Chapter Six: Learning Curve
Monday, 7th June 1999.
It took two full days for the system to adequately thaw the Porta Mundas without damaging its mechanism. And they triggered it without passengers for the first trip, just to be sure no one was harmed by its operation. When the tent arrived fully intact, Harry and Luna had dashed inside and allowed Merlin to send them back home.
Hermione stood just outside the rings waiting for it to open again and return with her friends. It had been weeks since she had seen them in person and she was getting antsy. Dobby and Winky had come and gone several times while they'd been away, and even Kreacher had made a visit to the underground laboratory but it hadn't been the same.
Her eyes flicked upwards from her reverie as the heavy sound of the platform opening drew her attention. The series of large rings burst upwards once more and a bright light rushed downward from the topmost ring, reintegrating the tent in the place Luna had set it over a month beforehand.
The rings rushed back downward, tucking once more into the floor before the metal cover locked back into place and silence filled the cavern once more, deafening in its weight after the loud mechanism.
Hermione took a tentative step forward before a heavy object collided with her midsection and sent her tumbling to the rocky floor. Her eyes shifted downwards and she couldn't help the smile that filled her face as she looked at the dirty blonde hair of her young friend.
"It's good to see you too, Luna." She said as she wrapped her arms around the small girl. "I missed you."
"It's good to be back. And it's good to know the air above me right now isn't lethally cold."
"Not your favourite holiday destination?" Harry chuckled, standing in the opening of the tent and watching the two girls.
"Not just yet. Maybe once we do the place up a little. It's rather grey right now." Luna replied, standing up and pulling Hermione to her feet as well.
"So, what have you learned in our absence?" Harry asked Hermione, stepping forward and allowing her to crush him into a tight hug.
Hermione relished the contact for several moments before she spoke. "I've learned a lot. We finished translating the history text. It's not fully comprehensive. Only covers their origin, the trip to this galaxy and the first thousand or so years as they spread out. Some of the other texts help give a guide to the expansion of their empire across the galaxy though."
"That's good to hear."
"Professor McGonagall also sent a message with Dobby on his last visit. She was disappointed that we all chose to hide during the anniversary event, but she understands why we did. And Ron has sent a few letters. I left the ones addressed to you on your bed."
Harry smiled at her as the three entered the tent together for the first time in what felt like months. He sighed as he sat at the table in the centre of the large expanded space. "I think it's time to reemerge for a while at least. Merlin estimates it will take about two weeks to fully defrost the areas needed to get the planetary sensors up and running. And I do miss our other friends."
Luna smirked at him as well. "It will be nice to visit a few people. We've been tucked away here for a while. Neville had a few new seedlings he wanted to show us in his last letter. Though he seemed to know we'd be running off somewhere over the anniversary."
"So…" Hermione paused and glanced at the two now back within arms reach once more. "Does this mean we're breaking camp?"
The others appeared to consider it for a moment before Luna shook her head. "I don't see the need. We have number twelve for our needs when at home. We can leave the tent here for an easy return whenever we feel the need. But it will be nice to head back into civilization for at least a few days."
Harry simply nodded his agreement and Hermione smiled. "Very well, back to the big city, it is."
ϟ
Wednesday, 23rd June 1999
Harry watched quietly as Luna and Neville talked back and forth at high speed, discussing his latest finds as he instructed her on how best to handle the delicate growth. Harry enjoyed his time with his fellow Gryffindor, Neville having truly come into his own after their aborted seventh year at Hogwarts. Not only had he grown into his body, but he'd also kept the steely confidence that had flourished under the thumb of the Carrows.
Now the boy had become a man who was out exploring the world much as Harry had chosen to do, only focusing on the plant life on the world's surface, rather than the dusty expanses Harry journeyed to underneath it.
"It has real promise, Hermione," Neville said, drawing Harry's attention once more. "You should have seen the stretch of jungle I found it in."
"It's fascinating. What sort of tests have you done so far?" The brunette asked in reply.
"Early days so far. Madame Sprout has grafted a seedling into the upper-year greenhouses, and she's seen incredible growth so far. It seems to encourage the growth rate of plants in its proximity. She had to relocate the Tentacular before it became too big for that greenhouse, though. And thus too dangerous."
"Incredible," Luna whispered, gently running her finger down the back of the silvery purple plant's stem.
Harry smiled at the normality of the scene as he felt a rather abnormal vibration in his jean pocket. His eyes flicked to Hermione whose own had locked on his in return. She too had received the notification.
