Chapter Seven
Where Were You?
Tuesday August 1
Augusta Longbottom asked, "Is there any new business?"
Marcus Flint stood and said, "I wish to be recognized and take up my family seat."
Amelia thought back to her conversation with Inspector Connie Hammer three weeks earlier.
...
She asked, "What do we know?"
Connie replied, "Thirty people stopped coming to work beginning June 26.
"The only reported deaths in the last month are Jason Flint on June 23 and Professor Dumbledore on June 28.
"Thirteen members including those two didn't attend the July Wizengamot meeting."
"No one has been reported as a missing person."
Amelia asked, "What happened to Flint?
"He died outside of the Happy Ending Massage in Knockturn. Apparently he'd was intoxicated when he entered the place, demanded a twelve-hand massage and the other patrons weren't happy that they'd have to wait. Management tossed Flint out and he tripped running down the steps and broke his neck.
Without prompting, Connie added, "Dumbledore's body hasn't been found yet."
After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Bones asked, "What do you believe may have happened to the others?"
"They went somewhere and haven't returned yet. Most, if not all of the absent employees owned silver masks. Rufus should declare them away without leave, wait two weeks and declare them dismissed."
"How many Death Eaters do we believe rallied at the World Cup?"
Connie replied, "As many as ten."
"Amelia asked, "Has Anna seen anything unusual in The Times, or on the television news?"
"She hasn't mentioned anything."
"So they left the country for reasons unknown. I'll talk with Rufus and get them dismissed. Thank you, Connie."
...
Back in the Wizengamot Chambers, Amelia asked, "Marcus Flint, how old are you?"
"Nineteen."
"How many NEWTs did you earn?"
"One. I got an A in potions this year."
She gave Ted Tonks a withering look and announced, "The ministry has no objections. Madam Longbottom, please administer the oath of office."
After the meeting, Amelia quietly conversed with Scrimgeour, who'd been on holiday for two weeks.
Amelia said, "I thought Dawlish remained on duty as your personal protection detail?"
"I never called anyone for the task. What's he been doing for the last year?"
"Apparently nothing. People would see him in the lunchroom from time to time. I'll have Greta get a list of every employee that she paid last week. We'll send and owl to everyone to sign a form and verify that everyone who is getting paid is coming to work."
"Good."
… - ...
Saturday August 5, 1995
Wick was back to confer with Ragnok. It was now six weeks since the third task. He said, "My recommendation is to focus on the primary objective; the seven Death Eaters. Expanding the scope beyond that will greatly increase the risk of direct discovery. The seven can be eliminated without leaving traces of their demise. Testing the effectiveness of the basilisk venom can be accomplished. Destroying a quantity of dementors beyond that should be considered a secondary target of opportunity."
"What resources would you need?"
"The coordinates of the dock area of Azkaban Island and two of the dementor repelling medallions made by the artificers. I'm certain that I can ask Mr. Potter for a bottle of basilisk venom."
Ragnok asked, "Are you planning on asking him to go with?"
"I'd offer him the opportunity to help settle a score on behalf of his friend Neville Longbottom. If we have the opportunity to destroy the dementor who sucked out the soul of his Godfather and hopefully free it, so much the better. The choice is his."
"Don't allow yourselves to be seen. Their hive communication should be viewed with great caution. If one actually sees you, it cannot be allowed to inform the collective, or all of the dementors will attack at once."
… - …
Saturday August 12
Flitwick stopped by the Tonks home and asked Harry to help him with a project. He added, "It shouldn't take longer than a day."
Harry wrote a quick note and said, "I'm ready."
Flitwick asked, "Do you have your Bowmaster and your basilisk armor?"
"No. I'll get them. How much venom?"
Harry knew it was serious business when the professor replied, "Two bottles."
When he returned to the kitchen, Harry asked, "Who are we going after?"
"Seven Death Eaters and a few dementors."
"We're going to need a bigger bottle. How long do your conjured items last?"
Flitwick replied, "Eight to ten minutes."
"Can you nock two arrows at once?"
"Show me."
He did.
"I can do that."
Harry added, "We disillusioned our arrows. After ten minutes, they looked like piercing hexes. What are we doing first? Susan told Hermione that there were about 200 dementors."
