Angel on Campus Keeperoliver Chapter 19
For the first time in almost a month, Harry donned the apparel of the Angel. and asked Dobby to accompany him to the palace and maintain a vigilance on the garage. It was decided, they would take turns using the cape, and no one would go alone. Sirius moved in, to assist in the watch, and Kreacher came along to help. Dobby got Winky to help with the duel coverage.
Harry's shift was a fruitless night, as were Hermione and Ginny's.
Sirius was announced to the queen, before he took his shift, and the kids joined the adults on their trip to the castle, so that they could meet the royal family. Sirius was greeted by the queen, and treated better than he would have been treated by the wizards and witches in his world.
They all left after an hour, so that Sirius could catch some sleep before his shift. Hermione only stayed on the day after her shift, to get some sleep. After a shift, they all met at the cafeteria for breakfast, and to discuss what the shift had presented them.
Sirius started his shift, accompanied by Dobby, and they had become joking buddies, when not working. This evening, they were serious and alert.
About 2 AM, there was a loud pop, and there was Nott standing there. He walked over to the wreckage, and was looking for something. It was his fourth visit, every time looking for the same thing. He hadn't been able to find it, and was beginning to wonder if it was still there. He searched for two hours, and came up empty handed. He left right after his search.
Being curious, Sirius went to the wrecked vehicle, to see if he could find what ever it was Nott was looking for. He had three hours left to his shift, and he spent it looking over the wreckage. He found nothing, and kicked the mess in frustration. The crumpled fender fell off the vehicle, and Sirius bent to pick it up. In the middle of the crease of the fender, was a device he never saw before. He tried to pry it lose from the twisted metal, but, it wouldn't budge. Finally he got Dobby to use his magic to straighten out the mess, and he retrieved the small box. He then ended his shift, and apporated to the house, and went to breakfast, taking the device with him.
He found all the friends sitting at a table, minus Harry. He was finishing off some of his treats. He sat and got himself a cup of coffee, before he began his shift. Harry had joined them before he started. "Well, I was paid a visit last night by Mr. Nott. He looked around the wreck, trying to find something. He didn't find what he was looking for, and left. Me, being me, Had to try and find what it was he was looking for. I think I may have found it, but I'm not for sure." He placed the small electronics device on the table for every one to see. None of them could identify the device. Luckily, a fourth year student walked by, and saw the device. Say, do you mind if I look at that? I have never seen one this small.
Harry looked up to see Frank Newby, a fourth year Electronics major. "Do you know what it is Frank? We never saw any thing like this before?"
"Yeah Harry, we have been working on a larger model of it, in class. It's a laser. It fires a fine red beam of light in most cases. This one though, I believe, fires a different color. You can tell this, by the scorch marks on the lens. It would appear it was firing, when it hit something, closing the aperture, which shut down the laser."
"What is it capable of doing sir, if I might ask?" Hermione asked, as she watched the man turn the object in his hand to get a full look at it.
"Well, this one would be like a cutting torch, but, not as strong. It may cut soft material, but, not metal. The one we are attempting to build would cut metal, but it is also ten of fifteen times larger, and with a different power source. We use a Radioactive coil, lined with lead. We send a beam of light through the coil, and then it is intensified, by going through different lenses. The results so far have been less than spectacular. It would sure help us, if we could examine this, to see how they filtered the beam, Harry."
"Sorry Frank, I can't do that, but, the information you have given us, hes helped out tremendously. Thanks."
"No problem Harry. If for some reason you end up not needing that laser, or can spare it for a few days, I sure would appreciate it."
"If the opportunity arrives, I will, Frank."
When they were alone, They put their heads together, to come up with a scenario. Hermione thought the brakes were the target. Sirius thought the Belts. Ginny and Harry had no clue. Luna suggested another trip to the palace. After their shift, Harry and Luna returned to the house,and got the kids. They let Sirius sleep, and would fill him in later. Hermione asked why Luna thought another visit to the vehicle was needed.
"Hermione, when the vehicle was found, both the breaks, and the belts were found intact, correct?" Hermione nodded in agreement. "So, if the device was working, then it was set on another part don't you think?"
"OK Luna, we bow down to your brilliant power of observation. But, where does that leave us?"
