Chapter Twelve
A Bit of a Crisis
1
"I'm glad you didn't try to kill me or anything when you saw me," said Jules as she stood in an alleyway branching off of the main road of Hogsmeade.
Jett yawned hugely and leaned against the opposite wall. "Well, I generally don't kill people for merely finding me," she said. "I'm glad you're not angry about me blowing a hole in your safe house. Now can you get to the reason why you're here? I haven't slept all night and I'd like to go home before I have to go back to work."
"I need to ask you a favor," Jules said, plainly stating her business.
Jett uttered a short, tired laugh. "What makes you think I'd help a Blood Traitor? Did I not just use you all to escape life in Azkaban without ever giving you a scrap of information?"
"You gave Gus information," Jules countered.
Jett paused then, focusing on the younger woman more fully. "What did he say?" she asked coolly.
"Nothing out loud," the blond assured her. "But I had been gone for quite a while and I haven't been able to ask many proper questions until about an hour ago, so I had to find another source of information. It just so happens, Gus keeps a day-to-day journal that I sneaked a peak at earlier tonight. He mentioned your conversation, Mihayla."
Jett hesitated for a moment before laughing again. "Okay, so you're relatively sure I'm on your side and you think I'll just drop everything and help you out?"
"You won't have to drop everything," Jules promised. "I just want you to take me into the Ministry when you go today. I'm not asking you do anything you wouldn't already be doing from the start."
"You know I'm going to the Ministry today, hmm?" asked the brunet, not sounding very surprised. "You've got a lot of bottle. How am I supposed to get you in there without blowing my own cover?"
"You can carry me."
Unwilling to play the young woman's games, Jett waited for Jules to explain further.
They regarded each other for another second before suddenly, Jules started changing form. Jett finally looked impressed as she watched the girl morph into a small snake for a moment, then reverted back to human form.
"You're an animagus?" Jett asked, unable to hold back a smile.
"And a portable one at that," Jules added. "So what do you say?"
Jett shook her head incredulously, but extended her hand for Jules to shake.
"It's a deal."
2
Lenore Lupin yawned hugely as she stepped off of the lift onto Level Two at the Ministry and walked down the hall. She held two coffees in her hand, one of which would be her only consolation for having to come into work early. The other was for her boss in an attempt to make her a little less unbearable.
Entering the large room full of Auror cubicles, she found the place to be only a little quieter than usual. She couldn't believe how many of these people never seemed to go home. She passed the same five cubicles on her usual way to Investigations: the tall Scottish woman, who always seemed to be talking to the grey-haired man who shared a wall with her; the twitchy middle aged man, who nervously looked over his shoulder whenever someone passed his door; the tiny strange looking woman who must have been part goblin; and last (and most definitely least) was the double-crosser Crocker's empty office, soon to be filled by another.
She walked by them without much thought and rounded a corner into the hall leading to Investigations. She nearly collided with Kingsley Shacklebolt, the Head Auror, who was currently talking to Harry.
"Oh! Excuse me, Kingsley," she said, stepping around him.
"Sorry, Lenore," the big man muttered distractedly.
As she walked away, she overheard part of their conversation:
"What do you mean it's not a reliable tip?" hissed Harry. "He can't say that! Any threat on the school is serious enough to keep the kids there!"
This caught Lenore's attention right away and as they paused at the mouth of the hall, she turned the next corner and stopped too, carefully placing the hot coffee cups beside her foot so her hands wouldn't burn while she eavesdropped.
"Not without direct permission from the higher ups," Kingsley was saying, equally displeased but much calmer about it.
"Even McGonagall agrees we should hold the students there at least another day to give us time to target the attack," Harry retorted.
"But they think McGonagall's too paranoid and we can't legally withhold the Express without permission."
"To hell with legalities!" Harry snapped. "We'll stand on the tracks if we have to. You know they wouldn't attack the school itself – it's too big for them. But they could target the train if they had enough forces. Whatever they're planning, a bunch of vigilantes won't be able to stop them single-handedly. We need all the Aurors we can get."
