Hey everyone I'm not dead, sorry for the confusion. I'm sorry that it has taken so terribly long for me to update but my lovely beta took a hospital break, and I started university. There's not much time for me to write at the moment but I'm doing what I can. Before we get into this chapter in detail, do take a moment to thank the ever patient 'Pixel and Stephanie Forever' for being such a lovely person and beta reading this work. Thank them by going and reading some of their fiction, I've been enjoying the story 'Friendship and Honour' and would recommend it.
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Northumberland, UK
11 October 1991
Hogwarts Castle
Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom
Harry was, in more than a few words, uncomfortable. The room was staggeringly hot, whilst the weather outside promised more snow to add to the growing density that already lined the grounds. Add this factor into his migraine that seemed to start and end at the door to Professor Quirrell's classroom, and Harry was not looking forward to the rest of his Friday afternoon which would be spent in the dungeons. The upside of the day was that the Board of Governors appointed 'Inquisitor' would be entering the castle later tonight, and Harry was willing to bet that the man was the same O'Connell that had retrieved him from Number 4 that day so long ago. It would be nice if it was, unless something pressing came up they rarely heard from the Academy, so having a man that was able to be a go-between would be sensational. Harry and the rest of the cadets were in something of a limbo, they were not trained well enough or old enough to be given missions or pass intelligence, but they were at the same time in the best place to do so. None of the teachers suspected them of anything, at least none of the first years like Harry and his team. Some of the older cadets were under some scrutiny from Dumbledore, mostly because they'd revealed themselves long ago as cadets. Most of the younger crowd of students were not going to say anything unless approached directly. It annoyed Harry to some extent, there was something going on at Hogwarts, the infamous third floor corridor suddenly becoming locked off to the school, despite testimony from older students that there was a Cerberus behind the locked door. He sighed quietly, skimming over the page in front of him for perhaps the fifth time that lesson, it was mostly review for him and the other cadets anyway.
"Class, for next week have a-a f-ffoot-long essay on the various d-dar-dark creatures c-covered in this last chapter, and note to me th-the ones you f-feel could be the m-mo-most dangerous." Quirrell did not look up from his parchment as he dismissed the class, something that had become normality for his class. The Cadets in the class could not help but wonder what the hell the man was reading. Harry packed up his bag quickly nodding to Hannah as he made his way out of the classroom, heading for the third floor landing. They had a plan of sorts in place, Harry and Flora desperately wanted to see what was behind the door on the third floor, and Hannah and Hestia wanted to make sure they weren't caught. Simple really. Hannah was going back to Gryffindor Tower in order to give them an alibi if it was needed, and Hestia would be their lookout. They weren't happy with the plan, mostly because they were going against orders somewhat, keep out of trouble. Harry and Flora figured that if they were not caught then there would be no trouble.
"Harry!" The shouted whisper caught him off guard as he rounded the corner. Flora and Hestia were standing at the entrance to the Grand Staircase that led out of the fourth floor, just in time to grab him.
"What's going on guys?" Harry asked, glancing around in paranoia.
"We got out of Charms a little early and headed here first thing, Dumbledore and Hagrid were up here. The door has been enchanted a lot more heavily if what we saw was any indication, we couldn't figure out why Hagrid was up here though." Hestia looked a little worried, turning and leading them up towards the fifth floor where they had set up with Hannah to meet after.
"If anything we heard was true, the Cerberus was probably his. Which means that they're trying to cover up whatever Dumbledore was using the corridor for, probably because of this O'Connell guy." Flora nodded with Harry's explanation.
"That's what I thought, but since we cannot prove anything, well…" She trailed off, nibbling her lower lip nervously.
"I know what you mean, let's just hope that my suspicion about O'Connell is correct and we that might be gaining an ally here at Hogwarts." Harry pushed into the empty classroom that would serve as their neutral meeting ground for the time being. "Whatever Dumbledore has planned here can't be good, and is most probably directed at the Academy, the Cadets, or me specifically." Hestia frowned, pulling at her braid with a look of consternation.
