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Harry turned his head to the side, grabbed a cup of tea from the nightstand and rose to his feet. Laddey had left that little morning surprise for him, he assumed. The elf had come to be doing more and more for Harry without the young man so much as asking for it. He hated how he felt like he was taking advantage of Laddey and the others, but even if he said as much to them, he doubted they'd humour him. To them, they loved their Magical family and thought of all their tasks as hobbies or something in line with that sort of fondness.
He couldn't imagine how that could be. His time with the Dursleys, whilst it had left him with a lot of skills — gardening, cooking and baking chief amongst them — he didn't think he would ever willingly return to such living conditions. It was abhorrent in his mind, and that was why he wished to ensure his house elves were well taken care of.
"You've finally risen."
Harry turned towards the source of the voice, that being Elaine, and saw her standing in the doorway to the bathroom, There was a clear smile on her face, and the confident posture made her all the more beautiful. "I have," he finally said, when he realised just how long the silence had come to be between them. "We slept in today… I'm surprised you allowed it."
"I feel as if I don't need to repeat what's come to be quite the mantra, and so I'll let you think it in lieu of direct words," Elaine responded as she started towards him, her stride as confident as her relaxed posture against the wall had previously been. "We had an owl in the morning, and no, it wasn't from Corene or Slughorn Senior. We'll have to wait for their assistance unless you'd like to pay a visit to Carrow Castle."
He shook his head and moved to meet her until she made a sharp right and stopped at the desk in their bedroom. When she did so, it allowed Harry to see the letter that she had mentioned. It wasn't all that large, nor did it seem as if it was all that important based on the beautiful cursive writing thereupon the page. When he skipped to the bottom so that he could see who had written to them, he couldn't help the involuntary twitch of his upper lip.
"Oleander?" he bit out as he directed his attention over to an amused-looking Elaine.
"Daphne's good company and her manners are far beyond most of the others within our circle of friends," Elaine answered as she pressed herself into his back and wove her arms around his centre. "You don't think of her as you did in Hogwarts, do you?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "When she became a Professor of sorts, she was more tolerable. She's definitely not a very good cousin either… what sort of help can she provide that Corene, Aster or any of the others, can't?"
"Daphne's extraordinarily gifted when it comes to dark magic, more so than Corene and near my own standards of expertise. With her aiding us in the search from time to time, solely on ventures where I'm certain problems will trouble us, we'll have a better chance for a positive outcome. I do believe your safety is more important than that of any other within our country — our wands, together. Not apart," Elaine pulled him closer when she finished, and Harry did recognise what she meant.
That shared effect they had between their wands would only work when they were together. If he fell, should that happen, the odds that his wand refused to bond to a new owner were incredibly high. Elaine would then have to fight Grindelwald alone, and by that point, it would be a very different Elaine.
"Your safety's just as important as mine, by that logic," Harry finally answered as he turned around in her arms and pulled her into his chest, their faces nose to nose.
Elaine couldn't resist and kissed him. It was brief but violent, and as she pulled back, she pulled between her teeth his bottom lip with so much force, he nearly thought it would be ripped off. When that proved to be nought but pointless worrying, he swatted her on the rear once.
"We'll be later than we already are, and I figure we'll have a busy night tonight," Harry said as he started to move towards the bathroom that she had come out from earlier; it was still misty from her shower, and the sheen across the wall, floor and mirror, was heavily prevalent. "Where do you think this second Horcrux will be since we seem to think there are three?"
"If he were smart, they'd be across the channel, and in places he's kept secret. We'll know soon enough if that's the case based on how long it takes for his next return. His persistence is tedious, his strength is waning and with every return, there's less and less of him to fight us," she shook her head and waved towards the bathroom. "We'll eat together before we leave."
