A/N: We appreciate when our many readers take the time to comment on an aspect of our story that they disagree with. The decision of the MFBI to forego pressing charges against Dumbledore is one such aspect that many of you disagreed with.
Without risking too much in giving away future plot points, we can safely say that the MFBI and Agent Alex Mackenzie in particular want to be sure that any case they build against Dumbledore is a solid one, one that he cannot skate out of with a little rap on the wrist. Given his position as the Chief Warlock of Magical Britain and his past reputation, there is the strong possibility that he could perform a verbal sleight of hand and wiggle out of any negative consequences of attempting to kidnap Harry, arguing that it was for 'the greater good.'
There is also the slight wish on the part of some of our New York players that Dumbledore will learn from his negative experience and leave Harry alone. Of course, one does not keep a manipulative old fool down for long.
Now back to our story. We are rapidly moving to denouement where all of our Dark Lords receive what they deserve.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Mirror of Erised
The World Below,
October 31, 2001
A determined magical post owl can often be a force of nature. Given at times only a name and a general location, the magic within them forces them to search out and find the person to whom a letter or package is addressed; drives them to deliver the item in question and then either to await instruction such as a return letter or to get out of Dodge as fast as possible.
The Hogwarts mail owl was no different than any other one of its breed in that it could reasonably find a magical person in general and then deliver the item. This owl had received some Headmaster attention however, which increased its range and its ability to discern where its targets were hiding.
For Albus Dumbledore, times were getting desperate. His first throw of the dice, sending Remus Lupin, had resulted in the loss of a valuable pawn. With the braking of the oath geas, Lupin was now distancing himself from his old mentor and master as Albus liked to think of himself. The second throw of the dice in the Potter game resulted in major embarrassment for himself, magical Britain, and strong verbal and written warnings from both Alex Mackenzie, the MFBI special agent in charge of New York City and Minister Amelia Bones.
Albus, however, if nothing else, was remarkably patient and cunning. Although he had never heard of the old sales adage – if you can't get them by going through the front door, try the back; if not the back, try the window all to get the sale – he would most definitely have agreed with its premise. Nothing worth having was worth giving up. Harry Potter's destiny required him to be in Britain and to face Tom – thus destiny would have to be met even if he, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, had to help things along the way.
Thus the current exercise of a Hogwarts post owl with a shrunken package addressed to H. Wells or Hermione Granger, New York City.
Unfortunately for this poor Hogwarts post owl, he had never had to deliver a package to an underground community before. Even Gringotts London had an above ground location and address – but there was no address for owl delivery that could reach the Hub of the World Below.
Still the magical signature of the two people the owl was trying to reach appeared to indicate a tunnel in Central Park by a carousel and thus, with some owl misgivings, our poor tired and hungry post owl made a flying dive, released the package with a sharp twist of its beak and then flew off to find some lunch. Transatlantic flights are very exhausting even if one receives a power boost from a Hogwarts Headmaster.
The package fell and only avoided destruction because it landed in the grass beside the tunnel entrance. As luck or misfortune would have it, the small package attracted the attention of one of the tunnel resident children who, picking it up, decided to do what he had been taught to do – bring it to Vincent for examination.
It didn't help that Dumbledore, in celebrating his latest plan to get his hands on Harry Potter, failed to take into account the impact of an owl flying above ocean waves and through ocean storms. The northern Atlantic is a stormy ocean in any season – however, the weather during mid to late October can be particularly dangerous. Thus the writing detailing H. Wells or Hermione Granger had faded substantially by the time the package had arrived in New York – the only name visible on the package was now …Wells, New York City.
And thus, the latest attempt of Dumbledore to 'invite' Harry to join his side was already off to a bad start.
Vincent's Chamber, The World Below,
October 31, 2001
The package had ended up in what had been Vincent's inner sanctum, the one place where he could retreat from the pressures and cares of not only his normal roles, but now the added responsibility of being the new formal head of the council. The hour was late morning according to his internal clock – he had just engaged in his weekly thrashing of his father in a chess match and was looking forward to beginning a new challenge series with Dan Granger – despite the dentist's background in health care, it turned out that he had a real master's approach to chess and had actually given Vincent his first real challenge in some time.
Thus, when the package arrived on his desk, he thought nothing of it at first. He was often the recipient of rare books or items given to him by Helpers who knew of his love of literature. Lately, Hermione had been adding to these packages, as she would now and again seek out an old tome for her fiancé's father – ostensibly just to have his approval on the latest addition to the library, but in reality to indulge one of their secret shared pastimes.
Now that he had completed his week's agenda - the latest meeting with the goblins, a review of the work schedule for the next week, reading four stories that he had promised Kaitlin their new nursery worker, to read to the tunnel's youngest inhabitants – finally he had the time to open another surprise package from his future daughter-in-law.
Only when he slit the outer wrapping of the package open, a few unexpected things began to happen.
The item inside the package had been shrunk to fit the package and was set to trigger when in the presence of an environment sufficiently charged with magic to be considered a magical site. This of course was met due to the ongoing presence of Harry, Hermione, Fleur as well as the few magical visitors.
As the package's wrappings fell away, the item inside proved to be a mirror that began to grow in size as soon as it hit the air. Vincent knew instinctively that it had to be something from Harry's magical world – his empathic senses could feel the eldritch currents swirling around the mirror as it expanded quickly, yet did not break.
A part of him wanted to tear his eyes away from the mirror, but its swirling mists as it expanded to full size seemed to trap his gaze. Seconds later, images began to coalesce and people began to appear. It took him several fatal seconds to discern what he was seeing and by then, the mirror's magic had locked on him and was now holding him fast.
A face that he had not seen for twelve and a half years appeared before him – a face that cut his heart in two – and then figures began to appear behind her. Figures of Jacob, and other children, some with her petite features and others with his strong leonine features, but her eyes. He was there as well, looking content and fiercely proud of these children standing around him and a part of him realized this was a picture of the family that could have been, but would now never be.