"I just don't know what he could be aiming at you specifically, unless something comes up debating you as a ward of the crown." Hestia spoke slowly, puzzling things out. "He can't be trying to gain your loyalty, or if he is he's gone about it in a roundabout way. I do think he's trying to get something from you Harry, but I just can't see what." A triple knock came at the door.
"We'll worry about that later, for now the arrival of O'Connell seems to have stopped whatever plans the Headmaster may have had in place. We'll learn more at dinner, until then ladies." Harry bowed to his friends, walking out of the door and linking arms with Hannah, making it seem as though they had never parted after class.
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Dumbledore was more than a little unprepared for the arrival of this so called 'Inquisitor' he had been assured more time. His oldest friend on the Board of Governors, Tiberius Ogden, had assured him that O'Connell would not be arriving for another two weeks. Perhaps the man had finally had enough of Dumbledore, but it was unlikely. This presented a multitude of issues for the aging headmaster, the first of which was that he'd had to move the Philosophers Stone earlier than planned, and there was a greater chance that he'd been witnessed by a student. The second, perhaps larger issue, was that the man being sent was a squib. From what Dumbledore had learned in the weeks since the announcement of his placement at Hogwarts, it seemed the man had been born in Britain and had lived here for many years, and except for an incident with a mummy had no exposure to magic. It was unfortunate for two reasons, the man had no obvious ties to Britain besides family, and he had not attended Hogwarts, giving Dumbledore no obvious way to manipulate the man to see the headmaster as a guiding figure. The man was too independent as it was, he'd been around the world with muggle excavation teams, and had put down his fair share of mummies in that time. That was the part that was most peculiar to the aging headmaster, how could a squib have killed any mummy let alone dozens?
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Northumberland, UK
11 October 1991
Hogwarts Castle
The Great Hall
It was more than a little subdued at dinner that night, most students waiting to hear news of this 'Inquisitor' that the castle would be playing host to. Most students, but not all.
"His whole family are actually really famous adventurers" The bushy haired girl down the table from Harry was saying. "His father was in the French Foreign Legion stationed in Egypt, where they found that really powerful mummy back in the 20's. They're all muggles but they managed to put down the mummy themselves while the Egyptian ministry of magic was busy recovering from a revolution. Afterwards his parents were hired by the Egyptian ministry to keep a lookout for any new attempts at resurrecting powerful mummies." She stopped for breath, turning back to the few people that seemed interested, Harry included. "They succeeded again in 1933 with a different mummy, and again in 1946. After that there were a few attempts but they were always put down by ministry forces after they were deemed to be lesser dangers."
"How do you know all of this Hermione?" Dean who was sat across from her asked.
"They're a really well known family in England, China, and Egypt because of their work. Of course the muggle government doesn't say what they've done, just gives them medals for 'outstanding service to Crown, Country, and the World at Large. I think during the most recent one the Queen and Prince Phillip were present." She seemed to realize the amount of people drawn to her story and ducked her head.
"Prince Phillip? Doesn't he have more important events to go and be racist at then a medal ceremony?" Some un-named Gryffindor from down the table said out loud, causing laughter up and down the table.
Harry began to ignore the rest of the talk at the table and turned to his team, "We'll have to ask Granger if there is anything else she can tell us. Now that she mentioned it I do remember the name coming up in History class, but I'd have thought they'd have been dead by now." Hannah wore a sheepish grin at explanation.
"I agree, and not everyone we learn about in history class is dead Hannah." Hestia was quick to defend her favorite subject.
"Anyway the man should be here soon, probably by the end of the feast. Let's grab Granger in the common room after dinner and see if there is anything else she can tell us. Until we know more we play this by ear." Harry cut off the impending argument he saw brewing between Hannah and Hestia and went back to eating his roast potatoes. The others nodded and turned back to their own meals.
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The end of the meal was fast approaching and from what Harry could guess by McGonagall and Dumbledore's nervous looks at the door, O'Connell was about to arrive. He was proven correct four minutes before the end of dessert, when an older man with a slight gut and a receding shock of grey hair strolled through the doors of the great hall. Despite his apparent age, Harry felt a dangerous aura surrounding the man. The aura was not helped by the 9mm pistol on his thigh and the duffle bag that Harry was sure contained more weapons around his shoulder.
