Harry Potter and the Wizards of Malta
Epilogue.
How should he feel, now that he case was over and solved? That was a question that would trouble Harry many times over the years. He generally tried to convince himself, since it was a job, there were no reasons to feel anything at all. But that seldom worked and this case had been different from the start. He would continue to try and sort things out on this one for a long time. His thoughts on Penny and Lasaurus, versus the punishments they received, were a mixed bag with no clear answers.
There was never anything good about a criminal act, and there was never anything good about an act of punishment. But the two went hand in hand and the Ministry was always happiest this way. When the Ministry was happy it kept him in a job, so perhaps it was best to leave it at that.
Finally getting around to ringing Mary Ann, Harry found that she had left the band and was looking around London for a new gig. She spent much of her time out of town and on tour, so she was sharing an inexpensive flat with a girlfriend. They had gone out several times and were approaching that juncture in a relationship where a little privacy would be nice. Mary Ann's place was pretty much out of the question and inquiries about his place had naturally arisen. Harry reluctantly described Grimmauld Place using the most depreciative language possible.
It needs a lot of cleaning up, he would say; but he didn't know how long he could keep using that excuse. He thought a lot about what he could do, but Grimmauld Place was invisible to Muggles with charms and spells that were older than he was. Even if he wanted to take them off, which he didn't, he really wasn't sure where to begin. He'd spoken of the problem with Quixwood who was very curious.
Who is the Muggle – a friend of yours? Quixwood would ask. Harry would nod and ask what his options were. Quixwood dug around through a ton of old charms and spellbooks and came up with a couple of solutions that might work. One was a charm, which could be administered as a potion, but once in effect, Mary Ann would see Grimmauld Place normally as if the Invisibility charm wasn't there. The other was much more direct: simply explain to the girl that you're a wizard. If things go badly a simple memory modification should fix things up nicely.
Harry opted for the potion. Only one problem remained – Kreacher. Even with the help of a potion there was no possible way to explain a house-elf to a Muggle. No way at all.
And Kreacher was simply fit to be tied. When Harry asked him to disappear over the weekend the old house-elf said he would but demanded to know why. When Harry told him he was inviting a Muggle to Grimmauld Place Kreacher experienced a minor meltdown. Kreacher had come a long way, but after a lifetime of working for a pure-blood family it had been difficult enough to accept half-bloods. But Muggles – in Grimmauld Place? The old house-elf was unable to phantom such a thing.
In spite of all these difficulties, Harry took Mary Ann to one his favorite restaurants. It had been found at random one afternoon while he and Sandy were walking. With a cozy balcony, good food, tons of candelabra lighting, and a delightful ambiance, it generally made for a wonderful evening.
During the course of the evening Harry waffled over the use of the potion or the charm Quixwood had found. Since a restaurant was no place to pull a wand, it looked more like the potion would have to do. If Mary Ann would run off to the loo to powder her nose the whole thing would be a cinch, but on this evening she appeared to be captivated by his every word.
Finally as the meal was almost over, Harry snapped to his senses. Maybe in the magical world, slipping someone a potion without their knowledge wasn't that bad. But this was not the magical world and it just wasn't the thing to do.
"Grimmauld Place," he blurted. "Finally cleaned it up."
"Really – so you're finally inviting me over then."
"Well, for sure," he replied and reached into his jacket for the small vial containing the potion. "But first you'll need this." he added and showed her the weird blue potion.
Bemused, Mary Ann took a curious look at the vial.
"Harry – what is that – something to make me want sex?" she quipped, and Harry laughed.
"Of course not. If you want to see Grimmauld Place, you'll need this."
Mary Ann shook her head and smiled unevenly.
"I'm sorry. You'll have to explain that," she insisted and Harry looked about the room for any eavesdroppers.
"It's very difficult."
"Please try."
"Well, okay – here goes. The place is invisible, or at least it will be unless you take this potion."
"A potion? Your house is invisible and you're asking me to take a potion?"
"Yes, I know this is difficult but..."
Mary Ann snapped up the vial, pulled out the stopper and casually poured the blue contents into her water glass. The blue liquid swirled around in a most unnatural manner of eddies and currents and then disappeared with a little trail of smoke from the glass.
"Cheers," she announced and drank the glass in one long gulp. "Let's go," she added and wiped her lips with her serviette and then threw it on the table.
