Harry, Ron, Hermione and Faraday landed with a thud on the carpeted floor of the Minister's office, limbs stretched out. When Harry staggered to his feet, Ekrizdis's journal that had knocked them out of his memory was still on his desk, the last page intact.
"We earned nothing," said Ron gloomily. "Ekrizdis disappeared then and hasn't been seen since, so the machine was a failure."
"I'll have a go at it, though," said Harry firmly. Ron and Hermione stared at him, their eyes wide with disbelief.
"Harry, you can't be serious! You heard what Ekrizdis just said," said Hermione, looking alarmed. "You need the Deathly Hallows to use the machine safely, and as you all know —"
"— it's in Eisenbein's hands. I'm the one who lost them to him," Harry finished for her. "And since I can't even use magic, there's no way to get them back from Eisenbein. . . . Still, I have no choice but to try, even without the Hallows, don't you see?"
"Am I missing something, Harry?" said Faraday. "From what I've heard, you're going to use a machine that will certainly kill you."
"Well, Ekrizdis used it and disappeared, but that doesn't mean the same thing will happen to me, does it?" said Harry. "Maybe his soul was too corrupted to use the machine, or maybe he ran out of time and left out a part. . . . I don't know exactly why the experiment failed, but if I try it, the results might be different."
"But Harry, it's too dangerous!" cried Hermione.
"She's right, it's suicidal," said Ron.
"It's suicidal to do nothing," said Harry solemnly. "If we stay on our own, we'll end up trapped underground, losing the war, and what awaits us will be a fate worse than death. . . . You've seen the Wizarding Factory — if we lose, we'll be bred like cattle and have our blood drawn for the rest of our lives, adult and child alike!"
The horrors of the Wizarding Factory flashed before Harry's eyes: dried blood on the concrete floor, tiny children in baggy prisoner uniforms being drained of their blood with large syringes. Ron and Hermione were no different, slumped in nearby chairs, pale and speechless.
"We can't win this alone," said Harry seriously. "We need the help of magical creatures, and then we have a chance."
"But what about Eisenbein?" said Ron anxiously. "He's the master of Death, Harry. . . . He has the unbeatable wand and —"
"If this plan works, I'll be a wizard again," said Harry. "I saw Draco, a student, defeat Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard in the world, in a surprise attack. Dumbledore had the Elder Wand back then, but he lost and was deprived of its possession. I will face Eisenbein, and perhaps the same miracle will happen to me."
"Well, if you'll really use this Machine of Reality, let's get a plan quickly," said Faraday. "You have to go to Azkaban first. . . . The problem is, there's an Anti-Disapparation Jinx all over England."
"What if we use the Floo Network?" said Ron.
"That's going to be hard too," said Hermione. She took a purple letter out of her desk drawer and held it up. "I got a call from the Department of Magical Transportation this morning, and was told that Eisenbein has somehow managed to cut off all of Britain's Floo Network, except for the areas where the Ministry is located. I guess he did it when he realized you'd broken into Hogsmeade."
"They must have left the Network open here for their own use," said Faraday. "Do you reckon we should use the visitor's entrance to get outside and then get on a boat or something to get to the North Sea?"
"Perhaps you haven't heard, Faraday. The Muggle government has teamed up with the Dawn Breakers," said Ron. "The grounds up here are all sealed off, including the entrance, and even if we get out and go to the harbor, there will be police guarding it."
They sat in silence for a long time, lost in thought. Harry couldn't think of a way to get to Azkaban without being discovered. Neither could Ron or Hermione, their brow furrowed in contemplation and showing no sign of relaxing.
"Wait, maybe there is a way," said Faraday suddenly. He pulled out his phone, turned on the map application and fiddled with it for a moment. Soon a street appeared on the map, followed by a photo of the surrounding landscape. An old red brick building with a sign that read "Purge and Dowse Ltd." was in the center of the picture. "Do you have any idea where this is?"
