Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world is the property of J.K. Rowling.
The plot is of my own invention.
“You can put the wand down, Harry.”
Spinning, Harry was astonished to see Bill standing behind him brushing dust and fragments of the thatched roof off his outer garment.
“See, I told you it vood keep you safe!” Titov announced proudly.
Thrusting his wand back into a pocket contemptuously, Harry shot Titov a nasty glance and then turned back to Bill. “What happened?” The question sounded ridiculously trite.
“It was a nastily little Muggle explosive device. In the tombs of Egypt we never run across them so I got lax and forgot.” Bill picked some wood fragments out of his cheek; a trickle of blood appeared where the protective garment must have had a flaw. “Ouch! Won’t forget that again.”
Harry, still irritated with Titov, stepped into the now almost completely demolished structure and approached the hole in the floor. The metal door, heretofore hidden magically, lay wide open next to the gaping breach. Casting a lighting spell, he turned back to Bill. “Think it’s safe now?”
Bill shrugged. “Doesn’t really matter. Look inside.”
Directing the light towards the darkness below, Harry crouched down and inspected the room. It was empty. Cursing, he stood and prepared to say something, but was interrupted by shouts.
“Boris, I think we better go. Every Muggle in town heard that explosion and will be here any second.”
“Yes, I suppose vee must. Portus.” The shoe they’d used to get to Germany glowed for a moment. “Ready?” All three grasped the shoe and Titov activated the Portkey, a moment later they were back at Titov’s headquarters changing back into their normal attire.
The visitors spent the next hour questioning Titov about Grindelwald and all he knew about Horcruxes. It was surprisingly little. He told them that Aberforth had taught him almost everything he knew, including the spell to banish the soul fragment. About the most helpful guidance he could offer was for them to trace back to the Americans who first searched the hideout after Albus Dumbledore destroyed the German wizard.
Bill and Harry arrived back at Grimmauld Place just after midnight, Sunday morning. Remus and Tonks were still up laughing about something when they walked into the parlor.
“Any luck?” asked Tonks, jumping up and examining the cut on Bill’s cheek.
“No... OUCH! Careful, woman!” Bill yelped as Tonks cast a cleansing spell on him. “There was nothing to find. I think we need to get hold of Jason Graham and see what he knows about the American wizards who allied themselves with Dumbledore in World War II.”
The four batted ideas around until nearly two in the morning. When Harry started nodding off, Bill poked him and sent him to bed. The others followed shortly.
Sunday morning started out very unlike any Harry had experienced in nearly eight months. He rose early and found Remus in the kitchen sipping tea and reading Saturday’s Daily Prophet. He was also dressed in Muggle attire, including a coat and tie.
“Working today, Moony?” Harry asked while gnawing on a piece of under-ripe Honey-Dew melon.
“No, I’m off to church.” He sipped his tea, glancing back at the paper.
“Oh, er ” right.”
“Want to join me? You’ll have to get ready quickly. I’m taking a Muggle cab and it will be here in five minutes.”
“No, maybe next week. You, er, do this every Sunday?”
“As often as I can,” Remus answered, turning back to the paper. “Life is crazy enough with God, I can’t imagine what it’s like without him.”
“Tonks doesn’t, you know, go with…?”
“No,” he answered testily. Clearly this was another area of friction in their relationship.
Harry sipped at his tea while Lupin put the paper away and washed up his own cup and plate. “Moony, Bill and I have to go to the United States over Easter holiday. We should take Diane with us, but Ginny and I were planning to do some stuff together, too. Do you think you could…” He stopped; Lupin was looking at him crossly.
“I don’t think it would be a good idea for Tonks or I to try to convince Molly and Arthur to let Ginny go with you… again. That is what you were about to ask, wasn’t it?” Harry nodded. Lupin regarded him for a moment. “Talk to them yourself, Harry. I think it would be better than having someone else do it.”
At that moment there was a honk from an cab. Lupin laughed. “I love giving them this address. They drive around for a few minutes seeing only numbers eleven and thirteen. I’d better run before he gets out and starts pounding on doors. See you later, Harry.” And with a friendly pat on his shoulder, the werewolf left for church.
