Harry Potter and the Wizards of Malta
Chapter 17.
The next few days at Grimmauld Place were as good as any string of days Harry could remember. After accompanying Penny back to her flat to meet the insurance representative, he reported back to the Ministry as requested. He tried to conceal his bitterness from Shacklebolt, but was fairly certain the Minister for Magic knew he was pissed about his being yanked off the assignment. Explaining to Kingsley that Grimmauld Place needed work, he announced his intention to take the next few days off to get his London home back in order. He said a professional goodbye to Shacklebolt and left the building without speaking to Hermione.
Back at Grimmauld Place, Penny had turned the sitting room into a practice dance studio. Kreacher was mumbling something nasty under his breath and waving his scrawny arms as he disappeared into his cupboard. Completely baffled, Kreacher didn't know what to make of Penny. She would leave the shower with just a towel around her waist and stroll about the house in various states of undress. This infuriated Kreacher as the old house-elf saw this behavior to be very inappropriate. In the old days, Harry would depend upon Kreacher to prepare dinner, but now Harry and Penny slipped out every evening into different part of Muggle London. Returning from a long evening out, they would continue to talk, laugh, and chat until the morning hours.
Indeed, the last few days had been like a dream until one morning when the mobile phone blinked a steady little green light to get his attention. It was reality calling and having a damned hard time getting through. A text message had come in while they were at dinner the previous night and Harry had never noticed it. It would had to have been over dinner as the mobile couldn't function inside Grimmauld Place. Clicking on the little icon, Harry could see Hermione had left the text message.
Trust you're enjoying the time off.
I've put together some things about your wizard
and this mysterious Order.
You better get down here right away.
H.
Hermione almost never used shortcuts when texting. It was almost as if she couldn't allow herself to do anything the easy way. It was nearly mid-morning when he grudgingly got dressed for work, kissed Penny goodbye, and walked out the door to the small yard behind the house.
At this time in the morning the Ministry Atrium was empty and his footsteps on the marble floors were the only sounds breaking the soft silence.
"Good morning Jerry," said Harry to the lift operator.
"Good morning Mister Potter – Magical Law Enforcement?" asked the young man.
"I'm afraid so," he said and the lift doors opened and few moments later.
Hermione's new office was just around the corner from the lifts and much closer to the Auror office. There were shuffling sounds inside as he neared the doorway.
"Hello the house!"
"Oh, Harry," she said, struggling with a bookshelf. "Can you give me a hand?" she asked, giving her best impersonation of a damsel in distress.
"Why not use magic?" came his obvious question.
"Just humor me – will you?"
He helped her through this difficult moment and took a seat in a new and larger office chair.
"So whad you find," he asked dryly, still a little put out by her report to Kingsley.
"Well, look – about Kingsley. He asked me to keep up with your case and how you were doing from the beginning. I don't think he really wanted to send you in the first place. So don't be pissed."
"I'll try not to," he said. "So what's this business you've found?"
"Well, I've been researching the Order you mentioned and trying to find a way to keep you alive," she added with emphasis and the disbelief that he wasn't still pissed. "I've come up with a few interesting things."
"I'm not terribly interested in the Order – just Lasaurus. When I find him, this mess is over as far as I'm concerned."
"Maybe, but you need to hear this," she said, scolding.
"All right."
"The 'Order' or technically the 'Order of the Wizards of Malta' is claimed to be the magical equivalent of the 'Order of the Knights of Malta'. You've heard of them I presume?"
"Of course."
"Well then as you also may know, the Knights of Malta have quite a military history and go back a long way."
"Yes," he said, nodding. "I think I've read that somewhere."
"Good, well let's just call them wizards and knights then. So, the wizards claim to have shared in all the same victories and honors as their military equivalent."
"Can they back that claim?" he asked.
"It seems logical Harry. In 1565 a few knights held off the Ottoman empire in a great siege. Pretty good work for just four hundred knights, wouldn't you say. Well, it's written that the wizards played a big hand in that lopsided battle."