"Neville, I want to learn a lot more about this guy," Luna encouraged, "but, how would you like to have a look at what we've been doing the last month or so?"
Neville brightened at the offer and Harry and Hermione glanced to one another, the idea washing back and forth for a moment before they both nodded in unison. "That sounds like a brilliant idea," Hermione said.
"Do you have any good cold-weather gear?" Harry asked, standing.
"Cold weather gear? It's the middle of summer guys." The other man responded, smiling at the idea.
"Trust me," Harry said, a wicked smirk on his face. "You're going to need it where we're going."
"Going, as in now?"
"Yeah, looks like the potion we left brewing has reached a point where we need to give it a stir," Hermione added, joining Harry on her feet.
"You can borrow some of mine if you don't have any to hand. I've stocked up since our last visit. I'm sure between the four of us we can fix any sizing issues, you being such a log of a man these days." Harry laughed, patting the solid lad on the back.
'Er, sure… I guess. Should I put this somewhere in partic…" Neville was cut off as Kreacher appeared in front of him and took the plant from his hands. The elf turned and was about to pop away when Hermione stopped him.
"One moment. Where would you suggest, just in case we aren't back in a few days. I'd rather return to a house than a jungle."
"Anywhere inside should be fine, so long as you don't have any potted plants inside. By a window would be best so it gets enough sun, and it requires watering three times a week when kept indoors."
"Thank you, Kreacher," Hermione nodded and the elf vanished with the plant.
She picked up her bag, a constant companion even after the war that Harry knew she kept stocked with everything she needed, just in case. He stepped up beside her and took her free hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and getting a smile in return.
Luna mirrored his position beside Neville, taking the man's hand and smiling. "Ready?"
Neville flicked his eyes over the three of them and shook his head slightly. "As I'll ever be, I guess."
Harry focused his magic and fixed the lab in his mind before he stepped into the pull and a moment later he and Hermione appeared in the cavern, followed seconds later by Luna and her passenger. Neville looked frantically around the space and his eyes widened as he took in the piles of treasure.
"Wow."
"That's not the half of it. This is only the first leg." Harry explained, squeezing Neville's broad shoulder as he passed him and headed into the tent. "Come on in, we'll get you outfitted before we leave. For leg two."
It took about half an hour for the quartet to dress, and properly size the loaner clothing for Neville. The boy looked a little lost wrapped in the heavy clothing staring at the trio before him, all standing in the middle of the tent's living space as though they were waiting for something.
A ding in Harry's pocket seemed to bring the life back into their still forms and he stepped over to Neville once more. "This might look a little weird, but it's perfectly safe, I promise."
"Safe is a relative term when used in conjunction with the name Harry Potter." Neville joked in return.
Harry could see the man was nervous, and young Neville might have cracked, but older Neville wasn't afraid of a new challenge. Harry smiled and clapped him on the back as a deep metallic rumbling surrounded the tent and a piercingly bright light shot down from the ceiling, sweeping over them all before disappearing into the floor. Neville looked around surprised, but noted that nothing seemed to be different about their surroundings?
"What was that?"
"That is a Porta Mundas, though Luna likes calling it the rings. Step outside." Hermione suggested, a knowing smile on her face.
Neville stepped up to the challenge, moving to the opening, glancing once over his shoulder before he opened the flap and stepped out. Harry gestured for Hermione to go next. "Your first time too. Ladies first."
She just looked at him fondly before she followed Neville, Harry and Luna ducking out after them and finding themselves once more within the grey and white walls of Fundamenta. Neville was completely still, his eyes flicking back and forth across the view before him, seemingly unable to fathom what he was seeing.
Hermione however, immediately moved forwards. She had seen glimpses of the facility in her occasional holographic visits, but they did not do the sight justice. She soon arrived at the chair and began looking over it thoroughly, as if trying to work out exactly how it worked from sight alone.
Harry chuckled to himself as the air to his right shimmered and Merlin appeared. "Welcome. I see you brought others this time."
"You know Hermione, of course." Harry pointed to the girl in the middle of the room who simply waved in their direction but never left her task. "And this is a friend from school. Neville Longbottom, may I introduce the artificial representation designed to imitate Merlin."
Neville's head swung on a swivel and fixed on the shimmering hologram that nodded in his direction. The boy's eyes swung to Harry for a moment, then back and forth between the two several times. "Potter's don't do normal."
"You can say that again." Luna joked, moving to face the hologram. "How is progress?"