Flitwick replied, "That is the number that I was given as well."
Harry asked, "Do they roam the island, or do they live somewhere?"
"To my best belief, both."
"Can they cross the water by themselves?"
"No. They're ferried back and forth."
A smiled crossed Harry's face. "This will be fun. Once we get to the island, we can adjust the coordinates of our watches if we want and pop back and forth. Are we both going after the Death Eaters?"
Flitwick replied, "I was planning on doing that myself. The cells are not marked. I know what the Death Eaters look like."
Harry nodded and replied, "If you find Bellatrix, can you ask her how long Riddle has had that snake?"
"Yes. I was planning on asking her that. Hopefully I can convince her to provide an honest answer." For some reason, Harry thought that his professor would be successful at getting an answer out of her.
"I'll make arrows while you're looking for them. How long do you expect to be?"
"Not more than 15 minutes. Remain disillusioned. If any of the guards come close enough to be within spell fire range, leave. I'll get back to Hogwarts and meet you in the Three Broomsticks." He asked, "How many can you make in a batch?"
Harry replied, "Usually 50. It didn't make sense to make more when I was hunting spiders alone. The one time I made more, they began disappearing before I was able to loose all of them. What's the coordinate?"
"I gave my word not to tell anyone. You'll have to set your watch when we get there. Hold onto my arm."
… - …
They arrived by the docks. Flitwick pointed out the various buildings. "There's the supply building. Next to it are the guards' quarters. Next to it is Warden Speirs' office. Across from it is where the medium and maximum security prisoners are housed. To the right of it is the low security prisoners' building. On the far side of the maximum security building is where the dementors reside. Keep an eye on dementors leaving that building. I'll be certain to ask Ms. Lestrange about the snake."
Harry said, "I'll start making arrows." When he had 20 that were dipped in the venom, Flitwick picked them up, disillusioned himself and began walking. Harry made another 20 then decided to wait ten minutes before making more.
Flitwick checked his repelling medallion and hoped it was as effective as it was supposed to be. He'd been told that the high security prisoners were on the top level. When he reached the top level, he started carefully looking into the cells.
Augustus Rookwood. Ministry traitor, murderer and the thief behind stealing a goblin designed ward breaking device. One poisoned arrow later, he was gone.
Tim Travers. He murdered the Prewett brothers among many others. He died quickly.
Antonon Dolohov. He delighted in doing horrible things to children. Two arrows later, he was gone.
William Mulciber. He made Susan Bones an orphan. He died slowly.
Rabastan Lestrange. He murdered dozens of nonmagicals. Deceased.
Rodolphus Lestrange. An Imperius Curse specialist. He enjoyed forcing victims to torture and murder their own family members. He died very slowly.
Bellatrix Lestrange. The worst of all. Killed scores of people for fun. She enjoyed mortally wounding her victims and talking to them while they suffered.
Flitwick conjured six arrows of his own. Twang. An arrow went through her right elbow. Twang. An arrow went through her left elbow. Twang. An arrow went through her right knee.
"Good morning, Ms. Lestrange. I see you're awake." Twang. An arrow went through her left hip bone.
She gasped, "What do you want?" The arrows disappeared. The wounds didn't. He replied, "That snake that you gave your master; when was it that you gave it to him?"
Silence.
An arrow through the left knee. As he nocked Potter's arrow, it disappeared. He conjured five more. He said, "I didn't hear you. When was it?"
"Fuck yourself."
Twang. An arrow into her right hip. "You have plenty of bones left and I have no other appointments today." He nocked another arrow and realized that they were visible.
"1972. I gave it to him in December 1972 for his birthday."
One arrow went through the forehead. One straight through the neck just to be certain. He checked his watch. It had been 20 minutes since he left Harry. As he walked out, he saw a group of 20 dementors circling Harry, floating 30 feet overhead. He hurried to him. Potter had nearly 100 arrows.
Harry nocked two arrows and asked, "Are you ready for some fun?"
Flitwick replied, "If it doesn't work, we leave. OK?"
"Got it. On go. 3-2-1 Go."
Twang, twang... Twang, twang... Twang, twang. They loosed four arrows every ten seconds.
