Alice Longbottom tucked her short brown hair neatly behind her ears and poured herself a steaming cup of tea. She sat back in her chair and carefully scanned the room over the rim of her cup. The cozy teashop in which she sat was almost the last place in England she would expect to find a Death Eater, but a good Auror never let her guard down, especially in wartime. The morning sunlight slanting through the ancient, multi-paned windows fell across a mere handful of elderly female customers sipping their tea and nibbling Madam Hollyberry’s famous butter biscuits. Alice sighed impatiently. None of these old birds seemed likely to be sporting a Dark Mark tattoo.
As she poured herself a second cup of fragrant tea Alice caught sight of an abandoned Daily Prophet in the corner booth. A chirrupy little buss-witch in a yellow apron was magicing away the dirty china, and the paper was in immanent danger of being banished to the nearest rubbish bin. Alice fired off a quick non-verbal summoning charm to retrieve the rumpled periodical. The news was never good these days, but Alice always kept herself up do date on current events in the wizarding world. Another consequence of holding a high-risk job, she thought ruefully, scanning the front-page article with little interest, Constant Vigilance! Good old Moody, he really keeps us on our feet. What would we Aurors, or the Order for that matter, do without him?
When she unfolded the paper several chocolate frog wrappers fell onto the tablecloth, along with two wizard cards. The paper was a morning edition, and Alice wondered vaguely what parent had been feeding their child candy at this time in the morning. It had been ages since Alice had cared about chocolate frog cards, but with a nostalgic smile, she pulled the cards closer and examined their inhabitants.
“Wendelin!” she murmured, laughing softly at the witch on the first card. Wendelin the Wierd waved enthusiastically out of the billowing smoke and fire that surrounded her. I bet she would be great fun at a party, thought Alice, as Wendelin began to feign death while the flames leaped higher around her. After a moment's hesitation Wendelin opened one eye slyly, spoiling the effect. Alice laughed and poked the card, causing Wendelin to dissolve into a fit of helpless giggles.
Alice left Wendelin to catch her breath and turned to the other card. At first she thought it was completely empty. As she looked closer she realized that a great bird seemed to be sitting in a tree in the background of the picture. How odd, she mused, I know the occupants leave sometimes, but I’ve never seen an animal on a chocolate frog card before.
The bird in the picture spread its wings, and quite suddenly shifted smoothly into a witch in dark robes. Wicked, Alice thought, an Animagus! The witch in the picture glanced about herself furtively and then ducked behind the dark boarder of the card’s decorative frame. Alice flipped the card over carelessly and read a brief description of the Irish druidess, Cliodna, who had discovered the properties of Moondew. When Alice looked back at Cliodna she saw that the woman was still hiding behind the frame. She held her finger up to her lips as Alice looked at her, and then slunk deeper into the shadows.
Alice returned her attention to the Prophet. None of the major headlines interested her very much. Who, after all, honestly cared if Bartemius Crouch had made another speech to the Wizengamot or Celestina Warbeck was dating a new brawny Quidditch star. All the other articles focused on one thing and one thing only: the War. She skimmed the salient facts rapidly, her normally round, cheerful face grim. Alice was about to close the paper and pay her bill when a short article on the last page caught her eye.
St. Mungo’s Healers Struggle to Treat Increase of Chronic Paranoia: Calming Draft Shortage Causes Panic
Moody will get a kick out of that, Alice thought with some amusement. Come to think of it, this war is really getting to everyone. Frank can’t relax anymore, even when he is at home with friends, and I can’t even sit down for a quiet cup of tea in Madam Hollyberry’s without checking over my shoulder for a Death Eater or You-Know-Who himself. Everyone in this teashop would jump about a mile if I sneezed unexpectedly. She glanced at the customers. You, Cliodna, seem to be in the spirit of the times, she reflected, picking up the card again and trying to catch a glimpse of the hidden witch’s face. With a flick of her wand she cut the article neatly out of the Prophet and folded it around the card before slipping it into her pocket. If I remember I will show Moody at the next Order meeting. He just might enjoy knowing the world is starting to agree with his all-important philosophy. His only question will be why the Prophet seems to think paranoia is a problem!
