Chapter Thirty- Four
Breaking and Entering
Ginny sat at the breakfast table picking at her food. She hadn't eaten a proper meal for almost two weeks. She just hadn't been able to think completely straight with Harry in the hospital wing in a coma.
"Harry'll be wakin' up any time now. You'll see," Ron said while chewing at his eggs and sausage.
"Madam Pomfrey said we shouldn't worry too much about Harry," Hermione said trying to sound consoling. "His physical wounds are all but gone and she says he remains calm, so he just needs a bit of time."
Ginny smiled wanly. "Thank you, Hermione, but I know you are nearly as worried as I am." She pushed at her eggs again with her fork.
Hermione's faux smile cracked and she shook her head affirmatively. She could only pat Ginny's hand across the table in solidarity.
Just then Luna plopped down next to Ginny and greeted her with a half hug. "Good morning," she said brightly. She began filling a plate from the breakfast platters. "Any change with Harry?" she asked. "I really must get back up to visit him very soon."
"No change since yesterday," Ginny muttered.
"How about you, Luna," Hermione said trying to change the subject. "Any progress with that French boy?"
"Ulrich?" Luna asked. Hermione nodded. "Oh, that is officially over as of last night."
Ron stopped eating long enough to ask, "What did the git do?"
"Well, he didn't seem to be able to carry on a conversation about anything but Quidditch," Luna said. "At least not in English."
"Is that why you broke off with him?" Ron asked, looking a little confused.
"Well, no," Luna responded. "I discovered that he has no interest in magical creatures at all, and he kept trying to back me into the fifth-floor supply cupboard, even after I asked him not to."
"Well, I am sorry about that," Hermione said politely.
"Oh, I am quite happy it's over," Luna said. "He was taking all my time and I wasn't having any fun," she said matter-of-factly. "And I missed you, I got used to seeing you all the time during the summer. Besides, I woke up this morning with the feeling that something wonderful is going to happen today."
Just then there was a screech high in the ceiling and the morning post owls began to sweep into the room.
A barn owl landed next to Hermione with her Daily Prophet, while Pigwidgeon came to Ron with a small envelope.
Hermione quickly tore into the paper looking for any evidence that news of Harry's condition had leaked out. She heaved a sigh of relief when a scan of the day's headlines showed nothing of the kind.
Ron was scanning his letter, as Pigwidgeon helped himself to eggs off Ron's plate. "Ginny, Mum is worried about you, she is asking me to make sure you eat." Ron looked up at his sister.
Across the table, Ginny shoved a forkful of cold eggs into her mouth and sneered at him.
"Neither Mum nor I am the enemy, Gin," Ron said. "She is just concerned."
At that moment a Snowy Owl landed next to Ginny's plate and hooted loudly.
"Kyne!" Ginny exclaimed suddenly, a genuine smile coming to her face where none had been for weeks. She hugged the bird close, and he tolerated the attention, nipping gently at her check. She released him and he adjusted himself on the table, then began eating Ginny's cold eggs. "But where is Hedwig, and your owlets?"
The doors to the great hall opened and Hagrid came striding in. Hedwig was riding on his left shoulder and two pure white adolescent owlets were on his right. He came up the aisle till he could address Ginny. "Hello, Ginny, Luna, Ron, Hermione. Madam Pomfrey alerted me that there was a flock a owls tryin' a get int'a hospital wing this morning. I found this lot pecking at the windows, It's a good thing Hedwig here remembers me, made it easy ta get 'em ta come away."
"Three owls can hardly be called a flock, Hagrid," Hermione said.
Just then a thin young man stepped from behind Hagrid. He was tall and a bit skinny with deep auburn hair and brilliant blue eyes behind oval glasses. He had three more owlets, one on each shoulder, that were lightly speckled, and a third on his right forearm that was heavily speckled with darkly dappled feathers.
"Oh, let me introduce my new assistant, come from London, to do a turn as me apprentice." Hagrid began proudly. "This here's Rolf Scamander, grandson of Newt Scamander, famous author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find 'Em."
"Hello," Rolf said. "I don't expect you'll remember me, I graduated from Hogwarts two years ago. The year of the Triwizard Tournament. I was a Hufflepuff."
Ron and Ginny were politely clueless, but Hermione stood up to address him. "I remember you, Rolf. Are you here for some sort of formal internship?"
"Well, I completed an eighteen-month course of study in Nepal under Azfaar Ruiti on Magical Creatures of the Himalayas, and with all that is going on right now in the world, I thought Hagrid might be able to use an assistant and I could do some cataloging of species in the Forbidden Forest for the Ministry. Until things get settled with You-Know-Who, it feels like this might be the right place to be."
"That's wonderful, this may not be the Himalayas, but I am sure Professor Hagrid can contribute to your studies," Hermione responded. She gestured to Ron and Ginny. "You know the Weasleys, but have you met Luna Lovegood?" Luna stood up, turning to face him.
"Oh, yes, Luna, very pleased to meet you, Professor Hagrid tells me you've been a great help to him." He took her hand shaking it gently, but then simply holding it as he spoke. The owlet leaped from his arm to the table and started looking at everyone. "You were part of the Battle at the Ministry, weren't you? I'll bet that was exciting?"
Luna met his eyes and felt almost as though she couldn't breathe. "I am very pleased to meet you as well," she managed to speak softly. "I would very much enjoy hearing about your adventures in Nepal."
There was a long silent pause as the two just stood there looking into each other's eyes. Until Hagrid broke the silence.
"I am gonna get up ta the hospital so Hedwig can see Harry," he stroked her breast feathers and she hooted appreciatively. "She's quite beside herself about Harry, ya see."
The little darkly speckled owlet hopped across the table toward Hermione and was tilting its head at her. It began to hoot inquisitively. "Hagrid, I don't think Madam Pomfrey will allow all these owls into the hospital," she had slipped fully into Head Girl mode.
"Yer right," Hagrid said. "I'm jus gonna take Hedwig. Rolf is gonna take the family and get them settled in the Owlery."
"Oh, may I help with that?" Luna asked excitedly.
"That would be wonderful," Rolf replied dreamily; they were still locked in each other's gaze.
Luna thrust out her right arm and snapped her fingers twice, gently, and the two owlets leaped from Hagrid's shoulder down to her arm as though following a command.