Later that afternoon, Harry stopped by the Burrow, before returning to Hogwarts, to speak with Ginny’s parents. Mrs. Weasley gazed at him sternly during his entire pitch to let Ginny accompany himself, Diane and Bill to the United States. Mr. Weasley, looking haggard and not at all as if he wanted to make another important decision, nodded repeatedly “ but silently “ until Harry had finished speaking.
“Bill is ahead of you, son. He and Fleur stopped in for lunch and he mentioned that you might make this suggestion. Mrs. Weasley and I had a chance to talk it over a bit and we’re willing to let Ginny accompany you. There are two conditions, however.”
For the first time, Mrs. Weasley spoke up. “First, Ginny must be caught up on all her assignments before you leave. Second, Bill is bringing Fleur along, Ginny will need to stay with her overnight.”
“Er “ doesn’t Fleur want to, you know, stay with Bill?” asked Harry timidly. “Ginny could sleep with Diane.”
For the first time in his life Harry experienced Mrs. Weasley temper personally; she snapped at him as she would do with one of her own children. “Never you mind that, Harry Potter. This is not a vacation, you’re going to work and return as soon as you have found what you’re looking for.” Then her face softened. “Now Harry, Arthur and I expect you, and Ginny, to behave yourselves. We didn’t make such a big deal about your trip last summer, but those were extraordinary circumstances. And when you return we would like Ginny to come back here for a day or so to visit with us.”
Harry took this all in, and he saw both the concern and trust Ginny’s parents were experiencing. He answered simply, “Of course, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley.”
“Don’t worry, mum and dad,” a voice said from behind Harry. “I’ll keep a close eye on them.”
Spinning around so fast he got a crick in his neck, Harry saw a thin red-haired man standing in the doorway.
“Charlie?”
“Well, at least we will be together,” Ginny griped to Harry later that evening at Hogwarts.
“C’mon, Gin, it’ll be fun. I admit, Bill, Charlie and Fleur won’t be quite as exciting as Remus and Tonks, but…” Diane smiled. It was a particularly devious smile they had all come to know and love. It meant she had plans for something. What that something was they didn’t know, yet, but it was always an adventure.
In the background, they could hear Ron grumbling. When he had first heard of the trip Hermione had an alarmed look on her face, like she knew something about him she wasn’t telling them. But Harry did know: Ron wanted to be part of the ‘team’ but couldn’t afford time away from study, he still had weeks of work to catch up with and Hermione was tutoring him in nearly every subject every day.
Ginny, too, realized that the next couple weeks would be difficult. The sixth year work load was nearly as difficult as seventh and she had to arrange with all her professors, as did Harry and Diane, to receive their coursework in advance. The older students could work together on many assignments and revising, but Ginny was forced to turn to other friends for assistance much of the time. Fortunately Luna was happy to assist, as were others, and as the holidays approached it became clear that Harry, Diane and Ginny would have all their work complete.
The third Saturday in March found the three travelers scrambling about, collecting last-minute items and saying good bye to Ron and Hermione who where staying at the Burrow for the week. When they were organized, Harry, Diane and Ginny met at McGonagall’s office where Bill, Fleur and Charlie were waiting. The Headmistress wished them luck and activated the international Portkey, in moments they found themselves back in the United States just outside the Salem School. Jason Graham greeted them all with handshakes but Diane who received her usual warm embrace.
“Right then, welcome back everyone. Let’s get out of the cold and talk about your plans.” Graham led the party to a small room next to his office where they dropped off their luggage and then entered the Principal’s office. “Can I offer you coffee or tea? Sorry for the cold, but spring doesn’t arrive here for a few more weeks.”
When everyone was settled, Bill began immediately. “Jason, have you had a chance to contact anyone?” The senior Weasley’s direct approach left no one wondering how concerned he was about the situation.
“Yes, I have a short list for you,” he handed it to Bill, “and I expect “ well, I hope to receive more soon. Many of the wizards and witches that traveled to Germany at the closing stages of the war have since died, but we do have some leads. The best may be the ‘ Veterans of Foreign Wizarding Wars,’ it’s well organized and headquartered in Washington, DC. And everyone on that list,” Graham pointed to the paper he’d just handed over, “is a member.”
“Are they a government sponsored organization?” asked Charlie, speaking up for the first time.