"Well, that's all fine and good, but like I said..."
"I know, I know... just hold on a second."
Harry nodded and did as told.
"This Lasaurus you're after – well his name keeps popping up – up to about five hundred years ago that is," she said with a how do you like that look on her face.
"Easy – it's not the same man. And the name Lasaurus? It could be a title," he replied.
"Don't think so, and here's a curious bit," she continued with popping eyes. "It's very well documented that the Knights of Malta received two hundred thousand pounds sterling every year from Sir George Ripley."
"The Alchemist?"
"Yes – the same man we researched on your last case," she said, solemnly. "And by the size of that gift, most were assured he had definitely climbed the Mount Everest of Alchemy."
"For sure, but how does this Lasaurus tie-in?" he asked and pulled a face.
"Just hold on," she said and raised an index finger. "If the Wizards were the magical equivalent of the Knights, then just what do you think Ripley would have given them?" she asked, hypothetically.
"You think he gave them his secret then."
"Through some trickery – I think he did," she said and raised a brow.
"Why trickery? What do you mean?"
"Have you ever seen the way Alchemists coded their work – it was a hopeless mess of symbols, and riddles, and poetry, and stuff like that. Only another Alchemist could decipher what they were describing," she went on.
"So you're saying they were deliberately vague?"
"Yes – they were. If the secrets of the elixir of life or the philosopher's stone ever became public knowledge, it would change the world as we know it," she said and took a deep breath. "In China, turning base metals into gold was punishable by death."
"I see what you mean. It would be difficult to give that away," he added.
"Yes," she said. "If Ripley gave the Wizards the secret – he must have worked out a very special way to do so. But it certainly looks like your friend Lasaurus has found it."
"You think so?"
"Yes I do, and I've talked to Ron and he's convinced the dreams he's had are real."
"Dreams?"
"He dreamed that Lasaurus used the powers of division and he's convinced the dreams were real. It's very old magic, division, and only a wizard who's been around a long time would be privy to it," she said, nodding.
"Division hey?"
"Yeah, it's mostly an illusion, but a very convenient one to have if all the images are firing curses at the same time," she added.
"For sure," he said and sighed.
"Well... you better get with Beollan. We've discussed these things and he's working on something he thinks can help."
"I don't see how – what does he have in mind?"
"Don't know – you'll have to get with him," Hermione persisted.
"So how's your defense classes coming along? I've been curious," he asked to change the subject.
She smiled from ear to ear. "I'm totally kicking arse Harry, and I'm beginning to like it," she said with a laugh.
"Well great! I told you you'd like it if you gave it a try – and Ron, how are you doing on that front?"
She smiled unevenly and then laughed. "We're doing okay. If you were seeing someone then we could go out for drinks," she said and paused. "Are you seeing someone?"
Harry mulled the question. He was pretty sure Hermione knew the answer to this rhetorical question, but it was a polite lead-in to glean information about him and Penny.
"Seeing? Well, I'm not sure that's what you'd call it..." he admitted.
Hermione gave him a phony look of apology. "Oh, I see..."
"This is off the record," he said and slapped the table for emphasis. "This is not for Kingsley. Will you promise?"
"Yes, off the record. I swear," she said, solemnly.
"I'm afraid... no... I'm certain she's mixed up in this business somehow. But I don't exactly know how. She's got something they want, this Order, and they've trashed her flat looking for it. She's staying at Grimmauld Place now," he said and dropped his head.
Hermione looked disappointed and then put on an artificial smile. "Oh Harry – wow – don't know what to say. Sounds like you two are pretty tight?"
"Oh yeah – definitely – and I have no idea what it is or where it's going," he said and smiled.
Hermione shook her head and sat silent for a moment. "Well, I hope you don't get into trouble."
Harry nodded soberly. "Yeah..."
"Call if you change your mind," she said.
He nodded. "I better get going," he said and pushed himself out of the chair. "But, I'll get back with you,"
"Do ring – and be careful Harry. Oh, and get with Beollan first chance you get," she added.
