18. Man Down.
Adam came too, twisted into an odd shape, his back against the wall, his leg numb, twisted under him. He sat up and grabbed his head as a wave of pain threatened to make him pass out again. His dead leg throbbed as blood flowed through it. He felt around the bit of his head that ached, then looked at his hand and found blood.
"Tony, you out there?" He called through the open doorway the birds replied.
He got himself to his feet, hanging onto anything handy to stop himself from falling over, as another wave of dizziness enveloped his head. A few deep breaths and he felt well enough to try moving again.
He walked around the boat, hanging onto the handrail on the lower deck, which did not take long. Of Tony, there was no sign. Back down on the sun deck he opened the first window and called Tony's name, again hearing nothing. He stood on the rear deck looking out at mile after mile of water; small islands of green dotted the landscape as far as he could see.
Grabbing his jacket, he went back down the stairs and into the toilet to clean his head wound, while he waited for Tony to come back.
He had paced the deck several times and was now getting worried about Tony's disappearance. He took his phone out and called up his list of contacts, scrolling through, looking for a suitable number. He stopped at the contact called MoM. He was sure he had not put this number in the phone's memory, nor was it on the phone the last time he checked.
"Call MoM." He said aloud. Several beeps and other noises came from the earpiece, none of which he had heard before from the phone, or any phone for that fact, assuming it was because he was in a foreign country.
"Ministry office, how can I help?" A male voice rang out, which seemed somehow familiar to him.
"Who am I talking to?" He asked.
"The PM's Undersecretary Mr Croft."
"How did your number end up on my phone?"
"We like to envisage all eventualities, Mr Croft. Do you require any assistance or is this a social call?" There was no humour in the voice.
"My partner is missing, and I am trapped somewhere in Norway or Sweden, I think." Adam was expecting an angry response, not the one he got.
"Someone will be with you shortly." The phone went dead.
Adam continued to pace the ship, heading back below to use the facilities again. As he came out, he could see light coming through the wall at the front, something he had not noticed before. Walking forwards, ducking down as the floor rose at the front. He looked out of a large hole in the hull which, if the boat were on the water, would have sunk it. Looking around at the ground below, he saw a leg lying at an angle. He leaned forward as far as possible, now seeing two legs, certain they were Tony's.
He ran back to the stairs, up into the wheelhouse and outside. The rope ladder was still hanging over the side, allowing him to climb down, dropping the last few feet to the ground. He stopped for a moment as another wave of dizziness enveloped him as he let go of the ladder. He looked up and cursed aloud. The boat had gone, no shadow, no noise, nothing, even though he knew it was still there, and even the ladder was missing.
He ran over to Tony, finding his body bent at a strange angle. He checked his pulse and found it, weak, but steady. He checked him over and assumed that his leg was broken because of the strange angle it was at. He could also see he had a head injury, which had bled, and now stopped. A cursory examination had revealed these injuries, but Adam didn't know of any magical damage he might have sustained. His main problem now was how to get Tony and himself back into Aunt Matilda without causing Tony any more injuries, or giving himself a hernia, that is even if he knew where the boat was.
Adam had taken his jacket off again and covered Tony with it while he walked back to where he thought the boat's ladder should be. After several fruitless minutes, he had to give up. Whatever spell Tony had put on the boat made it impossible for him to find. He thought ruefully that he'd been warned.
"Hello." said a female voice from somewhere above them.
"Hello." Shouted Adam moving away from Tony, hoping that whoever was there could see him, as he could see nothing else but grey clouds.
"Can I help you?" The voice came again.
"I'm down here."
"I know I can see you."
"I can't see you, there's an invisibility spell on the boat and I have an injured Auror down here." He was about to continue when the owner of the voice was standing beside him. "Botilda am I glad to see you."
Botilda's beaming smile spread across her face. The smile dropped as she looked up.
"That's one great invisibility spell." She said. "Nice to see you again Adam, how can I help?"