He was entranced by the image as the figures waved to him and smiled, thus missing the inscription on the top of the mirror which read Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi or I show not your face, but your heart's desire.
In a flash, he was lost.
Gone was the sense of what he had now. Lost was the communication he shared with his wife and his son. In its place was an incalculable sense of loss and pain, which quickly mingled with rage. She was there – his Catherine was there. Somehow he had just to reach out and she would be there. All that he had loved and lost would be returned to him.
District Attorney's Office,
October 31, 2001
At the same time, Diana who was above investigating a suspect profile felt something sharp – a stab of fear and an icy touch of premonition. Something was wrong – something was very wrong with Vincent. The sense of communion and connection was broken and all she felt from him now was rage.
It was rage, as she had not felt from him since he had been in throes of searching for his son Jacob from Gabriel. Fear gripped her own heart – while she had only come on the scene with Vincent near the end of his journey to recover his son, she had heard from the tunnel dwellers of the Black Time – the time of Vincent's fugues and madness during Paracelsus' psychic tortures and how that had led to Catherine's conception of Jacob, but also the breaking of their bond.
She was now afraid.
She was afraid and worried.
What had triggered this, she wondered. And how would she cope – or how could she begin to even think of healing Vincent now?
It was time to return to Down Below and get some answers.
The World Below,
October 31, 2001
Down below, there seemed to be almost an audible crack and then with a roar, Vincent slammed his fist down on his desk, cracking it cleanly in half as the delicate psychic balance that was he broke. With a sudden burst of energy, his tortured soul expressed itself in the only way it could – smash through obstacles and then retreat to a place of solitude. Thus, at the sound of feet running towards him, he picked himself up and ran out of his chamber towards the outer tunnels, all the while growling and snarling as he ran, looking for a way to flee the sudden overwhelming surge of others' feelings, expectations and thoughts.
All the while the mirror stood tall and alone.
Even as he growled and roared his anger and his pain, he was already on the move and didn't understand the alert warning that was now coming over the pipes. Ever since the Black Time, the tunnel community, unknown to him, had set up procedures to give warning if he would ever go through a similar state. Thus, while the tunnels between the Hub and the lower levels were quickly cleared, one group of tunnel dwellers, led by Jamie and Mouse, began the careful and stealthy task of following the tunnel world's guardian.
Another group began the painful task of gathering Vincent's family and the council together to determine the cause and settle on what to do next.
Kitchen, The World Below,
October 31, 2001
The roar cut through the tunnels like a knife and all motions and conversations stopped. Mary, the tunnel's unofficial 'mother', put her hand to her mouth and whispered, "Oh, no! Not again. But it has been so long."
Fleur had already been down below since the early morning giving her weekly lessons in French to the children and she had decided to stay to help with Halloween celebrations that would take place later that evening. Now, she was enjoying a coffee with Alex who had managed to bring down an extra large dark Columbian Roast from the nearest Starbucks.
Alex had scheduled a late morning meeting with Diana and in anticipation of this event, he had brought two Columbian dark roast coffees for the police profiler, knowing her not so secret love affair with the coffee bean and her constant struggle with the tunnel world's tea. But when he had arrived, he learned that Diana was still tied up with her weekly meeting with Joe Maxwell and taking a seat in the community Commons, holding the two coffees, he could not resist the longing look Fleur had given the coffees in his hand. Even now, he could see how the French witch was treasuring each mouthful of the strong bitter coffee. Straight black, she had answered him once as to how she liked her coffee and straight black was the only way she took it.
However, at the sound of Vincent's roar, he saw Fleur's face go white, as she had obviously heard Mary's comment. "Qu'est-ce se passé?" she blurted out, barely hanging on to the cup in her hand.
He was confused at the sound as well and he looked around trying to place it. He turned to Fleur with a questioning look.
Fleur looked confused herself. "Je ne sais pas – I don't know." Then, hearing some of the other tunnel inhabitants speaking in low voices, she got up and approached Brooke, one of her tunnel friends.
"It's Vincent," Brooke immediately replied at Fleur's unspoken question. "Something must have set him off. But there are no crises, no threats.
"He only gets like this when something has upset his emotional balance – something major. And once he enters this state, he becomes a danger to himself and to the ones he loves."
Brooke looked distinctly worried now. "It's not been like this since the Black Time – since Paracelsus."
"Can we do anything to help?" Fleur wanted to know. She had come to love Vincent and Diana as her own relationship with their eldest son deepened.
"For now, stay out of his way. We have protocols for this – and for God's sakes, if you see Jacob, Cathy or Erin, keep them up here – especially Jacob. Vincent has a strong psychic bond with him and he could be influenced strangely by anything that Vincent might be feeling."
Brooke got up from the table and left to go to the nursery as others also went to pre-determined destinations, leaving Alex and Fleur alone.
Fleur looked at Alex with confusion on her face, which was now matched by the senior law enforcement officer.
"I had only come down to meet Diana and smuggle her some of this dark Columbian coffee," he said. "I suggest that we sit and wait for more information – we can't rule out another step of interference by the old man in Britain."
Fleur was surprised at his comment. "You think Dumbledore had something to do with this?"
Alex's face grew thoughtful. "As a MFBI agent, Fleur, one learns to listen to patterns. Up until your arrival in Harry's life a scant 18 months ago, life in this world appeared to be normal and unaffected by strange events. Then you, goblins, Hermione and finally Dumbledore and of course, magic got involved and everything in this world changed and changed dramatically for this community.
"While something else might have triggered Vincent's sudden change in behavior, it is clear from listening to Brooke and others that this change is very unusual and only occurred at a 'Black Time'. You could hear the capital letters in her statement – that is what you call something very unusual.
"Given that something strange is now taking place, and given that it is just on the heels of Dumbledore suffering a defeat in his attempt to get his hands on Harry…"
Fleur nodded her head in understanding. "You, being the suspicious Auror type, go to your first suspect – Dumbledore and magic."
"Yes, as law enforcement officers, one learns to always go with your gut unless something else bubbles to the surface."