Harry closed the door then, as Elaine made to work on a few other parchments, and it was then that he realised he hadn't even read the letter. He had been too distracted by Daphne's name, Elaine's questions that followed and finally, the general direction their time together had taken. It wasn't new either, ever since they had gotten intimate, his thoughts were almost always regarding her in some fashion; her beauty, her eyes, her words, any memories with her prevalently in them.
Ah well, he thought as he finally began to strip and head towards the shower. It won't be kept a secret for very long, and I doubt it's all that important. I suppose there's always the chance that Daphne's not nearly as unbearable or cold. That'd be a pleasant change, for once.
Harry closed the door to the Auror Corps behind him, and with his back pressed against it, he sighed. If he were a Muggle in one of those fight films that Dudley always watched — likely picturing himself despite the fact that he was the bully, not the bullied — he would have gone for a smoke right then. The Auror Corps was his home more than the central hub of the Ministry could ever hope to be, and it had taken less than a year for him to rise through the ranks of it, serve under three Ministers of Magic and eventually take a position to serve under one.
McMacson would follow after him very shortly too, which would leave Urban Maxis as the driving force behind the Auror Corps. The man was a genius, and strong with two polite children. In his hands, Harry reckoned all of his friends would be just fine… oh, right, he was meant to see to it that was created. He had nearly forgotten. He imagined Elaine wouldn't have been very happy with him if he had, but that took second place when compared to the real person that'd be throwing a fit.
"Harry!" Aster said with a wave, grin, and trip as he bumped into the right side of a desk. The boy stumbled, he grabbed at a multitude of things, and thankfully for him, he managed to grab a hold of two things at once; a woman's braid and a man's shirt jacket.
Harry watched as his friend rapidly apologised, bowed out of the situation and tore off to him. Knowing Aster as well as Harry did, he thought his friend was sprinting towards him not out of any fraternal affection, but to save himself should either of the others think about any form of revenge. Nobody would be dumb enough to do anything like that in front of the Minister's soon-to-be husband and the current Deputy Minister of Magic; how he had been talked into the latter position, he would never know.
No, no he did know. Elaine was smart, cunning, powerful, beautiful and most of all, she was a very affectionate witch. That level of affection aided her in regard to whatever she wanted, and she knew that too. He reckoned she could get away with murder at this point if she desired to.
"You're back to normal, yeah?" Harry asked as soon as his friend was finally before him, a mere three to five feet away.
Aster nodded nearly a dozen times and grinned as he pointed towards the shoulders of his Auror Jacket. "I'm back to normal and following your very 'well-earned' promotion, I got one too! I was made a Lieutenant, I think because they felt bad for my wounds."
Aster's… Aster's far better than I had thought he'd be. I didn't believe Elaine when she said he'd improved so much from the time of Reinhard's, well, Reinhard's fate. I wonder if it's real, or if he's just pushing it to the depths of his mind and acting that well.
That thought turned Harry sorrowful, and he strived at that moment to do two things, one of which was far more rash than he would have typically done. "Why don't we invite Ashley and Joseph to my place, yeah? We could get together and do what we used to."
"That'd be great, Pev! I'll bring the alcohol and you can bring the don't talk about my sister during the whole night, we could have the others bring beer or that," Aster agreed immediately, jumping on the opportunity and snickering at his own words when Harry did much the same.
It would always be Aster that fit random tidbits into sentences, and barring that, spoke completely randomly with no real topic or connection to the one that had previously been on the table.
"We'll have another get-together with the girls invited too," Harry promised.
"Druella, Corene, even Abraxas. It'd almost be like Hogwarts again," Aster thought aloud before he shook his head and nodded towards the stack of parchment Harry had pressed into his left side. "What'dya got there, Pev? Anything fun, or is it more of that unimportant nonsense like bills and foreign relations?"
Harry snorted. He agreed that it was tedious and nearly nonsensical in a fashion, but of all people, Aster would know just how important all of that is as a sort of 'master' strategist. If only Reinhard were around to tease the other boy… it didn't feel natural coming from Harry, and he doubted any of the others would fill that gap either. Merlin, when those two had played wizards chess, the night felt as if it might never cease to be.
if only that were true.