"Hagrid?" Ginny asked. "Why are there only five owlets? there were seven eggs in the clutch?" She was still gently petting Kyne who had eaten all of the eggs off her plate and was now preening.
"Well, ya see…" Hagrid began, but Rolf interrupted, his eyes never leaving Luna as he answered.
"It is not uncommon for the chicks of a mated pair of Post owls to reject any residual enchantment. If they choose to go wild, they can be captured and enchanted individually, but it often results in a very independently minded owl, which many people dislike," Rolf recited.
"They was all born proper," Hagrid added. "Me and Molly, your mother, kept a close eye on the nest, and all seven was healthy. But when Hedwig and Kyne decided it was time to leave the nest only the five here followed."
"Luna, would you take Kyne with you to the Owlery," Ginny asked as she got up from her seat, "I would like to go with Hagrid."
Luna replied simply, "Yes, of course." She held out her other arm and with a slight nudge from Ginny, Kyne went to her.
"What about this little one here?" Ron asked referring to the owlet that was now doing a little hopping dance in front of Hermione.
They all looked. There was a moment of silent observation and Luna was the first to talk. "Oh, he is just making an offer to Hermione. It seems he would like to choose you, Hermione. He is asking you to choose him."
"Really?" Hermione asked, leaning down to look more closely at the little owl. "Do you think Harry would mind?"
"No, Hermione," Ginny said. "In fact, given that performance, I am certain Harry would insist."
The little owl was bobbing up and down edging closer.
"What do I do?" Hermione asked.
"First, offer him your arm, then bring him along to the Owlery with us, and secure him a place. Once you name him that will set the bond," Rolf said.
Hermione reached out her forearm and the little owl immediately hopped up, cooing affectionately. "He looks like someone has dappled his head and back with black charcoal. In fact, that is what I'll name him, Cole."
Rolf led the way toward the Owlery, as Hagrid and Ginny headed for the hospital wing.
Hermione was sitting at one of the large study tables in the Gryffindor common room. The table was cluttered with several books and parchment scrolls, as well as a few non-magic style notebooks, modern pens, and pads of paper that she liked to use for personal work and non-homework projects. Cole, was there with her though he was distracted by some movement near the wood pile in its space next to the large fireplace. It was Friday, early evening, and the common room was nearly deserted.
Ron had been asked to attend an impromptu Quidditch practice as the team was feeling impacted by the present lack of leadership. He was doing his best to fill that gap and keep the team motivated while Harry was in hospital and Ginny was as a result, emotionally disconnected. Hermione had told him it would clear his mind to get some broom time, and she knew it would allow her some personal time as well to catch up on Head Girl duties and everything else.
Harry had been in a coma for sixteen days and while she was worried, a small part of her was also cherishing the respite from Harry's mission. She had almost felt normal in the last few days. She knew, though, that it couldn't last. Harry would wake up. She was not certain of when or how, but she was one hundred percent certain that he would.
The portrait passage flew open and with a few choice words for the Fat Lady, Ginny came stomping into the room. She saw Hermione at the table and came straight to her. Hermione held down some of her papers against the flurry of Ginny's arrival.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked.
"Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall said I cannot stay in the hospital wing any longer, and I can only visit Harry for an hour in the mornings and two hours in the evenings," Ginny said on the verge of tears. "They said until his condition changes, there is no point in my being there so much and they want me to focus on school work and other activities."
Hermione smiled sympathetically. "I am sorry, Ginny, but I agree with them. I know you are worried about Harry, we all are, but you have been neglecting everything else since Harry's accident."
"It was not an accident," Ginny protested, as she sat heavily in a chair.
"I know that," Hermione said, "I just don't know what else to call it." She exhaled a long pause. "The thing is, Harry is being very well watched over by Madame Pomfrey, and if anything changes you will be the first to hear about it. You have been neglecting everything else, and I think Harry would be counting on all of us to make sure, exactly that, doesn't happen.
"Professors Burgestikoff and Fleming have all but taken over the DA for us and right now Ron is at an unscheduled Quidditch practice trying to assure your teammates that the team can get through this. I know you want to just worry about Harry, but we need you back, Ginny, we need you to take the lead in Harry's absence."
Ginny looked stricken. She had been pushing everything away and concentrating solely on Harry when Hermione was right, and Harry would be depending on her to keep things moving forward. She was acting like she'd lost Harry, but that was not the case. Harry was right there in the hospital wing, and he just needed some time to recover. She'd been acting like a selfish little girl, the very sort of behavior she abhorred. There was a mission and she needed to be pushing that forward on Harry's behalf.
She could feel Hermione's eyes upon her. She sniffled and reached into her robe pocket for a tissue and her fingers contacted the vial of Harry's extracted memories. She had completely forgotten in her grief, about Dumbledore requesting that the memories of that night be extracted. Madame Pomfrey had done as requested early the next morning before the elves visited and handed the vial to her. It had been neglected in her pocket ever since. She pulled out the tissues and wiped her nose, then shoved them back in her pocket and withdrew the vial. She handed it across the table to Hermione.
"You are right," Ginny said. "I have not been behaving as Harry would want, and that needs to stop now. I am going to go down to the pitch and show the Quidditch team that they are not leaderless, and then later this evening, we're going to the Keep and we are going to view Harry's memories and see if they give us any clues to help him, or to forward his mission."
Ginny stood up and marched out of the portrait hole with purpose.
Hermione smiled. She had known that Ginny would come around, she just needed to wait for the right moment to give her the right nudge. She put the vial of Harry's memories carefully away in her knapsack.
Cole hooted at her as if asking what she was thinking. Hermione looked at Cole and said, "I feel sorry for the Quidditch team."
Cole suddenly launched himself from the table and swooped at the wood pile, there was a momentary squeak and he flew up to the window sill across the room with a fat mouse in his talons.
Hermione watched for a moment as he tore into his prize. "Exactly," she said and turned back to her revising.
The Slytherin Library had received a bit of a facelift, in the sense that once connected to Potter Manor by a Portis Omnibus, the Manor elves had taken it upon themselves to give it a thorough scrub and polish. What's more, they had introduced some of the Library Fairies to the space and now the whole place looked brand new.