"I know, I know," Kingsley said. "Here comes Tonks."
Lenore heard the woman come into the hall.
"I can't get Hellewege to lend a hand either," she panted, obviously having just run there. "He refused to sign the proper forms unless I could give him proof of the threat. Something is going on that we don't know about. Why would anyone refuse to protect the students?"
Harry growled furiously. "We're going to be too late! The minute those kids step outside Hogwarts –"
Gus Schmitt dashed by Lenore at that moment, hardly noticing her but startling her enough to make her miss Harry's sentence as he ran up the hall the Aurors were in.
"Mr. Potter! I told Mr. Moore about the situation," he told them.
"Who are you?" Kingsley inquired.
"He's a Blood Traitor," Tonks informed him.
"What did Moore say?" Harry asked Gus.
"He thinks I've gone around the twist! Told me to take the day off and stop pulling all-nighters," Gus explained helplessly.
"Isn't that nice of him," Harry muttered sarcastically. "Well, you'll need the day off – go back to the others and tell them the Ministry won't cooperate with us."
Gus started to rush off, when Harry suddenly changed his mind and called him back.
"Wait! Wait! C'mere! Ask McGonagall what she has in mind for the Express," he said quickly. "And if we have to put the students on the train, tell her to send them off an hour early."
"Good," Kingsley agreed. "The Neos may not be on target in time to do anything if we beat them to it."
"Doesn't the Express have a back up plan for this sort of situation?" Tonks asked.
"I'm positive it does, but who knows if that will be enough," Kinglesy told her.
"BOO!"
Lenore nearly jumped out of her skin and whirled around to find someone standing just behind her. It was a dark haired young man with a crooked nose wearing a huge, goofy grin.
"Remy! You git!" she snapped, in outrage. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing here? Wait, hold that thought," she added, pressing a hand to her friend's mouth as she listened for the Aurors' voices. When she didn't hear them, she leaned around the corner slightly to see they had left.
She growled in frustration as Remy Cole separated her hand from his mouth by sliding a book under her palm. She turned back to him.
"Well?" she demanded.
He flashed a shiny visitor's pin at her. "My boss wanted me to deliver this book to some bloke in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes," he explained.
"Remy, that's on level three," she told him, "you're on level two."
"I know!" he replied with another grin full of crooked teeth. "I wanted to visit you – I haven't seen you in ages! It's like you started working for the big 'MOM' and ended up an overworked brainwashed droid who never sees her friends. Not that we would let you back in the clubhouse anyway – girlies who work for the Man aren't welcome."
"What clubhouse? Remy, I'm not a rebel anymore, remember?" Lenore said as she eyed the book in his hands. "I'm respectable now – and if being yelled at and insulted were also a form of respect I'd be the Minister of Magic by now. What kind of bookstore delivers books anyway?"
"The weirdest one in Hogsmeade," he said proudly before clapping a hand over his heart and proclaiming: "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom –"
"Okay, you really have to stop," she said, picking up the coffees from the floor and walking around him.
"Hang on!" he begged, moving up beside her as she briskly made her way down the hall. "I have something important to tell you."
"Okay," she said, distracted.
"I asked Antonia to marry me and she said yes!"
The small woman swung her head around so fast she nearly tripped. "You're kidding!" she exclaimed, shocked.
"Nope! I'm gonna be a hubby," Remy beamed euphorically.
Remy's girlfriend, Antonia, was a graduating seventh year at Hogwarts, and one of Lenore's favorite people. In normal circumstances, she would have started squealing gleefully and jumping up and down with excitement. She was so pleased for her two friends, but the conversation she had just overheard put a damper on her feelings. It sounded like students were in danger, and that meant Antonia as well. Lenore couldn't let on that she knew, or Remy would rush straight out and get himself killed.
"Can you imagine how screwed up our kids will look? My bad teeth and her frizzy red hair – they won't have a chance," Remy babbled obliviously.
"I'm really happy for you," Lenore told him earnestly. "We should celebrate later. I'll tell Quin."