"Pev?" Aster asked, nudging him with the tip of his shoe as if he were a fish that had gotten itself beached.
"Papers from Elaine and I for McMacson. We've decided that there's more work to be done, and to do it, we've already taken it upon ourselves to take care of a good portion of it before we turned it in — you should come with me, actually. You'll be coming up during the conversation," Harry said, finally making up his mind as he started walking again, this time, with Aster nipping at his heels.
It didn't take very long at all for the two young men to reach their destination; McMacson's office.
"Harry, Aster," McMacson said as soon as the two stepped into the man's office. "I didn't think I'd see you around here for a short while, Peverell. You, Aster, I thought you were headed home?"
"I was until Harry here decided to pull me along," Aster responded, nudging the aforementioned man with an elbow and fixing him with a look that was saying; get on with it. Aster did look to be dead tired, that was true, but Harry figured this couldn't wait. There wasn't any reason to delay it.
"Yeah, I had something to speak with you about, Mac, and it pertains to some degree to Aster here. Tell me, how would you like a new group of Auror recruits?" Harry started with the question that would surely interest his former boss. It was as good a strategy as any, and as he had told Elaine, it was best not to ruffle any feathers, as the saying went.
"It would depend on how many you've gotten for me, but three or more would be brilliant. I was thinking about selling my soul off to whatever deity responded first just so I could get three hundred new Aurors — I haven't made my mind up on that just yet, but I think I'm pretty pro-soul selling," McMacson finished pensively and with tapping on his chin.
Harry and Aster blinked and looked at one another in silence, unsure if the man was joking, but eventually, the latter shrugged and the former let the matter drop. What he found himself up to in his spare time, away from the Aurors, was fine with Harry.
"Well, I'll tell you that we've got sixty-seven new Aurors in store for you, with a further thirty-eight scheduled to arrive in the coming days. They'll have a residency provided for them, and from the personal Peverell coffers, we'll cover their food and uniforms so as to lessen the expenses of the Auror Corps," Harry said, laying most of the critical information out and onto the table.
"Merlin," Aster exclaimed at the news.
"That'd do more than Minister Elaine can comprehend, I think," McMacson said, dumbfounded before he narrowed his eyes at Harry. "How'd you two find so many willing employees? Where'd you get them and why are they only now showing up?"
"Yankees," Harry answered. "We offered them a job with good pay, free housing, training and all in a country that they hail from or have some sort of connection to. As soon as we did that, we got nearly two-hundred requests, but this final number was what we ultimately accepted and hired. It's not even a dent to the Yanks in terms of their overall population either."
"I'll take them," McMacson said immediately.
"That must have been a lot of work, but I don't see where any of this needs me," Aster pointed out, making McMacson snap his fingers, nod, and look back at Harry.
Harry patted his friend on the back whilst he looked at McMacson. "We've taken ten for ourselves which aren't included in the total number, and we're also going to request the transfer of ten Aurors and three other recently hired general Ministry personnel — Aster, as you can guess, you're one of those ten that'll be transferred."
"You're giving me one hundred and five new Aurors for ten transfers," McMacson stated, nodding to himself as he regarded Harry and Aster. "I'm guessing you're taking some of the more senior Aurors if you're giving me that many in return? I don't suppose one of those parchments is the list for their names either."
At that, Harry nodded and slid over the third parchment from the top. "The list, if you'd like to keep a copy. I thought that you would, which is why I had that made, and of the ten, six have been hired for more than half a year, the other four are rather new in comparison, but they have skill sets we picked personally."
"Internal Intelligence and Security — you're creating a new department. Those rumours from the other day were true," McMacson finally said as he made his way to the bottom of the list and read the paragraph that Harry had written. It was meant to explain most of what was happening, but Harry figured he could do much the same with words whilst he was with his two friends.
