Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine.
Chapter 16: Learning the Trade
August 10th - Noon
Three men pulled dust covered cloaks tighter to their faces as they worked their way through a bustling street filled with markets. Dark tanned men approached the travelers and tried to sell them wares but the leader of the three fended the merchants off.
من فضلك يا سيدي، هل شراء هذه الفاكهة؟
لا شكرا لكم، ونحن على الأعمال التجارية
Sirius leaned closer to Remus, "Did you know Albus could speak Arabic?"
The werewolf shrugged, "I shouldn't be surprised, but I am."
"Quiet," hushed Albus, "it's hard to know who will understand what in a place like this."
The trio made their way past many different shops, some filled with vegetables and dried fruits, others with thin cotton gowns in numerous bright colors. Sirius and Remus scanned each table as they went, but didn't find anything worth noting.
Not far from the center of the market, Albus turned down a cool alley that lead to a dead end. For the first time since entering the Arabian lands, he withdrew his wand and tapped a single mud brick in the center of the wall. Much like Diagon, it folded in on itself and revealed an equally busy magical street.
"This way," said Albus and the two Marauders followed him. They approached what looked like an inn and once inside, Albus immediately headed for the barman while Sirius and Remus shuffled around. The inn was old, crafted by wood and mud bricks eaten away by the desert sands. Each step created a groan from the floor and eventually the pair settled on waiting for Albus to finish.
The barman withdrew a key and Albus thanked the man before motioning for the Marauders to follow him. They traveled through several hallways, passing a number of doors before Albus stopped and opened one of them with the key. Once inside and after locking the door, he swished his wand and privacy spells slid into place. As the others removed their cloaks, Albus touched a small pendant hanging around his neck and several seconds later, Aberforth apparated into their midst.
"About bloody time," he spat, "what did you do, get lost in the Sahara?"
Sirius smirked, "Kept you waiting did we?"
"Aberforth, please," sighed Albus attempting to keep the peace. "Did you find anything in Istanbul?"
"No, part of the reason I'm cross; we searched for days and didn't find a thing."
"Odd," replied Remus. "One of the trails definitely lead there."
Albus scratched his chin, "Maybe one of the horcruxes Tom used to revive himself in the graveyard was from the Hagia Sophia. It may explain the lingering tendril of magic we followed to its location."
"Long story short," grunted Aberforth, "we'll have to search every path we find. I hope to Merlin there aren't many of these."
"Seven," answered Albus immediately, "however its Tom we're talking about. We'll have to keep our eyes open for inconsistencies in the auras but otherwise, it should be a fairly safe assumption."
They conjured chairs to sit down in. "What's the target?" asked Sirius.
The old wizard flicked his wand and in the center of the group appeared a holographic image of several buildings carved from stone, set into a small mountainside.
"Are those tombs?"
"The Mada'in Saleh to be precise. My analysis of the seven tendrils first discovered in Great Britain showed this to be the strongest of the given leads. While I am no expert on horcruxes, I thought it best to begin with the strongest signature."
"Any idea what it is we're looking for inside?" asked Remus.
Another flick of his wand and a golden chalice appeared in the place of the tomb, "Isn't that Hufflepuff's cup? Why would it be here?" said Aberforth.
"The Four Founders traveled the world before settling in Scotland to build Hogwarts," replied Albus. "While there is surprisingly little information on their exploits, it is generally known the Founders were well respected and left impressions wherever they went. There are mentions of 'The Travelers Four' in several Arabian texts and it is no secret Tom had his own fascination with them." He paused and dismissed the image. "This is conjecture on my part from studies over the last few years but I think his Horcruxes are all made of objects held within Tom's psyche: the Founders, Nagini and Harry. Fortunately, the one in Harry has been taken care of, courtesy of his position as Headmaster."
They lapsed into silence, Sirius quietly growling under his breath. It was still a sore spot amongst the group and it would be quite some time before the bitterness faded away. After a while, Aberforth shifted in his chair, glancing outside, "Must be a little after three. I gather we have another three and half before it gets cold. Damn deserts, hot as a kiln by day, frigid as an icebox by night."
Remus grunted, appreciating the change in topic but he didn't like the cold either, "What's the plan?"