"Can you help Tony, he's over here." He guided her over to the twisted body of Tony. "We were attacked."
"She removed her wand and ran it over the top of Tony's body.
"I know what to do." She said with confidence, although her face was saying something else to Adam.
"I think he needs to go to St. Mungo's."
"Yes." She said looking at him. Adam waited for her to move, which she didn't.
"You're not used to this sort of thing are you?" He asked, trying to be as gentle as possible.
"I don't do fieldwork." She replied, her voice changing as panic started to set in.
"Botilda." She was looking around frantically. Her name brought her back to Adam. "Take Tony to St Mungo's, then come and get me."
"Yes." She said, moving from her frozen position towards Tony. She placed her hand on his arm, and Adam was alone.
"I hope she remembers where I am and who I am." He said to himself aloud.
He wandered around, realising that if she did not come back, he was stuck on an island in the middle of nowhere with no way home.
"Adam." said a voice behind him. He sucked in a lungful of air in surprise and slowly let it out as he looked at a flushed Botilda. "He's at St Mungo's."
"Is he all right?"
"I've no idea; the matron won't talk to me."
She grabbed his arm and noise assaulted his ears as he stood on the Charring Cross Road. He leapt to one side as a large driverless electric truck tried to run him down. Of Botilda, there was no sign.
Adam walked along the Charing Cross Road, looking around at the once-familiar surroundings. His jacket containing his notebook was lying on an island somewhere in Scandinavia, and his gun was still on Matilda. He touched the lump on the back of his head. The pain made him groan for a moment. He looked at his hand and saw there was no new blood.
A door opened on the left and a tall, well-dressed woman strolled out, pulled a large shoulder bag up higher on her shoulder, and set off into the crowds milling down the road. He looked up at the door that was old, stained, and nondescript. Above the door, a twisted hand-drawn sign seemed ready to fall at any moment. Puzzled, he had never seen this door before, even though he had walked passed it hundreds of times, realising that the magic that Tony had used on him, was allowing him to see the doorway. He took a deep breath, pushed the door open and entered the Leaky Cauldron.
The barman looked at him over his small wire-framed glasses and nodded.
"Can I help?" He asked.
"The usual, can you put it on Tony Garrett's tab?"
"Anything else, you look a little worse for wear." The barman gave him a closer look.
"I feel a little worse for wear, and I need to get into Diagon Alley. Can you help?"
"I'll check for you."
The barman got him a drink as Adam calmed down. He looked around the now-familiar room at the assortment of people sitting, eating and drinking, noticing a tall, portly man, with a long greying beard over a flowery waistcoat, staring at him. The gaze seemed kind but deep as if he was assessing Adam.
Adams' heart sank as the man walked across the room; drink in hand, stopping at the bar next to Adam.
"No child?" This was a statement rather than a question, his voice deep and friendly.
"No child," he replied.
"There's something odd about you." He said, making Adam's heart sink, wondering how he would get himself out of this mess.
"What would that be?"
"You have a very potent charm around your neck and a wand in your pocket." The barman placed his drink on the bar beside him, along with one for the man who stared at him. "And you're a Muggle." Adam's heart, if possible, went even lower, as he had forgotten about the last wand Tony had given him, the rest still in his jacket.
"How the hell could you possibly know all that from a look?" Adam asked.
"I'm a teacher and it's my job to spot strange things, especially with what I have to teach." The man smiled warmly.
"The charm," he said, tapping himself on the chest, above where the charm was sitting warmly against him, "was given by a friend as protection." He pointed out the door which he thought led to Diagon Alley. "The wand I took from someone trying to evade me."
"How could you take a wand from a wizard?" His voice had turned cold.
"It's easy to take someone's wand off them, however, in this case, I shot them first," Adam said looking right into the man's eyes.
"Hell's teeth, a little harsh, don't you think." He exclaimed.
