Falls the Shadow, Part One
If Ginny had expected to be in hot water with the Order, she had not anticipated how quickly the confrontation would come. Her friendship with Hermione and her closeness to Harry, however, had not gone unobserved by some of the Order and certainly not by her family, and it wasn’t long before her father and Kingsley Shacklebolt put two and two together.
She wasn’t sure how long she remained in her room after Harry left, reading and re-reading his farewell letter, but it must have been at least half an hour, until someone rapped loudly on her door. Ginny hastily shoved the letter into the desk drawer where she had also hidden Hermione’s bag of D.A. coins, just as Fred opened it without waiting for an answer.
–Kingsley wants you downstairs,†he told his sister.
Because she’d already been filled with troubled thoughts about the future of her world, and whether Harry, Ron, and Hermione would ever return, and because she’d already shed a few tears about it, Ginny didn’t find it difficult to act shocked and upset. –What’s the Order going to do?†she asked.
–Don’t know,†her brother admitted. –We’ve called an emergency meeting to decide what to do.â€
–And Kingsley’s letting me attend?†Ginny asked, genuinely surprised. She hadn’t been allowed to attend a closed-door Order meeting since Sirius was alive.
Fred wouldn’t meet her eyes, and Ginny suddenly felt suspicious. But she said nothing until she re-entered the front room to find herself facing what she thought must have been half of the Order of the Phoenix, including all those who had attended Harry’s birthday party. Her mother was in a corner with Arthur; her eyes were red, but she was looking at her daughter with narrowed eyes. Bill and Fleur were there too, having been called away from their honeymoon, as were Minerva McGonagall, Aberforth Dumbledore, and Mad-Eye Moody. The rest were people Ginny only vaguely recognized. They all looked angry and upset, indicating that they had already been informed of Harry’s escape. Some of them were looking at her with the same expression Molly wore, and Ginny steeled herself for what she knew was coming.
–Have a seat, Miss Weasley,†Kingsley said after a moment, gesturing at an empty seat beside Bill and Fleur. As she obediently took it, Kingsley began, –Miss Weasley, you consider yourself to be a close friend to Harry Potter, do you not?â€
Trying hard not to blush, Ginny looked at Kingsley and nodded.
–Did Mr. Potter ever say anything to you, which may have indicated why he’s left and where we might find him?â€
Ginny already had her answer. –I do not know where he went or what he’s up to, if that’s what you’re asking,†she said truthfully, hoping that he wouldn’t ask any more.
Arthur stood up at that moment, and leveled an intense stare at his daughter. –But you knew he was going to try to leave, didn’t you?â€
His tone of voice indicated that he didn’t require an answer, and Ginny knew that there was no point in denying it. She supposed that she might as well get it over with.
Glaring defiantly at her father, Ginny asked quietly, –What if I did?â€
Molly stared at her daughter. –You knew they were planning to run away, all these weeks, and you concealed it from the Order?†she demanded.
Ginny huffed. –They are of age now, Mum. They can make their own decisions, and they are perfectly capable of defending themselves.â€
–They’re only just of age!†her mother shot back. –They haven’t even finished school yet!â€
Ginny snorted. –And when will they finish school, mother dear? Were you just going to sequester them here until things get better and the Ministry decides to reopen Hogwarts?†She didn’t wait for Molly’s answer. –The Ministry’s run by a group of corrupt morons, and the Death Eaters get stronger every day! What in Merlin’s name makes you think it’s going to get better?â€
Ginny heard angry muttering around her in response, and she heard someone say defensively, –It’s not just the Ministry fighting the Death Eaters.â€
–I see,†Ginny shot back angrily. –That makes things clear. Let’s stand back and leave it to the Order to resolve the problem, though they couldn’t save Dumbledore or Sirius, and they somehow had no inkling of Snape’s true leanings!â€
She’d hit a nerve. Some of the others made defensive exclamations at this, but Ginny ignored them. Fred and George both winked at her, however, and she thought she saw Mad-Eye smiling crookedly.
–At least we know what we’re getting into!†Mrs. Weasley shrieked.
–Really?†Ginny bit back. –Astonish me!â€
–Until Harry ran off on this childish crusade of his, we had a plan to protect him and prepare him for this war!†Mrs. Weasley started, but her daughter cut her off with a shout of derisive laughter.
–Like what?†Ginny scoffed. –We’re the Order of the Phoenix. We’ve just lost our leader, and our only spy turned out to be a traitor! So we’ve decided to hide Harry Potter away and restrict his movements, entrap him, and thus make him an easy target in the long run! And while we’re at it, we’ve renewed a Fidelius Charm!†She laughed bitterly. –Great! What a success! In the meantime, how many Death Eaters have you caught or killed? How many of their operations have you thwarted? How much closer are you to ending this war, really? Should it come as a surprise if Harry’s lost faith in the Order?â€
Mrs. Weasley looked apoplectic at Ginny’s words, but Ginny looked away from her mother and looked at the others. Some, like Professor McGonagall and Elphias Doge had made angry protests to Ginny’s words again, but she was satisfied to see that others, including Tonks and Lupin, looked distinctly uncomfortable.
