As usual, my beta-readers, fredfred and InquisitorCOC, deserve a huge thank you. They helped a lot.

Chapter 51: The Negotiation

Black Lake, Scotland, January 9th, 2006

"You can prove that you're a muggle?" Rosengarten sounded rather sceptical. He kept his wand trained on Grindelwald as he quickly looked round the portal room.

"We can prove that this world isn't your world, Mr Rosengarten," Dumbledore said. "You are familiar with Diagon Alley and Hogwarts, aren't you?"

"Yes," the Healer pressed out.

"A visit to both locations should suffice to prove our claims, then," the old spymaster replied, tilting his head with a smile.

"If there's no magic in this world, how have you managed to create a portal using magic?" Rosengarten didn't seem like he would be willing to concede any time soon.

"We didn't - Dr Granger did," Dumbledore said.

"I was transported to this world by accident," Hermione explained. "It took me seven years to create a way back combining magic and quantum physics."

"Really."

"Yes, really," Hermione told him through clenched teeth. "And I can show you that Diagon Alley, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade do not exist here. Nor any other magical locations like the Ministry - though you might not be familiar with the Ministry."

The Healer didn't answer, but the way his mouth twisted into a frown told Ron that Hermione wasn't far off the mark.

"So… shall we take a quick trip to London, and then to Hogwarts?" Dumbledore asked. "Your arm must be growing tired."

Rosengarten glared at him for a moment, then slowly lowered his wand. "Alright."

"Your hand, please," Hermione said, reaching out to him.

Ron stepped over to her. She looked at him, then reached out to him as well.

A few Apparitions followed - mostly forests - until they arrived in a park. Hyde Park, Ron realised as he looked round. "I don't think we were noticed," he said.

"There shouldn't be any cameras covering this area," she replied. "Let's go to where Diagon Alley should be. Can you apparate there?"

"It's been decades since I was last there," Rosengarten told her.

"We can try it later with Hogwarts, then," Hermione said, and Ron understood that she was using the opportunity to find out if wizards could apparate to locations they only knew from their own world.

Perhaps Dumbledore had rubbed off on her.

Leadenhall Market, City of London, London, January 9th, 2006

"It's not here."

Rosengarten shook his head as he stared at the perfectly mundane street in Leadenhall Market.

"We told you so," Hermione said.

"It's a muggle street. Full of muggles. With muggle shops," Ron added after paying the cab driver's fare.

Both Hermione and Rosengarten glared at him for that, but the Healer had stopped mumbling and drawing attention from the passers-by. "So… Hogwarts now?" Ron asked.

"Not yet. I want to see the Leaky Cauldron."

Well, he didn't. There was no Leaky Cauldron where it would've been. No Knockturn Alley, either. But it took Rosengarten twenty minutes to accept that. And Ron caught him casting a few spells on himself - probably to check for curses.

"Alright. Let's go to Hogwarts." Rosengarten nodded.

"I'll apparate us to Edinburgh," Hermione told him. "You can attempt to reach the school from there."

Two Apparitions later - Ron still wasn't used to them, but he seemed to be handling them a little better - they were in Edinburgh.

"We're in Edinburgh," Hermione announced.

Rosengarten nodded and took a deep breath, then raised his wand.

And nothing happened.

He closed his eyes, apparently trying again. He didn't disappear this time, either.

"So you cannot apparate to a location you haven't visited before," Hermione said. "Even if you know the location's counterpart in our world very well." She nodded and grabbed their hands again.

They appeared on top of the hill, next to the ruins of the castle. Rosengarten gasped again, his eyes darting around. "This is… this isn't Hogwarts."

"No," Hermione told him. "Just a small castle destroyed during a Scottish clan feud." She sounded very sympathetic.

The Healer slowly nodded, then turned away. A moment later, he raised his hand to his face.

Ron glanced at Hermione, who shook her head. So he remained where he was, waiting for Rosengarten to recover his composure.

He didn't want to see a grown man cry, anyway.

After a little while, Rosengarten straightened, then turned. "You could've removed Diagon Alley, but Hogwarts? No."