"St. Mungo's Hospital, I think," said Harry. "We've been there a few times. . . . The last time I was here was to look at Aberforth's body in the morgue."
"Yes, I used to come here a lot when I was younger. As I told you, my grandfather Lancelot was a Healer who worked at St. Mungo's, and he thought he could somehow change my condition as a Squib by using the latest Healing Spells. . . . It was a quack cure, though, now that I think about it."
"Well, we're trying to do the same thing with Harry," said Ron. "Let's just hope what the Machine of Reality does is better than your grandfather's method."
"Anyway, I was a boy of enormous curiosity, and I used to scour St. Mungo's Hospital, exploring every inch of it. Once I even found a hidden space while exploring the visitors' tearoom top floor without my grandfather's knowledge, which I remember clearly because of the beating I received."
"What's in that room?" asked Hermione curiously.
"A fireplace, a very special one," said Faraday meaningfully. "It's a fireplace built to evacuate patients and Healers in case the hospital is locked down by some unforeseen event. It's on a separate Network from the normal Floo Network — even if the fireplaces everywhere else are blocked, you can still travel with it freely."
"Great! Now that I think about it, I don't think Eisenbein would have blocked Azkaban's Floo Network, which is quite a distance from the island of Britain," said Hermione cheerfully. "We could go there from St. Mungo's Hospital, and come straight from Azkaban to the Ministry on the way back."
"But how are we going to get to St. Mungo's Hospital?" said Ron worriedly. "There will be enemies around the visitors' entrance . . . "
"According to this letter, the area we're in is still connected to the Floo Network." Harry picked up the purple letter and waved it around. "So we just have to find any house with a fireplace around here, get it connected to the Network, and then walk or take the Underground train to the hospital."
"Okay, so when do we leave?" said Ron.
"You two stay here," said Harry. "Faraday knows more about the Machine of Reality than any of us, so he should come with me, but —"
"Harry, we're coming too!" said Hermione firmly. "You two can't go alone, what do you think will happen?"
"We don't know when they'll attack the Ministry," Harry said. "We can't spare any fighters right now. Besides, you're the Minister of Magic — you'll be busy here."
"Then take me with you, Harry," said Ron stubbornly. "There has to be at least one wizard with you, don't you think?"
"Ron, when was the last time you were in St. Mungo's Hospital?" said Faraday. Ron thought for a moment, then answered.
"Almost thirty years, I think — I visited my father when he was there."
"Then you can't come," said Faraday. "You don't know what's waiting for you in that hospital now. . . . If I were Eisenbein, I'd set a trap in case anyone comes back. I agree that one of the wizards should go with us, but it should be someone who knows the hospital well."
"I'll take Neville then," said Harry. He had said it out of the blue, but now that he thought about it, there was no one better suited for the job than Neville; apart from being an excellent wizard in his own right, he had probably visited St. Mungo's more often than anyone else to see his parents, who had been in the closed ward since he was very young.
"Great idea, Harry!" said Hermione, clapping her hands. "I'm sure Neville knows all about the place."
"The last time I checked, the Muggle police were kicking people out of the area above here," said Harry. "I think if me, Faraday and Neville show up at some of the houses around here and then slip in between the refugees, we might be able to get out of here somehow."
"Good, now we have a plan." Faraday stood up and gathered the papers on his desk into his arms. "I'll get right on it."
"I'll get Neville . . . Expecto Patronum!" Hermione flicked her wand and Patronus, a silver otter made of pure light, jumped out and disappeared through the wall. "I told Neville to meet you by the fountain in the Atrium, Harry. Good luck!"
"Yeah, I'm sure you'll make it," Ron said, nodding. "You're a far greater wizard than Ekrizdis. . . . I'm sure you can do something with that machine."
"Thanks for everything. Just keep my family safe," Harry nodded back to Ron and Hermione. It wasn't until it was time to say goodbye to his friends that he realized how dangerous and reckless his decision had been, but now there was no other way.