Graham laughed. “Well, Charlie, in short, no it isn’t. But we don’t have a formal Wizard’s government here like you do, and we haven’t for decades. I know that during the war... World War II, that is, and for a few years prior there was a sort of ad hoc group that coordinated activity across the country. But that group was a result of the economic hardships that preceded the war more than directly related to recruitment and deployment of troops.”
Charlie looked a bit lost for words. “But... but... how do you...”
Jason and Diane looked at each other and laughed. “We’re in a pretty pathetic situation over here, I’m afraid. There’s no other way to describe it. Now over the past few months there have been a number of meetings here at school of various parties wishing to put a sort of formal constitution together. That’s a result of the hugely increased enrollment this year. More students means more money; more money means more interest.” Graham shrugged in helplessness.
“Ok, we’ll save this discussion for the pub, er, bar... is what you call them here, Jason?”
“Pub is a far too civilized word for our drinking establishments, Bill. So yes, just call them bars.” This evoked another laugh from the two Americans.
Over the next few hours the group ran through various ideas and questions to ask the VFWW and any individual wizard or witch they met. All was focused on finding any notes or information about Grindelwald. Fleur excused herself, the effects of morning sickness having taken hold, and Ginny escorted her to her room. The morning turned into a working lunch and the afternoon into a working dinner. By seven that evening the English visitors, five hours ahead of their host, were beginning to show signs of fatigue and they recessed until morning. On their way out, Jason stopped Diane and asked her to stay behind.
The following morning, all were eager to continue on to Washington to meet with the VFWW representatives Jason had contacted. Unfortunately, Fleur was still feeling poorly and had to stay behind. Diane, though she wanted to accompany her friends further, volunteered to stay behind with Fleur. She had local friends she wanted to visit with in any event, so Bill, Charlie, Ginny and Harry left for the nation’s capitol. Harry noticed that she appeared pale and distracted.
The sights of Washington D.C. were mostly lost on Harry as the four English citizens walked the length of the ‘Mall.’ From the Lincoln Memorial, a monument so moving it brought Ginny to tears, to the U.S. Capitol building, Harry struggled to suppress a growing anxiety, a growing annoyance with his American cousins. Here was the mightiest nation in the world, the only ‘superpower’ remaining, and they had sent but a single witch to the fight with their brothers and sisters across the ocean. Granted, Diane Bradley had turned out to be the person to send, but except for a token representation, that was all. Even the tiny Republic of Croatia had sent a half dozen wizards and witches to their aid.
Walking hand in hand, Ginny could feel Harry tense up as they walked. By the time they were only a few hundred yards from the Capitol she was in pain. “Harry, easy up,” she whispered, shaking her hand, now uncomfortably sweaty and cramped. Mumbling an apology, he walked off to his right towards the National Air and Space Museum, through a small mob of students playing a game involving the throwing of an inverted plastic saucer. As they trailed Bill and Charlie the diversion was not immediately noticed.
“Watch out!” called a voice, a young voice, a scared voice. He heard gasps, some mild curses and a scream. Instinctively, without even thinking, Harry drew his wand and pointed it in the direction of the unknown caller. Something oddly shaped was just a meter in front of him, but before he could even think of an incantation, one of the purple saucers he’d seen seconds before had clipped the end of his wand, forcing it upward and was somehow spinning itself ‘round and ‘round like a plate revolving, balanced on the tip of a finger.
“COOL!” a number of the kids called out, others laughed, some looked awestruck.
Ginny stepped up beside her boyfriend. “Harry, what in Merlin’s name are you doing? Put “ that “ away!” she finished through gritted teeth.
But it was too late. All the children that had been throwing the device were now gathering around, along with one or two joggers passing by, to see Harry’s trick of catching the ‘Frisbee,’ as they heard it called. Wisely, Ginny grabbed it from Harry’s wand before it had stopped spinning and tumbled to the ground.
“Can you do it again, mister?”
“You were wicked fast!”
“How far can you throw it?”
Harry had yet to say anything, which was for the best Ginny accurately guessed, though his mouth was open in surprise. She handed the ‘Frisbee’ back to one of the children, apologizing, “Sorry, we have an appointment and have to be off. Come on, love.” Dragging Harry away from the disappointed kids she saw her brothers; Bill and Charlie had joined the throng and were watching with amusement. As the four walked away the shouts of the children returning to play faded behind them.
