Chapter 22: Riddle Solution & Plan Execution

Date: Tuesday, 9th November 2010

Time: 10 pm, Malfoy Manor Dining Hall

The full group of people gathered at the dining hall with their hunger just satisfied with a moderate but energizing meal. The time had come to implement the action. The stakes were simple: Solve the riddle in 3 days and they had 90% chance of getting back the Yellow Box, or else they might say good bye to the Mission.

Hermione, Adena/Luna and Athena, the team leaders, then set out splitting the teams. Hermione took her core group, Veena, Neville, Arthur and Pansy. Adena/Luna took Bill, Percy, Penelope, Katie, Zabini and Ginny. The remaining people including Celia and Dudley joined Athena.

Natalie joined them after the tables were cleared off, "There is one more rule! Once the group members are assigned, they can't change groups. If member/leader of one group solves her own riddle and then she wants to help other groups, it is also forbidden. If you want to contact my group, you can wake me up any time after 5am. You now have 71 hours in a reverse countdown."

Seating themselves comfortably in front of a moderate fire, the 3 groups set about their task.

Hermione pondered, "The reference here is to South Asia. That is Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh do not have cities big enough to be commercial capital. The choice then comes down to India and Pakistan. Summer rapidly approaches Southern Hemisphere close to Thanksgiving, which is the final week of November, when winter approaches Northern Hemisphere. So, our time frame is November and our places are Bombay or Karachi. Pansy, what can qualify as an acute Muggle failure in November in either of these cities?"

Pansy answered, "Muggle failures can be political, social or mass killing. 2 years back, Bombay witnessed the tragic death of 200 residents to terrorism on 26th November 2008."

Hermione whooped, "That is it, Pansy! We have solved our riddle. The first part concerns a date and that is 26th November. On that day, we see an anniversary of terrorism, a classic Muggle failure. Their Mission is to take place on 26th November. Wow, this is easy going! We have solved it within 5 minutes and we have a cushion of more than 70 hours. I can never be more proud of our group."

Fred was grim, "Congrats Hermione & Pansy! I am the first to join in celebrations but we should never count chickens till they hatch. Other 2 groups need to solve their riddle as well."

Hermione bore a huge smile, "Let us solve their riddle internally as well. We will verify and confirm when they solve it."

"Yes, let us do that," Harry agreed. Veena then copied the other 2 portions of the parchment.

Things were less celebratory in the other 2 groups. Celia and Dudley lay hunched over their portion of the parchment as Athena walked about in deep thought in the 3rd group.

Athena spelled out her thoughts, "We have a gas produced from the liquid of life. Whose life are we talking about? Muggle? Wizard? Animals and birds? Which is the liquid important enough to be the liquid of life? Humans alone have 35 fluids. That gas can kill more than the Tsunami toll of 250,000 people so that gas must be capable of a nuclear reaction. The fact that the answer is a nuclear weapon is clear from a direct reference to Hiroshima. We need to analyze chemical composition of commonly available fluids in living beings and find a possible gas extracted from such fluids that can initiate a mass casualty. Fortunately, we have Celia with us to validate our chemical analyses."

Celia nodded, "We should start with humans. The clue is meant to prevent mass human chaos so it is imperative to focus on humans first. This being a magical mission, our first focus is Wizards and Witches. Athena, in your healing research, have you noticed any special liquid, which facilitates quicker healing?"

Athena arched her eyebrows, "Actually, Hermione is far more updated with Healing Research but we can't ask her. As far as the Magical Breed is concerned, I can test Dean's blood, he being a 'normal' wizard. I can call in my equipment and we will be on our way in 15 minutes."

Celia nodded, "Please do that, Athena. For comparison, Dudley can give his blood sample and we can differentiate between Magical and Muggle blood. Is your equipment capable of testing Muggle blood as well?"

Athena smiled, "Yes, I am sure it is. Dean and Dudley, please prick your fingers with this needle and deposit the blood sample in your respective test tubes."

In three short minutes, the results were out thanks to an advanced pathology kit. Celia and Athena pored over the results.

Athena spoke up, "We can see, that chemically, Muggle and Wizard blood are similar, just that the Adrenaline content in Wizard Blood is more, taking into account our Apparating activities. The differences are not significant. What IS significant, is that the most common fluid in both our blood types is Water or H2O."