–What?†she shouted at them. –Unwilling to admit that the Order doesn’t know what to do, now that Dumbledore’s gone? I’m sorry, but that’s abundantly clear to all but the totally blind!â€
–That’s enough, young lady,†Arthur snapped. –We understand you perfectly.†He looked at Bill. –She’s said her bit. Now that she’s no longer needed here, Bill, please escort her back to her room, and make sure she stays there.â€
Ginny didn’t resist or argue. There was no point. She just hoped that she’d given some of the Order a few things to think about. She’d considered telling them that Harry had acted on Dumbledore’s orders, but her anger at being treated like a child, and her doubt that the Order would believe her, had stopped her. So long as the Order remained uncertain how to act anymore, Ginny was convinced that they were hardly ready to learn that there were things that their venerated leader had kept secret, even from them.
When Harry’s feet finally met solid ground, he found himself in complete and utter darkness, except for moonlight leaking in through what looked like cracks in a ceiling above him. He pulled the portal ring off his finger and put it back in his pocket as Hedwig fluttered off his shoulder.
–Lumos,†he heard Ron whisper next to him.
The end of Ron’s wand lit up, and Harry blinked, looking around the now dimly illuminated room, which was so dusty that nobody could have been present for decades at least; the windows were boarded up, and all the furniture in the room was broken apart.
–The Shrieking Shack?†Harry asked Hermione in surprise. –You brought us to the Shrieking Shack?â€
Hermione shrugged. –I thought it would be as good a place as any to hide out for the time being. Nobody knows the truth about this place, you know, except Lupin and the Hogwarts staff, and I doubt that it’ll immediately occur to them to look here.â€
–And Wormtail,†Harry pointed out. –He knows about the Shrieking Shack too.â€
Hermione paused, worry flickering across her expression, but then she pointed out, –The Death Eaters don’t know what we’ve done yet. With any luck, the Order will keep this quiet for as long as possible, so hopefully the Death Eaters won’t find out for a while. Anyway, Wormtail’s not the brightest bulb in the set, is he? It probably won’t occur to him at all.â€
Harry exhaled. –Right. I suppose you’ve got a point, but we can’t stay here forever, Hermione.â€
–What if Lupin does turn up?†asked Ron, speaking up for the first time.
Harry shrugged. –I’ll be forced to jinx him, and then we leave again. Sincerely hope that doesn’t happen.â€
Hermione pulled her wand from her pocket, and pointed it at the boarded windows in succession. –Muffliato. Protego ambitum maxima. Tego maledictem…â€
–What are you doing?†asked Harry as he lowered his rucksack to the floor.
–Making sure we don’t get any unwanted company,†Hermione told him as she waved her wand in an elaborate and complicated pattern. –Celo interiora…â€
She continued in this manner for another five minutes, while Harry and Ron got to work repairing the furniture to make their stay a little more comfortable. Finally Hermione stepped back from the windows and doors, and pointed her wand at the fireplace.
–Incendio.â€
A roaring fire illuminated the room, giving it a very different look from its previous atmosphere. With a wave of her wand, Hermione also cleared up the dust in the room, and then she sank onto the sofa Ron had just magically repaired. Their work done, the three of them sat in silence before the fire.
Harry thought back to the birthday party at the Burrow. It seemed likely that Mrs. Weasley or someone else had already discovered their absence. Had Mrs. Weasley found his letter? Had Ginny read hers? Were members of the Order, even as they sat here before a fire in the Shrieking Shack, already seeking them out? And how long would it be before the Ministry and the Death Eaters started searching for them too?
But then Harry forced himself not to think of the Burrow. Instead he opened up the rucksack and pulled out the box with Dumbledore’s journals and the box of old letters. As soon as he opened the box, however, Hermione, who was watching him, suddenly spoke up. –Fawkes.â€
–Sorry?â€
–You were supposed to call Fawkes as soon as you left the Burrow, remember?â€
–Oh yeah.†Harry looked at the letter that lay on top of the journals in the box, and reopened it to read over Dumbledore’s instructions again. Call for Fawkes, and he will bring you my Pensieve and all the memories I have collected. Harry had absolutely no idea how to summon the phoenix. True, Fawkes had turned up in a moment of need in the Chamber of Secrets, but Harry had neither called nor expected him. On the other hand, he had successfully summoned Kreacher the house-elf by simply calling his name, so perhaps the phoenix could sense the call too.
Feeling very foolish, Harry called feebly, –Fawkes?â€
Nothing happened for a moment, in which Ron and Hermione looked around in anticipation, but as their faces fell in disappointment, there was a sudden flash of light before them, not in the fireplace, but in front of it. Harry’s hand shot up before his face to shield his eyes, but when he lowered it, he saw that a black leather chest had appeared in front of the fireplace, and another box placed on top of it. Dumbledore’s scarlet swan-like bird stood perched on top of the smaller box.
–Hello, Fawkes.†Harry reached forward to stroke the phoenix’s beautiful plumage. Fawkes trilled in response, and nudged Harry’s hand with his beak, before fluttering to the floor, allowing Harry to open up the chest. As promised, the stone basin lay encased in the chest, but it was completely empty. Hermione and Ron had bent down to look into it too.
Hermione ran her fingers along the side of the basin, examining the runes. –These are really rare,†she whispered in fascination.