"Well, We have to look at the fender the device was mounted on, and see how it was mounted, and what direction it was pointing. From that, we can determine what part was affected. Keep in mind, that it had to be soft. If it is what I think it is, then when the locking charm took over, the device activated, causing a blinding effect."
That wouldn't make any sense Luna. According to the autopsy, there were no injuries prior to the accident. A laser burn would have been found on the body of the driver. Plus, why wasn't the device found during the investigation? Hermione ascertained.
"Hermione. no one said it was the driver that was the target, and a simple confundus charm on the device would block anyone from finding it, during the investigation. As long as the person who cast the spell was alive, the spell would work. Seeing as how Sirius found it, I can only assume that the person is now dead."
"Luna, why aren't you working with us in the Dept. of Mysteries, or the Auror Corps. You're right of course. But, what would have blinded the driver, and for what purpose, if the steering was locked?"
"Well, if the driver was blinded, he wouldn't know what was coming up, so he could not warn the Princess of any particular problem, just that he lost control of the vehicle. Not knowing where the impact would take place, would be a huge plus for the conspiracy to work."
Ginny looked in wonder towards Luna. "Damn, she's good. Definitely Unspeakable material."
"Sorry, I found her first." Harry proudly stated.
Luna was smiling at her companions. The praise being laid at her feet was ignored. It was the fact that they all wanted her where they worked that made her proud, and happy.
They arrived at the garage, and Harry straighten out the fender, and attached the device to the spot where the device was found by Sirius
The laser was pointing to the front of the vehicle, but with the shape the vehicle was in, it still told them nothing. Harry then repaired the complete front end, to see where the laser was pointing. It was pointing towards the radiator. There were no holes in it. Of course the laser was not strong enough to burn the metal. Luna once again pointed out a very obvious missing part, that went unnoticed by her friends. "Hermione, isn't there supposed to be a hose that helps circulate the water, attached to that pipe on the top?"
Why was Hermione missing these obvious points. "Once again, you're right Luna. What is happening to me? I shouldn't be missing these facts." She tried to check for spells on the vehicle, but, still found none. Then out of desperation, she checked the garage. There it was. A minor confundus charm was in place, that blocked out obvious observations. Why wasn't Luna affected by this?
Ginny suggested they look at the videos of the accident once again. They had to know exactly when the hose ruptured.
They picked up the kids, and returned home, to view the videos. Sirius was up, and viewed the videos with them. They saw the steam from the burst hose, seconds before the impact. They watched, as the steam rose up, and the vehicle suddenly skid sideways into the guard rail, and pillar. Harry was ready to turn it off, when Hermione told him to wait. It paid off, as they watched as the crowd gathered. Among the feet of the people, they saw the remains of the hose being kicked around. They watched, as a member of the crowd bent over, and then stood back up, turned, and walked away.
Harry rewound the tape, and showed the crowd scene once more, trying to pick out who it was that picked up the hose. They watched the time on the video, and knew where in the sequence the person would bend over. They paused the video, just seconds before the selected time, then went through the segment, frame by frame. The found a frame where they got a glimpse of the person. It wasn't very good, but they did find he had silver hair. Once he bent over to pick up the hose, they never got another good look at him. They turned off the video player, after they made copies of the gentleman with the silver hair.
George showed up at 6 PM to take Hermione out to dinner, which surprised her. She ran upstairs to use one of Ginny's dresses. While they waited, George went through the pictures of the accident, ans stopped on the picture of the guy that bent over. He studied it more and more, but, just couldn't place where he recognized the guy. "Harry, do you have an extra copy of this picture? I am sure I have seen him before, and maybe Fred can help."
"Yeah George, we have extras. I hope you can figure it out."
AoC-}
The next morning, George showed the picture to Fred, but he couldn't place him either. But, when Percy saw it, he almost tore the picture, trying to pull it out of George's hands. "Fred, George, you should know him. He is the last death eater Fred saw. Come to think of it, I don't know if he was one of the captured DE's or not."
George and Fred looked at each other and shouted at the same time, "PIUS THICKNESS!"
"Yes, our ex-Minister of Magic. Do you think he escaped?" Percy asked?