Hermione nodded, though Ron couldn't help feeling that she was a bit reluctant to agree. "Let's return to the portal room, then," she said. "You've got two patients to examine and treat."

"So it seems, yes." Rosengarten nodded with a sigh. "I might need some supplies, though - Martin's men didn't let me pack what I had planned to bring with me."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Hermione replied. "We can fetch the materials and ingredients from our world."

Rosengarten snorted. "'Our world'... it will take some time to get used to that."

Not that he would need to get used to it, what with the plan to obliviate him - but bringing up that titbit right now would've been gauche.

Black Lake, Scotland, January 9th, 2006

The others were still in the portal room when they returned. Dumbledore was smiling but had the grace not to look triumphant. Even Grindelwald didn't look as grumpy as usual, though he still glared at Rosengarten.

Sirius, though, was the one to speak up: "There you are! We expected you earlier."

Hermione glared at the older man. "Then it was your fault for miscalculating."

"What?" Sirius acted as if he were shocked.

As Harry frowned at his godfather, Dumbledore cleared his throat and interrupted Sirius. "I take it that things have been cleared up."

"Yes," Rosengarten said. "You two are my patients, I presume."

"Just so. We've already each taken Ricklestorf's Restoration Potion, but at our age, the body can always use more care and healing." Dumbledore nodded.

"What about MI6?" Ron asked.

"Our quarters are secure," Grindelwald replied. "They mostly confine their activities to keeping track of everyone who comes and goes through the door. But we don't tolerate surveillance devices inside private quarters."

Ron doubted that the policy was applied to their own surveillance devices, but it wasn't as if Ron and his friends had much of a choice. On the other hand, Luna didn't seem to be bothered about it, either - and she generally took a dim view of any violation of privacy. Except when she was trying to 'expose corruption', as she called it. They'd have to talk to her and her counterpart later. "Good. We can retire to our rooms, then?"

"By all means," Dumbledore told them. "We've had a rather exhausting trip, after all."

Ginny snorted in a most unladylike manner that would have had Mum going off at her, but Ron ignored his sister. What she got up to with his best friend was none of his business. He looked at Hermione instead, who nodded at him. "Yes, let's head to bed." It was getting a little hot in his winter clothes.

"A good idea," Dumbledore agreed. "I think an extensive examination is best done when one is well-rested and fed. We've taken the liberty of having quarters prepared for you, Mr Rosengarten."

"That was very thoughtful," the Healer replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"You're too kind." Dumbledore beamed at him while Grindelwald rolled his eyes and snorted.

But they finally left the portal room and headed to their quarters. "Morning run at the usual time," Harry told them before they split up, which made Sirius groan, but everyone ignored him.

They all knew that was just a cover for having a private talk, after all.

Once in their room, Hermione sighed and laid down on the bed on her back, staring at the ceiling. "What's your impression of Mr Rosengarten?" she asked.

Ron removed his shoes and jacket and sat down on the bed. "He didn't really believe us until the ruins. Or, rather, until then he still had some hope left."

"Do you think he'll stick to the deal?"

He took a deep breath. "Probably." After a moment, he added: "It's not as if he has much left. He can't go home again. And he's apparently a wanted man in Europe."

"I doubt anyone is still hunting the rank and file of Grindelwald's army," she retorted. "And he wasn't one of the leaders."

"Just because they aren't actively hunting him doesn't mean they'll overlook him should they spot him," Ron pointed out. "And Dumbledore might be angling to hire him permanently. And if he has one wizard on his payroll, he'll need a few more so they keep each other in check." He glanced at her.

"He hasn't mentioned anything to me," she replied.

"He probably wanted to wait until you've completed your deal with him."

"Which I just did." Hermione sighed.

"There's also the question of what to do with the portal." Ron tried to act as casually as he could manage. "The Fidelius Charm is one thing, and it needs to be protected, but… what are you planning to do with it?"

"I don't know yet. Not exactly," she replied after a moment. "It seems a little, well, I don't want to sound arrogant, but just serving to connect our two worlds seems a little… selfish."

He didn't think 'selfish' was the first word she had thought of. "And a little bit of a waste," he commented.