"We thought it would be wise if we kept a team near the Minister's central hub that answered to the Minster and I directly, and at the same time, we needed to have a department that could actively get information beyond what our previous efforts yielded, and so we made it a dedicated section in tandem with our personal security. They'll train with the Aurors, wear the Auror uniforms, but with a green colour instead of the traditional ones," Harry said, his eyes fixed on the door as he wanted to leave the room; there was more he had to do in the day. "Aster, to save you from any more reading, would be one of the three officers in the new sub-department."
I'll have him be the Captain of it, regardless of what Elaine thinks.
"I suppose I'll agree, but I'll be sad to see Aster and a few more of the more gifted sorts gone… ah well, at least I won't be in Urban's shoes. Have a good evening, Peverell, and thanks for the help. Those hundred new bodies will do me loads of good, my stress levels too, I think," McMacson said, letting the younger man leave with his friend.
Harry was thankful for that too. He wanted to get back to work so that he could return home earlier rather than later; he wouldn't rest when he got back either, he and Elaine would spend several hours every night on the hunt for Grindelwald's Horcruxes that still 'survived' in some capacity. They would go over documents from the raids, inspect items connected to the man or his followers, read reports about their greatest victories throughout Europe, and all in the hopes of finding a clue.
Any, truly, would do. They just needed to find something that proved this wasn't all a massive waste of time, and that soon, Grindelwald really would be well and truly gone. As soon as they could proclaim that to the world, loud and proud as ever, there would always be a festering uncertainty in regard to their future.
"Damn you," Aster said, shaking Harry free from his thoughts as the smaller boy elbowed him.
"For what, you twat?" Harry said back, giving his friend an elbow of his own.
"I'd just made it to Lieutenant, finally. It's my first real promotion, Elaine starting me off as a Sergeant didn't count. It was actually a bit of a problem with the way others thought, but regardless, I'd just gotten promoted and now I'm moved," Aster huffed. "Those new uniforms best be as cool or cooler than the Muggles, and at the very least, the pay or positions should be similar."
Harry snorted at his friend's antics. He was sure that Aster would be beyond pleased with the uniforms and pay both. As for the stress of the job he would soon take, well, that was something else entirely.
It was five in the evening when Harry returned to the central portion of the Ministry, where his office, Elaine's and the new expansion were. Soon enough, that expansion — fitted for one-hundred people — would have the first twenty-five per cent occupying it. Slowly, and as they filled out the Auror Corps, they would bring various people into what Elaine had called; 'Elite, Expert and Intelligent' Internal Aurors that would answer directly to the pair of them. They would be given greater powers than regular Aurors, higher pay, incentives and all for the sake of keeping the Ministry away from corruption and the public safe from any hostile intentions.
In Harry's mind, it was about time that something was done to combat the inherent corruption of the Ministry, and if he could have a direct hand in the pie, so to speak, it would be all the better! Who better than he, a person that had been done in by the Ministry many a time in his young life, was qualified to clear the place whilst Elaine ran all of the other dealings?
Merlin, he'd have to get her a wonderful gift. She had essentially given him his own private Auror Corps and told him to oversee the Aurors, that force and the general security, safety and faithfulness of their country.
I'm done wondering how she gets me to agree to all of these things
"Well?" Elaine asked, suddenly before his desk as she looked at him impatiently and with folded arms.
"Well?" Harry parroted, his eyes fighting to stay open.
He'd make sure to catch an extra couple of hours of sleep that night. It wouldn't do if he grew too tired at the Ministry.
"How did McMacson handle our requisition of forces and the transfer of Aster? Was he bothered visibly, or did he hide it?" Elaine questioned as she took a seat across from him and flicked the papers away from the centre of his desk and over to the right of it, where they stacked themselves perfectly. "Did you tell him that we'll be taking more too, or did you leave that out? I have a feeling I know the answer."