Albus took a shallow breath, "Reconnaissance on the tombs for the next two weeks. No one makes a move until we have a fair idea of what the comings and goings are. I suspect there will only be archaeological digs by the local muggles, but we're not taking any chances. Merlin knows what Tom has hiding inside the crypts."
XX
"Thank you, Mr. Zippurt. I believe this concludes the interview. If we have any further questions, I or my Deputy shall be in contact with you; likewise, please owl one of us if you have any further concerns."
A short, balding man in a checkered suit bowed deeply, "Thank you, Headmaster. It was an honor to be considered. I shall await your decision."
"Good day, Mr. Zippurt," and the man stepped into the roaring green flames. As soon as the normal reds and oranges appeared Harry slid down into his chair and sighed loudly. "Is this really how interviews work? No wonder we can't find any good help these days."
Minerva struggled not to laugh through all six of them this morning but finally allowed herself the luxury, "Oh you don't know the half of it, Harry."
The Headmaster and his Deputy had been looking into replacements for the Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. Needless to say, the six candidates weren't exactly what Harry had in mind.
"So," he began while checking off his fingers, "Mr. Zippurt is an oddity, having an affinity for poorly matched muggle clothing. His Defense knowledge seems adequate although I question his people skills. Miss Rutter is a Potions Mistress but can't see more than an inch in front of her face, Mr. Arron is probably the most viable of the six but I don't like his attitude towards those who know less than he does. Reminds me too much of Snape to be honest and Misters Agon, Dip and Plimer all appear to be nitwits in some fashion or another." Harry paused, looking exasperated, "Please tell me I'm just new at this and missing something?"
Minerva laughed again but it wasn't quite as merry as her last one, "I'm afraid to say but despite your lack of experience you are quite correct in your summaries. I'm very disappointed with the results from our postings to the Professionals of Magical Studies. I expected much better than the few applications we received."
As they fell into silence over the matter of filling teaching requirements, Harry let his mind wander to a few weeks ago.
After he had helped Hermione free herself from Voldemort's clutches, they wasted no time in bettering themselves. Hermione spent large portions of her days buried in the Library, looking up all manners of spells and researching Hogwart's history far deeper than she ever had before.
Their daily practicing of Coetus greatly impacted their magical knowledge, more so for Harry as he was now well on his way to become Hermione's equal although they still retained their strengths and weaknesses.
His almost daily sessions with the castle were also helping his body grow intuned with the massive power the old structure was capable of throwing at him.
"Harry, are you listening?"
"Sorry, Minerva. Just going over some things in my head. What was it you were saying?"
She smiled knowingly at him, "Wait until term starts and then you'll see just how easy it is to lose track of everything. You mentioned earlier today about looking into a replacement History Professor. While I can't say I disagree with you, I am curious as to what brought this on?"
Harry's eyes darkened, "Do you remember me telling you about the brief meeting we had at Order HQ before they went on their little 'vacation?'"
"Is that where you got the idea?"
"Yes and I thought I'd chat with Binns to get his side of the story but each time I went to visit him, for the last few weeks mind you, he wasn't there. I finally caught him yesterday evening and let's say what I found was not in any way expected."
X - Flashback, last night - X
Harry trudged through the castle towards Binns' classroom for what felt like the thirtieth time. Given whatever reason, the ghost-professor had not been present on previous attempts and Harry was starting to get annoyed. The Marauder's Map was of no use, as Harry found out, it only detected the presence of living magical beings. While this surprised him, it wasn't quite as surprising when an official summons as Headmaster also failed. Every specter Harry talked to was stunned as it was an unwritten rule for if the Headmaster called to them, they would appear.
Stranger still, no ghost in the castle could remember anyone wanting to see Binns after a term ended so no one knew what he actually did during his time off.
Having to put the matter aside on more than one occasion, it did give Harry an excuse to search the castle proper. He'd been through every room on every floor, including the one time forbidden 3rd floor corridor and the rooms leading to the Philosopher's Stone in his first year. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary and after having done this several times, Harry concluded the castle felt small.
He'd taken to his broom more than once in an effort to calm his nerves and with each pass, he imagined a huge butter knife slicing the castle in two, exposing what was inside. As funny as it sounded, it helped him map various rooms and locations inside the castle from an outside perspective. The effort gave him a new outlook on the layout of the castle and copious amounts of time spent searching from within helped to reaffirm his feeling: the castle just seemed small.