The way she flinched just a little told him what she had been thinking. "You'll have to come to an arrangement with Dumbledore, then."

"I know. And I need to find a way to rein in the Lunas. And a way to get the Ministry to reform Azkaban."

Those were some tall orders. But they had managed to deal with worse.

"At least the world's a little safer since wizards can't just sneak through the portal and then apparate away," he said.

"That will only prevent the most blatant intrusions," she pointed out. "If someone can sneak through the portal, they will have a good chance of sneaking out of the laboratory."

He nodded. And anyone sneaking in likely would have inside help, anyway. Which was another can of worms. "The sooner you can cast the Fidelius Charm, the better."

She frowned in response. "It's a difficult task. There's a reason it was rarely used in the war - few could cast it. Although it's not just the difficulty of casting the spells, but also the difficulty of wording the secret to be protected."

"You'll figure it out," he told her with honest confidence.

That didn't cheer her up, though - she was looking rather grim as she nodded. "I have to."

"We can figure it out tomorrow." He pulled off his shirt as if it were a sweater, not bothering to undo the buttons.

After a moment, she nodded.

Black Lake, Scotland, January 10th, 2006

"Couldn't we… you know… just use… magic? For… privacy?"

Sirius panted as he leaned against the closest tree, his breath forming a small cloud in the cold morning air.

"Yes," Hermione replied. She was looking a little winded herself, Ron saw.

"So… why are we out here? Freezing our arses off?" Sirius asked.

"It's tradition," Harry told him, stretching. A little way behind him, the Lunas were doing similar exercises.

"And you always tell us how important traditions are," Ginny added with a grin - she was running in place just to rub in how much fitter she was, of course.

"What? When did I ever say that?"

"Whenever you want the last piece of pizza," Harry replied. "Besides, exercise is good for you. Especially at your age."

Sirius scoffed. "Bah. I'm rich - I'll hire Rosengarten to make me fit. Once he's done with Dumbledore and Grindelwald."

"That's not exactly how it works," Hermione corrected him.

"What? You can shrink people, fly on brooms and turn lead into gold, and you are trying to tell me that you don't have a way to become fit without exercising?"

"Self-transfiguration is notoriously risky," she replied. "And most other spells would only be cosmetic in nature, anyway."

"You said 'most'. That means there are some spells that aren't just cosmetic!"

"I don't think that switching your legs for those of a horse would work out well for you."

The older man blinked, gaping at her. "You're having me on!"

Hermione tilted her head and grinned. "They say that's how centaurs were created."

"That's…" Sirius shook his head.

"In your case, we'd probably have to use an ass, not a horse," Harry told him. "On the other hand, you could be the first member of the Blues and Royals who is his own horse…"

"Harry!"

As the group had a laugh, Ron glanced at Hermione. "Is that true?" he whispered.

"About the centaurs? Probably not. Most scholars assume they were created using potions and rituals." She shrugged. "But it is very difficult and dangerous to modify your body with magic once you're changing more than your appearance."

Harry clapped his hands, preventing Ron from asking for more details. "So… let's talk about the real reason we came out here." He turned to look at Hermione. "What now?"

Ron saw Hermione tense for a moment as she was put on the spot. Then she took a deep breath and straightened. "Once Mr Rosengarten has finished treating Mr Dumbledore and Mr Grindelwald, I've fulfilled my part of the deal."

"Then it's time to renegotiate!" Wizarding Luna smiled. "And get a better deal."

"In a manner of speaking." Hermione smiled as well, but her smile quickly faded. "The portal needs protection from the Russians, and anyone else who might have figured out what it is."

"Or thinks that we're working on space-bending technology," Ron said. "I doubt that the government managed to keep that information secret."

"They didn't," Luna told them. "Rumours about this are spreading on the Net. The Shadow Government is trying to suppress and discredit the information, though - both Russians and British agents are at the forefront of that effort, which is telling." She nodded with a very serious expression.

"And there's no telling what they'll do once you hide the portal from them," wizarding Luna added, matching Luna's expression.

