We can just disillusion ourselves and fly away on brooms."
"And those who can't fly can get shrunk and slip into our pockets," Luna added.
"They'll have people in the air. That's the obvious escape route," Hermione retorted. "We're not Harry; I don't think we can easily outfly them."
Disillusioned wizards on brooms… perfect for intercepting them. Ron pressed his lips together.
"We can't stay here either - sooner or later, they'll attack. Or just bring the house down on our heads," Sirius pointed out.
"We can tunnel out of here," Hermione said. "We just…"
An explosion shook the whole house before she could explain her plan. Ron heard someone shriek while he grabbed Hermione and pushed her to the floor. "Down!"
She pushed him off of her. "Protego!"
Another explosion blew a hole into the door - no, it actually blew the door away, Ron realised. He snapped off a burst through the dust obscuring it.
"We need to take cover in the basement!" Dumbledore sounded urgent - more urgent than Ron had heard him sound before.
That wasn't a good sign. "Go!" Ron yelled. "I'll cover us!" He fired another burst through the hole as the dust settled.
Then Sirius's machine gun opened up, followed by more shots from their assault rifles. Harry and Ginny. Ron glanced over to the side. Luna, too. Damn. If one of those blasting curses went off inside the room, they would all be killed!
"Get into the basement!" Ron yelled - Dumbledore and Rosengarten were already going downstairs.
"Firing smoke!" Harry announced, followed by the sound of his grenade launcher firing.
"That won't last very long," Sirius commented. "And it's hiding them from us as well."
"They're disillusioned anyway," wizarding Luna pointed out.
Another grenade went off. Ron could see two thick clouds of smoke starting to obscure most of the yard. That would buy them a little time - but not much.
Another explosion struck the roof. "They're above us!" Harry yelled.
They had expected that, hadn't they? Ron pulled out a smoke grenade of his own and lobbed it right outside the door. That should obscure at least part of the house.
"Downstairs, everyone!" Hermione was pointing her wand at the ceiling, mumbling something.
The house shook again, two explosions. And part of the ceiling in the kitchen collapsed.
"Everyone downstairs!" Ron yelled.
"No," Dumbledore interrupted him - the man was standing on the stairs. "The basement is protected against tunnelling. It appears that the Québecois used sappers in the war."
Damn it. They would have to risk shrinking and fleeing on a broom… Ron clenched his teeth. Perhaps someone could stay behind, draw attention by shooting tracer bullets... He blinked. Tracers.
"Hermione! Luna! Conjure bats and make them glow!"
"Bats?" Wizarding Luna sounded confused.
Hermione, who had just repaired the hole in the kitchen ceiling, was quicker on the uptake. "Oh, yes. Bats! Glowing bats!"
Ron fired another burst, mostly to keep himself busy, when something hit the floor next to him. He jerked, then noticed that it was a button. A moment later, it turned into a dozen buttons. And then the buttons turned into bats. Which started to glow in all sorts of neon colours.
That had to be wizarding Luna's work.
Ron moved towards the hole in the wall, changing his magazine as the cloud of psychedelic bats rushed out of the house and up into the night sky.
"Disillusion me!" Ron yelled.
"Me too!" Harry added.
"Going left!" Ron felt the familiar sensation of fading away a moment later. He smiled at Hermione, then dashed outside through the smoke, rolling over his shoulder a few times to the left of the door until he reached the corner of the house and got up again.
Above him, the glowing bats had split up, circling around half a dozen spots in the sky. Moving spots in the sky. Spells were flashing, and a few bats must have died already. And most of the roof was caved in or blown away - only Hermione and wizarding Lunas's spells kept the house standing.
Time for payback. Ron aimed at the centre of one such 'flock' of bats and started shooting. Was that a flash? He couldn't tell and kept shooting. A few seconds later, the bats were diving, and something hit the ground twenty yards from Ron. Something invisible.
Ron put a few more rounds into the fallen wizard, then changed position, already looking for his next target. Another group of bats was diving - Harry must have caught a wizard as well. That left… about six.