When Ron, Hermione, and Ginny arrived that evening they could hardly recognize it. Instead of the cold grey feel it now felt warm and inviting. All of the wood had been refreshed and polished and the books shined in the torchlight with bright gilded bindings of colored leather. The brick of the potions fire pit had been cleaned and repaired, and its accompanying smoke hood had been scoured of its green tarnish and now shone a brilliant, polished copper.
They went to the Founder's alcove where they greeted the Portraits, who wanted to know if there had been any change in Harry's condition. Hermione explained that Harry had still not awoken but was safe and physically healed in the Hogwarts hospital wing. She further explained that they had come to use the library's Pensieve to look at Harry's memories.
Ron retrieved the Pensieve they had discovered in the drawers beneath the bookshelves and brought it to the alcove table, along with the accompanying jar of sealed liquid.
They broke the seal and poured the liquid into the Pensieve. Hermione handed Ginny the vial of Harry's memory which she promptly uncorked. "Any questions?" she asked. "Okay, we look at the memories once and see if there is any useful information. If so, we discuss what to do about it together."
Ron and Hermione nodded and Ginny tipped the contents of the vial into the Pensive. They each reached forward placing their fingertips in the Pensieve liquid and promptly fell into the memories.
The room was still and silent with anticipation as the Founder's Portraits watched.
After several minutes Hermione and Ron emerged from the Pensieve pulling their hands from the liquid and gasping loudly.
"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed, "That was very intense."
Hermione immediately turned to her school bag to retrieve a pen and notepad. She began scribbling notes wildly.
"Hermione?" Ron asked. "Why didn't Ginny come out of the Pensieve with us?"
"Don't be silly Ron, she did. Ginny is right…" Hermione looked up from her notation, pointing the end of her pen, "…there."
Ron had stepped up to Ginny and was slowly waving his hand in front of her face.
"Please do not attempt to disturb her," The Ravenclaw portrait said. "She will emerge on her own when the memory is done."
"But, if the memory isn't over," Ron asked, "why were Hermione and I ejected?"
"Pensieves are quite straightforward, but there are a couple of possibilities," The Gryffindor Portrait said.
"You may have simply interpreted a transition as the end and self-ejected," The Ravenclaw Portrait added, "This can often happen when the Pensieve user feels they have gotten all of the information they were looking for."
"That sounds right," Ron said. "I mean we saw what happened to the Horcruxes, right?"
Suddenly Ginny gasped and withdrew her hand from the Pensieve. She grabbed her brother's arm to steady herself as she eased down into one of the library chairs. "Oh, poor Harry," she said.
"Ginny. We came out of the memories just as Harry was experiencing a whirlwind review of Voldemort's life. There was just so much information there, it felt overwhelming and confusing, and then everything went black," Hermione said. "Ron and I came out then, I guess we assumed we had seen everything. What more did you see?"
Ginny was trying to control her crying. Thick tears were welling in her eyes and flowing down her cheeks. She was visibly shaking. "I ― I experienced Voldemort killing my ― I mean Harry's parents, and then the moment he tried to kill Harry, and instead killed himself, and I saw the piece of his soul hit Harry. But I saw it all from Harry's perspective as an infant, and I had no idea what was happening. I couldn't think from my present perspective."
"Oh my," said the Hufflepuff Portrait. "What you've described my dear, is a very frightening, and at the same time, extremely intimate memory. Not just anyone would be able to see it, it is something that has shaped Harry, at the very core of his being."
Sunday evening, two days later, they reconvened in the Keep. Hermione's research notes were spread out across the table in the alcove and she was proceeding as though she were giving a report.
"So, after we discussed and compared everything we saw in Harry's memories, we decided to concentrate on any information that specifically pertained to the Horcruxes." She paused consulting the notepad she was holding. "In the memories, we saw Voldemort give Horcruxes to, presumably, trusted Death Eaters. The Dagger of Gryffindor, which thanks to the Portrait of Slytherin, we know was stolen during the Founder's time and hidden here in this library as a souvenir, was given to twin brothers, Tarin and Tobin Wilkes. We saw later in the memories that Tarin Wilkes displeased Voldemort and was banished in a fit of anger." Again, Hermione consulted her notes. "I've done some research into banishment. The spell is ancient and seems to have been developed by accident as an emotional reaction to anger.
"Because of the nature of the spell historians cannot agree on its origin. What they can agree on is that it appears in virtually every known Wizarding society throughout history. One historian describes it as an adult example of spontaneous, emotional magic akin to what very young wizards and witches do under emotional stress. It is theorized that the spell taps into magical ley lines between significant magical sights. However, the castor of the spell does not seem to have control of where they send those they banish.
There is an account of Mr. Abner Breckinridge, of Lanarkshire, who in 1965 was banished several times by his wife for coming home drunk. In those instances, Mr. Breckinridge woke each time in the exact same clearing in the woods outside of Salem Massachusetts. He was able to walk himself into Salem and arrange to Portkey home. But it is noted historically that those who are banished very seldom return."
"So, we may not be able to ever find that Horcrux?" Ron questioned. "What if we could somehow get Voldemort to banish someone we know?"
"Extremely risky at best," Ginny said, "But, we only know that Tarin and then his brother Tobin were banished. We do not know for certain, based on these memories that the Dagger was with either one of them."
"Agreed," Hermione added. "So, I will continue research into the Wilkes family to see if any more clues surface."
"Once Harry wakes up, perhaps he will have greater insight," Ron suggested.
"Perhaps," Hermione agreed. "Until then, however, we can concentrate on the others. The Cup of Hufflepuff we learned was given to a Death Eater whose name sounded like Benjamin Burn. In my initial research, I could not find a wizard of that name during the right time to be associated with Voldemort. I did, however, discover that there was a Benjamin Burke, a nephew of Caractacus Burke of Borgin & Burkes. Given Voldemort's ties to that business, it makes sense that this may be the Death Eater in question. Benjamin Burke was killed in battle with Aurors about a month after Voldemort's disappearance. I will continue to see what I can uncover. The last unaccounted-for Horcrux we saw is the Peacock Brooch of Rowena Ravenclaw, which we saw Voldemort hide in the Defense classroom.