The empty cloaks fluttered in the breeze a bit as they fell to the ground. When the last cloak fell, Harry asked, "Stay or go?" As he asked, he was making more arrows. Flitwick joined him in his effort. They dipped each of the arrows in the larger jar.
A larger group of 50 was approaching Flitwick began loosing arrows at them when they were in range, while Harry continued conjuring and dipping arrows. When he was about 50 ahead, Flitwick said, "Send a few to the left side."
More cloaks fell out of the sky.
When they were down to ten arrows, Harry began conjuring more. Flitwick was launching them as fast as Harry was making them. The teen realized that he was slowing down and called, "Switch places." He picked up two arrows, sending them behind them.
Flitwick pointed, then said, "Fire these, then we leave."
Harry said, "Grab my arm. Activate Chamber."
… - …
When they arrived, Dobby handed them each a bottle of butterbeer. Harry gulped his down and asked, "How many did you get?"
Flitwick replied, "80 for me. You?"
"30. We're more than half way there." Dobby handed Harry another butterbeer. He asked, "Do we need to use two arrows on each one?"
Flitwick replied, "We're here and they're dust. Let's not chance it."
Harry had made just over 60 arrows; Flitwick about the same. The half goblin said, "These are all I'll be able to make today."
Harry replied, "OK. When we start running low, I'll make the rest."
"Aren't you tired?"
"Not really. Your arrows are better."
"We can debate that later, over pints. Let's go." They collected their arrows and left.
… - …
There were 50 dementors there and they were closer than before. Harry and Flitwick stood back to back as they worked their way through their arrows. They ran out of dementors before they completely ran out of arrows. Flitwick said, "Make more. The others are coming."
They had 20 arrows between them. There were 40 dementors in a wide line coming straight toward them. Harry had a 30 second head start. "Keep making arrows." Flitwick was working both ends of the line but it was obvious that they intended to encircle them. He was sending arrows as fast as he could.
Harry felt a cold hand grab him and he jammed two arrows in the horrible creature's neck. With a horrid gasp, it fell. He picked up his bow and sent six arrows into three dementors that were behind them.
Flitwick sent two more, then two more.
Finally, the sky was clear.
Harry said, "We've got company." It wasn't dementors; rather the guards. Flitwick whispered, "Grab my arm."
… - …
They were by Dumbledore's bar in Hogsmeade. They quickly put their bows away in the pouches. Flitwick said, "We should part ways for now. I thank you for your help. It was an exciting day. Can you get back to the Tonks residence?"
"Yes. It was fun."
… - …
He popped onto the back garden where he was met by Ted, who asked, "Where were you? I didn't see a note."
Harry replied, "I left it on the refrigerator door. Professor Flitwick and I were launching arrows at the dementors."
Ted, who hated dementors more than anything that he could think of, asked, "Did it work?"
Harry nodded.
"How many did you get?"
The teen replied, "We may have gotten all of them. We left in a hurry."
Ted asked, "How much of a hurry?"
Harry replied, "We were disillusioned and the guards were about 400 yards away. Flitwick portkeyed us just outside of Aberforth's place. We walked a ways away before portkeying to our respective destinations. I used my watch just outside the front door of the Three Broomsticks."
"Is there anything else that I should know?"
"He stopped in one of the other buildings for a few minutes."
"Harry..."
"I don't think there are any more Death Eaters left either."
… - …
Fifteen minutes earlier, back at Azkaban, Warden Ronald Speirs found the guards and said, "Everyone out. Something's up by the docks."
He was right. As the walked towards the docks, they saw cloaks on the ground everywhere. They knew those cloaks. They were empty with no bodies to be found. They conjured gloves, then began counting and putting the cloaks in a pile. They counted 206. The looked around; there were no dementors to be found.
One of the guards asked, "What about the prisoners?"
Speirs smiled and replied, "It's not dinner time yet. Did any of you see anyone?"
In complete unison, they replied, "No, Sir."
He firecalled Amelia and reported, "Director, the dementors all died today."
She was no fan of them either. She asked, "Do you need any help?"
He replied, "Dinner's not for almost an hour. We'll know then."
She replied, "Let me know when you find out. Carry on."