Alex and Fleur sat quietly for several minutes as the action in the tunnel corridors picked up and then fell off. Only then, once he was convinced that things were quiet, did he get up.
"Miss Delacour, can I trust you to follow my every directive? I have a mind to investigate what is going on and I invite you to accompany me, but I would never consider putting you at risk.
"Your father would kill me."
Fleur now smiled in a predatory manner. "If my maman would leave pieces of you alive after she got through with you."
Alex actually shivered at the thought. He had heard what an aroused Veela could do transformed. "So I have your word that you will follow every word that I say…"
The sudden sound of bracelets clinking behind them startled Alex into silence and both he and Fleur looked up to see what could only be a voudon priestess standing behind them. What other surprises did this underground community hold for him, he wondered, even as Fleur's eyes widened in recognition on viewing her.
"Narcissa, it has been so long. What brings you here?"
Alex could feel the power of Narcissa's gaze upon both of them even though she was clearly blind. Then the Haitian woman put her hand on Fleur's shoulder as the hair on Alex's arm rose in reaction to the sudden feeling of magic in the air.
"Aieee…. Child of Fire. Powerful magic stirs in this place and it has touched Vincent. Evil intent. Evil goals – you must link with the Child of Passion and the Anchor to form the vehicle. The vehicle that will allow the Child of Fae to reunite the man and the beast or Vincent will be lost," Narcissa explained in a singsong voice.
"Do nothing until then – and know that Narcissa will light a candle for the power of three and beseech the loas for you. For now, wait for your partners in three come."
With that, she turned and left, leaving two bemused people in her wake. Alex could only look at the empty space that Narcissa had occupied only seconds earlier.
"I take it you have not yet met Narcissa," Fleur said, a half smile on her face as she saw the MFBI agent's chagrin.
"No, and I am wondering what other surprises this world holds out. But for now, I suggest we wait – I think her meaning is pretty clear and I have learned that a real voudon priestess should not be ignored."
They would not have long to wait, as events were moving topside as well.
NYC Coffee Shop,
October 31, 2001
Harry couldn't have been more nervous. Now that he had put his, Fleur's and Hermione's stories together, he quickly observed one date had marked all three of them in negative ways – Halloween.
Of course for him, 1981 had seen the death of his parents and 1994 had seen his own death, even if only temporarily, at the hands of a white haired old fool. Halloween 1991 had seen Hermione experience near death and then an obliviation from that same old fool while Fleur had had to watch and see the dark magic at the time of the casting of the blood summoning ritual.
No, Halloween was not a positive date for the three members of the Triad.
This was something he wanted to change – and his first step would begin today.
He fingered the small box he had in his pocket once again even as he waited for Hermione to arrive. While all three young people had been talking about lives together, he wanted to formalize things and thought he would begin today with his bushy haired friend. Why not underline the new lives that the three of them were building together and why not pop the official question today? Sebastien had told them that they were building something that hadn't been seen in over 400 years – so why not overturn a day that had had bad connotations for at least two of them?
A bushy haired woman wearing jeans and a pullover sweater proclaiming Columbia Medical School sitting down opposite him interrupted his thoughts. He rose and even as her eyebrows went up in surprise, he gently kissed her on the cheek.
"Hello, 'Mione. You are a pleasure to see for these tired eyes," he quipped.
Hermione's eyes softened at the complement even as she blushed slightly. "I will admit that I am intrigued as to why you would invite me to a coffee here on one of my busier days, Harry. Not that I don't mind the break – or the endearment."
"Well, I thought of where we've been, where we are, and where we're going," he began, his green eyes capturing her own brown eyes. "And I thought, since we have experienced pain in the past on this day, that today, this Halloween Day of 2001, I could begin a new tradition."
He knew Hermione was a quick thinker and he could tell from the rising blush on her face that she suspected something was up. Now could she guess what he was going to say next?
It was at this point that Barney rushed into the café. Looking around frantically, he relaxed visibly on seeing Harry and Hermione. He walked quickly to their table, aware that both had noticed him, even though he could not understand the look of frustration on Harry's face.
"Good, you're both here," Barney began, breathing quickly to catch his breath. "There's an emergency down below, Harry – the word is Fugue."
Harry's sense of frustration disappeared as Barney's words sunk home. Fugue – the agreed upon word helped him understand what was going on. It was a call for the family and the council to gather. Turning to Hermione, he asked, "Are you able to skip the rest of the day at school? This is a real emergency."
Hermione's face had whitened at Harry's suddenly serious tone. "Of course, I'll call right away and let the school know? But what is Fugue? And should we call Peter?"
"I'll explain on route and someone would have already contacted Peter. I don't know much more than you at this point, but it's a major and we won't learn anything up here."
Two minutes later, their table was empty, Barney was on route back to down below and the two young people were clearing the way for them to follow.
The World Below
October 31st, 2001
With a rush, Diana walked quickly by the kitchen and Commons, looking for anyone who could tell her what was going on. She had helped to revise the secret protocols once she had learned of their existence, but other than quick hurried encounters with tunnel dwellers, she had learned nothing on her descent.
She was thankful that tunnel dwellers would already be collecting Jacob, Cathy and Erin from their school for an obvious family emergency. She had been immediately concerned how the close bond between Jacob and Vincent would be affected by Vincent's fugue, but she would have to wait until the three children came below. No, for the moment her first priority was to get some answers.
It was as she was passing the Commons chamber that she noticed the two familiar figures still seated there. Alex and Fleur. Of course, she thought, remembering now that she had planned a meeting with Alex today. Realizing that she would probably have to send them away, she retraced her steps and entered the Commons.
Shaking despite her attempt to maintain control, she raised her hands in a gesture of apology. "Alex, Fleur – I'm sorry. However, there's an emergency and…"
Alex held up his hand. "Diana, normally, I would already have left. But we suspect that magic is involved."
Diana's heart seemed to stop in mid-beat. Magic – magic was doing this. Magic had returned her husband to a state that had nearly killed him before! Magic! Blast magic! For the first time resentment towards all the changes that had been sweeping into her world welled up.
