Kapitel 416: Providing Information
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Inside the command centre on ground zero outside Hogsmeade, the higher-ups of DMLE gathered around a table with a holographic three-dimensional representation of Hogsmeade floating in the centre.
"What is the progress on the Unspeakable side?" asked Scrimgeour, who had arrived just for this meeting.
"Some progress has been made on the ward," answered Kingsley. "I've been told that they can get us inside by tomorrow or the day after that, but that's about it. . . there hasn't been any progress on disabling the Floo or the spatial component of the ward. Even if the Unspeakables get us inside, the ward will stand with all its other functionality. . ."
Scrimgeour's face twisted before he said, "Which means there's no way to evacuate the people inside Hogwarts," he clicked his tongue. He looked to Robards, "Put pressure on the Unspeakables; I wanted us in there yesterday. Have we been able to an estimate of Death Eaters are inside?"
Kingsley answered the question, "From the sky scouting squad, we have spotted a number somewhere between two hundred fifty to three hundred Death Eaters."
". . . That's more than I thought," Scrimgeour scowled. "Even with all the clean-up we— and he," there was venom in his voice, "caught so many of them?" If the estimate was correct, every Auror and Hit Wizard would have to face at least two Death Eaters. . . which wasn't bad, given the training that they had, but he still didn't great about the numbers.
"The intelligence thinks that the Novellus Accionites who were punished a few years ago have been recruited into Death Eaters. They have been supplied with wands," which the charged Novellus Accionites were banned from wielding. Kingsley provided before asking Scrimgeour, "What of the Invisible Vigilante crew, sir? Will they be joining us? We could use the men."
"Sirius and Warlunt will be joining you, but the Juniors won't be," Scrimgeour didn't trust the Juniors who had ended up accidentally killing innocents to hold themselves in stressful situations, and he had refused the request to switch them out with the Juniors who were operating in the headquarters. Thus— "You will only be getting those two. I've started to send out calls to the retired members for reserve forces."
A Junior Auror pushed aside the tent flap and skidded into the tent, pushing aside the gravel on the ground. Her words died in her throat when she saw some very prominent pairs of eyes on her, but then she seemed to recall why she had barged into the command room so rudely. "R-Reporting, sirs! A large number of men are heading towards us from inside Hogsmeade!" she exclaimed.
Everyone inside the tent stood up. "Death Eaters?" asked Robards.
"No sir," said the Junior Auror; she sounded confused, "the men are Hogsmeade residents! A few Death Eaters are accompanying them."
Robards turned to Kingsley and ordered, "Gather everyone; I want us to be ready for any scenario." He turned to Scrimgeour, "Leave immediately."
"I want to see what is this," said Scrimgeour.
"You are leaving right now. Don't argue with me, sir. We will call you for combat if we need you. I can't take the risk of the Head of DMLE dying on my watch. Now, go!" The Aurors moved out, leaving Scrimgeour inside alone.
Outside, the Aurors and DMLE stood outside the ward, ready for the worst. Slowly, people trickled into the empty streets inside the ward as a large group of men made their way to the ward boundary.
"Stop!" announced Kingsley with his wand on his throat.
The Hogsmeade men didn't stop, nor did the Death Eaters accompanying them. The men heard Kingsley, and many of them started to panic and cry; some even tried to stop, but some light magic from the Death Eaters forced them to continue onwards. It was as though shepherds guiding the sheep.
"State your purpose!" Kingsley spoke again.
In response, a shot of magic shot from deep within the village flew over the buildings and followed the course of a projectile, forming a wide arch in the sky until it flew into the ward, turning the silver barrier into gold.
The Aurors and Hit Wizards all braced their wands in caution.
One of the Death Eaters grabbed an old man by the arm in the front and dragged him to the front. "Stop! No! Please take me!" shouted a younger man who looked to be the old man's son. The Death Eater ignored the cries and bought the whimpering old man near the boundary before shoving him through. Everyone stopped their breathing in expectation of something horrible to happen— but nothing as such happened— the old man simply passed through the golden barrier and fell down onto the ground because of the push.
Kingsley rushed forward and knelt beside the old man. He helped him up and asked, "Are you alright, sir."