Hunting for hidden rooms was not all he did with his time, as there were approval forms to be signed for Sprout's greenhouse expansions, although that was now in debate due in part to the robbery. While he wasn't tending to such things and when the allure of wandering not so strong, Harry also tried to discover what lie beneath the castle.
Madame Pince was able to offer some insight when he requested books and architectural drawings on Hogwarts from the restricted section. Her knowledge of the Library proved a blessing and a curse when she reported no such documents existed and there were only a handful of manuscripts hinting at a cartographer of sorts, which supposedly detailed the castle in full. Problem was, Pince made it sound like this was more of a room then a map and her final words on the matter did little to help.
"It's all rather strange, Headmaster. It's almost as if the information never existed in the first place."
Harry grumbled. He had spent weeks chasing ghosts, literally, and no sign of any document or drawing hinting to Hogwarts' true extent. There was little to go on from Albus' group and nothing to add by the Deputy in regards to any of these matters, and he did ask, which finally brought him back to where he currently was; about six feet from Binns' door.
'I'm really starting to get fed up with all these unanswered questions. It's not even the start of term for bloody's sake!'
He rapped on the door twice before opening it, "Professor Binns? I'd like to speak with you for a moment." He wasn't expecting to see anyone inside so when he caught sight of the ghost, Harry was pleasantly surprised. "Oh good. Professor, did you know you're incredibly difficult to... Professor?"
Binns was standing next to his desk, but looking down at it and didn't move or say a word. Harry closed the door behind him and approached the ghost.
"Professor Binns?"
The clock tower chimed the hour and Harry watched in confusion as Binns started to move.
"Today we shall talk about the Goblin Rebellion of 1202. Please open your texts to"
He watched in growing alarm as Binns proceeded to teach an empty classroom the atrocities of the Goblins from over seven hundred years ago. The same drowning voice washed over the empty room and even without a student in the classroom, Harry felt himself get tired. Upon realizing this he snapped into action and began casting diagnostic spells in an effort to discover what was happening.
By the time he was done, the bell had chimed again and Binns went right back to where he had been standing when Harry first entered. He lowered his wand and pushed the rim of his glasses back up onto his face.
"Well that's not good," he murmured aloud.
Binns was staring at a spot on his desk which at first glance held nothing, but when Harry tapped his wand on it, faint etchings slowly appeared.
Coercion runes, strong ones, designed specifically to keep Binns on a particular train of thought. There were others too, a calming rune, which was especially disturbing because it was triggered by Binns' voice and the effective range covered the entire classroom. The legendary droning associated with the Professor suddenly took on a sinister explanation, one which was only worsened by the fact there were several borderline Dark spells thrown into the mix.
Harry searched the desk for anything else that might offer a clue as to what was going on and unfortunately, he found it. Hidden underneath the desktop and concealed by the shadows was a deeply cut engraving Harry recognized in part, thanks to a recent learning session with Hermione.
X - End Flashback -X
Minerva gasped, "A spirit binding! On Cuthbert!? Harry, are you certain?"
He nodded grimly, "I contacted Filius immediately and he was so upset at the notion, we spent a better part of the night confirming it. I would have called you, but I believed Filius and I were enough for so late an hour."
The Deputy had gone white, "Why on earth would anyone do such a thing?"
Harry shook his head, "I don't know. We scratched the rune up once we finished, breaking its connection. Binns turned to us and I've never seen him so happy. The only thing he said before vanishing was, 'Thank you.'"
It was Minerva's turn to slump into her chair.
"Filius mentioned the binding was old and better made then the runes on top. It hints to singular efforts, one added without knowledge of the other."
"We'll never know will we?"
Harry confirmed her fears, "No, I don't believe we will."
Minerva took a shaky breath and stood up, "I wish to be excused for the rest of the day. This news is most disturbing and I want to pay my respects. I haven't visited the ruins of Hogsmeade either; now seems as good a time as any."
Harry anticipated this and waved her towards the door, "Go ahead, Minerva. Take two, the work will wait."