Then the earth blew up behind him, and he was thrown to the ground. A moment later, he noticed that his head hurt - he was bleeding. Something had hit him. He clenched his teeth and rolled on to his back. More explosions followed. Someone must have realised what was happening. But the bats were still following the wizards in the sky.
Ron emptied his magazine into the closest invisible wizard, switched it for a full one and emptied that as well until that particular cloud of bats started to dive. That wizard, too, got a few more bursts once they hit the ground before they turned visible. And dead.
Next… Two left. Hadn't there been four? He blinked, then groaned. His head was hurting. And he was still bleeding. Damn.
The next explosion was so close, he felt the ground beneath his back buck and dirt and rocks that had been thrown up in the air landed on him. He brushed and shook them off - no, no shaking, that hurt like a bitch.
He rolled on to his stomach, then got up, or tried to. His legs wobbled. Damn. And there were still Blasting Curses raining down on him and his friends. What could he do?
More lights lit up the sky - tracers, Ron recognised the effect. But so many… that was the machine gun.
This time, one of the wizards became visible as his charm died with him before he hit the ground. And the last wizard turned tail and ran. Or flew away.
Or tried to - machine gun fire was faster than a broom. Despite his ears ringing from the last explosion, Ron could hear the sound of a body hitting a tree trunk on the floor. And breaking.
He just had trouble seeing anything, what with the blood in his face. He lifted his arm and rubbed at it, smearing it over his face but clearing his eyes - mostly. It didn't matter anyway; he already had red hair. Now to get up before more curses flew his way - wouldn't the thugs have people on the ground as well? You needed boots on the ground, didn't you?
He got up - or tried to. He had to go down on one knee to avoid falling down - his sense of balance was… wasn't. Damn. He shook his head, then winced at the pain that caused.
"Ron?"
Hermione? He looked round. There she was, near the house…
"Ron! You're wounded!"
"Just a scratch," he managed to say.
"Episkey!"
He didn't feel much better. Had she miscast? What happened with a miscast healing spell?
"Come! We need to leave!"
She pulled a broom out, straddled it and tugged on his arm. "Mount up behind me!"
It took him two attempts before he managed to sit behind her, his face on her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her waist. This was bad - he'd get blood on her clothes.
Then they were off, and he felt ill. This was… this was… Before he could say or do anything, he felt as if he was being stuffed into a metal pipe and out the other side.
He was vomiting on the floor before he realised that he was in their hotel room. And he didn't care.
"Ron! Were you poisoned?"
He blinked. Had he been poisoned? He didn't think so.
"He's got a severe concussion."
"Mr Rosengarten?"
"It's quite a common condition among some of my patients. Former patients," the old man explained. "This should help."
Something Latin followed that Ron didn't catch, and then he blinked. The pain had been reduced to a dull ache. Less debilitating than a hangover. "Wow… thank you," he said.
"I could've done better with my own wand."
"It's great anyway." Ron didn't lie - concussions were nothing to sneeze at. The human brain could only take so much, after all.
"Indeed. And we'll ensure you'll get a matched wand, Mr Rosengarten," Dumbledore spoke up. "Although I think that we should relocate downstairs - it's a bit crowded."
Luna spoke up: "Did you check Mr Rosengarten for spells? This might've been a ploy to find our base."
"There were no such charms on him," wizarding Luna replied.
"Then let's go."
Ron gripped the railing tightly on the stairs. If he lost his balance now… But he didn't and reached the trunk basement, as Luna called it, safely. He still sighed with relief as he sank into one of the comfortable armchairs inside the tent. Hermione joined him and wrapped her arm around his waist - after cleaning the blood off his clothes.
"We made it!" Luna announced.
"Barely," Harry replied.
"Any landing you can walk away from is a good landing," Sirius commented.
"It was a near thing, though," Hermione pointed out. "If they had been a bit quicker, or a bit more skilled…"
She didn't have to finish the thought. "Or a little luckier," Ron said.