"We managed to get into the classroom alone yesterday, but neither Ron nor I could detect any magic or obvious enchantments in the area we saw in the memory. We were discovered by Professor Burgetsikoff, but Ron was able to make it look as though we were looking for her to discuss DA business. Neither of us thinks she suspected anything and we will continue to investigate the classroom as we are able."
"So, where does that leave us, then?" Ginny asked
"There is little else we can do, but keep up appearances by behaving as normally as possible, and we will continue to research what we know until we come up with something to act on," Ron said, he sounded a little defeated.
"Take heart, my friends, you have already done extraordinary things," The Portrait of Gryffindor said. "Now is but a temporary lull in the greater battle, a time for thought and reflection rather than action. I have faith in you all. Harry will wake soon and when he does you will have solved some of this mystery."
"Thank you, sir," Ginny said, looking up at the Portrait.
"It is not just Godric who believes in you," the Portrait of Slytherin said. "All of the founders do, including me. Death gives one a particular perspective, and you have all shown me what my actions in life have yielded. When it was just Tom here in the Chamber I continued to be wrapped up in his ambitions and desires, but I failed to see how far they were twisted from my own. I am convinced now, by my friend's." he gestured to the other portraits, "Just how misplaced my beliefs in things like blood purity were in life, and I deeply regret what my life's actions have wrought." He hung his head in sorrow. "I vow, that I will do all I can to assist your cause if you will allow it."
By the following Friday Harry's condition still had not changed. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione reconvened in Hermione's rooms.
"We've been able to identify the exact stone in the Defense classroom behind which Voldemort hid the Peacock Brooch, but nothing I've tried gives any result," Ginny began. "I suspect, as we have seen before, that the enchantments involve Parseltongue, so we will likely have to wait for Harry."
Ron and Hermione nodded their agreement. "I have been looking into the Wilkes family," Ron said. "The Wilkes family was, for the most part, considered pure blood. The twin's parents died of Dragon Pox when they were quite young and the two boys were raised by servants at the Wilkes estate. After leaving Hogwarts, Tarin Wilkes was married and had two children, two boys a year apart, Rupert and Roland. Tobin was never married. Mrs. Wilkes stood a Ministry Inquiry after the first war and was cleared of any wrongdoing. She remarried a few years later to a wizard named Barton Diggory, who incidentally was Amos Diggory's older brother. The boys choose to adopt their stepfather's surname.
"There was a third Wilkes, Death Eater, an Annie Wilkes, cousin to the twins, who was killed by Aurors in a skirmish following the first war. The twins' estate, along with that of their cousin, was confiscated and inventoried by Ministry officials immediately following the war. Mrs. Wilkes, following her acquittal, elected to liquidate the estate in its entirety, taking only its value as assessed by the Ministry. So far, I have not come up with any references at all to a dagger of any sort associated with the Wilkes family. At this point, a request would have to be made at the Ministry to see the official records of the estate inventory."
"Brilliant, Ron," Ginny said, "An impressively thorough report. Did Hermione help?"
"Some," Ron muttered, Hermione blushed a bit red next to him.
"Either way, I am genuinely impressed," Ginny said sincerely.
"I have been looking into Benjamin Burke," Hermione stated. "Mr. Burke was never married. After leaving Hogwarts he worked for his uncle for some time. While there, he was an associate of Voldemort, who was also employed there. Logically, during that time he could have built the required association to make him a favored Death Eater. He continued to work for his uncle after Voldemort's departure but eventually opened his own business specializing in estate division and liquidation.
"After he was killed in the same battle as Annie Wilkes, his estate and business were confiscated. Because there was no descendant heir the Ministry liquidated the estate and business by public auction. Because it was a public auction the inventory was published and no mention of the Cup of Hufflepuff, or any gold cup at all was included in the items to be auctioned. Upon review of the inventory, it struck me that for a man who did the sort of work he was involved in, there was nothing of any particular value included in his possessions. No antiques or items of artifact value. I dug a bit deeper into the Daily Prophets of the time and discovered that Caractacus Burke attempted to contest the Ministry's finding and claim his nephew's estate. This action was denied by the Ministry, and it went forward with the inventory and auction.
"We know that Burke was given the Cup of Hufflepuff, so it was either hidden or amongst his possessions. My theory is that his Uncle Caractacus, either before or immediately after his death, gained access to Benjamin Burke's home and business and removed items of particular value, he may have even swapped in lesser items from his inventory to cover his actions.
"If Caractacus Burke found the cup at his nephew's estate he would have recognized it immediately as a coveted historical object of great value. Being a shrewd man, Caractacus Burke might have been able to deduce how it came into his nephew's possession, and he would have attempted to hide it, given that his home and business are routinely inspected by the Ministry." Hermione turned the page of her notebook.
"In a discussion of these findings, Ron suggested that if he were Burke, he would have acquired a space in the non-magic world where he could warehouse magical objects and antiques without the worry of Ministry interference, which I think is a brilliant idea, and one I would like to pursue," Hermione concluded.
"And have you come up with a plan?" Ginny asked.
Hermione nodded. "This will be a Hogsmeade weekend," she began. "I propose that we all depart for Hogsmeade in the morning along with the other students. Once there we will stop in to see the twins for their grand opening of the new Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Hogsmeade location. The place is bound to be crowded with students so we'll slip into the upstairs apartment where Ron and I will take the Floo to Diagon Alley. From there we will go to non-magical London where we can do some investigation at the British Museum Library and possibly, Land Registry Offices. We'll use glamours as we did in Godric's Hollow while we are in Diagon Alley to avoid being identified as students."
"I am sure Fred and George will be delighted to help you break school rules," Ginny said. "I'll either spend time with Fred and George or maybe tag along with Luna, though I suspect she'll be with Rolf. I'll want to come back early to visit Harry anyway," Ginny finished.
The next morning had gone off just as planned. Ginny was up early for a morning visit with Harry in hospital, and then she met Ron, Hermione, and Luna for breakfast in the Great Hall. After a leisurely Saturday morning brekkie, they prepared for the walk to Hogsmeade.
The twins' new store was as spectacular as the original had been, and both Fred and George insisted the rebuilt Diagon Alley location was even better than before. "Our landlord, old Alphineus Lot, came to see us after the attack on the Alley and said the landowner didn't want to oversee every rebuild in the Alley," Fred said.