Alice dropped a few Sickles on the table beside the tea things and grabbed her coat. The air outside Madam Hollyberry’s teashop was crisp, and bore the distinctive scent of autumn. Alice thrust her hands into her pockets as she walked towards the nearest Ministry-Authorized Apparition point. No more popping in and out of Diagon Alley at will. Regulations on all magical means of transport were tight. It had been a miracle she and Frank had been able to leave the country for their honeymoon last January. It was occasionally a good thing to be over-worked Ministry Aurors.
The apparition point was a longish walk from Madam Hollyberry’s. Alice turned right and took a shortcut though a completely deserted side alley. As she flexed her fingers in her pockets to warm them the Prophet clipping brushed against the back of her hand. She drew it out to read while she walked, wondering if it was worth handing over to Moody, or whether she should just toss it and the chocolate frog card into the next rubbish bin she passed.
The gilded card caught the light when it dropped out of the folded slip of newsprint and onto her open palm. In the bright outdoor light Alice noticed that the gold leaf along the top of the card had been scratched away. Nine tiny runes had been inscribed along the edge, where the paper had been rubbed bare. Hmm, she mused, the kid who forgot this card must have been older then I thought. You can’t take Runes until third year at Hogwarts. But all students are in school right now. None of them could have been in Madam Hollyberry's this morning. Perhaps an adult... She passed her thumb thoughtfully over the peeling gold leaf, wondering who on earth would bother to scribble runes on a chocolate frog card.
For an instant Alice’s brain did not register the curious jerk just behind her naval. Her reflexes were quicker then her thoughts. She grabbed for her wand. I’ve been hit! This is a trap-- I was followed. At almost the same instant she realized that the ally was gone and she was whirling through a sea of swirling color at a breakneck speed. Oh damn, a Portkey. The card is a Portkey.
Before she could even complete the thought her feet slammed into something hard. She staggered and dropped to one knee, but her wand was still raised and her eyes were already taking in her surroundings. A wide expanse of marble flooring stretched away in every direction. Alice could not detect the source of the faint light that illuminated her immediate surroundings, but the fact that she could see no walls or ceiling sent a faint shudder down her spine.
Without hesitation Alice cast a Dissillusionment charm over herself and drank the emergency flagon of wit-sharpening potion that qualified Aurors were required to carry slung around their necks at all times. Her movements, born of nearly constant practice, were so rapid that mere seconds passed before she melted from sight.
Alice hardly needed the wit-sharpening potion to tell her that she was in deep trouble. The scent of Dark Magic hung in the air like the fetid breath of some loathsome, creeping thing. She could feel a slow prickling on the nape of her neck”the sensation of being stalked or appraised by something slimy and sightless. Ugh, there are either a heck of a lot of Dementors near by, or something much worse. I’ll take the Dementors. I can rely on my Patronus, it’s even better then Frank’s. At the memory of Frank her heartbeat steadied and her palms stopped sweating. I’ve got to make it out of this. Frank and I are going to die together, or not at all, she thought, grim determination seeping into her every sinew.
For several long moments Alice crouched in dueling posture, prepared for almost anything. At last she became convinced that nothing would happen until she moved”and she had to move eventually. Here goes. Alice clenched her teeth and whirled about to face the shadows behind her. Nothing moved. With a breath of relief she closed her eyes and attempted to Apparate back to Headquarters, but she felt the magic that she extended fold back upon itself and vanish. She opened her eyes again. Anti-Apparition wards. I might have known it wouldn’t be that easy. Curse it all to Hades, I’m going to have to do this the hard way.
With silent, rapid steps Alice moved forward, one hand outstretched. The faint glow of light that had hung in the air in the place she had arrived faded away. Her skirts whispered softly, and her boot heels clicked rhythmically against the stone. She silenced them both with a flick of her wand. Alice walked at least a hundred meters before she reached a wall. The cool dark marble felt slick beneath her fingers.