"Brilliant! Tell him to bring his goddess of a wife too; I haven't seen her since graduation. And what about your Irish boy-toy? Will you be bringing him?"
"Sure," Lenore assured him. "Er, I'm really sorry, mate, but this is my office." she pointed to the door they were now standing in front of. "Can I talk to you later tonight?"
"Yeah," he answered, looking no less jubilant. "I can't wait! Don't be afraid to show off your freak pride – you're still one of us at heart."
"I never hide my colors," she replied, gesturing to her all black outfit. "Good seeing you."
"Bye!"
She quickly closed the door behind her and deposited the coffee cups on the corner of her desk. She could hear the faint squawk of Miss Yates calling from her office, "Lupin, I've got the vampire kidnapper waiting in the Viewing Box. I want you to take notes on the interview."
Lenore ignored her as she scribbled a quick memo. She had to ask her father what was happening. Harry had mentioned vigilantes to Kingsley, which meant the Order was involved and so was her dad. She needed to know what was going on if she was going to help.
3
"Okay, listen up!" Roman shouted from the balcony of an underground parlor. Below him gathered scores of men and women working for Odin and Morrigan in the name of purity. The two leaders were watching him from a doorway nearby, out of sight, but not out of mind. Malleus stood beside Roman on the balcony, ready to shut anyone up if they weren't paying attention. Dante was there as well, remaining far away from the two men for reasons only known to him.
The mob quickly quieted and tilted their masked faces up to see Roman as he continued.
"You've all been told your tasks: once on the scene, take one Mudblood at a time and secure them before returning for another. We won't have cover for long, so stay behind the Militis Optime. Move quickly and do not allow yourself to be caught."
Malleus stepped up then. "You buggers better remember: if one single brat ends up dead on the scene, we will hunt you down. If you can't complete your mission without killing inexperienced little rats," at this point he turned his face toward the hooded figure standing on the far side of the balcony, "you will be given over to Dante and he'll deal with you as he wishes."
A murmur ran through the crowd and only died down once he spoke again.
"Keep in mind, that we have to handle this delicately," Malleus continued. "Mudblood brats are useless dead, but alive, they have a great purpose to us. Thanks to Odin's idea, purifying this country will be made much easier from this point on. If you strip a tree of its leaves, the trunk won't die – but if you manipulate the leaves, or rather improve them, you can bend the tree to your will."
"Alright!" cried Roman. "Morrigan's people will hold off the Ministry, the rest of you get moving and stay on task! We don't have a lot of time!"
4
Ginny walked into Harry's office, wondering if he had even come home last night. He wasn't at his desk, nor could she find him among the cluster of cubicles outside. She was beginning to get worried that something very bad was happening somewhere.
Deciding it would be best to wait and see if he might come back, the heavily pregnant woman took a seat in the nearest chair to rest her feet. After all, she had the entire day before she would need to be at Kings Cross to pick up Kyla.
Sighing and trying not to worry too much, she leaned back and closed her eyes for a second. She had just opened them and looked back toward the hall when she suddenly saw the familiar profile of Agape Eishorbgy rush past the doorway.
Ginny quickly hefted herself up and leaned out of the door, calling after the tall woman. "Agape! Have you seen Harry?"
Agape halted reluctantly and turned back. "He's left," she offered with and apologetic shrug. "We're having a bit of a crisis. I'm really sorry, but I have to go."
With that she continued her sprint down the hall, leaving poor Ginny clueless and concerned. Now she was definitely going to wait a while longer, just so she might possibly overhear what was going on from someone else. Under normal circumstances she would have simply run after Agape, but her swollen belly reminded her that she had other priorities to think about. At least in Harry's office she wouldn't be at home wondering what was happening.
5
Alton frowned intensely as he stood beside his former Headmistress and observed the students of Hogwarts herding out of the school, all of them happy to be going home. He heard snippets of conversations as they passed but none of them seemed to think there was anything wrong, despite being told to be ready an hour earlier, then being held back until regular release time. Harry's sneak tactic of leaving an hour earlier had backfired. Apparently the train couldn't be prepped and ready to go in such a short period of time.
