"Great." Headley grinned. "Who's the rest of the coven?"
"Draco should decide that, the more comfortable he is with them, the better the result will be." Bill said. "Draco?"
"Padma, Parvati and Lavender." Draco answered. "Mione, Alice and Minerva. Katie, Alicia and Angelina. And… Fred, George and Severus."
Charlie watched closely as Draco lead his selected coven in the ritual that would create the wards that they all hoped would keep the dragon within the confines of the mountain and its surrounding area. The younger blonde nodded at him as each member of the coven laid the rune-stone that marked a boundary point. When the last stone was laid and the ward activated, Charlie and Remus came forward and Charlie watched again, this time as Remus tested the wards, then Euan approached on a carpet. The young sandy haired boy gave them a smile and waited until the two older wizards had settled themselves onto the carpet before heading for the nearest boundary, just below Ravenshill.
There, Remus recast the diagnosis charms that Bill and Charlie had taught him and read the smoky words that appeared in the air.
"Good?" He asked Charlie.
"Yeah, good. That would keep in a dozen or more Horntails and we all know, they're the most aggressive." Charlie replied.
"Excellent. Let's get you back to Dale and get your four on your way. The morning's passing and the days are getting shorter here, just like autumn in Scotland." Remus clapped Euan on the shoulder, gently. "Take us back, please, Euan." He gave his stepson a smile.
"Harry!" Headley yelled and ran to his brother.
"Headley?" Harry's arms encircled the young boy. "Headley, what's wrong?" He curled over the sobbing child.
"I d-don't want y-you to g-get h-hurt…" Headley answered, brokenly. How far he'd come since Dudley's 'Harry Hunting' days.
"Oh, Headley." Harry pulled the boy closer and whispered in his ear. "You've watched me in the gauntlets, you've watched me in classes, and you've watched me play quidditch. Do you really think that any silly old dragon can hurt me? And you really think I'd let Charlie or Bill or Thorin get hurt?"
"No… no." Headley took a couple of shuddering breaths.
"No. But if it will make you feel better, we're only going to look today. We just need to know how to get to the dragon, if it's alive and if it's impervious to magic. That's it, Headley, nothing else."
"Im-impervious?" Headley whispered back.
"In this case, can magic affect it or is it immune?" Harry wasn't the walking encyclopedia that Hermione was, but he'd paid attention enough of her lectures, over the years to be able to answer.
"What have yo-"
"Headley." Harry pulled the boy away from his waist. "You know exactly what we have planned. Stop stalling." Headley's chin wobbled but he nodded and trudged back to Dennis and Colin, who wrapped their arms around the younger boy. "Thanks guys." Harry gave them a smile. "Who's our chauffeur?"
"That would be me." Euan waved.
"Great. Let's get this done." Harry turned to the three other recon riders. "Everyone got their broom?" The three nodded, holding up a broom. "Got a backup broom?" More nods and hands went to the broom shrunken and tided to a leather thong around their necks. "Thorin? Got your extra crystals?" Thorin nodded but said nothing, his face tight and grim. "Bill, Charlie? Have you taken the core boosters and got your Pepper-Ups ready?" The two wizards nodded. "Brilliant. Severus? May I have my Pepper-Up?" He held out a hand to the potions Master, who gave him a strained smile and carefully laid a small phial in his hand. "Thanks. Who's doing the charms?"
"Alice will be." Frank spoke, as Alice came forward. "She had the highest charms NEWT score in fifty years, beat your mother by half a point and considering that James boasted that Lily had a perfect score…?"
"Lils scored one-hundred-and-two-point-one percent." Sirius smirked. "Trounced James' seventy-nine-point-six percent."
"And my ninety-four-point-three percent, too." Remus nodded.
"And my ninety-seven-point-nine percent." Severus agreed.
"How's Hermione going to stand up against that?" Charlie whispered in Harry's ear, Harry pretended that he hadn't heard a thing and concentrated on Alice.
Alice had the five males set themselves up on the carpet, before she began to cast. Two minutes passed before she nodded and stepped back, giving them a smile.
"That should hold for about an hour. I did add a tie-back to me, so that I can see you to dismiss it earlier if need be." She said. "And I'll be up on the ramparts to watch for your return. Don't take too long, please?"
"We shan't, Aunt Alice." Harry gave her a grin and nodded to Euan. "Thorin's in charge of directions, he'll point out where to go. As soon as we're off the carpet, you head back to the others, don't wait on us. Got it?"
"Got it." Euan nodded.