Ron, meanwhile, had opened up the other box, from which he produced a crystal phial full of some of the silvery memories Dumbledore had promise. It had a yellowing label attached to it.
–H. Slughorn, December 2nd, 1943,†Ron read. –It says ‘defective’ in parentheses.â€
–That must be the bad memory Professor Slughorn gave Dumbledore,†Harry surmised. –Hang on, there’s a note in here.â€
He reached into the case and pulled out the small piece of parchment that protruded from beneath the basin.
Harry,
To deposit your own memories into the Pensieve, focus on the memory you wish to examine and use your wand to extract it as you have seen me do. The nonverbal incantation is ‘Exprimo memoriam.’ The incantation to leave the Pensieve is ‘Exiro,’ also nonverbal.
I hope you make good use of this parting gift.
Prof. Dumbledore
–That shouldn’t be too difficult,†Hermione said after she and Ron scanned the note. –This will probably be really helpful.â€
Harry looked at Fawkes. –Thank you very much.â€
The phoenix then looked pointedly at Dumbledore’s box, which lay forgotten on the sofa, and trilled again. Harry looked from Fawkes to the box, before he remembered Dumbledore’s other request. He quickly removed the journals from the box and pulled out a letter addressed to Kingsley, which he then gave to Fawkes, who snatched it up in his beak and then, in another flash of fire, disappeared.
–Well, that’s done with,†Ron said quietly as he took out another phial. –So now what?â€
–I still think that we should start with R.A.B.,†Hermione replied. –You made the list of Death Eaters, didn’t you, Harry?â€
Harry scowled. –I’ve gone over it four times. I just cannot think of any with those initials.â€
–Harry, I cannot imagine how this R.A.B. would have written such a note if he wasn’t in Voldemort’s inner circle,†Hermione protested.
–I know,†Harry snapped. –Perhaps there’s some Death Eater that died in the first war, or perhaps nobody knew he was a Death Eater. But I saw the members of Voldemort’s inner circle the night he came back, and I don’t remember anyone with those initials.â€
–Perhaps that’s why Dumbledore left you the Pensieve,†Hermione said as she reached into the case and again ran her fingers over the basin’s runes. –It would help you analyze things you can’t remember as easily. Maybe somebody mentioned something in the graveyard, or some other time. Anything would help, Harry. Besides, you need practice using this thing.â€
Before Harry could reply, he saw Ron yawn suddenly out of the corner of his eye, and he glanced at the watch Lupin gave him. It was already very late, and suddenly he realized that he too felt very tired.
–All right,†he assured Hermione, –but I think we should call it a night. I’ll get started in the morning.â€
When she woke up the next morning, Ginny was angry, but not all that surprised, to find that someone, probably Molly or Bill, had magically locked her inside her room. But this at least gave Ginny some measure of privacy, and she seated herself at her desk to re-read Harry’s letter. When she opened her desk drawer to withdraw the letter, her eyes fell on the bag of D.A. coins, and she took one out to examine it, considering Hermione’s unexpected decision to leave them to Ginny.
She waited for more than an hour to be let out, but finally, as she sat at her desk, staring at Harry’s parting words and Hermione’s hint about the D.A. in an effort to ignore her growling stomach, she heard someone step outside her door and the lock clicked. Then the door swung open, and Ginny looked up to see Bill standing there.
–Am I allowed out yet?†Ginny asked sardonically.
Bill nodded, looking glum, but he stepped back and allowed Ginny to leave her room. When she arrived in the kitchen, she found Molly cooking breakfast, but as Ginny took a seat at the table, her mother ignored her pointedly. Ginny sighed internally, but this wasn’t all that unexpected. The fact that one of her sons had run away for reasons she simply couldn’t comprehend was hard enough on Molly, but the fact that he had done so to help Harry fight the Death Eaters, refusing the help of the Order in the process, was another matter entirely. Molly Weasley, however, accustomed to letting out her temper rather than allowing it to build, needed an outlet to direct her anger, and Ginny became that outlet, because in Molly’s eyes, Ginny had done the unforgivable in concealing Harry’s intentions.
It was a mark of just how angry Molly was with her daughter that she didn’t even begin shouting. Ginny, however, calmly served herself some eggs and readied herself for the inevitable quarrel.
She’d hardly finished her breakfast when Molly glanced out the window and without looking at Ginny, she said curtly, –De-gnoming, now.â€
Ginny actually welcomed the chore, at the moment wishing to be as far away from her mother as possible, so she hurried out the back door and took a seat on the tree stump in the garden, looking around for any gnomes. After a few minutes, she caught sight of one sneaking behind a rock, and Ginny dived down and seized the little creature by its ankles.
–Gerroff me!†the gnome squealed, but Ginny ignored it and swung it in circles for half a minute, before she flung it over the hedge as hard as she could.
–That felt good,†she thought, and then she grabbed a couple of other gnomes who had heard the first’s squeal.
Let out the steam, burn off the stress, as Fred sometimes would tell her. A good distraction from her anger with her parents and her worry about Harry. But she’d done all she could for Harry, and nothing the Order said would make her betray him now.
The second gnome flew over the hedge, then the third, and Ginny watched as they landed within feet of each other, and tried and failed to stand up. She smiled in satisfaction, and then turned to look for another.