She started feeling her way along the surface. It was almost too much to hope that there was an unlocked, unguarded exit. Alice felt sure that she had touched no accidental Portkey. Was it meant for me though? she wondered. Her leg collided painfully with the edge of a low stone table. Alice circled it with a shudder. No need to go try to find out what is on it. Something nasty, most likely. She had a creeping feeling that she was in a crypt. The air smelt of ancient decay.
After passing many more low tables in the dark Alice mercifully found an exit. It was sealed, but not by magic. She blasted aside the heavy masonry that had been used to fill the passageway. Well, there goes the element of surprise, she thought bitterly as chunks of rock bounced wildly off of her shield charm and ricocheted off the ceiling. A patch of pale sunlight filtered through the falling dust and Alice ran noiselessly to meet it, aware of a leap of hope she dared not encourage.
Completely to her disbelief, Alice reached the mouth of the tunnel without meeting a single foul enchantment or invisible enemy. She burst out into the chilly sunlight with a choked sob. The air was deliciously clean and clear. She stumbled over some gray rocks as she ran, and caught hold of the trunk of a sturdy pine tree to steady herself. Only then did he look back.
A cliff rose behind her, not tall or very imposing, but everything about it was sinister. No plant life clung to its sides, no trees grew at its base. The worn rock was a faint shade of green that on some primordial level made her want to be sick. The gash in its side that led down to the dark pit beneath bore the appearance of a wound in rotting flesh. Runes had been cut into the stone next to the crevice. She thought they looked like the runes on the card that had transported her into that horrible place, but she did not stop to look longer. With a swirl of her skirts she was gone, a mere ripple of color against the forest fringe.
Taking stock of her surroundings, Alice realized she was in a narrow valley surrounded on two sides by steep mountains; behind her was the grim cliff. With no choices left she pushed forward into the trees that filled the valley. The sun was approaching its zenith. Alice stopped to conjure herself a goblet of cold water and a thick sandwich. There was no point in attempting a long mountain trek on an empty stomach. After gathering her strength she dusted off her robes and continued down the valley.
The Anti-Appartition ward continued to block her frequent attempts to make a quick escape from the dreary valley. Low slung clouds billowed up from the West and rain began to fall. At first the rain was light, but the sky continued to darken and rain intensified until the slopes and valley floor were awash with little rivers, and the trees creaked mournfully in the downpour. At the first flash of lightning Alice jumped sharply, and then found herself counting the seconds until the thunder boomed in reply.
“Anything is better then that horrible crypt,” she muttered, pushing her dripping hair out of her eyes and looking around for some temporary shelter. Just then a large toad hopped out from under a rock. Alice eyed it wearily. It was the first living this she had seen since leaving Diagon Alley. Toads were creatures known to respond to magical beings, but Alice was not above suspecting a trap. Unregistered Animagi were not unheard of, albeit extremely rare.
Another flash of lighting forked across the sky, but this time, when the clap of thunder answered, Alice heard something else mixed with the ear-splitting peal. With a last hurried glance at the toad she ducked behind a tree. Disallusionment charms could not be entirely depended on in heavy rain. She did not see the toad hop hopefully after her.
From behind her tree Alice listened intently, her face taut with worry and her body hunched against the cold. A mixture of grunts and bellows were echoing up the valley in between the booms of the thunder. Drawing her wand Alice moved forward, darting from tree to tree. She covered a half a mile in only a few minutes. When she reached an age-scarred oak that seemed to mark the last of the trees she paused to catch her breath. Then, with infinite caution, Alice rounded the last tree slowly. The sight before her made her heart plummet.