The two miles of open ground between Dale and the Gates of Erebor was covered quickly and quietly, each person deep in their own thoughts. Thorin's heart was weeping with the knowledge that so many of his people were still entombed in the mountain, so many had not escaped the dragon's wrath. Bill's thoughts were focused on the various traps that the animals that lived in such places, created and how to get around them. Charlie was running though some of his experiences with Horntails and speculating on, if they had been worse, what would he have done. Harry was thinking about the potion in his pocket and how it could react to dragon. He, Severus, Sirius and the twins had spent a few hours each day since meeting Thorin, perfecting the potion, it should, when poured out above the dragon, form a mist that would descend and settle on the beast, before changing colour. It worked on a red/blue scale, the more red there was, the less magic would affect the beast, the more blue, the more vulnerable it was.
"Harry?" Thorin asked, as the carpet rose beside the battlements around the gate. "Did I not hear Lady Hermione described as the brightest witch of her age?"
"You did." Harry popped the top on the phial of Pepper-Up and swallowed it down, waiting while the steam billowed from his ears and nose.
"If that were the case, why was she not the one to cast upon us?" Thorin pointed Euan towards the giant statue to the right of the gate. "Over there, behind the statue and up the mountain, I shall direct you as we get closer.
"She's good at charms, but not that good." Harry answered Thorin's question. "Plus, neither Hermione nor I… nor a few of the others, actually sat our graduating exams. The war got in the way. I understand that Professor McGonagall has the required examinations from the WEA and wants us to sit them, but we all agreed to put that off until Erebor is secure."
"Ah. I see." Thorin nodded.
"War gets in the way of many things." Remus said.
"It does." Thorin nodded, again. "More that way, Euan." He pointed further around the mountain from the gate. "See the small garden ledge, there?"
"I see it." Euan grinned and gently manoeuvred the carpet into place. "Here?"
"Yes, here is good. William? Do you detect anything?" Thorin pointed to a set of doors with shattered glass panels. "Can you remove those? Quietly?"
"I can." Bill nodded. "Evanesco." The word was whispered, and the doors dissolved into nothingness.
"We're going to have to take a slightly circuitous route for a bit, Charles says that there is a possibility that the beast may detect a new air flow if we were to simply remove all the doors in our path." Thorin said.
"Plus, removing the doors means that we'll have to conjure replacements, later. If they're still there, we should be able to use a high powered reparo on them." Charlie gave his older brother a grin.
"Fingers crossed." Bill answered. "Conjuring was never my strongest spell-set." He turned to Thorin. "Which way now?"
"Second door to the left." Thorin answered. "These can be opened, my rooms opened from the Royal Wing to the Citadel Guard's office, via a set of hidden doors and a secret corridor. I recall telling my father, after we left the mountain, that if mother had closed her doors, as I had, she would not have survived, it would have taken too long to open them, before her escape." As he spoke Thorin lead them to a set of doors that had an odd geometric symbol embossed on them. "My Sigil." He told them. "Each dwarf-child is given a unique symbol, we use it as a personal sigil. For a maker's mark on our work, to adorn our weapons, as a seal on letters and as an identifier for our possessions."
"Handy." Charlie nodded.
"Yes." Bill agreed. "We might want to adopt a similar idea."
Neither Thorin nor Harry commented on the idea, but both nodded. Thorin lead them through an extremely dusty set of rooms, where most things were still in a fair condition. Some of the fabrics had begun to breakdown, but most of the timber furniture was still standing, how stable it was, was something to think about at a later time. The three wizards followed Thorin into a narrow corridor that felt more like a tunnel than a hallway, and down a flight of stairs, before stopping at a blank expanse of wall.
"If we were to follow the tunnel onwards, it would lead to the Citadel Guard's main office, but if we exit here, we'll have access to one of the Royal viewing platforms. With brooms, we'll be able to fly down to the public areas and through to the treasury. I would assume, that would be where the beast has created a den for itself." Thorin pressed a half-hidden cartouche on the wall and a section of the wall cracked open.
Bill cast a lubricating charm, while Charlie cast a silencing charm before the two nodded to Thorin. The dwarf nodded back and carefully slid from his broom to the floor and gently pushed until the door was wide enough for them to pass through it. On the other side he pushed until the door slid closed and remounted his broom.
"I'll be able to open that on our way out, assuming that we return this way and are not being chased by the beast." Thorin said in reply to Charlie's raised brow.
Charlie nodded and moved to one side, letting Thorin come forward to be alongside Bill. The two exchanged looks and Thorin lead them over the edge of the balustrade and into a massive cavern that was at least a mile from floor to ceiling and possibly three or more across. Then there were a series of stairs and tall arched doorways, before Thorin spoke.
"We are here. This next doorway is the entrance to the treasury. You can see where the beast has clawed at the frame to make the entrance large enough for its body." He pointed massive gouges in the broken stones that surrounded an irregular hole in the wall.
"Good." Bill grunted. "So far, I've found nothing, trap-wise. Not to say there aren't any, there might be, but I haven't found any, yet. Certainly nothing magical."