Harry sat there, astonished. He never thought it would be so easy to talk Mary Ann into taking the potion. After the restaurant, they took a taxi to Grimmauld Place. This was a first for Harry. They said very little on the ride over. At first, Harry thought that Mary Ann might be a little uneasy about this whole thing. That would be very understandable. But Mary Ann didn't appear uneasy. If anything, she seemed very at ease as anyone would be after a fine meal and a pint of good beer. She sat cozily close and even yawned a time or two.
He paid the taxi driver and escorted Mary Ann to door of 12 Grimmauld Place.
"You can see it – right?"
"Yep," she said and giggled.
Harry made a show of unlocking the door with a key. Something he never did as normally he never needed to. He led Mary Ann through the lengthy corridor to the kitchen. Nervously looking around for Kreacher, he saw no signs of the old house-elf. She looked around at all the cooking utensils and reflected genuine amusement.
"Do you cook Harry – or do you just enjoy collecting utensils?"
"A little of both I guess. Would you like some coffee or tea?"
She thought for a moment.
"Either is fine."
"Good – coffee then," he said and removed a kettle from and overhead hook and filled it with water. He fiddled with the hob for some time before getting it adjusted correctly. Mary Ann noticed his difficulty with the burner.
"Are you sure you cook," she asked and chuckled. Jumping up from the table she helped him adjust the heat. "That should give you enough time to show me around," she said and turned down the burner.
"Sure."
Leading Mary Ann around the ground floor, through the sitting room, and anything else worth seeing he reluctantly moved toward the stairs.
"Everything up here's a mess," he said and they moved past the row of stuffed house-elf heads. Once again Mary Ann paused to sneer at the heads but asked no questions about a sight that should appear incredible to Muggle eyes. He showed off the new washroom and a couple other rooms before stopping at his. She looked at Harry and then his room and smiled.
"It doesn't look like you," she said and sat down on the edge of the bed.
"What do I look like?" he teased.
"I don't know, but I thought it might be strewn – with old athletic gear – stuff like that."
"Really. Didn't think I looked the athletic type."
"And the furniture, the duvet and rug – all too nice for a bachelor."
"Well, I inherited most of the furniture – along with the house."
"Oh – we've forgot the water," she exclaimed and jumped up.
Finished struggling with the coffee, Harry poured two cups and sat them on the near end of the table. Mary Ann kicked off the heeled sandals and appeared to be comfortable barefoot. She grabbed a chair and pulled it close to Harry's. Cradling the coffee mug, she appeared quite at ease. Harry was still amazed at how comfortable she looked.
"So you inherited all of this. Lucky you, it's wonderful."
"Well, I wasn't so lucky really. I lost my Godfather to get it."
"Oh, no that's not good luck at all. But all the same, it is very nice," she said and tested the coffee.
"You seem very relaxed here – with this whole story – I don't understand," he asked.
"You don't," Mary Ann replied and glanced away.
Harry shook his head.
"I have every reason to trust you Harry."
"Do you?"
"I think so. The thing you put in my drink..."
"The potion?"
"Yes. I guess you could have slipped it in without me knowing."
"Perhaps – but what I mean is..."
"Look, I know what you mean," she interrupted. "You were honest... and I should do the same."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... You don't cook do you Harry? You have help around here but they're off tonight."
"Okay. So what?"
"You don't cook or do many things normal people do because you're a wizard Harry."
Harry sat there without any expression or visible reaction to the statement.
"You see, there was gossip – from Harley – things he saw. And the day we went sightseeing on the boat. A gust of wind blew open your windcheater and I saw a wooden handle or something. I didn't think too much of it at first – but later," she said with furrowed brows.
"I see – I guess we didn't erase enough of Harley's memory."
"Well no Harry, but there's a little more to the story."
"Prey tell."
"There's not a magical bone in my body," she said through a laugh. "But that was not the case with my mother."
"Your mother was a witch?!" he asked, incredulously.
"She didn't like that word, she really didn't care much for magic either. Neither did my father and she never practiced in front of him. We were non-magical, my father and I."
"Muggles," Harry corrected. "Well hell, this in incredible. Some kind of coincidence, heh."
Mary Ann shook her head.
"No, not exactly. My mother, she had some friends that knew Penny. They got in touch with her and that's how I got involved with the band. So it's not such a far reaching coincidence. Ace, he didn't like my voice and never could understand why Penny used me. I knew I was gone without Penny, so I left before Ace made me redundant."