To Alton's right, McGonagall's mouth was a straight line, her lips pressed so tightly together they had turned white. He and the Blood Traitors had watched that morning as she stood before her student body to say goodbye for the summer, only to sit back down without ever saying a word. She told him she was too afraid to open her mouth because she couldn't do it without shouting that they were all in danger and the Ministry wouldn't allow her to protect them by keeping them at Hogwarts for another day.
Seeing how deeply she cared for the children, Alton was sorry he had caused her so much grief with petty pranks and smart remarks when he had attended Hogwarts. Now she looked close to tears as she saw her students walking into an obvious trap.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll protect them, Professor," he promised. "Someone may be working against us in the Ministry, but that's never stopped us before."
She nodded shortly, glancing at the small group of Blood Traitors and Order members standing across the hall. Several Weasley's – Charlie, Fred, and George – dotted the team with bright red hair and Ron and Hermione were with Harry waiting for the students at the train platform. All of the Lupins were present as well; Professor Tundra Lupin stood with her children, Lenore and Quinlan, as Remus conversed grimly with Logan. Professor Longbottom looked forcedly pleasant as he waved goodbye to a few students. Gus was standing silently with Sydney and Ferris, while the vampires, Imogene and Yvette, stayed a few feet away from the others.
Even a couple of extras had joined them: Cullen Pembroke had come from Hogsmeade and (much to Alton's discontent) Payton had come from the BT headquarters.
He had argued with his non-magic girlfriend all morning, saying it was too dangerous for her, but as usual she had won, insisting they needed all the help they could get from anyone who was willing.
"That's the last of them," McGonagall said, interrupting his thoughts. "Let's go."
Alton followed her out of the huge oak entrance and together they lead their only defense team down the path to Hogsmeade. Upon reaching the Hogwarts Express platform they met up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were keeping watch as the children boarded the train.
"Professor," Hermione said to McGonagall, "maybe we should split the teams up and spread out."
"Yes," McGonagall answered. "That's probably the best way. The Order will protect the engine and the front of the train, and the Blood Traitors will protect the back. Two cars have been added to give us plenty of room, and I'm hoping we can stay relatively out of sight so the children won't ask too many questions – telling them they're targets would start a panic, especially in such tight quarters."
"I'll stay with the Blood Traitors," Harry said as he distractedly searched the faces of the students climbing into the cars.
As they split up, Ferris walked beside the Auror. "Are you looking for your daughter?" he asked.
"Yes," Harry admitted. "I want to warn her. I don't think this should be kept from any of the students, but McGonagall was pretty adamant."
Ferris made a noise of agreement. "I'm glad you think that," he told the older man. "My cousin is here somewhere too – actually I think she's friends with Kyla. I know she's friends with Trevor."
"Then she'd know Kyla alright," Harry nodded. "Is her name Tricia?"
"That's her. I bet they're sitting together."
"Good, they'll be easier to track down."
The Blood Traitors filed into the last car and Harry ended up sitting with Ferris, Sydney, and Gus. Across from their compartment were Logan, Alton, Payton, and the vampires. The two undead blonds were only able to join this daytime battle because they were wearing their rings set with gems that would protect them from the sunlight.
"Do you think Jules is okay," Sydney asked from beside Ferris as the Express started moving and quickly picked up speed.
"I guess," he answered. "She didn't say where she was going or why she couldn't help us, but she usually knows what she's doing."
"I'm worried she won't have enough energy after that hex," said Gus. "I know she was getting better, but who knows how long she'll need to fully recuperate."
Ferris frowned out of the window for a moment before answering. "I don't know, Gus. But I don't think we could stop her from working if we tried, so I guess it doesn't really matter to her."
"Hey, Sydney," Harry said, suddenly struck with an idea. "Do you think you could find my daughter?"
Sydney looked a bit surprised, so he explained: "I want to talk to her, but you would blend into the student body easier. They'd ask fewer questions."