"Bah." Sirius scoffed. "Wait a few weeks or months, and it'll be just another urban legend."

"I doubt that the government or MI6 will forget about us so easily," Harry retorted. "They've invested too much in this."

"And lost too many people," Ron agreed with a nod.

"Her Majesty's Government generally doesn't mind losing employees, as long as their goals are met." Sirius shook his head.

"But without working space-folding technology, their goals won't have been met," Harry pointed out.

"And the more people who already know the secret that the Fidelius Charm will be hiding, the more difficult it is to cast it," Hermione said. "Hiding the portal is one thing, hiding the entire site or even the entire history of this affair, quite another."

"Oh, yes. Otherwise, you could do things like making everyone forget where the bathrooms in Hogwarts are." Wizarding Luna nodded in a sage manner. "That would have been a very funny prank, of course. Unless you were a student at Hogwarts."

"So… making Putin forget about us, not just about the portal or project, won't work?" Ron was pretty sure he knew the answer even as he asked.

"No. Too many people are aware of the attacks on us." Hermione confirmed his assumption.

"That's logical," Luna said. "We made national and international news. That sort of information can't be suppressed any more. That won't keep government spin doctors from trying to control it, of course."

"I've found that magic isn't always logical," Hermione told her. "But in this case, you're essentially correct."

"So what do we do about Putin?"

"We have to deal with him personally," Hermione said. "That's the only way to make him leave us alone."

"Wipe his memory?" Sirius asked.

"I'd prefer to change his memory and use more conventional disinformation to make him abandon his plans for us. Perhaps fake my death," Hermione said, "to make it appear that my research died with me."

It was a good plan, Ron had to admit - but it would also mean that she wouldn't be able to go out in public in his world without a disguise. Hell, since they were planning to fool the Russian secret service, they wouldn't be able to publicly date unless Ron was also in disguise, or the FIS might still make the connection.

"You're suggesting kidnapping the Russian president and alter his memory," Harry said in a rather flat voice.

"He's a muggle, isn't he? He doesn't have magical bodyguards, does he?" wizarding Luna cut in. "We should be fine!"

Ron winced. "They think we can teleport - or, at least, appear out of thin air in a secure room. I'd be very surprised if the Russians hadn't already installed countermeasures against invisible or teleporting intruders."

"Pressure plates on the ground. Radar. Thermographic and air pressure sensors," Luna said. "If you're a bit creative, you can protect yourself even against magical intruders. If you have the KGB at your beck and call, of course," she added. "The common people won't have the resources to implement the various countermeasures."

"Yes," Harry agreed. "But Putin does have them. You won't be able to fly up to the Kremlin, knock on his window and cast a spell when he opens it."

"I wasn't planning to," Hermione retorted, a little more sharply than necessary, in Ron's opinion. "But no location is impenetrable. Now that I have a wand again, I'm not as limited as I was, either."

"And I'll help, too!" wizarding Luna chimed in. "And we can ask Harry and Ron for help if we need more help."

Ron didn't frown. Having two experienced wizards who were also Hermione's best friends help against Putin would be a very good thing. It might save lives.

But he really didn't like the thought of his counterpart being involved.

"Even with their help, it's still a handful of people against a superpower," Harry said. "Those aren't good odds."

"And Harry would know about that," Sirius added. "Underestimate the Russians at your own peril."

Hadn't he been the one to suggest mindwiping Putin? Ron snorted. But the older man was correct - even with magic, this would be very difficult, and horribly dangerous.

"We won't underestimate them," Hermione said.

"And none of us speaks Russian," Harry went on. "We won't be able to pass as locals. And we have no idea about the layout and defences of the Kremlin - other than that they'll be confusing and competent."

"I'm hopeful that Mr Dumbledore will be able to help with these obstacles," Hermione told him.

Ron chuckled - going after the president of Russia? A former KGB officer? Dumbledore would probably jump at the chance to help with this plan. Or take it over.

"He's not perfect," Harry pointed out, frowning heavily.

"But he's very experienced in this sort of clandestine business," Luna said.

"And he has assets in Russia," Hermione added.