… - …
The next day, the Daily Prophet ran an unusual article.
Dementors attacked Death Eaters then died
Seven confirmed dead. Bodies and dementor cloaks burned
Speirs was quoted as saying, "Perhaps they ate something that disagreed with them. The other 36 prisoners are safe in their cells. No one saw anything unusual."
There was a photo of two of the guards holding up a cloak and another of the huge pile of cloaks.
Harry never specifically noticed that yet another substantial deposit was made into his personal account. Flitwick's and the ministry vaults saw large increases as well.
As was his custom, Harry sent Walt a memory cube. Walt sent him a note stating, Well done, along with a case of butterbeer and a bottle of elven wine for when he was older.
Ted never said a word to anyone about the dementors, or Azkaban, lest he become a Gringotts loose end.
… - …
Monday August 14
Emma wanted to see the school, so Harry had arranged an early morning tour while he had been on vacation with the Tonks. The trip from Crawley to Salem only took 15 minutes; most of which was spent clearing M-Customs in Boston. From the M-Customs office, they portkeyed to the visitor entrance at the Salem Institute, where they were met by their tour guide.
"Hello, I'm Amanda Taylor and I'm your tour guide today. Please call me Mandy. I have a mastery in and teach Enchanting at the school. I also serve as a student advisor. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Let's hop into my car and we'll be off. This is a driving and walking tour, the major buildings are spread around the city. We do have a concentration of buildings and several dorms hidden in plain site on the Salem University Campus and that will be our first stop. It's a short drive from here."
Harry opened the door for Emma and Hermione and climbed in. It's nice to have no reaction to my name, he thought.
"This is Riley Plaza, once a roundabout, but now it's even crazier with the new traffic patterns and signal lights. But you find that several of the area restaurants have hidden top floors that are magical only. Here's a guide pamphlet that shows you the places. Like across the street, there is the Derby Restaurant, caters to tourists, but the side entrance for the hidden top floor is a great Magical Pub called Three Sovereigns. Across the street is a Mexican Place called the Howling Wolf. It's very popular, a joint maj, non maj place and a Were is the chef and owner. Makes the best Fajitas in town. His staff keep it open on the full moons."
As Harry and Hermione looked on, they both noticed that there wasn't a robe in sight. The people who they were looking at looked like people; some of them had the ability to wield magic and some didn't. They were just people.
"The main campus admin buildings are in the Salem University North complex. We have nice space that is adjacent to Meir Hall and the Library. The no-maj's think it's an admin office for a private school. We have a deal for access to the Uni's "Commons" or causal dining hall, Library and Sports Complex with the student's Salem Academy ID cards. The building at the other side of the library is our non magical class room building for the youngest students. Four floors and a small café on the ground floor. This is our first stop.
"This is the main administration building. We have about 20 buildings all told. Some are student housing, the rest are class room. We have shared space in non-maj buildings and we offer the non wanded non magical classes there. We also have the use of some of the Uni's facilities. Let's talk about student life first. We try very hard to keep the students integrated into non-maj life. We leverage the Uni's dining facilities and mandate lunch in either the main dining halls or the satellite dining quick and go's. This way they are always, for part of the day around non-maj folks.
"We're all year round with Fall, Spring and two Summer programs. Fall and Spring terms also have part-time evening programs. There's housing on campus for about 2,500 students of the 3,500 that are enrolled full time. You have the choice to board or travel in every day. The rest travel in and out, some live off campus in apartments with friends, a real mixed bag. Most part-timers are day students but there are a handful of exceptions for Graduate Studies."
Looking at the visitors she verified that she still had their attention. "We have four main building complexes where we have class. All four have a portkey arrival zone and floo access in secure areas. All buildings including student housing have secure areas for arrival and departure also. This makes it easy to move around the city to the various venues. Once you arrive you pass through a security zone. Your student or staff ID is also your portkey or floo access. We take security very seriously. There's a security staff of more than 16 to keep an eye on the children.
"We serve all of North America, with about 5 percent international students, but the bulk of our students are East Coast from Florida through the Canadian Maritime provinces. We provide "Middle School" in a half day school format for ages 7-9 for about 300 students. We find getting them in a classroom and teaching some magic is helpful. This helps immensely in preparing them for the full-time school. Then we have regular school for ages 10 through 17. It is very similar to what you have in Britain. These students are day only for the first two years and then have the option to board. Then we have graduate studies for those who want to earn Masters degrees in disciplines.