Ferris perked up at this as well. "Yeah, we think she's with Trevor and my cousin. Maybe you could get them?"
The dark haired girl obliged and left the three of them to search for said students.
6
Remy got lost in the halls of level two after saying good bye to Lenore, but he finally found his way back to the lift. He still had to deliver the book to his boss's friend before he went back to work. He pressed the button and waited for the lift to arrive, absentmindedly picking at as scab on his arm until it appeared.
As the gate opened it revealed a large group of people inside, all wearing black hooded robes and black masks. Their eyes locked on him and his blood instantly froze.
"N-Neos," Remy breathed, backing away from them. "Holy sh–"
They piled out of the lift in one sweeping motion and surrounded him. He reached for his wand but one Optimus already held his own to Remy's forehead. The bookstore clerk backed into the wall and uttered a small cry of fright.
"I-I-I don't work here," he sputtered.
The man didn't respond; instead he muttered a hex and suddenly Remy's mouth wouldn't open. He flinched away from his assailant and scrambled to escape, but the Optimus followed him with his wand.
Remy could hear the curse coming out of the man's mouth when the Optimus was suddenly hurled to the floor by a jet of purple sparks.
Trembling, he slowly looked over his shoulder and saw a woman stepping out of the lift with her wand pointing at the fallen Optimus. Her pale face was set with determination and blond curls swept around her shoulders as she advanced.
Remy was unable to say her name under the hex, but he knew who it was.
Her entrance had caught the attention of the other Optimates, and now they turned back to deal with the nuisance. Jules dove in front of Remy and jerked her wand toward the floor. There was a blast of smoke and suddenly, he was being dragged along behind her as she moved around the pack of villains and into the Auror headquarters.
All of the Aurors were already peering over the walls of their cubicles, armed and aiming for the door.
"Optimates!" Jules shouted to them as she and Remy dashed out of their line of fire.
The Aurors were moving in to action before they had even reached a safe corner of the room. Jules swung Remy around and backed him against a wall before removing the spell on his mouth.
"Jules!" he cried, wide eyed.
"Get out of here – it's only going to get worse," she ordered him.
"But, you're here," he said, still in shock. "You're alive…"
"Did you hear me?" she demanded furiously. "You're in danger if you stay here! Get out!"
She spun around to join the Aurors in the fight as more and more Neos poured into the area from every visible entrance. Before she could get very far, Remy lunged forward and pulled her into a hug.
"I've missed you, Jules," he muttered beside her ear. "I knew it was you in the graveyard last Christmas."
Her tense stance relaxed slightly and she quickly hugged him back. "Thanks for the holly," she said, genuinely meaning it. "Now, seriously, you have to get out. It's going to get bad in here."
He nodded but before doing as she said, he brought her close and kissed her dramatically on the mouth.
Jules squealed in surprised disgust. She shoved him away and snapped, "You monkey spanker!"
He chuckled nervously. "Heh, couldn't resist. What if I die in here?"
"You will die if you don't run," she retorted as curtly as she could manage as a grin tugged at the corners of her lips.
At last, he obeyed her and flew down the hall as she went back to the fight. He knew getting out of any of the exits was not an option at this point, so he'd have to hide. As he ran down the halls, ducking spells and Neos, he wished he'd paid closer attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
7
Time was running out for Roman. The Hogwarts Express should have been sighted outside of Hogsmeade by now, but it was no where to be found after leaving the station.
What was worse, the attack on the Ministry to distract law enforcement had already begun, leaving Roman little time to complete the mission. If things continued at this rate, it wouldn't matter what side he had chosen, Odin was going to kill him anyway.
He paced back a forth near the rim of the ledge they were standing on, racking his brain for a solution. He wanted to scream and rip his hair out at this point, but Malleus was already taking care of the yelling.
"I DON'T CARE WHAT CAIN BLOODY TOLD YOU! JUST FIND THE DAMN TRAIN!" the big blond man screamed at a quaking subordinate.