"Y-Yes," the old man managed between his erratic breathing.
"Send everyone through," ordered the Death Eater in the lead, and the rest of the Death Eaters began pushing the hostages forward. And after seeing the old man cross the barrier without harm, there was much less resistance; some men rushed through it and cried with joy when they passed through unharmed.
When every single one of the men passed through safely, Kingsley called out to the Death Eaters. "What is this?" he asked. The Death Eaters walked away without replying to Kingsley, even when he called out after them repeatedly.
Kingsley saw one of his Juniors approach the group of men. "Back off!" he yelled. "No one is going to go near them," he pointed his wand at the Hogsmeade men, causing them to cover and huddle together. "Check them thoroughly to see if there's something wrong with them?" He addressed the scared people, "This is for your own safety. If the Dark Lord has done something to you, we will get treat it for you. Please be rest assured; we don't have any intention to harm you."
He looked at Kingsley and gestured for him to follow. Both returned to the tent and found that Scrimgeour was still inside. "Sir, I explicitly asked you to return to Whitehall; why are you still here?" Robards said with a disapproving frown.
"I can protect myself, Robards. Don't forget that even though I'm the Head of DMLE, I'm still enlisted as an active duty Auror."
"Doesn't matter—"
"Why did the Death Eaters let the hostages go?"
"They didn't say," sighed Robards. "We are checking if they have bobby-trapped them in some way."
"This is something out of character. We need to find out why they let them go?" Scrimgeour frowned.
"You do not have to worry about it." The three Aurors stilled for a split second when they heard the distorted voice they all had come across at some point and were well familiar with. When the split-second of stillness, their trained instincts took over, and they whipped their wands toward the source. Sitting on a chair on the corner was Invisible Vigilante dressed in his usual garb with his feet crossed and his hands resting on his knees. "You should focus on how to get into Hogsmeade."
"Avada Kedavra" — there was no hesitation in Scrimgeour's chant or actions as he unleashed a Killing Curse.
The green jet of magic struck the Invisible Vigilante right in the mask, but instead of getting absorbed in the body, it passed through the mask, leaving behind a hole. "You are lucky I am here to talk," said the masked figure. It was as if the body was made from the mist, and the form had been disturbed by the spell. The mist recollected itself to fix the hole in the face, returning the figure to whole. "I have a way to get all of you inside Hogsmeade and can provide you with credible intel about the Death Eater positioning."
"Why would I believe you?" Scrimgeour spat. None of the Aurors lowered their wards. "You just made Aurors kill innocent people. You deserve to have your soul sucked up by Dementors. If I could only find one to do it."
. . . . .
Quinn sitting on a rock a distance from the Auror's tent, blinked his eyes in confusion. Him making Aurors kill innocents. . . what was that about? "My apologies, but I feel like I am missing something," he said, and his illusion in the tent repeated. "I have not made Aurors kill innocents. Why would I waste my time doing such things?"
"You made my men kill seven people at the Wipply Resort," Robards scowled.
"I have not heard of any Wipply Resort," frowned Quinn. Wipply Resorts. . . seven innocents. . . Aurors. . . from those pieces of information, many scenarios were built in his mind until he arrived at the one that made the most sense to him. "Are you sure it was not a Death Eater pretending to be me? I have no interest in killing innocents."
"What if they were children of Death Eaters?"
"Innocent until proven guilty. When did these supposed killings happen?"
"Today," supplied Robards.
"That does not make sense. Why would I waste my time with children when Voldemort has taken over Hogsmeade and is planning a siege on Hogwarts?"
"To take Death Eaters' children hostage and—"
"Again, that does not make sense. Do you think the Dark Lord would stop because of children? He would put his own men under Imperious if they were even a minor inconvenience."
"I still believe you did it," Scrimgeour said testily.
"Does not matter what you believe, "Illusion-Quinn rose up from his chair, and the Aurors reaffirmed their aim. "What matters now is whether you want to get inside Hogwarts or not." He pointed at the table where two pucks sat. "One of those has a detailed description of Death Eaters' routines and patrols, everything you will need to form a plan of attack. The other one is the location of an open Labyrinth exit point which is connected to a door inside Hogsmeade. . ."