"Magic? You are sure?" The sudden coldness in Diana's tone could not be missed and both magicals felt a sudden chill.
Fleur threw caution to the winds and moved to embrace her lover's mother, a woman who she loved and respected. She felt the profiler at first stiffen and then finally soften, as she did nothing but hold her. Only after the initial rage had obviously passed did Fleur now speak.
"Diana, please, listen. Narcisssa came up here and spoke to Alex and I, warned us about evil magic. She also said that we – Harry, 'ermione, and I – we can help someone called the Child of Fae to reunite the man and the beast."
Diana by now was damping down her rage, responding to Fleur's obvious love and affection. But she sucked in her breath as Fleur's words penetrated her consciousness and she stepped back from the young French woman's embrace, now eying her sharply.
"Child of Fae – reunite the man and the beast – you are certain of this?" She had begun shaking the young woman as her words ran through her mind.
"Oui – elle etait tres clair – she was very clear on those words," Fleur replied as her body shook.
Alex moved into Diana's field of vision and placed his own hand on the older woman's shoulder, breaking the manic shaking of the young witch. "Diana, I suspected before Narcissa came that it was something magical – and possibly from overseas. Then she spoke and pretty much confirmed my original thoughts."
The two magicals guided Diana to a chair and Diana sat down, thinking more clearly than she had done for some time. Alex joined her and shared the thoughts he had already mentioned to Fleur, then added Narcissa's full comments.
"While I think we can do nothing until Harry and Hermione get here to rescue Vincent, you and I can investigate the possible source." At Fleur's obvious desire to accompany them, Alex shook his head.
"You remember what Narcissa said. You need to stay and wait for your fellow Triad members, Fleur. But Diana and I can approach the scene and began to perform some basic detective work."
The young French witch now sat back in her chair even as the two law enforcement agents got up, her dissatisfaction clear. Ignoring her expression for the moment, he was glad that at least Fleur would wait for her bondmates to appear as he and Diana left the Commons.
"Let's look at this like the pros we are. Let's go over to his chamber and see if we can find any indication of something that might have set him off," he began. He could see that just this fact alone was giving Diana a focus and realized that the uncertainty must be killing her.
The two began to walk down the tunnel to where Vincent's office lay. As they approached the entrance to the chamber, they could see what appeared to be the contents of a shelf laying in heaps of destruction on the tunnel floor.
"Vincent," Diana shouted and moved to pass Alex and enter the Chamber, only to find her sweater grabbed and she being hauled back by him.
"Diana! I've got to see confirm if something magical set this off. You forget who we are involved with, but I don't and while I might believe Narcissa, I have to gather more information on what is involved before we can try to solve this."
She turned to the MFBI Special Agent for a moment, fury in her eyes before reason returned. "Make it quick, Mackenzie. I've got to find him – and help him."
He nodded his understanding and producing his wand, began a series of gestures and muttered words. Diana could feel sweeps of energy course over her and enter the room ahead of them – then it hit something and came bounding back.
"Franklin," was Alex's first word as he read the results of his wand's spells. "It's magical alright – and it is very dangerous for non-magicals, especially for empaths like you – and Vincent.
"I don't know what it is, but it is registering as a major magical item and there is a connection between it and your husband. The connection leads down that way," he added, indicating the right hand direction of the tunnels.
Diana sat down; her back against the wall of the chamber and her face a mask of despair and worry. "God, Mackenzie, how can I fight this? How can I rescue my husband? He's gone down to the lower levels, to the places where he fights his demons – and now you are telling me that I cannot go there because whatever is doing this to him is dangerous to both he and I?"
Alex placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Diana, you have my commitment and that of my agency that we will find a way to break this magic, rescue your husband and then nail the jerk who did this. Narcissa suggested that our new Triad and this 'Child of Fae' might be the only way. But I need to move fast and first of all, I need to bring in some of my contacts of our Department of Mysteries.
"Do I have your permission?"
Diana looked lost for a moment, and then nodded. "Make sure they swear the oath, Alex."
He nodded and seconds later a wispy white fox was racing down the halls to the world above. Then he turned his attention back to the outside of the chamber.
One of Alex's magical gifts that had only becoming enhanced with his years in law enforcement was the ability to sense magic. As he approached Vincent's study, he could feel a magical pull towards the chamber – or rather something within. Then he saw the edge of the ornate mirror standing up against the wall and he recoiled in horror.
What was that doing here was his first question. While he had never seen the object before in person, its existence was well known to people in law enforcement as an example of a restricted magical item that was dangerous for magicals and doubly dangerous for non-magicals. It was assumed that the Mirror of Erised was safe in Britain's Department of Mysteries and yet here it was now in Vincent's chamber.
Then a number of horrifying thoughts came to Alex's mind. Signaling to Diana to stay back, he decided he had to approach the mirror close enough to determine if his suspicions were justified. Weaving a protective shield about himself, he moved into the chamber, taking care not to look directly into the glass and began a series of diagnostic tests on the mirror itself and its surroundings.
Immediately he could detect the link of magic between the mirror and a location somewhere out in the tunnels. Of course, Vincent would now be bonded to the mirror. But then the tell tale indications of portkey magic flashed before his wand.
He had to admit that he respected whoever had performed this bit of magic. The mirror had a proximity portkey keyed to two magical signatures. He recognized the first one immediately – he had worked enough with Harry in his training and his meetings to recognize his signature immediately. The other one was tantalizingly familiar and it took him a few minutes to run through his memory – ah, yes, Hermione.
The magical signature that had made the mirror a portkey with proximity sensors was much more difficult to guess – he thought he recognized several different layers of confundus and there was a definite sense of magical power behind both the confundus and portkey spells. He could almost guess with absolute certainty that the ultimate destination of the portkey was none other than Hogwarts. But he would wait for the New York Unspeakables' forensic work before he would say anything.
Still, should his suspicions be proven correct, Albus Dumbledore would face American justice – there would no longer be any consideration given to his position or his reputation. Not if he was blindly throwing about restricted magical objects that posed a definite danger to non-magicals.