"But they weren't," Dumbledore said. He turned to Mr Rosengarten. "I apologise again. If we hadn't visited you, this wouldn't have happened."
"It was my own fault for trusting the wrong sort of people," Rosengarten replied, shaking his head. "I underestimated Martin's greed and overestimated his and his men's loyalty."
Dumbledore nodded with a sympathetic expression. "Such betrayals are the worst. I've suffered my share of them." The Cambridge Five came to mind. Ron wondered if Dumbledore had known them. "Do you need to return to your apartment? I think Mr Martin's people suffered enough losses to discourage another attack, though we should still be careful."
"There are a few trinkets, but they're not worth the risk," Rosengarten replied.
"Are you certain? Memories are often priceless."
"And some memories are best left behind."
"As you wish," Dumbledore told him with a nod. "There's no need to delay our departure, then."
"There's one thing we need to discuss, though," Rosengarten said. He looked round, letting his gaze rest on each of them in turn for a few seconds. "Most of you are squibs, aren't you?"
Of course the man would've realised that they weren't wizards after seeing them fight! Ron grimaced
Dumbledore, though, smiled. "That depends on your definition of 'squib', I believe."
Rosengarten narrowed his eyes at him. "The definition of 'squib' is universally accepted as someone with at least one magical parent, but who is unable to use magic themselves."
"Ah, but anyone can use magic like brooms and potions, or other enchanted items, can't they?" Dumbledore retorted, inclining his head slightly.
Rosengarten very obviously wasn't amused by his sophistry. "In this case, using magic means casting spells."
"So it does."
"And how do you define a squib?"
"Oh, I don't. But I could imagine that some might define squibs as non-magical members of a magical family."
"Are you such a person?" Rosengarten asked.
"That depends on your definition of family," Dumbledore replied. Before Rosengarten could snap at him, he held up his hand. "But we should discuss this further once we've put a bit more distance between the Free Republic and ourselves." He turned to Hermione. "Doctor?"
Hermione nodded. "I'll go book a flight." She, in turn, looked at Luna. "Luna?"
"Yes?" Both Lunas looked up. Then wizarding Luna blinked. "Oh, you meant Luna."
"Yes. Would you mind letting her take your seat this time?"
Wizarding Luna pouted. "Aw… I was looking forward to the flight back."
"There'll be other opportunities," Dumbledore cut in. "But I think Luna deserves a turn this time."
"Alright." Wizarding Luna was still pouting, though.
But they needed at least one witch with them for the flight, just in case Rosengarten lost his temper. And Luna and Hemione were the only ones with valid passports.
Hermione stepped up to Ron, stopping a foot away and looking at him without saying a word.
He smiled at her. "We'll be fine."
That made her frown. "You weren't fine. We'll have to talk about that."
"Alright." He nodded. With Ron and the others being stuck inside her trunk for the trip back to Britain, they wouldn't be able to have that talk for about a day, perhaps longer. That should help, or so he hoped.
Then they kissed for quite a while.
East Coast Airspace, United States of America, Wizarding World, January 8th, 2006
"She's Hermione Granger." Rosengarten had his new wand in hand as he made the announcement in the 'living room' of the tent, Ron noted. With the exception of Harry and Ginny, who were still in their room and unlikely to leave for an hour or so, everyone was present.
"Yes," Dumbledore, sitting in his favourite armchair, confirmed. "An excellent deduction, if I do say so myself."
"There aren't many British witches her age named Hermione."
"Foiled by her unique name." Wizarding Luna shook her head. "Who would have expected that?"
"Mr Dumbledore expected it, I believe," Rosengarten replied with a thin smile.
"I didn't think you'd have missed the news of her return," the old spymaster admitted.
"I didn't miss the 'Christmas miracle', as the Prophet called it." Rosengarten scoffed. "I even tried to think of possible curses that would block her memory for seven years."
"Apart from the usual suspects," wizarding Luna added.
"Yes." Rosengarten frowned at her. "But now, after the recent events, I wonder if she had really lost her memories."