‡‡‡‡‡
The news Hermione gave him weighed heavily, but now all the warnings made sense. Lasaurus would be no paper Tiger and he wondered how one could possibly defeat such a wizard. Beollan was tremendously resourceful as a defense instructor, but how could anyone devise a plan to cope with such?
Returning where it all began, he would stop by the Leaky Cauldron and check with Hannah Abbott. When they eventually 'connected' they had both been suffering through a long run of bad luck. But now his luck had changed and he wasn't sure how to play it with the attractive witch. The last thing he wanted was to bring more bad luck for someone he considered more than a friend. Leaving Diagon Alley, he tapped on the bricks and opened the door to the yard behind the inn. As always when he stepped into the pub, it took the light a few moments to catch up. Moving forward only when his eyes allowed, he immediately spotted Charlie. Before he could say hello to the young wizard, Hannah came swishing around the bar an almost ran into him.
"Oh, Harry!", she exclaimed with someone's order of lunch on a large tray.
"Hello Hannah – all right?"
"Great – give me a second," she said and went swirling off.
She came back with the empty tray at her side and wearing a large smile.
"So... how long are you in?" she asked and brushed him along to a convenient table.
"For a while – I've been called back to London."
"I see – your business then – is it finished?" she asked, trying desperately not to appear nosy.
Harry shook his head. "No, not entirely. Still looking for your unwelcome guest. Has he been back?"
She paused for a moment and then looked up slowly.
"Harry, I haven't been here a lot at nights."
"Really?"he replied and pulled a face.
"No, you see - me and some other friends - we've been going out at nights."
Harry thought on this a few moments.
"Well that's great Hannah," he said insincerely. "But is there any chance Charlie's seen him?"
She clenched her lips and pulled a face. "Charlie... well he mentioned seeing someone who looked like the wizard. But at the time..."
"I know," he said and smiled. "You've been away a lot."
"Well... right. But, I'll let you know if he shows back up," she replied.
Harry didn't believe a word of it, but he thanked the dishwater blonde and gave her a peck on the cheek. With the tiniest tinge of regret, he left the Leaky Cauldron through the door to the streets of Muggle London.
:
Zipping back to the yard behind Grimmauld Place, he took a deep breath and erased any looks of concern before entering the old house. They're were voices from the sitting room, but it turned out to be Penny talking a one-way conversation. Poking his head in the door, Penny was in the corner nearest the magical portal for the WiFi and mobile phones. She was chatting away on her mobile.
"... that sounds like fun, and I think we should..."
"... well, you see I've had some work done while I was way..."
Harry stood in the doorway and Penny appeared troubled by the conversation.
"...no, I'll have to check and get back to you..."
"...yeah, it's great to have you back..."
"...I'm looking forward to it..."
"...okay, bye now..."
Slowly clicking off the phone , she looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
"What is it?" he asked.
"The band, they're back in town."
"That's good."
"Yes and Ace talked Piper into traveling with the band," she said and chuckled.
"Good for Ace," he replied and kicked back on the couch.
"Yea, I thought he'd find a way to bring her along – she is a hot one."
"Yes, very."
Penny gave him one of those looks like she knew what he was thinking. She jumped from the chair and onto the couch beside him. She looked cuddly wearing scant cut-offs and a worn Tee.
"You don't have to be so agreeable," she said and kissed him.
He savored the kiss and held her for a moment more. "Are they planning another do?"
"Yes – a homecoming or something like that at my place," she said and revisited the puzzled expression. "Not sure what to do – the place is still a mess."
"Do you have to wait for the insurance to settle?"
She shook her head. "No – not really. And we wouldn't have to refurnish the whole flat."
"Yeah, that would work," he said and reached for her.
"Is Kreacher around?"
"Don't think so."