"He handled it fine, but he didn't seem too thrilled to have Aster taken from him. I don't imagine it was too great a surprise, and he did mention something about rumours that something like this was happening. I don't know why that'd be, or how, considering we only have four assistants and no real advisors yet — anyways, it was fine and yes, you're right. I didn't tell him that we'd be picking out the exceptional Aurors in a few months' time," Harry said, shaking his head and snorting when Elaine grinned, smug in her rightness.
"I knew you wouldn't tell him."
"I told you that I wouldn't tell him."
Elaine folded her arms and pouted at him, but the effect wasn't the same as it was with other women. Where they might look cute, meek or playful, Elaine managed to convey superiority despite her pout-filled expression. It was pretty impressive.
"I'll tell him that later when the time for us to pick another twenty-five people is closer. There's no need to leave him with the knowledge that we need nearly a hundred more people, and mostly from his department," Harry said, finally giving in and summoning Elaine to his lap; it was her turn to be whisked through the air and as he suspected, she didn't seem to mind. If anything, when his hands fell to her hips, she looked pretty smug at the turn of events.
"I suppose I'll leave him to you as I've currently been doing, but if there come to be any issues, please, let me know. His kindness and growing popularity are problematic, and it's only thanks to you that we're the greater force. I'd be very bothered if you grew tired and he made a bid for power," Elaine scowled at the thought, and just as easily as the look arrived, it passed and she was smiling once more. "I have news."
"Do tell," Harry said as he began to play with the loose strands of her hair. There was something about doing so that was comforting.
Elaine let a few seconds pass as she sagged into his touch and contented herself in their closeness, but eventually, those seconds were up and she made to speak again. "We have a trip tonight. I've learned where a hint might be, and I do believe we'll be gone for an hour, possibly two, depending on the strength of the issue."
"Is it one of his…" Harry trailed off in question, his meaning clear even if he refused to use the word in the Ministry. He knew the walls had ears and that, as the spreading of the rumour suggested, there were still people that couldn't be trusted not to repeat whatsoever they heard.
I'll have to fire whoever let that slip. There's no need to have a spy of some sort working here, least of all if they're meant to be our trusted worker and they're outside blabbering to whoever they can about what our plans are.
"No."
"No?" Harry asked again.
"No," Elaine said with finality despite her follow-up words. "As far as I'm aware, this could lead to the location of one if we're careful and fortune's on our side. If that's the case, we'll be able to gather a clue or the location to another clue; there's a trail in the tales if you read as many as I have."
Harry didn't doubt her for one moment. Grindelwald was the same as almost any other villain. He wanted to be caught, he wanted the world to see him and to think of him as a hero, and from what Harry knew from personal encounters, he was completely insane. The man spoke casually during a fight to the death, and Harry had no doubt that the man enjoyed toying with people or testing their wits against his. It would be perfectly within the confines of his chaotic, horrible character to leave a piece of his soul at the end of a long, challenging set of puzzles.
In all honesty, the fact that the gargoyle had been one of those very items was still surprising on account of the carelessness that was expressed with its placement. Merlin, really, who left a piece of their soul — after ripping their soul apart — in some stone in the back of a gargoyle's animated throat?
Truly, Harry would never be able to comprehend the man's insanity. If only Dumbledore would have survived. If he hadn't been killed, Harry truly reckoned the man could enlighten him on much and more. The comment about time and other people that had seemingly travelled through it as Harry was the source of his greatest curiosity — the missing members from Slytherin's book, save for Elaine's grandmother, wasn't as important to him as that. Mortem's true existence and what have you, whilst close, still wasn't as important as other time travellers.
If they existed and were present, what could they do? What was their reason for being? Why were they so secretive?
There were too many questions, and as was often the case, not nearly enough answers. Still, he regained his senses, exhaled, and nodded towards the door that would have them leave their office. "Should I gather a team?"
