A few days after the events, Jessie approached the table with Alphard holding her hand. She placed an electronic device on the table and several strange, small, rectangular, plastic objects. "What the hell is that?", asked Regulus. "A dictaphone. You can record voices with that. We needed some wire, so Alphard took me to Mercuria's workshop. There we found some wire. And this. It has a message for Sirius". She showed him how to operate the voice recorder. Sirius was startled at the sound of Mercuria's voice. "My dear. I hope you find this message soon. I won't be around to care for you when you hear it. Lately, I have come to know that my mind is beginning to dissolve into the Dark, and there is nothing that can stop that from happening. You know I cannot live that way. But you will still be needed. For our sons, for Marius, for the rest of the family, for all those you must protect from Cygnus. So be strong, my heart, as you have always been, even in the darkest hours of your life. There are two tasks I leave you with. Firstly, I've recorded what's written in the Healer Montalenfer's Book. I simply could not decide what to do with it. The knowledge of how to bring a dead person back to life is simply too precious for me to be the judge of whether it will be lost forever. How to handle the wisdom of Montalenfer can only be decided by a wizard. What you make of him is up to you. Secondly, it is my hope that you will soon have a loving woman by your side again. You shouldn't be on your own for too long, it's not good for you. If it's a Muggle woman like me who's good at crafts, ask her to look at the music box I bought in Belgium. I didn't have the time to start its restoration. It holds a secret from the Wizarding World, I am sure of it. Sirius, my heart, I love you more than I can say and I wish you all the happiness in the world. Take good care of our sons and of Marius. They are wonderful, wonderful boys. And they need you so much". Sirius buried his face in the palms of his hands.
When he looked up again, Jessie was holding a piece of paper out to him. "I found this as well. It was in the fax machine". Hesitantly, Sirius took the paper and read: "Dear Mrs Black, a few months ago you sent us a picture of a key and asked if we could match it to a locking system. Please accept our apologies for the lack of attention we have paid to your request. However, we can now confirm that the key in question belongs to the Scotland Yard Cloakroom Scheme. In the hope that this information will be of some assistance to you, we remain most respectfully, Johnson & Cie". The wizards looked at each other in disbelief, while Jessie and Jonathan giggled. Lucius said, "I assume this refers to the key we found with Voldemort's belongings. Mercuria said she was going to investigate it. But how are we supposed to find this farm in Scotland?". Jessie and Jonathan let out a roar of laughter. "The guy who gave you the key was quite a prankster, wasn't he?". Lucius nasalised, "Believe me Fairfield, the man concerned didn't have the slightest sense of humour. Now what's so funny about that information?". Jessie explained, "Scotland Yard is in London and the Metropolitan Police is headquartered there. For example, if a murder happens in our village and the local authorities can't solve it, they call Scotland Yard and they take over the investigation". Jonathan added: "However, I think it's pretty funny that one of your people would be hiding something there of all places".
The wizards looked at each other, dumbfounded. "Are you saying that the Dark Lord has hidden a potentially valuable object in the headquarters of your Aurors?", Lucius asked. "Aurors?". "Our police". Jonathan nodded, "Looks like it. The question is, how are we going to get to it now?". "Can't you just go there and get it back?". Jessie shook her head. "No, apparently they have a section of lockers where staff can store personal items. But even if we knew where it was, we'd be hard-pressed to get to it. As civilians, we can't just walk around there as we please. Could you show us the key?". Sirius called Dorkas and asked him to get the key he had for safekeeping. Jonathan took it and examined it. "We'll have another problem. There should be the number of the locker somewhere. Either engraved on the key itself, or on a tag or something. Your wizard has removed that number. Finding the right locker can be time-consuming. Maybe they have hundreds of them". There was some discussion about what to do. Finally, Sirius said, "Lucius and I will have a go. I'll borrow Harry's Invisibility Cloak. We'll open the Floo network to get to Grimmauld Place. And we'll leave tomorrow evening. There should be less people around than during the day. We cannot risk a conflict with the Muggles and then have the Aurors show up".
At breakfast, two owls suddenly flew into the dining room and dropped a parcel in front of Sirius. He took the card that came with it and smiled. "What's that, Dad?", asked Asterion. "Harry's Invisibility Cloak. I asked him to lend it to me". Lucius said, "Well, then we are all set. What is the plan of action?". "As soon as it's dark, we'll open the Floo Network and travel to the house on Grimmauld Place. As long as we're connected to the Network, someone will need to be watching the fireplace here. Day and Night. Nobody can travel to Grimmauld Place except us because the house is protected by the Fidelius Charm. But here you can get from anywhere if the network is open". Regulus said, "Gavin and I are doing this. At least tonight. Then we'll see what happens". Sirius nodded. "From Grimmauld Place, we'll apparate to Scotland Yard". He looked at Jessie and Jonathan. "You must give us some pointers on how best to proceed".