For now, however, he would have to wait for his colleagues.
The World Below,
Early Afternoon, October 31, 2001
Both Harry and Hermione had rushed below as quickly as they could and they found a worried group gathered in the council chamber/library. Harry's mother looked frantic and Brooke and other adults were watching Jacob Junior carefully. Harry quickly concluded that while his brother was feeling some of his father's feelings through the bond, somehow his father had closed off enough of the bond that Jacob was not incapacitated.
Both young people felt everyone's eyes on them as they entered and at first they were confused. There was an air of expectancy, almost of hope upon seeing them and even Diana's face showed some relief upon seeing them. Then they saw Fleur and their curiosity only increased.
Their companion and friend got up and embraced both of them quickly and then, holding their hands, returned with them to the council table. It was only then that Harry noticed Alex also sitting at the table.
While he was tempted to begin asking questions of Alex, he knew that in the absence of his father, leadership would devolve on the elderly Jacob Wells. "Grandfather, what is going on?" Harry asked, noting now that worry had returned to the faces of those around the council table.
Close up, he could see the strain of the day's events appeared to have aged his grandfather. His normal restrained humor had vanished: in its place was a lined face that struggled with worry, fear, and yet, surprisingly, hope.
"Harry, Hermione – we are glad you are safe and that you are here. We believe that your father has fallen victim to a magical attack and there appears to be a suggestion – from Narcissa – that you and your companions may be the means of restoring him to us."
Of all the things that Harry thought that he would never hear from his grandfather, he would have placed practical Dr. Jacob Wells citing Narcissa, the underground community's voudon priestess in any context in a council meeting at the bottom of his list. However, his first thoughts went out to his mother.
"Mom – what's going on? Why does Grandpa think that this is a magical attack and why would he even be considering what Narcissa would say?"
The other members of the council were silent, knowing that it would be Diana, Alex and Fleur who could best bring Harry and Hermione up to speed.
Diana recognized that Harry was trying to come to grips with the situation and she still found herself trying to digest what Alex and Fleur had shared first with her and then the whole council only twenty minutes earlier. She had forcibly calmed herself then – realizing that while she might be angry at magic for having done this to her husband, that practitioners of magic also might be the only means of restoring Vincent to her. That, and the obvious distress, love and concern that Fleur and to a lesser degree, Alex, were showing her and the other members of the community, were helping her to make a distinction between the magic that had captured Vincent and the magic that could free him.
Before she could get up out of her chair, she felt Harry come around the table and throw his arms around her, followed seconds later by both Fleur and Hermione. It was a measure of how much calmer she was for the moment that she accepted the love and support the three magicals were giving her.
"Harry, Hermione, Fleur – please let's sit down. I think Alex is the best person to talk about what we think we have learned about what caused this event – and he and Fleur can tell us about Narcissa's comments and strange words of what appears to be a prophecy," she said.
The three members of Triad sat down beside Diana and Harry noted in passing that the other members of the underground community's council had quietly made room for the three magicals to sit together.
At a nod from Dr Wells, Alex got up and began summarizing the events that he had both witnessed and guessed at. He decided to not hold back on his conclusions as he felt the Triad members needed to be aware of who he thought was behind the current situation.
"I sensed a proximity portkey keyed to two magical signatures – you, Harry and yours Hermione. I suspect that this item is a restricted magical object from Britain and I believe that the portkey is meant to draw either one or both of you back to Britain.
"I have arranged for two unspeakables from our Under Secretariat of Mysteries to perform a deeper analysis of the magical object."
Before he could add anything, Harry felt a sudden wave of pure, unadulterated rage burn through him. "Dumbledore – the bastard. It sounds like something he would do – get either me or Hermione as he would know from Lupin that Hermione and I are friends and that Hermione would not resist investigating a new magical object," he ground out.
His next words were said in the coldest tone that anyone had ever heard Harry use and by now, his green eyes were pure emerald ice. "Alex, I want you to commit to me now that if we find out it was him that we nail that old fool to the wall and that we throw him into the deepest darkest hole we can find for him."
Alex was watching Harry's two companions as he was speaking and noted that both young witches appeared to echo their young man's sentiments as they were nodding their own heads in approval.
"Rest assured – if I and my colleagues at the MFBI and the Unspeakables can conclusively prove that Dumbledore was behind this attack, he would face American justice.
"I swear by my magic that justice will be done." At that, the chamber glowed bright blue as his magical oath took effect.
Harry by now had calmed down and looked questioningly at Alex. "Mom said that you heard Narcissa's pronouncements – something about magic?"
Alex drew out a shrunken form of pensieve and placed it in the centre of the table. He touched it with his wand and the pensieve expanded until it filled over half of the table.
"This is a projector pensieve – we find it helpful when we are interrogating a suspect if we present what a witness has seen or heard in their memory. I think it best if we simply review the memory and this way, everyone can hear it and judge her comments for themselves."
With that, he touched his own temple with his wand and drew out the memory. Then placing it in the bowl, he stirred it and a projected image came alive in the centre of the table. Then the memory Narcissa began to speak.
Once the memory had halted, Alex shrank the bowl and put the now small item back in his pocket. "We think we know some of what she was referring to," he began. "The child of fire – that's Fleur. The anchor is Hermione and the child of destiny we believe is you, Harry.
"But I don't understand her other references – to a child of Fae or to reuniting the man and beast? We were just about to discuss this when you both arrived.
"Any ideas?"
Fleur and Hermione had both drawn blanks at Alex's question, but Diana slowly nodded her head in understanding as things were clicking and coming together for her.
"I'm the child of Fae," she began in a low voice, her detective hat now clearly on. "Narcissa called me that when she came to warn me about the attempt on your life, Harry, back on this date in 1994.
"She called me a child of Fae – and that is why your sister is called Erin. It was related to another name for the island of my ancestors – Eire – and I called her that to honor what she called me that day."