“Nice, Harry. You keep under cover like that, will you?” Charlie laughed. Bill shook his head.
Harry stuffed his wand back into his shirt silently and accepted Ginny’s hand.
Jason Graham had intentionally set the appointment for eleven o’clock in case of friction during the meeting. He was all too familiar with a number of the more stubborn leaders of the VFWW and a lunch break might help both sides cool off. But his efforts were not needed. The four were warmly greeted by the national organization’s spokesperson, General Bill Vaught, a crusty old Marine who chewed on an unlit cigar and wore a patch over one eye. With the introductions complete, Vaught escorted his guests to a conference room; he disappeared for a few seconds and returned with two other men and one woman. They all wore military blouses with campaign ribbons and medals, the general had donned a light jacket with his decorations while absent. One of the men looked nervous and dabbed his forehead every so often. Charlie immediately recognized the Medal of Honor that the general wore; it was his nation’s highest honor.
Clapping his hands together in a manner that reminded Harry far too much like Fudge used to do, Vaught immediately made it plain that he was not in any way like the bumbling former Minister of Magic. “Harry,” he began, “I understand you met my grandson, Mike Vaught, at Salem.”
“Oh, yeah, I did.” He vaguely recalled meeting the boy with Diane, Bob and Billie when Aberforth sent him to Salem the previous summer. “How is he?”
The general grinned proudly. “Accepted into Annapolis. That’s our Naval Academy. Looks like he’ll follow his family’s tradition.”
Bill and Charlie looked at each other. “How can he do that, sir?” asked Charlie. “It’s a Muggle University and I understand you have to go through a tough selection process. What would you show for his school work? It couldn’t be the Salem School of Magic.”
Vaught smiled tolerantly and touched the medal on his chest. “This is our country’s highest honor, son. I have one and so does Mike’s father. They cut through mountains of paperwork. And of course we have to do a little magic,” he quipped with a smile, “to make sure he had all the correct paperwork. I understand you have some battle scars and citations, too.”
Charlie respectfully acknowledged the General.
“Mike’s the fourth Vaught to attend Annapolis. My father was the first. But enough about me, let me introduce the others. Colonel Marlene Jeter, U.S. Army, Colonel Brian Barr of the U.S. Air Force (the twitchy one) and Admiral Thomas Gage of the U.S. Navy. The four of us meet monthly to plan our yearly gatherings, but with the vast majority of our members coming from the Second World War the membership is falling rapidly. But that’s not your concern, is it? I understand your looking for some intelligence from western Germany in early ’45. Colonel Jeter is our expert there so I’ll let you pose the questions to her.”
Jeter sat up a little straighter with a questioning look on her face. Bill, Charlie and Harry looked at each other, they had not planned on who should pose the questions. Ginny took care of the momentary awkwardness by taking out a Muggle pad of paper and pen, as if she was going to take notes. She quickly scribbled out a couple lines and then turned to her eldest brother. “I’m ready, Bill.”
Winking to his sister, Bill started off. “Colonel Jeter, were you in the Black Forest area of Germany in late April, 1945?”
“No, not personally, but some of my troops were. My command was the 87th Military Hospital Support Company attached to General Patton’s Third Army.”
The brothers shared surprised looks. “We were under the impression that the American Wizarding Forces in Europe were independent of the Muggle military structures. Is that incorrect?”
“Only partially; the hospital support units had been integrated at the request of Albert Einstein shortly before the war. As you probably know, Einstein was a pacifist, but he was also a realist. He knew there would be no stopping the war so he asked the American Wizard Council to attach Healers to the Muggle units. But other than this, there were few coordinated efforts between the American magical and non-magical communities. We were fighting a very different type of war.” Colonel Jeter, who appeared to be in her eighties, fanned herself with a folder and sat back, waiting for the next question.
Bill leaned over to his brother “Did you know Einstein was a wizard?” he asked. Charlie just shook his head and mouthed ‘From Binns?’
Bill chuckled.
“Colonel, we’re trying to track down any American wizards or witches who might have been working with Albus Dumbledore near St. Blasien that April.”
“Ah, yes. The English wizard. I knew him only by reputation,” she said, turning to Vaught, “Did Patton have integrated intelligence at that time or had they been disbanded?”