"You and Penny must have been close. I'm surprised you helped me at all."
Mary Ann flushed.
"I didn't say we were particularly close, but she was okay and I did appreciate the job. She had a way with the guys than none of the other girls liked very much."
"I see," he replied with a smile. "Well, this is all a bit of a twist."
"Sorry you had to go to all the trouble with the potion," she said, sheepishly.
"Ah no trouble, and you'd still need a potion or a charm to see the place."
"A charm heh," she said, playfully. "I'm way past charmed Harry."
Leaning in very close, the ensuing kiss was long overdue.
‡‡‡‡‡
And the latest news, nearly as strange as Mary Ann's situation, was that Ron and Hermione were getting along again. Hermione had originally planned to return the the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. But since her and Ron were getting along now, it just seemed a shame for Hermione to leave Law Enforcement, and Ron couldn't have been happier.
But Harry had seen all this before. The two would be getting along like peanut butter and chocolate when Ron would do something callus or inconsiderate. Hermione would correct him to the point of humiliation and then Ron would be compelled to take retaliatory action. Before you knew it the two would be starting a minor war. Sometimes things were so much more clear from the outside looking in. Harry kept his fingers crossed anyway and sincerely hoped that this time the two would find a way.
After the battle with Lasaurus at the Roundhouse, Hermione was taking her dueling and defense training to a new level. Once she has set her mind to improve, it was scary at the dedication and hours the witch could spend on the practice strip. Even Beollan seemed to be annoyed at how much time she spent practicing.
Since Mary Ann was not a complete stranger to the world of magic, Kreacher could come out of hiding on the weekends when Mary Ann came to visit. The old house-elf appeared okay this but obviously struggled with having a Muggle in the house. He tried to hide his feeling, but Harry had seen this in his first days in the Order of the Phoenix and recognized it all too well. As it turned out, Mary Ann had that sort of personality that could calm any beast, and Kreacher was soon won away from his bitterness.
Harry hated promises, and especially those made as an offer of consolation. They were so easy to make and so hard to keep, especially the important ones. But he had promised. He had assured Penny he would check on her very soon after. She never encouraged it or acted as though she gave a damn one way or the other, but it was promise and he intended to keep it.
As soon as he did he wished he hadn't. The conditions were every bit as bad as he had imagined. One could easily die in Azkaban during the course of a five year sentence. Dementors were everywhere, and Harry hated Dementors. The world faded to black and white as one entered the prison. Penny was on an upper level in a small squalid cubicle, which appeared to be carved out of stone.
Stubble was beginning to reappear where the coal black hair had been shorn away and the head shaved.. She had lost weight and her face looked lifeless and sallow. The once fiery eyes were dull and dark rings surrounded them.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"How do I look?" she snapped back.
There was a pause with no answer.
"Your sentencing – it wasn't fair. I recommended one year and an early out for good behavior."
"Seems like they didn't listen to you any more than they did me."
"It was over the copies. They were afraid..."
"Yeah, I know Harry. The Wizengamot, they thought I was holding back."
"Are you?"
"Of course not. I would have done anything to avoid this hell-hole."
"Would you submit to that question again... under Veritaserum?"
"Sure, but it's a little late for that now Harry."
"Uhmm... maybe not."
"Why didn't they do that to start with? For God's sake it would have..."
"They couldn't. Use of the Veritaserum is not admissible in court."
"Well, why the hell not?"
"Some wizards and witches have learned to fool it. They're very rare and I don't think you're one of them. But nevertheless..."
Penny bowed and shook her head.
"I'll do it – just get me out of here," she pleaded.
"In time," he cautioned. "So hold on."
"How long Harry?"
"Within a year. And where would you hide?" If I got you out? You won't be able to stay in London." he cautioned.
"I don't know, but now that the Order has what they want from me, maybe they could help. My father said they would, if I got into trouble."
"How would I find them?"
"Talk to the curator at the Grandmaster's Palace in Malta. Ask for a man named Cadmus," she replied and dropped her head.
‡‡‡‡‡
Over the course of the year, Harry returned to Azkaban several times to visit Penny, and her spirits condition continued to dim. Once Penny had taken the Veritaserum and reiterated her defense under the effects of the potion, Harry made good on his promise to find the Order member by the name of Cadmus.