"Neither have I found any significant flaws in the stone, or rather none that are structurally unsound. There was a major flaw, a few halls back, but it was structurally stable and in use as an access between levels for the kitchen staff." Thorin agreed.
"Great. Let's get in there and check out this dragon." Harry spoke for the first time since entering the mountain.
"In and straight up." Charlie said. "Stay close to the wall and head for the ceiling. I need to see as much of the dragon in one go, as I can, and for that I need height. Go slow, try not to create too much in the way of air disturbances or bump into anything. No quick movements unless the beast challenges us."
Bill nodded and eased his broom forward slowly before beginning to rise just as slowly. Thorin waited for a count of thirty and followed the curse-breaker. Another half minute and Charlie passed through the ragged hole. Harry took a few breaths and joined them. The four rose slowly towards the ceiling, keeping close to the wall and gently moving out and away from any protruding lantern holders. When they came to a halt, Charlie turned his attention to the treasury floor.
"Whoa…" He gasped explosively.
"Uh-huh…" Bill agreed.
"Holy shite…" Harry whispered.
"There, to the left. See? The beast's head." Thorin pointed and Charlie shook his head and dragged his attention back to the reason they were there.
"I can feel the magic here, the malevolence is biting." Bill warned them. "The infection is… it's deeper than I expected. This… this is going to take a massive effort to cleanse. No-one gets to handle anything until I clear it. Hmm…" Bill tilted his head and frowned. "There's a physical infection, too, not just a magical one. We'll need a huge dose of disinfectant and I think I have a potion recipe that might disable some of the lighter cursed items."
"How?" Harry asked.
"If it works, it disconnects the curse from the item and creates a type of shield around the item, that blocks the curse from reattaching to the item. Problem is, it only lasts for twelve hours." Bill answered.
"Talk to Snape. He might be able to increase either the strength or the duration." Harry directed.
"Uh, guys…?" Charlie interrupted. "The dragon is alive and awake. It's not sensing us, not yet, but the longer we stay here the higher the risk. Harry, you're the one with that detection potion. Get it out."
"Uh-huh." Harry grunted and steadied his broom before delving into his pocket for the magic detection potion.
Once it was out, he lifted it to his mouth and closed his teeth around the stopper, then passed the phial to his other hand and let his wand fall into his hand. A flick and the phial rose into the air, he had thirty seconds before the contents went aerosol, he had to get it in exactly the right position for the aerosolised potion to fall on the dragon. It took twenty-two seconds before the phial halted and that was only because the dragon raised its head.
The massive head lifted from its nest, coins raining down from it, the nostrils flaring and drawing in great gusts of air. Perfectly positioned for a mist of super-fine droplets of potion to settle on its scales. The nostrils twitched and the beast snorted, but by then it was too late, the potion had made contact and begun to react.
A blush of colour seeped across the dragon's head, tinting the beast's scales from a rich red/copper through a deep purple, to a rich blue before finally settling on a pale icy blue. The head rose higher as the colour bled from the dragon's head, down its neck and along the body. While the changes were visible to the four broom-riders, the dragon wouldn't be able to see the potion's effect on its body, but it could feel the wash of magic over its scales and it wasn't pleased.
"Time to go." Charlie whispered. "Move slow, unless the dragon attempts to follow. If it does, Thorin, you're the lead, get us out as fast as possible."
"This way." Thorin lead them to a small hole, high in the wall of the treasury's wall. "This leads to my grandfather's office… my office, now, I suppose." He sighed. "We can get from there to the main hall and we can fly up to the windows or out the main gates, depending on whether the path is blocked." As they flew, Bill stayed at Thorin's left flank, while Charlie stayed to the right and Harry was to their rear.
"Try the main gates, first." Harry called, keeping a watchful eye out behind them, for any sign that the dragon was on the move. Thankfully, there was nothing.
"We need to go up a few move levels for the main gates." Thorin warned and began to encourage his broom to climb. "Left, here." He called a few minutes later. "The main gates are blocked, but if we go up a few more levels, the guard stations open out onto the battlements above the gates. The only door would be within the guard tower and Smaug is too large to get in and close them, they should be open."
"Lead the way." Bill nodded and Thorin swung his broom to the right and up a small flight of stairs, into a large room and immediately turned right and out another door and up another flight of stairs. They emerged onto a narrow walkway that looked out over the valley towards Dale.
"Great. Let's get back to Dale and work out what we're going to do." Harry said as he nudged his broom out over the battlements.
Once the four were a hundred yards from the mountain, Charlie grinned at his brother. "Last one back, gets to do the briefing." Charlie yelled over his shoulder and pushed his broom to racing speeds.