"We have options for a largely non-magical and largely magical course load. If you want to go for a mastery you can be ready, or if you want to go to Uni you can be ready. Good academic performance is stressed. We have all the basics, languages including Latin, French, Italian, German and Chinese, Math, basic through Calculus & Geometry, Arithmacy, Runes, Science, Biology, English Grammar & Literature, Non Mage & Wizarding Culture, Transfiguration, Agriculture, Chemistry/Potions, Enchanting, Offensive and Defensive Magic, Charms and probably 50 electives and almost the same number of clubs."
Hermione pointed out, "At Hogwarts, the classes that people took were highly standardized, meaning first though fifth year, everyone took Potions, Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, a poor excuse for history, Astronomy and a choice of a handful of different electives. In years six and seven, students could drop classes and focus of the NEWT level courses. What are the core classes at Salem?"
Mandy replied, "Let me defer your question for five minutes. I promise I'll come back to it."
She continued "Through extensive use of electives, a student can finish with a 75/25, 50/50, or 25/75 percent ratio Hogwarts/nonmagical high school education. It's not practical to earn twelve NEWTs and still be prepared for nonmagical University in only seven years. It is possible to get six or eight OWLS, a couple of NEWTS and be fully prepared for any University, or conversely have a core high school level of knowledge and get a handful of NEWTS."
She added, "Returning to your question, Hermione, our required classes on the magical side would have all been completed by the end of three years at Hogwarts. On the nonmagical side, you'll be taking two semesters of World History, Algebra 1, Composition and two semesters of science electives.
"Lets cover a few generalities. First, five classes a semester is considered a full load; six would be a very full load. During the two summer sessions, students normally take two or three classes. If they take a third class, we encourage that it be one that would be of personal interest to the student.
"Now, let's talk specifics. Ladies first. Hermione, what are you planning on focusing on?"
Hermione replied, "I have an interest in becoming a Healer. What courses would you recommend?"
Mandy reflected her question for a moment. "If you were at Hogwarts, how would that work?"
"I'd take the fifth year classes and apply with Madam Pomfrey. For sixth and seventh years, I'd drop one of my other classes and take introduction to healing for two years and apprentice for two more years."
"Thank you. I'll ask a few more questions. Where are you planning on practicing? The States, or Britain? Magicals only, or a mixture of magical and non-magical?"
Hermione admitted, "I'm not certain; for sake of discussion, in the States for a mixture of people."
Mandy observed, "Your challenge would be earning an acceptable level of credentials on the non-magical side to allow you to legally perform meaningful work. A registered nurse requires four years of post high-school coursework. Essentially, that would slant the focus of your non-magical classes to science and math. You'd want to take Chemistry, Biology and Physics. The most practical means of taking the courses would be summer sessions for the next two summers.
"Additionally, you'd be taking Potions, Charms and Herbology along with Introduction to Healing fifth through eighth year. Ninth year would be half coursework, half practical. Tenth year is mostly practical. Each of our classes will have three hours a week of class work and an additional three hours of preparation/review time. The Summer sessions have double that."
Turning to Harry, she asked, "How about you?"
"I'm interested in becoming an Enchanter."
Mandy asked, "What have you previously taken for electives?"
"Runes and Magical Creatures."
She replied. "If you were planning on taking five classes, I'd suggest two nonmagical classes, Charms, Runes and Enchanting. If you were planning on taking six classes, I'd add Transfiguration. It would be very possible to earn an Mastery at the end of your eighth year."
Conversationally, she asked, "How did you get interested in enchanting?"
Harry replied, "I have a few enchanted objects and met a guy in Iceland who was an Enchanter."
Much more interested now, Mandy asked, "May I ask his name?"
"Earling Magnuson. I spent a day learning enchanting from him. He showed me how to visualize and how to make seals. He gave me his business card." He showed it to her.
She looked at it for a long moment and carefully handed it back, asking, "Did you ever see the Star Wars movie?"
"Yes. It was pretty cool."