The wizard had been a member of the Order as long as Lasaurus and showed feelings toward the Ministry Aurors that had killed his old friend. Harry explained Penny's plight, and Cadmus, at first, refused but finally agreed to help. The arrangement called for Penny to stay with the Order until such a time that they saw fit for her to leave. She would perform duties for the Order until the damage she had caused was paid back. It wasn't as good as being set free but the living conditions would be normal by most standards. Much better than being held barely alive in Azkaban.
Now the difficult part of the promise: Harry would have to turn his back on the Ministry and use all of his powers to free her. The first part was the hardest. It deeply bothered him to act against the Ministry and Shacklebolt but the court's decision had been unfair. Lingering methods of old times and old ways were everywhere and needed correction. With a built-in hatred of Dementors, the second part wouldn't be so bad. He had explained to Cadmus the situations he would face to free Penny from Azkaban. From his five hundred year old bag of tricks, Cadmus demonstrated a few curses that would work against the Dementors and were more effective than the Patronus.
On the anniversary of Penny's first year in prison the Daily Prophet ran this story on the first page. The magical community read this news:
Penny Penthane Escapes from Azkaban
Convicted entertainer Penny, aka Electra, Penthane, aided by an unknown accomplice, escaped from Azkaban prison late Sunday night. A great battle between Azkaban Dementors and the unknown wizard preceded her escape. Thought to be indestructible, it turned out the Dementors were no match for the wizard, whose identity was hidden by a long coat and hood. Many Dementors were parted from their carcasses as the wizard employed fire-like curses that burned them alive. The Dementors own deterrent had little to no effect on the strange wizard. A nation-wide search is underway to locate Miss Penthane...
After the ordeal was over, Penny stood humbled with her things at the gates of the Order. She took a long look at Harry as Cadmus approached to greet them. Finally, she broke down weeping.
"You were a good man... how could I have ever..." she tried to say, so softly that only he could hear.
"You'll do okay," he encouraged and patted her on the shoulder. "Take care yourself this time."
She wiped her tears and promised she would.
"Write me – when you get a chance," he added.
"Goodbye Harry," she replied at length and with bags in hand turned to leave.
It had never been proven but some Ministry officials always suspected that Harry Potter had been the mysterious wizard that freed Penny Penthane. Kingsley called him in to ask questions about that night, but the Minister for Magic never pursued it after Harry vehemently denied having a hand in it. Still, the Minister seemed to hold a grudge for the longest time.
Once again Harry had fallen out of favor with the Ministry and Shacklebolt. It was months after Penny's escape and still Harry had not received a new assignment. Hannah Abbott had broken up with the gent from Durmstrang again and Harry was thinking of paying her a visit. Mary Ann had been on tour in Europe with a new group and Harry hadn't seen her in months. A few letters and the occasional ring on his mobile but that was it.
And Ms Tilliedaff's watch? Had the vision of Sandy been just a weird dream or had something real been going on there? He had taken the watch out of the dresser several times with the intention of going back to the time temple of the Twelve Gates, but he just couldn't do. The watch, with it's ability to move the user backward or forward in time could be very dangerous. But the real reason, he supposed, was that he didn't want to go back and find the vision of Sandy had just been a dream. He took great comfort, in the belief, that he could go back and sit and talk with the beautiful witch. Maybe someday he would go back, but not right away.
Things were so boring now that he had taken to working crossword puzzles again. He was sipping the coffee Ron had brought from the canteen when he spied and old paper in the pile old papers beside his desk. He dug the paper out and thumbed through the pages, stopping by the daily horoscope. He read it aloud and laughed.
Leo: 'A tragic experience will lead to adventure and romance.'
He stopped laughing to shake his head and placed the paper gently back on the pile. This horoscope was where it all started. And he would wonder for many years: if he had not read it – would none of this have happened?
:
A/N: On a technical note, Dementors can't be killed. But whose to say, with the aid of special magic, they can't be burned to the point of being ineffective.
The thing with Harry and Mary Ann: I had a feeling from early on that they would get together at the end of the story.
Well, this is about it for this story. Enjoyed writing it, and of course I'm thinking about what's next. I do have another idea in the 'Auror series' in mind. It will have more of Hermione and Ron in it – which I think will help with the average demographics of fanfiction.
Grats for all the new favs and follows. More encouragement from 'Michael' – thanks. And, of course, thanks to all for reading.