From where he was looking, the first part surprised the three Aurors, but the second part boggled their minds. They were so shocked that Quinn was sure if he was there in the tent, he would've taken all three of them with a single spell.
". . . Upto you if you want to take this information and do something good, or if you want to ignore it and continue to risk the lives of the women and children" — what Voldemort had done by only releasing the men had irked him very much — "If I do not do see you all in there, I will come after every single one of you and cripple your entire bodies. You have been warned."
Illusion-Quinn vanished from the tent, and above in the tent roof, an artificial eye peeking through a hole flew away. He would've loved to continue to observe the Aurors, but he had to move and continue to the next part of the process, and leaving the eye exposed without him nearby would risk his identity getting out.
. . . . .
". . . Sir, what should we do?" Kingsley, the lowest ranking member in the tent, broke the silence.
Scrimgeour and Robards stared at the two black pucks on the table.
"Have the information he gave us confirmed," Scrimgeour ordered. "If it is true. . . " he looked at Robards ". . . proceed to infiltrate Hogsmeade."
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Quinn West - MC - Keep it moving.
Kingsley Shacklebolt - Captain Auror - Is thinking of writing a book after everything is over.
FictionOnlyReader - Author - Next few chapters will be challenging.
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Kapitel 417: Entering The Castle
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The link is also in the synopsis.
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Quinn's feet touched the road. He saw the achingly familiar Hogsmeade High Street: dark shop fronts, and the outline of black mountains beyond the village, and the curve in the road ahead that led off toward Hogwarts. He didn't take that curve and instead took the opposite path and moved to the periphery of the town, stopping in front of a dark and gloomy building in the mostly upbeat town.
He swiped his hand, and there was a grinding of bolts behind the door. The dark door opened on the narrow street, and he stepped through after scanning the street once.
He saw, by the stuttering light of a single candle, the grubby, sawdust-strewn bar of the Hog's Head Inn. He walked behind the counter and through a second doorway, which led to a rickety wooden staircase that he climbed after looking everywhere else. The stairs opened onto a sitting room with a threadbare carpet and a small fireplace, above which hung a single large oil painting of a blonde girl who gazed out at the room with a kind of vacant sweetness.
The barman-owner of Hog's Head wasn't here anymore. Aberforth Dumbledore had done a great job of distancing himself from the Dumbledore name— he had been let out with other men without Voldemort holding him back to keep leverage against big brother Albus. It was fortunate. He didn't want Aberforth to become Albus' weakness.
Quinn's eyes traveled to the painting of the girl over the mantelpiece. It was the only picture in the room. There was no photograph of Albus Dumbledore nor of anyone else. It was the sister. Youngest of the three Dumbledore siblings, Ariana Dumbledore. Attacked at the tender age of six, set upon by three Muggle boys. They'd seen her doing magic, spying through the back garden hedge: She was a kid; she couldn't control it; no magical child can at that age— except if they were like Quinn, who sought out magic and actively tried to get back it.
What the boys saw scared them. . . They forced their way through the hedge, and when she couldn't show them the trick, they got a bit carried away trying to stop the little freak from doing it. What the children did, destroyed her: she was never the same again. She wouldn't use magic, but she couldn't get rid of it; it turned inward and drove her mad, it exploded out of her when she couldn't control it, and at times she was strange and dangerous. But mostly, she was sweet and scared and harmless.
Quinn remembered how Ariana and her story were described. Everything could be summed up with a single word: Obscurial. An Obscurus was the manifestation of the repressed energy of a young magical child— known as an Obscurial. Described as a "dark" and "parasitic" force, an Obscurus was created when the wizard child in question consciously attempted to repress their magical abilities or were forced to do so through physical or psychological abuse. This energy could manifest itself as a separate entity that could erupt in violent, destructive fury.
Ariana had once lost control over her magic and ended up killing her mother in an Obscurial rage. Then the poor little girl died in a three-way battle between her brothers and Grindelwald.
"Will you let me in, please," he said to the girl in the portrait. The girl, however, didn't move. . . simply staring at him with curious eyes. He tried again, "I want to get into Hogwarts; may I pass?" He had tested every secret pathway he knew could lead into Hogwarts, but the all-out defense had blocked everything. The path in Hog's Head was the only one he knew could work.