Harry rode the lift with Faraday down to the Atrium, where pits had been dug and small towers built around the fountain in preparation for an invasion, but now that the work was done, it was deserted except for a few children running around excitedly. The golden fountain, as always, had a stream of water gushing from gold-plated statues of a wizard, a witch, a centaur, a house-elf, and a goblin.
At first Harry hadn't been convinced by the friendly attitude of the centaur and goblin statues toward the wizard and the witch, and he still wasn't. But he had never wanted to change that more than he did now. . . . Only when he became a wizard again would the Wizarding world be truly united, and only then would he be able to enlist the help of the centaurs and goblins. As they approached, Neville was already waiting by the fountain.
"Harry, I heard you were taking me on a mission!" said Neville excitedly when he saw them. "I'm honored to be chosen by the Chosen One. Where are we going?"
"Azkaban," Harry replied simply and Neville's round face darkened.
"Ah, I see. . . . There aren't any dementors there these days, are there?"
"No, but there are where we're going," said Faraday stiffly. "We're going to the caves under the fortress. There must be hundreds of them."
Neville looked visibly frightened, his initial courage gone. But he quickly regained his composure and looked determined again.
"No problem. I learned the Patronus Charm from you, didn't I?"
"That's right, Neville," said Harry. "It doesn't matter if there's one dementor or a hundred. As long as you can summon a corporeal Patronus properly, you should have no problem chasing them away."
"But how are we going to get there? I heard both Disapparition and the Floo Network are blocked . . . "
"There's still a working fireplace in St. Mungo's Hospital," said Faraday. "That's why we're taking you with us. . . . I understand you are very familiar with the layout of this hospital?"
"Oh, yeah. I've been there many times," said Neville. His expression clouded for a moment, but it faded quickly. "Hey, do you mind if I practice the Patronus Charm before we go? It's not a spell I use very often and I think my skills are a little rusty."
"Well, we don't have much time, but . . . " Faraday pulled out his phone and checked the time, frowning, but then shrugged. "Still, you gotta do what you gotta do. I'll go get some chocolate and see how we're going to get to the surface."
"We'll wait over there for a while and then we'll go." Harry pointed to a small, inconspicuous door just outside the golden gates. "There's an unmanned control room in there, probably something to do with the lifts."
They approached the small room Harry had mentioned. The door was locked, but fortunately creaked open when Neville muttered, "Alohomora." Faraday turned on the flash on his phone and Neville turned on the light at the end of his wand to illuminate the room. The maintenance room hadn't seen a visitor in a long time, and the rotting floorboards were thick with dust, while an eerie chill radiated from the stone walls. Along one wall of the cramped interior, chained pulleys and gears spun diligently, while a small desk and a few chairs lay slumped on the floor beside them.
"Looks like they used to operate the lifts manually back then," Harry said, pointing to a lever attached to the cogs. "I guess they didn't have good enough magic to make it automatic at the time."
"I'm indeed surprised that the Wizarding world makes something called progress," Faraday said coolly, pulling up the most intact-looking chair he could find, dusting it off and sitting down. "Practice the Patronus Charm while I use Google Maps to find a house with a chimney."
"Yes, Mr. Prewett," Neville replied, pulling out his wand and pointing it at an empty wall. "Expecto patronum!"
But no animal form appeared from the tip of his wand, only a faint puff of silver smoke.
"Er, is that all you got?" said Faraday, raising an eyebrow.
"Wait, let me try to focus more." Neville frowned, his eyes fixed on his wand. Then, though still not in animal form, the silvery smoke from his wand became clearer and brighter.