"The thawing has gone perfectly so far. I've avoided several locations due to structural repairs being required first or due to the wiring in that portion having sustained damage, but the sensor array is fully uncovered and operational. I was awaiting your message to begin the scans."
"Scans? Sensors?" Neville asked, confused.
"Right, magical upbringing." Harry considered for a moment before continuing. "Merlin here is a three-dimensional representation of a computer interface. Computers are machines that can handle huge calculations in moments and be designed for any number of tasks that might take a normal person years to do manually. The sensors are built into the structure and can 'look' at the environment around them and report its state back to the computer.
"The scans we're about to do will cover most of the planet, hopefully. We're looking for some more machines and technology made by the people who made this place, a very very long time ago."
"And this is the cave you found in Glastonbury? It looks very different to what I pictured."
"No, the dark cave we were in before is in Glastonbury." Luna corrected. "Fundamenta is a little further away. We are currently at the foot of the Transantarctic Mountains in a region of Antarctica known as Oates Land, somewhere between the Byrd and Mackay glaciers."
Luna smiled openly at Neville, as though she had just told him they had merely popped down to the shops for some milk, rather than instantly travelling halfway around the world to a million-year-old hidden facility.
"Take your time Neville. We've been coming to terms with it all for the past two months." Harry advised, giving his shoulder another pat as he walked towards the centre of the chamber. "Having fun?"
Hermione flicked her eyes up to him from where she was currently inspecting the potentia socket, the large crystal battery still powering the facility even in its raised state. "It's incredible. Why did I choose not to come last time?"
"It's incredible down here, now that Luna turned on the heating. The trip here, and the one to find the old conscensa... not so much."
"Right, that was it. Tell me there is no reason for us to go outside this time."
"If there is, I'm not going. It can wait until summer at least." Hermione laughed at his comment, standing and looking at the chair, her lower lip suffering in its usual fashion as she warred with competing desires. "Go on. Luna and I have both had a go. Neville wouldn't know what to do."
Hermione glanced at him momentarily before curiosity won out and she leapt into place, the chair coming to life underneath her. "Wow."
Harry watched as she worked the system, several holograms appearing for a moment before vanishing to be replaced by new information. As he watched, Neville and Luna walked up to join him on the platform. "How are you faring, Neville? It's a lot to take in."
"I'm getting there, slowly. We're really at the bottom of the world?"
"Close to it." Harry checked his bearings for a moment. "The true bottom of the world is about a thousand kilometres that way." He pointed south, though down here that accounted for most of the horizon. "At least, the axis on which our planet turns."
Neville stared at him blankly, the information clearly leaving the man somewhat stunned.
"So… Hermione, want to get this show on the road?" Harry asked.
"How?" She replied from the chair.
"The interface is primarily mental. Think about scanning the planet for the stuff we're looking for. The computer will do the rest."
"And what are we looking for?" Neville queried coming out of his stupor.
"A very old relic of this civilization used for transport over extremely long distances. They call it an Astria Porta. It used to be in this structure, but millions of years of water being its inevitable, unstoppable self sheared it off and took it away." Luna explained.
Above the chair, new holograms appeared, representations of the landmasses of earth spread out in a 2D plane, seemingly arrayed at random. Yellow lines swept over their surfaces as the search checked for items matching the parameters and anything they located was highlighted in green. Harry looked on with surprise as the map began to practically glow all across Egypt. There were many areas of long-dead civilizations that showed up similarly, indicating old Alteran materials may be present in those areas.
However, the spots that most drew his attention were the extremely bright pair over two locations in the western United States of America. "Wow, those ones are intense."
"You're not kidding. Given the material we're searching for is non-terrestrial in nature, that's a lot of hits." Luna added.
"Non-terrestrial?" Neville asked.
"It means not of this Earth. The Astria Porta are made of a substance that does not naturally occur in this solar system. So we're searching the earth for traces of that element. For a substance not found here, there is a hell of a lot of it here. Why are these two glowing so strongly?" Harry asked Hermione.
"Extremely dense response in those areas. One of the many signals at each point is definitely an Astria Porta."
"An?" Luna asked.
"Yes, an. There are two, one at each facility. And that's not all." The hologram showed a new image far to the right, but there was no landmass visible in this one, only two tiny green dots in a vast emptiness. "There is a severely damaged clavis and an Astria Porta in orbit. A bad orbit, both are going to reenter the atmosphere at a terrible angle in maybe a few months. The clavis first, then the other about two months later, based on their current trajectory."