"In Star Wars vernacular, you had a private lesson with Yoda himself. My goodness. That's amazing. We got off track a bit. If the two of you are ready to register for your classes, we can do that. If you have other questions, we can cover them."
Emma asked, "Other than because of scale, why are your course offerings so very different than Britain's?"
Mandy replied, "Dr. Granger, for all practical purposes, the founders of Hogwarts invented structured magical education for the northern western hemisphere. A thousand years ago, Britain proclaimed that structured classroom education should end after the student was 17. After that, a student could apprentice with a recognized master, or it was the employer's responsibility to fill in the gaps, or, in the case of becoming a Healer, a decade of on-the-job training with whichever Master would take on an apprentice. Most people simply finished school and went on with their lives.
"Salem offers masters program classes in several dozen areas ranging from magical engineering to healing. As you mentioned, offering them is both possible and practical due to economies of scale. In one paradigm, the student is receiving free education from their employer in exchange for free or low paid labor for 5 – 10 years. In the other, the student is purchasing structured with the expectation that when they go into business, or begin working for an employer, they will start in a higher level, better paying position.
"The same applies at the undergraduate level. There is no reason to subject Harry to three additional years of astronomy if he sees no value in it. Salem offers individualized commercial education. After three years of foundation classes, the specific topics selected are up to the individual student to select. It is every instructors' responsibility to demonstrate worth and practical applications in the topics that they teach. The students are our customers. In restaurant terms, it's an Ala Carte menu of offerings. To aid in making those decisions, we offer ongoing guidance and advice about the options and their uses."
Harry asked, "Where is the local Gringotts branch?" Looking at Hermione and receiving a nod, he said. "We're ready to register for classes and purchase our supplies and books."
"It's on the other end of campus. I can take you there before or after you register if you wish. Here are the registration forms and your fee statements." Harry wrote a Gringotts draft to cover both tuitions. They spent ten minutes filling out the other forms. When they were done, Mandy asked, "Can I take you to Gringotts or your hotel rooms?"
Emma replied, "We're only here for the day. If you could take us to the Gringotts branch, that would be brilliant." The teens thanked her for the tour and registration assistance.
… - ...
Outside the Salem Gringotts, Emma suggested, "Let's go for an early lunch before we talk with the real estate agent." After they'd ordered, Emma asked, "What did you have in mind for a property?"
Harry replied, "I want enough room to have guests be able to come and visit, room for family and enough space to offer to the elves to allow them to have a true home."
She took the plunge. "Dan and I would like to move and open, or work in a dental practice nearby."
Harry said, "It sounds like it would be nine or ten years for Hermione to take enough classes to open a practice of her own. Are you thinking of leaving Britain forever or..."
She replied, "Forever is too long of a planning horizon; especially at your ages."
He suggested, "Dan and your choice in setting up a new business in the location of your choice is a far bigger decision than my taking five or seven years to learn what I want to with respect to Enchanting. My deciding to take a summer class in wandcrafting is a drop in the bucket compared to the two of you selecting where to locate your practice.
"Hopefully the staff here will be as helpful as Barchoke has been in London. I'm looking for a large home on 15 to 150 acres. My only requirement is that it be in the same time zone as Salem and ideally in the same state. When we talk with them, you should go first." He added, "Hermione, "Where would you like to live?"
Immediately, she replied, "With you. Transportation isn't an issue, thanks to Ragnok. We could be back to Surrey in 15 minutes, or Bangkok within an hour. We could live in the middle of nowhere and mum and dad could portkey to their practice in Boston in less time than it took to walk out to the garage and get the door open. Mum, you could open a practice in the city or in a small town. Harry, apparently we're looking for someplace that's forested."
He replied, "It doesn't have to be forested. Dobby told me that he and his friends could quickly grow trees. I spent years in Little Winging; every house looked exactly the same. I don't want another home where I can look out the kitchen window and see into the neighbor's family room."
Emma remarked, "We want to live with or by you too. That said, it takes a long time to grow trees."
"You'd be surprised. Let's go see them. Our appointment's in five minutes."
… - …
A/Ns
Mr. Wick is a treat to write. I hope you had fun reading the chapter.
Cheers