After a few minutes of this, she saw George enter the back garden, and seeing her at the hedge, he approached and asked nonchalantly, –Eight in the morning and she’s already got you doing chores?â€
Ginny scowled but didn’t reply.
–Sorry about Bill locking you in your room last night,†George added. –Not like you’re going to run off yourself and traipse about the country with Harry, though I bet you’d like to.â€
–Speaking of which,†Ginny asked, speaking for the first time since Bill had let her out of her room, –how was the search last night?â€
George shrugged. –Never happened. Kingsley called it off.â€
Ginny blinked, convinced that she couldn’t have heard right.
–Fawkes turned up in the middle of the meeting,†George added, seeing her surprise. –He had a letter from Dumbledore. I guess he’d been waiting for Harry to leave.â€
–Dumbledore left the Order a letter?†Ginny repeated. –What did he say?â€
–Well, I didn’t get to see the letter myself,†George said, –nor did Kingsley read it out loud. But Kingsley immediately told the rest of the Order to go home and wait for further news the second he read the letter. Then he told us that apparently Harry’s following Dumbledore’s orders.†He raised an eyebrow at his sister. –But you knew that already, didn’t you?â€
Ginny shrugged, and hurled an eighth gnome over the hedge.
–Well, all I can say is that no matter what Mum thinks, if there’s anyone among us who can look after themselves in a world threatened by Death Eaters, it’s Harry Potter,†George said thoughtfully. –Just look at his record. Harry’s not only encountered You-Know-Who more often than most in the Order, but he survived all of those encounters.â€
–You put a lot of faith in him,†Ginny observed.
George raised his eyebrows. –So do you.â€
His sister managed a weak smile.
–On a different subject,†George said, watching Ginny carefully, –I’m curious what you’re going to do now, what with Hogwarts not reopening.â€
Ginny sighed. –Practice, I guess. Go through the textbooks and try to learn the material I would be studying if Hogwarts opened.â€
–Fleur thinks you should go to Beauxbatons,†George told Ginny, and smirked when he saw her grimace. –So, what about after you come of age?â€
Ginny shook her head. –I’m not entirely sure, really. Get my N.E.W.T.s, I guess, and I was going to try to join the Order, but now…†She scowled, but didn’t finish her sentence. Her words at Kingsley’s emergency meeting, she knew, were an affront to the Order. She therefore had possibly ruined her chances of ever joining their membership.
–I’ve been thinking,†Hermione said at breakfast the next morning. –Do you think Voldemort might have hidden one at his old orphanage?â€
Harry looked up from the eggs she had obtained (with her hair and eye color temporarily changed so no one would recognize her) in Hogsmeade. He frowned, thinking about this possibility, but then he shook his head.
–I doubt it,†he said, poking at the egg whites with his fork. –He liked to hide them where he had felt powerful at some point. He was miserable at that orphanage, though. He hated the place, and I can’t see him hiding a piece of his soul there.â€
Hermione deflated, but she still looked curious. –It might still be worth a look, though, don’t you think?â€
Harry swallowed another bite, and shrugged. –I suppose. Thing is, I know the name of the orphanage, but not where it is.â€
–I think that a morning in a Muggle library would help me locate it,†Hermione said dismissively. –I’ve got a library card. Haven’t used it for years, but I think it’ll still work.â€
–I doubt that Ron’s willing to spend the morning in a library tracking down an orphanage,†Harry warned.
–You and Ron don’t need to come,†Hermione replied. –Besides, you shouldn’t go out in the open if we’re going to hide from the Ministry. I’m less likely to be noticed.â€
Harry hesitated. He honestly didn’t like Hermione going off on her own like this, but he supposed that he couldn’t afford to forego examining any potential area where Voldemort could have hidden a Horcrux or the hint of a Horcrux. Hermione could take care of herself, and she could easily move about the Muggle world inconspicuously, whereas Harry would be noticed by anyone connected to the magical world. Besides, he needed to begin research on R.A.B. Finally he nodded, and Hermione smiled.
–I’ll come back at noon,†she promised. –If I’m not back by then, you can come looking for me.â€
She then pulled a small notepad from her pocket, and tore out a leaf, before picking up a ballpoint pen that lay on the table, and wrote something on the paper, which she gave to Harry. It was the name and location of the library she planned to visit.
–Be careful,†he told her. –And be sure to get back here on time.â€
Hermione stood up. –Perhaps I should take your Invisibility Cloak as well, just to be safe.â€
Harry withdrew the cloak from his hoodie pocket. –Don’t lose it.â€
Hermione rolled her eyes. –Have I ever lost it?†Harry chose not to retort as images of the cloak left in the Astronomy Tower and under the Whomping Willow floated to the surface of his memory.
By the time Ron came into the Shrieking Shack’s tiny, disused kitchen, Hermione had already gone, but Harry quickly explained where she went as Ron served himself some eggs. Ron was instantly seized with worry, but he too had confidence in Hermione’s ability to look after herself.
–So what should we do while she’s at this library?†he asked.
–Start using the Pensieve, I think,†Harry said. –I’m going to compile a list of all of Voldemort’s inner circle. Lucky I have just the memory to start with.â€
Ron looked into the front room, where they had left the chest containing the Pensieve.