"There's a little more to her story," Ron cut in. "But you'll have to wait for that until we've arrived." He wouldn't let Dumbledore reveal Hermione's secrets.
"You're the muggle Weasley. Or are you a squib? A twin of the famous Ron Weasley, hidden away to spare the family the embarrassment?"
Ron chuckled loudly at that, even though the sentiment stung. "You don't know my family. Not at all. I wasn't hidden - they didn't know of me."
The old Healer didn't seem to believe him. "It smacks of a conspiracy. The fake identities, the cloak and dagger approach, the disguises... and the use of muggle weapons."
"They're quite effective," Ron told him. He doubted that they would have hit many of their enemies with spells. Not at that distance.
"Very effective," Sirius added.
"The rate of fire of modern firearms provides a sizable advantage when fighting flying enemies, especially at longer ranges," Dumbledore said.
"Maine used muggle firearms in the war as well," Rosengarten replied. "They weren't very effective."
"They lacked training, then," Sirius said. "Untrained soldiers are barely more than targets."
"And you have the training."
"And the experience." Sirius grinned. "Hard-earned experience, mind you."
"Ah." Rosengarten stared at him for a moment, then turned towards Dumbledore. "This is your doing, isn't it? You formed a group, recruited squibs, possibly muggles too, and a witch or two."
The old spymaster smiled. "From a certain point of view, one could say that. Although I think few of our friends here would agree with the assumption that I recruited them."
Ron snorted at that. He wouldn't call it recruiting, either. More like manipulating.
"But they follow you. You're bankrolling this, right?" Rosengarten asked.
"Yes."
"And you need a Healer but cannot hire one openly - not in Wizarding Britain." The old man scoffed. "So you decided to hire me. How did you track me down?"
Track him down? Oh. The Healer had a history or reputation in Britain.
"We didn't," Dumbledore said, spreading his hands. "We stumbled upon you by chance."
Rosengarten's scoff showed that he didn't believe the spymaster. Hell, Ron had some doubts himself, even though he knew Dumbledore hadn't known about the Healer's past - whatever it was.
"Nevertheless, it's the truth," Dumbledore went on. "A fortuitous coincidence, nothing more. Although one that I capitalised upon, I admit."
"And what are your goals? Are you planning an insurrection?" The old Healer stared at him. "A radical squib rights group? Or do you need deniable assets to export the British muggleborn movement to other countries?"
"None of the above." Dumbledore chuckled. "I'm afraid your guesses are wrong. I'm not planning to start a war or a political movement, not in Britain nor anywhere else."
"Really. And yet, you cannot go to the Healers at St Mungo's."
"Indeed. There are political as well as legal reasons why I cannot take advantage of Wizarding Britain's Health Service."
"Unfair ones," wizarding Luna said, nodding.
Rosengarten seemed to ignore her and kept staring at Dumbledore. "You claimed that what you wanted from me wasn't illegal."
"It isn't - not where we're going." Dumbledore was enjoying his half-truths and lies by omission far too much, in Ron's opinion.
Rosengarten scoffed again. "I guess we'll see."
He didn't sound resigned, as far as Ron's could tell. More defiant. Or threatening. Rosengarten had just lost his home, had been betrayed by someone he thought was a friend - possibly - and was now surrounded by strangers led by an old spymaster who delighted in mincing words. That wasn't a good place to be. Ron cleared his throat. "Word games aside, we can't tell you the truth right now, but it's not what you're imagining. As we told you, we need an experienced Healer to treat a few patients, nothing more."
"And it's not illegal at our destination," wizarding Luna added with a beaming smile.
"Just politically troublesome?" Rosengarten replied.
"You could say that," Dumbledore replied. "I also would like to apologise for taking too much delight in playing word games, as Mr Weasley put it. A lingering déformation professionnelle, you understand."
"And what is your profession?"
"I'm a retired entrepreneur, but once upon a time, I was a spy."
"A spy." Rosengarten gripped his wands more tightly, Ron noticed. "That figures."
"Why, thank you!" Dumbledore beamed at him as if he had been complimented.