"Has it always been like this, Neville?" said Harry. "I thought you knew how to summon a corporeal Patronus . . . "
"Don't you remember, Harry? Umbridge burst in on the day we were practicing the Patronus Charm, so I didn't have time to learn more after that," Neville said under his breath, as if he was struggling to keep the silver ray of light going. "I wanted us to continue our D.A. meetings the following year, but somehow we got caught up in the war . . . well, you know the rest. I thought I'd never see another dementor in my life, but if I'd known, I should have practiced."
"Just think of something happy," Harry advised him. Neville frowned further and his fingers began to tremble in the grip of his wand. But the faint silver smoke he produced only grew thinner and the room, which had been brightened for a moment, went dark again. It was then that something strange caught Harry's eye. There was another beam of light on the floor, not as pale as the Patronus, but more orange in color. . . .
Harry spun around. The door, obviously closed earlier, was slightly ajar, letting in the light from the outer Atrium. He drew his plastic wand and moved slowly toward the door. Looking closely at the floor, he saw what looked like a flesh-colored thread sticking out through the open door. . . . It was an Extendable Ear; someone was listening. Harry pointed his wand forward and yanked the door open, causing the two eavesdroppers to fall to the floor with a thud. Harry took a step closer, wand in hand, and realized it was his son, Albus, and his best friend, Scorpius Malfoy.
"You two, what are you doing here?" said Harry sternly. Albus hobbled to his feet and pulled Scorpius up with him.
"We meant no harm, we were just —"
"We were trying to identify possible spies," said Scorpius quickly. "You saw the listening device I made before, Mr. Potter. I figured if there were any spies, they'd be meeting by the fountain, so I set up one of my listening devices there . . . "
Scorpius pulled a thick smartphone out of his robes. It was the same phone as Harry's, specially treated to be impervious to magic. When Harry shot Faraday a look as he came to stand beside him, he shrugged.
"He paid well for it."
"Let me get this straight: you followed us here to eavesdrop?" said Neville from behind Harry, who had caught on to the situation. "That's ten points from Slytherin! Scorpius, you're a prefect this year . . . you should be setting an example, not following the teachers around!"
Scorpius's pale face flushed red, but Albus didn't seem to mind the rebuke.
"Well, sometimes the cause can be more important than the rules," said Albus casually. "Dad, weren't you following Professor Snape around to guard the Sorcerer's Stone or eavesdropping on his conversations in your first year? We meant well too!"
Harry was at a loss for words. Thinking about it, he remembered doing worse things to get information when he was Albus's age. Sensing that his father's mood had softened, Albus continued in a pleading voice.
"Dad, you said you needed someone who knew how to do the Patronus Charm, and that's us!"
"That's right, Mr. Potter," said Scorpius. "We're the only two students at Hogwarts who can summon a corporeal Patronus."
"Really? Then show me," said Neville, looking at them in disbelief.
Albus and Scorpius looked at each other and pointed their wands together at the open door.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A light — more intense than the one Neville had unleashed earlier — poured out of the boys' wands and two animal forms formed and slithered forward. Harry squinted to see for the first time what Albus's Patronus looked like: a silver doe. It was the same Patronus as his grandmother, Lily, and Severus Snape, who had given Albus his middle name. And next to it, moving gracefully as they flew together, was a silver peacock, which was the Patronus of Scorpius. The peacock and doe, made of pure light, entered the shaft Harry had just been in and circled it, chasing away the darkness before returning to their young masters and fading away into silver mist.
"Excellent, you two," Neville muttered, staring in disbelief at the afterimage of the Patronuses that had just vanished. He must have forgotten that he was about to scold the two boys. "I'm surprised you were able to summon a corporeal Patronus at such a young age."
"My dad did it when he was younger than me, didn't he?" Albus said with a grin, then looked back at Harry. "Does that mean we can come along?"
"What, come along where?" said Harry, coming to his senses. "As you probably already know from eavesdropping, we're going to Azkaban! Its underground caverns are full of terrible dementors."