"No. They would slow us down, and I'll not look after them for a moment, not while you're with me," Elaine said, her words cold and true.
"Just us. Are you sure that's smart after the last time?" Harry asked, a hint of uncertainty in his mind. "We wrote to the others in hopes of gaining more information about how best to find, open and destroy a Horcrux. Why do so if we're not going to wait for their words?"
"I don't believe we'll find it where we're going, and if we somehow manage to do just that, we'll handle the issue as best we can. We'll keep one another safe, and in the event that I fail to do just that, we'll escape by way of a Portkey," Elaine pointed at a separate door, one that led into her personal office; as was the case in the Auror office, he had a window in his space that allowed him to look into the greater area at large.
It was unsettling, to say the least, to see eighty empty desks, furniture and other objects scattered throughout the space far to the right of his office view. At least, soon, there would be a token presence if nothing else.
"I suppose we'll go to your office, and then to…"
"Gomel, Belarus," Elaine said. "There's a patch of woods that are said to be bewitched, and after Grindelwald's forces withdrew, the enchantment therein supposedly has grown thrice as strong. People go missing, and the Soviets do their best to keep it hidden and guarded, but I've been alerted to a secret entrance. The very same that Grindelwald used when he entered."
"By who?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure if they could trust the person that fed them the information. There would always be those out there that wished to see something unfortunate befall you.
"It came up in a few discussions with those that survived from Grindelwald's forces, and so I had our new considerably vast resources dig up whatsoever information we have in regard to that small 'less' — the word for Forest in their language. As it turns out, it's one of twelve similar areas throughout all of Europe, and we've not got one within our borders to check out ourselves," Elaine paused, looked at him, and spoke again. "Yaxley, when he was present and we were certain as to his whereabouts, had also written to us once in regards to that forest. It was gibberish, unintelligible, and apparently, rather important."
Harry scoffed at the mention of 'rather important'. How could it be remotely important if nobody knew what was inside of it? It was hogwash.
"We're going to look at it just because Grindelwald went to look at it, is that right?" he asked.
Elaine nodded and motioned for him to get to his point with her hand. He didn't enjoy that.
"We'll go, fine, and maybe we'll find something that he left behind, maybe it'll even lead us to one of his pieces, but if it doesn't, we won't go off on another trip again. Not until we've heard back from Corene and Slughorn Senior," Harry stated firmly as he pulled Elaine closer and reaffirmed his grasp around her waist. "Agreed?"
There was a scowl. Defiance followed as her face morphed into something nonplussed at his order-like tone, but after a brief staring contest of no more than thirty seconds or thereabouts, she nodded. It was clear to see that she didn't want to and that she wasn't pleased to do so, but she did.
Harry smiled, pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose, and pulled back from her. He wouldn't thank her for doing what she had promised to do so many months, a few years ago nearly, but he would take note of her actions. They had done so much and come so far in their relationship since first they met.
He wanted the honesty and love to continue. If that could happen, he would be able to live a nice happy life kicking arse and somehow stumbling his way through leading a country alongside her.
Harry paused when he and Elaine stopped to regard the Floo. "We're seriously just going to Floo to France, and then Portkey across Europe? When did you plan this out, and since I know that date's going to be a week ago at the minimum, why didn't you say anything sooner?"
I know this doesn't really count as a secret that she kept for me, but I feel like that's a grey area. She should have told me about this sooner, a lot sooner, and I would have been able to make my own preparations. I probably would have gathered Aster and two others to come with us, and he'd be rested and in his new duties already.
"France is an easy enough trip to make, and afterwards, the series of portkeys I've had set up by our various contacts throughout the continent will see us arrive safely at Minsk. Once we're there, it's a short trip to Gomel and the woods nearby. I've said before, darling, you and I can accomplish wonderful things together, and tonight will be another feat that acts as a testament to our relationship — you'll see," Elaine's final two words filled him with a festering feeling that something would happen.