Black Lake, Scotland, January 9th, 2006
Ron hugged Hermione as soon as he got out of the trunk - after checking for enemies, of course. He had missed her. Especially with Harry and Ginny spending most of the flight in bed. Not that Ron was jealous.
"What is that?" he heard behind him - Rosengarten. The old man had spent almost the entire trip in his room, recovering from his kidnapping - though the verbal fencing with Dumbledore probably had been a reason for his seclusion as well.
"That's a portal to another world," Hermione told him.
"What? Another world?" Rosengarten made a sound that was a mixture of laughing and scoffing.
"Indeed." Dumbledore climbed out of the trunk. "A portal created by combining magic and quantum physics, linking two worlds, one magical and one mundane, but apart from that, very, very similar worlds."
Ron saw Hermione frown, even scowl, at the old man stealing her thunder, so to speak.
"Are you claiming that this portal leads to a world without magic?" Rosengarten laughed.
"Oh, no - this portal leads to the magical world. Your world, Mr Rosengarten," Dumbledore said. "We are already in a mundane world. My world."
"What?"
The old spymaster bowed his head. "I'm Albus Dumbledore - the muggle counterpart of the famous wizard." He gestured towards Hermione and wizarding Luna. "Apart from Dr Granger and Miss Lovegood, everyone here is a muggle from this world."
"You're mad," Rosengarten replied, shaking his head. Not even the sight of the Lunas pulling their disguises off seemed to make him falter.
"He is mad - but not in the way you think."
Ron turned at the interruption - it seemed Grindelwald had grown impatient.
"Meister Grindelwald!" Rosengarten gasped - and raised his wand.
"Meister?" Grindelwald scoffed. "What a peculiar title."
"So you were one of the other Grindelwald's soldiers. I suspected, but I wasn't certain," Dumbledore said in a calm tone - as if his partner weren't staring down a wand.
"He's not your Grindelwald!" Hermione snapped. She had her wand aimed at Rosengarten. "He's a muggle!"
Ron put a hand on his pistol. Not that shooting the Healer would do any good after all the trouble they had had recruiting him. What a mess.
"Ha!" Rosengarten didn't take his eyes off Grindelwald. "I know you."
"Indeed, Gellert is a muggle - same as I am, as I already told you," Dumbledore said. He was even smiling. "And we can prove it."
"Snape!"
The shout made her stop running. It had come from below - the ground floor, probably. Harry and Ron had stopped as well - then rushed to the stairs ahead. She followed them, crouching to peer over the railing.
Down below, on the ground floor, as expected, stood Snape. He was obviously facing someone, but she couldn't see whom - the moving stairs were in the way.
"Must be Death Eaters," Ron whispered next to her.
"Yes," Harry agreed.
Or Order members who didn't know about Snape being a spy. Should they step in? But they had a mission. The most important mission of the war.
Snape suddenly flicked his wand up, and someone screamed. Then spells started flying. She saw Snape casting another spell - another scream followed - before he ducked behind a pillar as two curses flew past him - from different directions. He was caught in a crossfire! He whirled and sent a curse back at the enemy on the left - she still couldn't see any of his opponents, but another scream followed. What kind of curse was he using?
"We need to help him," she whispered. If they attacked from above…
"Alright, let's…"
But before Harry could lay out a plan of attack, the pillar in front of Snape shattered, and the man was thrown back, landing in a heap on the floor. Then another spell hit him, and he screamed - the Torture Curse, Hermione realised with a gasp.
A volley of various curses followed - there had to be at least half a dozen Death Eaters down there! - and Snape's screams cut off as he was blasted back another yard.
The body that rolled over the floor didn't look like their teacher any more. Or like a human.
"No…" she whispered.
"Bloody hell," Ron chimed in.
"We need to go."
She looked at Harry.
"We need to destroy the last Horcrux," he said.
She hated herself for it, but she agreed. They couldn't help Snape any more, anyway.
But they could avenge him. Him and all the other victims of Voldemort and his Death Eaters.