–Do you need any help?†he asked. –I’ve never used those things before.â€
–By all means.†Harry stood up. –Finish your breakfast. I’ll be waiting in there.â€
Ron nodded, and Harry turned and left the kitchen. He then entered the front room where the three of them had spent the night, and slowly opened the black chest. The Pensieve’s smooth surface seemed to glint in the sunlight now filtering through the boarded windows. Harry reached into the chest and carefully lifted the stone basin from the chest. He had expected it to be heavy, but to his surprise the Pensieve turned out to be surprisingly light. Slowly Harry turned around and placed the Pensieve on a table in the corner, which he had repaired the night before. He then pulled Dumbledore’s instructions from his pocket and read them again carefully before drawing his wand.
Following the instructions to the letter, Harry placed the tip of his wand next to his temple, and closing his eyes, he thought of a graveyard near an obscure village, where a ring of men clad in black robes surrounded a cauldron and an emaciated creature with a face like a snake’s…
Exprimo memoriam, Harry thought, focusing hard on the graveyard. He then slowly pulled his wand away.
It was a strange feeling, like pulling a loose but cold thread from his temple, but as his opened his eyes he saw the silvery memory strand gleaming, attached to the tip of his wand like spider silk. Harry gave his wand a little shake, and the memory fell into the Pensieve, the interior of which immediately glowed.
Harry read Dumbledore’s note again, before pocketing it. He then looked inside his rucksack until he found what he was looking for, a ballpoint pen and a lined notebook where he had written everything he could remember about Voldemort’s Horcruxes…
He didn’t have to wait long for Ron to finish his breakfast. Harry had just barely laid the notebook on the table when his friend entered the room.
–You’re ready then?†he asked.
Harry nodded. –Let’s see if I did this right.â€
Ron stepped up to the Pensieve. –What do I do?†he asked curiously.
–Stick your head in it,†Harry told him simply. Ron’s brow furrowed, but he did as he was instructed, and slowly lowered his head into the basin. A moment later he seemed to fall inside it, as though he had been sucked down a drain. Harry picked up the pen and notebook, and too dipped his head into his own memory, and a moment later he found himself standing next to Ron in a dark graveyard.
–Looks like I did it correctly,†Harry said, looking around.
–So this is where it happened?†Ron asked, staring around the scene with wide eyes.
Harry nodded, and pointed at a gravestone where a dark figure lay unmoving.
–Is that Cedric?†Ron whispered. Harry nodded. –And where are you?â€
–Over there.â€
Ron looked in the direction Harry indicated, where a fourteen-year-old version of himself, bruised and dirty, and with a mangled leg, stood bound to a headstone with a gag in his mouth. The grave was labeled Tom Riddle. The younger Harry stared in terror and disbelief at a cauldron nearby, as well as a crumpled Wormtail cradling the bleeding stump that was left of his arm. It was then that Harry saw the dark silhouette of his enemy rise up from a cauldron, and command Wormtail to robe him.
Though he knew that this was only a memory, that he was not really facing Voldemort, Ron took in the madman’s flat, pale face and scarlet eyes, and his own face went almost as white, and his eyes were wide with terror.
–That’s him?†he whispered, shocked, and Harry nodded, realizing that Ron had never actually seen Voldemort in person before.
They watched as Voldemort used Wormtail’s Dark Mark to summon the Death Eaters, and moments later the sound of swishing cloaks met their ears, and nine hooded wizards appeared in the graveyard, standing in a circle around Voldemort and the younger Harry. The older Harry observed Voldemort reprimanding the Death Eaters, and knowing that the moment was seconds away, he opened up his notebook and clicked his pen.
Then a shriek met his ears, as a Death Eater flung himself forward, and fell to his knees before Voldemort. –Master! Master, forgive me! Forgive us all!â€
Voldemort laughed mercilessly, and cast the Cruciatus curse. He held his victim under it for a moment, and the Death Eater screamed, but seconds later Voldemort released him.
–Get up, Avery,†he said coolly.
Harry lifted his notebook and made a note.
The whole thing seemed to go much faster than Harry remembered, but he supposed that this time his life wasn’t in danger, although he was glad he had the notebook to distract him. He remembered the terror, and watching it again wasn’t easy to do. When it actually happened, the ensuing conversation Voldemort had with the Death Eaters seemed to take an eternity, but now he realized that the entire incident hadn’t taken more than a few minutes, half an hour at most.
Ron, however, stared at the scene, his now sickly face a mixture of disgust and shock at what he was seeing. He gagged as Wormtail, reveling in the installation of his artificial hand, obsequiously kissed the hem of Voldemort’s robes and took his own place in the circle.
They watched as Voldemort moved around the circle, speaking fist to Lucius Malfoy. Harry made careful notes of everyone Voldemort talked to, as well as writing the basics of what he said to them. Once Voldemort finished speaking to Malfoy, he then turned to survey a gap between his servant and the next man.