"Three? There are three Astria Porta on or around Earth. And we couldn't find one." Harry laughed at the absurdity.
"Ok, that is concerning," Hermione noted as a red dot appeared over the green one in Colorado.
"What was that?"
"It just activated. Outgoing."
"They're using it?" Luna asked, surprised.
"Evidently. But, I detect no clavis in range. The nearest one is in Nevada, and it's showing as drained. Likely the one that used to be here. Cut off from the facility's power, it would have only lasted so long. It wasn't designed to reenergize from ambient energies according to the records."
Harry glanced at Luna and Neville, before trying not to laugh at the completely lost look on his male friend's face. "Sorry, Neville. We tossed you in the deep end today, didn't we."
"I mean, I understand some of the words… which is not anything new when I listen to Hermione." The man poked back.
"Hermione is correct," Merlin added as he materialised beside Neville, cutting off Hermione's retort. "It is very possible to use an Astria Porta without a clavis. Naquadah is excellent at holding a charge and directing it to the crystal circuits. You could manually turn the inner ring of these models and make a connection."
The red dot vanished, returning to its solid green state. "But?" Harry prompted.
"But, I doubt that's what is happening here. Your people have advanced technologically to the point that I believe it would be possible for them to activate the Astria Porta via a computer system."
"And this is bad?" Luna asked, noting the tone of Merlin's response.
The image nodded solemnly. "It could be. As I said, the Astria Porta is a complex device. The fourth-generation models can return one thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight different energy signals to the control device based on any number of connection errors, warning messages or problems with its circuitry. The clavis reads those signals and if any of them would result in a threat to the destination or source of the connection, or any stellar body between the two, it will send a kill command to the Porta. This system was developed over many centuries. And after several horrible incidents. The second-generation models almost caused the Altera to abandon the technology altogether."
"You think any computer system they have it connected to won't be able to interpret the signals?"
"Yes. I am sorry to say but as advanced as you have become since I last walked the earth, so to speak, you're beyond primitive compared to the state the Altera were at when they invented the Astria Porta and perfected its technology."
"How bad exactly could it be?" Harry queried.
Merlin sighed before he waved his hand and another image appeared beside him. The image was of a large mountain that had waves of odd lines emanating outwards from it. "About that bad." He shook his head as they watched in confusion. "They've already connected to a destination in close proximity to a black hole at least once in the last year. You can still see the residual gravitational anomalies in the area."
"The Porta allowed them to make a connection like that?" Luna asked, stunned.
"The Porta itself is relatively complex by modern human standards, but it is the dumbest device in the circuit, at least this generation were. It detects the anomaly, but it's the clavis that determines how to handle the responses. Without one, they are, to steal a human phrase, rolling the dice every time they use it. Not only putting this world at risk, but countless more between and at the destination."
"What can we do?" Neville asked, drawing the gaze of the others. "What? I don't know a lot of what you've been talking about, but I remember black holes from Astronomy. They terrified me."
"You are a good man, Neville, never change," Harry said. "He's right, what can we do?"
"For now, nothing. We cannot reach them. The nearest detected Porta Mundas is a long way south of these facilities."
"We don't have to get there directly. We can get close, then apparate the rest of the way. Like we did getting to and from the cave. Except the air over there is less likely to try and kill us in the process." Luna chimed.
"This is true. And it may be vital for our long term goals as well. With the damage to this facility, we cannot do any long-range scans to determine the status of the galaxy. The last time Merlin walked the stars, there was a rather violent species that seemed to hold sway over large portions of territory. We would be wise to avoid them."
"How could this help then?" Hermione asked, setting the computer to continue the scan as she sat forward to focus on the discussion at hand.
"If we can gain access to one or both of these facilities, we can attach a miniature remote clavis to the Astria Porta. Using it, we can dial other strategic Porta and tap into the update program. Fourth-generation gates can detect many things, as I said earlier. It won't be perfect, but it will give us a much better idea of the state of things out there before we risk stepping through. While in the mountain facility, if we can find a way to tap their computer, we can at least make a copy of the system and analyse its shortcomings."
"That may be harder than we think. I did a more thorough scan of both the Porta locations. They're both American military installations. One of which is built more than thirty stories into the ground below that mountain."
Harry considered their options. "The cloak will cover us if we need to actually get inside. And we can stun any guards we come across to prevent them from capturing or firing on us."