Celia nodded, "I think we are on the right track. If H2O is the common most fluid in all our cells, it is indeed the liquid of life, because our blood nourishes our body and keeps us alive. That being so, the gases that make up water are H2 and O2. In terms of weapon use, oxygen is used in fuel air bombs but there is no way they can kill more than 250,000 people. That being so, H2 is the only option. Hydrogen is a powerful nuclear weapon and can definitely kill up to a million people at one go if payload is heavy enough. So there is the solution to our clue. We know that the weapon being used to guard our yellow container and deter our burglary attempt, is a high payload Hydrogen Bomb."

A distinct buzzer went off in the room and Natalie, joined them in the room, just an hour after she went to sleep.

Natalie smiled at Hermione, "There is always an alert if 2 of 3 parts of a vital clue are solved correctly. I had my power nap and decided to join you. This is excellent progress and you have 70 hours' clear cushion."

Hermione pondered, "You must have negotiated with Nathan to give us an easy clue."

Natalie laughed and shook her head, "I did you no special favors. Certain Mission levels have certain security procedures. A tier 3 mission is the second highest one and comes with 3 riddles. It is an insult to your intelligence if you deduce I did you any favors. If anything did any favors, it was your lifelong education and commitment to learn. Still, let us not count the chickens till they hatch. The 2nd group still needs to solve their clue."

Hermione spoke up, "Natalie, can the groups who have solved the clues merge and talk to each other?"

Natalie nodded, "Once a group solves the riddle, they are free to talk to anyone EXCEPT the group that still is yet to solve their portion of the riddle. So yes, Groups 1 & 3 can now merge."

Hermione smiled, "Thanks a lot, Natalie. Athena/Celia and your group, please join us. Let us try to solve the 2nd clue on our own and then try to devise our combat strategy, which would be our Mission immediately after the 2nd group solves their clue."

Their large group went to the balcony to enjoy a cool winter night, leaving the fireplace free to Adena/ Luna in their attempts to solve their part of the clue.

Luna spoke up, "My express involvement indicates that the 8 letter word (8 Jewels) indicates a bird or animal. Yet all that Penelope and Ginny have come up with are 3 biological species encompassing both Muggle and Wizard world and none of them correspond to swan, temple, mythical goddess, Buddha, flower, History or Geography."

Zabini shook his head, "I think we can safely eliminate any magical being because all references point out to Muggle influence. Luna, I think your role is not to give an 8 letter being name but rather to research a swan and its collective connections to all the other Muggle references, that can help us solve the clue."

Adena nodded, "I agree with Zabini's logic. Any mission has to deal with time, place and weapon. An animal, however powerful it may be, can't really be used as a weapon. So we can safely say that the 8 letter word is no animal or bird. Luna, try to research about Swans and all their connections."

Luna agreed, "We should concentrate on South Asian swans because that was the location reference in Clue 1. I am working on it. Keep me posted, Adena."

Adena spoke to Bill, "If 8 Jewels, refers to a city/town/village in South Asia, we have an issue on our hands. Let us take cities first because higher population density means higher chance of mass casualty. We have still so many populated cities in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka combined that makes up South Asia. Katie/ Zabini, please make a list of all major cities and then we will focus on those cities with 8 letters. Bill, Percy, you and I will focus on towns starting from East to North, South and West. Sometimes, towns on the outskirts of cities will cause catastrophic damage if they are the epicenter of a blast, the most likely method of mass casualty. We don't need to wait for Zabini. We can list the major cities and then work on their Satellite Towns."

Time ticked by and it was breakfast time when Hermione and Group came back to the dining hall. They had conjured arm chairs and slept the night there after discussing plans and coming up with solutions. Even they with their combined intelligence could not come up with the solution to the 8 Jewels. But one casual remark from Pansy changed the game. She looked at the lake outside the Balcony and appreciated a graceful swan floating across a flower. Suddenly all pieces fell into place and all of them smothered Pansy in a group hug. The excited group came back to the room and jubilantly declared that they had solved all pieces of the riddle and could verify with ADENA/ Luna once they solved the issue. The long faces of Adena and Luna further fell. Only their group felt inferior intellectually. Hermione sensed this and spoke up.