"That's no longer certain - Putin might have carried out a mole hunt," Sirius said.

"We'll have a more detailed overview of what help he can give us once we discuss things with him," Hermione told Harry.

"And what his price is," Ron added, which earned him a glare. But he met her eyes without flinching or feeling guilty - he knew Dumbledore. They knew him. The old man would never let an opportunity to gain another favour or more influence pass.

"My word, Mr Rosengarten, you are a miracle worker! I haven't felt better in fifty years!" Dumbledore, positively beaming, raised his glass in a toast. "To good health and better friendships!"

Ron followed suit, raising his own glass - or flute, as Hermione called it. The champagne was as good as Ginny had claimed. Given the exorbitant price for a bottle, even bought directly from the vineyard, without a restaurant's markup, much less a bar's, it better be excellent, of course.

The whole dinner was an example of, well, not excess, but expensive tastes - apart from the venue; the lounge of their quarters wasn't a high-class restaurant. But the food… champagne, foie gras and caviar as hors-d'oeuvres, black truffle soup, entrecôte Café de Paris, but apparently with kobe beef… Dumbledore had gone all-out to celebrate his and Grindelwald's newfound health. And to celebrate French cuisine, of course.

"Thank you, Mr Dumbledore," Rosengarten replied after taking a sip from his own glass.

"Please call me Albus." Dumbledore's smile managed to grow a little more.

"Just do it," Grindelwald chimed in. "He won't let up until you do, so you might as well save you the bother and give in right away." The old man was smiling himself, which was both unusual and a little disturbing. Just a little.

"Albus, then." Rosengarten nodded.

"Abraham." Dumbledore beamed, then glanced at Grindelwald with a slight frown.

The other man sighed. "Please call me Gellert."

"Gellert, please call me Abraham."

If Ron didn't know the men, it would have been a touching and wholesome scene. And even so, the sheer joy Dumbledore was feeling was obvious. Almost eclipsing his reaction after he had taken the restoration potion. Which really should be named the 'potion of youth'.

"We are in your debt, Abraham."

"Figuratively," Grindelwald interjected. "The agreed-upon money has been paid, after all."

Dumbledore nodded. "The full sum, to compensate you for the gold those ruffians took from you." That was addressed to Ron and his friends, not to Rosengarten, who would already be aware of that.

"And I'm very grateful for your generosity," Rosengarten replied. "It will enable me to rebuild my life."

Dumbledore's smile twitched a little, but it was so brief, Ron wasn't sure if he'd imagined it. "Speaking of which - did you make any plans yet?"

"Not yet. Portland, the entirety of the Free Republic, is closed to me now," Rosengarten replied. "As is Britain and most of Europe."

Dumbledore nodded but didn't comment.

"And those countries I would be able to visit have problems of their own."

"Like Scandinavia's constant feuding," Hermione said.

"Precisely." The Healer nodded at her. "And I would prefer to live in a country where the locals speak English."

"Perfectly understandable," Dumbledore commented, nodding his head. "Though that does limit your options somewhat."

"The East Coast doesn't feud as much as the Scandinavians do," Rosengarten agreed, "but that's only because they are regularly at war with each other."

"On the other hand, as a Healer, your services will be in demand in such a location," Dumbledore said. "You will be able to name your price - within reason, of course."

"Or I might get press-ganged into the forces of the enclave." Rosengarten took a bite from his entrecôte.

"That doesn't seem to leave you many choices. The magical versions of the English-speaking Caribbean nations have their own drawbacks, if I recall Dr Granger's lessons correctly."

Voodoo, pirates and occasional involvement in said East Coast wars, Ron thought.

"You've done your homework," Rosengarten told Dumbledore. "For completeness's sake, New Zealand is too far away and too close to Australia."

The old spymaster inclined his head with a wry grin.

"So make your pitch." Rosengarten's smile twisted a little. "You've been building up to it the whole evening, haven't you?"

Dumbledore's grin showed not even a hint of embarrassment. "Caught in the act. Indeed, I would make a case for staying here instead of trying to rebuild your life in the other world. Not only will your past not haunt you here, but you will have the best of two worlds - literally."