“His G2 remained integrated until he died in December. There were rumors of him being a wizard, or a… ‘squib,’ I believe you call them,” Vaught was pointing a pencil at Bill and Charlie like a wand. For the most part, Harry and Ginny sat back, exchanging glances with each revelation the Americans made. Einstein they had heard about, but Patton?
Vought continued, “If that’s true it explains why his G2 remained integrated…” He dropped his pencil. “What was the date you asked about?”
“Late April, er…” Bill looked at his notes. “…the 28th is the date we were given.”
Vaught scratched his chin, obviously in deep thought. Gage sat silently, clearly having trouble following the conversation but politely showing interest. Barr was fanning himself and scribbling notes. Jeter was drumming her fingers on the table. Charlie was explaining to his fellow countrymen what ‘G2’ meant.
“Patton’s son is still alive. Should we talk with him?” the colonel asked Vaught.
“Not yet. Bill, Charlie, I think Colonel Jeter is thinking the same thing I am.” She nodded. “Patton was on the southeast border of Germany with the Third Army, about to enter Czechoslovakia, until late April when something brought him back from the front. I’m wondering if it has to do with whatever it is you are looking for. It would be helpful if you would tell us what that is.”
“General,” Charlie replied this time, “we’re trying to find Americans who were in the town of Windberghof when Dumbledore fought the German wizard Heinrich Grindelwald.”
To the utter surprise and annoyance of the English, three of the four Americans looked at each other and burst into laughter. Barr just kept scribbling. “Please, forgive us, but this Grindelwald is, shall we say, something of a fairy tail here in the USA.” Vaught stood and exited the room, returning a few seconds later with what appeared to be a child’s bedtime story book. He opened the cover and pointed to a crude picture. “Is this who you’re looking for? My younger grandchildren come in here occasionally,” he added as an explanation.
The drawing was a rudimentary pencil sketch of two wizards fighting. One was clothed in Dark, the other in Light. And while the caricatures were rough, the Light wizard bore some resemblance to Albus Dumbledore. The Dark figure, complete with horns and a Nazi swastika, was falling under the power of an ambiguous spell being thrown at him.
“Yes, we know all about this great battle,” he said with a touch of sarcasm. “Or its legend, I should say. But the fact is that no one has ever produced a shred of evidence that it took place. Your Ministry of Magic even denied its occurrence. It’s much like Area 51 or the captured alien space ship hidden there.” The Americans broke out in laughter again. For one, Ginny was delighted Ron wasn’t present to ask about seeing the space craft.
“Didn’t Jason tell these blokes we were coming to talk about Grindelwald?” Harry asked Charlie. His reply was a shrug.
Bill cleared his voice uncomfortably. “General, I’ve known Albus Dumbledore for almost twenty years. And while he doesn’t talk about it much, I have no doubt the battle took place.” The others nodded in agreement. Bill persisted when he saw looks of doubt on the Americans’ faces. “Just two weeks ago Harry and I saw the house where he killed Grindelwald.”
Vaught held up his hands in a surrender-like motion. “Ok, ok. Even if this battle took place, what is it you need from us?”
“We’re trying to find any papers or books that were removed from the house after the battle. Dumbledore told us he thought the Americans had them.”
For the first time the admiral spoke up. “Billy, rumors - and even fairy tales - are often based partially on fact. Let’s assume that this battle did occur,” he nodded to the guests. “There’s bound to be something… some record somewhere that may help.”
Vaught shrugged. “You may be right, Tommy, but where would they start looking? And if they do exist then someone has them hidden, that’s obvious. Otherwise we would have heard something.”
The admiral’s response was a discouraging nod.
Following a brief period where the Americans huddled together batting ideas back and forth, General Vaught looked up. “Without involving Patton’s son, we think your best option is to visit the Third Army Museum at Fort McPherson, Georgia. It’s been more than fifty years since the war ended so even the intelligence records should be declassified by now. We can arrange transport and have some of our members meet you, help you find your way around, that sort of thing.”
“I can take them down, Billy. I’ll swing by Warner-Robins and…” Colonel Barr spoke up for the first time, all traces of his earlier discomfort had vanished.
“Excuse me, colonel, but will we have any problems with our IDs?”