"Cheer up Adena. It is not that Luna and you are of lower intelligence. In fact, you have been given the hardest and most vital part of the puzzle and they expect you to solve it, hence they asked your name. We can't comment whether or not your approach is right but we CAN say that we have complete faith in your deductive powers. Adena runs an empire, Luna researches complex medical science, Bill is a mathematical financial wizard while the academic credentials of Katie/Zabini and Percy/Penelope speak for themselves. All of you are well endowed with brain power. We will patiently wait for you. We still have 60 hours."

Adena signaled her gratitude to Hermione and continued working. The mood was optimistic and congratulatory. However, when the stalemate remained after 8 more hours, the first pangs of impatience and worry were felt by the other groups. It was 5 pm and they had 52 more hours. They wanted to keep a cushion of 24 hours and succeed in their Mission, so it was critical that they solved the riddle in next 4 hours and slept for 6 more before having a 40-hour head start in the combat phase. Despite all permutations and combinations, neither Luna nor Adena made progress. Each of them even tried rest, handing over the thinking duties to Percy and Bill but they also had no better luck. Katie/Zabini looked forlorn. Penelope and Ginny also looked weary.

A desperate Hermione went to Natalie.

Hermione spoke, "Natalie, I need to speak to Nathan and his boss."

Natalie nodded and they went to Erwina's room.

Hermione turned away as Natalie spelt out secret codes and then Natalie spoke, "Nathan, reveal thy force!"

Nathan instantly came on screen, "Hi Natalie, how are you doing?"

There was deep care and concern in his voice, a tone that completely wavered Natalie and she forgot everything. She spoke with tears, "I love you and I really miss you, Nathan."

"I love you too, Natalie. We will definitely meet again. Stay strong. Tell me, have they solved the clue?"

Nathan's strong demeanor armed Natalie with an inner strength and she recalled why she called Nathan.

"I do not know, Nathan. Hermione wants to speak to you. Hermione, you may come in from the bathroom. Thanks for giving us this brief private space. We are all emotionally strong but sometimes we waver when we see loved ones. Nathan is the only person in my life, as I told you earlier. I was the only child and my parents died in Air France crash last year. Since then, Nathan has protected me in a cocoon. Anyways, here he is. Do you want me to leave?"

Hermione shook her head, "You need to stay, Natalie. Nathan, can you also bring your boss?"

10 seconds later, she was facing a tall German Man, whose age was not more than 25, from his facial features. He bowed before Hermione.

"Salutations Frauline Hermione, I am Wolff. I head the Youth Wing of our organization. We were 20 people but after that attack on you, we are just seven. 13 of the sixteen who died were Youth Wing members. I know that we are opponents, but you must know that I never agreed to attack you. You not only inspire women, you inspire youth in general, including men. You are full of intelligence, integrity, courage, love and kindness, foundational values upon which our wing operates."

Hermione smiled, "That is nice to hear. These attributes that I display are universal and world would be a better place if these are regularly practiced. However, the moot point I wish to ask is this: Can we break the rules and tell the final group of the solution? I know what this means. We will release Natalie immediately and she will work on the mission. You will also inform the Senior Leadership and all of them will be disturbed from their mourning and will reach the final site in less than 3 minutes. The success chance for us, even in that scenario is 30%, discounting risk of death that all of us face. We are ready to jump into the fire and still come out unscathed. Tell us, can we break the rule and face the consequences? Will the mission still remain status quo or will some other thing happen?"

Wolff shook his head, "You can't do that, Hermione. A best system does not depend on people. Even if all of us die, the system will contact the Backup Brigade. I may even agree to bend the rule and do exactly as you say but the system is programmed to detect anomalies. It will self-destroy not just the evidence you are seeking but also instantly detonate the explosive. Thousands of innocent souls will die. You HAVE to play by the rules. None of us have a choice. Even I do not want a mass catastrophe, because the first victim is always the biodiversity, something that Nathan, Natalie and myself are all passionate about."

Hermione nodded grimly, "I suspected as much, right from the start. Still I had hope against hope. I know systems control these missions, not people. People may change ends but system is loyal to the program. In any case, it was lovely talking to you. Same goes for you, Nathan."

Both bowed and their faces faded away.

Hermione smiled, "Natalie, you must stop thanking me for minor things but I still love you more, for the same reason. I am a woman and I know what emotions a fellow woman feels, when they meet an estranged lover."

Without saying anything, Natalie embraced Hermione. Both of them then went out.

Suddenly, Malcom wanted to appear. She gave him permission.

