Chapter 5

"So, you think someone is controlling one of these orbs?" Harry was furiously taking notes as Snape and Neville explained original magic.

Snape, torn between approval at Harry's detailed note-taking and disapproval at his use of a Muggle pen and notebook, replied, "Controlling might not be quite correct. The ancient mages found it impossible to do; I highly doubt it is being adequately controlled." He found himself wishing Potter had been this attentive in Potions classes. His notes currently reminded him of Granger's quill flying across pages at top speed.

Harry stopped writing a moment later and looked up, "It's sentient, then? It's doing all of this on its own?"

It was Neville who answered, "Not exactly. But it's likely too powerful for whoever's got it to have total control."

"It is described as a wild energy. The discovery would have been equal to the Muggles' discovery of electricity," Snape had his finger marking a paragraph in Original Magic, "Although it pre-dates the earliest records of magic, it seems as though the mages had perhaps an awareness of their difference from other humans and set about trying to determine the source of that difference. They succeeded in isolating the energy, though the book is woefully short on their procedure. Their own innate and yet unidentified magic, when coupled with the raw energy that is the base of magic itself, created an object of unparalleled power. It could not be controlled; it could not be destroyed. The records are unclear as to what exactly prompted them to hide the objects away. I find it unlikely that the simple level of magic frightened them so much that they attempted to destroy their discovery." Snape watched as the two wizards processed this.

When Harry looked ready to further discuss the issue, Neville pulled a notebook across the headmistress's desk and flipped it open to one of the last pages.

"I did a bit of investigation after I spoke to the professor yesterday. I contacted the curator at the Magical Archives in London and was told that there were no records of original magic. Upon further inquiry, she informed me that several hundred tomes were relocated to the Swiss Conservatory of Magic in June of 1940 out of fear that the Muggles' World War II would lead to damages in the magical world. As it turned out, part of the building that houses the archives was damaged later during the Blitz.

"After the end of the war, most of the books were returned. Three were missing and remain missing. It is believed," Neville looked up at Snape again, "that they were stolen from the Conservatory sometime late in 1943. There is no documented suspect, but the Conservatory has record of having expelled a student on the grounds that he had been providing German spies with information on magical Europe found in the library. He was also taken into custody by magical law enforcement and charged with several offenses dealing with the war. The books were discovered missing a week later."

Snape considered this new information for a moment before asking, "What evidence is there that suggests the student stole the books? And what makes you think the books referenced original magic?"

"Apparently, a professor there published a paper in 1942 on the theory of fundamental magic. He referenced one of the books and had made copies of several pages from it. The paper is now included in an anthology used in one of the classes," Neville paused for a moment, "As are the pages he copied. They specifically discuss raw magical energy."

Harry, who had given up taking notes and had determined to simply use a Pensieve later, stared at Neville. Carefully closing his notebook, he asked, "You got all that just going off of Professor Snape's information in less than twenty-four hours?"

Neville shrugged, "I finished marking homework over the weekend. The curator at the Magical Archives was quite glad for someone to talk to for a while, and the missing books are something of a sore subject at the Conservatory. I spent hours with my head in the Floo last night."

"And the paper on magical theory?" Snape asked.

"They're quite proud of that paper, as it happens," said Neville, "The moment I mentioned original magic to the librarian, I was presented with several articles authored by the professor in question. After a quick visit to the library here at Hogwarts, I found a copy of the paper in the Restricted Section. I only read the first bit, but I think the professor must have been Muggle-born or halfblood. He was trying to explain magic using Muggle chemistry and physics."

Snape was looking grudgingly impressed, and Harry was still taken aback by the amount of information Neville had gathered. Months of Ministry investigation and international cooperation turned up nothing, but a chatty curator opened the floodgates.

"Okay, so we can really start looking into the source of the attacks now," Harry pulled himself back to his notes, "Professor, you mentioned that the Ministry had three of these high-energy objects years ago. I'll need to check in the Department of Mysteries, then. If one's missing, we'll have a lead to work with. Arthur will be relieved we have anything at all. We'll also keep looking into the theory behind them; we'll need to know as much about them as possible in order to counteract them."

Neville interrupted him, "I was thinking I could continue researching the theory. I can work with Professor Snape to break it down. Since we've gotten this far, you know."

Nodding, Harry replied, "That would actually be really helpful. The Auror office is swamped with this investigation, and the entire Department of Magical Law Enforcement is spread so thin that it's a miracle we're getting anything done. We've been having to leave the apprentices behind to research instead of taking them on field assignments. Just make sure to keep detailed notes on everything."

"Are you planning on moving into the headmistress's quarters, Mr. Longbottom?"Snape asked snidely, "There will be very little time for this unless you are planning to run Minerva out of her office every evening."

"Actually," Neville looked questioningly at Harry, "I was wondering if I could borrow your copy of his portrait for a while? It would make it easier for us to work together, and it's smaller than this one, so it would fit in my quarters better."

Harry readily agreed, and Snape thought having a portrait in Neville Longbottom's quarters might make the research easier, but it certainly was not going to make his life easier. Afterlife, if we're being proper, he corrected himself sarcastically, mentally mimicking Dumbledore's tone.

As Harry moved to gather his things, Snape addressed Neville, "You never answered my first question. What evidence made you believe the expelled student stole the books from the Conservatory?"

In answer, Neville held up the notebook he'd been holding. Snape's eyes narrowed and flickered first to Harry then across to Dumbledore's supposedly sleeping portrait. Harry finished packing up his notes and glanced over, thinking he'd not heard Neville's answer. Upon seeing the page, he dropped his bag and straightened sharply.

"Damn," he breathed, eyes wide.

A single line of German was written on the page: "für das größere Wohl". Underneath it, Neville had sketched a frighteningly familiar symbol.

As he turned around to look over at Dumbledore's portrait, Harry realized the man was no longer pretending to sleep. The old wizard looked tired and pained as he met Harry's eyes.

Harry swallowed and muttered, "For the greater Good."

A/N: The German wording for "for the greater Good" comes from the German translation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.