‡‡‡‡‡
Remodeling the sitting room and the terrace, and cleaning up the kitchen and bar, Penny's flat was more than ready for the homecoming do. Jimbo and Harley's adjoining suite had been untouched, so no one was even a little suspicious of what had occurred there while the band had been on tour.
Helping Penny light the little candle luminaries and re-string the exterior lights, Harry couldn't help but notice a new almost life-size statuette in the far corner. The barely dressed sculpturing was pouring something from a vase in a typical Grecian pose. The folds of loose fabric were draped over the right shoulder and pinned at the waist. The left leg and breast of the beautiful subject were tactfully exposed. The more he looked at the figure, the more it looked it resembled Penny.
"Hey, Penny..."
"Yeah," she replied and noticed him studying the striking statue.
"Hey, what's this? It's new right?"
"Yes, it's new. For the terrace at least," she said, dismissively.
"Well, it looks like you," he declared.
"It's Hebe – you know Hebe right?"
Harry screwed his face in puzzlement.
"Hebe, my arse – it's you..."
"Well, so far only you know that – so don't tell," she quipped.
"Did you pose for it?"
"Sure Harry – about six months ago – so stop gawking and help me with these lights."
It took them about thirty minutes to finish up on the terrace. The bartender arrived a few minutes after that and some of the first guests began to show. Finally, and fashionably late, Ace and Piper along with most of the other band members began mingling through the small crowd gathered the sitting room and onto the terrace. Harry was keeping an eye on Penny but not hanging all over her. Ace ran up to Penny and began filling her in on all the things she had missed in Paris over the last few days. He would occasionally glance toward Harry but made to effort to address him. No doubt, Ace blamed Harry for Penny having to abruptly leave the Paris scene.
Jonesy and Xander came over to introduce themselves and gave their regrets for missing Harry and Penny in Paris. They were both very casual and unpretentious, and Harry found it difficult not to like them.
"Another time, perhaps," Harry told them for the third time and went looking for Penny. She was still talking with Piper and Ace. He stood along side her until Ace was forced to acknowledge him.
"Potter!" he greeted Harry, disingenuously.
"Hullo Ace – all right?"
"Couldn't be better and you?" he replied and Harry nodded.
Piper was affectionately chatting with Penny and looked absolutely risque in a silky bright blue gown with a deep V neckline almost to her bellybutton and a split along the right hem that rose nearly to her waist. She found a polite moment to pause and look his way.
"Oh, hello Harry. Good to see you again," she said.
"Good to see you again," he replied and almost blushed at the slip of double entendre.
The end of the evening would come all too early for Ace, and once again he'd something else to blame Harry for. Most of the band had left, only the die-hards remaining, when Penny finally confessed the break-in and how she'd been staying with Harry and what a big day both of them had on the morrow.
:
The next few days would find Harry and Penny returning to her flat to meet the delivery people for furnishings. The place was almost back to normal and except for Penny's bedroom furniture, things were looking up.
"So, where's the next show?" Harry asked over breakfast.
"The Roundhouse – ever heard of it?" she answered.
He shook his head.
"It's a nice place. Not too big but really nice," she said as Kreacher was serving up a generous breakfast.
"I'll have a look at it. When do you start there?"
"Thursday," she replied and forked a nibble of egg into her mouth.
"I'll go check it out before then. Besides, it's easier in the daylight."
Giving Penny a peck on the cheek goodbye, she rebuffed him and insisted on a full kiss. He chuckled and made off for the Ministry. When he got to the Auror office there was a note laying on his desk.
Harry,
Stop by today – we have work to do.
Beollan.
Beollan's notes were about as straight forward and direct as his wand work. Shuffling through a pile of old papers for the morning edition of the Daily Prophet, he heard familiar footsteps. He jerked up to see the ginger haired wizard with two cups of coffee from the canteen. Most of the singed off hair had grown back but nowhere near the original length.
"You get tired of the Burrow?" Harry quipped.
"Morning Harry – yeah it was getting old," he said and gently sat Harry's coffee on his desk.
"Well, it's good to have you back mate."