Four giants sat beneath an out-cropping of the mountain, their great hairy feet stretched out towards a blazing bonfire that burned fiercely in the shelter of the partial cave. Four pairs of ugly, piggy eyes caught the dancing light, giving the faces of their owners a particularly malicious turn. As she watched, the largest specimen of the four reached out and uprooted a sapling by the forest edge. He drew his fat lips back to reveal a set of grimy yellow teeth and proceeded to coolly pick them clean with the young tree. He gave a satisfied grunt when he dislodged a bothersome bone near his back molars, and crunched it contentedly. Alice tried not to vomit. She felt sure she had recognized a human scull.
Alice ducked back behind the tree. Her hands were shaking. She tried to clear her mind, but the wit-sharpening potion’s effects had faded long ago and her tired brain refused to cooperate. She drew her coat more tightly around her shoulders. She longed for home, for Frank, for anything or anyone except this cold mountain pass and the pack of man-eating giants just beyond her tree.
She did not for a moment consider going back. The only thing that lay behind her was a dark magic-ridden cliff. The sides of the mountains around her were too steep to climb. It might be possible to scale them by magic, but the assent would be treacherous, and a single false move would send her to a quick and painful death before she could utter a single spell. The only way was forward, forward past the giants who’s camp blocked the pass ahead.
Something cold touched Alice’s hand. She bit her lip hard to stop the scream that almost escaped her. The toad had hopped up and nudged her hand. Alice reached out and picked up the creature gingerly. Somehow the sight of the giants left her in no doubt that this was, indeed, a genuine toad. No Death Eater would masquerade as a toad when there were four giants to guard the exit. There was simply no need.
“Well, I seem to be in quite a fix,” she whispered to her companion, “And you, sir, are the only thing I have seen on this cursed mountain that doesn’t make my skin crawl. Ironic, isn’t it?” She touched the creature almost tenderly and then slipped it into the pocket of her coat. Perhaps it wanted to get out of the valley just as much as she did.
Alice was an accomplished Auror, but no Auror is a match for four fully-grown mountain giants. Her only choice was to strengthen her Disallusionment charm and try to slip past the brutes without alerting them to her presence.
A gust of cold wind hummed through the treetops and whistled through the rocks overhead. Alice watched the damp pine needles glisten and tried not to focus on the knot of fear that tugged at her heart. Her courage was up, but she could not banish the image of the gruesome death that would be hers if the Disallusionment charm flickered while she was passing the giants. She could not help raising one of her small browned hands and looking fondly at it, tracing the long scar on one palm and brushing her fingertips over her knuckles and gold wedding band. In a few moments she knew she might be a corpse”a tasty snack for a brutish creature that knew nothing of mercy or humanity.
Alice’s thoughts returned briefly to Frank. She knew how difficult her death would be for him to bear. Sometimes, when he was looking deep into her eyes, she had caught a shadow of his pain at the thought of loosing her. His arms sometimes held her with a passion that told her, more clearly then words, how savagely he fought with himself not to beg her to leave her dangerous job and take up something tamer for a career. And then, a few months ago, she had seen Frank’s boggart; the memory of her own mangled body still gave her nightmares.
No! she told herself firmly, This isn’t helping. I am going to make it out of here alive.
With that thought she drew a deep breath and focused on her happiest memory. “Expecto Patronum,” she said softly, smiling at the vision of Frank’s face when he pledged his life and love to her. She opened her eyes to examine her Patronus. The beaver cocked his head inquisitively and waited. “I need a distraction. When I get through, go immediately to the Order and give a message to Dumbledore. I want him to know where I was, how I got here, and everything that happened. And,” she hesitated, her voice faltering, "if for any reason I don’t make it, then make sure you reach Frank and tell him I love him. That’s all.” The beaver quivered and then scuttled off towards the giants. Alice waited until she heard a bellow of surprise. Then, gathering her Gryffindor courage, she dodged out from behind the tree and ran towards the astonished guards.
Too late she realized the giants were no longer alone. Five wizards where covering her Patronus with drawn wands. Alice skidded to a halt and flung herself flat just as the wizards began to fling random curses in every direction. The gathering darkness and slackening rain were illuminated with streaks of red, silver, purple, and sickly green. One powerful stunner whizzed past her ear and flung up the mud and grass to her left, half burying her shoulder and arm. Alice lay perfectly still, heart racing, and waited. The barrage of spells thinned, and the woods grew quiet except for the astonished grunts of the giants and the patter of the rain.