They spent all day with Jessie and Jonathan figuring out what to do. "We must avoid getting in a conflict with the Muggles by any means. That would call the Aurors onto the spot. They'll be on alert after the Muggle killing at the forest house and if they turn up, we'll be in real trouble. We need to get in and out of there as quickly as possible". But when Sirius and Lucius tried on the Invisibility Cloak, they realised that they had to find a different approach altogether. "It does hide two schoolkids, but it is not large enough to be used by two adults at a time. Let's think of something else then". After they had done a lot of thinking and had ruled out most possibilities, it was finally Jessie who made the decisive suggestion. "I've got it. You will be posing as members of the Special Escort Group. That's a small special unit, which escorts and protects the vehicles of the Royal Family and foreign state guests. They are part of the Diplomatic Protection Group of the Metropolitan Police, and they also use motorcycles". Sirius interjected, "But we don't take the motorcycles with us". "There's no need to do that. You'll be dressed in their motorbike uniform, that'll do. The Special Escort Group is so small that most of the rest of Scotland Yard's staff hardly know any of its members personally. So, they won't be surprised to see you wandering around if you happen to meet someone during your search. And you will have a very good reason for entering the area in which the lockers are located". For the rest of the afternoon, they discussed what to expect, and Jonathan explained how they should behave.
In the evening Lucius and Sirius changed into their SEG uniforms. The others had gathered in the living room to see them off. Lucius opened access to the Floo Network, and they travelled to the house on Grimmauld Place. Once there, they climbed out of the fireplace and made their way to the front door to apparate to Scotland Yard. Arriving two blocks away, they slowly strolled towards their destination. As anticipated, the entrance to the building was guarded by uniformed staff. Sirius did a sweep of the facade in search of windows through which there would be no light. He pointed to the first floor of the building. "Let's apparate to the second room on the right. The windows are dark. So, there will be no one in these offices anymore. We can start our search for the dressing room there. You know what to do?". Lucius nodded. They apparated into the office, which, as they suspected, was empty. Sirius crept up to the door, opened it and stepped cautiously out into the dimly lit corridor. Waving to Lucius, Sirius whispered, "We need to go downstairs. There's a stairway over there. Now be careful". They went down the stairs, first to the ground floor and then on to the basement level. There was a dark hallway ahead. Lucius pulled out his wand and whispered, "Lumos". Sirius spun around and elbowed him in the shoulder. "Are you insane, man? What the hell you think you're doing? Put that wand away, now. If anyone sees us using magic, we'll be exposed and that'll mean trouble". Superciliously, Lucius put the wand away while Sirius searched the wall for a light switch. When he found one and flicked it, a dim light came on. As they walked slowly down the corridor, they read the inscriptions on the doors as they passed them. Suddenly, a door opened in front of them, and a middle-aged man stepped into the corridor. He was short, stocky and bold, and was dressed in what looked like business attire. The small nameplate pinned to his chest identified him as Richard Dawson. He stopped and gave them a thorough look. "Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Before Sirius could answer, Malfoy puffed out his chest and said in an important way, "Longbottom and Potter from the Special Protection Squad. Our Squad Leader has left some of his equipment in the cloak room. He has sent us to fetch it for him. Tomorrow, the President of Azkaban is coming to visit the First Minister, and we will escort him from his flying machine into the town. Could you show us the way to the dressing room, please?". The man had a look of utter confusion on his face. "Special Protection Squad? Azkaban? First Minister? Flying machine?". Sirius rolled his eyes and quickly interrupted, "Sorry about that. Longbottom here is a bit of a prankster. Can you help us out? Where do we find the changing room?". The man grinned and said, "You boys are very special indeed. Turn left at the end of the corridor and take the next right to get to the changing room. It's the second door to the left. Good luck for tomorrow". He saluted them and then walked off in the direction they had come from. When he was out of earshot, Sirius asked, "What was that all about? Azkaban? First Minister? Flying machine?". Unimpressed, Lucius replied: "I've forgotten the name of that country that Jonathan was telling us about. What's wrong with a First Minister? I don't understand. And I couldn't remember what the Muggle name for their flying machines was. I had to say something". Sirius had a desperate look on his face. "Next time I'll do the talking. Jonathan recommended that we do as little talking as possible. The story was that the Governor of Anguilla will be visiting the Queen tomorrow. A piece of information no Muggle would doubt. Besides, it's their Prime Minister, not their First". "What's the difference?". Sirius snapped at him angrily, "Come on, let's hurry".