“Nah, I’ll go in with you and say the kids here,” he pointed to Harry and Ginny, “are doing some research for school.”
“That would be fine. When can we arrange the trip?”
“Right now,” Vaught said. “Brian, would you like to do the honors?”
Colonel Barr stood and bid his friends good bye. “I believe you call this ‘travel by Portkey’.” He pointed his wand at an unused ashtray and it shook, turned purple for few seconds and then stood still. “The museum closes at five o’clock today so you’ll have a few hours. Everyone touch the glass. Good. Activate” With the all too familiar tug behind their naval, Harry and the others were transported to Georgia.
The Third Army Museum at Fort McPherson, Georgia, was a short walk from the spot they landed. Upon signing in at the visitors desk, Colonel Barr escorted the four to the museum’s research library and arranged with one of the caretakers for a brief orientation. He then left for Warner-Robins with an assurance that he would return before the facility closed to escort them back to Washington.
“That was interesting,” Ginny said after Barr had departed and they staked out a table. Harry and Bill grunted in agreement. “Pushed us right out of there, didn’t they?”
Charlie stood scratching two days growth of whiskers, obviously in thought. “’Interesting?’ Yes. But deceitful… I’m not sure. Harry, you’ve spent the most time with Jason. Has he ever said anything to you about the battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald being a myth?”
“No, but it never came up in conversation either.”
“Did you notice how Vaught knew about Patton’s whereabouts in April? The bloke isn’t even in the army but knows an awful lot about Patton’s movements.”
“Ok, but let’s assume they’re telling the truth, at least for now, and see what we come across here. The general said to find out who was working intelligence for Patton in late April, we can use that as a starting point.” Charlie and Bill batted some ideas back and forth for a couple minutes while Harry and Ginny checked on the location of the personnel records.
The museum was well organized and it took the four little time to track down the names they were looking for. None of them were remotely familiar apart from Patton so he was the first they checked out. The HQ transport unit showed the famous general arriving in St. Blasien on April 27th, accompanied by his chief-of-staff and a driver. The records for following day, the 28th, showed no unusual activity except Patton’s travel group departing with two officers from his G2 (Intelligence) staff: Major Tom Harking and Colonel George Detwiller.
“Detwiller was the head of intelligence, Harking his aide,” Charlie pointed out. “Where did they go?”
“Nothing was noted in the sign-out for the staff car. Wait a minute…” Ginny, who had been making notes of the general’s movement, turned a few pages back an forth. Then she laughed. “Look here,” she pointed to the first sheet and then to another. “There’s an entire day missing.”
Sure enough, the sheet for April 29th was missing. They scanned the next few days and found no mention of Patton. When they examined the rosters for Patton’s advanced headquarters in Czechoslovakia they saw he had returned on April 30th.
“It looks like the general took some unscheduled leave,” the younger Weasley brother said, stating the obvious.
“That’s pretty thin, Charlie, he could have been anywhere, for any reason.”
“Ginny, you followed Patton’s movements all April. Would you look back a couple more months?” She nodded and reached for a thick stack of papers.
“Harry, while Ginny’s doing that would you see if you can find anything about these two blokes on the intelligence staff, Harking and Detwiller? Thanks. Bill, let’s get some maps.”
As the brothers left for the section of the museum holding maps, Harry and Ginny exchanged questioning looks. “Any ideas?”
“Charlie probably picked up a clue from what he learned in France. He told me the other day that some military organizations keep precise records of everything. Maybe he’s hoping I’ll find some pattern…”
Ginny spent the next two hours making notes of the general’s movements from February through March, 1945. When she added these to her earlier ones a clear pattern emerged and Harry and the three Weasleys gathered together to compare all their notes.
“Patton seemed to keep meticulous records,” Ginny started, pointing to a long list of dates, times and locations. “But any reference to him on April 29th is missing. He obviously left St. Blasien on the 28th and showed up again in Czechoslovakia on the 30th. But there is nothing about where he was on the 29th. Also, Harking and Detwiller show up again on the 30th back in St. Blasien requesting a lorry with a destination of Antwerp.”
The significance of Harking and Detwiller’s vehicle requisition was obvious. “Excellent, Gin,” Charlie said, obviously excited. “If Harking and Detwiller had anything of Grindelwald’s it was probably in that lorry, though who knows what Patton may have held on to…”
“Can we track the cargo in the lorry?” Harry asked.