The tallest of the five wizards stood forward and threw back his hood. Alice gasped audibly. Lord Voldemort’s face was even less human then the last time she had glimpsed it, two years ago, when she had been called out on a mission to raid the Death Eater headquarters. Very few Aurors had made it out alive that time.
“I heard that,” he cooed, his bloodshot eyes searching the ground in her direction, “is there only one wizard on the loose here, or should I expect more?”
Alice held her breath and thought ventriliqua. When she spoke her voice echoed from the other side of the clearing, ten meters to her right. “Well, there is only one Auror here now, but I will soon be joined by my team. You can fight, but I would not recommend it.”
Voldemort laughed icily, but he turned towards her bodiless voice and moved towards it. “I do not like liars. No one can Apperate into this valley or for a mile beyond its gates. How, pray, is your precious team going to join you?”
Alice invented wildly. “They are back up the valley, we just came down from the rune-cave. I am only a scout, but they will be here in five minutes. Lay down your wands and give yourselves up.”
“I repeat, I do not like liars.” Voldemort said, “I will agree to let you go unharmed on the condition that you tell me how you found out about this valley and what you saw in the ‘rune-cave,’ as you so pitifully describe it.”
“Your promises aren’t worth a steaming pile of Nogtail manure, Voldemort. Don’t patronize me. I don’t like liars any more then you do.”
Voldemort stopped short, his anger apparent. With a snarl he flung a curse at the forest edge. The wet trees burst into flames. “No one speaks to me that way. Find her!” he screeched at his followers. The giants roared and lumbered towards the trees.
Alice rolled sideways to avoid being stepped on. As the oldest giant passed her Alice took very careful aim at his ear. “Alvearium!” she yelled, abandoning nonverbal spells. The giant howled with agony and clamped one hand to his ear a. Angry bees streamed from between his fingers. Alice had never used the Beehive Charm on a living creature, but it seemed to be having spectacular effects. The giant went mad. He swung his club at the distracted wizards, believing that they had caused his torment. Two were dead before they even realized their peril.
Voldemort hissed like an angry snake and flung a string of curses at the giant’s eyes. The other three giants, seeing their companion under attack, joined the fight. Alice rolled over again and glanced around for her Patronus. Sensing her need it charged into the melee, batting at its enemies with its flat tail and tearing at the giant’s legs with its claws.
The flames leapt higher. The dusk was lit up almost as bright as day. Alice got to her feet, her heart sinking as she realized her shadow was flickering on the rocks behind her. Voldemort saw it and sent a Killing Curse hurtling straight at her. She dodged it, but winced as she felt a dislodged chunk of granite bury itself beneath her shoulder blade.
“She knows to much. Do not let her get away.” Voldemort thundered, his voice shaking with fury. A Death Eater turned to obey, but his diligence cost him his life when the maddened giant fell flat on top of him, still clutching his ear and bawling in agony.
Alice ran. She cast one fleeting glance over her shoulder and glimpsed Lord Voldemort detaching himself from the fray and coming after her. She looked down at herself and realized that her Disallusionment charm had broken. She could not engage it again while running. She cursed richly and kept moving.
The pass bottle-necked for some thirty meters before opening out sharply into flat wooded country. The moon shown through tatters of cloud, and the last of the sunset dyed the west with ochre and scarlet. Alice plunged down the ancient stairs that had been carved into the mountainside, leading up to the pass. The darkness beneath the trees seemed welcoming after the burning pines and the moonlit granite in the pass.
When she felt she had run a full mile Alice halted. The forest was quiet. Tears of exhaustion stung in her eyes as she gathered herself for one last attempt at Apperating. Her destination danced before her in her mind’s eye. She turned on the spot. Even as the magic took hold she heard Voldemort’s screech of fury as she vanished with a crack like a whip.