"I don't know, but, Harry and the girls need to know this right now. They are working on a case and he is part of the investigation." George answered. He excused himself, and Flooed to Harry's house, before they started their day.
He came through the fire place, and started to yell for any one to hear. Hermione came running through the kitchen door, and attacked him with kisses. George broke off with a laugh, "Miss me already, did you Mione?"
She just hugged him tighter.
"Listen, as much as I love this, I have something to tell you and Harry. We can pick back up after I tell him what I know. Just don't forget where we left off, love."
They walked into the kitchen, and found Harry, Ginny, Luna, Sirius, Dobby, Kreacher, and Winky sitting at the table, talking.
"Harry, Percy came up with a name to your unknown face. We just don't know if he was ever captured or killed. He's the ex- Minister of Magic, Pius Thickness."
Harry looked up at George and smiled. "George, give Percy a kiss for me the next time you see him, would ya."
"UH, no, I don't think so. I'll tell him thank you though."
Ginny laughed at her brother, "What's the matter George, don't you love Perce?"
"Not that much. Maybe Fred under special circumstances, but that was only once. And no, I will not tell you what it was."
"OK, what ever. It's not like we want to know anyway. Just tell him I owe him one." Harry shivered.
"Will do brother, now if you will excuse us, Mione and I have some good byes to make." And he and Hermione walked out of the kitchen. A minute later there was a loud shriek, and James and Lillian came running into the kitchen. That was just gross." James yelled. Lillian was laughing so hard, she fell over.
"Uncle George had Aunt Hermione's shirt pulled up, and he was rubbing her chest, while he was kissing her. Aunt Hermione was putting her tongue in his mouth, and had her hands in the back of his pants, feeling his butt. It was horrible." James mumbled.
The laughter around the table lasted for five minutes. Hermione walked in, a bright scarlet color to her face. "Sorry about that that James. I hope we didn't scar you too bad. And Lillian you...Oh forget it."
Harry finally caught his breath, and floo called Kingsley's office to find out the status of Thickness.
He was never found at the castle, and hasn't been seen since.
He walked back into the kitchen, "I believe, we have found our ringleader. Thickness was never found or captured. He's still out there some where. Kingsley is going to keep a watch on Nott, while he is at work. Dobby Kreacher, Winky, if you take turns watching him until he goes to bed at night, and Hermione, Ginny, Luna Sirius and I will watch him in the morning. Maybe he will lead us to His where abouts."
It took 10 days, but, finally Kreacher came back early one evening, with the break they had been waiting for. Harry contacted Kingsley, and he got a task force together.
Harry and Ginny went to the Palace, Sirius and Hermione went to corner Nott. Harry and Ginny took Mrs. Nott in for her part in the plan. Sirius and Hermione got Nott and brought him in. And Kingsley and the Aurors ran into a bigger force than they realized. Two Aurors and Kingsley were injured though not seriously. They found all the missing DE's, and Pius Thickness.
Harry informed her Majesty that they had uncovered the plot, and caught the culprit. Maybe the truth would ever come out to the public, but, at least her Majesty would know that justice was served. Harry and the rest of the crew, to include Kingsley, received letters from her Majesty to show her appreciation. What Harry didn't know was that the queen was in her mischievous mood. She sent a copy of the letter to #4 Privet Drive.
Vernon passed out when he saw he had a letter addressed to him from the royal family. He passed out again, when he found out it was about his freak of a nephew, and it was in a positive note, thanking him for some accomplishment. It must be a joke from one of Harry's freak friends. He was about to throw it away, when Petunia stopped him. She threw the paper at him, and he read the headlines.
Her Majesty Honors A Group Of Citizens For Services Rendered
Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth honored six individuals for aiding the Royal Family in a long unanswered problem, to which she declined any further information. The six people honored were Miss Luna Scamander, Miss Hermione Granger, Miss Ginevra Weasley, Mr. Sirius Black, and Mr. Harry Potter. In a ceremony performed by Her Majesty, the two gentlemen were made Lords, and the women were made Ladies of the Court, with the title of Dame added to their name.
Story continues on page two. Photos on page 21 and 22:
Vernon was left on the floor by Petunia. She was not going to hurt her self, trying to pick him up.