Riot broke out.
»McManus? He's the bad guy?« Elizabeth couldn't believe it.
»That's what Ted suspected,« Scorp improved on her.
»They are at the manor? Where is that?« asked Al.
Everyone was talking. The only one who remained silent was James. Maxym watched her boyfriend. He, unlike the others who had gotten up and were running wildly around the room, was still sitting in his chair, casually leaning back. He listened to everyone, but didn't speak a word himself. He stayed out of it all. Unusual.
»Maxym, say something,« Scorp brought her out of her thoughts.
»What can I say. McManus is sitting too high up not to be involved in all of this, and yes it's true. Ted has already reported to us that he is one of the them.«
»And you're just going to take that? We now know who's behind it. We have the advantage,« Scorp shouted and the others roared along.
Maxym shook her head and waited for the others to calm down. »What advantage? Are you going to take on McManus?«
Scorp looked at his sister with wide eyes. »You don't? He's got dad locked up. He took the marauders. We're the Rebels.«
»And he's the head of law enforcement. He'd crush us.« Maxym desperately needed to dissuade her brother from his idea.
»So what, we just did a pretty good job of keeping the inspectors at bay,« Colin interjected.
Ashwin, who had come to stand beside him, nodded in agreement. »They're still weakened. We know where they went. We can catch them and save the marauders.«
»Held at bay?« uncomprehendingly, Maxym looked at the two young men. »I wouldn't describe the fight earlier that way. We were just stupidly lucky that it was a diversion. I'm sure Magenta wouldn't call it that either.« She looked to James. »Why don't you say something for once?«
James looked first at her, then at Colin and Ashwin. »You're right. We just escaped with our lives. One of us was badly hurt, and we're lucky no one else was hit.« He paused for a moment. »But those two are right, too.«
»I'm sorry, what?« Now Katelyn also joined in the conversation. She was completely on her friend's side. The boys were too short-sighted and careless.
»We know where they are. We have the element of surprise on our side. I'm not going to stand idly by and watch my grandparents get captured now, too.« James stood up. »Everyone is free to stay here. The rest may accompany me.«
»No!« responded Maxym firmly. »No one will go with you because you won't go there. We will do the only right thing. We're going to tell Professor Longbottom everything. And by that I mean everything. We'll let the adults sort it out.«
»The adults? Maxym, look around you. That's us by now. The war we're in has made us that. Our parents are in Azkaban, no one can do anything anymore. Not even the headmaster. He stands alone. What can one man do alone? But we here, we can. We are the Rebels.«
Maxym and Katelyn were not convinced, but the young Malfoy realized that she could no longer dissuade her boyfriend, nor her brother, from the idea.
Before Katelyn could come up with any more counterarguments, she relented. »Fine, but just for the record, I think this is a stupid idea. But if we're going to do this, let's do it right.«
Rose prepared various potions. She would stay in Hogwarts and take care of Magenta. Through her training with Lily, she was well trained. Scorp and Al, who wanted to come along at the beginning, were also placed in the Room of Requirement by James. They were to protect Hogwarts and the room and prepare everything for the return of the Rebels along with the marauders. It was important that they had a safe place to retreat to.
Elizabeth and Melania stayed as well. They were to inform the other Rebels as well as the new arrivals.
While James stowed the potions in a backpack and Maxym packed bandages in her small shoulder bag as a precaution, Al approached his brother. »Here, take it. It'll be more use to you there than it is to me here.« In his hand he held the invisible cloak.
»No, it'll be safer with you. If we get caught, they'll have it too. We can't risk that.«
Al pressed the bundle of cloth to Jaime's chest, »Then don't get caught.«
Shaking his head, James tucked the cloak into his backpack without further argument.
»How are we going to get there, anyway?« asked Colin. He, too, had packed his things.
»Through me.« Ashwin joined them. He had changed and was now wearing dark clothes, a black cap and dueling gloves.
James zipped up his jacket and shouldered his backpack. »Ashwin is already seventeen and thus able to cast magic. He's apparating us to the manor.«
»So it finally has some advantages that I stayed seated,« his friend said with a grin, and Colin grinned as well.
When Maxym had changed and was checking her things one last time, Scorp came into the room. He was in the library. Maxym thought he was sulking because he wasn't allowed to go. But his disappearance had other reasons.
»Here!« Her brother unrolled an aging parchment on the round table. »This is the map of the manor. There are quite a few of them in the library, and I figured the Manor of McManus would be there as well.«
»Very good, Scorp. That helps us immensely,« James praised him, glancing at the floor plan.