“Maybe, Harry, but I’m willing to bet those records are not here. Once transport of an item leaves an Army’s jurisdiction its paperwork would go to the Navy. I’m afraid that’s probably a dead end.”
“You always think you have the best way of doing things, don’t you?” Surprised, the four turned at the sound of a familiar voice; Colonel Barr was standing in the doorway watching and listening to their conversation. He was fidgeting again. “In the U.S., the Army andNavy receive copies of cargo manifests. But you probably won’t find anything here, things are too well-hidden.”
As Barr stood, the other looked at him questioningly. Harry turned to Charlie. “I have a feeling he knows more than he’s letting on.” Charlie nodded and waited.
“Sorry to spy on you, but I had to be sure you were the good guys.” Barr sat at the table where Ginny had her notes laid out. “You don’t need to do any more hunting. We have what you’re looking for.”
“Who is ‘we’?” asked Bill and Charlie simultaneously.
“Have a seat, I’ll explain.” When all were situated, Barr began his story. “Miss Weasley’s work is quite correct. Patton and his G2 team “ his Wizarding G2 team “ arrived at the site of the battle shortly after it was complete. They found…”
Charlie jumped up. “You mean you know it happened? Why the runaround?” he asked hotly. The others nodded, looking at Barr suspiciously.
“Few know the truth. Please, indulge me a little further.” His audience had grim expressions but waited for him to continue. “General Patton was an extraordinary leader of troops, but nearly clueless when it came to things magical. It irked him to no end that his parents and children could perform magic and he could not. At least not in our sense of the word; he certainly worked his own personal brand of ‘magic’ on the battlefield. I think it was this ‘deficiency,’ as he once called it, that drove him in the final weeks of the war. Harking and Detwiller were both wizards and worked closely with Patton and your Ministry of Magic to find Grindelwald’s lair. But all three of them had different agendas “ differing plans “ for what to do with anything they found.”
Barr poured himself a cup of coffee and thought for a minute before continuing. He could see that the others were near bursting with questions but held on to them quietly. For their part, the English visitors all noticed Barr’s hands shaking. “Patton believed that the German wizard had found the legendary Arc of the Covenant and had used it earlier in the war to ensure Hitler’s victories. But when things went bad for Hitler in ’42 and ’43 he abandoned this notion and became obsessed with learning how Grindelwald had trained so many Dark wizards in such a short time. I suppose he hoped there was some spell in the bastard’s library to give him powers.” The colonel gave a nervous little laugh at his own words, clearly amused by Patton’s flighty whims.
“On April 26th a wizard from your Ministry contacted Harking and informed him of the expected confrontation, but the only details he could supply was that it would take place in the town of Windberghof. Harking contacted Detwiller and then informed Patton of the situation; Patton immediately left Czechoslovakia and rushed to the 3rd Army headquarters in St. Blasien. On the morning of the 28th, as this young lady pointed out to you, the three left for Windberghof. What exactly happened on the 28th is still something of a mystery, but it was clear that Patton was not pleased with the results. From that point on he became suspicious and even antagonistic towards his wizard contacts. Strangely, he never sacked Harking and Detwiller, but he took out his frustrations on his own Allies and eventually was fired by Eisenhower for publicly criticizing the Allied denazification policy in Germany. What Patton personally knew about Grindelwald went to the grave with him seven months later.”
Charlie asked the most obvious question on the four visitors’ minds: “How do you know all this, colonel?”
“As a young lieutenant in the Army Air Corp I liaised with the 3rd Army’s intelligence, providing ground support and reconnaissance information. Harking and Detwiller knew I was a wizard and occasionally consulted with me on intelligence issues.”
“So you knew something was happening when they disappeared with Patton,” Bill said. It was a statement rather than a question. Barr nodded. “You still haven’t answered Charlie’s question: why the runaround?”
Barr pinched the bridge of his nose and then rubbed his face with both hands. “I had to be very careful. The information in the books and papers they collected… it was too terrible to make public. It made the atomic bomb seem trivial.” Barr’s demeanor had changed abruptly, he almost appeared to be pleading.
“You know what was in them?” asked Harry.