"I would be cut off from my own world."

"No more than you were before - and with our support, being able to visit Wizarding Britain shouldn't be much of a problem," Dumbledore retorted.

"Really?" Rosengarten looked doubtful. "Miss Granger might be a national heroine, but that's not enough to influence politics."

"I wouldn't want to appear cynical, but we have access to one of the most efficient tools in politics: wealth." Dumbledore spread his hands. "I wouldn't dare suggest that the current Ministry is corrupt," he said with a nod at Hermione, "but the fact that they have prioritised their economy over reforming Azkaban clearly shows that money is a powerful factor in determining policy."

"You want to buy a pardon?"

"That would be rather crude. I would much prefer to settle such matters a little more subtly. A general amnesty, for example, could be portrayed as a humanitarian gesture. A press campaign about rueful veterans wishing to return home would likely facilitate passing a corresponding bill."

And would grant Dumbledore a lot of influence in Wizarding Britain.

"That's not something you can promise, though," Rosengarten replied.

"Indeed, I cannot promise it. I can promise, however, that I will try my utmost to see it happen," Dumbledore said. "And I dare say that even if I failed in this, my offer is better than your other prospects."

"And I wouldn't be obliviated."

"No. But we would require a few assurances," Hermione spoke up.

"Such as?"

"A magical contract not to reveal our secrets," she said.

"Those can be dealt with by Curse-Breakers," Rosengarten retorted.

"Yes. But that's difficult, and, if correctly worded, the attempt alone will trigger the curse." Hermione flashed her teeth in a brief smile, leaving no doubt that she was sure she'd word it correctly.

"A magical contract? Ah, if we had access to such means when I was working for Her Majesty's Government, perhaps Mr Philby and his friends wouldn't have managed to evade our notice," Dumbledore said.

"It's not a perfect way to ensure loyalty and secrecy," Hermione told him.

"But it's better than most," the old man retorted.

"I won't blindly accept a contract," Rosengarten interjected with a frown.

"Of course not," Hermione said.

"But leaving such details aside, are you contemplating accepting our offer?" Dumbledore leaned forward, his meal seemingly forgotten for the moment.

"Contemplating, yes. There are a few important points that need to be addressed, though."

"Such as your salary, I suppose," Grindelwald said.

"Yes. And my duties. And whether or not this is an exclusive arrangement." Rosengarten focused on his meal again - or he appeared to.

"Money won't be an issue," Dumbledore said - and ignored Grindelwald's frown. "And while I wouldn't presume to limit your healing to us, I do expect discretion and cooperation in keeping our cover. Should news of a miracle healer start to spread, we might draw even more attention than Dr Granegr did."

"And we're still dealing with the after-effects of an invasion by the Russians," Sirius added.

Rosengarten blinked. "An invasion? Of Britain? By the Russians?"

"Well…" Harry's godfather grinned widely, "that's exactly what happened, technically, at least."

"It was more of a raid," Harry said.

"A large, well-armed and fanatical raid," Sirius retorted.

"With barely plausible deniability," Dumbledore added. "Russian criminals are apparently very disciplined and receive better training and equipment than most British soldiers."

"I see," Rosengarten said.

Ron was pretty sure he didn't. Not yet.

When dinner ended after a very impressive spread of various dessert dishes, Dumbledore and Rosengarten had pretty much hashed out their deal - or contract. Even Grindelwald seemed happy with the arrangement - the man wasn't scowling when he left with Dumbledore for their own private quarters.

Sirius yawned demonstratively and stretched. "Ah, I thought that would never end."

"We haven't actually finished our negotiations," Rosengarten pointed out.

"It's just the small stuff left," Sirius said.

"Yes," Ginny agreed. "And that won't change anything." She grinned. "I've negotiated enough deals with sponsors to know that."

"You mean your agent did," Ron corrected her.

She frowned at him in return. "The final decision was mine."

"And how often did you go against your agent?" Ron suppressed a grin; he knew the answer.

"It happened."

"Once," Ron said. "And you regretted it."

Now Ginny was scowling. But before she could retaliate, Hermione cleared her throat. "So, now you know more about our group, Mr Rosengarten."