George continued. "He was offering to sell us the land, that way we could rebuild to our own needs. Even offered us incredible refinancing terms."
"So does that mean you two are now landlords yourselves?" Ron asked with caution in his voice.
"Yup!" The twins answered in unison. "We bought our plot and the land for the two connecting buildings," Fred finished.
"Besides the shop, we now have two more storefronts and eighteen flats as we added on a third story, three flats per floor on one and two above each business," George added.
"And that's not even mentioning this building in Hogsmeade, with the new second location and the flat above," Fred went on. "We've decided to live in both places so we can easily commute as needed."
"How are you going to do that?" Ginny questioned, "Commuting by Floo is fast, but I can't imagine you two being comfortable covered in Floo ash all the time."
"Au contraire, little sister," George said. "Let us take you upstairs and show you the place."
The twins let their employees know that they were stepping upstairs and then proceeded to guide the way into the back and up the private stairway to the first-floor flat. Fred narrated the journey.
"The staircase is in the back and has a private, street entrance on the side of the building near the shipping entrance. We added this doorway from our back office to the private foyer." He patted the doorframe as he moved through it. "Once up the stairs there is a short hallway, and as you can see there is a second door. The front door is to the flat and the other is presently a large storage room, though it could be converted into a rentable space in the future." He waved his wand at the door releasing its magical lock and entered the flat.
It was a modest flat with a small, tiled entrance area and coat cupboard. To the right, there was a good-sized sitting room set at the front of the building with large windows overlooking the street. To the left was a large kitchen with space for a dining table. Directly across from the entrance was a small hallway with three doors. The door to the right entered a large street-facing bedroom. The door to the left revealed a small guest room and the final door entered the bathroom.
"Wait a moment," Hermione said. "This flat has no fireplace, so there is no Floo?"
"Very keen of you to notice, Hermione," George complimented.
"So, without a Floo, how can you commute between locations?" Ron asked, "I didn't see a fireplace in the store either."
"Simple," Fred said as he stepped to the back of the kitchen where there was another door. "We followed the example of our friend Harry." He opened the door revealing a small pantry beyond. "Now you see it," He closed the door and made some quick movements with the knob, before pulling it open again. The doorway was filled with a familiar shining blue lattice. "And now you don't."
"You made an Any-door-knob!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Well, not exactly," George said. "The knob on this door is permanent, as is the corresponding knob on the pantry in the flat on Diagon Alley. But the enchantment to make the connection between them is the same." He paused, allowing Fred to take over.
"This is just a portal between two places," he said. "Turns out that making a true Portis Omnibus is a bit trickier, and we haven't gotten it down yet. Pity really, because it would make an excellent high-end sellable product for the stores."
Ron chuckled. "I think maybe you should talk to Hermione; she's already worked it out." He stepped through the lattice. The twins looked wide-eyed at Hermione.
"Brilliant! Have you really made your own Portis Omnibus, Hermione?" They asked in unison.
Hermione was blushing a bit. "I did," she stated matter-of-factly.
Ron emerged from the pantry. "Works just fine," he said. "The new flat looks nice."
"Well, this all works out perfectly," Hermione said. "Ron and I need to do some things in London today, if you let us use the portal both to go and return, and you say nothing to anyone about where we went, I would be glad to help you make a proper Portis Omnibus. You might even bring them back into style."
"Be our guests," George said with a little bow. "As leaving Hogsmeade is a violation of school rules, we'd have helped anyway, no need to bribe us, though it's appreciated."
"Let's get you a set of keys to the flat's private entrances on both ends and I'll teach you the coded locking enchantments," Fred said.
"You are not going with them?" George asked, turning to Ginny.
"Not this trip," Ginny replied. "I am going to meet Luna and Rolf later. They are going to come here to see the shop. I am going to go get elevenses with them at the Three Broomsticks, and maybe knock about for a bit, before heading back to Hogwarts to look in on Harry."
"Well, you are welcome to knock about the shop for as long as you like," George said genuinely. "Fred and I hoped Harry would be up for the shop opening."
"He'll come round once he wakes up, of course," Ginny said. She turned to the others changing the subject. "Well, you two best be off if you are to be back to the castle in time for supper."
"We're going now," Hermione said. "See you back at the castle later." She gave a small wave as Ron stepped ahead of her through the lattice doorway, and pulled her through behind him.
Ron and Hermione had made it back in time for supper just before the gate was locked.
Mr. Filch had attempted to give them a dressing down for tardiness, but Hermione insisted they were technically on time so his vexation was his own and any attempt to impose punishment would be taken up with the Headmistress. Filch then backpedaled his indignation, but they did have to endure Peeves following them back to the Great Hall making a racket and praising them too loudly for setting "Filthy Filchy" in his place. Fortunately, Headmistress McGonagall had banished the Poltergeist from the Great Hall, so that students could dine in peace.
During their meal, under the cover of Muffliato, Ron, and Hermione told Ginny and Luna about their adventures of the day.
"Once we came out of the Leaky Cauldron Hermione hailed one of those big black Muggle-mobiles and we rode in it to the biggest Muggle library I have ever seen," Ron started enthusiastically.
"Non-Magical, Ron," Hermione reminded. "We are not using Muggle anymore, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," Ron replied, "sorry. We spent a couple of hours there while Hermione worked something called a computer trying to figure out how we could get what we were looking for. Then we got fish and chips from a lorry. It was a mobile kitchen with service windows right in the side, and the food was brilliant."
"I also let him get churros, but the food was not the purpose of the trip," Hermione added.
"So, after food, we went to a place called the Land Registry?" he said, looking to Hermione for confirmation.
"We went to the Land Registry, a Government office in London, where I asked how we could search for holdings in the name of Caractacus Burke or Theodore Borgin," Hermione chimed in. "The clerk explained that I would have to fill out a form to request something called a property deed search. And the search could take as long as sixteen weeks depending on how far back I intended to request." Hermione paused. "When I said I wanted to search records from nineteen-seventy-five through nineteen-eighty-one. The Clerk said if it was a London area property, they probably had those records on sight and the search would take two to three weeks."