They dashed through the corridors and, thanks to the Muggle's description, easily found the door they sought. Resolutely, Lucius pushed the handle down and they stepped inside. Sirius let out a groan when he saw the countless rows of lockers. "This place is even bigger than Uncle Phineas' library. It is going to take us hours to find the right one". He was cut off by a voice that said, "Hello, boys. Haven't seen you here yet". Standing in front of them was a uniformed man. Before Malfoy had a chance to say anything, Sirius reeled off his line. "Our Chief sent us her to retrieve his equipment. He gave us the key to his locker. Unfortunately, the label with the number on it is missing. I forgot the locker number because when the Chief mentioned it I was on the phone. Now we must do some searching. If we come back empty handed, we're going to be screwed". He could feel Lucius' astonished look and hoped that Malfoy would keep his mouth shut. Malfoy said nothing at all. The uniformed man nodded. "Yes, I know what you're talking about. Let me see the key". Sirius handed him the key, which the man examined closely. "It's one of the very old ones. These lockers are at the very back on the right. I'll be on my way, boys. Good luck". He opened the door and left. Lucius said smugly, "You've been on the phone?". A crease appeared on Sirius' forehead. "Malfoy. Just shut the hell up and get a move on". When they found the designated corner, Malfoy remarked: "Granted, this narrows down our search enormously. But there are still about 80 lockers we must check. If you deduct those with a key in them, that still leaves about 60, which is going to take some time". Sirius asked, "Can you sense the presence of magic on any of these lockers? It would make it a lot easier if you did". Malfoy paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No. Quite clever. The Dark Lord trusted that his secret would be adequately protected here. Most wizards would never have found out anyway which lock the key belonged to. And those few who did would have sought a magically protected hiding place. The idea of having to try the key on every single lock would have deterred even the most determined from continuing their search". "Except us. Because that's exactly what we must be doing now. So let me get started". Sirius began to insert the key into each of the locks. Lucius paced up and down with a bored expression on his face. It took quite some time. The lockers were very old, just as the Muggle had said. Sometimes it was difficult to even get the key into the lock. Sometimes it would slide in easily but wouldn't turn. Then Sirius wasn't sure if he had found the right locker and the key was just stuck after all this time. He marked these lockers with his wand so that he could check them again if he needed to.
Sirius had already tried almost every locker and was about to give up when all of a sudden, the key easily turned in one of the last locks in the row. "Malfoy, I found it". Lucius walked up to him and looked over his shoulder. "Open it". With a soft click it unlocked and the door slid open. Lucius and Sirius peered inside. There was a parcel wrapped in a brown piece of paper. They were interrupted by a voice asking: "What have we got here?". The wizards spun around. They were confronted by three Muggles who approached them menacingly. One was Mr Dawson, the man they had met in the corridor earlier in the night. Now two uniformed officers were escorting him. Sirius told them the story of his Chief, who had sent them to fetch a few things, but the Muggles were not convinced. "You have struck me as odd from the very beginning. That's why I've decided to call in some reinforcements and keep an eye on you. We've been watching you for quite some time now. You have been trying your key on all the lockers. You had no idea which one would be the right one for you. I assume you found the key and are now stealing the contents of the locker. Do you even belong to the Special Escort Group? I believe that you have assaulted two of our men, taken their uniforms and equipment, and come in here to steal their personal belongings".
Lucius straightened up and yelled indignantly, "What nonsense. We are Weasley and Lupin of the Special Escort Group, and I think you should mind your own business at once". Mr Dawson asked with a smirk, "Oh, yes. I'm sure you can explain why you said you called yourself Potter and Longbottom when we met earlier? I think you need to decide who you really are. Now, while we call for reinforcements, don't you move. Then we'll find out what's really going on once and for all". Before Sirius could hold him back, Malfoy reached for his wand. However, after illuminating the corridor with it, he had put it in his uniform jacket instead of his trouser pocket. In its place, he suddenly found himself holding a Muggle pistol in his hand. The Special Escort Group being one of the few Metropolitan Police Units allowed to carry firearms in public, Jonathan had advised them to take a Glock to make their disguise look even more authentic. However, Jonathan had not explained to them how to use the weapon. Totally caught off guard, Sirius watched as Lucius, staring incredulously at the weapon, pointed it at the Muggles. These jumped out of the line of fire, shouting, "He's got a gun! Call for reinforcements! It is a terrorist attack. Get the hell out of here now". Suddenly a shot rang out, hitting the ceiling with a deafening bang. Before Sirius had a chance to intervene, Malfoy was waving the gun back and forth, firing in all directions until the magazine was empty. Sirius grabbed the parcel, made sure that the locker was empty, and shouted at Lucius, "Get back to the house. Now".