–The Lestranges should stand here,†he said, –but they are entombed in Azkaban. They were faithful. They went to Azkaban rather than renounce me…â€
Harry added Rodolphus Lestrange to the list. Bellatrix was already on it. He noticed that Voldemort passed some of the Death Eaters in silence, whom Harry couldn’t identify at the time of the incident, but he now recognized two of them by their build: Amycus and Alecto Carrow, who were present at Dumbledore’s death, though he didn’t recognize the third. Ron, however, did.
–Gibbon,†he told Harry. –He was killed the night Dumbledore died.â€
Voldemort stopped before a Death Eater that stood next to Dolohov. –Macnair… destroying dangerous beasts for the Ministry of Magic, now, Wormtail tells me? You shall have better victims than that soon, Macnair. Lord Voldemort will provide….â€
He ignored Macnair’s mutterings of thanks, before turning to acknowledge Crabbe and Goyle. He then spoke to Nott, who bowed to Voldemort.
–My Lord, I prostrate myself before you, I am your most faithful…â€
–That will do,†Voldemort cut across him.
Ron looked revolted. –Look at the way they pamper to him!â€
Harry too was disgusted, now that he no longer needed to feel the terror that his fourteen-year-old self had felt. The lack of the actual threat of death allowed Harry to observe the Death Eaters more carefully, and the more he watched, the more sickened he became at their delusion and stupidity. Did they really think that Voldemort upheld and respected them, when he so obviously had manipulated them so thoroughly?
But Voldemort had moved on. –And here we have six missing Death Eaters … three dead in my service.†Harry made another note. –One, too cowardly to return … he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever … he will be killed, of course … and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service. He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that your young friend arrived here tonight.â€
As he turned to survey the boy tied to the gravestone, Harry, not wishing to watch what transpired, took hold of Ron’s arm. –Let’s go,†he told his friend. –We don’t need to see what happens next.â€
As Harry pulled on Ron’s arm, he thought Exiro, and a moment later he and Ron found themselves back in the Shrieking Shack. Ron sank onto a chair nearby, his face a bit green.
–All right,†Harry said, looking at the additions to the list, –so we’ve got most of Voldemort’s inner circle: Avery, Wormtail, Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Rodolphus Lestrange, Alecto Carrow, Amycus Carrow, Gibbon, Macnair, Crabbe, Goyle, Nott, three dead Death Eaters, one traitor, one coward, and Barty Crouch Jr.†He sighed. –None of them have the initials R.A.B.â€
Ron, recovered slightly, asked, –What about the unnamed Death Eaters?â€
Harry consulted his list. –Snape must be somewhere in there,†he said coldly, feeling a fresh stab of anger at his former Hogwarts professor. –I suppose he’s the traitor Voldemort referred to.†He then frowned. –That’s odd.â€
–Maybe he’s the coward,†Ron suggested.
Harry shook his head. –No, I think that must have been Igor Karkaroff. You remember that he ran off as soon as his Dark Mark burned that night, and was found dead a year later? Perhaps at the time Voldemort thought Snape’s loyalty was Dumbledore’s… we all did.â€
–What about the dead Death Eaters?†asked Ron.
–Rosier and Wilkes,†Harry told him automatically, –and…†He frowned again. –You know, at the time I thought that the third was Quirrel, but now that I think about it, I’m not sure if Quirrel was a part of Voldemort’s inner circle or simply someone he encountered later.â€
–I could be dead wrong,†Ron said, –but unless Quirrel was a lot older than he looked, there’s no way he could have met Voldemort before his downfall. Quirrel couldn’t have been more than a teenager when Voldemort killed your parents.â€
–You’ve got a point there,†Harry conceded. –And now that I think about it, I remember that Voldemort talked about Quirrel, and said that he had never encountered him until the year he toured the world, and that was long after Voldemort’s downfall.â€
Harry thought this over for a moment, and then he sank onto the couch in front of the fireplace. –I can’t think how he could have found out about the Horcruxes unless he was in Voldemort’s inner circle, so I bet my life that the dead Death Eater was R.A.B.â€
Hermione returned an hour later, and Harry and Ron immediately recounted their discovery. She listened with rapt attention, and then said that perhaps she could sneak into the Hogwarts library and go through old records of the trials, easy enough with the passage to the Whomping Willow.
–It’s not a guarantee, mind you,†Hermione told them, –but if there was anyone mentioned in the trials, who was suspected…â€
She fell silent, her expression thoughtful. After a few minutes, Harry asked, –So, did you find anything about the orphanage?â€
She nodded. –I located its address in an old newspaper,†she told him, –but when I went to that address, I found that the entire block was torn down about twenty years ago. There’s a council estate there now.â€
Harry shrugged. –I didn’t think there’d be a Horcrux there anyway.â€
–No, I think that’s fairly clear,†Hermione sighed.
At that moment, Ron’s stomach growled loudly. He looked at them sheepishly for a moment, then asked, –What are we going to do about lunch?â€
–We could get something in the village,†Hermione suggested, –but at this time of day, somebody might recognize us. I don’t think we need that.â€
Before anybody could reply, they heard a soft hoot from a window sill, and then Hedwig fluttered onto Harry’s shoulder.
–You want to go outside?†Harry asked. The owl hooted again, and hopped onto his wrist. Her owner looked at Ron and Hermione, and then struck with inspiration, Harry looked back at Hedwig.
–You think you could bring back something edible?†Harry asked the owl.