Then she turned to her father-in-law. "I suspect that you know what is meant by reuniting the man and the beast, Jacob?"
Dr. Wells looked confused for several seconds, and then his already grey face turned paler. "Dear God, it can't be. But it is the only thing that makes sense."
Seeing the almost complete confusion on everyone else's faces, Diana tried to summarize her now galloping thoughts. "I think, no, I am convinced that we in this community have done Vincent a grave injustice over the years. We have asked him to be both a model of civility, intelligence and education for our community – and yet, we ask him to also be our protector and our enforcer. We ask him to read poetry and talk about civilized and learned subjects – yet we also ask him to kill – to protect us if need be."
By now, several members of the council were sucking in their breath as they grappled with this idea. The elderly Jacob had put his head in his heads and was now slowly shaking his head.
"I doubt anyone else here besides Alex and myself have ever taken a life," Diana was now speaking to herself. "When I killed Gabriel – when I nearly killed the Angel who had captured my niece (See the new story "The Beast Within" which will be posted soon) – I discovered that I kill after making a reasoned decision. Vincent has called me a cold killer – I do what I have to do to protect my community or to render justice. That is why I always work my cases from a distance. I seek to keep some distance between the objects of my hunt and me.
"But Vincent – Vincent has two sides – the emotional, passionate side from which he derives the strength to kill or love and the intellectual side from which he derives the strength to read sonnets, lead a council or teach children. And we love the one but….
"Dear God, Diana, we despise the other. We don't want to see the Other Vincent because we are afraid deep down that he's not safe," Dr. Wells spoke in a voice now full of shame.
Cullen, the community's resident master carpenter, looked at the members of the community who had been around the longest. "When Vincent's done this before, what triggered this?"
It was Mary's turn to speak. "Whenever he was in deep emotional crisis – that occurrence when he was 17, those times when he saved Catherine time and time again, the Black Time of Paracelsus."
Diana knew she was on the path of understanding now. "We need – I need to tell him, to show him that both parts of him are needed, are loved. We need the man – and the beast – together. But how do we tell him this? How do I tell him this? How can I break through his divided soul to tell him this?"
Alex was thinking quickly. Things were also falling into place for him. "I have a theory about the magical object – it looks like something that the British have called the Mirror of Erised, the mirror of Desire. It would show the person gazing into it the deepest desire of their hearts. It is dangerous for magicals – people have been known to waste away gazing into something they might never achieve or obtain. For a non-magical with no magical protections, the effects would be much worse.
"What would Vincent or a part of him want above all else?"
Understanding flashed again into Diana's mind, but with it a sudden pang of fear and loss. With difficulty, she spoke.
"Catherine – his first love Catherine Chandler."
Alex now understood. "But what about you and the family he now has?"
"Vincent has always had difficulty dealing with deep emotions and the love he felt for Catherine, the bond they shared and then the loss he experienced when she was kidnapped and then brutally murdered nearly tore him apart," Dr. Wells now added. "We – I – rejoiced when eventually he was able to see that he could love again and that he was able to give and receive the love of Diana. But a part of him has never given up the possibility of retrieving Catherine."
Ales nodded his head in understanding. "I think that is why the only person who can work to reunite the two sides of Vincent is the one person who taught him to love again. I think Narcissa is right, Diana – I think that person is you."
Diana felt both hope and despair. "But how am I to tell him this? In this state of fugue, he is closed off from others. I would have to find a way to enter his mind – enter his mind and find a way to convince the two sides of him to reunite. But how can I do that?"
Harry smiled for the first time since arriving down below. "I think I know – legilimency!"
"What?" was the collective word expressed by everyone around the table except for the four magicals.
"Legilimency – the use of magic to enter someone else's mind and communicate with that other person," he replied. "It is part of a area of magic call the mental arts."
Alex could feel excitement rising within him. "I need to talk with the members of Triad – but I believe it is possible with their combined magical connection and powers that perhaps they could find a way to help project Diana into Vincent's mind – and from there, Diana, you could do the rest.
"Unfortunately, I don't know what how they would do this."
Harry's initial burst of enthusiasm had plummeted once Alex had begun explaining what was involved. He had been proud of contributing a possible solution but he realized that he had no idea of how to actually implement his suggestion. However, a soft French accented voice broke the silence.
"It is the only way, 'arry, 'ermione, Diana – I see that now. And I believe that I know how to make it happen," Fleur began.
She could feel the eyes of everyone on the council now focusing on her and she blushed under their regard. She had never spoken before with so many about her gifts as a Veela, but she could see a path of action now. Her face took on a vulnerability that few in the tunnel community had seen before as she turned imploring eyes to Diana and Dr. Wells.
"You know that I am a witch and some of you even know that I am a special kind of witch – a Veela. One of our gifts as Veela is that we can sense strong emotions and can, in some cases, even follow them. Diana, your love for Vincent and his for you has always shone like a star in this world and it has warmed my heart since I got to know you.
"What I propose to do is to unit with my two companions in magical Triad and, with the power of our magic and my Veela gift, locate Vincent's mental and emotional self – and allow you to enter the world he is in.
"That is all that we could do – we would furnish the means and the power to get you there, but what happens from there depends on you – and Vincent."
Alex could see that the young witch was shaking now as she concluded her comments. He could see that her two companions now reached out and took her hands, squeezing them in silent support even as she looked around the council table. He found himself wishing for his friend Sebastien to be here now – he would know much more about this phenomenon than he did at present.
"Fleur, are you sure that you could do this? Have you had any training in legilimency or occlumency?" Alex asked.
"It is standard training for those who work at Gringotts," she replied. "The goblins are always concerned that unscrupulous witches or wizards might try to pick our minds to get at their secrets.
"I am considered an adept in training."
Alex silently whistled, then turned to the rest of the council. "That is high praise from the goblins – they would be very concerned about security and would require that of their employees. I would suggest that we consider this as a partial fulfillment of Narcissa's words."