"Good Evening, Hermione. I had an urgent message. Our Y guard chief who is watching over Privet Drive have an urgent message for Celia and Dudley. He wants to come over right away."

Celia and Dudley suddenly tensed. Dudley thought aloud, "Let's hope our parents and friends are fine."

Harry laid a firm comforting palm on his shoulder and Dudley expressed his gratitude with his eyes.

The Y Guard in question, Larson, bowed before Hermione. "Good evening, Hermione Ma'am. I have an urgent message for Dr. Celia. Since May, we noticed that Celia had befriended a blue Robbin. Like humans, birds also can't perceive that Celia changed her location and when he tapped the window, he automatically came to Celia's room here. However, birds are highly sensitive to Natural Force fields and a Magical exposed force field is significantly different from Muggle force field. Some person must be monitoring all this movement because today morning, we saw that the Robbin was dead by the window. Under no circumstances, does this death appear natural. I am an amateur ornithologist myself."

Celia spoke with tears gracing her cheeks, "Thanks for your prompt report, Larson. I will get to the bottom of this. Can you send a junior officer with the bird wrapped in a cloth? There is a reason for this."

Larson bowed, "I will get it done right away, Celia Ma'am."

Celia turned to Hermione, "I need a favor, Hermione."

Hermione nodded, "Anything for you."

"I need you to conjure a satellite telephone. I need a way to talk to my sister in Sweden without Muggle networks tracing our location beyond the country England."

Neville nodded, "It can be done. We will create a telecom wave tunnel that goes via a secure channel and connects with your sister but neither Sweden nor England can point out the exact location. It will only take me 2 minutes."

Hermione smiled, "Who could have gauged your personality blooming to these heights, specially having seen you at School, Neville? We are all proud of you."

"I have nothing to do with it personally, it is just that I went very deep into Magical Botany and discovered fundamental truths that can completely change a person. I will just work out the details and Fred, please conjure a satellite telephone. Involve Uncle Arthur, as he is delighted with latest Muggle Gadgets."

In 2 minutes, Celia was holding a secure satellite device in her hand. She called her sister to her cell and put the phone on speaker.

"Good evening, Rose!"

"Celz, Oh My God! How are you, little girl?"

"Rose, I am a big lady now, almost 28, with a baby of my own on the way. I am no longer your old baby sister."

"Celz, even on my deathbed, you will remain my sweetest sibling."

Celia could not hold back her tears, "Thanks Rose, it means more than you know! It also means that little sisters can request anything from their older ones anytime."

"Celz, little sisters do not request, they order. Can I be of any help?"

"Yes, there is indeed a lot you can do. You said that on many occasions human cells are affected by animal pathogens and vice versa. My pet bird died yesterday night and I suspect foul play. Can you do a forensic analysis on him Rose? I trust no one but you."

"Forensics are not my niche, but I know enough of that. But Celz, I can hear an urgency in your voice. What is the issue?"

"I know it is futile to playact with you. I can only tell you that I and my good friend Hermione are working on a top secret project where millions of human lives are at stake. I believe that this bird was killed as a warning and those pathogens can be used for mass bio terrorism. It is necessary for me to get a definitive result right away. Can I come to your home immediately?"

"Sure, Celz! By the way, is this lady Dr. Hermione Granger, the legendary oncology surgeon?"

Celia gave Hermione (standing at the far corner of the room) a sheer incredulous look. Hermione laughed hard inaudibly and put a finger on her lips and Celia took the cue.

"Yes she is but we can't share any other fact about this mission. How did you know about her?"

"Celz, I am the Vet, you are the Surgeon. It sometimes does not feel so. I regularly keep in touch with human medicine and compare human pathogen impact on animals. Dr. Granger regularly publishes her research in British Medical Journal on Thoracic Area cancer. By the way, you are in England and I am in Sweden. How can you come immediately? The earliest flight reaches here midnight."

"Rose, I can't answer any more questions. Be ready, I am coming."

Celia smiled at Hermione, "Oncology surgeon!?"

Hermione barely controlled her laughter, "Yes sure! My healing research has enormous side effects on Muggle Thoracic Tumor treatment and to the Muggle world, I retain my birth name. I also benefit financially, the patents contributing well over 10,000 galleons a month."

Celia sighed, "Hermione, do you trust me?"

Hermione was surprised, "What kind of question is that? Of course, I trust you. Why else would I involve you and Dudley in the most dangerous Mission?"