"The healers thought I ought to get back. I know I'm not worth a quart of beans, but I can still keep a seat warm with the best of them," he said and grinned.
"Well, it's good to have you back. Never thought you'd try and get yourself killed to win Hermione affections," quipped Harry.
"Whatever works, you know..."
"She's looking really good these days. How do you stand it?"
"As much as I can mate."
Harry laughed and explained his new mission and appointment with Beollan. The long corridor to the dueling and self-defense room was deathly quiet save for the protest of squeaking floor boards. Once inside the room there was another long walk to Beollan's office. Every time he made this walk it was obvious all over again the entrance door was in the wrong place.
The mustachioed wizard was kicked back with his feet on his desk and blowing smoke rings from the lip-hanging, droop stemmed pipe.
"Good morning sir," announced Harry.
"Oh, Harry – come in," he replied and Harry grabbed the convenient chair. "We've got a lot of work to do."
"Yes sir, Hermione mentioned you have some plans for me."
"This Lasaurus, that's turned up. Very old wizard with very old magic. Apparently he's a practitioner of division. It was almost forgotten, I can tell you that."
"But how can you fight that – seems impossible really."
"With smoke and mirrors Harry," he said and took a long pull on the pipe. "With smoke and mirrors."
‡‡‡‡‡
Clearing out of the Ministry a little early, Harry arrived at the Roundhouse just as the equipment lorries began showing up. Struggling with crates, plasticized boxes, and aluminum cases, men in overalls with expressionless faces unloaded a never ending supply train of band equipment. Once an old railway roundhouse, the building was as old as Dumbledore and had its face changed as many times as Rita Skeeter's makeup.
Inside, the floor was ample and encircled in by a shallow balcony and stadium style seating. He remembered the balcony in Amsterdam and made sure the lighting technician had everything pointed the right way. Penny would arrive with the band and Harry made use of the lax time to zip back to Grimmauld Place and grab a quick bite to tide him through the long evening.
Everyone looked fit and rested. Even Jimbo and Harley looked super sharp on this night. Glad to be playing to a hometown crowd, the band was all smiles as the announcer introduced the group as 'Electra Penthane and Bells of Elysium'. The crowd responded with a generous round of applause.
Striking up an old number the band was familiar with, the group hit the ground with their feet running. Of many advantages the venue provided – good circulation was not one of them and the place grew quite warm before the first break. As usual, Penny was wearing a skin tight and iridescent costume that reflected a rainbow of colors. After an hour or so the costume appeared glued to her skin. For some time now she had stopped allowing him into her dressing room, but on this night she motioned for him. She was struggling with the zip fastener, which appeared to be hung up.
"Can you help me get out of this damned thing."
Quietly, he fiddled with the fastener, but it was hung tight.
"Come on Harry – I'm burning up in this thing," she mewled.
"Alright – hang on a second," he said and extracted a wand. He magicked the zipper open and she unpeeled out of the suit and tossed it aside.
"Is that all you need?" he asked brusquely.
"Hell no – stay here and dry me off – will you?"
Pausing to consider the request for only a moment, he ducked in behind her to grab a large white towel and began massaging away sweat running down her back. Penny raised her arms above her head and closed her eyes. She oohed and aahed as Harry mopped and massaged the perspiration away until she was all dry. After he finished he gave her a little spank on the backside.
"All done," he said and made a show of visually inspecting his work.
"Damn, you're good."
"Is it going to be like this all night?" he asked, playfully.
"It's your fault you know – going out every night eating and drinking – I'm in terrible shape," she said and looked over her nakedness to demonstrate.
"I'll make it up to you," he quipped.
"You better," she said and sat down in front of the mirror. Turning on a small fan, she aimed it at her face and brushed the perspiration out of the long stands of silky black hair. He massaged the tight trapezius muscles at the base of the neck and then kissed her on the shoulder.
"I've got to go – better check the front," he said and started toward the door.
"I'll see you next time," she replied and eyed him with a smile in the mirror.