White walls. A blank surface. She had made it. Alice blinked in the blinding brightness and waited. A cool woman’s voice broke the clinical silence. “Good evening, you have arrived at the Auror Office’s Emergency Apperation Location. Please state your name, identification information, and reason for using this facility, or prepare to be Petrified immediately and taken into custody.”
“Alice Longbottom, Auror. Umm, I liked reading books in the hayloft as a child and thought that minnows were a kind of flower. I am using this facility because I was being attacked by Lord Voldemort, and I needed to reach Auror Headquarters immediately.”
“Your answers are sasitfactory, but you have a companion you have not accounted for. Please state your companion’s name, identification information, and reason for using this facility.”
Alice looked around her in astonishment. For half a second she wondered if Lord Voldemort had side-along-Apperated when she left the woods. A indignant croak from her right pocket made her start and then grin widely. She pulled the toad out of her pocket, and held him up. “Do you mean the toad?” she asked, trying not to laugh.
The female voice replied, but not quite so coolly as before, “Please state your companion’s name, identification information, and reason for using this facility.”
“Um, how about Trevor, larger-then-average toad, and he is using this facility because he was in my pocket?”
“That will do, although your toad has not been previously registered or cleared to use this facility,” responded the woman’s voice, with dignity, while Alice returned the newly christened Trevor to her coat pocket. “Please place your wand tip against the keyhole and exit.” A small silver keyhole shimmered into being on the blank wall. Alice obeyed the instructions and a moment later found herself in the hallway beyond.
A figure rounded the corner ahead. James Potter’s face split into a grin or relief when he saw her, “Alice!” he yelled, breaking into a run and scooping her into a bear hug, “We’ve all been concerned. Lily was frantic, and I’ve been ever so worried Frank would do something desperate. Rufus Scrimgeour was already planning a big Ministry funeral and your mum has been leaving a trail of wet hankies between here and the ladies room since five o’clock. Merlin, you look like Hades, Alice! What happened?”
“No time, James! I’ve got to see Frank and let him know I’m alright and then report to Scrimgeour. I’ve seen You-Know-Who, giants”you name it. I’ll fill you in later. Tell mum and Lily that I’m ok and then find Scrimgeour. I’ll be at his office in ten. Where is Frank?”
“His cubical”“
“Thanks! And do take care of this toad for me-- jolly good of you.”
Alice ran with renewed energy towards the offices. Her heart was aching for Frank, who must be nearly beside himself. She did not register the shouts of greeting or the cheers from the other Aurors as she passed. The last few steps hurt the most, and then she collapsed in the doorway of his cubical gasping for breath and blinking back tears at the sight that met her eyes.
Frank had obviously lost his temper at some point in the afternoon. His desk items were scattered across the floor and torn paper covered the carpet like snowdrifts. He sat, with his head in his arms and his face turned away, his longish dark hair disheveled and his robes askew.
“Frank,” Alice said softly, “Frank, I’m alright. I'm back.”
His whole body jerked and he sprang to his feet, knocking over the desk. Alice caught one glimpse of his drawn, white face as he turned, eyes blazing with hope; then she was wrapped in strong, hungry arms, and returning his tear-laden kisses.
“I thought the Death Eaters had”“
“Shh, I’m not hurt.”
“What happened?”
“Lots, Frank. We should go to Scrimgeour’s office. He will want to hear this report.”
“I don’t want to get anywhere near that great lummox. He has been trying to convince me to fear the worst ever since we realized you were missing. Alice, I almost believed it was true.”
“Hush, dear. If we get it over with we can go home.”
“Can’t it wait?”
“No, Frank. I saw You-Know-Who. This is urgent.”
Frank pulled himself together. “Alright, but I’m not leaving you. Scrimgeour will just have to deal with me sticking to you like a leech, even if I did throw a paper weight at his over-stuffed head earlier.”
Myth and Mystery by FaunaCaritas
Chapter Notes: If I owned Harry Potter I wouldn't be writing fan fiction.