Portrait-Ariana again didn't move. She continued to gaze at him like a curious child, as if he was an oddity that she had encountered for the first time. He looked down, and while his clothes were out of the ordinary, at least he wasn't wearing his mask in his presence. He was sure she wouldn't have looked at him if he had used his Invisible Vigilante's voice.
"Me asking won't work, now would it," he sighed. Quinn unclasped the flap on one of his pockets and summoned one of the objects inside into his palm. It was a palm-sized framed portrait. He expanded it back to its original size and hung it beside Ariana's portrait as she looked on with an inquisitive gaze. In comparison to the simpler frame of Ariana's portrait, the one that Quinn had hung was flamboyant, gilded with gold with intricate design.
"Hey, wake up; I have a job for you," Quinn knocked on the pitch-black portrait, and the pitch-black painting turned into the image of Merlin sitting inside a lavish room, dressed in comfy robes. The portrait had changed quite a lot since Quinn had met Merlin, and every time he went to see the portrait, it would change a little bit. Magical portraits weren't supposed to change like this, but the master of magic had enchanted his post-mortem portrait to be special like him.
"Oh, now that's a surprise," Merlin's eyes shone with interest. It happened every time Quinn interacted with him. The portrait didn't handle boredom well and always seemed to be wanting to do something. "What does the great child prodigy wants from this old fella?"
"Don't start now," sighed Quinn. He lifted his hand again to cast magic, and Merlin turned his head to look to the left towards Ariana's portrait. Quinn had just connected both portraits, allowing Merlin to exit his and go into her. It was easy with the enchantments placed by the real Merlin on his portrait.
"Who is the girl?"
"Ariana Dumbledore."
"Dumbledore? Is she related to the Headmaster?"
"Younger sister."
"What do you want with his younger sister's portrait?"
"Her portrait is special, you can sense, correct?"
"Yes. . . yes, I can sense it," Merlin got up from his desk and made his way to the edge of his frame and disappeared. Quinn moved his eyes to Ariana's, and Merlin appeared into her's from the edge. The little lady took a step back, acting cautiously for the first time. "What's special about this one? There's something. . ."
"Her portrait is an entrance to Hogwarts. She isn't opening the path to me. I don't want to be. . . rough, so can you convince her to open it up."
Merlin joined his hands, touching palms, and kept his eyes on Ariana. When he separated them, there was a charming, cute bluejay sitting on his palm. The bird seemed to do the trick as Ariana forgot her caution and hoped her way to Merlin, who handed her the bird.
"Why don't you use one of the other entries?" said Merlin, watching Ariana with a kind smile.
"Voldemort has taken over Hogsmeade. Dumbledore activated the Hogwarts defense, and that locked up every path I knew. She's the only one who can let me in, so please. . . and quickly."
Merlin looked at Quinn, Ariana slipping out of his attention as soon as the words left Quinn's mouth. "Tell me more about this," said Merlin, moving closer to Quinn.
"Can't we do it later, when I have the time? If you can't tell, I'm swamped."
Merlin continued to look at Quinn. Quinn sighed and took a minute to explain the situation to Merlin and then took three more to answer his answer. "Now, can you get her to open the way?" said Quinn.
Merlin smiled and faced Ariana. He began whispering to the girl, and she looked at Quinn a couple of times. Quinn couldn't tell what they were talking about, so he just smiled and waved.
After a couple minutes, Ariana nodded, smiled, and walked away, not as people in portraits usually did, out of the sides of their frames, but along what seemed to be a long tunnel painted behind her. They watched her slight figure retreating until finally, she was swallowed by the darkness.
"Can I roam inside the castle?" Merlin asked as they waited.
"Sure, I don't mind. But I'll be removing your portrait from here, in case, Voldemort wipes out the village. I will be back to get you when all this is over; until then, you'll be inside Hogwarts."
"Fine by me."