As first Harry, then Alex, and finally Fleur spoke, Diana felt hope rise, fall and then rise again. It definitely sounded like the only means to get at Vincent at the present. She was ready to vote for the process to begin, but Dr. Wells spoke first.
"Are there any other ways that you think might work – magically speaking?"
Alex shook his head. "The enchantment that I believe is holding Vincent is place is dangerous for magicals and doubly so for non-magicals – and the longer that he is ensnared by it, the more the risk rises that he will not be able to get out from under it. I believe time is of the essence and as magic started this problem, I believe that magic has suggested a way to break the connection."
Pascal, the master of the tunnel's pipe communication system and council member, now spoke. "Is there a risk to the three young people and to Diana if they go ahead with this method?"
Alex shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly do not know. Mental magics have always been an item of possible risk – the one projecting his or herself into another's mind could become lost and unable to return. Add to that the procedure that our Triad is proposing – I honestly don't know."
Peter Alcott was torn. He was nervous about the possible risk, but had seen the love between Vincent and Diana and knew the love that the three young magicals had for Harry's adoptive parents. He cleared his throat and looked directly at the three of them.
"Harry, Hermione, Fleur – are you prepared to face this risk? Do you know what to do? I laud your desire to do something and can see how you feel that Narcissa has proposed a possible solution – but I don't think that we as a community could bear to risk losing all of you as well as Vincent and Diana.
"Especially since I finally have a medical apprentice who can finally replace me and this old doctor here," pointing to Dr. Wells.
A chuckle rose up from the council members and eyes grew moist at the obvious hint of affection that Peter was directing both to his old colleague and his young protégé. Hermione blushed at his words, but Harry spoke for the three.
"I trust Fleur – and the love my mother has for my father. I am willing to risk myself and while I can't speak for Hermione or Fleur, I'm sure that they share my sentiments.
"This community has given me so much – has given my companions so much. How could we not risk ourselves to repay that love and acceptance?
Both young women were nodding their agreement as Harry was speaking. However, his next words shocked the council. "Besides, I feel somewhat responsible for this magical attack – if it is the old fool, then he is doing this to get at me."
Diana reached out to her son, tears now flowing down her face. "Harry, Harry – how many times have we told you that just because someone does something wrong or evil, that it is not your fault. It is their fault, their choice, not yours to assume."
"I propose we vote," Cullen broke the silence. "I vote that we allow our 'Triad' to work with Diana and try to reach Vincent – I don't see any other option before us."
Pascal, Mary, Peter and William nodded their agreement as Dr. Wells looked around the council table. Only one man appeared to dissent with the vote.
"Brandon, what is your position?" the old tunnel patriarch asked.
The community's stonemason looked at his hands, then looked at the other people in the room. "Harry, Diana – please understand that I am not opposed to either of you or to your two female friends. I just think that we have been turned upside down since the discovery that you are magical – and now that magical world has attacked our community and one of our leading members at that.
"I just think that we need to reexamine this entire magical thing if and when we solve this crisis.
"That is why I am reluctant to support still another magical effort in this community. And that is why I vote to abstain from voting."
Alex was pleasantly surprised by Brandon's comments. He had realized that with the magical attack against Vincent, that there was a possibility of anti-magical sentiment to make its appearance in the tunnel community. But even now, it was more a reluctance to support magic than an attack against the magicals now calling the community home.
The elderly patriarch also was relieved that the opinionated stonemason was not allowing strong feelings to intrude in the current crisis situation. "I would welcome that discussion, Brandon, once the current situation is resolved."
Turning to the other people in the room, he nodded his head. "I find myself agreeing with Peter – while I am reluctant to allow our younger members of the this community to risk themselves, I am forced to accept that they present the only possible solution at the moment.
"All that I ask is that you do what you must do – and do it quickly.
"Godspeed."
With that, the council members rose, leaving the four magicals and Diana in the room alone.
"Do you have any idea on how to do this?" Harry began.
Fleur shook her head. She had felt so inspired moments before as she had spoken to the council about following emotions to Vincent and then allowing Diana's mental self to piggy back on their magic into Vincent's mental world. But now that it was just Triad, Alex and Diana, she was drawing a mental blank. If only her mother or father were here right now, she found herself wishing.
Harry's eyes had gone unfocused as a sudden recollection of his earlier goblin teaching came to mind. Something about intent and using intent to shape magic to one's purposes. They had to think – what was their intent now? What were they hoping to accomplish?
All their parents had been of the opinion that the three of them had sufficient magical power to do amazing things. So if the goal was to use their magic to transport his mother to his father's mental landscape, then why not simply do it?
"Let's get as close to Dad as possible," he began slowly, thinking now out loud. "There was a similar idea in one of my fantasy series – the Wheel of Time series – where wielders of the One Power could link their power together and give the leadership to one among their number and then that person would use their combined power to accomplish great things."
Hermione was quick to envision Harry's idea. "I would suggest that we place Diana in the center of us three and that we would hold hands as we link." Looking at Diana, she clarified. "That way you would be surrounded by us and by our magic – in a physical sense at least."
Fleur was trying to remember what she had learned about tracking emotions and emotional bonds. "We would need to be close, but I don't know how close to Vincent. Alex, you mentioned that there was a magical signature proximity portkey. How far away would we have to be to avoid triggering it?"
"Ten to twenty feet I would suspect. I would think that getting close to Vincent would not trigger the magical portkey – the portkey is on the mirror, not the person being enchanted."
"So we descend to the lower levels, close enough to sense Vincent, but not too close to interfere with the magical connection, sit in our circle, call up our magic and then let our French companion lead Mom to Dad's emotional landscape?" Harry was trying to summarize his understanding.
Hermione's face took on a worried look. "I wish we had more time – time to research just what exactly we are doing," she said in a plaintive tone.
Fleur placed her hand on her friend's arm. "I know, 'ermione. You and a library – you are convinced that in them you will find anything. There are little or no books on what we are attempting to do – even the mention of a Veela Triad is simply that – a hint here or there.
"No, I think 'arry is right – it is our intent that matters. Magic has a way of answering intent and carrying out what the wielder wants it to do.