He wasn't nervous or scared, he simply was resigned to the fact that some manner of evil, dark or otherwise hostile magic would set upon them. It didn't take a genius to figure that out when Grindelwald was involved and the place had already lead hundreds to their deaths before his arrival.
"I'm going to trust you since that hasn't gotten me killed yet, but please, next time, tell me as soon as you know. I'd like to make a few plans myself and going across all of Europe after a day at the Ministry without knowing what I've got to do that night is a bit tough," Harry stretched, grabbed a hand full of her rear when he had finished his stretching and with his other hand, he rubbed at his eyes. "I don't suppose you have any more that you'd like to come clean about?"
"No. If I do, I'll tell you as soon as I'm aware of their existence if that's what you'd like," Elaine assured, grinning as he kept his hands on her; it was like she thrived under physical contact of any sort with him, and when she beamed as she was, it was hard to stay annoyed with her.
Hard. Not impossible. He would remember that she sprang this on him, he simply had to wait and see why she had done so. With Elaine, ninety per cent of the time, there was an angle. In the other ten per cent of the time, he didn't ever find out what the angle was, and so he had to assume barring her telling him, that there wasn't one.
He figured the true 'no-angle- percentage was one if that.
"Yes, please," he said as he stood to his full height and picked her up, his strength and build finally superior to hers, enough so that he could pull that manoeuvre off. "I don't see any sense in dragging this out. Let's get through our journey and get home in time to have a timely dinner. How's that sound to you?"
Elaine raised her brows and regarded her position. Her legs were wrapped around his waist, one arm of hers was around his neck whilst the other was playing with his hair, and her eyes kept moving between his lips and his own pair of eyes. "I wouldn't mind a moment's delay if you'd be keen on amusing me before our trip begins… I'm sure it'd aid your stress too, Mister Peverell."
Harry regarded the Floo, the door to their office, and Elaine. His eyes made that motion nearly twenty times in the span of ten seconds as his mind fought to make a decision, and when Elaine wiggled in his grasp, he made his choice. He flicked the door to their office locked and latched tightly, and after doing so, he moved them towards one of the few couches in the area.
That trip could wait a few minutes. Grindelwald's Horcruxes or Horcrux would wait for them.
"We're only three minutes behind the schedule I'd mapped out in my mind, there's no need to fret," Elaine said as they moved — hastily — through the halls of the French Ministry and towards their next destination.
As Elaine had planned, they were headed towards two brooms that would lead them two kilometres, a very short distance, to the portkey they were waiting to take to Germany. They would hop from Germany to Poland, and from Poland to Belarus. She had planned their locations specifically, and she'd even insisted upon a disguise; it was clear to see just how much thought she had put into this.
The disguises were polyjuice potions of Muggles, and the Portkeys that were waiting for them had been made by her alone… with help from a few house elves that somehow had a connection to Laddey. He wasn't certain of those details, but he was beyond surprised when he found out that his little friend had been involved in her plan by way of moving the items to their locations. He would have to speak with Laddey later and see if the little elf could tell him more about Elaine's dealings and whenever she wishes to have him help her again. Yes, Harry thought that would be a very good idea.
"You don't want us to be followed very easily based on the number of trips we're making. Is it the person we're both thinking about, or others?" Harry asked quietly, his arm looped through hers ensuring that the two were close, and the bustling of the crowd ensuring at that same time that their words were lost to the noise.
"If he's managed to return already, I dare say we'll not always come out on top — those words alone should answer your question, for we're infallible," Elaine said before continuing, her tone thereafter softer. "I don't want our location to be known to anybody, and the more twists and turns we take, the harder it will be to figure out where we've gone. It's also wise to mention that what I've done, and with our positions, we could create quite the scandal, my love."
"I thought as much," Harry said with a snort; they were essentially breaking into another country and excavating one of their historical sites.