"No, she was trying to kill me and my partner, and he's an Auror." Adam finished talking by picking up the drink and downing a large mouthful.
"You want to go through that door into the alley?"
"Yes, my partner the Auror is in St Mungos. Also, my wife is in there, both of which I would like to see." He paused while he took another drink. "I never thought to ask how I get in here if I needed to on my own."
"If we made it easy, every Muggle would be in here." The man picked up his own drink and emptied the almost full tankard down his throat in one. "Come on then." He said, heading for the door that led to the alley. Adam gulped his drink down and followed the man out into an alleyway he hadn't seen before.
"Why are you helping me?" Adam asked as they ambled up the street, dodging people who were rushing around.
"The barman knew who you were and put your drink on a wizard's tab, something he wouldn't do if you were not supposed to be here. Also, not everyone in Diagon Alley would look after your best interests. A lone Muggle wandering around here could be in real danger."
"I'm already in danger; I assumed I'd be safe here."
"You're far too trusting. Would you walk down some of the neighbourhoods you know of, on your own?"
"Good point."
They stopped at a blank brick wall. He watched the man pull his wand from his pocket and touch several bricks. Adam tried to make sure his mouth did not drop open as the bricks rearranged themselves from a blank wall into an archway, revealing Diagon Alley.
They walked in silence, Adam having nothing to say to this strange man. They passed the entrance to Gringotts bank the man stopped and turned to him.
"You realise that the entrance to St Mungo's isn't in Diagon Alley."
Adam stopped in his tracks. "When my wife and I were brought here, I left by the main door and we came out of that door over there." He pointed up the street to a large building opposite the wandmaker's shop.
"That is someone's home." The man said, looking around at him again. Adam realised he had trusted someone from this realm yet again and was about to pay the price.
"This is where we stood, over there is Pinne's shop where I got this charm from." His voice started to betray his annoyance, the throbbing in his head not helping his mood.
The wizard looked him straight in the eyes. "Please remember, Mr Croft, not all wizards are good, also remind young Garratt of this fact." The man held his arm out towards Adam.
Adam ignored the proffered arm. "You know Tony Garrett?"
"Yes. I taught him everything he knows."
"Are you a professor at that school?"
"I am indeed." Adam felt a certain amount of relief at this news.
"You're the second Professor I have met that doesn't look like a professor." The man's arm was still held out and still ignored.
"Who's the other one?"
"Dwarf guy, no goblin, called," Adam went quiet for a moment, "Gronuk or something like that."
"Goranuk."
"That's it." Adam reached out and grasped the man's arm, knowing what was about to happen.
"Are you sure it was Goranuk?" A frown had appeared on the man's face.
"Tony knew him, said he had taught him at Dumstranges. A little fellow about this high." He gestured with his hand at about mid-thigh level.
"Durmstrang." The man corrected. "What was he doing here?"
"It wasn't here, it was in the Charing Cross Road, said he was having a job interview in the Leaky Cauldron."
"What job?"
"He said chemistry, I think."
"Are you sure?"
"He said chemistry, I didn't know about the delights of your world at that time."
"Tell Mr Garrett that we do not conduct interviews in the Leaky Cauldron, for any post. I'll let the headmaster know of this."
A moment of disorientation later, they were standing at the main entrance of St Mungos. He was surprised to find he felt almost nothing during the apparition.
"Good day, Mr Croft." said the man as the matron headed towards them. Adam looked at the matron, then back at the space beside him.
"Mr Croft, good to see you again, who do you want to see first, your wife or Mr Garrett?"
"I think I ought to see my wife. Who was the man who was just with me?"
"Professor Longbottom. Follow me." She said, marching off towards the staircase.
He followed the matron up what seemed endless curving stairs, passing floor after floor and door after door. Strange smells and weird noises assaulted his ears and nose. They stopped on a floor some distance up, leaving Adam winded, the matron not so. They entered a large, long room with several beds arranged on both sides along its length. To Adam, it looked like a Victorian hospital, with no technology, no displays, no monitors, bare clean white painted floorboards, and the nurses wearing white starched collared shirts and blue flowing skirts.