"I know, Mr. Potter. And we're ready for them," said Scorpius firmly. "We taught ourselves the Patronus Charm so we could use it to contact each other, and now it's like we did it to be part of this mission. We're going to help you!"
"No, boys," said Neville. "This is an adult job. Even if I wasn't your godfather, I would never allow that, Albus."
"Neville's right, it's too dangerous," chimed in Harry.
"Do you think we're any safer staying here?" said Albus defiantly. "War makes no distinction between adults and children! Everyone has to fight to the death!"
"I agree," said Faraday, who had been silent until then. "I think we should take the two."
"What do you mean? But —"
"For one thing, the Patronuses these children summoned were much brighter and clearer than yours," Faraday said, interrupting Neville. "Also, it will arouse less suspicion if we go with the children than if we go with just the three adults."
"Less suspicious?" asked Scorpius, his eyes narrowing, "Couldn't we just go to Azkaban using the Floo Network?"
"We can't," said Harry. "The Network and the Disapparition are blocked all over Britain right now, except for the area we're in. . . . We'd have to go to St. Mungo's Hospital first and then use the fireplace from there, and there might be traps there, too —"
"Please, Dad," Albus said, "don't tell me that children shouldn't do this! I've read all your biographies — I know what you did when you were our age!"
As Albus spoke, Harry saw a reflection of himself in his son's face, rebellious and full of spirit. Harry sighed, realizing that nothing he could say would dissuade his son, not when Albus knew the path his father had taken in life.
"I understand, Albus," said Harry heavily. "You will come with us. But you should listen to the adults, okay?"
"Sure!" said Albus happily.
"We will, Mr. Potter," said Scorpius, his expression serious, but he couldn't hide his grin.
"Very well. Now that we've decided, let's get on with it," said Faraday. He held up his phone, which showed a photo of a rundown apartment building with a chimney rising. "I found a house with a fireplace around here. Let's go up there and get out of the quarantine zone. I'll ask the Department of Magical Transportation to temporarily connect the Floo Network to this house, and also make sure we have plenty of chocolate."
"I agree," said Faraday, who had been silent until then. "I think we should take the children."
"What do you mean? But —"
"For one thing, the Patronuses these children summoned were much brighter and clearer than yours," Faraday said, interrupting Neville. "Also, it will arouse less suspicion if we go with the children than if we go with just the three adults."
"Less suspicious?" asked Scorpius, his eyes narrowing, "Couldn't we just go to Azkaban?"
"We can't," said Harry. "The Floo network and the Disapparition are blocked all over Britain right now, except for the area we're in. . . . We'd have to go straight to St. Mungo's Hospital and then use the fireplace from there, and there might be traps there too, so the kids —"
"Please, Dad," Albus said, "don't tell me that children shouldn't do this! I've read all your biographies, Dad, I know what you did when you were our age!"
As Albus spoke, Harry saw a reflection of himself in his son's face, rebellious and full of spirit. Harry sighed, realizing that nothing he could say would dissuade his son, not when Albus knew the path his father had taken in life.
"I understand, Albus," said Harry heavily. "You will come with us. But you should listen to the adults, okay?"
"Sure!" said Albus quickly.
"We will, Mr. Potter," said Scorpius, his expression serious, but he couldn't hide his grin.
"Very well. Now that we've decided, let's get on with it," said Faraday. He held up his phone, which showed a photo of a rundown apartment building with a chimney rising. "I found a house with a fireplace around here. Let's go up there and get out of the quarantine zone . . . I'll ask the Department of Magical Transportation to temporarily connect the Floo Network to this house. Just make sure you have plenty of chocolate when I'm back."
Harry, Neville, Albus and Scorpius went down to the kitchens and filled their pockets with some Honeydukes chocolates, then waited for a while in front of the fireplace in the Atrium. Upon returning, Faraday distributed Floo powder to each of them, then gave them the address of the house he had just shown them and told them to go there, and one by one they disappeared into the emerald flames of the fireplace. The scenery of the other houses quickly faded before Harry's eyes and when his feet touched solid ground again, he found himself in the dining room of a strange house. There were still a few plates on the table with food on them, as if someone had been there recently.