To his right there was a younger man, carrying two more duffle bags and a suitcase. They bore a striking resemblance to one another, they had the same eye color and general facial structure, though the younger man's face looked more Asian than the older mans. It took Harry a moment but he slowly began to recognize the younger man, it was the Lieutenant that had delivered him to the Academy all those years ago.
"Good evening gentleman, I was told to only expect one man this evening. May I enquire as to who you are?" Dumbledore had risen to greet them, and directed his question to the younger man.
"You may certainly enquire, but me giving you the correct answer is an entirely different matter… Sir, I am Winston O'Connell and this is my father Alex O'Connell. He is here to be the Inquisitor that the board of governors assigned, and I am here to make sure he takes his heart medication and is, in general, kept in good health."
"Surely we could have done that - there's no real need for another man" Dumbledore looked confused, something you didn't see often.
"Aye, however my wife is just a little more stubborn than I am, and convinced the Board of Governors that Winston here needed to tag along. Besides it'll do the kid some good to be out in the bright Scottish sunlight. HA!" The man gave a deep belly laugh at his own joke while Winston looked rather embarrassed.
"I assure you Professor Dumbledore, I will keep my presence in the castle as minimal as possible unless asked to do otherwise." Winston was quick to try and placate to headmaster.
"Very well, I will show you to where you two will be staying for the duration of your stay here at the castle, and will have some dinner brought up if you wish?" He glanced at both men who nodded their thanks and followed him from the hall.
As quick as he could Harry slipped out of the hall and began to head up towards where he knew the guest suites in the castle were. He got there just before the three men did, and stepped into the toilets down the corridor from the room. "We're just here to observe Dumbledore, with any luck we'll be gone in a fortnight and back to the dig site in Italy. My wife is there overlooking things along with Winston's Archaeology professor, nothing yet but we're sure to find something yet. Winston! Throw our kit in the bedrooms and get yourself set up, I'll just be a minute." Harry heard footsteps approaching the door to his hiding place, but they were far too heavy to belong to the Headmaster.
"Hello sir." Harry greeted as the elder O'Connell stepped into the bathroom.
"Ah Cadet Potter, here the Academy wanted this passed on to you." He handed a large yellow envelope to the young boy. "It's an information dump, everything that they think you need to know that's happening in the outside world. We'll be getting these to you every once in a while, is there anything that needs to get back to command now?" He seemed to fumble around with his belt for a moment while Harry grabbed the packet.
"Only a request for information, and further orders if it is applicable. Most of the cadets are chomping at bit a little with how slow it is around here. One of the Professors here has been putting us all on edge, there is something off about him, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was another player in this game that we haven't seen yet. We're not sure what is going on, Sir, but we've noticed that he drops his normal behavior when he thinks nobody is around" He trailed off as the man pulled his gun and put it to his side.
"One last thing before I go Potter, what's the most important part of servicing a car?" Harry gaped at the man for a moment before pulling himself together and running through his thoughts for the answer. "Only another moment Potter" The man growled as he cocked his pistol.
"The headlight fluid sir!" Harry gasped out, remembering the prank that the Lieutenant had played on a cadet the first day he's been at the Academy.
"Correct, wait a while before you leave, and burn that info when you've got it down."
Can't do that, Sir" Harry said to him
"Why not?"
"Don't learn burning spells until next week, Sir" O'Connell glared at the cheeky kid.
"Very well… Use this lighter to burn it" and he handed one over. Harry nodded in acceptance as the older man left.
Things it seemed, were about to get interesting.
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Alright then assorted human beings, that concludes chapter 12 of the fanfiction, I hope you've enjoyed it so let me know what you think. Thanks once again to my lovely beta Pixel, and my Biology professor for letting us leave a bit early today which allowed me to finish this off. I am truly going to do my best to continue writing through the school year, but once we get another couple of weeks in I will be hard pressed for time. I am not going to stop writing, but my updates might come slower than they have been. I apologize for this, but I'd prefer to post chapters that I am happy with rather than my first drafts. Until next time everyone!