A tiny white dot had reappeared at the end of the painted tunnel, and now Ariana was walking back toward them, growing bigger and bigger as she came. But there was somebody else with her now, someone taller than she was, holding her hand, looking confused. Her hair was the blonde he loved, and her blue eyes were an electric blue that he had looked into countless times. Larger and larger the two figures grew until only their heads and shoulders filled the portrait. Then the whole thing swung forward on the wall like a little door, and the entrance to a real tunnel was revealed. And out of it, dressed impeccably even in the current situation, clambered Daphne Greengrass, who leaped down the mantelpiece, and hugged Quinn the moment she reached him.
Merlin had popped back into his frame and whistled. Quinn gave him a glare, and the old wizard silently chuckled before disappearing.
"Hey, how are you?" Quinn returned his attention to Daphne. "I hope they're not giving Slytherin a hard time."
Daphne shook her head in his embrace. "I don't know; I haven't gone out that much. Tracey and I stayed with Astoria and Luna in the AID office." AID office's security had been improved by Quinn before he left— it had been fine when he was in Hogwarts because he was the security system, but with him leaving, he had turned into a safer place in case Astoria and Luna ever needed it. It was only second to the Room of Requirement and maybe the Headmaster's Office.
"Thank you for taking care of Luna," he said.
"Astoria would've done anyway. She and Luna have become best friends."
The hug ended, and Quinn gazed down at his girlfriend. "I messed up," he sighed. "I should've done this much before and taken all of you out, away from this, to home. But I. . ." he sighed again. He had started a ticking clock when he had approached Voldemort and the Aurors. He had made an error— with his mind occupied by Voldemort, he had forgotten that he could let them exit through a Labyrinth door.
"Then why do you want to enter Hogwarts?" asked Daphne, her brows furrowed in confusion.
Quinn internally sighed when he heard no complaint in Daphne's voice. He would've preferred if she had been angry with him and showed some heated emotion. Even though he knew it wasn't the case, her lack of anger sometimes made it seem like she had been used to him disappointing her.
"I have some business with Dumbledore," said Quinn, feeling bitter inside as he said the words to keep her in the dark. "With how the current situation is, I think it's high time I talk to him and see what he is thinking."
Quinn got up into the tunnel and held out his hand to Daphne, and helped her to climb up onto the mantelpiece. There were smooth stone steps on the other side: It looked as though the passageway had been there for years. Brass lamps hung from the walls, and the earthy floor was worn and smooth; as they walked, their shadows rippled, fanlike, across the wall.
"I assume Ivy told you about Voldemort's offer," said Daphne as they moved across the tunnel.
Quinn's fingers twitched. He showed no external sign otherwise. "She did. It's an impossible offer. Dumbledore isn't going to give the Potters to him."
They turned a corner, and there ahead of them was the end of the passage. Another short flight of steps led to a door just like the one hidden behind Ariana's portrait. Daphne pushed it open and climbed through, and Quinn followed her to find himself in a room that resembled Daphne's bedroom in her house. Seeing that made Quinn feel worse because it was clearly a sign that she was seeking comfort and safety.
"How about you stay here and call the others as well," Quinn suggested. Room of Requirement was the safest place in Hogwarts, and he knew just what to ask to make it the safest.
Daphne shook her head. "It's better if I stay inside the office. It'll be better if we stay in a place where we can be found." She took a neatly folded cloth from her robes and placed it in Quinn's palm.
"I don't need it," Quinn tried to give it back.
"No, use it," she said. "You can't be seen in Hogwarts. It's better to be safe than sorry," and pushed it back into Quinn's hands. She tiptoed to kiss him before saying, "Close the Room before you leave."
Quinn watched as she exited the Room of Requirements. He then looked at Recon in his hand. Did he need it? Yes— it made his job much easier. Was he going to ask it from Daphne if she hadn't given it on her own? No, he would rather that she keep it.
He felt like shit.
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Quinn West - MC - Knows that it's only the start.
Merlin - Portrait - Wow, Hogwarts sure has become depressing.
FictionOnlyReader - Author - I suck at pacing. I really need to work on it. . . sigh.
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If you have any ideas regarding the magic you want to see in this fiction or want to offer some ideas regarding the progression. Move onto the DISCORD Server and blast those ideas.
The link is in the synopsis!
AUTORENGEDANKEN
FictionOnlyReader
FictionOnlyReader
Just like always,
Review, comment, add to the library, and share this fic.
Thx
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