"I do. And thank you for pointing out that there is a risk of war breaking out here as well."

"Well, not a real war," Sirius said. "More like a shadow war. A spy war. Everyone knows who's behind the 'terrorist attacks' and 'gang wars', but we all pretend we don't know."

"It's better than an actual war," Harry spoke up. "Russia isn't Argentina."

"I know," Sirius replied with narrowed eyes and a slight pout. "Anyway, I'm heading to bed." He stood, nodded at the rest of the group and left the lounge.

"That sounds like a good idea," Ginny announced, all but dragging Harry with her. "Good night, everyone."

"Good night," Ron replied, grinning at his friend as Harry and Ginny left as well.

"Well, we have a lot of planning to do!" Luna announced. "So we'll retire as well."

Wizarding Luna nodded in agreement. "The Internet makes it so easy to plan your trips - we need to introduce that to our world as well."

"The muggles have the Internet already," Hermione pointed out. "But it needs electronics to work, and a magical variant would be more limited because of the low population."

"Oh." Wizarding Luna frowned. "Perhaps we can use muggle means of travel, then. It would certainly be a new experience for Daddy."

"We can look into that once we've protected the Amazon rainforest," Luna said.

"You're right."

Ron had a bad feeling about that, but he couldn't think of a way to stop them right now. At least they were only making plans and not yet implementing them.

Black Lake, Scotland, January 11th, 2006

"So… meeting in the lounge?" Ron frowned as he took a seat at the table next to Hermione.

"I know," Luna said, "I would have expected a secret planning and command room to have been installed by now. For a lair of a ranking member of the shadow government, this resort is sorely lacking in crucial amenities."

"I don't think Mr Dumbledore would want to waste resources building a Bond villain base," Hermione said.

Ron disagreed. He was certain that Dumbledore would love such a project, both for the amusement it would provide as well as the practical use he would get out of it. "If we're continuing to have meetings, then having a dedicated room would make sense."

"We can't run a campaign against the Russians out of the lounge," Sirius added as he took a seat as well and grabbed the pot of tea," and the portal room is a little too exposed."

"And too crowded with the portal equipment and the defensive installations," Harry said.

Hermione frowned but nodded - very reluctantly. "He could easily repurpose a room, I guess."

"But MI6 would be aware of it, then," Luna pointed out. "After all, the base was penetrated by the Russians and then taken by the British Army. It would be better to dig a new one without them knowing. They are notoriously riddled with spies working for his rivals."

"We could vanish the soil easily," wizarding Luna chimed in. "We did that to add an underground lair for Voracious Moles at the Rookery. We had to stabilise the basement a few times, though, and the Rookery is now a little crookedy. But Daddy found a spell that realigned gravity, so it's fine now."

"I don't think we can easily stabilise the resort here," Hermione said, "so we might want to be a little more careful with vanishing large parts of the soil and bedrock."

"Voracious Moles?" Sirius asked.

"Magical moles. They look almost like muggle moles, just with fangs and claws. And they're bigger - well, they have to be bigger since they prey on bigger animals," wizarding Luna explained.

Ginny frowned as she addressed the witch. "Just how big are they?"

"Oh, not really big. Barely bigger than a fat man. And they look very cute. They're also very useful for tunnelling - the dwarves are said to have used tame moles for their oldest tunnels."

That meant… bear-sized. Ron had the sudden mental image of giant fanged voles bursting out of the ground to pounce on hikers. Or hikers suddenly vanishing in the ground, dragged into tunnels dug beneath trails. Or monsters breaking into basements, then attacking the residents when they came down to check on the noise…

He wasn't the only one who looked a little pale, he noted when he glanced around. "Uh… those voles… are there any in Scotland?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, no. It's a little too cold for them," wizarding Luna replied. "Although they could dig deep enough to use geothermal heat to keep warm, I guess. If that works, Iceland would be a great habitat for them."

"Wouldn't the lava endanger them?" Luna cocked her head. "If they dig into a lava chamber by mistake…"

"Oh, no! That would be terrible - they would be burned!" wizarding Luna gasped.