"Well, you can imagine we didn't feel like we had that kind of time," Ron said, taking up the narrative. "So, brilliant as ever, Hermione asks for the forms and the clerk gives her a clipboard to fill them out. We turn to the empty waiting room. The clerk points at a call bell and says," he launched into his best Delores Umbridge impression for effect. "Ring this when you are ready and I'll come collect your form."
Hermione cut back in. "So the clerk steps away, the waiting room is empty, there are rows and rows of files behind the counter, I am weary and frustrated, and Ron looks understandably bored. So, I think to myself, I'm an adult witch and I need what I came for. So, I set down the clipboard, with the forms still blank, pulled out my wand, and performed a highly specific summoning charm looking for files where the names Borgin or Burke appear."
"What happened next was absolute pandemonium," Ron jumped back in. "Somewhere at the back of the file shelves, there was a sound like a file slipped from the shelves and hit the floor. Then another, and another. The clerk and two others came over to investigate, but we were just sitting in the waiting area nowhere close to where the noises were coming from. They started to go down the individual aisles but suddenly were running back and dropping for cover as files started to burst from the shelves and the shelves themselves began to wobble, finally falling like dominos!" Ron took an excited breath. "Papers were flying everywhere and the clerks were screaming and from the midst of it all a stack of files assembled itself on the counter in front of us. There were fifty-seven in all, as we would find out later. Amidst all the chaos one of the clerks must have hit some kind of alarm, 'cause a claxon started going off."
"We needed to get out of there fast," Hermione said. "So, I cast Reducio, on the stack of files and Ron swept the lot into his open knapsack, and out the door we went."
"So, what took you so long to get back, if you got everything after lunch?" Ginny asked.
"Oh, we went right back to the twins' flat in Diagon Alley and started to look through all the files," Ron said.
"That took some time, but eventually we did find one property that exactly fits the bill," Hermione explained. "It is a building in a dodgy area of East London. The building was purchased by Benjamin Burke in nineteen-seventy-seven, and transferred to Caractacus Burke in nineteen-eighty, sometime before Benjamin's death."
Ron was smiling proudly, "So, Hermione's theory holds up. At a location in East London is a non-magical building that is being used to presumably house antiques and magical artifacts that Borgin & Burkes doesn't want anyone in the Ministry to be aware of."
"Okay, so what is the plan now?" Luna asked.
"Well," Hermione started. "We talked the twins into giving us the Portis Omnibus door codes for their flats in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, and we asked if they would help us. Sometime after evening tea, once everyone is back in their common rooms for the night, Ron and I will use my Portis Omnibus to go directly to the twins' Diagon Alley flat where they will meet us. Under cover of darkness, we'll slip out into greater London and make our way to this building location. We haven't told Fred and George any particulars, just that we are looking for something we think Borgin & Burke acquired illegally."
"To get them interested we told them it's a weapon that we want to keep out of the hands of the Death Eaters," Ron added. "They can be of great help as they know a lot about Muggle ― Oops, non-magical people and places."
"We presented it as a Mission for the Order, so they are completely on board," Hermione said.
"You lied?" Ginny said questioningly.
"I exaggerated!" Hermione objected, aghast. "After all it is technically part of a larger mission, that was ordered by Albus Dumbledore, while he was still the leader of the Order of the Phoenix."
"I was only going to say, I'm proud of you," Ginny said giggling.
"We figure we'll go check this out with the twins, and if it turns out as we hope we'll have one more object, and if not, we'll know to look elsewhere," Ron said glancing about as if he didn't trust the Muffliato. "Either way, we figure we'll send Dad an anonymous tip in the morning, and he can have the Ministry raid the place."
"That is a good idea," Luna said. "Maybe we could send my father a tip as well, and he can get the scoop for The Quibbler? No reason not to help our families where we can."
"Sounds good to me," Ginny said.
The Gryffindor students had grown used to Ron, Ginny, and Harry, when he wasn't in Hospital, spending so much time in Hermione's dorm room, that even if they hadn't waited till late, no one would have batted an eye at Ron and Ginny's absence from their respective rooms while everyone else was drifting away to sleep.
Ginny agreed to remain in Hermione's dorm until they returned and had a flask of prepared Polyjuice Potion, just in case there was some sort of an emergency that required the Head Girl's presence.
At just past eleven Ron and Hermione emerged from the pantry door in the Diagon Alley flat above Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Fred and George were there eagerly awaiting them. The twins were dressed in all-black clothes and had assembled four brooms. Hermione quickly performed a spell to make her and Ron's clothing turn black.
They had a map of London spread out on the dining table and had marked the location with a Knut. Ron and Hermione joined them to look at the map.
"We figured flying would be the best way to get there as taking a Muggle taxi could mean someone might notice us arriving," George said, as he motioned to the brooms leaning against the wall.
Despite her dislike of flying, Hermione nodded her agreement.
"And that way we can leave and return directly from the roof here," Fred added, pointing upward.
They took a minute to examine the map and plan a simple route.
As they headed to the roof George noted that they had not yet rented any of the flats so there were no prying eyes about.
Once on the roof, they could see that even at the late hour, Diagon Alley was alive with people out for the evening. There appeared to be several restaurants and pubs still open and doing brisk business. And beyond the alley, they could see greater London with its many bright lights and tall buildings just to the East and South.
They quickly mounted their brooms and kicked off, rising straight upward.
Hermione had elected to ride her own broom which she was gripping tightly. She was grateful that the twins had chosen modern Quidditch brooms with stirrup attachments, as she pressed her feet hard against them for stability. While the brothers were enjoying themselves, performing loops and aerial acrobatics along the way, she did her best to fly as straight and level as possible as she followed. After several minutes of flight, they came over an area where there were fewer and fewer street lamps below. And even fewer lights in any of the windows.
They came to a stop, and Fred said he was going to fly lower to check for building numbers. He quickly nosed his broom into a steep dive and made a low pass along the dark road below. Many of the buildings beneath them seemed quite large and Hermione assumed they were in an area dominated by factories and warehouses. Still, there were a good number of buildings that had a smaller scale. And it was to one of these that Fred directed them upon his return.
They landed on the dark street before a simple squarish building that Hermione thought might have once been used for light manufacturing, or had simply always been used as storage. There was a lighter space above the ground floor, centered on the building face, beneath horizontal windows, that looked like there might once have been a sign. Something that might have given identity to the small, dingy, grey brick warehouse, sandwiched between two larger structures.