"Looks like they left in a hurry," Faraday muttered as he picked up a plate and examined it. "What happened?"
"I can tell from the outside," Scorpius said, glued to the window. Harry stood beside him and pulled back the curtains to look out into the narrow alley outside. People were coming out of nearby houses and buildings, carrying trolleys and suitcases, being led away by the police.
"They're trying to get the residents out of here," said Harry. "They're going to dig up the streets so they can infiltrate the Ministry . . . "
"We're running out of time," said Faraday. "If we go among them now, it'll be easier to slip through the refugees and sneak out."
"We'll have to split the group in two," said Harry. "Albus, you go with Neville and Faraday. I'll go with Scorpius. By the time we get out of this house, we'll have to look like strangers to each other. . . . It's important that we don't stand out in any way."
"Wait, I think we should grab a few things," Neville said as they were about to open the front door and go out. He pointed his wand at the half-open empty trunk and called out, "Geminio!" And just like that, a new, identical suitcase appeared next to it. "Geminio!" Neville shouted again, and this time the large black bag duplicated itself in two.
"Good idea, Professor Longbottom!" said Scorpius, shouldering the bags. "This way we look more like evacuees."
They opened the front door and walked out into the dark corridor, then down a narrow staircase. When they reached the first floor, they could see people walking down the street outside the black glass doors. They were all bundled up tightly despite the warmer weather, presumably to pack as many household items as possible.
"Neville, take Faraday and Albus and go first," said Harry. "When we get to the main street you'll see an Underground station and we'll meet you there."
"Okay, Harry." Neville nodded and dragged his suitcase through the door and out. Harry watched the back of Albus's head fade into the distance as he walked out, holding Faraday's hand as if he were his biological grandfather, and tried to calm his nerves and anxiety. He checked the time on his phone and when another five minutes had passed, he and Scorpius left the residence. As they stepped onto the narrow street, the crowds were much larger than they had seen inside the building, and Harry let himself go with their flow, as if swept along by a wave. Police officers in fluorescent vests and uniforms stood here and there, watching the passersby closely.
"What's all this about?" a shabbily dressed old man walking in front of Harry muttered to another old man standing next to him.
"I haven't heard much, but something about dangerous chemicals down here. . . ."
Harry lowered his eyes and continued walking, hoping that the Dawn Breakers hadn't already turned him and his friends in to the Muggle government.
"Sir, there's a censor ahead," whispered Scorpius. Harry kept his head down but glanced up to look ahead. Where the alley ended and led to a wider street, the path was blocked by red triangular cones, leaving just enough room for one person to pass, and police officers stood to the left and right, checking people with metal detectors. At least they weren't checking for wands; they didn't seem to know the details of why they were doing this yet.
Harry took out his phone and placed it in a basket, then waited, trying to look as calm as possible as one of the officers ran the detector over his body. Scorpius followed suit, looking nervous as he walked through the checkpoint.
"Why is your bag empty?" the officer said suspiciously as he opened the black bag he was carrying. Scorpius blushed in embarrassment, but Harry quickly intervened.
"Oh, it's just that . . . the rest of the family packed up and left without us noticing, so all we have is this empty bag."
The officer watched Harry's face for a moment, then closed the bag and handed it back to Scorpius. Harry secretly breathed a sigh of relief and hurried away from the checkpoint and onto the main road. When he was almost at the station, he noticed a number of trucks parked on the side of the road. Wooden crates with red danger signs painted on them bore pictures of explosives — bombs to blow up the underground, to blow up the Wizarding world he cared so much about. . . . Along with the crates were soldiers in black uniforms, rifles slung across their backs.
Harry trudged to the Underground station with others, worried about what would happen to the people he'd left behind.