And the lava would probably shoot through the tunnels they had dug, and reach the surface far away from any volcano… Ron grimaced.

"But… I could ask Hagrid if he could cross them with fire crabs and make them immune to fire." Wizarding Luna perked up.

"Did the ICW lift the ban on breeding new magical creatures?" Hermione asked in a slightly strained voice.

"Oh." The other witch looked crestfallen. "No. No, they didn't. Fiddlesticks."

Crisis averted - for now.

"We might need to take measures to protect the environment here from invasive magical species," Hermione said. "The portal is well-guarded, but some species might still slip through."

"Yes, like Nargles," wizarding Luna said. "I can put up some wards, if you wish?"

"On the other side, I think - the wards would interfere with the electronics here that control the portal," Hermione told her.

"Oh." Wizarding Luna blinked. "Well, that would certainly prevent any invasion by invasive species, but it would also shut down travel… hm…"

Fortunately, before wizarding Luna could develop another terrifying idea, Dumbledore arrived, followed by Rosengarten and Grindelwald. "Good afternoon, everyone!" He beamed at them. "I'm pleased to announce that Abraham has agreed to work for us."

Ron smiled, honestly pleased - an experienced Healer would make their plans, well, not easier, but at least safer. Though as discussed, now they probably needed to find more trustworthy wizards to keep an eye on Rosengarten. Trust but verify, as Moody would say.

"That's good news," Hermione said. "I hope you'll like it here, Mr Rosengarten."

"So do I," the Healer replied.

Ron wondered if the old man was planning to use Apparition to get around England. And what Dumbledore thought about that.

"So, with that settled," Dumbledore spoke up, "I believe we should address a few of our other issues. Such as the threat to this installation posed by the Russian government."

"And the threat posed by the British government," Luna added.

Dumbledore nodded, not losing his smile. "Quite correct. As everyone who had ever worked for Her Majesty's Government knows, our most dangerous enemy is found amongst our own ranks - mostly in the Treasury, of course."

Sirius laughed at that, and Ron had to chuckle as well - it was an old joke containing more than a grain of truth according to Dad and Percy.

"However, I think that the more urgent threat is the Russian one. Our own government might not be as smart as we'd like it to be, but most of the people in charge understand that scientific research will take time and so they won't expect results from us immediately. The Russians, however, will likely have heard about our cover story and will feel increasing pressure to acquire our data. Even worse, they'll plan to either acquire Dr Granger as well or to deny us her talents." The old spymaster looked grim. "They will see this as a threat and act accordingly."

"Which means we're under time pressure as well," Harry stated.

"Yes. I've already started to activate a few old sources in Russia, but, so far, the intel we've received hasn't been very useful," Dumbledore said.

"No wonder if you're using Russian sources," Grindelwald grumbled.

"I remain optimistic that they will prove useful, but I fear that to acquire actionable intel before it's too late, we'll need to make use of your particular talents, Dr Granger, Miss Lovegood."

That meant another trip to Russia.

Great.

She looked at the note again. According to it, the Curse-Breaker they were seeking was living in the building at the corner. A muggle flat. That meant he wouldn't have been able to put up wards. Not without rendering all electronics inside them useless - and even limited to his flat, that would affect the other tenants; electricity and other cables ran through all of the flats, after all. On the other hand, what kind of Snatcher would expect a Curse-Breaker to live in an unprotected muggle building? Hiding in plain sight - a daring, but often effective, plan.

"How did they find him?" Ron asked.

"Shacklebolt has contacts in the Metropolitan Police," she explained. The Auror had been on the Prime Minister's protection detail for months, after all.

"And how did they find him?"

"Probably by violating people's privacy," she said with a snort. At least that was what her parents would have said.

"What?"

"It means," Harry cut in with a sigh, "that the muggle Aurors ran searches without the proper authorisation from their superiors."

Hermione pressed her lips together. She wanted to correct Harry and explain the exact procedure, but this wasn't the time or place. The man they were about to visit was, according to Bill, the best British Curse-Breaker when it came to Horcruxes.

And they needed his help to save Harry.