There was a single steel door to the right front of the building next to a small glass block window. There had once been four large windows across the front of the structure at ground level, but these had been filled in with a lighter sand-colored brick.
"Well, this is the building," George said as they stood there "Should we give it the ole' Alohomora?" He began stepping toward the door.
"George, stop," Ron said. "Something tells me even though this is a non-magical building, it is not going to be quite that easy." Ron nodded to Hermione who handed him her broom and stepped forward drawing her wand.
She waved her wand before her, arms held up above her head, and spoke spells too quietly to be heard. A barely visible mist began to appear. It seemed to stretch upward from the ground reaching up the front and over the top of the building. It began to glow and undulate lightly in multiple colors, several of the brightest colors showed around the steel door. After a few minutes, Hermione stopped and the mist quickly dissipated.
Hermione turned to the boys. "Well, Borgin & Burke, really do not want anyone getting in here," She began. "There are multiple wards covering the building including several types of alarm wards, anti-Muggle enchantments, and locking charms. I am not certain that there is a way to get in or counter these wards without setting off some kind of magical alarm," She stepped back toward Ron and took her broom back.
Fred and George were both rubbing their chins trying to puzzle out the problem, when Ron asked. "Do you reckon they are more concerned about magical or non-magical intruders?"
"Well, given this location and the fact that this building has essentially been kept a secret from the Ministry," Hermione answered. "And, the prominence of anti-Muggle wards used here. I would say that they are mostly concerned about non-magical thieves. These ward charms would mostly cause any non-magical folks to simply overlook the building entirely, never giving it a second thought."
"And what are the shape of the wards, are they blanket wards, or dome wards?" Ron asked.
"Blanket, across the front over the top, and down the back," Hermione replied.
"So, no sides then?" Ron said to himself out loud.
"Little brother, you have a great mind for this sort of thing," Fred said as he hopped back onto his broom, and raised away from the ground.
"Brilliant," George added. "Brother, maybe you should join our business after you leave Hogwarts, we could use someone with strategic skills."
Both Ron and George mounted their brooms and raised away from the ground up and out of sight over the next-door building to the right.
A moment later Ron swooped back down and hovering, said. "Sorry, Hermione, you coming?"
Hermione mounted her broom and flew up to meet Ron and together they flew to where the twins were circling a large bank of roof windows on top of the adjacent building. Several of the large windows had been left open.
"This business is not too worried about thieves," George said.
"Well, at least not from up here on the roof," Fred added. "It may be a squeeze, but I think we can fly right through these big windows." By way of demonstration, he leaned close against his broom handle and slipped through the open window.
George followed him and then Ron motioned for Hermione to go next.
The building was an open warehouse space from ceiling to ground. At both the street side and the back there appeared to be large garage-style doors, and the space was mostly full of large lorries. At the far end there appeared to be four separate floors with a long, connecting stairway.
The twins quickly descended to the ground and walked to the corner opposite the entrance to the other building. "Through this wall will be the entrance space to the next-door building," George said.
"Can someone please explain to me what we're doing," Hermione asked.
"Sure," Fred said, smiling with delight at the thought that Hermione didn't understand. "Ron asked you if the wards on Borgin & Burkes building were blanket or dome wards. You said Blanket."
Hermione agreed with a nod.
George continued. "Blanket wards would only cover the exposed exterior of the building. And do not extend to the sides, where no thief is likely to try to come through the shared wall."
Ron chimed in. "And this spot, opposite the other building's entrance is the place we can assume there is not likely to be any shelving obstructing the wall."
"So, a couple of quick Bombarda ought to do it," Fred and George raised their wands at the brick wall.
Hermione stepped in front of them, arms outstretched. "Stop!" she exclaimed. "Give me a moment to catch up," she dropped her arms. "What you are saying is if we go through this adjoining wall we can slip in under the magical wards, and very likely bypass any non-magical security as well."
All three brothers nodded vigorously, relishing in the concept that Hermione needed a moment to keep up with them. Their delight was all over their faces.
Hermione had drawn her wand and casually tapped her cheek as she was thinking. "The real question is, why waste all this potential for stealth by using something as loud and messy as Bombarda?" She stepped forward and tapped the brick wall in several places, forming a simple rectangle. "When you can use the Bricks to Passageway Spell?" The bricks began to pop out of place turning and repositioning themselves to reconfigure into a perfectly normal-sized brick archway with a heavy brickwork face, revealing the bricks of the adjoining wall behind them.
The boys' expressions fell from their faces.
Hermione tapped the now exposed adjoining wall in the same way and soon there was a perfectly formed passageway between the two structures.
The twins on either side of Ron both turned and whispered, "Marry her." Ron grew a stupid grin and they all followed after Hermione who had disappeared into the other building.
The place was crammed full. It had industrial steel shelves from floor to ceiling and the whole was covered by a thick layer of dust showing that no one had been there in a long time. There seemed to be little or no organization, as bits of furniture and endless portraiture, rugs, tapestries and limitless bric-a-brac filled the shelves. There were also walls of numbered cupboards and drawers. As the twins disappeared into the aisles of shelving, Hermione turned to a counter space near the entrance. She stepped through a set of swinging doors to its other side. Here she found a small desk littered with paper files. She looked for a moment for an oil lamp to light, then chuckled to herself as she realized she was in a Muggle building, and leaned forward to turn the knob of a heavy brass desk lamp.
Ron squinted at the bright electric light, while Hermione rifled through the loose papers on the desk. Most of it appeared to be left over from a time when the building belonged to Muggles. She began looking in the desk drawers. Most of the drawers seemed to contain leftover Muggle objects from the desk's previous occupant, pens and pencils, pads of paper, a stapler, and various other office supplies, but in the center drawer amidst the non-magical artifacts were a small bottle of ink and several quills, an indication that a wizard had been here and used the desk.
On the floor next to the desk, she discovered a heavy Muggle safe, which after a few exploratory spells succumbed easily to Alohomora. In it were several thick volumes, clearly labeled Inventory. "Jackpot," she said as she pulled forth the heavy books and laid them across the desk.