The Manor had the same U-shaped outline as Malfoy Manor. There were side passages at both long ends that led to the garden. The long intermediate piece had a large doorway in the middle leading to the garden. Opposite was the large front door. A large spiral staircase rose between the two entrances and led to the second floor. To the right of the large double door and diagonally opposite the stairs was an entrance to the basement.
In the right corner was the kitchen, in the left the library, adjacent was the parlor. On the second floor in the left rear corner was the living room, opposite to it there was a men's room. In the left wing was placed the bedroom, in the right the office.
«Pretty big,« commented Katlyn, who had been bending over the plan.
»I don't see good access. We could be discovered in the bedrooms at any time. Who knows if they'll be empty at that point. I can't see a dark corner that can't be seen either.« Maxym searched the floor plan for a suitable spot.
»We'll try the garden. It's even bigger. Currently, the weather is bad on the coast. No one will be there.«
»What about banning?« objected Rose.
»The inspectors had to apparate, too. They didn't have a portkey, according to Dominique's story.«
»So we're going in there on the off chance?« Maxym was skeptical. She didn't like any of this. Storming an estate in such a short time with a spotty plan was beyond stupid.
»They have my grandparents,« James roared.
Maxym raised his hands defensively. »My father is in Azkaban. But that's no reason to storm in there.«
»Then stay here. We're leaving,« James said angrily, rolling up the plan.
»Like hell I am. Who's going to get you out of there. I'm coming with you.« Maxym couldn't let him go alone. She wanted to save the marauders and protect James. Still, she didn't like the plan at all, but she had no choice. She stayed by his side.
Somewhat mellowing, James nodded to her, stowed the plan in his backpack, and the small group lined up.
Scorp, Rose, Al, and Dominique stood slightly apart.
»Take care,« Dominique whispered in a brittle voice.
Before anyone could say anything else in reply, they were swept along with Ashwin and landed ungently on wet grass.
Maxym quickly got up and oriented himself. Everything was pitch black and silent. Next to her were James and Katelyn. They had not yet been discovered.
»Where are we?« whispered Katelyn.
»In the garden. Over there is the Manor.« James pointed to a lighted building about twenty yards ahead of them.
»Are we safe here?« asked Maxym. She squatted down and observed the surroundings.
»No one in sight. We didn't sound the alarm either,« Ashwin remarked.
»How would you know?« hissed Katelyn.
»Well, they'd have been here a long time ago,« Ashwin replied.
»Keep calm, it won't help us if we tear each other apart. We'd better talk things over,« James calmed the situation. He pulled the map out of his backpack and rolled it up. »We're somewhere around here. Over there is one wing and over there is the other wing,« James oriented himself and pointed to the floor plan.
»How are we going to sneak in? We can't all fit under the cloak,« Maxym pointed out.
»We'd best split up. We can't search such a large property together. Someone keep watch here,« he pointed to the ground.
»I'll do that,« Katelyn volunteered.
»Fine, the rest of you go to the manor. If, they're in there. There's nothing here in the garden except flowers and shrubs. We'll split up there. Maxym, you come with me. We'll search the right part. Colin and Ashwin, you take the left wing. In twenty minutes we'll meet back at Katelyn's.« Everyone nodded.
Carefully and quietly, the four crept toward the Manor. Ashwin and Colin stayed on the left side, while Maxym and James walked diagonally to the right. Just before reaching the building, James took out the cloak and threw it over himself and Maxym.
The latter cast a Silencio spell over them so they couldn't be heard.
»What are Colin and Ashwin doing?« whispered Maxym.
»They know how to help themselves. Come.« James led them to the house.
Two inspectors stood outside the double doors in the center of the Manor, but the two side doors were unguarded. They quickly scurried through the doorway and stood inside the Manor.
Maxym didn't have time to look around more closely, however, because James continued to pull them along the wide corridor. He stopped before a bend and gave Maxym a chance to catch his breath.
Cautiously, he glanced around the corner, then leaned toward Maxym. »There's a wooden door on the wall to the left, there are two inspectors in front of it, we have to get past them.«
Maxym nodded. »If we're quiet, don't bump into anything, and stay inconspicuous, it should work,« she breathed back.
It was a risky venture, but there was nothing left for them to do. They had to get past the inspectors to continue searching the property.
»We'll risk it,« James decided.
Close together, they tiptoed past the inspectors to get to the kitchen.
»How long are we supposed to stand guard here?« one of the inspectors broke the silence.
»I don't know. But they're not getting away down there either way.« The other burst into peals of laughter.
»Nobody's coming either,« his colleague added, joining in the laughter.
James stopped and looked at Maxym. Now they knew where the marauders were.