Elaine — or rather her temporary visage of an older woman — smiled widely at him. "You're very smart despite what you might claim or think about yourself. As soon as you begin to realise that and utilise it, you'll grow stronger still."
Harry fought to keep a neutral look about him as a sudden thought to change the topic came to his mind. It wasn't random as Aster's usually were, but rather quite important, especially with this trip they were embarking upon. "I don't speak any… whatever it is that they speak, you know. You don't either, not that I can recall."
"I don't, you're right, and there are two common languages" Elaine agreed, confident as ever as they continued to walk and bump their way through the crowd.
He was surprised that she didn't mind the constant jostling and more surprised that she didn't whip out her wand and stun dozens of people for bumping into her. Her control was never more evident, for she did despise having others come into physical contact with her person.
"So how will we read the signs, speak with the locals and do whatever else that we need to do?" he asked seriously, his eyebrows creasing in thought. "Is there a spell to allow us to understand them? I know there's nothing that gives you the ability to instantly learn or remember a language."
"There's something that I've discovered quite some time ago, though it's not perfect, it'll do the job," Elaine answered cryptically.
Harry very nearly urged her to share the spell or the magic that she was talking about, but he decided not to do so. There wasn't a reason to push her if she had it taken care of, and in his mind, he would see the spell soon enough.
"It's colder than I would have thought for the time of year," Elaine said as the crisp air of the outdoors struck them — there was the smell of bread, seafood and the ocean too, but those didn't seem to register to Elaine nearly as much as the cold did.
"I don't think I've seen the cold bother you," Harry said, failing to recollect any such moment.
"It doesn't, that was my way of telling you to pull me closer and cover me in your warmth before we make our way to our broom, where you'll fly me to our next location whilst we bask in one another's presence," Elaine blinked at him, her lips curled upwards. "It sounds rather perfect, doesn't it? You don't have to tell me, I've planned such a thing for quite some time."
I'll leave that, I suppose. It'll be but another matter that I just keep untouched.
Harry poked her in the side in jest, and after doing so, he did as she bid and pulled her closer. "Well, I'll give you what you want, but you do have to lead us to the broom. I think we'll be stuck in France if you don't."
"I do speak French, so that would be far from the worst fate for us, wouldn't you say?" Elaine said, her tone and visage oddly contemplative as if she was truly mulling over the idea of having them get lost in France.
He knew that wouldn't happen. They had too much invested in their homeland, and more in their lives. Elaine especially had done so much to fight for her familial name back, the powers that came with it and finally, the position of 'Acting' Minister until such a time came for an election to be held.
Everybody already knew that it would be she and he that gain the two positions.
"It'd be peaceful," Harry finally answered. "You, me, a beach, wine and a nice manor where we'd never want for anything. That'd make for quite the life."
Elaine's answering smile seemed to agree, and then, they continued their journey in silence, especially when they climbed the broom and went through the various portkeys that Elaine had pre-planned for them to use. When they finally did arrive at their destination, on the outskirts of a ruinous-looking city, he sighed.
All of that travel had definitely not agreed with him. It always felt horrible, and he wished that whoever invented it would have done better. Maybe, one day, when he was out of the Ministry and Elaine wasn't dead set on running it, they could invent a new means of travel. Vaguely, he had a memory of light and dark beams of light and smoke, but it was unclear and he couldn't recall it clearly.
He would have liked to, but Elaine drew his attention, and the memory or thought, was gone.
"We'll have to travel by foot once we reach the outskirts of the woods," Elaine said, eyeing a map curiously that he hadn't seen her pull out until that moment.
"How far are we from the outskirts, then?" Harry asked, looking at the different buildings, cars and huge patches of woods with curiosity; this new country and the culture therein were different to his.
"Not very," Elaine said before she grabbed his hand and pulled. "Come, my love. We have woods to visit, the potential for creatures to kill, and when we're home, I'd quite like to end the night cuddling in bed."
That's my Elaine.