She bowed to him and left. No sooner had the door shut, Hedwig flew into the open section of the wall Harry had accidentally made when Albus came clean. Dobby and several other elves long since fixed it, but instead of patching it, they created a small balcony which overlooked the Forbidden Forest. It was a nice little addition, something Head Elf Snippy had mentioned was sought after by numerous Headmasters but none of them bothered to do it.
His snowy white owl dropped two letters onto his cluttered desk and he scratched her head lovingly, "Sorry Hedwig, I don't have any food on me. If you fly down to the kitchens, I'm sure one of the elves will be happy to feed you something."
She hooted softly and took off while Harry picked up the first letter.
Harry,
I just wanted to check in and say hello. Daddy and I are in Scandinavia right now and he says there's a chance we may find the Lexing Loftor! It's an elusive, small creature who loves to magically lift things in front of others. If they catch a glimpse, muggles end up doing a double take and wonder if they saw what they really thought they saw. Quite a clever little fellow and well adapted to stealth. It has to be I suppose, if it never wants to be found by the muggles after all.
How are things between you and Hermione? She wrote to me a few days ago and told me the two of you have been able to maintain Coetus for longer periods each time you try! Daddy says that's an amazing achievement given your circumstances. Be careful though and remember; too much too quickly and things will advance beyond your control. I'm sure you and especially Hermione know this, but I worry about you both.
I shall be seeing you soon at the start of the new term!
All my love,
Luna
He smiled faintly at the letter and set it aside. Just as he was reaching for the second, a small plume of fire erupted in front of him, depositing a sliver of parchment that floated gently onto his desk.
In the Middle East. Think we've found one. Setting up camp, will let you know more.
- AD
"That far away?" he hummed to himself. As much as he wanted to know what was going on with the group, he didn't want to risk calling Fawkes unless he absolutely needed to. He tried asking Dobby to look for them but was surprised when the little elf grabbed his ears in shame. He said they could only detect their masters from so far away and the group was already lost to his senses.
'Be careful everyone,' he thought and picked up the other letter.
Harry,
I wanted to know what was wrong and if you needed any help. I've been catching glimpses of your emotions on and off all day today and I don't like what I'm feeling. Is everything alright? You better believe we'll be discussing things later.
Mum and Dad are looking forward to dinner with us tonight and I must say, so am I.
See you soon Love,
Hermione
Harry leaned back in his chair and genuine smiled to himself. Out of all the crazy things continuously happening, Hermione was the best of them. They had been practicing almost daily since they first started and as Luna had said, they were getting much better. So much so they no longer needed the runic assembly Xeno setup to aid them in their attempts. Xeno told them once they progressed past the need for a stabilizer, they would be able to hold the connections for longer stretches of time but he also warned them to take their time and to be careful.
There were dangers with this magic after all.
A buzzing started in his ear and he glanced to the right, watching as Mai appeared in front of him.
"That time already?"
She grinned, "Same time every day Harry, just like we agreed. The more you practice and push yourself the better you'll get at wielding her strength."
In addition to everything else he'd been doing, Mai was helping him learn the magic of the castle. She didn't know everything regarding Hogwarts' abilities, but she knew enough to get him started. Mainly, channel as much magic as he felt safe with and to hold that amount for as long as possible before it started to hurt or he grew weary. In this way, he was slowly increasing his magical conductance between him and the castle without sustaining injuries.
Since Snape's little rebellion, the cuts on his arms healed nicely and now acted as a meter for how hard he had been pushing himself. If he neared the edge, Harry could feel the gashes throbbing from underneath his skin while nothing physically changed that he could see. It was a strange sensation to say the least, but it was all he had to go by and some warning was better than none.
"Actually Mai, I think I'm going to take a break today."
She eyed him curiously, "Are you sure? Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine, I'd just like some time to wander again."
She sensed his mood easily, floating over and placing a hand on his shoulder, "Binns is in a much better place now. You couldn't possibly have known."
He frowned, "Perhaps not, but looking back I should have. We should have. Is there a reason why Hogwarts didn't detect it?"
"She is not all knowing or powerful, Harry. Even a mouse can slip through the most elaborate of traps."
He stared at his desk for a moment longer before getting up and heading for the door, "Which is why we're here, Mai. Mice can't get out of a sealed box unless we let them."