“Yes, and I had to be absolutely certain they didn’t fall into the wrong hands.” Sitting on the far side of the room, the colonel reached into an inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. “I’ve been watching you all afternoon. Jason said you were trustworthy, but I had to know, I had to see you four interact. It was the only way.”
Colonel Barr began to stutter before finally collecting himself. “I have to give you this,” he said hurriedly, his hand shaking violently as he handed the paper to the closest person, Ginny. She leaned forward and took it, then stood to calm the obviously troubled man. But Barr leaned back and in one swift motion pulled something from under his jacket. Charlie yelled as the American’s hand went up to his head. The deafening explosion that shocked the four visitors wasn’t nearly as disturbing as the horrible red mess on the wall behind the man’s head. His hand fell limply and a pistol slipped from its dead grip, banging dully on the floor.
Fleur sat in a comfortable chair in front of a fireplace and watched the two Americans. They had stopped talking a few minutes before “ stopped arguing, actually. Diane was worn out, her tears had streaked the mascara that she used to highlight her eyes, and her nose was red from constant blowing. The few times Jason had tried to say something the girl would lash out at him, finally he gave up and sat waiting. He knew Diane Bradley as well as her father might have, had he been alive. He knew he had to wait for her explosive temper to calm. So he did.
The phone rang and Jason answered, obviously irritated for having forgotten to turn on his answering machine. It was just as well he had not. Listening, Fleur saw his face change to a look of horror as he asked a number of questions in short succinct phrases. It was not difficult to piece together a bad story. Bill, Charlie, Harry and Ginny were fine, but someone else was dead. The Muggles were involved… and the four had no passports…
Diane, too, was listening. In a surprise move she leaned over and spoke to Fleur. “I’ll be back in a sec,” and she was gone, which disturbed Fleur almost as much as Jason’s conversation. The magic that flowed from the girl as she disappeared was so intense as to be nauseating. Seeing his ward vanish Jason shook his head and said something into the phone. Fleur could not understand his comment. It didn’t really matter. Not a minute passed before Diane reappeared with Bill, Charlie, Harry and Ginny, all looking shocked and a bit concerned. Ginny was sobbing.
“Damn it, Diane, don’t go off doing…” But Jason silenced himself when he saw the girl’s face.
Bill went to Fleur. Harry held Ginny who was quickly regaining her composure. Charlie was trying to get Diane’s attention but she was hunting for a tissue, when she found one she collapsed noisily into a chair and appeared to pass out. “How the bloody hell do you do that?” Charlie asked. He was clearly impressed.
“I’m not sure I want to know what she did,” Jason muttered, shaking his head.
“Merlin! She’s as bad as Harry, running off into the unknown,” Fleur heard her husband say quietly. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better, Beel. What ‘appened?”
Bill accurately narrated the events of the day to Fleur, Diane and Jason: the feigned ridicule at VFWW in Washington, the runaround at the 3rd Army museum in Georgia ending with Colonel Barr’s suicide and their run-in with the Muggle police. “We tried to avoid any contact with the Muggles but it was impossible. There was a constant stream of them and modifying their memories was impossible.”
“Being on a military base didn’t help much. As soon as the receptionist started screaming…” Charlie added, throwing his hands up in frustration.
“We had to go with their law enforcement blokes. We tried to explain but…” He trailed off, the rest of the explanation wasn’t really needed.
“And what did Diane do?” asked Jason, scowling at the girl but posing the question to Bill.
“We were talking to some of their police officers when she appeared behind us…”
“Don’t worry, Jason,” Diane spoke up for the first time. She still had her eyes closed and sounded deathly tired. “I modified all their memories and just brought them back. I’m sure they will be scratching their heads for weeks. This’ll all probably appear on an episode of Law and Order in a year or two.”
Jason, seeing Diane was better, was about to chastise her for her rash actions but Ginny spoke up first.
“He gave me this just before he killed himself… Colonel Barr did.” Pulling the old worn piece of paper from her pocket, Ginny handed it to her eldest brother who read it aloud..
“879 Zwyciestwa, Oswiecim, Polska. It’s an address of some sort. Polska might be ‘Poland.’ Any ideas?” he asked.
“Oswiecim sounds vaguely familiar,” Charlie mumbled.
A/N:”G2” is the intelligence arm of American military units.