"Adam." Came a Welsh voice from the far end next to the window.
Adam rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Gwen.
A long hug later, she let go.
"Do you know what this place is?" She asked excitedly.
"Yes."
"Why didn't tell me about it."
"I only found out after we found you unconscious in the flat."
"You mean all this is new to you as well?"
"Yes. You wouldn't believe what else there is."
"I would." She gestured to the old woman in the next bed. "This is Augustine Morell. She has been telling me so many stories, schools, villages, and streets, hidden from us where they all live and this hospital."
Adam smiled at the woman. "Nice to meet you, Augustine. What you in for?" He asked realising it would be her age.
"I fell off my broomstick this morning, banged my head and cut my leg, my fault for being so stupid." She had a well-spoken, no-nonsense sort of voice, which sounded youthful and strong.
"I thought she was joking when she said broomstick." Gwen piped in. "They can fly broomsticks."
"I know I've seen them, I'm told they are very uncomfortable."
Augustine spoke. "They are sore on the rear, but useful for short journeys. I used to be a damn good Quidditch player at one time."
Adam felt Gwen move. He looked around and saw she was lying back, her eyes showing only the whites. She shuddered from time to time. He was about to go running for a nurse when Augustine spoke.
"Don't worry, she's had a bad hex, it'll take time to clear. Best leave her sleep, for now, come back later." Her voice, kindly and comforting to Adam, calmed him immediately.
A gentle cough came from beside him, his head spun around and found a young pretty nurse looking at him.
"Mr Garrett is awake and wishing to see you. I'll bring you back to see your wife when you're done." She turned and walked towards the door, expecting him to follow. He extricated his hand from Gwen's and followed her out of the ward.
Down two floors later, she opened another ward door, almost identical to the last, only this time the filled beds had men in them. Tony was just inside the door, lying on the bed, fully clothed, although a little grimy, a grin on his face.
"I was wondering when you would get here."
"I got dumped on the Charring Cross Road. Then I got some help from Professor Longbottom."
"My old Herbology professor, I must pop in and see him one of these days."
"He told me to tell you that interviews are not conducted in the Leaky Cauldron."
"Why would he say that?" Adam was about to speak. "Did you mention Professor Goranuk to him?" Adam nodded. "I knew there was something odd about him being here in London."
"A suspect perhaps?"
"I doubt it, but why would he lie about why he was here?"
"When will they let you out?" Adam changed the subject, remembering another comment from Longbottom concerning trust.
"Now." He stood up, the door behind Adam opened again, and the matron came striding in.
"Where do you think you're going?" Her stern voice seemed to force Tony back onto the bed.
"I'm fine. I have work to do."
"So do I Mr Garratt. Turn around, head back." She placed her hands on either side of his face, and moved his head left, right, up and down. She turned him around again and looked into his eyes. "You can go. Try to avoid nasty spells and falls." She flicked her wand, which had appeared in her hand, at the table and a small glass full of clear liquid appeared.
"Part of the job I'm afraid."
"So I gather. Drink that." She gestured at the glass before turning towards Adam, giving him a long stare.
"I'm fine." He said a little panicky.
"What about the lump on the back of your head? Turn around." Reluctantly, he obeyed. Her hand grasped his head on either side and tilted it back, which hurt, making him tense up. He felt a mild tingling sensation that was pleasant. The pulling sensation and the dull throb he had since the injury, lessened and then went away altogether.
"You'll do. Try ducking next time."
"She hit me from behind."
The matron nodded and gave him a kind smile and then turned and left. "Follow me; I'll take you back up to see your wife, and you, Mr Garrett." She called after them as she pushed at a blank wall which turned out to be a doorway. She stood to one side, allowing them both to enter a short corridor. The doorway closed and darkness surrounded them.