Hedwig gave him a pointed stare, and Harry snorted as he realized that it was what the owl intended. Looking back at Ron and Hermione, Harry asked them, –Did I ever tell you how intelligent my owl is?â€
Ron shrugged, but Hermione became seriously concerned about the owl’s conspicuousness.
–Snowy owls aren’t native to Britain, and plenty of people know you’ve got a snowy owl,†she pointed out to Harry. –If the wrong person sees Hedwig, they’ll get suspicious.â€
Harry was unable to argue with this, and in the end they decided, much to Hedwig’s annoyance, to Transfigure her features a bit before one of them took her into the mountains under the Invisibility Cloak.
Hedwig returned an hour later, and true to Harry’s request, she brought two rabbits that she had killed, which, when Ron let her in, she deposited on the kitchen table. Hermione wrinkled her nose.
–Thanks, Hedwig,†Harry said, stroking the owl’s feathers. –Anybody know how to skin a rabbit?â€
–Yeah, I do,†Ron told him, standing up. –Dad once showed me how to skin one, once when we really didn’t have a lot of money. That was the year he got the car, you see, and for a while we had to save every Knut. So we grew or hunted our own food for the most part.â€
–Do it outside,†Hermione requested, looking a little queasy. –I hate watching this.â€
Ron raised his eyebrows, but he shrugged and pointed his wand at a cabinet, and summoned a steel bowl. He then picked up the two rabbits and looked at Harry. –You got your pocket-knife, the one I gave you?â€
Harry nodded and pulled the knife from his pocket. Ron took it and he and Harry went to the back door.
–Don’t step off the porch,†Hermione warned them. –The perception charms don’t go beyond it. And keep your voices low, because the charms don’t hide sound.â€
Ron seated himself on one side of the wide back porch, and after Harry seated himself beside Ron, the latter opened up the pocket-knife and began making incisions in one of the rabbits. Harry watched with interest as Ron worked, and a moment later Ron handed the carcass to Harry.
–Pull the skin off, starting from the cuts,†Ron instructed. –It’s not hard. The hide just comes right off. I’ll get started with this other one.â€
Harry did as he was told, and began peeling the skin off beginning from the incisions at the rabbit’s feet and rump. The animal’s flesh was unpleasantly cold and slimy, but Harry ignored this and continued working until he worked the hide completely off the carcass and dropped the coney into the bowl. He simply tossed the hide into the overgrowth underneath a boarded window.
–Wonder how long we’re staying here?†Ron asked as he too began skinning the other rabbit.
–Not long, I hope,†Harry said. –Even if the Shrieking Shack is safe temporarily, and only a few people know about the passageway to it, it’s not a good residence. We’re too close to a wizarding settlement, and Hogsmeade is a small town. It won’t be long before somebody works out that someone’s hiding here.â€
Ron nodded in agreement. –I think Hermione knows that, but we need to find somewhere more secure. We need a base of operations. We won’t be able to make much progress if our energy is put into keeping on the move.â€
–I’m aware of that,†Harry said as Ron dumped the second coney into the bowl. –We should try to find a place when we next go out. I’ve been meaning to go visit Godric’s Hollow anyway, so that’s as good a place to start as any.â€
–Hermione’s worried about you going to Godric’s Hollow, though,†Ron told him. –She thinks Voldemort might set some sort of trap for you there.â€
–I notice you’re saying his name now,†Harry said, grinning, and Ron shrugged sheepishly. –But back to the point, Voldemort shouldn’t know what we’ve done yet. We only left yesterday. Unless someone did something stupid and told the Ministry, this shouldn’t have gone past the Order yet. Hopefully he thinks we’re still under the Order’s protection.â€
–Still, we should be careful when we actually do go to Godric’s Hollow.†Ron tossed the rabbit hide into the bushes nearby. –Even if he thinks the Order’s hiding you, Voldemort might have rigged something. I also should point out that he probably thinks it’s more likely that you’ll start fighting him, now that Hogwarts has closed and you’re of age. He’s going to start fighting tooth and nail to get to you.â€
–You’ve put a lot of thought into this.â€
Ron shrugged. –Been talking with Hermione, mate. A lot of this is her own worries. I agree with her, though. I’m not going to refuse to allow you to go to Godric’s Hollow, but I think it had better be as soon as possible, before Voldemort finds out that you’ve scarpered, and all three of us should be present as a precaution.â€
–Fine by me,†Harry said, standing up and taking the bowl with him. –Plan on it some time this week, then. I’ll help with the cooking. If we can make some broth, there’s probably enough meat on these to make a decent soup.â€
Harry and Ron stepped back through the back door and closed it, hoping to have a more filling meal than their earlier breakfast. Neither of them had seen the raven perched on the oak nearby, watching or perhaps listening intently, which took flight as soon as the door snapped shut.
The scent of forest rain, once the storm had subsided, infused into the smell of sea spray, but though it had stopped raining, a thick fog filled the scene, and as he clambered onto the wooden dock, Grobschmied lowered his hood and raised a lantern to better see through the mist. He could just barely make out the distant pine trees, but not much else, until a blurred shape, another goblin, shifted into view, carrying a leather satchel and also holding a lantern. He was younger than Grobschmied, though not by much, and he wore a beaver hat as well as a pair of round bifocals with thick rims.