"Quite true," she whispered in reply and he left. Harry had been a mess whenever he was by himself since the attack but thanks to Hermione's efforts and a little encouragement from time, he was on the mend. It didn't stop him from dwelling on past events and that worried Mai but she couldn't argue with the brilliance it coaxed out of him.
Her eyes scanned over one of the many parchments on the desk.
- Restructure core curriculum
- Investigate change in class structure over the years
- auto-scan/protection of incoming students via charms/wards
- can Death Eaters be 'detected'?
- protection from Dementors, outside forces, trolls, etc.
- house rivalries
- way to breech?
- sit students among other houses
- conflicts?
- how does the war fit into all this, or how does Hogwarts fit into the war?
There was a mess of other things he jotted down, mostly scribbles and incomplete thoughts but Mai had to acknowledge his ideas were sound. It probably helped having Hermione to back him, so hopefully things would continue to get better.
Hermione did more than just provide him with knowledge and Mai found herself becoming less worried over Harry's state of mind every time he came back from seeing her. The changes were obvious, to her anyway.
She allowed herself to vanish just as Harry stepped onto the fourth floor, main hallway. He walked slowly down the hall, admiring the many portraits and statues all standing as decoration. Although, he wouldn't be surprised if a lot of it was also protection, lying in wait for the call to arm.
He passed by a painting of two young gentlemen, from the Victorian era by the looks of it, who took off their top hats and bowed deeply to him. Harry nodded in response and began thinking more on what happened to Binns.
It was a security breach whose date of occurrence would never be identified. The who and why behind Binns' incarceration were the most important of his concerns and having a history, or at least a knowledge of Binns' activity would have been useful.
A memory from a meeting in the past flashed before his eyes, 'The Nomen... The book that Alec, what was his name? Thompson! He's the book's keeper... but Alec has gone missing...'
Harry stopped walking as a moment of dread washed over him.
'Could there be a connection? No, of course not. Binns' release doesn't coincide with the disappearance, but Alec was the keeper of the book. An artifact with information directly connected to Hogwarts and her staff, something impossible to find otherwise. Was that the reason for his kidnapping, or was it to get to Amelia? That by itself destabilized the little order left in the Ministry...'
Harry got a sinking feeling he was just beginning to see a web of problems spun by a master manipulator. There were already three instances he had inadvertently stumbled upon hinting at outside influence: Alec's disappearance and therefore the Nomen, Binns predicament and finally, the attempt to ruin Hogwarts financially.
'Could there be more?'
He shook his head and filed those thoughts away for later. Hermione would be a massive help for this, not to mention Luna or Minerva or his Heads of Houses.
The thought gave him pause; perhaps he'd have to look into what the qualifications were for other positions surrounding him. To a degree, he already had a well established chain of advisers and so what if they were students?
He stuck out his hand and brushed an open stretch of wall in the corridor.
Sparks jumped from behind his fingers where he trailed them on the surface and he smiled as a warm buzzing filled his head, along with voices of laughter. He could connect with the castle faster and easier than before and he was learning so much thanks to Hermione and Mai.
He was getting better and better is what he needed to be.
'Never again,' he reminded himself.
He stopped at the end of the corridor, a large painting of some unknown countryside hanging in front of him. It looked peaceful, with the rolling hills and lush greens of the trees and fields. He smiled and turned to go back when something tugged at his perception.
He glanced at the painting once more, bewildered by what he felt before stealing a look towards the Grand Staircase. It was some distance away but comparing what he saw with his mental map from outside, the wall seemed out of place. After staring at it for a few moments, something else suddenly stood out.
The painting: nothing moved from inside it.
Every other magical work of art Harry had seen moved to some degree. Be it the wind in the trees, people shuffling about or something as silly as a pie being thrown into an unsuspecting face, something was on the move.
"So why don't you?" he mumbled. He held up his hand and touched the wall, feeling the same warmth as anywhere else in the castle. When it came into contact with the painting however, his hand froze. He stared dumbly for a moment before trying to pull it back, but he couldn't and instead his hand sunk into the painting.
Before this could properly register the process sped up rapidly, his head snapping back and feet leaving the floor, Harry was pulled inside.
XX
A/N:
The short Arabic scripts roughly translates to:
Merchant: "Please, sir, would you buy these fruits?"
Albus: "No thank you, we are here on business"