"Rose would be critical to our Mission, but not in a direct manner. We would have to compensate her, though. I need 300,000 galleons, 60,000 immediately in Muggle Pounds for a Check made in favor of Rose Gardner. Rest of the amount would be in a special account disbursed over the next 6 months. I would explain the nitty gritty details of my financial transaction later, but I need to meet my sister now."

Hermione nodded, "I don't need a special approval for any disbursal below 100,000 galleons. I have more than that in my personal account. I will however, make it against the Auror Mission Account and Bill would transfer the Muggle Equivalent to any bank of her choice. I will make it right away. By the way, how will you meet her?"

"I will Apparate with one of the Y guards."

Hermione firmly shook her head, "In ordinary circumstances, that is fine. We however, don't know the effect of Apparating on an unborn baby."

Celia disagreed, "We don't have time for conventional travel. Athena, is it safe?"

"I know less than Hermione on healing and medicine, to be very frank. Yet there is one person who can help us. Natalie or rather Dr. Natalie, you are well read in both Muggle and Wizard Medicine. What do you think?"

Natalie nodded, "In her advanced stages of pregnancy, only slow Apparating is safe."

Hermione gave a worried nod, "It is safe but it is a very advanced Apparating technique that needs tremendous advanced knowledge of force fields. I know it but I am tied down here. I also can't let you out Athena, same goes for my core group. We need to finalize the combat strategy. That leaves very few options."

Neville raised his hand, "I can do it, Hermione! This type of activity is my niche. Pansy can update me when I get back. We will reach in 15 minutes instead of 3 seconds."

Hermione agreed, "You are the expert here. However, you will not go alone. Veena and Arthur will go with you along with the Z guards. None of you will enter her apartment, unless Celia wants you to."

By 5-25pm, Celia was in Sweden knocking at the front door of Rosalyn. In a wooden casket, she had lovingly placed the body of her wild pet after reading out a prayer to send it home in peace. The life was gone, now all she had was the dead body.

Rosalyn's shock at seeing Celia was soon replaced by sheer ecstasy and they tenderly embraced. They immediately set up the lab. Rosalyn continued working as her sister looked on. She finally looked up from her microscope at 6pm GMT.

"One thing I can assure you right away, Celz. This bird did not die due to viral or bacterial pathogens. Pathogen deaths leave certain residual patterns on the cells and we see none here. It is also clear that he was a healthy bird so the death was not natural. The only anomaly is the burn mark on his left wing. Tracing the path of the burn mark, the veins leading to the heart were scorched and the heart immediately stopped. This can't happen in a gunshot wound and no human will use a rocket launcher to kill a bird, but the injury analysis confirms my findings. I can't come up with any more information."

Celia embraced Rosalyn again, "You came up with far more than I wanted, Rose. I must get back now. My pregnancy has been a huge boost because my role in this ultra-secret Mission is perfectly covered up by my condition. I just feel so secure when I can confide in you. In turn, I deeply appreciate your help. I have here a small token. It should cover the research grant, that you were seeking from EU."

Celia handed Rosalyn the Check worth 300,000 GBP and Rosalyn's head swam.

"What is this, Celz?"

"The Mission sponsors appreciate your work and they have set up an exclusive corpus for you. Will it cover your requirements?"

"Celz, this goes way beyond covering my grant, for which I needed 80,000 GBP. With this grant, I can overhaul my research equipment and software systems, order new books and journal subscriptions and start a scholarship fund for young entrants to this profession."

Celia nodded, 'I love it when people use money well, just like you do. Can I count on your support for Our Mission in the future?"

"Celz, I am with you all the way, unless you are in danger."

"Rose, any Mission is dangerous but we have been blessed with intelligence and power to serve the planet. We can't keep our gift hoarded to ourselves."

Rosalyn nodded, "Who knows that more than a Vet?"

Celia shed tears, "Exactly Rose, that is exactly my point. I need to leave right away. Thanks and Goodbye, Rose."

They held each other close and Celia then came out of her apartment. She immediately called out for Veena, Arthur and Neville.

Celia looked grim, "We need to go back immediately. Things are getting bad."

Celia then immediately sought Hermione and all else except Group 2, who were still hunched in the corner.