"The second facility definitely seems like the wiser target. It's above ground at the least, making escape a lot easier." Luna added.
"Very well. I shall set the computer to make a detailed analysis of both locations. Once we know the layout, we can decide which is the better option for the dial. If we can do both in one location, all the better. But perhaps by splitting their attention, we can better achieve one or both goals." Merlin explained.
"How long do you think it will take?" Hermione asked.
"Give me a day to do the scans and manufacture the required interface tools. By then we will at least have a better understanding of the size of the task before us."
"So, back to the Tor? Or explore down here for the day?"
Harry glanced at his friends all of whom appeared to be thinking. "I vote for the Tor. Check things out there, bring Neville up to speed on everything."
The other man looked at him for a moment before he nodded and Harry smiled. "North, Miss Teschmacher?" Luna joked and she and Hermione broke out into laughter at the confused looks on both the boys' faces, neither one feeling the need to explain the reference.
ϟ
Thursday, 24th June 1999.
Neville's head still throbbed slightly as the thrumming sound of the rings cleared and the quartet stepped out into Fundamenta once more. He certainly understood more about what his friends had found and been doing during their absence of late, glad he had convinced the others to let him fully in on the secret.
While others had gathered at Hogwarts to mourn the events of the year before, he had made himself scarce as well, spending the days by his parents' bedsides. They had achieved a great victory over the Death Eaters and their cause during the Battle of Hogwarts, but Neville didn't need to see the new memorial unveiled at Hogwarts to remember, all he ever had to do was walk into the Janus Thickey ward.
His own travels had begun after the war as a way to find some hope to restore his parents to health. With every year that passed, the staff of the hospital seemed less and less interested in their continuing care. They never shirked their duty to their patients, but no one had come to his grandmother with hope for any improvement since his fourth year. If something was to be done, it would have to be him that set it in motion.
He returned from his churning thoughts as the air before him shimmered again and the hologram reappeared. He understood its systems better now he had looked into the mirror device in the cavern. It had even provided logs of his friends' research, getting him up to speed far quicker than days of conversation could have hoped to achieve.
"Welcome," it greeted, "the schematics are rendering now. We should be ready to discuss our options in a few moments."
"Have you identified the nearest Porta Mundas to the facilities?" Hermione asked.
"The scans show several units on the continent, but the nearest is in a series of temples in Mexico." A map of the Americas came into being between the group and a point of light indicated the locations of the three points of interest.
"That's still a day or so's journey. Even if we took it in turns to power the jumps. Maybe we should stay a night in a hotel nearby. Make sure we're at our best for the actual infiltrations."
"Fancy camping," Luna smirked and the others smiled at her.
"That sounds good. I'll ask Dobby to make a reservation for us once we know what days we'll be there. He loves using the phone." Harry said.
"Now, this is the Groom Lake facility. Mostly above ground, though there are some sections built into the earth." Merlin explained as a new image took the place of the continental map. It looked like a fairly typical military base. Several large hangers and barracks around some more conventional buildings. The style seemed to indicate it was built somewhere in the 1950s.
Hermione began to chuckle to herself and the others turned to look at her. "Don't mind me, it's just amusing."
"What is?" Harry enquired.
"Well, I did some research during our couple of weeks back in public and did a little reading on current 'alien' influences on earth. The Groom Lake facility is a United States Air Force base that their government refuses to acknowledge even exists. As such, it is the centre of many conspiracy theories, most relating to aliens. It's more colloquially known as Area 51. It's ironic that the conspiracy theories are actually right. They really are studying alien technology there."
"Indeed they are. There are many signs of alien technology within its walls. There is definitely an Astria Porta, contained in this hanger. The scan shows it to be mostly empty, with the unit held in a large box, packed underneath with something, but not above. It is operational, however, the humans appear to have sealed it with a large metal plate that dips into the unit's portal generation zone. We will need to correct this or the device will not function."
"We can manage that. Is the unit loud when in operation?" Harry asked.
"During typical use, it does make a degree of noise as the ring spins and the device locks each symbol into its destination calculator. Once a connection is established, normal operation results in an unstable vortex of energy bursting from the forming event horizon of the wormhole. This vortex is very damaging, and will vaporize anything caught within its mass, converting it into energy that is dissipated along the path of the wormhole."
The four physical beings all looked at the hologram rather concernedly. "Worry not, my kind long since developed the means by which to utilize the devices without the creation of the vortex. It simply disperses the energy into the storage systems of the Porta and releases them into the wormhole which then dissipates them into subspace harmlessly."