"Yes, Sir," whimpered the Optimus before rushing off.
Malleus then stormed over to Roman. "What are we going to do about this, Julius?" he demanded furiously. "If we don't move soon, Morrigan's group will be fighting for nothing! She'll hold it against us forever if we fail! And who knows what my dad will do to us?"
"I know," Roman muttered, closing his eyes and focusing on his thoughts. "Give me a minute."
Malleus seemed reluctant to cooperate, but he held his tongue for the moment.
It was obvious their plans had been recognized and someone besides the Ministry was trying to sneak the students past them. He knew the Express must have an escape rout for such situations, but there were so many places it could go in these mountains, it could take days to find.
Then something occurred to him. "The Express should have been at the ten mile point by now right?"
"Right," Malleus answered gruffly.
"And it hasn't been spotted further down the track?"
"Right."
"And I don't care what magical advances have been made in the past years – there's still nothing that can completely cloak a steam engine from perception," Roman continued. "I'm sorry to say this, Malleus, but we'll need a little help from Dante."
"What?! No!"
"Yes. We need some more of his freaks." He whirled around and looked over the ledge as Malleus watched him in confusion.
Hiding among the other Militis Optime between several large rocks, he found the radiant skin and hair of a certain phoenix mutate.
"Oy!" he shouted. "Marduk! How bout you poof on up here?"
Roman could see Marduk's distasteful grimace even from a distance, then the young man disappeared in a burst of flames. There was no fire when he reappeared beside Roman, but the Italian felt a wave of heat wash over him.
"How's that?" said the blond dryly.
"You make an excellent poof, Marduk," Roman replied.
The young man narrowed his eyes, but kept quiet about the thinly veiled insult.
"I need you to track down your commander and ask him to lend an Optimus with dog improvements," Roman told him. "Oh, we'll need all of his flying blokes too. And hurry up – we're already ten minutes behind."
Marduk didn't bother to reply, he simply vanished in another burst of flames, making Roman jump back to keep from getting singed.
8
The fact that the Hogwarts Express was taking a new trail did not escape most of the students – at least not those who had made the trip more than once. It became pretty obvious as they started going up a mountain instead of around it. Also, when the train turned, the students near the front could see there were no tracks ahead of the big red engine – it was making its own as it went. However, it was apparent they were traveling a path made for the large vehicle, because very few trees and rocks had to jump out of their way even in the forests.
Some of the children were much more interested in the extra passengers in the first and last cars – there was rumor that the headmistress herself was aboard. Someone claimed to have seen a vampire as well.
Kyla, Trevor, Patricia, and Monty had a compartment to themselves, and hadn't been visited with these whisperings just yet. Monty and Trevor were busy leaning as close as possible to the window to peer down the cliff they were speeding over. Tricia, on the other hand, had actually been forced to move away from the sight and stare at the compartment door to keep from getting sick.
"How do you stand it?" she demanded of the boys without looking at them. "Aren't you afraid?"
"We're on the train, Tricia," Monty pointed out. "We're not going to fall."
"Don't say fall! You know I'm afraid of heights!" Tricia squeaked nervously. "And please stop leaning like that!"
The boys paid her little mind.
"It looks like we'll be going lower soon," Trevor stated as he pointed downward. "We're heading for a bridge over the river down there."
Tricia started biting her lip fretfully. Kyla nudged Monty in the arm and kicked at Trevor's foot to get their attention. The look she gave them made them straighten reluctantly away from the glass and Tricia relaxed some.
"So why do you think we're going this way?" Kyla asked.
"I don't know," Monty shrugged. "Maybe it's a shortcut."
Tricia scoffed. "A shortcut to where? Orkney?"
"Did you see the group of people standing around the entrance when we left?" Kyla inquired curiously.
"Yes! The hot bartender from Hogsmeade was there," Tricia exclaimed. "I didn't really look at the others."
Trevor frowned at Kyla. "I didn't see them. They weren't students?"
"No. They were right on the edge of the crowd," she replied, "kind of hard to see."