:
All evening he studied the crowd for anyone displaying the signature of anything sinister. The lights contributed to the heat but illuminated the place better than the average. Other than a heated display between two male guests, which the bouncers handled nicely, all was very quiet except for the band.
As the evening continued Penny's costumes must have been cooler than the first as she never called for his assistance again. He paused by the corridor leading to her dressing room to watch her come and go. With never a hitch, the show ran smooth and after the customary number of encores, they said goodnight to the guests.
Backstage everyone was in a festive mood and Ace was mumbling quietly to Penny. Piper had run up to join him and all the band looked ready for a get together. She smiled and then looked for Harry. She spotted him standing away from the band and bounced over to greet him.
"Hey," she said with a smile. "The band wants to get together at my place – are you game?"
He felt himself nodding. "Sure, let me get finished up here and I'll be over."
"Don't be late," she said with an impish smile and ran off. He turned to leave and shook off the images of the last party with Piper and Ace.
Waiting in the car park for what felt like an eternity, the back door cracked opened to lights, laughter, and chatting. Beatty, Rob, and Marco jumped in the coach first. A few of the backups came out together and he noticed Mary Ann, but she never looked his way. Pulling up the rear, Jonesy and Xander came out and walked arm in arm into the coach.
The coach engine, which had been idling all night, fired to life after belching a cloud of smoke, and the clumsy vehicle rumbled off slowly toward Penny's flat. The car park was deathly quiet now and Harry remembered the eery feeling in the car park after the last show when the gentle wind was moving big dry leaves. Bad memories disappeared faster than the evening breeze as the back door flew open and Harley came out first, followed by Penny and Jimbo. Harley paused to look around and Penny continued on to the limo with Jimbo in tow. Harry was standing in the shadows and unable to see the same view as Harley.
"What the hell," he heard Harley exclaim and suddenly the hackles were prickling on the back of his neck.
"What is it," Harry said and no one answered.
Jimbo with shoulders even broader in a suit jacket spun quickly around and pushed Penny behind him. Much quicker than the last time from under his shirt tail, the big man drew a gun from inside the jacket and pointed it in a split second.
Harry, running toward the car, saw the whole scene. He saw the hooded wizard point a wand and a muzzle flash from Jimbo's gun at the same time. The wizard threw a strong protection charm to thwart the bullet and then fired a nasty green curse toward the big bodyguard.
Frozen in time, Harry blinked his eyes but every time he opened them the green curse hit Jimbo in the chest – over and over. Dangerous – taking too much time. Taking too much time...
Actually, the following events happened in about the time it would take a coin, dropped from the hand, to hit the cold hard pavement.
Harry could see another wizard standing back in the shadows yet to enter the fray. With one eye on each wizard, the black wand was drawn and trained on Jimbo's killer. Feeling a wave of emotion, fear, and anger swelling inside him, the wand tip exploded in light. The pissed-off curse went tear-assing through the cool night air to hit the wizard in the chest before the wizard could remove his attention from the man he had just killed. Harry knew at once the wizard was likely dead. He then engaged the second wizard with the free wand. After an attack, one counter-attack and a fast riposte, the man was stunned to the ground and immobilized from the vines of the Incarcerous curse.
Quickly, he checked the first wizard and there was no light in the eyes of the lifeless figure. He ran to Penny who was sobbing over the body of Jimbo. Harley was still standing there paralyzed with his jaw on the ground.
"GET HER OUT," Harry yelled, and Harley finally looked his way.
Awaking from a bad dream, Harley came to life and grabbed up Penny to stuff her in the back seat of the limo.
She stretched an arm out toward Harry and screamed his name before the bodyguard pushed her further into the car and got in beside her. With squealing tires, the limo tore out of the car park and onto the road beyond.
In the few moments it took the limo exhaust to clear, a deathly quiet had settled over the car park. A gentle breeze could be heard blowing the dry leaves.
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A/N: Grats for the new favs and follows...
Thanks for reading : Don't forget to review.