–Cerdik,†Grobschmied greeted quietly.
The other goblin, Cerdik Gadlak, smiled and held out his hand, which Grobschmied shook. –Evening, Benedict. Glad to see you’ve made it here.â€
Grobschmied nodded, and looked out at the outlines of the trees. –So this is it?†he asked curiously.
Gadlak nodded. –Can’t see much right now, but the fog will clear up soon. I hope it’s to your satisfaction. I really can’t think of any better place to work from.â€
–Dhárdan di Ginbaingh,†Grobschmied breathed the place’s name. –Sanctuary of the goblins.â€
Gadlak looked pleased with himself as they slowly crossed the dock and stepped past an open gate through which ran a damp, wooden walkway. –Good thing you’re one of the few who’s heard of it. It would make all this easier.â€
–What sort of condition is it in?â€
–The villages?†Gadlak shrugged. –Only a few people live here, but not enough to keep the buildings completely preserved. The original inhabitants intended to return from the Triskelen wars, of course. But some remained behind to keep the place running.â€
–So it just a bit of restoration,†Grobschmied said, pausing by one of the trees to examine a watch post that was set up nearby; the wooden turret did look a bit run down. Grobschmied could see that the heavy bolts holding the turret together were loose, and he could hear the wood creaking.
Gadlak nodded. –I suppose, but it’s nothing we can’t handle, though, once we really get started.â€
Grobschmied nodded, and they continued up the walkway. –Where are we headed, anyway?â€
–There’s a tower built in a crevice in the hillside,†Gadlak told him. –Unlike half the buildings in the villages, the tower is still in perfect condition, very well preserved. That’s where we’ll be staying.â€
–Glad of it,†Grobschmied muttered, feeling himself shivering. –I could do with some tea.â€
Gadlak grinned. –An excellent idea. So let’s hurry. It’s not far.â€
He was quite right. It was only about a five minute walk before Grobschmied could just barely make out a stone edifice extending from within the crevice Gadlak had mentioned, and quickening his pace, he and his friend strode past the gates set up outside the tower grounds, and within minutes, Grobschmied found himself standing in a wooden, hexagonal room, unfurnished except for a table set up at one side, along with a chair upon which Gadlak discarded his hat and his wool coat. He put his satchel and his lantern on the table and then stepped to the tower entrance and pulled a lever by the doorway. A moment later a heavy granite door slid across the entrance.
Gadlak then stepped to an empty fireplace at one side, and bent over its grate. A moment later, he stepped back as a roaring fire ignited. Grobschmied sighed with relief at the sudden warmth, but Gadlak had opened his satchel and pulled out some folded paper, which he spread out across the table. Grobschmied stepped to Gadlak’s side for a better look, and saw that it was a map of Dhárdan di Ginbaingh.
–We’re here,†Gadlak said, pointing at a circular mark on the largest island. –The Tower is the largest and most protected building here, as well as the oldest, though I believe it’s been renovated several times. There are two villages, one up here at the north end…†He indicated a mark not too far from the Tower. –… and the southern village, down in the grassy area where the hills and forest end.â€
–How large is this island?†asked Grobschmied.
–About five miles long and two miles wide,†Gadlak informed him. –Not a large island, by any means, but certainly large enough to accommodate a fair number of people.â€
Grobschmied looked at the second largest island, located a little east of the first. –What about this? What’s here?â€
–That’s where we generate power,†Gadlak replied. –It was incorporated decades ago, before Grindelwald came to power.†Gadlak frowned at the smaller island. –I’m told that it actually also needs remodeling. It’s old as well as old-fashioned. I suppose I’ll have to hire one of our scouts to learn more about current Muggle power stations.â€
–Just as well,†Grobschmied told him, and then he chuckled. –You know, I think that making it possible for electrical power and magic to enhance each other is perhaps the greatest innovation in the whole history of magic. Yet wizards don’t use it; in fact, I don’t think they’ve even discovered it.â€
Gadlak shrugged. –If they still haven’t figured out how to incorporate electrical power into a magical environment, that’s their problem. The idiots in the Ministry and the I.C.W. are so convinced that all other studies and disciplines, Muggle, goblin, or elf, are beneath them, that I doubt that this kind of innovation would occur to them.â€
–Well, I hope you’re right,†Grobschmied sighed, –because if wizards figure out how to do this, then we’ll lose a significant advantage over the Death Eaters.â€
–Oh, and talking of wizards, have you found any sign of Harry Potter?†asked Gadlak curiously.
Grobschmied smirked. –Rok’s spell worked perfectly. But we haven’t been able to actually reach him yet; Mr. Potter’s Muggle-born friend has shown herself to be quite adept at protective enchantments.â€
–And when you do contact him?†Gadlak asked. –How will you convince him?â€
Grobschmied’s eyes met his. –I think there’s only one way to approach Mr. Potter in this case, and that’s telling him the truth.â€
The other goblin stared at him for a moment, and then he exhaled slowly and nodded. –Yes, I suppose you’re right. If you’re going to gain his trust, you’ll have to be completely open with him. I just hope that Mr. Potter sees that we have something to offer him.â€