"You think they have something to do with the train going up this high?" Tricia asked with an anxious glance toward the window. "If they do, I don't like them very much… Except for Cullen, I still like him."
For a second, she and Kyla grinned knowingly at each other.
"What was up with Headmistress McGo –"
The compartment door slid open and cut Trevor off in mid-sentence. A black-haired girl who looked like a seventh year leaned in to look at them all. When she saw Trevor, her face brightened immediately.
"I thought that was your voice!" she proclaimed, pointing a finger at his shocked face.
"Syd?"
"Who?" Tricia demanded rather harshly as she suspiciously eyed the pretty, older girl.
Trevor ignored her and stood up immediately. "I knew something was wrong. What are you doing here?"
Sydney frowned unhappily. "It sucks that you automatically assume the worst when you see me."
"Why else would you be on the Express?"
"Okay, it's not really a good sign that I'm here," she admitted, "and that's kind of what we want to talk to you about. Why don't you introduce me, you rude boy?"
"Er – this is Sydney Ingram, everyone," Trevor said awkwardly. "Syd, this is Tricia, Kyla, and Monty."
"Great! Just who I was looking for," Sydney chirped. "Sorry I couldn't meet you under more pleasant circumstances. I need you all to come with me, please."
The four Hufflepuffs followed the Blood Traitor down the halls of several cars while she told them how long she had been looking for them. "I swear I walked up and down this train three times over before I heard you talking. It took me forever," she said as they reached the last car. "Here we are."
She opened the door to one of the farthest compartments. Inside were three men, one of which was Kyla's father, and another, Tricia's cousin.
"Okay, what the heck is going on?" Kyla demanded as she stared wide-eyed at Harry. "I wasn't supposed to see you until we reached Kings Cross."
"Ohmigod! Ferris, I haven't seen you since forever!" Patricia babbled as she immediately tacked the blond man.
"Sit down," said Harry soberly. "We've got something to tell you."
Gus moved over to make room for Kyla, while Sydney plopped down on the floor to give Tricia and Monty a place to sit. Then Harry began to explain their circumstances:
"We're here because we're afraid someone is trying to attack the train," he said, cutting to the chase. "The Order and the Blood Traitors are here to protect the students."
Tricia gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth. Both Kyla and Monty went pale. Trevor's face tensed, but he seemed to accept the fact much quicker than the others.
"Is that why Roman was on the train that night?" he asked.
"H-he was what?" Gus stammered.
"That's it! That's what you said on the phone," Sydney cried suddenly. "I couldn't remember…" A look of realization struck her and her mouth fell open. "Mon dieu…"
"Where on the train was he?' Harry asked calmly. "Near the engine?"
"No. He was in the back between two cars," Trevor answered. "He said he was looking after things, but he never explained what."
"Could he sabotage the train?" Ferris asked uneasily.
"No, of course not!" Gus insisted.
"Don't put it past him, Schmitt," Harry warned. "We've got to talk to the driver about this."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the train suddenly shuddered. They rocked in their seats and heard screeching wheels that struggled to keep up speed. The Express wasn't putting on the brakes, something was forcing it to slow.
Tricia whimpered and clutched at Ferris. Sydney reached up and grabbed Gus's hand.
They were stopping.
9
Roman stood between Fero, leader of the flying Optime, and a crouching dog mutate with a muzzle for a mouth and pointed ears that stuck out from the sides of his head.
The three men were on the bank of the river, watching as Hogwarts's famous train finally gave up the fight right on the bridge spanning the turbulent waters. Relieved his charm had worked on the huge vehicle, Roman let out the breath he was holding and lowered his wand.
"Nice work finding it," he congratulated his strange comrades. "This couldn't have worked out better."
He suddenly turned toward the mass of trees behind him and saw the huge crowd of Optimates standing amongst the trunks.
He arched an arrogant black eyebrow at them. "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked.
There was a symphony of popping noises as the masked villains Disapparated, only to reappear all around the train. Roman had completed a small part of his goals.
He felt like he was going to be sick.