"Oi!" Bill yelled. "No fair." And went after him.
"Oh, boy…" Harry sighed.
"Tis obvious that they are brothers, Harry." Thorin laughed.
"Isn't it, just?" Harry snorted. "Shall we join them?"
"Not I." Thorin disagreed. "This broom is not my preferred choice, I shall not push my limited experience, unless I have no other choice."
"Fair enough." Harry nodded and the pair continued their sedate trip back to the ruined city.
Back in the Nest's pavilion, Harry sat with Thorin, Bill and Charlie on the pavilion's raised platform and addressed the gathering. Elves and dwarves sat intermingled with the Hogwarts refugees, all of them focused on the four as they spoke.
"So, Bill's got a recipe for a potion that will create a type of shield between the dragon's curses and the treasure, the stones of the buildings and whatever else it may have come in contact with. If Severus, Draco and the twins would work with him to make some, that would be handy." Harry ended the briefing.
"We have agreed to return the White Gems of Las Galen to Thranduil, along with the item that he had commissioned." Thorin added. "If it's not complete, I would request that a message is sent to him, to determine if he would prefer the gems returned as is, or if he wishes the commission to be completed. Either way, the gems have to be treated before they can leave, we cannot risk the dragon's infection spreading, it would have dire consequences for any who came in contact with it."
"Very true." Harry nodded. "And there seems to be a physical element to the… infection, so we're going to need antibacterial or disinfectant potions and cleansing potions, too. Professor Snape? All of us… except perhaps me, Headley and Seamus… are capable of brewing most of the basic potions. Can you set up some type of roster so that everyone can help with the less complicated potions?"
"That I can do, however, as you stated, there are some who I do not feel capable of brewing the necessary potions, but they care more than capable of ingredient preparation." Snape nodded. "With some minor instruction, I believe that even our elven and dwarven allies can participate in preparing the ingredients for the brewers. Yourself, young Headley, Mr Finnigan, Mr Woods, both Mr's Longbottom and Miss Brown, shall be among those not brewing. Garrick, I don't know your skills, so would prefer that you join them. Mrs Weasley and the mutt will do neither, some of the ingredients are harmful to those gestating, I would not risk their pregnancies, especially when we have many that can stand in their stead."
"I agree." Narcissa nodded. "I'd also recommend that Hermione not participate, unless we can confirm a lack of pregnancy." At Hermione's flush and Draco's squawk, she elaborated. "You are technically still on your honeymoon, a pregnancy often occurs during this time and the ingredients can cause dreadful damage to an unborn child. Do no risk it." Hermione pouted but with Draco's urging, she settled back in her seat and nodded. "Thank you, dear. We shan't be idle. We have sixty-four people to feed and while there are four of us, that is still a mammoth task."
"Why don't those of us that we know are not… safe… in a potions lab… why don't we work with Miss Sissy and see to food?" Harry asked. "That would give her ten of us, surely ten can make enough food for all of us?"
"I'll help there, too." Bilbo waved an arm.
"And Bifur and me." Bombur waved his ever-present ladle.
"Have either of you worked in a large kitchen?" Narcissa asked.
"Yes, ma'am." Both replied.
"How many did you feed, on an average day?" The medi-witch then asked.
"Twenty to forty." Bombur replied. "But I was only ever, second in charge."
"I took over running the kitchens for Took family gatherings, after my mother died. We usually had between one hundred and fifty, and two hundred at a sitting." Bilbo added.
"Excellent, Master Baggins. Will you take on the management of our communal kitchens?" Narcissa asked.
"Are you sure? I mean, I will, if you really want me to, but… are you sure?" Bilbo stammered.
"I am, Master Baggins." Narcissa nodded. "If we're going to feed everyone from the one kitchen, we need someone to manage it and Minerva, with her experience as Deputy Headmistress, is the closest that we have to a manager, but managing a school is considerably different from managing a kitchen."
"It is, and I've little kitchen experience at all, I must admit that I let Hogwarts' house-elves handle that for themselves." Minerva said.
"In that case…?" Bilbo nodded. "Yes, I'll manage the kitchen."
"Brilliant." Harry clapped and startled a number of people. "That's sorted. Professor Snape's in charge of the potions lab and Bilbo's in charge of the kitchen. It's almost ten-thirty, let's split into our teams and let our managers work out what we need to do and where to put us. Bilbo? If we break for lunch at twelve, is that enough time for your team to make up enough for all of us?"
"Certainly. It might only be rolls or sandwiches, but there'll be enough for everyone." Bilbo waved his hands.
"Very good, we shall leave you and your helpers in peace." Snape stood. "Everyone else? If you would follow me, we can determine who is doing what task to ensure that we can start as soon as ingredients are prepared." He made his way from the pavilion to the path. "This way, if you please."