With Ron looking on eagerly and half on the watch for his wandering brothers, Hermione began tapping the books in sequence with her wand as she repeated "Golden Cup of Hufflepuff." After several repeated passes the books began to quiver and twitch until finally three of them flopped open. Hermione examined the open pages and found in each an entry referring to a Golden cup adorned with a badger possibly the cup of Hufflepuff. She grabbed a scrap slip of paper and quickly jotted down the inventory locations. With a flick of her wand, the books jumped back into the safe, the heavy door closed itself with a clank and the lock dial spun.
The first entry was located in aisle six, cupboard twenty-three. It took them only a minute to find the noted location. The cupboard in question had a glass front and was filled with all manner of goblets and cups and glasses of all description made of glass and various metals. Ron quickly opened the front of the cupboard but was warned not to touch anything by Hermione. She waved her wand before the open cupboard and said, without surprise. "It looks to me like most of the objects in there are cursed in one way or another. Don't touch anything, but do you see what we're after?"
Ron carefully examined the numerous vessels on the glass shelves until in the back of a middle shelf he spied what looked like the cup from Harry's memory. He raised his wand and in a stunning display of Wingardium Leviosa carefully removed the cup in question. Hanging in the air before him they could finally get a good look at it, and while it was a gold cup very similar in size and shape with two handles and an engraved badger, it lacked any jewels around the rim and was not the original they were looking for. There was a tag attached to one of the handles and on the tag, in handwriting like that in the inventory it said, Counterfeit - Golden cup of Hufflepuff, cursed.
Hermione pulled a knit sock from her bag and proceeded to slide it up over the floating cup. She then stashed the counterfeit cup in her bag.
"Was that ― one of your house-elf socks?" Ron asked chuckling.
"Well, the elves would never take them, so I have too many," Hermione said shyly.
Ron just smiled at her.
"Let's just find the next one, please," she said. "And stop smiling at me.
"I can't, I'm sorry," Ron said apologetically.
He followed her down the rows and across the aisles until they found the next location at aisle fourteen, shelf 'G', box two. Ron pulled the box down from the shelf and set it on the floor. There was a thick layer of dust upon it indicating that it had not been touched in a while. Hermione pulled the lid off the box and peered in. There were several leather and lacquered boxes within. Hermione selected a leather box that looked just like the one they'd seen Hepzibah Smith show in Hokey the house-elf's memory.
"This looks right," she whispered.
"There is a tag," Ron pointed out.
Hermione found the tag and read it. "Golden cup of Hufflepuff, replica." She peeked into the box and sure enough there was a golden cup that looked just as they remembered from the memories. Hermione tucked it into her bag as well.
The twins had discovered a stash of old weapons in a dusty cupboard near the back of the warehouse and were having a mock battle with a pair of cutlasses. They seemed thoroughly distracted. Ron and Hermione pushed on to the final location.
The final entry was aisle twenty, shelf twenty-four, top, crate sixteen. They had to use their brooms to fly up to the top shelf and after a couple of minutes found a wooden crate about the size of steamer trunk that was labeled sixteen. Ominously, there was a hand scrawled note pasted to the top of the crate that read. Dangerously cursed objects, DO NOT TOUCH, handle with cation.
The crate was completely nailed shut but did not seem to resist the magic used to remove the nails and pull off the top. Inside was a puzzle of oddly shaped boxes of all manner and making, wood metal, leather, and fabric. Hermione began levitating them out of the crate one at a time examining them in the air and setting them aside on nearby crates. Once she had cleared the crate there were six smaller boxes that were large enough to contain the cup. Of these she could open four magically and determine that they did not contain the cup. The final two were resistant to such magic and so they decided to take both boxes with them. Hermione secured them in her bag.
Feeling fairly confident that they had got what they came for they went to find the twins.
Fred and George had put away the cutlasses and were now engaged in examining a box of old mechanical Muggle toys. They were winding up the toys and letting them chitter and dance across a long elaborate dining table. They began putting the small toys back in the box when they saw Ron and Hermione coming.
"Did you find what you came for?" George asked.
"We think so, but we cannot be certain until we have a chance to examine it more closely," Hermione responded.
"So, are we going, then?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, we suspect we'd better," Ron responded.
"Okay, then," the twins said in unison as their brooms flew into their hands. They mounted their brooms and George tucked the box of toys up under his arm so that he'd have a secure hold of it.
"What do you think you're doing with that?" Hermione asked.
"Well, we thought we would pinch this box of toys, as we see lots of potential for the shop," Fred said.
"I cannot condone you stealing," Hermione objected.
"And just what do you think you're doing here," George said pointing at Hermione's bag which contained more than she had arrived with.
"That's different," Hermione said aghast.
"Not so sure it is, Hermione," the twins argued. "Whatever you've got in your bag there," he pointed at Hermione's bag, "you are definitely pinching."
George continued. "Sure, most everything here may be moody gear, but that still doesn't make it any more yours."
"What I have removed here," Hermione clutched her bag, "is in direct alignment with the mission at hand, while that box of gadgets simply appeals to your childish desires. Besides if you want gizmos like that for your shop you will have to find a supplier. I can help you find a non-magical toy supplier."
"We know how to do that ourselves, thank you very much," Fred said. "But we'll put the box back if you are going to be all hoity-toity about it." The twins took off down the aisle and around its end to another part of the warehouse, presumably to return the box to its proper place. As they departed, they both said to Ron. "We take it back."
Once they had rounded the end of the shelves Hermione spoke. "What was that about?"
"Nothing," Ron said. "They were rather impressed with you earlier, is all."
"And now they're not?" she asked.
"Guess not," Ron responded. "They are not wrong, though. We are just using a good reason to justify a wrong act." He paused. "It does feel a wee bit hypocritical. Whatever you do, promise me you won't ask them to turn out their pockets before we leave."
They made their way out of the warehouse, easily reversing the magic they had used to enter. Once Hermione was satisfied that they had left no traces, they made their way back to Fred and George's flat in Diagon Alley and from there, directly through the pantry door to Hermione's quarters in Hogwarts.
It was half three by the time they returned, so Ron woke Ginny where she was sleeping on the couch and they both went to their own dormitories with a promise to reconvene in the morning.
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Chapter Thirty-Five
Life Mate