They apparated to the front of the house on Grimmauld Place and entered. Sirius roared in anger, "Bloody hell, Malfoy. What's got into you? We chose the names Potter and Longbottom because these are being used by Muggles as well. Where did you get the idea to call us Weasley and Lupin? I don't believe it. I can't bloody believe it. Next time, let me do the talking. If you don't remember our story, then just keep your mouth shut. That was close. At least we don't have to worry about the Aurors getting in our way. It would have been a lot worse if you'd had used your wand. Why didn't you just wait and see what would happen?". Incredulous, Lucius turned to him. "What exactly are you trying to tell me by that? You don't really expect me to let a Muggle arrest me, do you? Remember, we are pure-blood wizards. If need be, I have no objection to moving among non-magical people anymore. But I will never, ever, ever allow them to get the better of me". Sirius shook his head. "Let's go home." He took a handful of Floo powder from the container and stepped into the fireplace. Lucius followed.
When they walked out of the fireplace, the others sat at the table and breathed a sigh of relief. Lucius quickly blocked the Floo Network and sat down. Regulus said, "We've been watching Muggle telly. You've caused quite a tumult. A terrorist attack on the Muggle Auror's headquarters. What the hell did you do?". Malfoy explained briefly what had happened. "Everything was going well until the moment when we found the right locker. And then suddenly the situation got out of control. I had to act". Sirius rolled his eyes but said nothing. Gavin added, "Fortunately, nobody in the Wizarding World took any notice of this. A conflict among Muggles".
Regulus said, "OK. You've done it. Now let us see, Sirius. What is it?". Sirius put the parcel down on the table and started to unwrap it. It contained a large volume. He opened the cover carefully and read the dedication, "To the Dark Lord. I hereby present to you my most treasured possession, the finest piece of work that I could find. May these lines be an inspiration to you as you continue your path. Sincerely, Marius Flint". "What's the book called?". Sirius read the title, "The Art of Strategic Warfare. Does that ring a bell, Lucius?". Malfoy shook his head and frowned. "Marius Flint gives a Muggle book to the Dark Lord who then hides it in a Muggle place where no wizard would ever find it? Flint - though of course very proud of his pure-blood lineage - was known to collect books on warfare. Since there was no literature on the subject in the Wizarding World, these were mostly Muggle books. Voldemort must have known this. I mean, every Death Eater knew. Apparently, Voldemort had asked him to get him a book". He flicked through the book. "Partly with notes here. By the Dark Lord himself, judging from the handwriting. So he did read it. Whether or not he has put ideas from the book into practice is another question". Jonathan reached across the table, pulled the book to himself, and read the front page. Then he said, "What an odd dedication. His most precious possession is a book from our world? It's out of print now, but you could still buy it in any bookshop when Flint gave it away. I don't know a great deal about your world. But I have been wondering for some time if there are other people who have been under attack, or is it just you who are the focus of Cygnus' interest? We've been holed up in here for weeks now, without any contact with the outside world. What is happening out there?". They thought about it. In the end, Regulus said: "If he had already attacked others, I think we would have known about it. It seems to me that we are the only target for now. We discussed this some time ago. He wants to be the only Black left. But there has to be more to it than just that. Even a complete lunatic wouldn't go that far just for a name. A name, I might add, he's entitled to, having been adopted by Sirius". Malfoy added: "He's after our knowledge".