Celia spoke, "Hermione, bioterrorism was just a cover. I wanted to know if the dark forces are monitoring our movements. My Robbin was killed by a killing spell but my sister remained perplexed because she does not know the physical impact of Magical spells. If they are monitoring us, we are in a Catch 22 situation. If we move our loved ones' underground, they will know that we know their plans and the Dark Forces will plan a nasty frontal attack. At the same time, we can't let our loved ones be their play toy. I can't make out what to do. Our time is running out on one front (we have 50 hours' cushion to solve the riddle), and here we have another issue. With a special financial account for Rose, we can use her as a tool to help out and augment the biological aspects of this war- a research already done by Veena and Luna- especially species known to Muggles. She will not ask any questions, but she will immensely help out in our Mission."

Adena called out, "Can I leave my post for a few minutes, Natalie? I need to urgently talk to Hermione and Celia."

Natalie nodded, "Sure you can, as long as you nominate a leader in your absence."

Adena nominated Penelope to lead and she stepped out. "Hermione, I could not help but overhear Celia. I have a solution to her dilemma. Kindly permit my direct junior Harold to come here."

Harry and Draco made the changes to the wards and Harold stood before them. He bowed to every person before bowing again to Adena.

Adena smiled, "I love your civil ways, Harold. You have always been my trusty assistant. Our Muggle Wing is under observation from the Dark Forces. Can you make sure they get the message to stay out?"

"Those spiders need to be shown their place, once again. I will do it and they will leave the Muggles alone."

"Thank You, Harold! This means a lot to me."

"YOU mean a lot to us, Adena. We know something sinister is going on but you are brave enough to handle everything without involving us. Jack dies from a gas cylinder explosion but he was a meticulously careful man. Lucas goes away on a sabbatical and you delegate the empire to me, for a week. All of us can feel things but we will not pressurize you further. Thank you for protecting us. You can be rest assured that we will do everything that is asked of us. We will drive away those Dark Forces and we will give you confirmed proof by midnight tonight. Farewell, Adena."

Bowing again, he Apparated away.

Adena turned to Celia, "That solves your issue. We may be weak but we are still far stronger in a combat situation. They will not be stupid enough to risk losing more officers after the Hermione incident. Natalie, I apologize for Harold's choice of words. Until I met you, I also had very polarized views about the Dark Side, but Hermione has been a tremendous teacher. I must now return to my group. We have just 50 hours and 10 minutes with us."

Adena continued, "Hermione, before we return, can you send our group a nice, hot and delicious dinner? We think a good meal would do our brain juices a world of good."

Hermione smiled, "That is done, Adena. Patrick and Pernie, please prepare a hot and heavy English Roast meal for our guests."

Adena called out to her group, "Leave the riddle and enjoy a meal. We need to laugh again."

As they sat down to the Meal, Kreachera decorated the table with roses.

Zabini smiled, "Roses are majestic, but nothing beats the White Lotus, a flower that blooms in waste."

Penelope banged the table loudly and nearly everyone else jumped up in shock. "The Lotus! THE LOTUS! Zabini, I could smother you with hugs right now, you solved our Riddle."

Luna was skeptical, "What do you mean, Penelope?"

Penelope explained slowly, "Remember the clue. A flower absorbed the Highest Buddhist teaching: The Lotus Sutra. Lotus serves as the base for many Hindu Mythology Gods but the Goddess of Learning is Saraswati. Her pet is the Swan. There is a temple that epitomizes Knowledge (Saraswati) and quiet grace (Swan) and that temple is the Lotus Temple of Baha'i faith. It is located in New Delhi, a city with 8 letters (8 Jewels)- it is the geographical and historical Capital of India. Hence we have got the location of our Mission: Lotus Temple, New Delhi."

Every other person at the table swarmed Penelope in celebration. Natalie arrived at the table. "Congratulations, Adena, the third and the final clue is solved. You now have the Date, Venue and Weapon of the Mission. You can now freely interact with Hermione and the rest."

Hermione came over, "I could make out from the celebration noise level that you solved the riddle. We now have one hour to fine tune the combat strategy and sleep for 9 solid hours. We leave for the Mission at 0600 GMT- with 39 hours clear cushion. If things go well, we can have our object by 8 am tomorrow, back here in the Manor and then we release Natalie."

After dinner, they bade Natalie good night and sat together to finalize the strategy. It had been a long 24 hours but they had solid evidence of their collective intelligence now. An exciting next day now awaited all of them.

Author Note: Thanks to all the viewers and followers! You mean a world to me!