"Ok, then…" Neville said.
"Anything else of note we want to look at here while we're on-site?" Harry asked.
"Any details you can gather on what they have on-site could be valuable. I have prepared a second device to scan the computer network of this site as well. Perhaps it can provide clarity of what they have gathered there as the scanner cannot give finite enough detail for that from here."
"Ok, so we're as good as we're going to get on this place then." Luna concluded, "We can keep the scanner focused for the next few days as we get into place to determine patrol patterns. What about the mountain?"
"The scanner has identified this location as Cheyenne Mountain." The hologram changed again and highlighted the information Merlin was narrating for the four. "It is home to a facility that extends more than thirty floors below the surface. There is no sign of alien technology above level twenty. The Astria Porta is in a large room on level twenty-eight, at the bottom of a massive descending shaft that runs through the mountain."
"Wait, did you say Cheyenne Mountain?" Hermione asked.
"That is correct."
"That's not good. Security at Area 51 is mostly focused on keeping people away. But Cheyenne Mountain is one of the homes of NORAD and the US Space Command. The security at a place like that will be immense."
"How do you know these things?" Harry asked the brunette, who turned to face him.
"I read when I'm bored. Instead of jumping on a broom." She joked back.
"Shall I continue?" Merlin asked, getting nods from them all. "The current scan confirms this assessment. The concentration of armed guards at the surface makes it unassailable without significant risk of harm. However, after analysing the effects of your 'apparition' I can confirm there is no sign of any defences that would prevent you from utilising it to bypass directly to the lower levels.
"The computer core we're looking to tap into is located on level twenty-eight. This room specifically." A single room near the base of the image highlighted. "Once inside, you will need to place the scanner somewhere it won't be detected. I did not know the interfaces your computer systems use, so I had to make it wireless. Hopefully, it can access the data and communicate it back here. If not, we will need to recover it and bring it back."
"No way should we stay in place while it works," Hermione explained. "If they detect us, they will respond with force. We can make the unit invisible and stick it to the roof of the room with magic while it works. That should prevent detection. I think we are best sending only one person into the mountain."
"Maybe we can draw their attention while the one is inside," Neville suggested, his mind whirring away with possibilities.
"We cannot engage them. Their weapons have never been tested against a shield. We could be killed."
"We don't need to engage them." Luna offered, stepping up to the image. "If we create an illusion on the surface, here, in particular, it would likely trigger their response." We can safely do that from anywhere we have a line of sight. Are there any guards stationed on the actual slope itself?"
"The scan seems to indicate a periodic patrol passes through some of the areas, but usually, no," Merlin replied.
Harry stepped up. "So, if Luna can disillusion herself and hold here, in the rocks above the entrance, she can trigger the guards' reaction to draw attention. As she does, I'll apparate inside, directly into this room if I can, though it's likely the sound of me apparating will get their attention anyway. So I'll do so from somewhere away from your position. Once the device is in place, I'll try to prevent their ability to dial their Astria Porta for the day then retreat back to the surface and we head for Area 51.
"While we do that, Neville and Hermione can apparate into the hangar and prepare the Porta for dialling. Disillusioned while it works they can inspect anything they can get to without drawing attention. Hermione can sneak into the computer room on the base and plant the other device using the cloak once we get there from the mountain. Thoughts?"
"Why those assignments?" Hermione asked, looking rather unhappy at the idea of Harry putting himself in harm's way.
"We all agree the mountain is the most dangerous location. The cloak seems to work best for me when I'm alone. So it only makes sense for me to use it there. But you know modern technology better than the rest of us, so you planting the second device just makes the most sense."
"Why sabotage their Porta? That seems like a big risk to take." Neville enquired.
"Only one Astria Porta on a planet can connect at a time," Hermione explained. "If they try to use theirs while we have a connection established, it won't work. Given both locations are air force bases, we can assume both fall under the one chain of command. They'd likely send a team to find out if the second Porta was in use."
"Also, if they do connect a wormhole while we're trying to dial, it will slow our work considerably. I'd rather not hang about inside an active United States air force base they won't even admit exists for longer than we really need to right now." Harry added.
Neville nodded in response. "What do we do if there is someone in the rooms we enter? Or we're detected?"
"We stun and run," Luna answered. "We have no quarrel with them."
"It seems we have our strategy," Merlin concluded, drawing their eyes. " I wish you all the best of luck."