Jonathan cocked his head to one side and said, "Old Flint is giving this Dark Lord a copy because, in his opinion, it is the best book on the subject. There's a good chance later he has given a copy to his grandson as well. For as far as I understand, the grandson is to play a leading role one day. I know this book. As I told you, I served in the army for many years. The book is a guide to the building and deployment of an army. Cygnus wants this estate. In order to get it, he has to be the sole heir". They looked at each other in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?". "Well, I always look at it from my perspective as a non-wizard. You need a place that is sealed off from the outside world to train your people. Where you can do all the drills you need for warfare. What better place to train an army than a huge estate in a thinly populated area of the country where no one will notice your illegal activities? This guy wants to build a bootcamp here. A military base from which he will one day launch a sudden attack. That's his long-term goal, in my opinion. What about the animals?". "Animals?". "Yes, magical creatures? You told Jessie that you have once ridden a hippogriff. I suppose they're quite large. You'll need room to keep them if you want to integrate them into your army, for example. There may be other animals out there that could be of use to an army. Or other magical creatures. Wasn't a friend of yours a werewolf?". "Yes, but he only transformed during the full moon. The rest of the time he was a normal wizard. As far as animals and other magical creatures are concerned, we'll have to think about which of them are suitable for warfare first. But these are all dreams of the future". The wizards fell silent. Suddenly, Malfoy slapped Jonathan's back, causing him to slump forward onto the table. He said: "That's what this is about. Cygnus wants to build an army. He has learned from the mistakes that Tom Riddle has made. The Dark Lord may have read this book, but he threw its contents away. There is no doubt that he was the most powerful Dark Wizard in the history of modern times. But his Death Eaters were a very diverse bunch, with a wide range of abilities. And many of their actions were completely uncoordinated, some even pointless. Tom Riddle never really had a headquarters. He had no strategy either, although he did have a clear goal, Wizarding supremacy, with himself at the helm. He relied on his own personal skills and on the enthusiasm of his followers, who wanted to be important in their own right. What they did was more or less random, and it all depended on his person. When he disappeared after his attack on the Potters, everything fell apart. And once he was dead, it was over".
"Still, this approach made sense to Tom Riddle". Lucius sipped at his glass and continued. "He was just so much better than everyone else. And he had his Horcruxes to make him immortal. But if you're a wizard of average talent, you must take a different approach if you want to achieve supremacy. You have to gather a group of like-minded people around you, and they all have to be able to perform at the same level, as high a level as possible. This must be trained. Once your army is set up and trained, you can begin to attack your targets one at a time. Bear in mind that the only wizards who really operate at a consistently high level are the aurors. And there are only a few of them. The rest of us have widely varying skills and many are not able to defend themselves effectively anymore. This is why a well-trained army is far more dangerous than a single powerful wizard whose followers are kept in check by the fear of him and him alone. Guys, we have to stop Cygnus". Gavin asked. "Why does he need the manor here? He can easily build his army anywhere in the country. Back at the Quidditch World Cup, we went unnoticed as well". "How long did that last?". "Oh, a couple of days. Actually, maybe two or three". Sirius replied, "You gave yourself the answer to that. Building and training an army takes weeks or months. Moreover, the organisers of the Quidditch World Cup only had to make sure to keep away Muggles. Cygnus, on the other hand, must first and foremost prevent his activities from being discovered by wizards and other magical beings. This is much more difficult to achieve, especially if you want to train them to combat. No. He cannot just stand in an open field with a fairly large group of people and do some drills and hope that no one will notice anything. He needs a large, inaccessible area. Our property". Gavin said: "If his first major goal is indeed to gain ownership of the estate, then we must protect all those ahead of him in the line of succession. He needs the estate here if he cannot build an army in the open without being detected and if he has no other alternative. We should consider how to protect ourselves. And how we protect the Blacks". He put a hand on Regulus' arm and looked at him affectionately. Sirius said thoughtfully, "When he first arrived here, he tried to drive you all away after a short time. I remember showing him around the estate on more than one occasion. In fact, now that I think about it, I had the impression at the time that he wanted to scan the whole place. Today I feel certain that he tried to drive you all away and then bring his people here. Since I hardly left the house in the end, I probably wouldn't have noticed anything of this. And even if I had become suspicious, he would still have had the boys to use as a bargaining chip". Lucius waved his hand. "Fortunately, your wife was able to bring you back to your senses. What you have done to deserve her is something I will never understand". Lucius sat back. "There is something that has been on my mind for some time". "And what would that be?". "I believe that at least some of the people who attacked us were foreigners. How can we make sure of that?". Sirius reasoned, "The only one I have in mind would be Professor McGonagall. We could show her the attackers using Dumbledore's Pensieve. I only remember seeing Cygnus, though. I have no memory of any of the others. What about you?". No one answered. Finally, Lucius said: "I got a good look at them all". The others gave him a doubtful look. "Well, McGonagall won't kick you out right away. I'd come along", Sirius said. "I went to see her a little while ago, actually. So she knows something's up".