"I think we are writing our own book here now."
Diana and Alex looked at the three members of Triad. It was obvious that neither of them could advise them here now – they were coming up with their own solutions and despite the uncertainty expressed by the three, both felt things were going in a right direction.
"Well, then, let's get going," Diana said, rising up from the table. "If I have to wait until I get in contact with my husband's inner self before I figure out what I am going to say to him, why should you be any different? You may not know how to do it, but I feel more comfortable in your hands in regards to this than anyone else I know.
"So, let's get going down to the lower levels so that we can get this show on the road."
With a shrug, the four magicals followed Diana down to the lower caverns.
The occasional roar of a soul in anguish told the five travelers that they were approaching the current location of Vincent. Before they could stumble upon the cavern where the leonine man was lying, Mouse and Jamie, self-appointed sentinels and protectors, stopped the small group.
"Go no further you can. Vincent not well, Vincent not happy," Mouse told Harry and Diana. "Almost as bad as the Black Time, he is."
Jamie nodded her head in the light of the lumos charms on the magicals' wands. "He's been crying out less, but he doesn't respond to our attempts to call his name. Please tell me that you have a plan."
"We do, Jamie," Diana said, reaching out her hand to clasp the young woman's shoulder. Could you give us some space and keep watch at a distance? It is very important that we be left alone to try something that Harry and the girls came up with."
Jamie's hunger to see what was going to be tried was clear on her face, but she decided, given the situation, to remain silent. Harry in turn squeezed the shoulder of one of his old mentors.
"Mouse, thanks for looking out for Dad. We really need some space and time to try out our magical solution – and we must not be disturbed."
The two tunnel dwellers retreated a short distance away and Harry knew that Mouse and Jamie would ensure there would be no unexpected interruptions. It was at that point that a silver fox was seen to be running towards Alex and stopped in front of him. Low words were heard and Alex gave a short response before the fox turned and ran back up the tunnels.
"That was a patronus message from Black, one of two unspeakables from our Undersecretrariat of Mysteries. They are examining the magical object in Vincent's office even as I speak and will be coming here shortly. Could you let your two guards know?"
Harry nodded quickly and called Jamie and Mouse back. As he was explaining the new information, Fleur, Diana and Hermione were examining the outside of the cavern.
Like many of the underground tunnels in this section of the World Below, the floor was sand, giving evidence that in the past water had flowed along this pathway. Now the floor was dry and Fleur felt comfortable in sitting down in a cross-legged position, Hermione and Harry soon joined her in setting up a circle with Diana sitting down in the centre.
"Maman…Diana," Fleur began, hesitating over the new name she had decided to give Harry's mother. "This is a first for us and we will admit that we have little or no idea on how exactly to go about this. But I believe 'arry is right when he says that we must link hands and link our magic.
"I will be taking the lead here as I have some idea of what I am looking for – even now, I can see the love you feel for Vincent and I can sense the emotional distress he is feeling in the cavern."
The other two members of Triad took one another's hands and Harry began in a low voice. "Our intent is clear. Our intent is pure. Let our magic link and come together; let our magic become one."
Fleur felt it first, a sense of two other bright lights giving off warmth, love and acceptance. She somehow could tell the two bright lights apart – on one side was a whirling giant ball of green magic, given to impulsive and quick movements while on her other side shone a steady calm light. She could sense herself now – a ball of flame and heat, giving off sparks, ready to explode into energy and fire. Narcissa had aptly named her – she was the child of fire, of passion.
Slowly her two fellow lights could be seen extending tendrils of green and steady magic to her and as they did so, her own magic roared in response. She now felt she was riding a wave of pure energy and for a moment, a brief moment, she felt as if she would be overwhelmed. It was a voice from the steady light that called her back.
"Fleur, don't worry. I am beginning to understand why you guys call me the anchor. Stay focused – stay centered. Harry and I have you."
There was a definite note of affection and humor in those thoughts and Fleur found herself calming under the steady thoughts of her bushy haired companion. Then a surge of impatience – that could only be Harry.
"Let's get going here – I don't know how much time we have here," his thoughts echoed through the magical connection.
Fleur said nothing, but instead began opening her own special Veela magic and casting about for those emotional bonds – there, in the centre between them glowed a strong cool light with definite hints of passionate undertones – so this was what her other companion's mother's emotional center was like. This was the essence of Diana – the cool thinker and hunter, masking a passionate woman underneath.
Looking away, she could see a light that was both bright and then dark. A closer look revealed rotating colors of dark red and white spinning round and round. This was the vision of the emotional centre of Vincent. Leading away from him, she could see a black thread of what could only be the magical connection to the object in his office. It was pulsing as the rotating colors spun round and round.
"Diana?" Fleur called to the cool light. Within seconds, she could hear the concerned voice of Harry's mother. "Fleur?"
"I see you and I think I know what I must do. But I can only carry you to Vincent's emotional centre – I cannot push you in. It has to be him who allows you to enter."
"I thought so – but all we can do is try. Let's do this."
Fleur called up an image of a basket and placed an extension of Diana's cool light inside. Then conjuring a set of hands, she carried the extension of the light across to the swirling, rotating colored ball that was Vincent.
For a brief second, it appeared to Fleur that the rotating ball was gathering it's energies to strike at Diana, but somehow, she knew that thoughts were exchanged and then suddenly, the basket with light inside was swallowed up.
Somehow, they had done it. They had carried a portion of Diana inside the emotional turmoil and madness that was Vincent now.
A/N: We do apologize for cutting things off here – we usually do not like leaving a cliffie like this, but this chapter was already up to 13,500 words and we still have some scenes to resolve. Thus we cut this chapter into two parts and we will assure you that the second part will be up within a week, all things considered.
And yes, of course, we will be moving into final confrontations soon. We encourage you to read a stand-alone, but related story, "The Beast Within" which will be posted very shortly. It gives us a glimpse into the world below and the relationship between Diana and Vincent pre Harry Potter.
So thanks again for allowing us to be part of your world